melting tar
Posted: Monday, 28 July 2008 |
We have just had two very hot days and the road has really suffered. The council is in a bit of a fix, the normal way of dealing with soft tar is to spread some gravel on top, but this causes problems for cyclists, who find gravel and corners don't go together very well.
I was going to put a pic in here, but it isn't working, so I'll stick with words.
I was sorry to miss Barney from Swithiod, but by the time I'd finished working they had gone. I didn't think Swithiod was Scandinavian either, if I'd been certain it was you Barney, I would have sneaked out of the kitchen to say Hi anyway.
Meanwhile the Garden Party was a great success with lots of Katie Morag characters and four very fine barrels of beer; Wayfarer and Coll's favourite, Latitude from Atlas, Kinlochleven, and two from Islay, Angus Og and Black Rock. We will be asking the Islay beers to make a return visit, they were very good, but Atlas is probably Coll's favourite brewery. The beer ran out at 11.30 so I made the foolish mistake of having a wee dram instead to finish. The next morning I was reminded that following beer with whisky is not recommended.
Lots of fish were caught at the Village fishing competition on its re-arranged night, and what a lovely night to pick. I think there were 19 boats, including a memorable 'Mairi Celeste' (and I have a pic of this too somewhere). The Ceilidh was great, accompanied by two barrels from Loch Fyne, fortunately not Avalanche which is far too drinkable considering its alcohol content.
The golf competitions have moved to Galanach, which has given the 'I only play 3 rounds a year' players more of a chance against the experts at the Cliad course. The sailing club is meeting three times a week (weather permitting) and even a non sailor like me can see the local kids are getting much more profficient (when they stop deliberately capsizing) and there are lots of holiday makers taking out day memberships too. White Lightning made it to the final of the beach football but went down 3-1 to the organiser's team. It was interesting watching them present themselves with the medals and trophy.
Still to come: The East End fishing, The Show, and the Half Marathon and other shorter runs, and also I need to cut the grass (again).
I wonder if this has worked. This should be a bit of tar-damaged road.
Medal presenting
The winning keeper bravely defends his goal
The Mairi Celeste
I was going to put a pic in here, but it isn't working, so I'll stick with words.
I was sorry to miss Barney from Swithiod, but by the time I'd finished working they had gone. I didn't think Swithiod was Scandinavian either, if I'd been certain it was you Barney, I would have sneaked out of the kitchen to say Hi anyway.
Meanwhile the Garden Party was a great success with lots of Katie Morag characters and four very fine barrels of beer; Wayfarer and Coll's favourite, Latitude from Atlas, Kinlochleven, and two from Islay, Angus Og and Black Rock. We will be asking the Islay beers to make a return visit, they were very good, but Atlas is probably Coll's favourite brewery. The beer ran out at 11.30 so I made the foolish mistake of having a wee dram instead to finish. The next morning I was reminded that following beer with whisky is not recommended.
Lots of fish were caught at the Village fishing competition on its re-arranged night, and what a lovely night to pick. I think there were 19 boats, including a memorable 'Mairi Celeste' (and I have a pic of this too somewhere). The Ceilidh was great, accompanied by two barrels from Loch Fyne, fortunately not Avalanche which is far too drinkable considering its alcohol content.
The golf competitions have moved to Galanach, which has given the 'I only play 3 rounds a year' players more of a chance against the experts at the Cliad course. The sailing club is meeting three times a week (weather permitting) and even a non sailor like me can see the local kids are getting much more profficient (when they stop deliberately capsizing) and there are lots of holiday makers taking out day memberships too. White Lightning made it to the final of the beach football but went down 3-1 to the organiser's team. It was interesting watching them present themselves with the medals and trophy.
Still to come: The East End fishing, The Show, and the Half Marathon and other shorter runs, and also I need to cut the grass (again).
I wonder if this has worked. This should be a bit of tar-damaged road.
