Atlantic Lines

Friday 27 January

2012-01-27T19:18:00.000Z

A bright and sunny day, with some nice cloudscapes. We started off with a -2C overnight low, and as the sun rose, there was still a slight hoar frost. Spent the day on a new tribute site, which will involve copying all the information on WW1 casualties into one site. The site is not public, and the 1300 names will take quite a bit of work.

An asteroid has passed the earth at a distance of about 37,000 miles, a quarter of the distance to the moon. The object, measuring only 37 feet across, shot by us at 4pm local time. Now that darkness has fallen, the moon, Jupiter and Venus are gracing the southwestern sky.

Homes in Orkney have been scanned for the presence of radon gas. Radon is radio-active and is produced by naturally occurring uranium in rocks like granite. Upon formation, the gas seeps out of the rocks and can accumulate in homes built on top. One home in Stromness is reported to have 3000 times the accepted maximum concentration inside. Adequate ventilation is usually sufficient to prevent problems. Radon can contribute towards lung cancer.

Auschwitz Memorial Day

2012-01-27T11:58:00.002Z

Today it is 67 years ago since the infamous Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp was liberated by Soviet forces. More than a million people, mainly Jews, were killed there during the Second World War. The process was conducted as an industrial process. To date, some of the goods left behind by the victims of the Holocaust remain on display. These include suitcases with name tags, spectacle frames, hair and shoes. I have never visited Auschwitz and am not likely to. January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day, remembering all the victims of the Nazi's policy of extermination of all those they considered to be sub-human. We must never forget.

Thursday 26 January

2012-01-26T22:27:00.000Z

A day of mixed fortunes, but the dominant theme was wet and cold. There was some brightness, particularly later in the afternoon when the heavy showers moved away east. The ferry service was restored to normality, after yesterday's strong winds prevented the Clansman from docking at Stornoway. The vessel is not usually on this route.

The young man that was found dead in Inverness on Sunday apparently succumbed to hypothermia. His funeral is to be held at the Habost Cemetery in Ness, North Lewis, tomorrow afternoon. A funeral service is to be held at the Cross Church of Scotland, followed by burial at the new cemetery. There have been a few deaths too many of young people in recent weeks and months.

This year will see the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War. Between 2nd April and 14th June that year, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The Argentinians lost 649 troops, the UK 255 and the Falklanders themselves 3. The vexed issue of sovereignty has not been resolved - not satisfactorily in the eyes of the Argentinians at any rate.

Wednesday 25 January

2012-01-25T19:08:00.000Z

A very wild day in Stornoway, with plenty of wind and plenty of rain. The Clansman (currently our ferry) took 7 hours to cross from Ullapool to Stornoway, quartering off the coast of Lochs in a force 8 gale for several hours. I don't want to even think about that.

It is Burns Night tonight, but I'm afraid there is no haggis, tatties nor neeps on my dinner plate. It is a chicken korma with rice, heated courtesy the microwave oven and rice boiled in plain tap water. What Robert Burns would have made of the current furore over the independence referendum we shall never know. I salute Robert in spirit, not necessarily with spirits (although I'm known to take a dram on occasion). I reproduce the poem A Man's a Man for a' that

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Tuesday 24 January

2012-01-24T23:35:00.001Z

An overcast day, which led on to rain and later wind. Tomorrow should see another gale, with gusts to 60 mph. Our freight ferry is once again not doing its overnight run on account of the poor forecast.

Tonight, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has delivered a speech on his plans for Scottish independence. I have previously made clear my opposition to Scottish independence, for political as well as economic reasons. I should add that I take particular exception to Mr Salmond's policy of creating divisions between the Scots and the English, playing on past (perceived) injustices, inflicted on the Scots by the English.

His continual references to the battles of Culloden (1746) and Bannockburn (1314) remind me of comparable references being made in Ireland to the battle of the Boyne (1689), and in the former Yugoslavia with regards the battle of Kosovo (1389). We all know what happened as a result of such references in the aforementioned regions. Rather than harping on about the past, Mr Salmond should look to the future.

As far as that is concerned, he reminds me of your average American foreign intervention. The US went into Iraq in 2003 without giving prior consideration to what was to be done once Saddam Hussein was ousted. That was the easy bit, it took less than a month. Establishing a stable successor state took about 8 years, well, the Americans withdrew last year, but Iraq is by no means stable. Alex Salmond has not given proper thought to what it takes to run a country either - other than referring to Scotland's oil. Does he want to join the Euro? Bad idea at the current state of affairs. Does he want to retain the pound sterling? What is the point of becoming independent then, I'd wonder.

