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Yes, this is a terrible environmental disaster, and will have awful repercussions for those living all around the Gulf Coast, and on the wildlife, and on the families of those killed. I think we are all agreed there.

Yes, BP have to take on the responsibility for these events as the controlling party in the drilling operation, but let us not forget that the rig itself was owned by Transocean (a US company), and that the part that failed was the direct responsibility of Halliburton (a company with close links to Dick Cheney), and these companies are rarely mentioned.

Yes, it is right to compensate those who have been affected by the spill, but the US administration blaming BP for the results of decisions that the adminstration has made since the spill is unfair, and I doubt that it is legally justifiable.

Since BP must bear the responsibility, it is right that their shareholders take their stake of the pain, and they (and I’m one of them) have done so in that the market value of the company has dropped by about 45%. I think, though, that it is time to face some of the facts:

1. BP made profits of USD8bn in the first quarter of this year.
2. Oil prices have remained above $70 per barrel all year (except for momentary fleeting glimpses of the upper 60s), and therefore BP can continue to expect to be profit generating.
3. Even if the clean-up effort (<2bn so far) goes on all year, BP have the cash reserves and income to pay for this, including compensation payments to all interested parties.
4. The dividend amounts to approx $1.5bn per quarter, and if BP has the cash to pay it, then no government should be able to prevent it – shareholders have taken a huge amount of pain, why punish them needlessly to make a point?

I think, though, that my main issue with the Obama administration is that they don’t really seem to be doing anything to try to prevent the flow of oil (and of course they can’t). All they want to do is to punish BP, and make BP throw money at the US administration (to pay for their unemployment etc), rather than concentrating on using their expertise to stop the flow of oil and to ensure that as little damage as possible is done. BP’s punishment will be that they lose a year’s worth of funding for capital investments and growth (in terms of the cash not being available for investment), and the huge loss of reputation world-wide. Obama can’t use BP’s issues to either distract from or pay for the USA’s other problems.

Positives

• Return to form with the bat of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell – although they will need to do so against sterner opposition to really prove themselves. Pietersen at 3 and Bell at 5/6 (depending on how many bowlers) is an exciting prospect.
• Graeme Swann – 100 test wickets beckon already in such a short career; hopefully a test century will come soon too.

Negatives

• England gave away at least one day in each test match, meaning they were pushed harder than many thought possible – for a long time now, the English cricket team has had trouble knocking over the tail of the opposition, perhaps they just relax too much, or try too hard to get the last batsmen out?
• Cook’s captaincy, whilst effecting results, was hardly inspirational, but we did at least win.

Another positive is the commitment and skill exhibited by this maturing Bangladesh side; hopefully they will be able to compete on the tougher wickets here in England this summer – I look forward to being entertained at Lords in May.

The fuel tax delay is welcome, although fuel prices are now back to the level they were at nearly two years ago when oil was $147 per barrel, compared with around $80 new. Even factoring in the steep depreciation of sterling, this equates to £75 then, versus approximately £55 now, so we’re still being hit hard. And it’s not just the private motorist, all goods and food need delivering somewhere, and all prices will begin to rise because of this tax.

The only good news (if it can be called that) was the drop in the deficit from that forecast, but it is still staggering, and a more concrete plan for its reduction is needed very soon. Hopefully the General election will not result in a hung parliament, and the new (probably) Conservative government can get a plan into action to restore faith in the markets and in sterling (preferably in time for my holiday!).

Graeme Swann, following his meteoric rise to No. 2 in the ICC rankings (perhaps a bit premature, but he has had a huge impact in Test cricket over the last 15 months), was England’s main wicket taker, and he has an outside chance at his third consecutive five wicket haul.

Bangladesh showed promising signs of increased confidence and consistency with a number of batsmen making starts, and some grittiness shown in the lower order. England will have to bat very well to build a sizeable lead on this pitch, and hopefully an interesting contest will ensue.

In a related note, my tickets to the return fixture at Lords in May arrived today, so now all I need to do is work out what wine to bring, and pray for decent weather!

