…for a while at least. Time has been up to its usual tricks since we travelled up to the north coast almost a fortnight ago. On the one hand it seems no time at all since we arrived and unpacked. On the other we seem to have been here for ages, so settled do we feel. We’ve certainly been busy, DH with his database work and frequent visits to the office of the local community transport organisation he does some work for, me with housework and church, friends and Knit & Natter.
But now the time has come to pack up and head south again, since I have an unbreakable and longstanding commitment to get ready for, of which more anon. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a selection of the few photographs I’ve managed to take over these cold, wet and stormy two weeks, most of which were taken as the tyre of a friend’s car was changed after a puncture on the way home from Knit & Natter yesterday. If one has to have a puncture, there can be few more lovely places to have one.
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| White caps on the Kyle, whipped up by the gales of Storm Gertrude |
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| Ben Loyal from the village of Tongue - waiting for my lift |
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| The houses of Talmine nestle in the lee of the hill, sheltered from the westerlies |
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| Looking out over Talmine Bay while waiting for the wheel to be changed |
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| The Rabbit Islands |
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| Going for a sail in Talmine Bay |
Finally, for those like me for whom the words “Time to go home” find a strong echo from their own or their children’s childhoods, here is today’s theme tune…
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteOooohhhhh Andy Pandy!!! sigghhhh.... thanks for that memory! Sutherland is looking bonny - if chill. Safe trip home! YAM xx
It was fun hearing it again, yam. Is there anything not on YouTube, I wonder? Sutherland always looks bonny, but you're right about the chill. Brr...
DeleteStunning photos and landscape.
ReplyDeleteThanks and welcome to my blog. Glad you liked them. The North-West Highlands are probably the last true wilderness in Britain.
DeleteLove the photos - especially Ben Loyal. Andy Pandy certainly takes me back to my childhood though we didn't have a TV until 1959..... Wishing you a safe journey back to Mid-Wales.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ricky. Ben Loyal is always breathtaking, but particularly in the snow. We got TV in 1959 too, by which time I was a new teenager, but my little sister watched Andy Pandy with great glee. :-)
DeleteIn the end, after reaching the mighty age of three or four, I came to loathe Andy Pandy, especially when it was "indoors" - BORING!
DeleteI'm not surprised. It was hardly intellectually stimulating once the initial fascination with actually having TV wore off. :)
DeleteMummy always said I loved Popeye so much I called the TV "Popeye". He could blow Andy Pandy out of the water, no probs!
DeleteI remember that vividly. We all watched Popeye together in the early evening, whereas I only ever encountered Andy Pandy if it was on in the school holidays.
DeleteWhat a beautiful part of the country, reminds me of a recent trip up there www.mark-empty.blogspot.com there is a certain charm about the north coast. Regards, Mark.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Mark. We've been coming up to the North-West Highlands for years now and love the area with a passion.
DeleteI can't believe you're away already! Some time, when you have no huvtaes, you'll need to drive via Cowal and the ferries ...
ReplyDeleteI did say this was a flying visit, Christine, because of the aforesaid commitment, but we'll be back for longer later in the year. I would love to venture west off our normal route one day. :)
DeleteGlad all has gone well. Wishing you a safe journey back to Wales.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. Everything was fine, thank goodness, and the weather actually looks like being reasonably dry and not windy for our long drive on Saturday.
DeleteLovely scenes, especially Ben Loyal.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Terra. Ben Loyal is a lovely mountain and I wrote a post about it in all its moods beack in the early days of my blog: http://perpetually-in-transit.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/queen-of-scottish-mountains.html
DeleteWhat a delightful area. If I do make it back to the U.K. again I will try and get up there. I hope you have a good trip back home and that the storms have finished for a while.
ReplyDeleteAndy Pandy brought back memories. My aunt who lived a couple of houses from us had a television and we would go with our friends and watch childrens' television.
It's a truly spectacular landscape, Susan, wonderfully unspoiled and with such great variety of scenery. A long journey to get here but so worth the effort. The forecast for our journey back is for it to be dry with a reasonably light wind, so much better than what we've been having.
