Friday 9 January

Got up early to get a doctor's appointment. I'm still quite deaf as a result of last week's ear infection, so I nipped down to the surgery to have my ears checked. The doc said it was just some fluid which needed to drain away naturally - which could take several weeks. Oh well. What did you say?

A violent storm struck Scotland last night, with Stornoway seeing gusts of 113 mph, and a sustained windspeed of 79 mph. That is hurricane force. Most of my Hebridean contacts have disappeared from the Internet, phones, electricity and other communications are down. Later in the day, images appeared of considerable damage, with roofs lifted off buildings, trees brought down and windows blown out. Ferries are not running anywhere in the islands, so they're having a bad day.