The diary of our stay on Fladda 2003
Due to weather, time and availability of internet access we have been unable to update this as much as we would have liked but it does get done eventually!
Thursday 23rd October Started power washing some of the walls near the rain water tanks as we had no other water supply till the pump arrives. Got a phone call from the Postman to say our 2nd parcel had arrived so got in the boat to collect that. Everything is finally working. It has taken two weeks to get things sorted but we have managed to start cleaning the walls. It's all looking a bit untidy though as flakes of paint are covering the grass and slates and the wall are looking even more un-white. They will hopefully be repainted in a couple of days though.
Wednesday 22nd October Phoned the shop on Luing to see if a parcel had been delivered for us (our hose pipes and water pump). It had, so we phoned and booked the power washer in Oban and set off to collect our parcel. Only the hoses were there, the pump was in a separate box that hadn't arrived yet. Decided to still collect power washer.
Tuesday 21st October Had to walk across Luing to get to the car. Then into Oban for food shop and to buy some Snow Crete which we will be painting the walls with. Bought a large garden water butt for use with the power washer.
Monday 20th October Phone Oban tool hire shop to see what power washers they had. Also ordered a petrol driven water pump to purchase elsewhere as the hire place didn't have a suitable one.
Sunday 19th October Decided to visit the McCaigs Tower in Oban passing the time till 11am so we could visit the tool hire shop in case they happened to be open. They weren't. Then went to Easdale Island where we walked around all the old quarries and buildings. Went to the pub there for a meal but they stopped serving a few weeks ago at the end of 'tourist season'. So drank beer and went hungry. People wandered in with musical instruments and started playing. Shame we had to leave so early but Grahams parents had to leave around 3pm to catch their flight from Glasgow. We headed back to Fladda but forgot the car ferry to Luing doesn't run on a Sunday, but luckily some nice man offered us a lift once we got the passenger ferry across.
Saturday 18th October Went to Oban, it was quite busy as it was the 100th MOD celebrations. Met Grahams parents at the ferry Oban terminal as we planned to go over to Mull. Once there we took a coach to Tobermory (setting for the kids tv program 'Balamory'). There was a celebration going on here too, they were naming a new lifeboat. Had a couple of drinks in a pub before catching coach and ferry back to Oban. Had a pub meal although it was very hard to find somewhere serving food that had space! Had also turned very cold. Back to B&B where we stay with parents.
Friday 17th October Went to pick up Grahams parents from the ferry at Cuan around noon and brought them back to Fladda. Gave them the tour inside and out. Then went over to Belnahua for a walk around. It had got a bit wavy by the time we left Belnahua so we did a bit of a long detour (about twice the distance) to avoid the waves! Hung around for sunset then rushed to drop parents back on Luing so we could get back before dark. Didn't quite go to plan as one of our rope slipped overboard and got caught up in the propellor. Luckily the engine was idling and we were already at the pier in Cullipool. We don't like to think what would have happened if we were half way with engine on full. We had to cut the rope from the boat to untangle it. Got back in the dark.
Thursday 16th October Washed out boat for the first time. It had got quite dirty from carrying the coal across, and Grahams parents will be coming over to Fladda in it tomorrow. Cleared up cottage. Played golf - hitting bits of slate and shells as far as we can off the end of the jetty into the sea with Gems bargain 50p golf club from a car boot sale.
Wednesday 15th October Got up early to catch the Post Office which is now only open 9am - 10am! Brought over the coal to Fladda which we bought yesterday. Spent ages calling technical info lines and trying to work out how we were going to power wash the walls without spending a fortune. Started to paint the boards for boarding up the workshop. On the roof of the workshop we stuffed plastic bags into the cracks and used sealant to cover it.
Tuesday 14th October Went to Oban to buy a pump. Also picked up 3 more bags of coal (this time I spread the weight throughout the car so I didn't damage my exhaust any more!). Tried power washing the walls again but this time we found out the petrol generator couldn't produce enough power - it has a power rating high enough but it's probably too old. Need to use a petrol power washer! Disappointing day so far, but then saw lots of fish rising off the South jetty so went fishing. No luck with the rod, but Graham caught a tiny fish in a net.
Monday 13th October Tried to use the electric power washer by connecting it to the water storage tanks but by the time the water got through 50m of 'cheap' hose there was not enough pressure resulting in only a dribble coming through. Decided we need an electric pump. Cut up some plywood to board up the windows of the workshop.
