Scotland, day 2

Sunday 17 July 2011

We had a good lie in; down to breakfast about 8.30am. Smoked haddock and poached egg – as good as I’ve tasted anywhere. I couldn’t get a signal on the wi-fi this morning and when I checked with the front desk, the receptionist said it was only available in the lounge and foyer on the ground floor. She was amazed that we had got a signal on the second floor.

Oban Harbour

We set off for Oban but had to wait until noon for most of the shops to open. Weather cool, windy with rain blowing in. We looked around the shops avoiding the rain, bought a map of Mull and booked passage for Monday to Craignure. Marea particularly wants to visit Tobermory.

McCaig's Tower over Oban

We thought of visiting Crarae Garden near Inveraray but the rain was rather persistent so we drove into Inveraray itself. I bought some Loch Fyne whisky – one that I particularly enjoy. Marea bought another French necklace like the ones she bought last year. We were pleased to see that the Parisienne lady who owns the shop was still in business – it can’t be easy, even in a tourist spot like Inveraray. We checked where the Highland Games were (for Tuesday) and went back to Portsonachan for dinner and The Apprentice final.

Narrative
Smoked haddock is a real treat here – it’s undyed very fresh and juicy. The only problem is that it’s a long way to Oban so deliveries could be more frequent. When available, it takes away the temptation to have a ‘full Scottish Breakfast’ with bacon, egg, sausage patty, white pudding, beans, toast and jam... etc.

Rain is a constant hazard in Oban – i don’t think we’ver ever been there when it hasn’t rained, though it rarely stays; clouds pass relatively quickly leaving the streets warm and damp with that Victorian seaside town feeling familiar from childhood holidays in Southport, Skegness, Cromer, St Leonards, etc.

Wonderful old-fashioned toilets near the ferry terminal in Oban

Inveraray doesn’t seem to have any real reason for being where it is at the top end of Loch Fyne – though it is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll. The present town was built in the late 1700s after the then Duke moved the population of the existing village to improve the view from his rebuilt castle. This is one of the most prominent features of the place – the Duke and Duchess (new ones of course) are still in residence – together with the gaol, now a museum together with the floating maritime museum, neither of which I have to confess to not having visited. This is not because I don’t like museums but because the majority simply don’t come up to my ideas of what a museum ought to be; I have, unfortunately, been trained on the best.

Inveraray is a place that most people visit. (I’ve only just discovered that much of this is due to the regulation that bus drivers must take a rest after 2 hours driving. Inverary is exactly 2 hours drive from Glasgow so all services connecting Campbeltown, Oban and Fort William to or from Glasgow stop at Inverary for a 20 minute break. The real giveaway that it’s a real tourist trap is the fact that the public toilets cost 30pence rather than the Scottish norm of 20pence.

North of the border down Inveraray way

Wow! A whole month with nothing written. Just goes to show you have less time when you are retired than when you were working.

Also, holidays get in the way and, as usual, Scotland beckoned...

Saturday 16 July 2011

I had left the sat nav in my car over at Toby’s so we went over to collect it and eventually got away at about 8am in the rain. It was a pretty awful journey – heavy showers and spray.
We stopped at Tebay for lunch. This is one of the most beautiful locations for a motorway services overlooking the Vale of Lune. I got my first Scottish money in my change and the weather brightened a bit as we came into Scotland.

View of Loch Awe from the hotel terrace

We arrived at Portsonachan about 4.30pm – not bad; about 7 hours driving plus stops. Last time we came up, our room wasn’t ready and we had to wait on the terrace overlooking the Loch – the hotel has a reputation for being a bit like ‘Fawlty Towers’- see http://www.youtube.com/show/fawltytowers but we have a real liking for the place and its location is simply stunning. There’s no doubt they try hard but the hotel is a bit isolated on Loch Awe so they find it difficult to get and keep staff. This time, all was ready and the whole place seemed more efficient – a real improvement. Marea insisted on doing the unpacking while I went to sit outside in the sun with a malt whisky and my book (Water for Elephants – unputdownable!). It was warm, dry and very pleasant.

Across the loch to Ben Cruachan

Eventually when Marea came down, we sat in the sun with a glass of wine (I had forgotten how big their glasses are). Had dinner early and, in spite of good intentions (having had a good lunch) had langoustines followed by chicken with lime and coriander. The food at Portsonachan remains probably its best feature. Back in the room, we turned on the laptop to see if there was a wi-fi signal (not advertised) and found there was a good free signal. We fell into bed after watching The Impressionists – very good.

