1st June 2022

On a recent trip to Scotland, we were able for an hour or two to land on the island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides, there to enjoy the beauty of its basalt columns, the majesty of Fingal’s Cave and also be entertained by the colony of puffins living there on the cliffs. It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for some fifty-two years, but never quite made it. The problem has usually been bad weather, but the island has also at times been closed to landings because of falling rocks. The experience far exceeded my expectations, and I’d thoroughly recommend it to the more adventurous of you; however, you’d need to be reasonably nimble on your pins and not mind bobbing about for 4 or 5 miles each way in a smallish boat.

So that’s one less item on my bucket list – things to do before I die! Not that my bucket needs to be that big, for my list is boringly modest, at least according to my sons. Perhaps I’m overly contented with my life, or, more likely, lacking in imagination! Yes, of course I enjoy the occasional special event, going to places I’ve never been before, trying some new experience, but I also tend to find normal life quite fascinating in its own way. No two days are ever truly the same, and there’s infinite variety in all the people we meet. So, thank God for Fingal’s Cave and the lady who serves me in the Co-op.

Ken Stewart