Windturbines

I referred in an earlier entry to the Lewis Windfarms.

This is extremely controversial in the island. I have written extensively on it in my Lighthouse Blog (see linklist), and not hidden my disgust at the prospect of 190 turbines, each standing 135 metres / 450 feet tall in the middle of the most beautiful wilderness areas of Scotland. There are two windfarms proposed for Lewis, one in the north, stretching 60 km / 40 miles from Ness to Stornoway via Bragar; the other in Eishken, a depopulated district in the southeast, on hills overlooking Loch Seaforth.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the local council, approved the planning applications for both windfarms last June. This gave rise to a huge storm in Lewis, with councillors being called to account in acrimonious meetings in the various village halls. A ballot was taken in Ness, Airidhantuim [pronounce: Aree an Hime], Laxdale and Kinloch. 50 to 90% of respondents declared their opposition. The application is currently in front of the Scottish Executive.

In order to take the power off the island, a large subsea cable needs to be laid from Arnish to Ullapool. From Ullapool, 200 ft high pylons will be marching 180 miles south to Denny near Falkirk. This is all deeply resented by people in the Scottish Highlands.

The Lewis windfarm was, as I say, approved in the face of 4000 objections. The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has stated that the turbines will slaughter the resident population of eagles. The continual flicker of the blades, the illumination of the towers at nighttime (compulsory for any tall structure), the disturbance of the 20 ft layer of peat and destruction of habitat by the construction effort.

The Comhairle has hailed it as a major boost to the island's economy. It now looks likely that the turbines will be fabricated at the Arnish Yard (often featured in my pictures),which will create jobs for 3 to 4 years. Last time they recruited for Arnish, they had to draft people from outside the UK in as nobody could be bothered with short term contracts. The lease of the land on which the towers stand, as well as a cut in the proceeds of the electricity have switched the poundsigns on in the eyes of those who wield power. They have ignored those who have to live with the bl**dy things.

Another argument against is that new technologies, such as wave and tidal power, have been developed to such an extent that Portugal has recently taken delivery of several units of wavepower generators. These are basically interlinked tubes that float on the surface of the sea. The movement of the water is translated into power. The tubes do not have the major environmental impact that the turbines have. This has been pointedly ignored by Downing Street and Holyrood (British and Scottish governments). They want nuclear energy, for goodness sakes. And the waste issue will be dealt with by chucking it into a deep hole in the ground, probably on either Fuday or Sandray, both islands near Barra. In recent times, I've stopped believing what I hear.

Anyway, the Executive will take a decision this summer, and then we shall see what we shall see. Follow the story through the Lighthouse Blog.

Recipe Book

I have started a separate journal "Recipe Book" where I'll move the three below recipes to, including comments LOL. Any further delicacies will be described there.

From the land of the rising scone

Rich Tea Scones
225 g / 8 oz self-raising flour
half a level teaspoon salt
one level teaspoon of baking powder
25 - 50 g / 1-2 oz butter
1 - 2 level tablespoons castor sugar
1 beaten egg
milk
50 g dried fruit (sultanas, optional)

Preheat the oven to 230 C

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder together with the sugar
Rub in the butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs
Make a hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the egg and sufficient milk to 150 ml in volume.
Using a knife, mix into a fairly soft dough, working quickly
Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of about 2 cm and cut into 5 cm rounds
Put on a baking sheet [tray]; if desired brush with beaten egg or milk (supplementary to above ingredients)
Bake towards the top of the oven for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
Cool on wire rack and serve the scones split and buttered

Granny's Quick Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

CAKE
4 oz / 125 g soft margarine
4 oz / 125 g castor sugar
3½ oz / 100 g self-raising flour
1 oz / 30 g cocoa powder
2 beaten eggs
½ level teaspoon baking powder can be added if necessary

FILLING & TOPPING (butter icing)
4 oz / 125 g butter
3½ oz / 100 g icing sugar
1 oz / 30 g drinking chocolate powder (e.g. Cadbury's), not cocoa powder
a few drops of vanilla essence
chocolate (dark / milk / buttons &c)

PREPARATION OF CAKE
Cream the margarine, sugar together
Add the eggs and flour / cocoa mixture alternatively
Bake in an 8" / 20 cm round baking tin at 160 C / 320 F for about 25 minutes
When cool, cut cake horizontally and fill with half of the butter icing (see filling & topping).  Spread the other half of the butter icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with grated chocolate or similar

Mary's Fruit Loaf

Mrs B asked me to put this in.