Narrative
Normally, the run up to Scotland is very pretty and, despite the distance, quite enjoyable. On this occasion, the weather was so awful that it was something of an ordeal. Tebay is one of the best services on the whole motorway system , not just because of the location, overlooking the Vale of Lune, but because the food is good, the staff are friendly and you might get your first Scottish money in your change. Everyone seems to want to meet here.

Onward into Scotland via Gretna where people used to get married in a hurry.

"Gretna's famous 'runaway marriages' began in 1753 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act was passed in England; it stated that if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then parents had to consent to the marriage. This Act did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 years old with or without parental consent. Many elopers fled England, and the first Scottish village they encountered was Gretna Green. The Old Blacksmith's Shop, built around 1712, and Gretna Hall Blacksmith's Shop (1710) became, in popular folklore at least, the focal tourist points for the marriage trade. The Old Blacksmith's opened to the public as a visitor attraction as early as 1887.

The local blacksmith and his anvil have become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Scottish law allowed for 'irregular marriages', meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as 'anvil priests'." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green

The road goes through Inveraray to the Portsonachan turn and we take the rather lengthy and winding road along the south side of Loch Awe – the longest freshwater loch in Scotland and ancient stronghold of the Clan Campbell.

Main Street, Inveraray

Salvo Fair, Knebworth

Went off to the Salvo Fair earlier in the week.

I still remember Knebworth as a place where psychedelic raves and music festivals were held. It’s all a bit quieter these days… or perhaps it’s just me that’s quieter – viz: “The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth has become a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band attracted 60,000 at the first large concert held at the venue.

Since then, it has been the scene of outdoor extravaganzas featuring Pink Floyd (1975 & 1990), The Rolling Stones & Lynyrd Skynyrd (1976), Genesis (1978, 1990 & 1992), Frank Zappa (1978), Led Zeppelin (1979), Mike Oldfield & The Beach Boys (1980), Cliff Richard (1983 & 1990), Deep Purple (1985), Queen (1986), Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John & Dire Straits (1990), Oasis (1996), Robbie Williams (2003) Sonisphere Festival (2009/2010).”
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerts_at_Knebworth_House

The Salvo Fair is the usual eclectic mix of bygones, architectural salvage, fascinating small antiques and general rubbish.

There’s always something literally monumental near the entrance and you would need to be building your own minor stately home to make use of it. Indeed, that’s the way a number of historic buildings got their various features – by recycling them from other, older buildings. Or, Like Peter Jackson in his settings for Lord of the Rings, you could strew them around the landscape to give an impression of an earlier, grander history.

I did rather like these box pews, but have no idea where I would put them. There seemed to be rather a lot of pews, and some religious statues – see later. Looks like a number of churches are closing and being demolished.

I always go looking for inspiration for my stained glass and there’s always plenty. Here, some beautiful plain art nouveau glass just to teach us that not everything has to be wildly coloured to be entrancing.

This marble floor really knocked me out. It would be worth building a house just to have somewhere to put it!

More stained glass in various sizes: the 4 dividing doors were spectacular – totally undamaged and very tall. They extend below the piece of glass that’s leaning against their bases.

More, and lovelier.

If you were refurbishing a house or building from scratch – this is exactly what you would need: multiples of knobs, handles and other fittings, all matching. One wonders where they have come from.

There’s also, I have to say, rather a lot of what is simply junk...

And here’s more junk. Makes a good photo, but wouldn’t want to expend any hard-earned cash on it.

And just what would you do with these rather forlorn statues (though the fireman looks more cheerful)

Back to the monumental and a 7ft high cast iron urn for the garden.

This is a child’s (play) shepherding hut converted from a chicken shed. It’s a bit twee and makes me think of sending children up the chimneys or out into the fields to glean discarded ears of wheat.

A Yellow submarine – not a film prop but a genuine working 2 man sub.

And this is the iconic tribunal desk that appeared on the Salvo website – hold your own trials! I don’t know whether they sold it.

But what I really wanted was this Blue flashed starburst glass. I didn’t really want to spend the money while I was there but will probably drive down to the Cotswolds to buy from the dealer.
Altogether, this year’s Salvo Fair was much like last year’s – full of fascinating objects but. We thought, very over-priced. Whether this is because it’s the Salvo Fair and they get all sorts of people who don’t know the market or whether they start high, knowing that their customers are knowledgeable and will drive a hard bargain.
We enjoyed it but didn’t really spend (we bought a couple of small teapots made for P&O in the 50s; that’s all).

