Uist - 7. Time Offline & "Stay where you are!"

Before I leave for home, it is always nice to re-connect with family and friends. This wait, I spent time with my ‘Granny Ceiteag’, Katie, on the Isle of Uist just below Lewis on the map. Much of Uist remains as constant as its floating landscape. No one would expect to find a telephone here, let alone wifi. The same family of swans are in the small sea pond across from Katie’s, the well-loved traditional homes are in the same spots with the same family lines that have been there for generations.

Even Katie’s living room, with her warm peat fire (we burn wood, Scots burn peat),

still invites guests in for a talk about local politics. In fact, who remembers those little dolls whose skirts would cover the extra toilet paper roll in the washroom? Yes, Katie still has one sitting on the back of her toilet!

Uist is one of those isolated islands in the Atlantic where the wind and rain sweep the landscape clean for ten minutes of sun each day. It’s a remarkable place full of ghost stories. Across the road from Katie’s there is a causeway, a small road bridge, which has been blocked by stones and fences on each side of the water. Five years ago, there was a terrible winter storm there. The water flowing between the road comes in from the sea, and the gales were so strong, coupled with the high sea tide, that the roads were washed up, and sea waves were pounding on the houses close-by. A new wife and mother, who was living in a house on this road, was in the house alone since her husband was at work, but was growing increasingly scared of the rushing water and gales. She was afraid the storm would sweep her house away. Despite the weather, she begged her husband to come and get her and the children and drive them inland to a relative’s. He did, and on the way, all five MacPhersons drown in their car half a mile from their home. The house, however, still stands there today. Had they stayed, they would still be living.

Walking by this peaceful road and fence, it’s difficult to believe such a quiet place holds a watery grave.

Sometimes the best places in life are just where you are.