Sprinting to the finish or When Did Nine Weeks Become Two?

It has been a busy week. Suddenly the nine weeks were down to two and we started to feel a bit of panic for things not done along with the realization that there would some of those things that will remain unaccomplished and best left for a later visit.


In the past week we:

• Had dinner with Jerry Allsop and learned a bit more about Glasgow’s World War II history…because of shipbuilding the city was a favorite target of the Luftwaffe

• Were passengers and guests of John Rae and Carol Smith to a visit to St. Andrews

• Visited Linlithgow and the Castle where Mary, Queen of Scots was born

• Met up again with Bob & Lorna Deeley and enjoyed lunch with their daughter, son-in-law and grandchild, wee Callum

• Joined the Deeleys and the Frames on a train to Edinburgh where Inspector Jamie led us on a tour of St. Leonard’s Police Station and an interesting perspective of the city

• Hired a car

• Drove to the Culloden Battlefield, site of the last major land battle on British soil, where Government troops defeated the Jacobite army in 1746, altering the history of the clans in Scotland

• The Highlands are beautiful

• Spent two nights in Oban

• Took the ferry to the Isle of Mull and a brief stop in Tobermory

• Returned to Oban for the tour of the Oban Distillery, ending with a wee dram

So, let’s go to the videotape and the highlights:

• Even for someone who doesn’t golf, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews was impressive

• For you Trekkies out there, Linlithgow is the home town of Montgomery “Scottie” Scott, the irascible chief engineer of the Enterprise on Star Trek. He will be born there in 2025.

• Before condemned prisoners were transported by horse and wagon from Edinburgh Castle to Grassmarket where they were executed, they were given a last drink and then gave us two expressions, “One more for the road” and “On the wagon.”

• A free dram, a free Glencairn glass, a discount coupon for £3.00 of a bottle of Oban whisky, and a tour? At £7.00 the best tour value in Scotland.

• After 450 miles covered in three days behind the wheel of a Vauxhall, I am a bit more comfortable driving on the “wrong side of the road”…just in time to return to San Diego next week.

We have a week of “last things” before us. Tonight our last Friday night visit to Jelly Hill. Tomorrow we are guests of the Brodie family for a Scottish night, featuring haggis, neeps and tatties, Cullen skink, song, and bagpipes. Tuesday we’re hosting a thank you dinner for some of our friends at Stravaigin 2. A last jaunt to Edinburgh and a stroll through our environs for some photo opps.


Business note: We hired our cars through Enterprise. The model translates very well here. The same clean-cut recent college graduates, same courtesy, thoroughness and cleanliness of vehicles and location, same opportunities for rapid promotion for the go-getters.