Lewis Memories - 1

When we bought our first house on Lewis we moved in in February 1976. I had already been here for 3 months. I, and a colleague, had been boarding with Mrs Thompson (or was it Thomson) in Stornoway. Mrs Thompson appeared to know everyone on  Lewis and certainly was an excellent person to tutor my colleague and I in the ways of the Stornoway world that we might otherwise have missed out on. There didn't appear to be anyone nor anything that Mrs Thompson didn't know and we were the beneficiaries of that knowledge in the three months I lived there.

The first, and most important lesson, was that before any food or drink was taken at any time grace was said. Mr Thompson's graces could be very long. It was not unusual, therefore, for our evening supper cup of tea and Scotch pancakes to go cold whilst the grace was said. Mrs Thompson always quietly took our tea away and refilled the cups with a hot brew. However, occasionally, there would be a gap between the supper being laid before us and the grace being said. Occasionally without thinking my colleague or I would take a bite of the pancake. We would then have to sit there for a long time with this morsel in our mouth frightened to chew and unable to swallow. Those were the longest graces. 

If You Lived on Lewis in the '70s

then you had to remember that everyone knew you and your business. As a friend said when we arrived in the '70s "People here know that you have passed wind before you have eaten the beans." Incomers were relatively unusual. It was a very small world.

How things have changed. Now many people don't even know their neighbours because there is a chance that their neighbour has little or no island connection or history.

When I came to the Island the furniture removal van arrived in Stornoway several months later on a Communion Thursday (and that's another story). On the Friday morning they went into Roddy Smiths (a newsagent and more in Stornoway) and asked where 22a Coll was and were astonished when the people immediately knew for whom they were looking.

One day in the early '90s I had to go to London with a female senior colleague who, at the time, had an aversion to both London and hotels. I thought that I would solve the problem by suggesting that we stayed at a London Club of which I had reciprocal membership. The Club had a 'Ladies Wing' which gave ladies privacy and 'security'. I rang the Club to arrange the accommodation. I gave my name and as I was giving my address as 22a Coll the receptionist said  "on the Isle of Lewis?". Having confirmed that it was indeed that Coll the receptionist then continued to tell me that she was from Barvas on the Island. 

I realised (as if I hadn't realised before) just how small the world was if you came from a Hebridean island. I was rather pleased that I'd not been having an affair and had tried to book a double room!

St Moluag's, Eoropie

Last year CJ and I went to Eoropie on Lewis.  We visited St Moluag's, a 13 century church.  It was a magnificent day and we took plenty of photos (nothing new there then).  Dad (and he was by no means alone) always told me that anything leading the eye towards the main subject of a picture should be off-centre.  As a rule I agree.  Rules are, however, there to be broken on occasion.  This, in my view, was one of those occasions.

There's a lot more to this little church but the rest can wait for another day.

A Day Out

One of the lovely things about having visitors is that I go for drives around the Island and recharge my visual batteries.  Yesterday was one of those days with big landscapes and big skies

Across the Barvas Moor from Stornoway to the West Side

The South Lewis and Harris hills from the Pentland Road 

A blog on the Lewis Landscape wouldn't be complete without some sheep 

For Viv

You are an artist.  You would like to return to the Outer Hebrides with your sketch pads and paints and sit on the machair and paint.  Here's a little late summer colour to tempt you:

From the Moor Road from Lower Bayble to Aignish looking out over Broad Bay

The Moor Road from Lower Bayble to Aignish looking out over Broad Bay

That's How It's Done!

Have you ever wondered how the farmers get the plastic sheeting round the hay rolls?  I admit that I've always had a fascination for the 'new' hay bales and have tried numerous photos without producing one which really satisfies me.  So when we left the Morven Gallery on the West side of Lewis a week or so ago and saw this scene I jumped at the chance.  Unfortunately the light was poor but I liked the result nevertheless.  However what really thrilled me (sad person that I am) was that for the first time I saw the machine that actually wrapped the bales in action.

I Couldn't Resist

I have passed this notice for as long as I can remember.  The road leads nowhere I have ever wanted or needed to go and it is, I think, a dead end.  So I cannot recall ever driving down it.  Until a few days ago.  I had to see the Butt View Stores.  Well I drove to the end of the road (about 1.5 miles) to no avail.  On the way back we discovered what probably had been the Butt View Stores and it was exactly 1/2 a mile from the road end.  However there was no store now and no Butt view either.  Some you win and some you lose.

Crowded Beaches

The beaches of Lewis - in this case Uig in the far west - get a bit crowded - sometimes:

Thankful Thursday

This week I've had Viv, a friend from France, staying.  Viv has not been to the Outer Hebrides before so, of course, we've been doing touristy things; that is going to all the touristy places.  However, in addition to having a biologist's interest in flora and fauna, Viv is also an artist.  So to some extent I've been seeing some of the things that I take for granted in a new light.  I've also been wandering off the beaten track and have discovered a few roads and places I didn't know existed and have re-discovered places which I have not visited for over 30 years: places that I went to when I was first exploring the Island but have rarely or not been to since. 

