I should have written this yesterday!

It’s funny where life takes  you,  If you’d told me 30 years ago when I was foreman at a Ford dealer in Manchester that I’d still be tinkering with Land Rovers in 2009 I would of thought  “well of course I will”. They’re a bit like smoking, bad for the wallet, bad for your health and hard to give up! If you’d told me that I’d be living in the middle of nowhere having spent many years clam diving, fishing and keeping pigs then I would have raised an eyebrow and thought “sounds interesting”. If however you mentioned that I’d be towing a caravan on holiday and watching football matches I would have loudly screamed NEVER.

Ive always been middle aged and I’ve always hated team sports and football in particular, quite simply I just don’t get it, well not the whole which team do you support thing. You know, like you support your towns team and none of it’s players are from your country let alone your town. The club is just some huge corporation that rips people off by pressurizing parents into buying a very expensive ‘latest strip’ every other month and generates an almost fanatical semi religious fervor in some people. I’m sorry but I just don’t get it!

So how is it that now I find myself driving around Skye every other week not only watching the ‘beautiful game’ but getting caught up in all the excitement? OK the team that I’m rooting for is Raasay primary and my boy’s in it but still it is about as big a shift in policy as Gerry Adams sitting next to Ian Paisley or the US actually speaking to Iran.

The first win

Yesterday it was off to Kyleakin where our team were playing 3 matches of 9 minutes in the Skye league thing. I think these matches are just to gain points to get positions in the proper league which starts next season but I could be wrong because whilst I have found at least some enthusiasm for footie the workings of it all are still way over my head.  Anyway they were playing teams who’s players were drawn from much larger schools and catchment areas so it was going to be tough, especially as the star striker, Ryan Maclennan was away on holiday so they did not even have a sub!

Unlike the rest of the team and parents we set off on the 8:55 ferry so we could get our shopping first and so I could go and have a look round Kyleakin harbour as I wanted to see for myself the MV Johan, the 62 year old ‘Fifie’ that had recently returned to Skye.

Johan

A few people I know and have known served on this when she was ‘ring netting’ for herring in the 50s and 60s and I’ve heard many a tale of their exploits in and around the Minch so it was good to get a close look at her.

Eilidh

What must be the best kept boat on the west coast was alongside, the Eilidh sporting a new shelter deck since I last saw her, mind you that was about 10 years ago so I don’t even know if it’s the same owner that has her these days.

Rusting nicely!

The tug Vangaurd was still languishing alongside the ‘dolphins’ for the old Skye ferry 5 years after striking a well charted rock off Rona http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3636650.stm Apparently Highland Regional Council have earmarked £10, 000 for its disposal, me I’d just sink it round the corner as an extra attraction for http://www.seaprobeatlantis.com/ that operates out of Kyle but that would be far too sensible!

One nil, nil one and one all

Sorry but it’s 7:30 am now on Sunday, the sun is blazing through the window and I must go and feed the herd

Back again at 9:45 having fed everyone and seperated the three ‘little piggies’ that are going to market tomorrow, I say market what I really mean is the chop as we’ll be taking them to Dingwall and the abattoir Still they’ve had a good and much longer life than your Tesco pig and they will be available next week in http://www.lochalshbutchers.com/ shops in Kyle, Broadford, Malaig and Portree, well bits of them will Well they will if I get the new front drive shafts fitted to the Land Rover in time, regular followers may remember that last Sunday I lost drive on the front axle and have been driving around with the centre diff locked ever since. After feeding the pigs I removed then to find the right hand one snapped

sorry I must finish my omelette and get back on the case

23:30

Now I’m really, really sorry that I’ve not yet given you the ‘low down’ on the footie or the rest of the day yet but it’s been a long, hot and very productive day involving pigs, Land Rovers, boats and a dinner with friends. So I’ll just leave you the day in pictures as it’s an early start tomorrow to take these beauties to Dingwall

After watching the piggies have a bath I got stuck into replacing the snapped right hand front drive shaft on the Old girl

After which we all went out and set the lobster pots for the first time this year, followed by the final coat of paint on the caravan roof, a shower then out to our neighbours for a most excellent dinner and now I’m off to bed