Holocaust Memorial Day - 2021

 
Today it is 76 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.

Holocaust Memorial Day remembers all victims of genocide.

We must never forget.

January 2005 storm - In Memoriam

 On Tuesday 11 January 2005, we were about to experience the worst storms in 50 years. At 3pm, exactly as forecast, the wind whipped up to hurricane force. Powerlines went down all over the island, leaving people without electricity for anything between a few hours and up to 6 days. Property damage was widespread and severe.

Staying in South Lochs at the time, I lost power at 6.20 that evening, not to get it back for 48 hours. From the darkness, I could see blue flashing lights across Loch Erisort. Later, it became clear that this was the police, closing the A859 Stornoway to Tarbert road. A lorry driver had reported as sheep flying past his windscreen. The driver on the last bus into South Lochs had a terrifying time keeping his vehicle on the straight and narrow.

By 6pm, people in Stornoway were physically blown off their feet. Some sustained injuries as a result. Trees in the Castle Grounds were falling like match sticks, boats were ripped off their moorings and tossed onto the harbour wall at the Newton Basin. Flooding affected the town centre.
Down in the Southern Isles, a family of five found their home in Iochdar, South Uist, being pounded by pebbles and flying spray from the nearby sea. A flurry of phonecalls arranged a move across the causeway into Benbecula. Two cars would carry the grandfather, two parents and two young children across the few miles.

Dawn broke at 9 o’clock. The islanders, from Barra to Lewis, were mentioning that it had been a particularly nasty one, and people were comparing notes what damage everyone had sustained. A phonecall disturbed the sense of relief. People were reported missing in South Uist. A search party started combing the South Ford, which separates Benbecula from South Uist. The bodies of five people were found in the course of the next few days. They were those of a grandfather, two parents and their young children.

The funeral service, a few days later, was attended by 1,500 people, one out of every three islanders in the Southern Isles. Only 500 could actually enter the church, the rest followed the service outside, as it was relayed through loudspeakers.

Total damage was estimated to be worth £15 million, including severe storm damage to the causeway system stretching from Berneray to Eriskay. Repairs are only now being carried out.

This post is dedicated to the memory of those lost in the Iochdar tragedy.

Violence on Capitol Hill

I am profoundly perturbed by the scenes in DC last night. I am distressed at the death of demonstrators at Capitol Hill, irrespective of what they were doing there. Donald Trump is responsible for all of that and has disgraced the office of US President. It doesn't matter that he is Republican and that Biden's a Democrat. Incitement to civic unrest and violence, to violating the democratic institutions of his own country would lead to arrest of anybody else. He has done the USA a terrible service, and has defiled his own positive achievements over the past 4 years.

New Year's Eve 2020

Picture taken at 4.30pm, as the last light of 2020 fades into the southwestern horizon. A difficult year, currently grinding through its final hours. I am NOT expecting 2021 to be miraculously so much better as the clock turns past midnight. Many excruciating weeks still lie ahead for all of us, and judging by recent performance, worse than expected. Sorry to be going out on such a gloomy note.

Christmas Eve 2020

Christmas Eve 2020. Darkness has fallen, the sun set here 75 minutes ago. It was feeling cold here, with the mercury only a little above freezing. The supermarket was busy, but people were calm and focused on gathering their goods for the days ahead. Church services will be held on-line, as we can't gather as of old. 

My memory of Christmas Eve past is that of church bells tolling across the night air, ringing through frost and mist. 

Lockdowns and the restrictions necessitated through the on-going pandemic will not detract from the message of joy and hope that Christmas stands for. 

Tonight, I shall remember absent friends, to reinforce the joy and hope of Christmas past - in order to look forward to Christmas to come. The hope that, although we may need to be apart for now, one day we'll be back together again and no-one will be missing. 

Merry Christmas from Stornoway.

