Culture
Nebulous
I know I've got a culture, and this newsgroup is supposed to cater for it,
but trying to think of it brings on visions of me sitting in an outsize
petri dish with people prodding me and making judgements about how
well-cultured or otherwise I am.
Anyway - I pretty much plough a lone furrow and go to places and events that
appeal to me, rather than those events where other people think I would fit
in.
In terms of enjoying myself, or even being magnanimous and including my
family, enjoying ourselves, this weekend has been an absolute cracker.
Saturday was spent at the Portsoy traditional boat festival.
This was an absolutely wonderful day, with the highlight, apart from the
family barbecue, being a tour of The Reaper, a 70 foot traditional Fifie,
built in 1902. Seeing several traditional fishing boats out sailing late
last night as the sun was setting was a sight to behold. One of these
experiences that gives you a direct link with your past, and drives a shiver
up your spine.
One of the impressive features of these boats is how exposed they were. No
shelter decks, not even a small deckhouse, just a big wheel right aft. My
father was telling me that on a rough day they would lash the skipper to a
post near the wheel, to prevent him being washed overboard while the rest of
the crew retired below.
In addition to the boats there were many other attractions including lots of
food. They had a food tent showcasing some of the finest of Scottish
products, with lots of free samples. I bought a hot kipper and it was
absolutely gorgeous, no food colouring, lots of flavour, a feast fit for a
King, scrub that, a feast too good for a King.
Then today was spent on a walk to the Bullers of Buchan, with the expressed
aim of seeing some puffins.
Once again we used the Walking Scotland website to provide us with a walk.
"Cruden Bay and Bullers of Buchan"
http://walking.visitscotland.com/walks/nescotland/888013
Again this was a superb day. Passing right next to Slains Castle, which is
said to have provided the inspiration for Dracula, then moving on to the
majestic clifftop views of hundreds of nesting birds leading to the Bullers.
It's amazing how lively a cliff edge can be at this time of year with birds
all clamouring for space and all the young looking for food. The one
disappointment of the whole day was that we didn't get a particularly good
view of a Puffin. We saw a few at some distance, but not as close up, or in
as much detail, as we would have liked.
Never mind, I'm sure we will be back.
Neb
La N
> >
> Again this was a superb day. Passing right next to Slains Castle,
> which is said to have provided the inspiration for Dracula,
How cool is *that*!
- nilita (jealous)
Jeffrey Hamilton
Wondering what a "Fifie" looked like, I googled this site:
http://www.freewebs.com/jaydee67/the%20swan.jpg
Very nice indeed. Thanks Neb. Glad you had a great day.
cheers....Jeff
Ian Smith
blurted oot this wisdom:
Looks like you had a smashing weekend. Look forward to some more photies
appearing, hopefully. :-)
My Saturday was spent at a bowling club open day in Paisley. Once a year,
members of the Victoria Bowling Club invite Chivas workers over for a
friendly match. Much fun and drink are indulged. I am rubbish at bowls,
but did fairly ok this time around. Bowling club bar prices are not bad
at all! Starting from lunch time, I finally had my fill by the last train
to Glasgow near midnight. At least I think it was a train, lol! Hope they
ask me back next year. :-)
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