It’s been kind of a ‘none day’ on the ‘exciting things to blog about’ front, so instead of making something up, like I usually do, I’ll just trawl through the archives. The advantages of living ‘out in the sticks’ far outweigh the downside, at least in my book and simple things like a visit to the dentist or MOT can really mess up your day. Luckily this particular day that I’d booked wifey’s car in for the MOT was fit for little else, at least it was after 11:30 when I left home to catch Hallaig to Sconser.
The carpy forecast dished out by XCWeather yesterday didn’t actually ‘come to pass’ at Arnish until midday, prior to that it had actually been a nice day here. Unable to sleep I arose at 5:30 and went over to the new house to close all the windows that I’d left open to air out the place. It was pretty wild right enough and even with 2kw of convector heater plugged in and 1kw of oil filled radiator switched on the ‘dump loads’ were still operating. Still, it was dry and uncannily mild for the time of year.
After the ‘school run’ at 7:00, feeding the herd and flock at 8:30 I retired to the laptop, phone and filing cabinets for a few hours of paperwork with darling wife. Most of said paperwork I would regard as pointless and an excuse for solicitors and banks to shaft me yet again for the privileged of lining their pockets for the next thirteen years. You steel a pair of knickers from Marks & Spencer and end up with a criminal record, mortgage providers, banks and solicitors screw you for life and they’re respected professions The world has gone mad, why do we put up with this 5h1t, the whole world as we know it almost went into financial meltdown because of these clowns yet we still let them screw us spectacularly at every opportunity.
Anyway, I left 3 South Arnish bone dry and landed at the ferry terminal 40 minutes later in the pishing rain that would continue to fall for the rest of the day. Even now at 21:30 the stuff if battering the house like hailstones on speed
A manic rush around Portree for shopping, bank, accountant and feed followed by a trip to ‘Micky’s’ http://www.smorrison.co.uk/
for the MOT left me soaked and frazzled. Fortunately the wee Almera passed but please don’t ask me why S. Morrison’s is called ‘Micky’s’, it always has done and always will be As the MOT appointment was at 15:00 we, I say we because by now I’d acquired my son, we had missed the 16:15 ferry. Consequently a visit to the Caley cafe http://www.caledoniancafe.co.uk/ was needed to top up with chips
They do excellent and hearty portions of good fare here but the boy and I just wanted a tray of chips to take out, for which the also oblige (and I’m still stuffed five hours later).
Home at last
We didn’t get home until after 19:00, by which time wifey had moved all the weaners into the barn ready for tomorrow and done all the chores. Having not really done anything worth writing about I thought I’d look back on the last day of January in years gone by.
On this day twelve months ago I was down at South Shields nautical college doing an electrical course in weather that alternated between snow and sunshine.
A year earlier I was working on the Loch Striven whilst the first steel was being cut at Ferguson’s for the Hallaig.
In 2011 it was 200,000 miles and a broken speedo on the ‘Old Girl’
,
and three years later I’m just at 221,000 miles, mainly because I’ve been doing pointless training
2010’s image brought a tear to my eye, for this is Rocky at ten weeks old being very protective of Jamie Lea’s two week old piglets. You can already see his powerful shoulders starting to develop. We bought him to replace Ginger, though at this point Ginger was still alive and Rocky had adopted Jamie Lea as his mum.
Twelve months later he was humping her through the fence right enough, but that’s pigs for you
And for those with short memories here’s the MV Loch Striven unsuccessfully trying to berth at the old Suisnish slip in January 2009. A day that was far less windy than the last time Hallaig failed to berth at Clachan.