DeleteWe didn't get TV until I was 13, but I remember Andy Pandy because my youngest sister watched it when she was very small, as did our children at a later date, at least when they got the chance as we didn't have TV when they were young.
I was only allowed Watch with Mother, and Andy Pandy was on Tuesday AND Thursday, for some reason, but I much preferred Bill and Ben on Wednesdays
DeleteAnd Little Weeeeed... Watch with Mother was broadcast in the early afternoon, but you used to watch Popeye with us after school. According to Wikipedia, Thursday had Rag, Tag and Bobtail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_with_Mother
DeleteI will need to remember "Time to go home" for my next leaving of the our grands. Lovely, as are your photos. I can imagine myself in one of those nestled houses on Talamine. Always an adventure, is it not, when we get into a car? Glad the tire was fixed and you had such a view while you waited.
ReplyDelete"Time to go home" would be instantly recognisable to anyone in the UK who was a small child in the 50s and 60s, Penny. I'm sure your grandchildren would enjoy it.
DeleteTalking is a pleasant little scattered community and after the nice man from the post office shop had finished changing the tyre, I bought some delicious artisan bread from him. A real win-win. :)
The pictures are so beautiful, Perpetua! It must be very hard to leave Scotland behind, but your place in Wales is every bit as lovely. Have a safe journey south.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them, Kristie. You and I are both very fortunate to live amid wonderful scenery. Yes, I always feel a pang when we leave very, but we'll be back for a longer visit later in the year, when hopefully we'll have better weather.
DeleteI enjoyed the little song, Perpetua. Very sweet. I have a vague memory of Andy Pandy and this was just fun. Your photos were absolutely gorgeous! The mountains, in particular, are thrilling. And by the way, I've been missing your posts and didn't know you had been posting recently. I found you in my Spam. Good news, however. I have let you out! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, those spam filters! I'd missed seing you commenting, but just assumed work was too demanding. It's nice to have you back, Debra. :-)
DeleteIn the UK Andy Pandy was part of childhood for those who were young in the 50s and 60s, but I hadnt realised it had croßed the Atlantic. It was fun tracking the song down on YouTube. I'm glad you liked the photos. Ben Loyal is a special favourite of mine and I've photographed it in all weathers.
Love the photos, Perpetual! They're beautiful and also give one a real sense of the chilly season! I never saw that kid's t.v. show but the clip was great! I can see why it would resonate with all who enjoyed it so many years ago. The t.v. shows of childhood really do stay with us, don't they?
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them, Kathy. I love the area so much, even in the chill of winter, that I always want to show off its beauties. :-) The clip was from a show that was broadcast weekly for many years in a weekday programme called "Watch with Mother" aimed at pre-school children, which in the UK back then usually meant children in the age range 0 - 4, though obviously we older ones couldn't help hearing it too. :-)
DeleteThe pictures are beautiful, but if I had a puncture it would much nicer to have one preferably outside a friendly garage. Have a safe journey home to Wales.
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh, Molly. As it happened we came to a stop just opposite the local post office and shop and the very kind postmaster came across to change the tyre for us, as the garage mechanic was out on another call. In small communities people really do look out for each other. :-)
DeleteBeautiful photos, Perpetua. I especially like the smallest one, the shot of the rain through the window. Safe journey home!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Pondside. THe smallest one actually shows the sleet sliding down the window after a very heavy shower. We had quite a lot of weather during our stay. :)
DeleteThis part of the world seems to stay a few decades behind the rest. Not as far back as AndyPandy though.
ReplyDeleteThat's true and very much part of its charm. I was amazed to read that Andy Pandy was broadcast until 1973. It feels much older than that.
DeleteHow did I miss this post...the wonderful colours of Scotland.
ReplyDeleteThough I'm sorry that you had a puncture.
I thought of you when I posted it, Helen. Unfortunately it was the friend who was giving me a lift who had the puncture and there was worse news when the car finally got to the garage to be checked out. A suspension spring had gone and it was that which caused the puncture. An expensive trip to Knit & Natter. :(
DeleteI hope you are not still travelling because Storm Imogen is just on its way. Haven’t we had a lot of stormy weather this year already.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to Wales - let’s hope Spring is not too far off.