Sunday 12th October Checked what may have been a hole forming under the wall but it was ok. Started to clean off the grass growing on the tops of the walls (the roots unfortunately split the slates so need to be cleaned every now and then). Put slates back on the roof in the gaps where it leaks. Picked up the remaining bags of coal from the car.
Saturday 11th October Saw a couple of seals, firsts in a while.
Friday 10th October Graham read Easdale, Belnahua, Luing & Seil: the Islands that Roofed the World. Gem read about Mary Stuart in preparation for her dissertation. Had a picnic at the bottom of the lighthouse - we hadn't sat outside for a while because its been too cold.
Thursday 9th October Went to Oban, did the usual Tesco/internet. Bought an electric power washer to clean the sea walls before painting them, and three 50Kg bags of coal. Managed to scrape my exhaust leaving the ferry which now rattles (don't think my car liked that much weight in the boot! Only took 1 bag back to Fladda in the boat as they are too heavy to get in/out the boat.
Wednesday 8th October Woke at 6am to put boat in the water but from the bed it sounded too windy so went back to sleep. Watched Teachers in the evening.
Tuesday 7th October Still quite cold and windy but it cleared by the evening. Having not been able to get off the island for a few days we have run out of bread and some fresh stuff, so we baked some bread ourselves. Because the oven is tiny we just made 4 buns but ate them before they had a chance to go cold - they were tasty!
Monday 6th October Both had very broken sleep due to the noise of the wind and rain. Gems mobile phone has a sound meter built into it which recorded it being upto 75dB where our heads were. The temperature inside has generally been around 11°C recently and it doesn't seem to improve with the fire. The sea is the roughest we have seen it since being here. Dispite this, it's wash day, so Graham had the usual sea wash. It wasn't possible on the usual side of the island because the waves were pushing and pulling slate boulders weighing several kilos around and Graham was worried for his toes! (and being knocked over). Graham nearly put it off when just minutes before the wash rain was blowing so hard that the drops were stinging the face - and thats before getting undressed down to the swimming trunks.
Sunday 5th October Cold, wet and windy ALL day. Graham played making websites (better sites the proper way!) from reading the book bought couple of days earlier.
Saturday 4th October Was very windy all through the previous night. Think we saw a lifeboat - it was still very windy. Finally got around to making stew and dumplings which actually worked!
Friday 3rd October Had nothing to do so went to the postoffice to pick up a web design book Graham bought - yep, from Ebay. Sea turned a bit wavey and blowey on the way back. Gem let her parcel, a Smirnoff watch, blow into the sea! Was very windy by end of day.
Thursday 2nd October Not much! Graham got a Kinder Egg toy that used the plastic toy container as part of the toy - a kind of boat with a wind-up propeller.
Wednesday 1st October Nice and sunny again - Graham even managed to go topless to try catch the last bit of tanning weather. Teachers on the big TV.
Tuesday 30th September Weather really nice, sat outside reading our new books from Ebay. We had bought a cheap jigsaw the previous day to cut up the old floor boards from the second cottage. They are good for the coal fire but need to be cut into 6" lengths :-(
Monday 29th September Packed up the tent and back to Oban for Tesco's and internet. Gem played with her chanter but it still sounded nasty!
Sunday 28th September Eventually got up to go to the World Stone Skimming Championships. Registered ourselves and then went to the practice area where you win beer prizes for hitting targets. The skimming was being done on the old flooded quarries so the water was very still compared to the sea. (photo 1, 2) First the kids competition, then the ladies (Gem got 15 metres), and then men (Graham got 52 metres). Halfway through it started to rain so some people were dropping out - a lot of the people would have been passing tourists that saw the signs on the road. The furthest distance was 55 metres so Graham did pretty well! At least a couple of hundred people came along which would have quadrupled the islands population! It was the awards ceremony afterwards and then to the pub. Then cooking food at the tent before back to the pub, again.
Saturday 27th September Went to Oban, first picking up post. Gem got a bagpipe chanter from Ebay - it makes a really horrible noise! Went to Easdale in the evening, pitched our tent and went to the village for beers and to watch the local band 'Framed'. Afterwards we went to Elaine's (friendly local) house for more beer. Elaine lives in one of the tiny cottages that were once lived in by the miners.
