And Then

The trouble was, the cold didn’t go away: after three weeks of fast and furious adventures round different bits of my skull and upper respiratory tract, the bloody thing is clinging on. Hence, among other things, neglecting the blog. Since last heard from, I have done quite a lot of teaching, But otherwise, the really terrific thing that happened is that our friends from Carolina turned up, along with the Man from Maryport who has not graced these portals in far too long (indeed, not since this blog's previous incarnation). We had a very splendid day out last Saturday:  up to the Spey, that beguiling river, a bit of a walk along its swift course, then lunch at the 19^th century woollen mill, which, apart from an unpretentious café offering soup, quiche, and tray bakes, has a fine complement of Steel Age machinery. One of the most attractive features of 19th century industrial complexes, apart from the heady scent of machine oil, is that you can pretty much see how they work after looking at them for a bit: the logic is apparent. Then it was over the hills and far away, via Dallas (the original Dallas) to Pluscardine Abbey. High moorland, heather, blue skies, birches, driving ten miles without seeing another car (equally, driving ten miles without much of a clue as to whether one was driving in the right direction due to total absence of signage…) . All in all, a temporary flashback to the Golden Age of Motoring as represented by Shell Guides. We did contrive to find Pluscardine in the end. The monks were in retreat, so  we had a look around, and visited the shop: if the brothers are otherwise occupied, as they were, you write down in a book what you’ve bought, and leave the money.  I can think of various farms here and there around Aberdeenshire which, similarly, leave out a pile of eggs in boxes, or whatever, a tariff, and a tupperware box. A small and elementary lesson in trust, and the point of being good. By the way, the Professor has mended the Twisby: re-stuffed its horrid stomach, and patched it. It is not a bit grateful.