Anyone got Calmac updates? Is it as bad as the papers say, with passenger numbers limited because of safety issues on the Mull ferry? I'm hoping we won't have to hire a rowing boat in Oban when we get there next month.
We are travelling to Mull later this month. In our own vehicle, so will use the Lochaline - Fishnish ferry rather than Oban - Craignure. We know quite a few Mull residents and they are finding the current ferry situation hard to live with.
Anyone got Calmac updates? Is it as bad as the papers say, with passenger numbers limited because of safety issues on the Mull ferry? I'm hoping we won't have to hire a rowing boat in Oban when we get there next month.
The MV Isle of Mull is not the only Mull ferry, but the limits to passenger numbers have certainly been inconvenient.
Hmm... We always go from Oban, as we're usually on the train. Scotrail and Calmac have a long history of ignoring each other, which makes it worse. Last year we arrived back in Oban from Craignure on the Coruisk - slower than the Isle of Mull - just in time to see the Glasgow train leaving. Looks like the same this year, but worse with reduced capacity.
I can recall riding on MacBrayne's buses when they were still in the striking red, cream, and green livery, and, on extensive travels in the Highlands and Islands in about 1970, had no problem with the services then provided by bus, train, and ship. Ichabod!
At least Oban ferries still arrive at Oban so there's at least a possibility of connecting to the train. Unlike the Arran ferries which can no longer use Ardrossan and go to Troon instead, with a bus service back up the coast to Ardrossan for the train.
I can recall riding on MacBrayne's buses when they were still in the striking red, cream, and green livery, and, on extensive travels in the Highlands and Islands in about 1970, had no problem with the services then provided by bus, train, and ship. Ichabod!
In the 1970s there was a friend of my father’s working as public transport coordinator in the Highlands. He made a point of travelling on every train, bus and ferry every year to make sure the timetables agreed. I don’t think anyone does that now….
At least Oban ferries still arrive at Oban so there's at least a possibility of connecting to the train. Unlike the Arran ferries which can no longer use Ardrossan and go to Troon instead, with a bus service back up the coast to Ardrossan for the train.
Same at Stranraer, with the boats now using Cairnryan and leaving the Harbour station both bereft of connections and in the wrong place for the town.
Things are better at Fishguard where trains and boats still connect (after a fashion) and the town station (still fairly remote but the best that could be done) reopened a few years ago.
Many Orcadians are justifiably pissed off because the MV Alfred, which was built for Pentland Ferries to do the St Margaret's Hope-Gills Bay run, has been on loan to Caledonian MacBrayne for longer than we'd care to mention. I don't know which route it serves, but it's high time they gave us it back.
I do appreciate that Andrew Banks*, the founder/owner of Pentland Ferries (who was in my class at school) is probably making a fortune from the "loan", but still ...
* He started Pentland Ferries with a retired Cal-Mac boat (the Iona, which was renamed the Pentalina B), which was certainly not luxurious, but it got the trip done in about an hour, which was a vast improvement from the Stromness/Scrabster run; as he said, it's not an ocean liner you need for that route - it's a bus.
He also used to point out that if he got the subsidies enjoyed by P&O (and their successor, Northlink), he could run the service for nothing.
Oh - and their BACON SANDWICHES are second to none.
I can recall riding on MacBrayne's buses when they were still in the striking red, cream, and green livery, and, on extensive travels in the Highlands and Islands in about 1970, had no problem with the services then provided by bus, train, and ship. Ichabod!
The version I know is close:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Excepting the West Highland piers
For they are all MacBraynes
I just came across another that is pleasingly poetic:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Except the Kyles and the Western Isles
For they are all MacBrayne's
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Excepting the West Highland piers
For they are all MacBraynes
I just came across another that is pleasingly poetic:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Except the Kyles and Western Isles
For they are all MacBrayne's
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously ).
I can recall riding on MacBrayne's buses when they were still in the striking red, cream, and green livery, and, on extensive travels in the Highlands and Islands in about 1970, had no problem with the services then provided by bus, train, and ship. Ichabod!
The version I know is close:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Excepting the West Highland piers
For they are all MacBraynes
I just came across another that is pleasingly poetic:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Except the Kyles and the Western Isles
For they are all MacBrayne's
Thanks! I thought there might be different versions...
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously ).
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously ).
Could we think of a more westerly tune than that?
There's IRISH, wish is adequately westerly if excessively southerly.
We need something in between ... unfortunately there don't seem to be tunes named Mallaig, Morar, Ardnamurchan or Wester Ross (that last one should definitely exist, don't you think?). Perhaps the Free Church have something suitable ...
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously ).