Friday 26th September Very nice day. Spent a lot of time outside. Sorted out the remaining usable lumps of coal from the coal dust in the outhouse. From the 2 tons brought over several years back we are down to about a weeks worth left, so we desperately need to sort out getting more shipped over! Got our last stone skimming practice in for the coming Sundays competition at Easdale.
Thursday 25th September Tidied bedroom - 1st time since we got here!
Wednesday 24th September Lots of reading of books bought on Ebay recently. The clothes we washed several days ago have finally dried but only with the help of the stove so they stink of smoke now :-(
Tuesday 23rd September Saw a boat with a broken mast being helped out by Seafari and another boat. Did another big tidy up as it was starting to get a bit cluttered around the place.
Monday 22nd September Started doing exercises in an attempt to get fit. And also started to eat more healthily as influenced by Fearless Jon.
Sunday 21st September Did lots of clothes washing as the weather was nice and it might dry a bit. Had several canoeists visit. Watched the film Pitch Black on the big tv as a treat :-)
Saturday 20th September Weather much better today. Didn't do a lot.
Friday 19th September Woke up to a nice view of Fladda and Luing. Took the tent down quickly to avoid being eaten by the millions of midges. Went shopping in Oban and dropped Jon off so he could get the train to meet his dad for a weekends climbing the mountains. All felt a bit rough. Back on Fladda was a recovery day so not much happened.
Thursday 18th September Went on a mini pub crawl to Tigh an Truish for dinner, then The Puffer on Easdale island till their 1:00am closing time. Met Steven (the owner), his friend William, and Elaine who had moved back to the island today. We pitched our tent by the slate quarry for the night. We had a brilliant time in the pub and it was a shame we didn't find out about its evening openings earlier.
Wednesday 17th September Windy and/or drizzly all day so spent much of the time indoors. Managed to catch up on the diary entries again. Treated ourselves to the big tv again to watch Teachers. It seems odd that we have to re-arrange the room and sofas, wheel in the tv on a trolley from another room, plug it in using an extension lead to the only socket in yet another room, and then go outside to the outhouse to fire up the petrol generator just to watch tv! It does make it seem such a treat once its done :-)
Tuesday 16th September Caught a small Wrasse in the lobster pot but it escape whilst waiting for Gem to get the fish tank. Played with Gems archery set she bought recently but we lost an arrow in the long grass on the first set of shots. We decided to wait till the grass was re-strimmed before we would carry on. Managed to hit the target a few times though. In the evening the chimney to the kitchen range suddenly blocked up so all the smoke was billowing back into the room - luckily a poke with the poker cleared it and that the problem was not any higher.
Monday 15th September Took Gems dad back to Cullipool in the morning.
Sunday 14th September Caught an edible crab at last in the lobster pot. Fearless Jon cooked and ate it with his dinner that night although all the preparation only yielded 1 spoonful of meat and some legs! Gem was taken around the island by her dad to work out all the things that need doing to maintain the island & cottages.
Saturday 13th September Tidied up the cottage, then went to Cullipool to collect Gems dad (the owner of Fladda).
Friday 12th September Went to Oban, then to pub on Easdale Island for an afternoon pint. We knew they shut at 5:00pm each day but found out they re-open from 9:00pm to 1:00am 4 nights a week. Our local is not so bad after all :-)
Thursday 11th September We caught a Three Bearded Rockling approx 10" long in the lobster pot. It was put in a small fish tank whilst we worked out what it was. During this time Gem got attached to it and wouldn't let us eat it or use it for bait :-(
Wednesday 10th September Had a BBQ on the beach - it rained slightly but luckily we had built a cover over the BBQ so the food was fine. As there were 3 of us we gave it a go at getting the big colour tv working off the petrol generator to watch Teachers. The tv had been left by builders recently and we hadn't previously used it.
Tuesday 9th September Torquil (previous owner) turned up to have a look around. Its the first time in about 26 years he's been able to look inside the buildings again.
