THIS GETS BETTER AND BETTER READ ON>>
The cast-out castaway landed at Bunavoneadar, (Bun
Abhainn Eadarra in the local Gaelic), a former whaling station on
Harris. But a large group of journalists, who had been watching with
binoculars as the boat crossed West Loch Tarbert, were waiting at the
quayside to greet him - with offers of larger and larger sums of money
for his story. But the Daily Mirror staff bundled him into a waiting
hired car and sped off, despite the first traffic jam ever seen on the
remote road. The other media hacks were soon in hot pursuit - or as
hot as it can get on a single track road. Harris does not have a lot
of cars available for hire, but they had all been pressed into service
that day.
During the drive to Stornoway (which is the largest
town on Harris with a ferry terminal and an airport), it appears that
the Mirror reporters showed Mr Bowyer the initial reports of the story
in their paper. He had not been impressed! Perhaps describing him as
"boozed up" and comparing him to Oliver Reid's drunken
portrayal in the movie "Castaway" was not to his liking. The
Mirror claimed that he had only wanted to leave the island
"because his booze had run out". (He would be even more
displeased by his description as "barking mad" in the Mirror
the following day). When he arrived in Stornoway, he jumped out of the
car and ran off - with reporters again in hot pursuit. At one point he
dived into a supermarket, shouting abuse at the startled shoppers
before he bought a disposable razor and attempted to shave off his
beard in a public toilet in a vain attempt to disguise himself. He
succeeded only in cutting himself and was bleeding profusely when he
was next spotted by the press.
In an attempt to avoid his pursuers, Bowyer jumped
into a passing taxi - much to the surprise of the driver who commented
afterwards that his passenger "smelled as though he had been
drinking and had not washed for a while". The taxi sped through
the narrow streets of Stornoway but as Bowyer did not appear to have
any money to pay for the fare, the driver took him to the office of
the Stornoway Gazette - it is not clear whether prior arrangements had
been made by the taxi-driver's mobile phone, but the Gazette paid the
fare.
"Scoop" for Stornoway Gazette
The reporters on the Stornoway Gazette, more used to
the local issues of the Harris Tweed industry and the price of lamb,
must have been delighted to have a media personality in their midst.
So they gave him a cup of tea - and allowed him to rant for an hour
about all his experiences. Donny MacInnes, the Gazette's chief
reporter said afterwards that "he spouted on about everything
that was happening on Taransay. All will be revealed in our next
edition - which is published next Thursday."
The Gazette paid Mr Bowyer no fee for the
"interview" apart from paying his taxi fare. But they also
took him to the harbour (in the back of the paper's delivery van)
pursued again by the media hacks. He then boarded a ferry for the
three hour journey to the mainland at Ullapool. As he went on board,
amid camera flashbulbs, he shouted at the by now dispirited reporters
from the national dailies "Get lost, the lot of you."