In memory of Mary MacLeod

Ingredients
4 oz / 100 g soft margarine
1 cupful sugar
3/4 cupful sultanas
3/4 cupful currants or mixed fruit
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cupful cold water
2 cupfuls self-raising flour
1 egg

Put the margarine, sugar, fruit, bicarb and cold water into a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 5-8 minutes.
Leave to cool.
Sieve into mixture the self-raising flour and add one beaten egg.
Put this mixture into a 1lb [500 g] loaf tin and bake in gas oven mark 4 / 180 C / 350 F for about an hour. Some times it may be ready a few minutes early; test with a skewer, knitting needle of knife.
Leave in the tin to cool, which makes it easier to cut the next day.

Thursday 27/04/06

Nice morning, fairly sunny and dry. Mrs B's nephew takes her and myself out for a spin at midday. First we go to the Lewis Crofters shop down Island Road, for spuds and compost. The fishmongers have not had any fish in, probably due to adverse weather. Next we head out to Aird Tong for a spot of housesitting, read: plant watering. The plants are in a sorry state as they had been forgotten. The house is in a very attractive location, overlooking Coll Beach, Muirneag, Broad Bay and Point. A large number of new properties have been built in that village on croftland. Whether the crofts are being used as such is actually a bone of contention. Liked Aird Tong, not been there before. We also went to the top of the road at Newmarket. A diversion up Laxdale Lane and Guershader brings us back to town. We're finally taken to the Woodlands' Centre for lunch, which knows how to serve a BLT baguette, in sharp contrast to An Lanntair. On return, the tide has turned so low (only +0.4m) that the old stepping stones across the Inner Harbour are exposed. The Thursday papers are very interesting. The windfarm project in North Lewis has been reduced to 190 turbines, from 234 initially. Big deal. Another Western Isles news item relates to the dumping of nuclear waste, which may take place on Fuday and Sandray, either side of Barra. The evening closes nice and sunny.

Wednesday 26/04/06

Yesterday's Swiss guest leave after breakfast. Weather continues to improve. Head into town to check on the Iolaire list in the library, which has not attracted further comments. The tides are quite large this week, with a high tide of 5.0 m and low tide of 0.5 m. New moon by tomorrow explains those. By evening, two Dutch guests arrive, who had spent 1½ hours traipsing town for a place to stay. I talk their head off with suggestions for things to do here as well as in their next ports of call, Harris and Skye. The tree that was washed up in the Basin has disappeared. The Isle of Arran sails for Ullapool at 6pm.

Tuesday 25/04/06

Still a windy morning, and over reakfast a severe rain and hailshower clatters down. Mrs B goes out shopping at 11.45, while I try to get a better view of the boat at Arnish, which now has a loading crane up. Unfortunately, even from the Goat Island causeway I am unable to decipher its name. It would appear that it's loading some more Pelamis units. Although the weather is slightly less inclement, any showers remain very heavy. Reactions to yesterday's parliamentary committee meeting focus on the possible destructive effect of intended measures on the crofting way of life. Venture out in late afternoon for shopping, as the weather improves slightly.

Monday 24/04/06

After a late start, I prepare to head off to the Scottish Parliament's Committee meeting at the Western Isles Council buildings on Sandwick Road. At 1.30, just before I leave, the Isle of Arran and the Isle of Lewis can be seen heading into port, struggling with the very windy conditions. When I arrive at the Council Chamber, my bag is checked by security. I am handed some papers, some of which I already have, and a ticket. The four panels I described yesterday will be quizzed by members of the ERDC. Amongst the members of said committee is local MSP Alistair Morrison. The first panel, crofters et al, focuses on regulation or not. The second panel gets technical on the legal issues surrounding the Pairc Trust. After a teabreak, an open session ensues where 7 members of the public, amongst them 3 local councillors, address the committee. Angus McCormack, Plasterfield councillor, went into chapter and verse. The third panel focused on housing; the fourth on developments, such as the windfarms. The man from Lewis Windpower, which proposes to build 209 windturbines in North Lewis, was quizzed harshly. Windfarms appear to be going out of vogue of late. When the meeting closes, at 5.20, the weather has turned very nasty. It's raining and blowing hard. The Met Office hasn't got a galewarning outstanding, so I email them. No reply. ITV carries a report from the meeting I attended earlier. The gale continues to blow all evening, gusting up to force 10. The ferry is an hour late, arriving at 9pm. The weatherstation at Eoropie reports gusts of 57 knots / force 11, Stornoway goes up to 52 knots, force 10. A boat lies moored over at Arnish, but I cannot make out its name or its business. Possibly delivering steel plates. Visibility is severely restricted, spray flies over the causeway and it's quite nasty outside. As the evening progresses, the wind appears to die down a little.

