Rumours

The first month of the year always seems to be best for sightings of sea eagles. This one was seen flying into Kilchoan Bay on Tuesday, his white rump quite clearly visible. That we see so many more than we used to isn't surprising. Recent reports from Mull state that the island now has about twenty breeding pairs, which managed to produce ten fledglings last year. We look forward to the day the first sea eagles nest on Ardnamurchan.

This is also a good time of year for rumours. We took over the village shop in January 1996, and one of the first questions we had to field was when the manager from Oban was arriving to run it for us. We have no idea where the story originated: we knew no-one in Oban other than our accountant, and we never had any intention of appointing a manager.

So it is no surprise that a rumour has been abroad that Cliff and Debbie Isherwood are giving up the Kilchoan House Hotel - except that this one appears to be true: they are leaving the business at the end of February. Rumour has it that the hotel has been sold to someone from 'down south', that Alan Mews will be returning to run it until the new owner takes over, and that Cliff is to become manager of The Ferry Stores.

A new Ice Age has arrived to follow Monday's Global warming. We're back to a miserable southeaster which gusted overnight to 55 kph, rattling the slates on the roof. It brought a thin, sleety rain to cheer us this morning so, in disgust, we went to the rainfall capital of the UK, Fort William, for the day. When our daughter boarded at the High School in Fort William she took Higher Geography, and used to chide us when we complained at Fort William's perpetual rain: Glenfinnan, apparently, is even wetter.