Medal presenting
The winning keeper bravely defends his goal
The Mairi Celeste
Comments
NIce action shots: prelude to the Olympics season, I suppose. The melting tar: I assume the other nearby islands have the same problem?
mjc from IN,USA
Our tar is much better quality...either that or our sun is less hot...
Flying Cat from an admiring glance
had a chuckle at your beach pictures,glasgow recently hosted beach volleyball in a car park at the secc(couple of lorry loads of sand an hey presto abeach),have now got my olympic event to watch -womens beach volleyball,if weight lifting is losing its appeal give it a try.As to the roads hope the runway is made of better stuff or the airplanes will be stopping rather quickly
jmp from our tar doesnt melt
The Mairi Celeste looks quite inviting Nic It's a shame you missed Barney.
Carol from IBHQ
A great turnout for the beach soccer, 7 teams plus many both enthusiastic and vocal home and traveling supporters. I'm very pleased to report no crowd trouble aside from a pitch invasion...... The culprit sported a long black shaggy coat, pointy ears and wet nose. After taunting the stewards with a lap of the stadium, he proceeded to tease the winning teams' 'keeper with an arrogant display of tail wagging. Half time entertainment was provided by a wee boat arriving on the beach (it beats a helicopter on the centre circle), and trying to locate children in the eerie mist that kept sweeping in. A special mention should go to the excellent referee whose performance would put many an SPL ref to shame. He quickly earned the respect of both players and fans with his strict but fair approach. Many thanks to all (you know who you are) who made a great day possible. There is a strong rumour that the winning teams's star striker has been scouted by Shalke 04, however because he would appear to have played at an under 16 level whilst actually over 16 this could complicate contract negotiations, I understand FIFA are trying to sort this out with the players newly found agent and that OK magazine are awaiting developments. A huge thanks to C.K. , D.M. , all others and the Coll Association for a most memorable day. MJC the tar melting is due to the Airstrip machinery damaging the original road. Because all the plant destroyed the road, a new road was laid ( out west ) but because the Airstrip was so over budget the tar was "diluted" (or stretched) to save money. So, every time the temperature gets near 20 degrees the road to the Airstrip melts. Except today of course, it has been raining for three days and so the road is flooded. I'm sure full road tax is still payable. Oh and we now officially have the highest fuel prices in the UK, and possibly Europe. Still worth it though. Great Blog Nic shame about you not meeting Barney, I understand he is a more rugged ringer for Sean, (and he's developed a fondness of Bruichladdich) perhaps next year.
Enjoying the view. from Through the wind and the rain
It seems to me just about everybody missed Barney. And yet, from the photos, he looks a big enough target not to...
Flying Cat from padded salopettes
Hey, who's got pics of Barney?
Nic from Coll
An otter...
Flying Cat from spraint what you do its the way that you do it
Hidden under the mattress (or should it be "pillows"?), most probably.
mjc from IN, USA
Nic, WE were sorry to miss YOU (I did ask but my Scandinavian accent must have casued a misunderstanding), and also to miss your famous burgers. Well, if I don't get the yacht sold, we shall be back next year! And if she does sell, we may be back on a charter yacht instead. How the weather on Coll could get hot enought to melt tar after the drizzling misery of our trip is a mystery to me. Maybe we just had a very local low pressure system following us. But Squidgy managed to lay on a bit of sunshine during the morning of our day on Coll - good work, S!
Barney from Swithiod, no nonsense please!
Oh me, oh my, the Sapm Fritter is really into things ... several incredibly savvy responses posted last night have been destructed ... one got through, somewhere.... anyway, thanks for all the interest in the sailing trip shown by IBs and commentators .. Nic, we were sorry to miss you, I did ask at the bar but they must have misunderstood my reason for asking and decided to protect your honour.... or sumpthin. This year, next year, sometime, sometime.
Barney from Swithiod in the sun
are there any pics off Karlijn and Peter. Been some years since i saw them . lost their e-mailadres. i live in scotland now, left holland . forever
eddy de jonge from greenock
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