I really want to write it down as it so deserves it, especially before I forget. I've bored enough people gushing over it I really feel its my duty to inflict it on the wider internet.
I mean it has to be done, doesn't it?
The week was in Scotland, just me, my best friend and her puppy. Just is a bit of an understatement with that puppy. An 8 month old beagle with more energy than the rest of us. I adore both of them, and so the pleasure of their company for a week was enough of a plan for me. I am sure she felt the pressure, as I was visiting them, to make sure it was a good week but that was enough for me.
The flight up was good, boring as normal. I don't see why people have a problem with flying, my only problem is it's boring!!! Hurry up and wait. Quickly go through this queue only to then sit around before the next frantic bit of activity. Not stressful as all, just enough to turn you into a zombie. Ahhhhh the delights of the two tin-sheds that is Bournemouth Airport (I dont think they've added International into the title yet, maybe.... hmmmm... sounds so grand!). So very cosmopolitan. Popped into WH Smiths to buy some magazines to read while I waited. Confronted by poor Scots lady trying to buy something for her grandson only to be told her money wasn't valid "we don't accept euro's". Well thats fine, except it wasn't a euro it was a Scottish fiver and definitely legal tender! Its not like they can't see them.. they flight to basically four places, dublin, spain, spain again and prestwick in scotland! So a large proportion of people are Scottish and so will probably have scottish notes. Should be able to spot them by now. Had a nice little hello and stuff with her being sympathetic over her plight. *sigh* what is it about the scots that makes them so easy to talk to? I don't know but I love it and it left me in a perfect mood to checkin and do some more waiting.
Uneventful flight. This time Ryan Air managed to count the number of passengers first time round, rather than last time where it took 30mins to come up with the same answer twice (yes... in light of recent events this is a little worrying, but i still think there is more chance of someone going postal at work than a security problem on my flight. Sad thing is the odds are it will be ME going postal at work).
Phoned the hotel for my complimentary taxi. Ahhhh more Scots. Heaven. Had a laugh to myself that as always prestwick was wet. One of those invariable things. When you fly into Prestwick it will be raining. First bit of fun when the car turned up "hello Mr
understatement. They had no clue who was going to turn up until they phoned! So, taken to a rather nice travelodge instead. Dropped off and told I wasn't paying, they would pick up the bill. No complaints from me, rather than a 35quid single non-ensuite suddenly i am in a spacious 70quid double en-suite. Ok so it was a smoking room and so smelled a little but... considering the guy had been upto 3am ferrying people between hotels the morning before I thought i was lucky to be so close. I really dont understand people that complain, it was one night, they were paying completely.... they were doing their best.The fun didnt stop though. Popped down to the receptionists (and not just because I liked their accents, though that helped, well ok a lot) to find out if breakfast was included. They were in a right old panic. Hotel man had dropped me off at 5, popped back 20mins later with another couple then promised to come back with payment. 7pm and no sign. They went off at 8pm and had to balance the books and had two rooms full out with no one officially in then and no payment... Lets say that famous fighting spirit of scots lasses was coming out and she was being very vocal about what she would do to him if he didn't show. Cute. So we chatted (Yes, me who doesnt say hi to anyone that he hasnt known for 6 months... I tell you i love how easy it is to relax up there, they will talk to anyone). Finally found out just before 8 that if i wanted breakfast my *real* hotel would come pick me up, take me to that hotel... give me breakfast... then drive me back. Oh my. Sod that for a game of soldiers, I wanted my lie in!!! So I paid just for breakfast. Cheap price considering I wasn't paying for the room. No point in complaining. They were happy too as they actually had some money ;-).
Breakfast was good. God I ate so much it was silly. Very much worth it. I could probably have survived the rest of the week without eating ;-).
So the time came. That fateful phonecall when the girl rang to say she was outside, get my skinny ass out to the car. I am glad I had that night alone in the hotel to get settled from work and the week, make that transition to holiday... as I was pretty relaxed, unstressed, happy. Not nervous at all. I know it would have been daft to be nervous but when you don't see someone for awhile you can get like that. Walked out, looked around to find her and of course the puppy was the first thing I saw. Well, you don't get that many beagle's in the car park of a travelodge. Oh god that is a magnicant dog. Her pedigree show's through so well. Not a single bit of her thats not muscle, I couldn't believe how she'd grown since feb. Then I saw the girl and smiled and that little click that friends have that you know it could be a day, a week, a year you might not see each other and carry on as if no time has passed. Love her to pieces for that. I think we bring to each other that quiet appreciation and comfort that stops us taking ourselves so seriously. If we do, I know we will bitch and take the piss at each other til we stop sharpish. If anyone ever see's us together, honest... we do like each other despite how it seem's lol. OK I admit even if we aren't taking ourselves too seriously we'll still do that...