For pragmatic reasons, I maintain that Scotland becoming independent is a bad idea. The way the idea is being pursued by Mr Salmond makes it an even worse proposition. My opinion.

Oh, on a final note, before I close this rambling diatribe. Someone suggested that Orkney and Shetland might want to stay in the UK. Well, I think they'd rather join with Norway in that case. And perhaps the Western Isles might want to follow suit.

Monday 23 January

2012-01-23T22:27:00.000Z

Last night, the Northern Lights put up a nice display over Lewis, but further north in Shetland, the display was positively dazzling. I could even see the aurora from my position on the southern edge of Stornoway, i.e. through all the light pollution. Tonight, at 10pm, no aurora is in evidence. I am told that tomorrow and Wednesday night (given clear skies), more aurorae are possible.

More bodies have been recovered from the Costa Classica cruiseliner, which sank off Italy 11 days ago. I remember a visit by the Costa Classica to Stornoway in May 2006, which was timetabled for a Sunday afternoon. That was a poor bit of planning, because anyone in the tourism industry knows that nothing moves in Stornoway on Sunday - shops are closed, visitor centres at attractions around the island are shut as well.

Today's weather in Stornoway was cold but pleasant, with broad sunshine interspersed by occasional showers. These were accompanied by bright rainbows. I'll post images in a later post.

Sunday 22 January

2012-01-22T15:33:00.000Z

A bright and sunny day, but with a cold northwesterly wind. The morning started with a steady procession of showers, but they dissipated after lunchtime. I went for an amble to Goat Island (across the bay from my position), but found the wind quite nippy. The mercury is at 5C / 41F at the moment.

The ferry came back from being stormbound in Ullapool, and returned to the mainland 10 minutes early. After completing the evening run from Ullapool, the MV Isle of Lewis will sail to Birkenhead for its annual refit. The MV Clansman will take over for the next couple of weeks. The latter vessel is slower, so the timetable will be stretched a bit.

A man of 68 did not return to his B&B in Stornoway as planned and has been posted missing by police. A lad of 16 was posted missing in Inverness yesterday, but after a search in the city this morning, his body was found. It strikes a jarring chord in this island after the death through murder of a 16-year old two months ago. Liam Aitchison was buried at Daliburgh at the end of December. The cause of death of Scott Campbell in Inverness is being held as unexplained by police.

Saturday 21 January

2012-01-21T22:30:00.000Z

Tropical cyclone Ethel has passed the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. I am not under the impression that it has caused major problems; the Mauritian news media merely state that the cyclone warning has been lifted, after winds of 80 mph occurred.

Tropical cyclone Funso is starting to move away from Mozambique, although high winds are probably still affecting the area around Quetimane. The storm will intensify to 115 knots, but once away from the Mozambique coast is not posing any further threat to land. Its effects have not yet filtered through to the newsfeeds.

Today was a decidedly cold day, with a westerly gale and occasional wintry showers. The ferry sailed to Ullapool first thing this morning, but has remained stormbound there for the rest of the day. She is expected back here tomorrow afternoon.

Friday 20 January

2012-01-20T18:01:00.000Z

Seventy years ago, leading Nazi figures met at the Wannsee near Berlin to plot the Final Solution to the Jewish problem: mass extermination. As a result, six million people were killed merely because they were Jewish, had Jewish parents or more distant Jewish ancestors. Others who also did not meet the criteria, set out by the Nazis as to what qualified as a proper Aryan person, were sent to a similar fate. One and a half million died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, in present-day Poland, alone, until the camp was liberated by Soviet forces - 67 years ago next Friday. Auschwitz was but one of many camps in Germany and occupied Europe where people were sent to their deaths. The German president has referred to the Wannsee conference as a source of deep shame for Germany.

Today's weather in Stornoway was grey and overcast, with rain moving in during the afternoon. It did not feel really cold (7C / 45F), but that will change. Tomorrow, we can expect severe gales and wintry showers, making for a bitterly cold day.