Graeme Swann became the first England off-spinner to take ten wickets in a match since Jim Laker took 19 over 50 years ago, although I still think England would have been better off picking two spinners for this match; poor Swanny had to toil through nearly 80 overs throughout the game, that’s nearly two days of solid bowling. Back in England in the summer though, where turning pitches are less common, he has to be the first choice spinner, and probably first name on the team-sheet. It’s been an amazing start to a test career.

The next match that begins on Saturday will hopefully be a good contest. It would be good to see Bangladesh bat first and to set England a challenging target. England still look as though they have the potential for a top-order collapse with inexperienced batsmen towards the top of the order, and a middle-order slowly working its way into some form.

Meanwhile in the IPL, still no sign of the “mongoose” from Matthew Hayden, but some excellent big-hitting from Dhoni today livened up proceedings somewhat!

This does not sum up the reality of a series in which England’s bowling armoury looks rather fragile in terms of injuries, in which their top batsmen is woefully out of form, and in which Bangladesh should look to make big steps forward in terms of consistency.

Pietersen will not necessarily be relishing this series where the opposition have so many spin-bowling resources, including up to three of his current nemesis, the left arm spinner.

Bangladesh, who in recent months have shown that they can play well enough to compete with any team on their day, now need to put these good sessions and days into consistent performances over a test match, without being fazed by the reputation of the opposition.

The first day today went very much England’s way, and Captain Cook should look to making his maiden double hundred during the first session tomorrow. Pietersen seems to have overcome some of his demons with a flowing 99, but he will be disappointed not to have reached the landmark. England are well set for a total in excess of 550, and only an England win should be possible from here.

One surprise was the inclusion of only one spinner in the England lineup, with Tredwell missing out in place of the young fast bowler, Finn. If the pitch turns as much as many in the subcontinent, Pietersen may find himself doing a fair bit of bowling.

IPL

The IPL starts today, and now that this is a fixture in the cricketing world, much interest from all around the world will be focussed on it. It will be interesting to see how exciting the competition is this year, and how much it matters to the teams. The competition does give an excellent opportunity for the old guard of cricket to extend their careers, and for younger players to emerge into the spotlight, but can it ever match the excitement of a test match. As recent nailbiting results in South Africa have shown, the five-day form of the game is still the pinnacle in terms of skill and entertainment (at least so long as you have some patience!).

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Passing Glen Coe (A82) towards Fort William

Day one, and we set out from York in Wesley (dad’s X-type) for our very long drive to the Scottish Highlands, more specifically Loch Duich, and a very lovely B&B (follow link), deep in the mountains about 25 miles south of the Skye Bridge.

We knew that there had been a bit of snow this winter, but we weren’t prepared for the full grandeur of the Highlands and for how cold it must have been all winter. Any water more than 100m above sea level was frozen, and the landscape resembled an Arctic wilderness.

8 hours and just under 400 miles later we pulled into the B&B near Loch Duich. This is an excellent winter location – at sea level, so accessible, just off the main road, and there’s a hotel near by which serves food all year round (we had only passed one other place in the previous forty miles). Also, the people were wonderfully friendly and the room excellent with one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in!

Day Two – Loch Duich to Eabost West (Skye)

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The Cuillins from Elgol

Day two and the holiday really began. Breakfast at the B&B was of epic proportions, including huge sausages made from (ex)-highland cows. We then had a brief walk up the valley side to gain a better vantage point for photographs of some of the thirty Munros in the area (although we decided not to climb any ourselves). Following this, we set off in the car towards the Isle of Skye, via the Kyle of Lochalsh, stopping off on the way at Eilean Donan Castle (apparently Scotland’s most photographed). This is closed for visitors during winter, but free access is maintained to the castle exterior.