Monday 8th September Went to Cullipool and walked across to the ferry (again). Managed to bring the car back this time which had all our clothes, the rest of the food and the alcohol. Between getting our boat from the mooring system to the car one of the air-chamber valve caps got knocked off losing pretty much all the air from it. (we had always thought they were a dangerous design but later found out we weren't using them properly - the instruction manual was poorly translated and didn't explain it correctly). Then, a couple of hundred metres into the journey back to Fladda with 3 people on board and fully loaded with food and bags another valve cap got knocked off. We had lost all the air on one side and with the sea being quite rough water was coming in over the sides with each wave. A panic decision was to head back to Cullipool to someones jetty where we managed to re-inflate the boat before safely getting back to Fladda. We were all very wet including the food and clothes though.
Sunday 7th September Went back to Cullipool in our boat, walked back to the ferry point - this time along the road so that we could bring our car across. What do we find? The car ferry no longer runs on Sundays either! Turned round, walked back and it started to rain, heavy.
Saturday 6th September Left Hayes at 8am and drove up to Scotland with Fearless Jon. Missed the last car ferry to Luing as we didn't know the it stops running in the evenings from September! We packed up what we needed into rucksacks and took the next passenger ferry. We vaguely knew of a shortcut path to Cullipool but couldn't find it - the path just took us around the North coast of Luing and took us about an hour and a half. It was dark by the time we took our boat across to Fladda.
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Thursday 28th August All got up early to leave for London again. We had to go back to sort out new housemates moving in and Gem had a uni exam re-sit. We met Torquil on Luing - the previous owner of Fladda. Then drove to London via Yorkshire (Diccons parents house) for tea. Plan to come back in a weeks time.
Wednesday 27th August All went for a wash in the sea. Being a bit drunk and noisy the passing Seafari people must have thought we were mad. Diccon (Grahams friend) is starting to get annoyed at not catching any fish or lobsters even though he has been trying constantly the last few days.
Tuesday 26th August Very hot again. Spent the whole day outside again. Fished. Grahams friends who came back from Spain the previous week without achieving a suntan have burnt in the two days being in Scotland!
Monday 25th August Beer for breakfast. Gem finished her uni essay then spent an age trying to get it emailed using the laptop and mobile phone. Weather so nice that we sat outside all day. Fished lots - caught nothing, although we caught a small John Doe(?) in the lobster pot. It was dead when we pulled the pot out.
Sunday 24th August Went to Oban for the usual shopping and to meet Grahams friends. Weather really hot again at last. Sat outside drinking through the nice sunset. Later on the sky was so clear the Milkyway was very clearly visible - a very spectacular view! Mars was also reflecting off the deadcalm sea.
Saturday 23rd August Did a major clear up of the cottage ready for Grahams friends to arrive the next day.
Friday 22nd August Weather getting better although we didn't achieve much.
Thursday 21st August Gems family left in the morning. They were picked up in a tour boat which had a spare hour. We were supposed to have followed in our boat to go for a pub meal but the conditions were too bad.
Wednesday 20th August Weather quite bad. Stayed indoors playing games & reading.
Tuesday 19th August Generally a miserable day again. We were all sat inside when an old war style plane nearly crashed into the lighthouse! It was very foggy with only about 100 or 200 yards visibility when the plane past beside the lighthouse at a height pretty much level with the top of it which is only 13 metres above sea level! Running out to see the plane we saw it had suddenly pulled up so we guess the pilots were a bit surprised to have the lighthouse 'jump' out the fog at them. Fighter jets use the area a lot for practice flights but we have never seen any fly directly over the island or that low. Checked the lobster pots again. This time we caught a fish, a Ballan Wrasse which is known to live in the area. It was approx 8" long but apparently they are not good eating.
Monday 18th August Wet and windy again. Checked the lobster pots - only a Velvet Crab (aggressive little creatures!) this time, but something had got inside another pot and cut a big tear in the beer can holding the bait, managed to eat most of the bait and escape again! Shame we forgot to tie up the hole in the netting otherwise we may still have had the creature that got in. Gem finally started to write up some of her essay she needs to do for her uni course. An advantage of having such a dinky laptop is that it uses less power and copes being run from the wind generator batteries whilst Gems laptop couldn't. Ha Ha.
Sunday 17th August Put out 3 lobster pots off the end of the jettys at low tide using burgers as bait. Will have to wait till low tide the following day before we can reach them again. The day was generally wet and windy. It still didn't put Graham off having a sea wash. Gem is beginning to think the sea monkeys didn't work. She hadn't read the instructions and used the wrong water for them!