We need something in between ... unfortunately there don't seem to be tunes named Mallaig, Morar, Ardnamurchan or Wester Ross (that last one should definitely exist, don't you think?). Perhaps the Free Church have something suitable ...
It is three months till my son “the Giraffe” has his wedding. My daughter and I are trying to persuade Mr Cats that his 1970s blue suit will Not Do, especially as father of the groom. Ideally we would hire a kilt outfit for him, but he says that no one is going to dres him up like a tumshie. His new idea is to wear his striped trousers and black jacket which was his uniform at Warriston Crematorium….
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously ).
We need something in between ... unfortunately there don't seem to be tunes named Mallaig, Morar, Ardnamurchan or Wester Ross (that last one should definitely exist, don't you think?). Perhaps the Free Church have something suitable ...
It is three months till my son “the Giraffe” has his wedding. My daughter and I are trying to persuade Mr Cats that his 1970s blue suit will Not Do, especially as father of the groom. Ideally we would hire a kilt outfit for him, but he says that no one is going to dres him up like a tumshie. His new idea is to wear his striped trousers and black jacket which was his uniform at Warriston Crematorium….
A 1970s suit is still perfectly fine in my book, and it would probably work now if I still owned a suit. When I have to dress up now, it's always the kilt, though without all the dressy BPC gear. When Older Daughter got married twenty-one years ago I was advised that the men in the wedding party would be wearing tuxedos. "Not this one", was my response. I confess to bragging about this to an elderly friend, who offered me his father's claw hammer suit that he reckoned was the best part of a hundred years old. "Perfect!" says I, and that's what I wore on the day. It looked just fine, and I was the only one who looked comfortable in the photos. (He had some splendid hats, but those old Scottish farmers must have had odd shaped heads, and none of them fitted).
A 1970s suit is still perfectly fine in my book, and it would probably work now if I still owned a suit.
1970s suits didn’t look good in the 1970s, I’m afraid, and they haven’t improved over the decades since.
I have to say that I have two. Both hand-me-downs, both made for gentlemen who could afford a proper tailored wool suit (one is a Hardy Amies by Hepworths) and the alterations shop that altered them to fit me said "Please don't bring in any more, being properly tailored they take *forever* to take apart!"), and who had no intention of looking fashionable. That's the important bit, as it means I have a two and a three-piece suit, both immaculately tailored, that can be worn for formal functions and interviews.
Even better, despite my best efforts (the Knotweed will vouch for my troughing ability), I have somehow reached my early 50s less than half a stone heavier than I was in my late 20s when I got the suits (dodges flying bricks), so the fit is still sharp as a knife.
I had to look up clawhammer suit, had never heard the term before, but it makes perfect sense.
It is three months till my son “the Giraffe” has his wedding. My daughter and I are trying to persuade Mr Cats that his 1970s blue suit will Not Do, especially as father of the groom. Ideally we would hire a kilt outfit for him, but he says that no one is going to dres him up like a tumshie. His new idea is to wear his striped trousers and black jacket which was his uniform at Warriston Crematorium….
Is the Giraffe going to be in a kilt?
Oh yes, as are his 6 groomsmen and the bride’s step-dad….. but never mind. If the bride’s family think Mr Cats is eccentric they will not be wrong!
(What worries the Giraffe is that they might think he couldn’t be bothered to make an effort. And actually in that they also might not be wrong. Very first world problem though.)
A 1970s suit is still perfectly fine in my book, and it would probably work now if I still owned a suit ...
Being English, David didn't wear a kilt to our wedding - just a smart, 3-piece suit (he'd been forced into a morning coat for his sister's wedding the year before and flatly refused to repeat the experience). My dad, brother, brother-in-law and nephews (and some of the guests) were in kilts.
David's brother-in-law (whose father was half-French, half Scots) was supposed to be wearing a kilt - hired from Moss Bros for the occasion - but fate was against him. He had travelled up to Orkney by train (he's an avid train bloke) in what he stood up in (a t-shirt and jeans), and his wife (D's sister, who was supposed to be the "groom's supporter" and was flying up as she couldn't get as much time off work) was to bring his kilt up in her suitcase. She got as far as Aberdeen, to discover that Kirkwall was fog-bound (the first unsunny weekend we'd had in weeks) and there was no way she was getting there by plane. She got the ferry from Aberdeen, but didn't actually get to Orkney until about 10 at night, by which time the reception was in full swing.
Her husband stood in for her as best man, wearing an old tweed suit our mutual father-in-law had brought with him for going walking - he was the only member of the party who was roughly the right size. So our wedding photos feature D and his father in smart suits, my father in a kilt and the best man in a brown suit ...
He did put on the kilt once D's sister arrived, and looked very well in it.
