Sunday 07/01/07

Rise late, although it looks like a nice day. Mrs B and myself walk down to Somerfields to put the empty bottles in the bottlebank, but it feels cold in the wind. Showers come through on and off. The Arran ferry is shown on AIS, heading for refit in Aberdeen. A fisherman leaves port. A yacht with brown sails follows later, but returns an hour afterwards. Watch some TV through the afternoon, after which mrs B's son turns up with his family, who require the shower - their bathroom is being refurbished. Supper consisted of lemon chicken with rice.

Saturday 06/01/07

Cloudy start to the day, and it looks like rain after 1pm. Once again I stay in, with mrs B and her son doing the shopping. Supper is served at 7pm for mrs B's brother in law, although he is down with a cold. Meal starts with parma ham and melon, followed by roast leg-of-lamb accompanied by vegetables and potatoes. Sweet closes proceedings. We get quite a few yarns out of our guest. During the evening, it is pouring with rain.

Friday 05/01/07

Heavy rain and strong winds lash the night, but by morning, only sunny intervals remain. Heavy showers roll in by afternoon, leaving some nice cloudscapes. No tropical hurricanes left, now that Clovis and Isobel have dissipated. Don't show my face outside, the weather being not all that inviting. Supper today is fried mince, boiled carrots and mashed potatoes. Watch a number of pretty gruesome forensic science programs on Sky. We are being served by a new tanker, the Border Tartan. The usual tanker, Border Heather, is presumably undergoing repairs after it lost power off Wick over Christmas. I get the name from my AIS website. The freighter Yeoman Bridge is seen scuttling up and down regularly with cargoes of sand and rock from the Glen Sanda quarry near Oban. The crew all fell ill in September 2005 off Stornoway. Six required hospital treatment, 33 were treated on board. The waning moon is out late at night.

Thursday 04/01/07

I'll have to stop making a habit of getting up late, it won't do. News comes through of a coach crash near Heathrow airport last night, in which 2 people die - a lady from a town near Dundee, and a Chinese gentleman. More than 35 passengers are injured, out of the total complement of 69. A 9-year old girl, who has a mental age of 3 months, has undergone an operation to arrest her growth and stop her development. Weather is reasonably bright, with distant showers. Head into town this afternoon to get some lightbulbs. Bulbs do not last long on account of powersurges, and two went in the kitchen recently. I also get the Thursday papers and some food for tonight: Savoy Cabbage Special.

Wednesday 03/01/07

Heavy rain and strong winds occur during the morning, leading to the cancellation of the 10.30 ferry from Ullapool, and consequently also the 13.45 sailing from Stornoway. Many other ferry sailings up and down the west coast are also off. The Lewis windfarm will be delayed by at least 7 years as a result of a series of public inquiries into the transmission lines to Inverness and Stirling. Temperatures today about 11C, a lot higher than of late. Finally manage to split the video in three uploadable segments. I also manage to compile the 100 pictures into a video. Dinner is chili con carne.

Tuesday 02/01/07

Having caught up with some sleep, I keep a very quiet day. It's sunny with some high-level cloud. Not warm, only 5C. Head out for shopping around the 3pm mark, which doesn't take long. It's not busy. My usual daily rag, the Press & Journal, has not come on the plane this morning. The only papers within sight are the Glasgow Herald and the Guardian. A nearly full moon rises over the trees opposite the filling station. A French couple knock on the door, looking for a bed, which mrs B has not got to spare. Supper was a cold buffet, using up what was not used over the weekend. Another late night ceilidh, liberally sprinkled with wine, followed until 2.40 a.m.. And try to order a cab after 2 in the morning.

Monday 01/01/07

The year 2007 is brought in with ships' horns blowing in the harbour and the odd pop of firework. We wish each other a happy new year with a glass of champagne. The nations of Romania and Bulgaria join the EU today. Mrs B's son calls in with his kids & wife, and later on we toddle off down the road to visit mrs B's brother-in-law. On return, at 1.30, one of our guests has come down and joins in the celebrations. These carry on until about 5 am, with myself off to bed by 6, the guest at 7.45 and mrs B's son, currently here on holiday, at 11.20. Everybody is present and more or less correct by 2.30pm. The weather outside is showery with occasional hail - it's quite cold, only 4C. Great cloudscapes though. Supper is roast chicken with potatoes and sprouts. BBC4 has a meagre documentary about the Archers, the radio soap I have listened to for nearly 25 years now.