People in Mauritius are worried about tropical cyclone Ethel, which is bearing down on the island of Rodrigues, 400 miles to its east. Ethel will be a category 1 hurricane as it passes over the island during the next 24 hours, with winds just above the 75 mph threshold. I am not able to access the website of the Mauritian weather service. My own TC blog has so far attracted more than 800 hits today.

Thursday 19 January

2012-01-19T22:38:00.000Z

The day started well, with the postman bringing the package containing my repaired camera. Although I had the use of someone else's camera, there is nothing like your own. The weather today was not very nice, quite cold with frequent heavy and wintry showers. Rain, hail and snow, blown along on a strong wind. Snow is forecast to affect mainland Scotland tomorrow.

The hurricane season has come to life. In the southern hemisphere, that is. Tropical cyclone Ethel is threatening the small Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, a few hundred miles east of Mauritius. It could be a nasty hit, as the storm will be at peak intensity, 90 mph. Further west, tropical cyclone Funso is running down the Mozambique Channel between the island of Madagascar and mainland Africa. This storm will not directly affect land, but in five days' time, it will be at 110 mph. And not yet at peak intensity.
As I reported on Facebook, my Tropical Cyclones blog is suddenly very popular, with 1,000 pageviews just today. I have been keeping the TC blog for five years, and this always happens when a cyclone threatens Mauritius or environs. The largest number that ever visited in one day was more than 3,000 in early 2007, when TC Gamede threatened the French island of La Reunion, west of Mauritius.

Wednesday 18 January

2012-01-18T23:36:00.000Z

Good sunny spells and equally good showers of rain, hail, snow, and kitchen sinks. The Hebrides at their best. Went out for lunch at An Lanntair, and watched the ferry come in - and depart again for its customary early afternoon call. Not much traffic on it, just a lot of lorries. Our freight boat, the Muirneag, is currently off due to high winds. Over at Eoropie, 25 miles to the north, it is blowing a storm, with winds close to hurricane force. That is a slightly distorted picture, as it is a very exposed location. Stornoway Airport reported winds fully at force 7, with speeds to 40 mph. As I type this, 11.30pm, the wind has died down. Tomorrow should bring snow to the mainland, and probably a few flurries up here as well.

There is a debate raging about the referendum on Scottish independence, and I'm heartily sick of it. The current topic of conversation is: who will be eligible to vote. Common sense would dictate all voters on the electoral register for elections to the Scottish Parliament. However, there is a train of thought that says all people who are Scottish born but living elsewhere in the UK should be enfranchised as well. Let's extrapolate this straight into the realms of discrimination and disenfranchise all people in Scotland who were not born in the country.

What put a grim smile on my face today was the news that Donald Trump is seeking to withdraw from the Balmedie golf resort plan. He has built his golf course at Balmedie (6 miles north of Aberdeen), and caused huge upset in Scotland a few years ago as he bullied Aberdeenshire County Council into accepting his outrageous plans, after their planning committee rejected them. I haven't forgotten the vituperation in the Press and Journal newspaper at the time, poured out over the Council who dared to oppose a scheme that would be the salvation of Aberdeenshire, if not Scotland itself. The First Minister, Alex Salmond, did some very odd moves to get the scheme through. And now it might all fall flat on its face. The reason that The Donald has given for his possible withdrawal is the proposed windfarm off the Aberdeenshire coast, which will be within sight of his scheme. Knowing that renewable energy is a keystone of the Scottish Government's policies on the environment and the economy, we can fairly safely assume that The Donald will be withdrawing from The Dunes of Scotland in the next couple of months.

Tuesday 17 January

2012-01-17T22:15:00.000Z

Although the day started in much the same vain as Sunday and Monday, the weather has taken a turn for the worse as I type this. It is blowing a full gale and rain is lashing down on gusts to 50 mph. The weather will turn colder after the passage of the cold front, and there will be snow on the mainland hills.

We had the news that the first windfarm on Lewis will start construction in the spring. The turbines will appear along the Pentland Road, 5 miles west of Stornoway. It will destroy any vestige of wilderness in the area, where I have done a fair bit of walking in 2005. I am very displeased at this prospect, but I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done about it.

I was sad to hear that another five bodies were recovered from the wreck of the Costa Concordia off Italy today. I was disgusted to hear the translated exchanges between the liner's captain and the coastguard, which showed that the captain allegedly values his own hide higher than that of his passengers; which are his responsibility. If found guilty of any charges brought (manslaughter has been mentioned), the master of the ship could face 15 years in jail.

