Trip to the Outer Hebrides - Episode 3

LIGHTHOUSES, BREAKDOWNS and the MISSING BRIEFCASE
Next day, after another huge breakfast, we made for Berneray and the ferry to Leverburgh in Harris. 
A wandering collie gazed at us as we left Lochmaddy.  The Berneray beach is magnificent 
and we had it all to ourselves on yet another glorious day before taking the leisurely 
ferry across the Sound. We were heading for Stornoway and the An Lanntair arts centre. 
An Lanntair is Gaelic for lighthouse.  I have a passing interest in lighthouses since writing 
a song about the last lighthouse keeper in Scotland, who had signed off for duty in Fair Isle in 1998. 
We stopped at a phone box at the turning for Luskintyre beach in Harris to let the Stornoway 
folk know our arrival time.  40 minutes later, Rob, who had been snap happy since arriving in 
the Isles, stopped for yet another photograph.  He looked in the back of our rental van and 
asked me where my briefcase was.  It was gone!  Back we sped to the phone box. No briefcase! 

We drove to Tarbert and stopped at the police station to report the loss.  It was shut.  Amongst other 
things the case had the power adapter for my keyboard.  Without the adapter there would be no 
piano for the gig.  I decided to call An Lanntair to say we'd be late and explained why.  To my 
astonishment they told me my case was coming up to Stornoway on the next bus from Tarbert. 
A passerby had picked up the case, handed it in to the Harris tourist office and  they, seeing 
my name inside, and knowing that Rob and I were in concert that night in An Lanntair, put it on the next bus. 
Rob pronounced me a jammy so and so!  How could I disagree.  Later I told our audience 
in Stornoway the story.  They agreed with Rob.  The next day we had a concert at the Ness Football Social Club 
at the very top of Lewis.  This date had been moved from the local arts centre Taigh Dhonnchaidh, the 
premises being out of action because of flooding.  A football social club was a somewhat unusual venue 
for an act like ours and we wondered how it would go.  Well it was a bar and the punters were there for 
a drink but others listened attentively to our show and we entered the spirit of the occasion and 
had a bit of banter with some of the local characters.  One of the barmaids, Donna Scott, even ended 
up playing bagpipes at the end, accompanied by me and Rob.  Our contact, Hugh MacInnes, showed 
me a copy of their community newspaper, 'Fios' and a fine, entertaining wee publication it is too, full of 
local stories and titbits.  My favourite piece was about a local, nicknamed An Coileach (the cockerel) who 
had found a balloon with a return address tag on it.  It was one of 600 released by a primary school 
in Hamilton.  An Coileach's balloon was the furthest travelled and his reward was £15.  He was there in 
the Ness social club celebrating his good fortune.  In the interval a man came up to me to talk about my lighthouse song. 
His name was John Drummond and he told me he was one of the 2 other lighthouse keepers 
who had stopped work at midnight on the same day as the Fair Isle keeper.