The dog was sitting in the back with me for all of ohhhhh 30mins? She seemed to mistake me for a dog chew, well thats what she was using my wrists for. God that dog has got strong! So brought up sharpish to sit by mum and she settled down nicely while we chatted and made the journey up north.... The highlands our destination for the week. OK my hearing isn't totally perfect, especially in a running car with a quiet scot, but to be fair I am pretty quiet too and my pronounciation is lousy, but I think we managed to get through the week with only half the conversations being "what was that?". At least it wasnt just me saying it!.
My first mistake was pointing out the pretty purple flowers by the side of the road. Lovely I said, could tell I was in Scotland as I remembered them from Feb. The instant withering reply "those are weeds..." followed by lots of giggles. Well that was it for the week. Everytime we passed them I was the recipient of peels of laughter and having them pointed out as my flowers. If you've ever been to Scotland you will know what I mean and you will know they were everywhere. This turned into a running theme for the week, but its ok, i gave as good as i got ;-).
An uneventful drive up... happy to take in the scenery. I like being a passenger, especially i as (being scared of heights) i really don't like those sorts of roads. Well some of them
I really dont like, some its just the fear of the unknown, whats around the next corner. The dog was amazingly well behaved, in fact she was the whole trip, she slept just about all the time in the car, happy to just go hyper when we stopped and took her for an explore. Of course every now and then she would go nuts for a few mins in the car, and this was invariably timed with us going round single-track roads with sheer drops down the side... but I am sure that was just designed to terrify the life out of me.It was nice to take the time to just sit quiet, a comfortable quiet between us, watch the world go by outside the window. Its amazing how quickly the landscape changes up there. 10mins and its a different world each time. I could never get bored. I would have hated to be driving and miss it. I am glad she took time to stop, look, watch too as much as she could.
The cabin was everything we could have hoped. Comfortable, cosy, but not that you felt bad about having the dog there. Lovely place... and I got to take the dog for a walk for the first time while the girl unpacked. This pretty much set the tone for the whole week. The girl and the dog for the first thing walk in the morning, all of us for the middle of the day and then the pup and I in the evenings to finish her off. It was a good routine and again I think we just fell into it naturally, understanding without having to say. We are both pretty private people, used to our own company and needing that space on our own so we could enjoy the times together. Again, just a joy not having to ask for that, to explain it was nothing personal, but just an unspoken understanding. I do love the simplicity of being someone where you don't have to worry about anything but being friends.
Nothing much to be said about the evenings and mornings... Nothing needing to be said. Just enjoying a friend being there, not needing to talk. Giggling at the TV, playing with the puppy. Watching movies. A smile goodnight as we went our seperate ways. I am sure it sounds terribly boring but I am afraid life doesn't get much more perfectly relaxed than that. Well to me, I hope she felt the same.
I did love my walks though with the dog.. just me and her. Another part of the special times. I miss having a dog, I really do. Just not practical though with this house or my weird hours. So much companionship and it was a joy to have that just for a week. The girl always jokes i am the dog's father, though I admit thats normally when she is in trouble... but it was so great to share her for the week. I can't say how much I love that dog, even if she did insist on my wrists whenever she got hyper. We got into our pattern pretty quickly. Her scurrying off exploring while I walked and walked and walked. Her trying to pull me into any bog she could possibly find (she only managed twice). Her playing in the cabin, bringing me a toy to play tug of war with... growling and snarling with her best impression of really wanting it, then docilely bringing it back for another go if she managed to get it off me...
The first day was upto Mallaig, driving along past Glenfinnan. I can't start to describe the views. Every few miles it was a different planet, high mountains, crowding, open glen's... loch's... and my first experience of the weather up there. You can watch weather! It changes that rapidly... You can see the sun on the mountains, watch patches of it roll over them as the clouds get moved around in front of you... Watch the whole landscape change as the weather illuminates and hides things... the way the mist rolls down over them making it a spooky magical place. Sit there, for half an hour. Watch without moving how you can feel you are in a dozen different places.
Magical.
Well, we saw the Glenfinnan monument.. amazing lochs, rolling ranges of mountains, the beautiful bridge the train runs over in Harry Potter (its every bit as stunning in reality), single track roads, the beautiful unspoilt beaches of the white sands.. the quaint town of Mallaig. The white sands were beautiful. People were so respecful of them, so clean. Kids playing and just enjoying them. We both like taking pictures so that we did, with avengence. I freely admit to stealing hers for my album as she is so much better than me. We have the same camera so I know she's better... Kudos to one who deserves it, but it inspires me to try better. Show's me what can be done with what I have. Words can't express the beauty of those places. Maybe they can just frame the pictures we took though.
Next day was loch ness. Ok so you all know the stories but I never realised
just the scale of that loch. Something silly like you could put all the other lakes and reservoirs in britain in it.... Thats pretty big. Its also bloody amazingly beautiful. OK so you have the tourist bit and the shops and the nessies... but don't let it stop you. You have to go to Loch Ness if you are around there. Its not just another Loch... its THE Loch. When you drive for 30mins and are still only half way round it you start to say this is bloody huge. No encounters with the monster, well except for the one we added to the waters ourselves by throwing stones for the puppy to chase...