Thanks, Friko. Spring can't come soon enough for me. Thankfully we decided to come back a day early, so arrived home on Saturday evening, having missed the worst of that day's weather and of course what was to come. It's just one storm after another...
DeleteBonjour Perpetua...
ReplyDeletemerci pour les clichés d'Ecosse.
That is a reet bonnie view of Ben Loyal...
it is wonderful up there when the weather is "right"....
The one thing I like here is the sense of community....
everyone shakes hands or cheek-kisses and you stop and talk....
do that in Leeds and you see the hands cover the pocket with the money in!!
Unless you are part of the Asian community...
there the men always shake hands on meeting...
and have a quick chat.
The women often hug briefly...
and have a much longer chat...
which, like both sexes here....
is usually at the end of an aisle in supermarkets....
or just as it is their turn to start unloading at the checkout...
or the shop doorway because one party is acommin' in and the others are on the way out!!
I was looking for something last week and the first supermarket didn't have it...
there were three couples blocking the big central aisle...
two of the couples were from our village.
On my way to the other supermarket in Descartes, I went via the DIY for some electrical bits'n'bobs...
and, lo and behold, when I arrived to continue my search at the other supermarket...
the same three couples were again in full conversation in the central aisle!!
Knit & Natter...
Shop'n'Gossip more like...
I don't know what they found to talk about...
the four from our village are always in one of the cafés when I go in...
So I go with the flow...
or lack thereof...
and learn a bit of vocab!!
We are currently in the grip of the edge of Imogen...
I am certain that the rain gauge won't have recorded the true amount... it was travelling horizontally at times and would have "gorn straight over t'top"... but it is nothing that I haven't experienced in Scotland.
Tho' I hope you and yours are alright... there was a chart showing the eye-of-the-storm as a black object headed straight for Wales and the Lakes!!
Hope you were comfortable in the cupboard under the stairs!
Keep well,
Tim
Glad you like them, Tim. I was starting top think I wouldn't get any photos without rain or sleet in them. :)
DeleteThere's a lovely sense of community up in our bit of the the north coast too, though, being a Scottish community, greetings are mostly much more restrained. Plenty of chatting in the couple of small shops and as for Knit & Natter, or coffee before the Sunday service rather than after, tongues wag very energetically there too. Here in Wales too, I'm always bumping into and chatting with people when I go into the nearly small town to shop.
I really think it's the difference between sparsely populated rural areas and densely populated towns and cities, rather than between countries, though I will admit to a great fondness for the French handshake and bisous. There's a lot to be said for knowing what's expected when it comes to greeting people. :)
I gather from other French-resident friends who've been posting on FB that Imogen has been cutting a swathe through much of France too. Here it seems to have been raining almost non-stop since yesterday afternoon and our little river is in full spate again. Even now the rain is still lashing against the windows and the wind is wuthering through the trees. Time to go and check on the ham and pea soup simmering on the stove. There's nothing like comfort food on a night like this. :)
Hi Perpetua, I'm very late to read your post but I hope you and DH got home safely. Take care.
ReplyDeleteNever too late to hear from you, Jennifer. :) We had a very good journey and got home just in time to "enjoy" the latest big storm to hit the UK. Enough is enough...
DeleteMore wonderful photos Perpetua. I am pleased you had a good trip home, and sincerely hope that the latest storm has not caused damage near you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them, Shirley. As far as I can tell there is no damage locally, though I haven't yet been further afield since we got back. Thankfully after more rain today, the forecast for the rest of the week looks much better. :)
DeleteAlways enjoy your photos of Scotland, and Ben Loyal is now a favourite of mine! it sounds as if you made the most of your short trip to the beautiful highlands.
ReplyDeleteI love taking and posting pictures of the Highlands and especially of my beloved Ben Loyal, so it's good to know they are appreciated, Patricia. The weather was pretty bad this visit, but we always enjoy our time there. We're hoping for better weather on our next visit.
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