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Great

Jack McConnell, speaking ahead of the Convention of the Highlands and Islands in Inverary, said: "Where once people were leaving their communities in search of jobs, they are now staying and helping their area to thrive."

Well that may be quite a bright spin on things but it does seem like good news?

The article goes on...

Schoolchildren would be able to go home at weekends, while people needing to use lifeline services in Oban - such as the town's hospital - would also benefit from better access.

I'm in Stornoway and about to dash off to try and catch the light at Callanish, I'll post the photos tomorrow if I can.

Staying in Tarbert tonight, Uist last night, Lewis tomorrow.

Sorry about the delay in posts going live - this is a combination of errors human and machine.

Must run, I've a date with the cosmos man!

I'm now truly blustered and there no cobwebs left on me. I've been to Scalpay, Bernera, Calllanish, Shawbost and across a very wet and windy Lewis.

At one point there was so much rain on the roads and the wind was sweeping across it it looked as if it was a river. Waterfalls and burns being whipped and swept up and out of their riverbeds by the driving wind as I drove across Harris this morning.

I'm now going for my radio debut on Isles FM. Here's some photos from the last two days...in no particular order

Nic asks... (see previous post)

"Why does IBHQ say it comes from Mull, and only show up on the Argyll islands? Has Mull bought the right to claim you or can Coll put in a bid?"

this is an anomaly, and it's not good for Mull, but the system we built meant that we had to place the hosts Blog somewhere. It'll soon be re-located to the Island Blogging homepage where it will act more as a guide to other good blogs on the site, leaving Mull in peace. You'll also soon be able to choose from the homepage Argyll & Clyde, Western Isles or Orkney and Shetland.

Here's some more photos from Uist, Berneray Harris, Scalpay, Lewis and Bernera.

Listen Again to this discussion of how Bloggers in Iran are making an impact:
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"Think of Iran 2005 - what image do you have? A hard-line President calling for Israel to be wiped off the map? Persian art and the Cradle of Civilisation? Or a computer-savvy generation of young people interested in David Beckham and western culture? NASRIN ALAVI has edited a book of the online diaries or blogs of Iranians - We Are Iran tells the stories, in their own words, of censored journalists, students, Iranian mothers and Islamic fundamentalists. We Are Iran is published by Portobello Books."

We have two new promotional posters for Island Blogging from photographers based on the islands. If you would like copies please send us an email stating how many, your address and preference for Gaelic or English versions to: islandblogging@bbc.co.uk

Here are a few more random photos from my recent trip to Harris and Lewis...and elsewhere...






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