Sunday 23/04/06

It's a nice bright morning, which stays sunny in spite of cloud bubbling up as temperatures rise. It's the usual quiet Sunday. A man comes to stay with an Italian companion; they head off to Tolsta for the afternoon. Down in London, the Marathon is underway in drizzly conditions. Spend the afternoon getting up to speed with the Crofting Reform Bill. Tomorrow, a meeting by the Environment and Rural Development Committee of the Scottish Parliament will take place in Stornoway. I download and print a 40 page PDF with submissions from about 14 representatives from crofting, housing, local government and development agencies as well as landowners. It's a complex and wide-ranging issue. A croft is a small scale agricultural unit (5 acres) which is commonly let to a crofter by a landowner for a low fee, about £18 per annum. I'm not omitting any zeroes. At the moment, crofters can buy their own crofts at the rate of 15 times the annual rent. A croft does not automatically include a house. Grants are available of about £22k, which helps a little towards the £80k cost of building a house. There is currently an open market in crofts, which has led to spiralling prices, putting crofts beyond the means of young folk in the island. Problems have also arisen on a larger scale with the Community Right-to-Buy, enshrined in the 2003 Land Reform Act (Scotland). The people on an estate are able to buy the land from its owner, against the wishes of said owner. So far, the only real hostile take-over is taking place in the Pairc District, South Lochs. And the current owner does not want to cooperate with the take-over at all, putting ownership of the land in the hands of a subsidiary company (effectively the same people) and creating a legal morass. The Scottish Executive have, as per normal, been hovering around this hot pie for ages. The reason why landowner Barry Lomas doesn't want to sell is that he stands to earn millions from a proposed windfarm on his land.

Mrs B serves me dinner at 7pm, chilli con carne, very spicy. The Cuma is still on the slipway, some 7 weeks after it went up.

Saturday 22/04/06

An absolutely horrendous start to the day, with a howling gale and pouring rain. Over at Eoropie, winds gust up to 50 knots / force 10. The airport is up to 43 knots, force 9. Elsewhere in the country, temperatures rise to 18C. Here in Lewis, the mercury stalls at +9. Go to Somerfields, which is chockablock with folk in waterproofs, none of whom are really happy to go out again. Just after my return, an absolute downpour signals the passage of the front. The wind veers from South to Southwest and decreases to force 5 or 6. At around 5.30, the sun starts to come out and the evening is quite nice. A 2nd tube has turned up outside the Arnish Yard. The wind drops away as the sun sets just before 9. Watch a bit of TV with mrs B after supper.

Friday 21/04/06

Nice sunny start to the day, but cloud increases gradually. Just before 3pm, a few drops of rain fall. An oilrig is towed down the Minch, and the extremely good visibility shows a number of boats in the far distance. HM the Q is 80 today, and she is rumoured to contemplate coming up here in June on board the Hebridean Princess. Ordinary mortals pay £2,500 to £5,000 a trip on this small cruiseliner, which can take up to 49 passengers. Although it threatens rain, it stays dry. Visibility remains great, and I can see the Storr, on Skye, 50 miles away. The mainland hills stand out in all their snowcapped glory. Go down to Sandwick Bay for a good look at Skye at 8pm. On my return, Mrs B's granddaughter has come round with a young friend. Mrs B served me supper tonight, in the shape of a chicken and peppers dish from the butchers. As we go to bed, by midnight, the wind gets up.

Thursday 20/04/06

A late start as per usual. The morning is cloudy, and by midday the showers are popping up. The birds in the garden are busy with nests, the blackbird sings merrily every evening at nightfall. The peanut feeder is no longer required, as there are plenty of worms in the soil. Next week there will be a meeting here to discuss the future of crofting in the islands. A Gaelic language group meets in An Lanntair every Wednesday, for beginners as well as for more advanced speakers. At 4pm, I head into town to pick up the Thursday papers, which are a good read this week. Eorpa (BBC2 Scotland, 7.30pm) focuses on the problems around renewable energy in the Western Isles. A move is discernable away from large-scale windfarms and towards smaller, local schemes. Not just wind energy, but also heat from the soil (as they are using over in the Blackhouse Museum in Gearrannan), solar energy (Sports Centre Harris, streetlights in Cromor and Ranish), tidal- and wavepower. Only goes to show what strength popular opinion can wield. A comparison is made with Sweden, where progress in this field is stymied by red tape and conglomerates obstructing competition. Sunset 8.50, but it's still light in the north at 10.15.