When my s-in-law got married she wanted a morning dress wedding, at least partly to meet her European husband’s family expectations. TBF she offered that they would cover the cost (we had three small children at the time and were making full use of Child Tax Credits). I said if we were going to do that sort of thing, I’d rather wear a kilt.
As I’m a bit of a stickler it is fortunate that one of the tartans I am ‘entitled’ to wear is readily hireable.
It was good fun. Much more becoming than morning dress, and a great cause of admiration and envy to her groom’s brothers.
Another anecdote, though this one may have appeared here before. We went to a winter wedding at the Ice Hotel near Québec City a few years ago. I received numerous inquiries about the experience of sitting on the solid ice benches while wearing my kilt. The answer was that the benches were covered with deer skins. They have quite remarkable insulating properties and no harm was done.
Has anyone visited Dunning? For many years, indeed for several decades, every time we have driven down the A9 and seen the sign "St Serf's Church and Duplin Cross 2 miles" we have said that we must visit it one day.
Last Thursday was The Day! We turned off the A9 at 11.54, and were parked in Dunning and out of the car as the bells of St Serf's rang 12 noon. We wandered round the church in a leisurely fashion, read all the information boards, studied the Duplin Cross, and took some photos. Then we went into the delightful pub immediately opposite the church for a coffee and toilet stop. Then we drove 2 miles to the Maggie Wall Memorial, a memorial to a witch who was burned there in the C17th. To my surprise, it's been turned into a sort of shrine with trinkets such as shells, coins and cheap jewellry left there. Behind it are a collection of white stones, each with the name of a woman who died violently.
We turned back onto the A9 at 12.54. I can't quite figure out how we managed to do all that in a hour. Admittedly, St Serf's is a small church, and everything was very close together, and just off the A9. But we were completely unhurried. It just felt as though time moved more slowly in Dunning.
I haven't visited there (David was a sucker for a church, but only if it had an organ he might be interested in!); whenever we were on the A9, we always seemed to be hurrying either north to catch the ferry to Orkney, or south to reach Edinburgh by a civilised time of night.
We always said we should stop and look at Dunrobin Castle, just outside Helmsdale, but we never did.
I haven't visited there (David was a sucker for a church, but only if it had an organ he might be interested in!); whenever we were on the A9, we always seemed to be hurrying either north to catch the ferry to Orkney, or south to reach Edinburgh by a civilised time of night.
We always said we should stop and look at Dunrobin Castle, just outside Helmsdale, but we never did.
I take it the Clan Chief who built the castle was an inveterate raider?
I take it the Clan Chief who built the castle was an inveterate raider? That would be a polite way of putting it.
The opulence of Dunrobin Castle compared to the utter destitution of the tenantry of the Sutherland estates turns my stomach; I have no desire to visit it.
I may have climbed Ben Bhraggie for the sole purpose of mooning the statue of the Duke of Sutherland ....
I take it the Clan Chief who built the castle was an inveterate raider?
I see what you did there ...
Oh... I finally got it. Much interesting history there, especially for those who worship a minor god in the memory of the Highland Railway. A later duke made amends to some extent by investing heavily in the railway that provided work for some of the remaining local people and connected the farmers and fisherfolk of the region to markets far away. But the damage had been done, and memories go back a long way in those parts.
I think he also invested - I can't say whether it was for profit or the benefit of his tenantry - in the coal mine at Brora, the most northerly in the UK. Unlikely as it sounds, this actually kept going until the early 1970s.
I had no idea there'd been a coal mine in Brora - it's really not far from Helmsdale, where my family lived when I was born (my dad taught science in the school there before we moved to Orkney, when I was not quite four).
Comments
Having said that, a Sunday School has sprung up recently with five or six regulars, which is promising.
Edit cos spelling...
We are travelling to Mull later this month. In our own vehicle, so will use the Lochaline - Fishnish ferry rather than Oban - Craignure. We know quite a few Mull residents and they are finding the current ferry situation hard to live with.
The MV Isle of Mull is not the only Mull ferry, but the limits to passenger numbers have certainly been inconvenient.
The good Lord made the sea and sky
And over them doth reign,
Except the Western Highlands,
Which belong to the MacBrayne...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_MacBrayne
I can recall riding on MacBrayne's buses when they were still in the striking red, cream, and green livery, and, on extensive travels in the Highlands and Islands in about 1970, had no problem with the services then provided by bus, train, and ship. Ichabod!
In the 1970s there was a friend of my father’s working as public transport coordinator in the Highlands. He made a point of travelling on every train, bus and ferry every year to make sure the timetables agreed. I don’t think anyone does that now….
Things are better at Fishguard where trains and boats still connect (after a fashion) and the town station (still fairly remote but the best that could be done) reopened a few years ago.
