Thursday 12 November 2009

Towards the end of the year

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Gearrannan, 11 November 2009"]Gearrannan, 11 November 2009[/caption]

Yes, you read that correctly. It is November 12th, and to me, the year is slowly heading towards its conclusion. Long gone are the light nights and bright days of summer. Only yesterday did I look out to the southwest at ten past four in the afternoon, and did I see the sun? No, it had set a couple of minutes before. The tourists have all headed home, with the exception of the odd customary winter visitor, here to experience the ferocity of the Atlantic winter storms. It has been dark for nearly four hours by the time the ferry comes in, at 8.20pm. If I see it coming in, as the curtains are drawn after nightfall. In summer, it comes in at 12.45 am, and it isn't even fully dark. Not now. When it leaves at 7 am, it is still dark. I walked past the slaughterhouse earlier this week, and caught the smell of beasts, newly discharged into its interior - to emerge onto our dinnerplates at some stage. The lambs that were gambolling on the machairlands in April and May, perhaps? Not a thought worth entertaining for too long. The verdant green, to use that dreadful duplication, has been taken off the moorlands and replaced by the dull browns, yellows and black of winter. Autumn, now firmly in charge, has been thoroughly wet, and any thought of venturing into the moors have to be dispelled. Snow, although not in the forecast, is a growing possibility. As is hail. During my first winter here, five years ago, I grew accustomed to the sound of the wind buffeting the house and hail (or rain) clattering against the windows. So much so, that in fact I could not sleep if there was no wind or hail. But I had a very restful winter in 2004/5. My abiding image of my first winter is that of a flock of sheep, crossing a snow-covered road late at night, seen in the yellow glow of the streetlights - when I was staying in an outlying area. Another memory is that of the hurricane in January 2005 which battered these islands with winds of up to 134 mph, taking five lives with it.

It is now November 2009, and in a few day's time, on the 16th, I will be at the 5th anniversary of my stay in Lewis. Much has changed for me in that time, some of it for better, some of it for worse. In 7 weeks time, the first decade of this century will be over, as we head into 2010. The pace of change in these islands is slower than elsewhere, but change does happen.

6 comments:

  1. A very interesting account of your time in the north, well
    worth sharing.

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  2. May your next five years be as good as your first, AL.

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  3. Permit me to try to improve on Jill's pleasant wishes, viz:

    May your next five years be even better than the first 5!

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  4. Yup, this place certainly leaves it's mark. Being much closer to Nature and constantly reminded by it, leaves one sometimes with a warm glow and other times just aware but never easily dismissed. May all your times to come be full of memory bank material...RJG

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  5. A nice read.

    but have to say it wasnt a hurricane in 2005. you cant get hurricanes in the waters of the uk not warm enough to support devolpment.

    if was a deep area of low pressure

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  6. Richard,
    Thanks for clearing that up - I am well aware of the distinction, and used the word 'hurricane' to give an indication of the strength of the wind. Force 12 is denoted as 'hurricane force' on the Beaufort scale.

    For reference, I monitor hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones (all the same thing) on a daily basis.

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