Picture of the Day

Dead calm. Drizzle. In the background, the Mull Regatta lies becalmed while, in the foreground, competitors in today's West Ardnamurchan Regatta event head for home.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is much better.

Our District Nurses

From Jon Haylett

I don't know how many of you, staying on West Ardnmaurchan, have been taken ill during the night, ill enough to be frightened, and had one of these two lovely ladies attend, treat, and give help and support. I have, and I've blessed them for arriving so quickly.

Jessie Colquhoun and Carolyn Ellis live and work in this remote community. They are on-call for medical emergencies 24/7, whatever the time, whatever the weather. They know us, they know our weaknesses. They have given years of dedicated service for which we bless them.

That is to stop in February when Jessie retires. If the NHS has its way, in future, if you're taken seriously ill at night, no-one will come to your aid, not until the Strontian ambulance makes its way down the peninsula, taking 50 minutes minimum, or one of our two GPs arrive, and their timescale depends on where they are and whether they're available.

West Ardnamurchan Community Council has fought a campaign to preserve out District Nurse service. WACC believes it is the cheapest and most efficient way of providing the sort of quality emergency medical service everyone in Scotland expects. Other communities have their District Nurses - the island of Raasay is an example - or their own GPs - Eigg, Lochaline.

On Monday WACC meets with the NHS - in the form of its two branches, NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service - to discover what they plan for us. A public meeting follows at 8pm in the Community Centre. The BBC, the Press & Journal and other news media will be there - it's an open meeting. Whether you're a resident or a visitor, please come and help to decide how the community is to react to the NHS proposals.

The Kilchoan Cycling Circuit - 2

Following Melissa and Kenny's recent report for The Diary, here, on the wonderful circuit available to cyclists from Kilchoan that takes in the Ardnamurchan peninsula, Morvern and Mull, The Diary's daughter and son-in-law did the same course yesterday, but the other way round.

They caught the ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory. The first picture shows the run from Tobermory to Fishnish....

....and this shows the crossing from Fishnish to Lochaline, where they enjoyed a high-quality meal at the Catch-A-Snack stall by the terminal. There a 'barge roll' was served with black pudding, bacon and tomato, fresh-cooked cooked on a griddle, all served with proper highland cheer.

On then to one of the worst sections, the long hill up from Localine over Morvern - though the hill up from Tobermory was, perhaps, shorter but more challenging.

And this picture shows the last stage, the road from Salen to Kilchoan, where it passes Loch Mudle. The circuit of 69.5 cycling miles took just over seven hours, including ferry crossings and pit-stops.

Picture of the Day

A young cuckoo sits on a fence post near Achnaha,

waiting to be fed.

A Day at the Sanna Beach

Today dawned sunny, still and warm, so we set out with the grandchildren to spend it at one of our favourite Ardnamurchan beaches, a small bay to the north of Sanna near Sanna Point.

Fortunately, we were in no great hurry, as a small herd of Kilchoan Highlanders had decided that they, too, wanted to spend the day at the beach.

When we finally reached our destination the tide had just passed high water so, as it slipped out, we were presented with pristine sands. The children spent most of their time damming a stream which crosses the beach while the adults lazed in bright sunshine and looked out across the view - Muck, Rhum and Canna lying across a sea of Caribbean blue....,

....an impression heightened when a proper pirate ship sailed by.