Over the Skye bridge, which is now free from tolls, from Kyle of Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye is only a short crossing, but I wasn’t prepared for the full majesty of the island, which boasts more peaks over 3000 feet than the whole of England. We took a scenic detour to Elgol (B) on map, to marvel at the view, and to have a cup of tea in the cafe which is open all year round. The road is fantastic, and well worth the detour. A quick trip to Portree (the capital of the island) to pick up some expensive diesel (tip: get it in Dunvegan instead where the petrol station also serves bacon rolls and excellent tea/coffee and is much cheaper), and then we crossed over the interior of the island to reach Eabost West (which may be gaelic for western email…), and our next lovely B&B. This has a wonderful view over the sea loch, and rooms come equipped with binoculars for looking at the seals and seabirds which abound. You could use them to pick out the neighboroughing buildings, which are few and far between.

Day Three – walk to the Old Man of Storr, and around Skye in general

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Old Man of Storr

In the morning, we ate another hearty scottish breakfast (dad had kippers which are available on request), and set off for a gentle stroll along our local lochside looking for seals. Despite a false alarm when I took a photo of a suspiciously seal-shaped shiny rock, no seals were to be seen this morning, although we did see a goodly selection of seabirds including cormorants, geese and (I’m pretty sure) oyster catchers.

We then set off on a driving exploration, including a visit to Trumpan church, which is a beautiful ruin with lovely views over the sea to the Outer Hebrides of Harris and Lewis (B on map). A drive via Portree to Loch Leathan (oddly enough larger than Loch Fada nearby), should have been simple, except for the one hour forty mile detour we had to take (see northern loop on map) to avoid two miles of closed road!!

We then set out for the walk up to the Old Man of Storr (pictured), which is a 49m high pinnacle of rock at about 550m above sea level. We were unlucky to be caught in mist and gentle snow for periods of the walk, but blessed by the breaks in the cloud which allowed the amazing views to be seen (it was a photo of this view that inspired the trip in the first place).

The upper slopes were deep in snow (feet deep in drifts in places), but the path was fairly clear at all points.

By the time we descended we were in need of some dinner, which turned out to be difficult – Dunvegan has numerous hotels but none were serving non-residents at this time of year. Fortunately one recommended the Stein Inn, which is in Waternish of the Trumpan road (very much at the end of the world), but which serves a lovely local menu of sea food and other favourites. Serves all year round, reasonably priced, with a log fire. Lovely.

Day Four – Seals and Journey to Harris

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Seals in Dunvegan Loch

This was to be another travelling day – with the Calmac taking us from Uig (oo-ig) to Tarbert on the Island of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. In the morning, however, we took at trip to Dunvegan Loch (B) and had a closer look at some of the seals which make it their home. We then travelled to Uig and boarded the Calmac. Even at this time of year, car bookings are to be recommended (if only for convenience). There were only about 12 vehicles on the ferry and it made for a lovely quiet journey over to Harris.

The entrance to the harbour at Tarbert reminds me of entering ports in Norway – it is deep within the sea loch, and the route in is tortuous, avoiding numerous skerries and other rocky dangers! All the time, we had a marvellous view of the mountains of Harris and back to those on Skye. It was also clear enough to see the even larger mountains of the mainland, which stretch away as far as the eye could see.

Tarbert provided another B&B with a lovely view (Tigh na Mara (Mrs Flora Morison)), and the Harris Bar provided lovely evening food, and a very nice Scotch coffee (for dad).

Day Five – Exploring Lewis, ferry to Ullapool, Kylesku Hotel and Scourie B&B

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Deer near Kylesku

Another day of travel – this time a quick road tour of the Isle of Lewis (the same land mass as Harris), including a trip to the furthest west we reached (58.2° N, 6.97° W), where i dabbled my feet in the Atlantic (B) – the beautiful white sand and blue green sea makes you think of the Med or the Caribbean, but the remnants of snow on the beach and water at less than 10°C reminds you that it isn’t!

We also made it by bridge to another skerry off the coast of Lewis (Bernera, C), which had yet more lovely views). From there it was an easy and quick drive to Stornoway (largest town we’d seen in a while) and the ferry to Ullapool. The crossing takes about 2 hrs 45 minutes, and we were blessed with a clear day, and the chance to watch the mountains of the north Highlands approach the whole length of the crossing. The last hour of the trip is entering the fjord that Ullapool sits within, and negotiating various rocky obstacles.

