Three days ago in my secure, well-lit, well-heated and
SuperHub-served Glasgow home, I watched by Twitter and Facebook and
BBC-streamed videos the ferocious seas at the Braighe and at Port of Ness, both
in the Hebridean Island of Lewis
It took me back to 31 January 1953 when I was but five years
old and lived in Ness. Overnight the house resonated to the sounds of the 100
mph wind. The -recently installed- electricity supply to the area failed; and
my parents had to retrieve and reuse oil lamps. A few miles away a cargo ship
the Clan Macquarrie came ashore at Borve and 66 crew ( and ship’s cat) were
saved by "the largest 'breeches buoy' rescue in history.
As we found out later in the day from our (battery-powered)
radio , overnight in the Irish Sea the passenger ferry Princess Victoria en
route from Stranraer to Larne had her stern doors overwhelmed by the ferocity
of the following seas; and 133 people were lost.
It was not a night that was easily forgotten.
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