Been a difficult few months here with one thing and another. David decided to take me away for the weekend. It was a surprise. I didnąt know till the last minuet where we were going. I was hoping for Oban though, and that's where we went. A friend of mine used to love travelling up that way. Her greatest pleasure it seemed was her stop at The Greenwelly Stop in Tynndrum. I had never been before but we decided to stop and look. If any travel along the A82, I can recommend it. So many unusual things to sell. David even got his pot of Arran honey mustard he had been looking for, for a year. (He couldnąt have been looking very hard because I found it on the web in seconds) That's where I started with the free samples of whisky tasting. David drove the rest of the way.

reflections

the morning makeup check

We arrived in Oban about an hour before check in time and had lunch. I ate at my favourite place to eat in Scotland- A wee fish shop/cabin on the end of the CalMac pier. It has the best shell fish anywhere. And as I sat there, in the glorious afternoon sunshine watching the boats sail in and out of Oban bay, and a seagull harry a buzzard out of its territory, my mind drifted back to all the friends I have introduced to that little green painted hut and all the smiles that place has brought. Reverie is a wonderful thing when the memories are happy. Of coarse it helps if you have a warm glow from drinking a few wee free samples. Something I had to keep up at the whisky shop around the corner. They developed a new glass for the drinking of the whisky Even at Ł5 a pop I had to have one. And all free samples were put in it as I wandered around the shop glass in hand. Now that was a wonderful experience. Shopping with a glass in hand, should be mandatory. Queen Victoria brought about a fashion for sea side resorts and Oban, as much as anywhere, reflects this. Its buildings, or most of them were built during this period. Consequently over the years they have needed renovating and upgrading a lot. This is something I had to remind myself of constantly. While David got the car, I signed into the Columba Hotel and went up to the room. It took a lot of self control not to turn and walk back out. The lift (elevator) was ancient. It was one of those ones I remember from big department stores as a child with and outdoor and an inner cage door. Both had to be manually heaved open one at a time. Back when these lifts were all a la mode they were considered too dangerous to be operated by the general public and a man had the job of opening and closing the doors and announcing the floors of the shop and what goods sold there in. Determined to have a positive look on the whole weekend. I decided to welcome it as a learning experience.

The room itself was in the same vein. Very old fashioned but full of character. However as one entered the room your eye was drawn straight out of a bay window, in which two armchairs resided out onto Oban bay its self. The view was stunning. The water was like a mirror and the ferry was sailing out past the island of Kerrera , off to Mull or Tiree, I know not which. I knew this break would be wonderful, even if we never left the room the rest of the time we were there.

view from our bedroom window

> our bedroom window, remember you can'rt see the bins from up there

Later, as the sun was fading, we sat in that bay window reading and I tried to turn on the light. David was still coming to terms with the fact that the tv was so old there was no remote control. It was an old standard lamp, we had thought it retro, but it still had a round pin plug. This concerned us as they have not been used in this country for at least twenty years and David checked the health and safety check label which must be applied by law to all electrical items in public use. It was last checked in 1996. And in came that positive attitude I was determined upon again. Needed it a lot that night. I wont even tell you about the dining room, but I used the positive attitude mindset heavily.

The next day we had decided to go to Mull for lunch. Again it was another gorgeous day and we were going to be foot passengers. We had never done that before, I had always driven. The forty minute crossing only cost Ł7 return and the same again from the service bus into Tobermory. While I had driven this road many times it was the first time I had seen the scenery. I canąt understand why folk go on about Sky being the bonniest of all islands- it isnąt. Mull is the bonniest. Our usual stop was closed in Tobermory (well it was Sunday) and we were forced to buy a fish supper from the tourist shop. Unfortunately it was run by an Englishman. I didnąt realise that would mean it would be an English fish supper. In Scotland the fish is either whiting or haddock. In England its cod. I donąt like cod. Ho hum. I still wouldnąt have missed that trip for the world. The scenery was breath taking, the warm autumn sun reflecting on the russet heather and mountains layered on mountains with an ethereal mist shrouding them. Unfortunately its not the sort of thing a camera picks up well. It has to be seen to be appreciate.

Tobermory harbour

fishing boars in teh sound of Kerrera

The hotel was measurably better that night and I was very sad to leave the next day. We sauntered home, again with David driving and stopped at Loch Fyne Oysters for a lunch of oysters, crab, langoustine and mussels . It was fabulous, please can I go again next weekend.

My old guest buik

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