Saturday 16th August Had a couple of canoeist land. They weren't interested in looking around, just stopped briefly for a rest before continuing to Easdale. A boat was dragging 6 very large floating rings and then stopped for a couple of hours nearby before continuing. Think they may have been fish pens but not sure why they stopped. Saw dozens of fish 'gulping' at the surface about 10 yards off the south jetty Graham decided to get the fishing rod. Tried with a float and bacon as the bait for 10 minutes with no luck before using a shiny fish lure. Only had 10 minutes try with this before having to give up - being on the end of the South jetty which is no longer connected to the rest of it, the tide had come in enough to cut me off. It was wet boots time to get back! No sign of the sea monkeys hatching.
Friday 15th August Went to Cullipool to pick up the rest of the food we didn't risk putting in the boat on Wednesday due to the rough sea. Whilst the boat was in the water we took everyone to Belnahua (the deserted slate mine and community) in two trips to have a look around. Up until now it had been impractical for Gem and I to visit Belnahua as it takes more than two people to drag the boat up the beach. We had some visitors to Fladda. They were interested in looking around as his Grandfather worked as a miner in Cullipool and had bought a cottage for £21 back in the 1920's! The cottage is still within the family and is used as a holiday cottage. Hannah, Gems sister had a wash in the sea with us. Gem tried to grow some sea monkeys in a fish tank.
Thursday 14th August Graham re-wired the wind generator charge circuit as we collected the replacement part the previous day. The new part didn't really fit in with the existing circuit so I completely stripped the old stuff apart and started from scratch - sorry to those who put the effort in in the first place! Put the wind generator back up after the charge circuit was installed. Had a bbq on the beach and a birthday cake for Georgie (Gems sister) whos 9th birthday was the previous week.
Wednesday 13th August Quite a large entry for today, mainly due to a it of a bad experience with the boat! Left Fladda in the morning for Oban to meet Gems family. Due to it being a spring tide the sea was lower than usual and we couldn't get to our mooring place. We had already scraped the outboard on some rocks we weren't expecting to be there, and by the time we got to the extremely small channel between two rocks we needed to pass which this time was only about 5 metres wide and thick with seaweed on the surface which gets submerged by high-tide we thought it not worth the risk of running aground and damaging the boat. After several thoughts we decided to tie up the boat at our usual loading point near where we park the car and wait for an hour to see if the tide would start coming in. Unbelievably the tide continued to go out further and started to beach the boat on the rocks there! Knowing the tide wouldn't be right for several hours we decided to leave the boat there, get to Oban to meet Gems family and try get back as soon as possible before the tide came back in too much. What a mistake! By the time we got back the rocks we tied the boat up to were 3 foot under water and unreachable. The sea was the roughest we had seen so far and the boat was being continually pounded against the sharp barnacle covered rocks. Being an inflatable boat and it being only 7 weeks new we were a bit worried about the damage being caused to it. Us being our usual well organised selves we didn't have a means to cut the ropes from the boat so had to knock on the nearest house who kindly lent us a kitchen knife. We managed to move the boat round the corner to a proper jetty which was a bit safer but we still had to load the boat with all the food for 6 people for a week. Standing up for the 5 seconds to grab the next box was a risk as I was continuously being nearly knocked out the boat by the waves. Once loaded up we Gem, I and Gems youngest sister all got pretty wet on the journey back to Fladda due to the boat crashing against the waves but they settled nearer to Fladda. Unloaded, got the boat up and the rest of the evening went fine with everyone on the island!
Tuesday 12th August Cleared out a lot of the rubbish from two of the outhouses. There has been a lot of rubbish building up for the last 20 years as people generally stay for a week and don't have time to sort stuff out. We needed to make way for the 2 tons of whitewash we have been told to buy for painting all the buildings and walls on the island. Rubbish generally included many broken buckets, lots and lots of builders bags and empty concrete bags, short bits of useless rope and general litter! Luckily there is a council disposal site on the way to Oban.
Monday 11th August Can't remember what happened this day as we hadn't been keeping notes in the diary on a regular basis. We pretty much completed strimming the small garden, we remember that much anyway.
Sunday 10th August We ran out of drinking water. We couldn't be bothered to drag the boat into the sea just to collect water so we decided to use the emergency bottled water and try to cook food that didn't rely too much on water. We knew we had to leave Fladda in a couple of days anyway. Both did some strimming in the little garden trying to get it ready for Gems family and the dog to run around in.
