A Lost Mobile Phone ....

[PMG]

Folks who have not been to the Western Isles of Scotland probably don’t realise how far away from the British mainland they are or how bad the mobile phone reception can be out there. The islanders recommend Vodaphone but I have been 02 for many years. The general rule is the further west you are the better reception gets and vice versa the further east on the islands the less likely it is to connect at all.

One of our favourite venues is Willie’s cottage on Grimsay Island – the cottage and its surrounds is pure heaven, on its own, nearest neighbour half a mile in any direction, down in a sheltered little dip with a long inland sea loch coming and going twice a day. The only noise is from the gulls, terns and oystercatchers nesting quite close on islands just outside the back door. But the drawback is – no phone reception.



Then a couple of years ago I discovered that standing on the corner of the building where the tv dish is sited sometimes got a couple of bars up – enough for text if not for a full spoken conversation. After that I found out that going to sit in the shed where the washing machine is could lead to enough bars for a short ‘Yes Hello its me I’m ok’ type call! I also noticed that at the end of the building holding the phone in the air led to a marked increase in reception ….. to this end I began propping the phone upright in the gutter at the end of the building and going back 10 mins later to see who had tried to contact me and from there decide whether it was just chatter or emergency. This routine on the gutter went on for over a week with no problems ……… until I went out to retrieve the phone after half an hour – and the gutter was EMPTY! My stomach lurched and sank and my face went hot and cold. I looked round, I looked at the floor, I looked back up at the gutter half expecting it to have miraculously reappeared …. I searched the cottage, my pockets, my camera pack just in case I was dreaming and hadn’t actually put it out there an hour ago – but I knew I had. I went back outside and it was still gone …….. There were two choices the Common Gulls had taken it and dropped it in the grass, on the rocks or in the water or it had gone down the downspout ……..

I searched the garden, the headland surrounding the house and even got my binocs on the islands in the loch where the gulls were nesting and nothing silver or phone-like glinted back …… It seemed so unlikely that the gulls had taken it and very much more likely that I had positioned it stupidly (while not wearing my glasses) over the downspout and a gust of wind had moved it from a slightly canted position to upright and ‘poom’ down the spout it had gone like a rocket! I vaguely remembered a rattling noise at this point which had caused me to look out of the door ………. After a look at the downspout I decided to get my tools out of the car and remove part of the gutter and the spout. I managed this without damaging anything and the hoped for phone jammed in the bottom or resting in a grill didn’t happen. The concrete drain had a slight bend to allow it to go off under the garden. I thought about how compact the phone was and decided at velocity it would negotiate this bend and that it was now well and truly underground! Unfortunately I couldn't prove this by ringing it as its always on silent when I'm away just in case I have a Golden Eagle, Red-necked Phalarope, Great Northern Diver (or any other species you could really fancy) 20ft in front of my lens!!



At this point I set off for some island friends for advice on getting a replacement phone out in the islands and was met with ‘och we order them online and they come in the post’ ……. I thought as much as I didn’t remember seeing any for sale in the islands in previous years. However I was in luck as the supermarket in Benbecula had opened a little side room for fancy goods, small electricals, presents and mobile phones – Halleluiah! I spent ages drooling over a Blackberry and an HC fancy touch screen all singing all dancing job. Then sanity regained I bought a simple replacement for a tenner, stuck £20 on it and began by letting the better half know what was happening ……… accidents happen was his usual steady response but the lack of contact while I was out there alone and he was home and working was telling on us both.

I then went round to tell Willie where I thought the phone was and why, simply to alert him to the fact that his drains may be affected at some future time – tho I did think that no debris, leaves or anything like that would go down so I couldn’t see it blocking up – but as a courtesy he needed to know. He looked alarmed when I said I had already had the gutter and the spout off and said he might come and have a look the following day tho I assured him I hadn’t damaged any of it!

The next day I had some visiting to do as it was nearing the end of the holiday so was out when Willie came round. On my return in the evening I found a note from him on the windowsill which said ‘Look in the shed Pauline’! And there was my phone, still in one piece and working except of course I had got Ian to cancel the sim card just in case. A pity I hadn’t held off from doing that.

Willie had gone to a lot of trouble to retrieve it. He’d found the exit of the drain outside the garden in the rough grass and pushed the hosepipe up. He said there was a double bend in the drain so it must have been a struggle. He had removed the gutter and downspout as I had and eventually the top of the phone appeared at the opening of the drain. Then I gather it got even more awkward as he tried to lever it up the slight curve with two screwdrivers ….

Naturally I went off up the island phone in hand to Willies house to say a proper thank you and look suitably shame faced …..

Pauline

[posie]

..OOPS!
Interesting story Pauline..and the moral of the story is..............?

Posie..

[Hedera]

Oh Pauline, what a story! Take a bit of chicken wire and stuff the top of the downpipe next time! Lets the water through but stops everything else. so now you have a spare phone which could be useful if you leave one downstairs.
Sorry your lunch didn't agree. By the way I use Nairns oatcakes: they are filling and you can use them to thicken soups. I also make my own bread and use walnut or sesame oil in it instead of fat.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by posie

..OOPS!
Interesting story Pauline..and the moral of the story is..............?

Posie..

Err ....... not to be an idiot probably

[earthdragon64]

Originally Posted by posie

..OOPS!
Interesting story Pauline..and the moral of the story is..............?

Posie..

Walk up the track towards the road until you get reception on your phone the safe way, even though you might get wet or blown off your feet depending on the weather.

Regards, Audrey

[Kayleigh]

Great stuff..it could only happen to you..

[ellen h]

Oh Pauline what are you like??

[actionfinch]

semiphore flags could be an idea...

[PMG]

Originally Posted by earthdragon64

Walk up the track towards the road until you get reception on your phone the safe way, even though you might get wet or blown off your feet depending on the weather.

Regards, Audrey

Yes you didn't have such good weather during your week did you? September the year before last was lovely out there and the first time we had been so late on but the weather was sublime - shirtsleeves and only zephyr breezes and puffy clouds - it was gorgeous and far warmer than any of the summer months we've been there - worth thinking about and Willie might have the cottage free for a week??

Pauline

PS If you do and they have a hurricane please don't blame me!!!!

[PMG]

Originally Posted by actionfinch

semiphore flags could be an idea...

I don't think they could be seen back in Leigh