Wednesday 19/04/06

Am awake at 5.50 a.m., to see a very low moon, barely 2 degrees above the southern horizon. Later on, it starts as a nice sunny day. Mrs B's granddaughter is here for the day, as she is off with tooth trouble. I'm willing target for a game which has something to do with the Simpsons (Matt Groenigs creations). During the afternoon, Mrs B's sister calls in for a chat. A downpour follows at 4.30. I pop down the road to Somerfields for papers and the lottery (no luck, thanks). It drips, but the threat over the western horizon fails to substantiate. Visibility is very good today, can see the snowcapped hills south of Ullapool. This afternoon, the Isle of Arran takes several lorryloads of scrapped cars over to the mainland. When the ferry comes in, very early at 7.40, it is closely followed by the Coastguard chopper. A man dangles below on a line. The winchman is hauled in when the ferry reaches Goat Island. Probably an exercise. The Border Heather, our tanker, comes in for anothervisit. Our two guests went round Harris today, to Leverburgh along the west coast and back up the east coast. BBC Online reports that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is to reopen the debate on the two Lewis windfarms. The webpage misspells Beinn Mhor (calling it Beinn Vor, as that is the pronounciation) and places Eishken in North Harris, where it is actually in southeast Lewis. The evening closes peacefully, with sunset at 8.50. The two guests will be leaving on the 7.15 ferry.

Pictures

Have added another 8 pictures to the 42 already on file for 18 April.

Bacon and Courgette Carbonara Bake

Bacon and Courgette Carbonara Bake

Serves 2

 

6 oz / 175 g pasta bows (farfalli)

15 ml olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

4 oz / 100 g lean bacon, cut into strips

2 medium courgettes, thinly sliced

100 ml tub crème fraiche

2 eggs beaten

2 oz / 60 g mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp dried oregano or fresh herbs

salt

pepper

 

Roughly double quantities for 4 people.

 

Cook pasta bows. Drain and reserve.

Heat the oil and garlic together in a large pan over a moderate heat. Add the bacon strips and courgettes and fry gently for 5-6 minutes, stirring continually. Stir in the crème fraiche, beaten eggs, pasta, half the cheese and the oregano. Season to taste. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F, gasmark 6. Reduce heat if using a fan-heated oven (180°C/350°F, gasmark 5). Bake for 20 minutes.

Tuesday 18/04/06

The Isle of Arran returned at 1.10 a.m. from Ullapool. In the daytime, the weather is fairly decent, with distant showers and good periods of sunshine. Mrs B's brother-in-law as well as her nephew call in for a visit in the morning. Two visitors arrive from Ullapool at 1.30, having been rained out of the place over the last few days. They take themselves off for a bustrip to Callanish as well as Ness. In town, I visit Grinneas nan Eilean again for the purpose of taking a few pics. I then go on a walk round the Castle Grounds. I look round Lews Castle, and find a cannon. It's very boggy and wet. They are working hard to clear fallen trees, still lying around after the hurricane of January 2005. Some fencing is being erected around Lady Matheson's memorial, which was recently done up. I then make my way down to Cuddy Point. Go up the hill for a brief loopwalk, then return to the town centre. Mrs B serves me her pasta bake, which I like a lot. By 10pm, we call in on her brother-in-law.

Easter Monday - 17/04/06

Today, I'm transmitting the wee video I took at the opening of Grinneas nan Eilean via the webcam. Only problem is that Camstreams have technical difficulties, which thwart my showings at 16.00 and 21.00. The 11.00 one went ok. Breakfast was a smashing experience. Just as I rose from the table, the chair I was sitting on fell backwards, through the glass window of a cupboard. One pane broke, showering the cups and glasses inside with splinters. I hoover the floor, and mrs B washes all the cups and glasses. Splinters of glass turn up in the washing-up bowl. Oh dear. Today starts sunny, but some decidedly beefy showers bubble up after midday, a few carry hail. It's quite cold outside, only 7C. Go to Somerfields at 4.30 for a few bits and pieces. The Isle of Arran sails for Ullapool at 5.30, which is a different time from Muirneag, which usually sails around midnight. We'll await her return. Tonight, it's me cooking supper, which we enjoy over a nice fire.

Easter Sunday - 16/04/06

Very late start. Mrs B and I exchange Easter Eggs. Changeable weather with occasional showers, which are accompanied by squalls. Nice sunny intervals in between. It's a very quiet afternoon, which I spend updating the written journal. Write a few pieces on the Lighthouse blog. Mrs B serves me a very nice Easter roast, with a succulent steak with onions, vegetables and potatoes. Otherwise, not much doing.

Happy Easter

Hope all readers had a happy Easter this year.