Saturday 9th August Graham filled up the paddling pool we bought for £1 to sit in and have an afternoon beer as it was a hot day. Unfortunately we misread the dimensions as being 6' x 24" and not the actual 6" x 24". There was only just enough room for my bum with my legs spilling out over the sides. Well, you get what you pay for!!!
Friday 8th August Weather started off ok but ended up being foggy again by late afternoon so much of the day was spent inside again :-(
Thursday 7th August All day it was foggy. Woke to the sound of a distant fog horn blasting every 30 seconds! Sometimes the edge of the island was barely visible. Nearer midnight I saw a shooting star through the fog but didn't see any more whilst continuing to stare upwards. I could only just make out the other lighthouse flashing a couple of hundred yards away - defeats the point of the lighthouse really!
Wednesday 6th August Really hot day. Both went for a swim.
Tuesday 5th August Played with our new petrol strimmer. Managed to cut the grass by the lighthouse outside the sea wall & by the North jetty. Also cleared most of the grass in the small garden. Thunder, lightning and a lot of rain meant we spent the evening indoors but once the rain had cleared at 10:30pm Graham went for a wash in the sea. It was quite dark and still thunder/lightning. It was a bit scary!
Monday 4th August Went back to Oban for a proper shop around and the to Easdale in the hope of going to the pub on Easdale Island and camp the night if possible. Much to our disappointment, the pub claims to close at 5:30pm - it was 7pm at the time so we didn't bother getting the 'ferry' across to Easdale Island. Instead we went to the pub by 'The Bridge Over The Atlantic' for a meal & couple of drinks. When we asked the bar staff if there's anywhere to camp a drunk guy offered us his 'grassy drive way' which was literally the verge of the road. It was adequate but midges at 5am and the rain meant a short sleep as we didn't bother with a tent!
Sunday 3rd August Arrived at Cuan Ferry at 4am - tried to sleep in the car but not very successful. We had hoped the 1st ferry would run about 8am/9am but it wasn't till 11am! Went to Oban to pass time. Got onto Fladda about 1pm to find some visitors pulling up at the other jetty. They were planning a bbq whilst watching a sailing race go past. We spent the afternoon with them and luckily the race was behind time so they moved the finish line from Oban to Fladda!
Saturday 2nd August A sudden decision at 5pm to go back to Fladda 'now'. Were packed and on our way by 7pm.
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Monday 21st July Started getting the boat ready at 9am, arrived in Hayes 11:30pm - bit of a long journey when we have to do the boat ourselves! In the morning we put the wind generator down & whilst doing that we saw a dolphin surface and dive several times :-)
Sunday 20th July Bit of general house maintenance and packing up some of our stuff. We're leaving for Hayes in the morning for a Wedding on the 26th and Hadriens Wall walk from the 27th -2nd'ish.
Saturday 19th July Gardening! Returfed some bare patches by the South gate wall using grass/earth lifted from the path. Also cleared the path to the North jetty. It's beginning to look too tidy & neat!
Friday 18th July Not much to say. Graham had a sea-wash - they're getting later, this one about 11:20pm. Getting used to it a bit as I don't need so much drink before them now.
Thursday 17th July Seen a couple of young seals with their mums around the island. It was generally too windy most of the day but managed a few games on the beach in the evening before it rained. Graham had a quick lesson on the guitar & learnt to play Happy Birthday.
Wednesday 16th July Went to Oban in the morning. Using the new wheel system we launched the boat in about 30 mins - a new record! Busy day in town, managing to get another 2 car batteries for the wind generator. Stopped off at the pub by the Bridge over the Atlantic for a quick pint whilst waiting for our ferry to Luing. Once back to Fladda we managed to get the boat out the water and to the top of the jetty in only 30 mins. It was still daylight and it's beginning to make the boating a bit more enjoyable although we did get wet feet and trousers!
Tuesday 15th July Finished setting up the wheels on the boat - they seem to be sturdy and ok. More gardening and then set up the dart board outside so we could play in the sun.
Monday 14th July Cleared the grass and earth covering the path from the south gate to the wall edge by the sea - generally trying to make the place a bit tidier. Weather a bit nicer again. Tried to sort out the wheels for the boat to wheel it up the jetty but got eaten by the midges so gave up.
