Fort William
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We took the train through Glen Coe today. Even though it was a little over cast the scenery was still worth staying awake for. We were pretty tired, as we were out last night and ran into a St. FXU grad who now lives in Glasgow, and teaches bagpipes at the College of Piping. She had just been in Fife performing in the Highland Games there.
It was neat to talk to someone from St. FXU who knew people and professors I knew. At the same time it was a little disheartening to be inundated with that effusive enthusiasm of the recent graduate for ‘how much better the school is now compared to when you were there’. It makes you feel a little older than you like to think you are – especially when she started to give advice on how to sell my grandfather’s bagpipes. I had mentioned them to her to see if she knew anything about the maker – I don’t want to sell them; I fully intend to learn to play them one day. Sometimes you forget that recent graduates are so sure they are going to change the world that they forget anyone outside of their generation may still have the power to learn and change themselves, if not necessarily the world. Wow – I’m an old fart.
Regardless, it’s great to be here in Fort William. The guidebook doesn’t have anything of any substance to say about the place, but I assure you, it’s beautiful. It’s surrounded by an ocean inlet on one side, ‘mountains’ on the other side, it has a quaint little town center, and all of the signs are written in English and Gaelic. Everyone here seems to be into outdoor activities – mountain biking, diving, rafting, hiking, mountain climbing… in short it’s the kind of place we love.
We booked a baggage transportation service today for our planned hike up the Great Glen. The lady who runs it was so nice on the phone – she sounded just like Ellie Cooper, and was full of enthusiasm, suggestions and advice. Now we’ve booked camp grounds and hostels all along the route, and we’re ready to go in two days. All we have to hope for is a week of weather like today’s – hot and sunny! We’ve really lucked out so far, in that all the rain we’ve run into has been overnight rain so it hasn’t effected us.
We’re sitting in a cybercafe at the end of the main street in Fort William right now, and there is an excellent dog here – she needs a lot of attention, and she’s helping with how much we miss Sandie and Tina. Well, we’re off to the local pool for a swim. Take care,
Noel & George
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