After an unsettled night (ok, so I ended up throwing up in the middle of the night... thank god for friends that just don't mind and just adjust plans appropriately without feeling put out that their holiday is impacted - i can tell you i would not have felt this relaxed with my ex-wife, i would have stressed as hell for ruining it for her), we decided to stay closer... drove to Glencoe. A fortuitous thing I think, the quieter day... making us stay closer at home. I used the word amazing far too many times but I will again. Glencoe is spooky, somber, magnificant, tragic, inspiring, quietening.... A long glen surrounded by the great mountains with their tragic history of the massacre. Go look it up. Its a tragic story and you can see why the Scots have it in for us English... not a place to make us proud. I found it sombering, especially walking around afterwards.. as well as well, you suddenly realise how insignificant many of our worries are. Surrounded by mountains that have been there for 420 million years in one for or another... in a glen that a mere 10,000 years ago was covered in glaciers... well... it puts some daily worries about how people see you, whether you made a fool of yourself... how you look... all of those it puts into perspective. Those mountains will be there, barely changed in a 100 years, 1000 years, million years after I've gone.
I like that sort of thought.
We are just here for the merest blink of an eye. I so don't want to get caught up anymore with those worries. When I do, just whisper "Glencoe" in my ear and I may see the world snap back into place.
Midweek already! The girl had to study so I took the pup out for the day, being dropped off at the base of Ben Nevis. I managed ohhh about 20mins before it became impractical. Strong hyper pup running off in different directions + mountain paths + rain + wind + slippery conditions + 110lb weed (me) don't go. Well they do go. They go down hill, fast.
So, rather than see how high i would go before i got terrified common sense prevailed and walked along the glen and river instead. Discretion being the better part of valou
r we ended up walking over four hours along the river and had a blast. I miss that dog. People are so friendly, coming up, asking after her, it happened all week. People always willing to say hi as you passed, stop, pet her, chat. A different world. She and I stopped at a pub on the way back for a rest and a coffee. I couldnt take her in obviously so interrupted a dutch couples drink outside and asked him if he would mind going in and ordering me a coffee. Nice pair of school teachers. Yes, i stopped a pair of strangers and asked then for a favour. Must have been the air. Can't have been me.
Thurs.. over to Skye. The road to the Isles is terrifying for me but breathtaking. Do it. Your heart will leap out your throat at the beauty. You cannot go to Scotland and not fall in love. I am glad I saw Skye but it is so desolate... it doesnt have the warmth and life of the rest of the highlands, or the road there. A different part, different world, raggedly beautiful but it so says "you dont belong here". I also now know what people mean when they say "the roots of mountains". In Skye you can *see* them.
Finally our last full day. Friday. A mystery tour down, a sweet sweet gesture from her that didn't quite pay off but the thought left me touched. Down to Pitlochry and a sweet country village, another side of the highlands. Still friendly as hell. A walk over the hydroelectric dam, seeing the salmon fish ladder the fish use to go up past the dam. A leisurely drive home.
A perfect week. The perfect drive home.. stopping lots, taking our time. The many faces of Loch Lommond. Glasgow (which finally I saw some beauty in). Home. Back to the real world, and driving into Ayshire and feeling like I had driven home... in a way I hadnt felt for a long time. It made me smile. A movie (Miami Vice is crap btw, avoid it) and then a quick hug goodbye. I am a mushy git but I do respect other's preference for a lack of fuss.
Of course my hotel was screwed up the way home too... transferred to another but (apart from the 1am knock on the door when the hotel tried to work out who was in what room) it worked out well. Well I didn't pay which was a good start, but also Sunday morning I was able to just go walking by myself on Troon beach and think god i love this place. I needed that. Of course I missed the girl and the pup but it gave me a moment to find out for myself it wasnt just that. I loved this place with a passion too... and that was what I would miss most. The girl I could phone for our little bitches. The pup I would hear stories of... but Scotland was in my heart and I would be back, I would be back just for it... and not just for them. Even without them I'd be back there.
I love them. I love it. It really was the most perfect week I can remember. I missed my boy like hell of course, he was back with his mum, but I am so glad I had that one adult week to just step away. A week to be myself, to relax, yes there were some downs... there always is with me. But it was more perfection than anything. A week I could just be myself, do simple things, admire simple beauties, spoil someone as dear to me as anything in the world. She accused me in fun of being manly, which made me laugh as it's first time I've been accused of that, but in the end I realised she meant gentlemanly. It was a simple pleasure to give to someone and not ask for anything in return. Simple things, from a smile, to get a drink, fetch a plate, check she is ok... to go ask someone something for her (whereas my natural reticence would be to hide behind the person I was with)... With my ex I ended up doing so many things out of fear, out of trying to keep the peace, I never realised quite how much it was part of me just these simple services, how much I needed to express myself like this towards someone I care for just because thats how I am. It was a good week... and taught me a lot.
Above all though, a week with my best friend, her dog and the country we both love.
Who could ask for more?
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