I do appreciate that Andrew Banks*, the founder/owner of Pentland Ferries (who was in my class at school) is probably making a fortune from the "loan", but still ...
* He started Pentland Ferries with a retired Cal-Mac boat (the Iona, which was renamed the Pentalina B), which was certainly not luxurious, but it got the trip done in about an hour, which was a vast improvement from the Stromness/Scrabster run; as he said, it's not an ocean liner you need for that route - it's a bus.
He also used to point out that if he got the subsidies enjoyed by P&O (and their successor, Northlink), he could run the service for nothing.
Oh - and their BACON SANDWICHES are second to none.
The version I know is close:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Excepting the West Highland piers
For they are all MacBraynes
I just came across another that is pleasingly poetic:
The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Except the Kyles and the Western Isles
For they are all MacBrayne's
How very appropriate that they're in Common Metre, and consequently can be sung to some excellent tunes; in my head at the moment I'm singing them to "Dundee" (with the long notes, obviously
Thanks! I thought there might be different versions...
There's IRISH, wish is adequately westerly if excessively southerly.
How about "Glasgow"? Or "Kilmarnock"? 🙂
St Columba is probably the best bet, or GLASGOW.
Would Bunessan meet that brief?
Is the Giraffe going to be in a kilt?
Even better, despite my best efforts (the Knotweed will vouch for my troughing ability), I have somehow reached my early 50s less than half a stone heavier than I was in my late 20s when I got the suits (dodges flying bricks), so the fit is still sharp as a knife.
I had to look up clawhammer suit, had never heard the term before, but it makes perfect sense.
Oh yes, as are his 6 groomsmen and the bride’s step-dad….. but never mind. If the bride’s family think Mr Cats is eccentric they will not be wrong!
(What worries the Giraffe is that they might think he couldn’t be bothered to make an effort. And actually in that they also might not be wrong. Very first world problem though.)
David's brother-in-law (whose father was half-French, half Scots) was supposed to be wearing a kilt - hired from Moss Bros for the occasion - but fate was against him. He had travelled up to Orkney by train (he's an avid train bloke) in what he stood up in (a t-shirt and jeans), and his wife (D's sister, who was supposed to be the "groom's supporter" and was flying up as she couldn't get as much time off work) was to bring his kilt up in her suitcase. She got as far as Aberdeen, to discover that Kirkwall was fog-bound (the first unsunny weekend we'd had in weeks) and there was no way she was getting there by plane. She got the ferry from Aberdeen, but didn't actually get to Orkney until about 10 at night, by which time the reception was in full swing.
Her husband stood in for her as best man, wearing an old tweed suit our mutual father-in-law had brought with him for going walking - he was the only member of the party who was roughly the right size. So our wedding photos feature D and his father in smart suits, my father in a kilt and the best man in a brown suit ...
He did put on the kilt once D's sister arrived, and looked very well in it.
As I’m a bit of a stickler it is fortunate that one of the tartans I am ‘entitled’ to wear is readily hireable.
It was good fun. Much more becoming than morning dress, and a great cause of admiration and envy to her groom’s brothers.
Last Thursday was The Day! We turned off the A9 at 11.54, and were parked in Dunning and out of the car as the bells of St Serf's rang 12 noon. We wandered round the church in a leisurely fashion, read all the information boards, studied the Duplin Cross, and took some photos. Then we went into the delightful pub immediately opposite the church for a coffee and toilet stop. Then we drove 2 miles to the Maggie Wall Memorial, a memorial to a witch who was burned there in the C17th. To my surprise, it's been turned into a sort of shrine with trinkets such as shells, coins and cheap jewellry left there. Behind it are a collection of white stones, each with the name of a woman who died violently.
We turned back onto the A9 at 12.54. I can't quite figure out how we managed to do all that in a hour. Admittedly, St Serf's is a small church, and everything was very close together, and just off the A9. But we were completely unhurried. It just felt as though time moved more slowly in Dunning.
We always said we should stop and look at Dunrobin Castle, just outside Helmsdale, but we never did.
I take it the Clan Chief who built the castle was an inveterate raider?
I take it the Clan Chief who built the castle was an inveterate raider? That would be a polite way of putting it.
The opulence of Dunrobin Castle compared to the utter destitution of the tenantry of the Sutherland estates turns my stomach; I have no desire to visit it.
I may have climbed Ben Bhraggie for the sole purpose of mooning the statue of the Duke of Sutherland ....
I see what you did there ...
Oh... I finally got it. Much interesting history there, especially for those who worship a minor god in the memory of the Highland Railway. A later duke made amends to some extent by investing heavily in the railway that provided work for some of the remaining local people and connected the farmers and fisherfolk of the region to markets far away. But the damage had been done, and memories go back a long way in those parts.