Mission Statement - Lewis

So what do I like about being in Stornoway. I am interested in the weather, so never a dull moment. Not even on a dull day like we just had. It's a fascinating wee place, with a lovely park area (called the Castle Grounds) for good long walks. Its history is very interesting, and you don't need to look far to find it. I have come to know some great people here, and hope to expand my scope in that respect in the very near future. I don't mind that everybody knows everybody else AND their business; it is, on the whole, a positive aspect. Life in the island is closer to nature than on the mainland, and Mother Nature throws some very bad tantrums at times. You don't moan about no stock in the shops if you're nearly blown off your feet approaching its doors. I feel that the island culture is unique and strong and am acknowledging its Gaelic roots by trying to learn the language. Tha beagan Gaelic agam, ach tha mi ag ionnsachadh. Duolingo has taught me that much. We've come off relatively lightly (thus far, touch wood) with the pandemic, but a lot of tides will have to come and go before it's all over and we can return to something approaching normality. I have loved this island from the moment I arrived here in November 2004. I hope to be able to spend more time here. 

 

Mission Statement

In the past, I used to write a Mission Statement. So, I've revamped the 2007 one, and here goes:

My blogging has been going for over 16 years, but appears to have shifted onto Facebook.

I commenced blogging in my first journal, Northern Trip, in October 2004, two months after starting my travels around Northern and Western Scotland. In November of that year, I settled in the Isle of Lewis. Things have been on the change since then.

At first, I did a lot of walking in the islands, in all sorts of weather. Later on, I began to get more involved in the local scene, although I am afraid that this has now deteriorated more into an observer's role.

I observe the weather, watch shipping coming and going and go walkabout around Stornoway. This is the capital of the Western Isles, pop 9,000; the islands themselves have 25,000 people. Occasionally, I'll go further afield within Lewis and Harris.

I rely heavily on Internet websites for my information, although local and national radio and TV play their part as well.

I take ridiculous numbers of photographs. Since I acquired a digital camera in 2006, I have taken in nearly 90,000 pictures. They are shown here.

Isles FM is the local radio station. Manned by volunteers, they mean well but their rate of trip-ups is high. To quote one presenter: "I need electrocution lessons".

Ferries: The Loch Seaforth is the main passenger ferry. She sails daily (except Sundays) for Ullapool at 7 am and 2pm, arriving back from there at 1pm and 8pm, later on Saturdays and Sundays. The weather tends to wreak havoc with those schedules. The ferry takes freight in her nighttime crossings, leaving here at 10.30pm and returning at 5 am. I stay on the waterfront, so I see everything that comes and goes.

I have been involved in historical projects, both relating to World War One. At that time, about 6,000 islanders went out to fight for King and country. 1,000 did not return, having fallen on the field of battle or perished at sea. They are remembered in my site Faces from the War Memorial.

An additional two hundred drowned on their return from the war. They were on board HMY Iolaire, which was wrecked 2 miles south of Stornoway. Only 75 others survived. I occasionally refer to this tragedy, read more on my Iolaire page.

About 100 islanders were interned at Groningen, Holland, for the duration of World War One, after retreating into Holland following battle at Antwerp in October 1914. They were allowed home for the harvest each year, provided they returned to Holland afterwards. Which they did, to a man. That was at a time when a man's word still stood.

Some general questions and answers:

Do I work? No.
Am I going to find a job here? Maybe.
Do I have a family? No. My relatives live outwith the island.
How long am I going to be here? Dunno.

What is my blogging remit?

To relay to readers news items I think are of interest. Not just from Lewis, but from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is an emphasis on matters maritime, bearing in mind my position in a small port.

Northern Trip had as its motto:
"A view of the world from a small island
A view of the island for the world"

I take a special interest in the weather, and try to relay hurricane warnings where possible. I have also taken on a role as general blogger, commenting on everything I see fit to comment on. Or not.

Since 2006, I have become involved in a community of bloggers on AOL, and try to adopt a social role, pointing out those in J-land who could do with extra attention for various reasons. If any new blogs come to my attention, I sometimes give them a mention as well.

Any questions? Send me mail, and I'll try to answer.


On a personal level, I take the following line. I have a simple motto in life, which is live and let live. People can do what they like, as long as they don't inconvenience, trouble or otherwise make life difficult for others.

Another motto is that I take people as they come. We all have our crosses to bear, and it's nobody's business what brought those on our backs. We all make decisions and choices, in good faith at the time. Whether it all turns belly-up in the long run, well such is life. But life can also take its own course, totally outwith anybody's control.

I passionately HATE judgmentalism, pigeon-holing and intolerance.

You are you.
I am I.

I cannot stand by and let somebody run themselves into the ground. Aye, we all got our own little faults, good god, I've got more than I care to think about.

If somebody doesn't like me - I cannot be bovvered. Life's too short.