Sunday 13th July Achieved nothing except to play games all night.
Saturday 12th July Finished digging up the earth and grass covering the path outside the main cottage. Put the wind generator on the roof, was quite happy to see it instantly spin but it only lasted for 10 seconds then never moved for the rest of the night :-( It's T in the Park Festival night which we failed to get tickets for before it sold out, so got drunk here and listened to the live broadcast on the radio. Went for a swim/wash at 9pm.
Friday 11th July Seen an Oyster Catchers young - looks fluffy and stupid. Also seen a duck with 3 ducklings which we thought was unusual for the sea. Tried to work out the wiring to the cottage in preparation for using the wind generator.
Thursday 10th July Not much happening. Gem learnt to play a song or two on the guitar. Managed to get a good picture of a Moon Jellyfish we see all the time.
Wednesday 9th July Did a clean of the leaving room including taking out all the mats and rugs to shake out. Started working on the small garden by clearing the path to the sea viewing steps which was completely overgrown by a layer of soil and grass. Weather turned pants again so rest of day was spent playing games.
Tuesday 8th July Got up early again to go to Oban. Managed to get mooring system going. Went to the Post Office on Luing which is actually a normal garden shed and only open 4 hours a day. Off to Oban where we found a better internet shop that uses Broadband this time so we can now achieve something with our money unlike the computers in the tourist info shop! Tesco shopping then fish and chips before getting back to Fladda. Had problems getting boat up the jetty on its wheels so ended up ditching the wheels and dragging the boat up the slate beach - took 2 hours in total trying to get the boat from the water to the cottage. It was by then midnight and we weren't happy! Got this really nice sunset picture though
Monday 7th July Woke early to try use the boat to go to Oban but was too windy so sorted out the ropes and wheels that are used to get the boat up the jetty.
Sunday 6th July Pants weather so played games most of the day. Gem finished reading Harry Potty V whilst Graham tested the wind generator as that also hadn't been used for years. Graham went for a was and swim in the sea at 11pm but only after quite a lot of wine!
Saturday 5th July Picked up by Peter (local man) again so we could collect our shiny new boat. Then into Oban to buy the rest of the bits for it i.e. flares, rope, buoyancy aides etc - didn't quite realise how much running a boat costs! Back to Cullipool for a look around whilst waiting for Peter to show us how to use the boat and where to moor it. Found a car 'grave yard' in an old quarry and walked around the silly little once miners houses. The mooring system hadn't been used for several years so the ropes were over grown with weeds which took an age to clear. Then it was down to us to drive it back to Fladda unassisted! It went ok but took us about an hour to haul the boat up the jetty.
Friday 4th July Started to set up fishing rod but set weight too much, but the midges got too much so had to leave it for the day. Tried to get an old Briggs & Straton petrol lawn mower going but the petrol was far too old and stale.
Thursday 3rd July Another hot day. Had our first wash in the sea which was very cold! Wasn't quite brave enough to swim. Got bit sun burnt.
Wednesday 2nd July Had a bit of a clearout of the cupboards in the bedroom and kitchen. The oldest food we found was a tin of Heinz Baked Beans BBE 1995! Managed to get an old petrol generator working which solves the wind generator crisis for the moment. Started to see the Seafari people doing their tours past Fladda. Having trouble with the Seagull young as they have made their home near the entrance to the cottage and they get angry every time we go near! Seen a couple of groups landing on Belnahua.
Tuesday 1st July Woke 8:30am for breakfast. Left for Luing at 10am. Drove to Toberonochy, Cullipool & other parts of Luing. Saw cows sunbathing on the beach + lying half in the roads. Back to mainland to the marine shop to buy an outboard for the inflatable boat we ordered. Then to Tescos to buy our food for the first week. At 7pm we were back at Cuan to wait for Peter Lamont to pick us up in his boat to take us to Fladda. Arrived on Fladda at 8pm, saw some Seagulls, their young, Oyster Catchers, Black Guillemots & Moon Jellyfish. Noticed somehow the wind generator circuitry had burnt out so there will be a delay getting that running.
Monday 30th June Left Hayes 11am, got to a B&B just before Oban at 8pm. Drank in the Hotel bar opposite till 12am.