Monday 16 January

2012-01-16T21:44:00.001Z

A fairly bright day, but feeling cold on account of the strength of the wind. The sun put in occasional appearances in between the clouds. The stargazing event, being publicised on the BBC tonight will not lead to many stars being watched in these islands - there is a cover of clouds.

I have completed the transcription of service records of Lewismen in Australian service during the First World War. I have already had positive feedback from the grand nephew of one man, originating from the Carloway area of Lewis. I am in the process of copying the summaries onto the Internet. Although I have not yet tidied up the resulting website, you can have a peep.

After the horse in the house, there was the horse in the bog. The equine in the bog was pulled out in a few hours yesterday. The horse in the house looks there to stay. Personally, I find it completely unacceptable to have a horse in any house. In this particular instance, the horse had pasture in a neighbouring village. However, the horse's owner fell out with the owner of the pasture, leading to the horse being dumped outside its owner's home. She decided to take inside, rather than enlist the offered services of the SSPCA (the Scottish equivalent of the RSPCA) and the local council.

Those reading this post from Holland may remember a song by comedian Andre van Duin in the 70s or 80s about a horse in the hallway.

Sunday 15 January

2012-01-15T21:43:00.000Z

An overcast day, but with a distant promise of brightness - which never reached here. Temperature remains at around 5 to 6 degrees Celsius.

Have finished looking up the service records for the 70 servicemen from this island who served in the WW1 under the Australian banner. Eleven of them lost their lives; two deserted, never to turn up again. Their names will not be revealed by me.

Five people are now known to have died in the grounding and partial sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy. A lot of questions remain to be answered, the first one being: is there anyone left alive or dead in the wreck. The second is: how on earth could this happen? The captain has said that he hit a rock that was not charted properly. At least he went out of his way to beach his vessel in shallow water, to give everybody the best chance of survival under the circumstances.
From my perspective, going on a cruise has become too much like going on a bus. Apparently, nobody was given an emergency briefing upon embarkation - anyone who ever uses a ferry or plane will be bored by those briefings. Anyway, that's for the Italian authorities to sort out.

Saturday 14 January

2012-01-14T22:48:00.000Z

It is three months away from the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, but we had a faint echo of that today. The cruiseliner Costa Concordia hit rocks and overturned off the island of Giglio, Italy, late yesterday evening. The news feeds are full of the disaster, which (so far) has claimed the lives of 3 people, with 40 missing. How could such a modern ship go so badly off course in well charted waters and in such good weather?

The weather here in Lewis was quite reasonable today, mainly overcast and about 7C / 45F. Can't expect much better at this time of year. It'll be much the same tomorrow.

Have looked up more service records for Australian servicemen, originating from this island. I have 15 left to look up, out of a total of about 70.

Friday 13 January

2012-01-13T21:51:00.000Z

Friday the 13th started fairly bright, and before dawn, the moon was certainly bright enough. However, after lunch, the clouds drew in and we were back in the mid-January gloom. It's a bit colder than of late, and we had a frost last night, with the mercury down to -2C / 28F. As I type this, at nearly 10pm, the mercury is at its highest over the past 24 hours, namely 7C / 45F. The rest of the country is beginning to shiver under the first hard frost of the season. The Scottish Borders are down to -4C at the moment. This may not seem much for those of you in the States, who are used to temps to zero Fahrenheit if not below.

I'm continuing my perusal of WW1 service records, and some of them are not a credit to the soldiers involved. There is one, whose name I withhold, who was put on court martial for hitting a serving boy in a beertent over the head with a bottle, after he didn't get served fast enough. The soldier went AWOL for three years and was discharged in full disgrace in 1920. One other just disappeared after he was shipped over to the UK.

Thursday 12 January

2012-01-12T19:19:00.000Z

Quite an acceptable day, after last night's heavy rain and strong winds. We had regular showers, passing over or nearby, creating a typical Hebridean cloudscape. The sun is less than 10 degrees above the horizon at this time of year, meaning it plays an active part in making for colourful tableaux - which change continually. It certainly underlines one of the many aspects that have kept me spellbound here for the past 7 years. Darkness now falls half an hour later than at the solstice, meaning that it is now still a little light at 4.30pm. We're definitely on the way back up to the long days of summer. But the thermometer has taken a tumble: 4C / 39F.