Rather coincidentally Viv had links via acquaintanceship and art to Willie Fulton, a well-known Harris artist and campaigner.  I like his art but have not always sen eye to eye with his views.  Viv decided to call upon him and his wife, Moira.  I tagged along.  Interestingly Willie and I managed to see eye to eye on things upon which I had judged him ill.

The weather, which was wonderfully warm and sunny for a couple of weeks before Viv came, has been rather cold and very showery except for the day we went to Harris when the sun had the majority vote and the rain was banished to the sidelines.  This does not, however, seem to have dimmed Viv's enthusiasm.

So today I am thankful for personal indifference laid to rest and for a re-awakening of my vision of the Island upon which I have lived for coming up to 40 years and which I love so much.

Another Glorious Day

Yesterday ended with a red sun and this morning started with one:
 

Sunrise over Bayble Bay

Well Lewis is having truly splendid weather for the end of April - another day of wall to wall sun.  If the garden hadn't been put into such good shape I'd have spent the day there but as it was I've had a rather decadent and very enjoyable day with morning coffee at Pat and Dave's and an even more decadent afternoon.  A text from Carol up the road suggested I pop up for coffee or, perhaps a sav blanc in the sun.  So for the first time that I can ever recall in the nearly 40 years I have lived on Lewis I sat in the blazing sun on an April afternoon and drank a glass or two of sav passing the time with a friend.  

This evening I decided that, even though you have probably seen the view from my kitchen and study windows a million times and in far better  photos than this, I would show you how the weather looked this evening.

Lots of Sand

It is many years since I went to the far reaches of Uig on the West side of the Island.

When you come to live in a place you explore and acquaint yourself with it.  People come to visit and you show them all that there is to be seen in your new home.  Then after 10, 20 or 30 years you become a local and stop wandering around as much.    And then comes the sudden realisation that you are missing all that beauty and you start the love affair all over again.  

Last year even when CJ was visiting I hardly ventured further than Stornoway 7 miles from home when I was on the Island.  I never even went down to the beach below the house.  To be fair to myself I did spend 8 weeks in Glasgow as well as some additional time away on the mainland.  

This year I’ve had a lot more visitors and have been making a concerted effort to see more of the Island again.  I’m thoroughly enjoying it.  I’d enjoy it even more it the weather would perk up.  The greyness is, however, beginning to get to me and it’s not very conducive to rewarding landscape photography.

Last Thursday it stopped raining for a while.  I took Anna over to Uig to show her some of our splendid beaches.  We were well rewarded.  There are four principal beaches.  This post concentrates on Uig Sands.

       Just look at the crowds!

 

 

 

Contemplation

Wendy deep in thought overlooking Ness Harbour on Lewis

At Garry Sands

Wendy and I went to Garry Beach earlier in the week before I came down to the Wirral.  It was cold, wet and windy.  That didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves and having a good walk although I would have preferred it to have been warm and sunny so that I could have walked barefoot through the sand and sea.  It didn’t stop the photography and Wendy went one step further to ensure that she had just the shots that she wanted:

We met some enthusiastic holidaymakers and their children were searching for crabs and anything else they could find in the pools oblivious to the weather:

And here’s a couple of photos of Garry Beach, North Tolsta in the rain.  This beach is about 7 miles from the house where our children were brought up and they spent many hours playing here.  But that’ll be a blog for another day.

  Furry friends wreaking havoc with the machair

A Lonely Ruin

When Wendy and the children and I were at Callanish last week I took stock and saw things I’d not seen before.  We were there long enough for the sky to have some very different moods:

Across The Island

I went across to the West side of the Island a few days ago to see some friends before I poddle off to the other side of the world.  Sorry, technically I think it should be the other end of the world.  It was a pretty yucky day:

Sea Level Rise

Yesterday Ian did a blog posting on Sea Level Rise.  That, of course set me off wondering about the effect a rise would have on my house.   Not that, you will understand, I have any concerns for the house itself which is way above any current predictions.  However I live on a peninsula and the isthmus separating the Eye Peninsula or Point would be a concern after a very small rise in sea level. The map gives a bit of comfort because at a 1 metre rise the effect is minimal.   In reality the effect would be disastrous because even at current sea levels every time we have a major storm from the south west combined with a high tide the isthmus is closed as the sea comes over the road.  

To keep the map on a par with the maps on Ian's blog this one shows the effect at a 7 metre rise.

A Journey to Gisla

Since I arrived back on the Island in April I have been to the Mainland a couple of times but, on the Island, I have not made many journeys further than Stornoway. I've had the occasional trip with CJ to the West Side and we ventured down to South Lochs and saw Steve. That's been about it. Pretty disgraceful really for someone who lives amongst such beauty. So yesterday I ventured a little further and went to see Carol and Jenny at Gisla in Uig. It was a stunning day (one of many we've had this summer although we tend to forget that every time we get a few bad ones). I had a lovely morning and thought I'd share with you a few of the views on the way over.

Across the moors to Achmore from Stornoway

A hidden gem in the moors

The Harris Hills

Above Achmore and Loch Ganvich (The only Villages in Lewis which are not on the coast).