From there we drove north to Scourie (our destination for the evening), via a long scenic coastal detour (see loop on map), which takes about 20 minutes longer than you would perhaps like (it’s 20mph running a lot of the time), but which was rich in views of the Atlantic and with wildlife – there were deer everywhere. The deer are quite a hazard, particularly this year when there is little in the way of available vegetation and fresh water (too much snow and ice), and therefore if they’ve found grass near a road side they are not very inclined to get out of the way in a hurry.

Our evening meal involved our greatest find of the trip – the Kylesku hotel (D). This has new owners (including a French chef), and the new owners have already befriended Neil (the local fisherman), who provides them with the freshest seafood (I had mussels then spineys, which take some eating, and some getting over what they look like, but which are absolutely wonderful). The new owners have taken on a great task, since the hotel is down a side road, in a wonderfully beautiful location, but not good for passing trade. It is one to remember though, and well worth the trip if you are in the area, where excellent fresh local food, and good service are at your disposal. I should point out that it’s not just seafood – dad ate a venison burger, which was clearly local, handmade, and very fresh!

B&B in Scourie in the offseason is a little limited. The Scourie B&B where we stayed was excellent (the softest towels I’ve ever known), but a little pricey, since there is little competition at this time of year.

Day Six – The Journey home begins

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The end of the road!

At this point we had to begin our journey home. The far north of Scotland to Oxford is the best part of 750 miles, so we broke the trip into segments – to Glasgow, to York, and then me back to Oxford. First though, just to make it a little more difficult, we set off northwards. At this time of year, the far north west (Cape Wrath) is not accessible – the boat/minibus combo required does not run, so we chose Droman head as the most north west we could get to easily. This is at 58.5°N, 5°W, and is considerably nearer to Bergen in Norway than it is to my house in Oxford! Having walked to the end of the slipway, and taken some pictures of a large sea-eagle, we set off via Kylesku (to take a picture), Ullapool (better than via Lairg according to locals) and Aviemore back to Glasgow.

We reached Aviemore in glorious sunshine, with the Cairngorms covered in masses of snow – I had never appreciated how many big mountains there are in the area, and how vast the scale of the area is.

Cairngorms

The journey continued onwards via the A86 to Fort William, and back along the A82 to the Etap hotel in Glasgow.

Day 7 – Back to York

This was a day of motorway driving, although a highlight was our snack brunch at the Llama Karma Cafe near Penrith.

Andy Roddick, playing in probably the best form of hi career must be wondering what he had to do to beat the man. He rolled back the clock somewhat to provide excellent tennis and entertainment throughout the Championships.

Andy Murray, who he beat in the semis, will have more chances to impress on the world stage. Grass isn’t his best surface, but it seems certain that he will win a grand slam tournament at some point in the not-too-distant future.

It was a shame in this series that the West Indies weren’t entirely committed, and that the authorities thought it necessary to play the games so early in the season, and in the cold weather. That England won in preparation for the Ashes was vital, but they’d have preferred a stiffer test.

So who will turn out for England in the Ashes – assuming Flintoff is fit, here would be my selection, which is not too controversial:

1. Strauss
2. Cook
3. Bopara
4. Pietersen
5. Collingwood
6. Prior
7. Flintoff
8. Broad
9. Swann
10. Anderson
11. Panesar

The reason I include Monty is that the Australians are now without any world-class spinner, and if we have turning pitches, then England now have the spin armoury to really attack Australia with spin. Swann is surely now first choice spinner, and is an excellent batsmen to appear at 9 in the batting order. Broad’s seam and Anderson’s mastery of the swinging ball provide a perfect opening pair, with Flintoff the go-to bowler at any time of need. And if one of Panesar or Swann is stuggling, there is always Pietersen’s off-spinners for a change.

Prior should now naturally bat above Flintoff, since the latter’s batting is no-where near the force it once was, and Broad should look to become a competent no. 7 in the future – a test century should be his for the taking in the next couple of years. Swann is also capable of making a test century and England have the longest batting line up in a very long time.

We’ll see what happens in the coming 7 weeks!