Last night, I posted about the hurricane of January 2005, which claimed the lives of five members of one family, representing three generations. The North End of South Uist has seen two other accidental deaths in recent years. Archie Steele died after apparently being struck by a car on Monday night near the village of Ardmore in South Uist, a mile or so south of the causeway to Benbecula. And Simon Macmillan was found drowned in Loch Bi, a mile or so southwest of Ardmore, after going missing in December 2008. He was a Merchant Navy cadet, who was returning home after a party at Daliburgh. It took weeks for his body to be recovered from the shallow waters of the loch.

Talking of water, there have been frequent problems with the water supplies in these islands. The visitor centre at the Callanish Stones, 18 miles from Stornoway, has had to close repeatedly last summer after the water supply dried up. This week, the residents of villages around Laxdale, just north of Stornoway, were told to boil their water after a broken waterpipe and a broken sewage pipe were found right next to each other in the district. Last autumn, some islanders in North Uist were boiling their water until they saw blue in the face while Scottish Water got a new part delivered and installed at a water treatment works - with a repeat performance this week. The water company is in the process of upgrading its water pipes all over the Western Isles.

Seven years ago today

2012-01-11T23:01:00.000Z

11 January 2005 is one of those days that everybody who was in the Outer Hebrides at the time will not forget. A deep Atlantic depression moved past our islands, bringing with it winds of force 12 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts in excess of 130 mph. At the time, I was staying in Kershader, 12 miles south of Stornoway as the crow flies - more like 22 miles by road. At 6.22pm, the power went off, not to go back on again for 48 hours. The wind was already howling around the building. Blue flashing lights penetrated the darkness from across Loch Erisort - police cars were stopping traffic on the Stornoway to Tarbert road after a lorry driver reported a sheep flying past his windscreen. The driver of the South Lochs bus that night was mightily relieved to make it home in one piece, he told me later. Trees were downed, roofs taken off, vehicles crushed under trees - and hundreds of them toppled in the Castle Grounds in Stornoway. High tides lapped at the doors of people on Cromwell Street and Bayhead in the town. Boats were torn off their moorings and smashed into the ferry terminal. Slates became like missiles, and pedestrians blown off their feet. Some who sought refuge were denied entry; others were taken inside.

The next morning dawned breezy and bright. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief. That was a bad one, but it's only damage. By 9.20 am however, reports start to emerge from the Southern Isles. Five people are missing in South Uist, after they fled their home the previous evening at around 7pm. Rising tides had started to approach their home, and pebbles were hurled against walls and windows. They enter two cars and drive from their home at Eochdar towards the causeway, linking South Uist and Benbecula. A fatal decision. That road parallels the stretch of sea that separates the two islands. The southeasterly storm, combined with a springtide from the northwest pushed the waters of Loch Bi up; but on account of the floodtide they could not drain into the sea. The loch flooded a small causeway, sweeping the cars into the water. By morning, the five missing people are found dead. They include a mother and father with two young children and a grandfather. This article on the BBC News website shows their faces.

This is a repost from an entry I made on 11 January 2010.

Wednesday 11 January

2012-01-11T18:52:00.000Z

The uninspiring weather continues, with more overcast skies and rain. The wind has put in an appearance, and it is currently blowing at 30 mph, that's a full force 7. It should brighten up and get colder over the next few days - but not for very long, if my reading of the weathermaps is correct.

I am not very pleased at the moment, because my camera has developed a fault. I'm sending it off for repairs, and hope to have it back in service soon. Meanwhile, I'll continue to take pictures, using someone else's camera.

I'm still going through Australian service records from the First World War, and sometimes, the soldier's private life crops up in the correspondence. One young lady wrote to the Army to request the correct address for letters to her intended. She had despatched 30 epistles, but none had arrived, and a degree of acrimony had apparently crept in. Some 3 to 4 years later, the service file includes a transcript of a marriage certificate: to a different woman.

Last night, my researches turned up a deeply tragic turn of events in the life of one soldier. He had gone to France in 1916, but was returned home to Australia after contracting pneumonia. Although the man had recovered from his illness, it left him out of breath at the merest exertion. Six months after repatriation, he once more applied for war service - but was rejected. The army records show he had died after discharge, and I wanted to know if his death was directly attributable to his war service, which seemed likely. Not so. When I accessed the death record, with the help of fellow researcher Direcleit, it showed that our man had hanged himself, at the age of 25. We will never know why, because an inquest ruled that no indication of his state of mind had been apparent beforehand. RIP William Arthur Bawden.

