A hectic day, but an interesting one. A letter delivered a couple of days previously kindly informed us that the electrical supply would be interrupted due to 'essential substation maintenance' at around 9 am this morning. In fact it was 08.58 am, and my toast had literally just popped up :-)
Alma had the foresight to fill two Thurmos flasks full of boiled water from the kettle for tea and coffee (already worth her weight in gold after only 2 days marriage) so my mug of Earl Grey was uninterrupted.... We decided to drive up to Loch Ness again, this time over a mountain route taking in some twisty turny narrow roads full of German and Dutch tourists, and ending up at Dores, opposite Urquehart Castle on the south east bank where we stopped for lunch on a pebbly beach. Plenty of photo- opps here as we scrambled over the rocks and threw down some sandwiches. Jostein drew his 645nII from its bag and proceeded down to the waterline. I did battle with my Manfrotto ballhead that suddenly gave up the ghost 24 hours earlier - refusing to lock up properly, and refusing to rotate on it's base as advertised. We puzzled over it for a while but the combine brains of a representative force from Norway and Britain were defeated and we settled for a beer instead. I persevered on with it however, jiggling it into action and then tightening it with herculean effort. Sort of like Caveman's humour, it works after a fashion ;-) The odd stop along the route provided one or two colourful locales and at the southern-most tip of the loch we happened upon Fort Augustus where many a tourist pauses to admire the boats gathering in the half a dozen locks that empty into the loch - if you get my meaning. Thoughts turning towards dinner, I spied a butchers and popped in for some local pork and herb sausages and scotch pies witch turned out to be a big hit with the Norwegians. They just about scoffed the lot! After returning back to the shack, er chalet, I started on a bottle of dry French white and soon had the 2 visiting clans tucking into bangers and mash while the Bob Harris (country+western) show blared out some great tracks. [If you're into country and would like to hear the English slant on it - and a bloody good DJ to boot - check out Bob Harris on http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/country/bob_harris/index.shtml - click on 'listen again' to the right - his show is on every Thursday evening at 1900 BST / 1800 GMT.] Difficult to convey the splendour and beauty of the place in these few paragraphs - it isn't on the grand scale that I would classify such places as NYC, the Grand Canyon, the Norwegian fjords, and so on. It has a charm all of its own, and I really connect with it. The scent of the pine as you walk through the woods is overpowering and delicious. The light is fabulous and changes so rapidly that quite literally if you blink, you miss it. The people are very friendly and I adore the Scots accent - it is simply so familiar. I could easily live here as my *wife* says, and I could. Perhaps not just yet, as I still have a lot to do in my career and life back home in the south of England. I retire (officially) in 2025 - not that far away really - and I could see myself forever roaming the fells in search of the perfect light. Well, at least here or France ;-) Dinner down, PDML digests checked (thanks to all who have offered congrats on our marriage - I have read most out to the bride - who has chuckled where appropriate and paid attention when barked at!) and lights nearly out. The conclusion of another day, with only another remaining. Tomorrow may see us climb one of the highest peaks around (Cairngorm) at several thousand feet (only tiddlers compared to *your* neck of the woods, I know ;-) carrying camera gear, food, water etc - well, at least to the train. There's a funicular railway that goes to the top and we'll be on it. God only knows how I'll cope with Grandfather Mountain - I suppose Bill Owen's beer will carry us to the top of that one - *parp*. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _____________________________ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
