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Even
in the North there has been a perceptible easing of
observance compared to ten or 20 years ago, particularly
among some young people. Leisure pursuits engaged in
almost clandestinely a few years ago are now taken part
in more openely. In Stornoway, a Sunday drink can be
obtained if you know the right back door to enter by.
Nevertheless, there has been only one voice raised openly
in favour of the Sunday ferries and other breaches of
the Sabbath.
That
has come from Stornoway businessman and former taxi
operator, Peter McKibben, who is a past secretary of
the local Conservative Party. "People are afraid
of how their neighbours and the churches will react
if they speak out," he claimed this week. He added
that the recent change of heart by the council on maintaining
their ban on cleaning the streets on Sunday was "a
classic example of the kind of moral blackmail that
is a feature of Lewis life."
The
main opposition to CalMac's plan has come from the Harris
Transport Action Group which was set up 14 years ago
to fight for more and better ferry links. Now they find
themselves in the position of fighting to have a service
withdrawn. "That is the irony of the whole situation,"
agreed John Murdo Morrison, one of the group's leaders.
Morrison
received a tip-off that the Sunday sailing was being
scheduled for next summer and he contacted the Comhairle.
He claims that the normal advance warning of a proposed
change was not given, a "sinister move" which
indicated to him that CalMac hoped to stiffle public
debate on the issue - a charge the company has consistently
denied.
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