Arrival and first impressions

Take 2 (the first attempt just vanished into the ether)

Many people, on hearing what we are doing have told me that I must be mad, including the taxi driver that took us to the airport.  He thought that we were both brave (letting a stranger stay in out house) and mad.  The general considered opinion is that it is both dark, cold, wet and windy and that you won't be able to understand the locals because of their thick Scottish accent.  So far the exact reverse has turned out to be the case.
We landed at Benbecula airport on a clear, calm sunny Friday.  It is now Sunday and the weather has been sunny and calm all the time.   It is cold however, minus 1 over night and a daytime high of about 7C.   We are having the best and warmest weather of all of the UK however. 

 

Plane to the Hebrides at Glasgow 

I do realise that it is not going to be like this all the time, but it is a nice start.  The next door neighbour's wind turbine blew down last week (30,000 GBP damage) in a storm.
The plane that flew us here from Glasgow was a SAAB turbo prop that could take 30 passengers.  But that didn't reduce the security, you even had to take off your boots for x raying, and there were police with rifles in the arrivals lounge.   (They did have a ram raid at Glasgow airport a few years ago so take security very seriously)
Tonight is Sunday night and I have started work being on call and sole charge for the next couple of weeks. 

 

Loch behind the house Sunday morning

 

My initial impressions of the islands are very positive and as for the accent it is hardly there.  The Gaelic is spoken differently to Scottish brogue so the locals hardly sound Scottish at all.