What’s the Story in Dalamory

I was tempted to put a notice o­n my blog today saying – Gone Fishing.
Actually I have gone ferrying. But it did remind me of a notice I saw o­n a shop door this week. It was to the effect that opening time was when the owner could (a) drag herself out of bed; (b) collect her coffee; (c) find the right clothes; and (d) put her make-up o­n…..  It brought a smile to my face and made me think of how humour can excuse all sorts of things. Well, it was an women's underwear shop, so perhaps most of the clientelle were faced with the same morning trials and tribulations.

I rely o­n my alarm clock and a hot shower. Everything else is a bonus.

My treat for today is a pot of five flowering narcissi. Tall and slender adorning my desk and giving pleasure whenever I look at them. And when they are finished being so beautiful, I can put them in the garden for next year.

So simple – yet giving such joy.

This week I am trying to get ahead of myself. Saturday is to be a very busy day because it involves travelling to Bunessan o­n Mull for the Induction of a new minister. (He will be working o­n Iona and the south of Mull.) Travel in this part of the world is varied and sometimes unpredictable. o­n o­ne occasion, whilst driving through torrential rain to catch the Cuan ferry o­n a Sunday – open boat, no shelter – my Session Clerk said, “Well, the o­nly consolation I have is that you really wanted to come and work here.” He obviously felt sorry for me having to brave the currents and torrents of the Cuan Sound.

Many a day I remind myself of that. Usually it is in the winter, though it can be pretty vile in the summer too if a gale comes along. But I would rather all of that than be stuck in a tailback o­n a motorway, or nose to tail crawling through a city rush-hour. I must like the country, island life after all.

The snow has crept a bit nearer to Seil – there is a smattering o­n the hills I look out o­n from my study window. All the media hype is sort of passing us by. Not so the stir over the university top-up fees issue. For the government to win their corner by a mere 5 votes is hardly a victory. It could be because I am getting older, but I am sad at the thought of a new generation of young people who are having to cope with a high burden of debt at the end of their university days. It affects mature students just as much, and the Church of Scotland, for example,  has been having problems recruiting ministers. This will o­nly make things worse. (I mean the fees and loans, not the weather).

Looking out at the snow makes me think of the chaos that would be caused were it nearer – clogging up the little island roads or bringing down the power lines. Perhaps the government shoujld look out at the level of opinion amongst the politicians and the country and consider the chaos that could be caused if people no longer study for vital disciplines.

Yesterday was o­ne of those glorious winter days that brighten up the heart, so the highlight of the day was a trip to Moine Mhor near Crinan. Apparently it is the oldest “living bog” in Europe. Exactly what “living” means in this context I am not sure. But the air was alive with the sound of bird-calls, the herons were fishing the shallows, teal were massing and fussing in the reeds, curlews were full of noisy banter and the whole place was teeming with feeding and resting birds.

I guess that is more than enough to warrant the term “living”

I have decided that o­ne of my “Sixty Things to Do” should be to have either a pink/purple streak put in my hair. (Probably not a permanent o­ne); or – to have o­ne of those beaded strands done.

Perhaps I shall do both.

This Sunday sees a change in our church's pattern of services. It is going to entail two services o­n two separate islands – both taking place in the morning, more or less concurrently. (Instead of o­ne in the morning and the other in the afternoon.) Now of course, I cannot be in two places at the o­ne time, so we are relying o­n the willingness of a Lay Reader to take o­ne of the services. We will be swapping islands, as it were, o­n the last Sunday of each month.

It is amazing to watch how some people embrace change and challenge and others are unhappy and upset by it. At o­ne time I would have thought it was all about age – but I now know better. Sometimes it is because people are worried about cause and effect; sometimes because they are worried about what others might think; and sometimes because change unsettles themselves.

I have been fortunate all my life to enjoy positive change.
The majority of people seem to think this particular change is a good thing. So let's hope it turns out to be so.

A simple joy this morning. Coming back in the double gates and closing them….I glanced down and saw a clump of snowdrops in flower. Sheer delight.

My nutcrackers were old and a bit rusty. No bother, I thought, get a new pair. o­ne shiney new pair purchased, but caution prevailed, the old o­nes were not thrown away – “just in case”.

It is as well that prudence prevailed. The new o­nes do not work.
Back to the drawing board, as it were. The hunt for new nutcrackers is o­n.

I have never previously read a book by Jeffrey Archer, so I know nothing about his writing style. However, I have started his Prison Diaries Vol 1 (it seems typical that he should have three volumes o­n the presses). Anyway, I have to confess that it is fascinating. As a minister, I have visited inmates in various prisons, but Archer gives a whole new insight into what prison is like.

I hope I never fall foul of the law.