The Mole Man cameth...

... and the Mole Man tooketh away.

Towards the end of the last entry, I had noticed that the new lawn was lifting along the edge.

Checking a little more carefully, I found that there was a tunnel all round the edge of the lawn and that the plants which were falling out of the soil and for which i had accused Marea of 'just sticking them in' and not planting them properly, had been undermined by the digging of a mole.

Raising the edge of the lawn, it became clear that, unless we solved the problem, the mole would burrow under the lawn and areas would drop making the whole thing unlevel and hazardous. I rang the Mole Man.

He came, set two traps under the soil and left, telling me to watch out for the tell-tale lifting of a tiny lever showing that the trap had been sprung. Well, he hadn't been gone more than an hour when I was showing Marea where the traps were and I noticed the lifted lever. Extracting the trap, we found a large male mole which the Mole Man came and took away. We now have to wait a few days to see if there are any others, but, since he was a male, this is apprently unlikely.

Retirement: week one. The Summer Garden

I've now been retired just over a week and I don't seem to have had time to sit down.

I know there's lots to do around the house and in the garden... I've had to dead head and prune this rose around the door (Paul's Scarlet) so it will produce another flush of blooms later in the Summer.

It's now officially Summertime - poppy time!

We have a number of varieties because we both enjoy them. our favourite is Patty's Plum but we also have small Californian poppies,

and, of course, the garden's full of roses at the moment.

I've forgotten the name of this white rose but it's one of the best and fragrant too.

Just Juliet

Handel

Just Juliet can always be relied on to look wonderful and Handel is exquisite and beautifully scented.

The bottom of the garden where we redesigned it before having the lawn put in has come on quite well and is beginning to look settled. Paul's Himalayan Musk looks wonderful falling over Cleopatra but the laurel hedge will have to be cut hard back in the Autumn and, with it, some of the rose. It's so vigorous it probably won't even pause.

Pleine de Grace is coming into its own where it grows over the shed. It produces good hips in the Autumen so I'll wait until deep Winter to cut it back after the birds have had their fill.

We have a real love of rambling roses. This is one of the best known, Rambling Rector. It can get out of hand if not watched carefully.

 

 

Of course, one of the great things about being retired is having the opportunity to take Molly for a walk whenever I feel like it. I can choose the best part of the day and go and admire the dog roses and say 'Hi' to the rabbits.

 

Summer, of course is not without its hazards; here are just a couple:

This is where the new lawn is lifting at the edge. I wondered what had caused it until I saw a molehill just off to one side. We've never had moles in the garden but it looks like we've got them now. Under this edge, there's a long tunnel. Plainly the disturbed soil made an easy dig for the mole.

And this, much more difficult to decipher as a picture, is where a birds nest is lodged behind our digital TV dish and disrupting our picture. I don't know whether there are young in there, but we're going to have to get up and have a look.

You can't keep a good tree down

April was such a great month. Not only did we get an extended holiday because of Good Friday and Easter Monday/Tuesday, but these were followed by the royal wedding and the normal Spring bank holiday.

Like many people, we too the 2 extra days and made a lengthy break. With nowhere to fly off to and no major events to organise (e.g. Christmas), this was a really restful period; maybe good practice for retirement. We went to watch cricket (in the sun!), spent time getting the garden into shape and generally enjoyed ourselves.

Meanwhile, the village is looking forward to Summer - everywhere is greening up and blossom covers the hedgerows.

The vandalised elms have sprouted again - you can't keep a good tree down. My neighbour says they will never grow into proper trees but I wonder whether, if we take off all the shoots but one and create a single leader, we might get a result.

All the rest of the elms are burgeoning and will look magnificent in a few years time.

Across the road, the guy who broke into our house and disturbed Marea has set up a sort of playground for his children and they light bonfires on warm nights. Still, they haven't bothered us yet.

My favourite plant, cow parsley, (keck) is out everywhere and is at its best at this early stage.

It has a smell that brings back Summer every year. Marea and I both love this plant so much that I actually bought her a gold and silver brooch representing cow parsley for Christmas from Paula Bolton Jewellery http://www.paulabolton.net/acatalog/Hedgerow.html.

I've bought Marea lots of Paula Bolton jewellery in the past. She's a favourite designer.

The dandelions have all gone over but, from the look of this, we won't have to worry about not having any next year.

Sumer is icumen in;
Lhude sing cuccu!
 
http://www.pteratunes.org.uk/Music/Music/Lyrics/summerisicumenin.html