Tuesday 10 January

2012-01-10T15:35:00.000Z

A wet and breezy day, half an inch has fallen so far today according to local weather stations. And the rain continues to fall. It appears to be the prequel to a spell of colder weather, with wintry showers above 800 feet later this week.

The road appears to be the place not to be this week.

An elderly man, seen walking along the road in Back (here in Lewis) was found dead only a few minutes later. His demise is thought to have been of natural causes.
What happened to the 49-year old in South Uist, whose corpse was discovered along the main A865 road at Ardmore is not yet known. Just before 10 am, he was discovered along the side of the road a mile or so south of the causeway from Benbecula. As I type this (3.30pm) the road remains closed for police investigations. Northern Constabulary have appealed for information.
Also closed was the C97 road in South Harris at the village of Geocrab. It appears that a crane has toppled over and is blocking the road. Diversions are in place - one look at the map shows it's a pretty lengthy one via the West Side of Harris and Leverburgh.

Independence for Scotland?

2012-01-09T23:14:00.000Z

The debate on independence for Scotland has suddenly come to life. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said any referendum should be held as soon as possible, and only consist of the question: independence, yes or no. The Scottish Government, which is led by the Scottish National Party (favouring full independence) had pledged a referendum for independence by the second half of the current parliamentary session, i.e. by 2014 or 2015. They were also planning to include a third option in the referendum question, namely "Devolution Max", which means full fiscal autonomy, but defence and foreign affairs remaining the prerogative of the Westminster administration. It would appear that a lot of political games will be enacted before any referendum is held, but it would appear to be fully on the cards.

It is my personal opinion that full independence for Scotland is not a good idea, for economical and political reasons. The bank bail-out for the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland some 3 years ago required £50bn; the GDP for Scotland is £137bn. Had the bail-out fallen to the Scottish Government, it would have wrecked the Scottish economy. The British GDP is £2,500 bn. Furthermore, the current debate is highly polarised, placing English vs Scottish. The Czech Republic and Slovakia parted on amicable terms in 1993. If Scotland and England were to split up, I don't think it will be as amicable.

Monday 9 January

2012-01-09T18:33:00.000Z

Awoke to blue skies and sunshine this morning, but through the afternoon cloud thickened and this was followed from sunset onwards by rain. It didn't really feel cold today, so I was tempted to go on an amble around town. I also looked up some more service records for Australian servicemen with roots in the Isle of Lewis.

Lazy Corner

North Beach

Lews Castle

Sunday 8 January

2012-01-08T22:25:00.000Z

The previous post, on the man overboard, was actually post #2000 on this blog. Atlantic Lines has been in existence since October 2008, since AOL kicked its Journal users into the long grass. A successful exercise in self-destruction, which is on-going today. As a blogger, I went onto Blogger. Nothing is perfect, and I continue to find Blogger uninspiring and clunky. It has improved quite a bit, but I'm not exactly enthusiastic. However, it can be worse, so I'm muddling on with what I've got. Wordpress is very user-unfriendly (IMHO), for example.

Sunday was overcast, drizzly and thoroughly uninspiring as well. Roll on Monday.

Man overboard

2012-01-08T13:41:00.000Z

This vessel is one of several French fishing vessels which put into Stornoway for a crew change. They are usually in and out of port in just over an hour. One of them was involved in a recovery operation, 50 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis at 2 am last night, when a man had gone overboard. A search was conducted, and the fisherman was recovered from the sea, but was sadly found to have died. The vessel involved, the Jean Claude Coulon II, proceeded to Stornoway, where she was met by the appropriate authorities.

My sympathies go out to the family and friends of the deceased.

Saturday 7 January

2012-01-07T18:33:00.000Z

A fairly bright day, but with a cold wind blowing. My computer mouse died last night, after more than 3½ years of faithful service, so had to nip out to the computer shop for a replacement. I know several people who are being plagued by the four-footed variety of mouse at the moment, and they'd probably be very happy if their mice just upped and died. In the centre of town, a new shop has been kitted out and is set to open in the next few weeks. It is of the variety where you select an item from a catalogue and then the staff get it from the back. Not inspiring by the least.

I am currently going through service records for Lewismen who served with the Australian forces during the First World War. There were about 60 of them.