Its funny how different parts of the countries with different accents. They say that Inverness people have the perfect accent. Dry here today and now poring with rain…
EZ , maybe you would have trouble with the accent here . Galloway Irish they call it , sort of a cross between Scottish and Irish ! That’s not my accent though as I’ve not lived here long enough .
Sean Connery has a great accent I think. I have to chuckle when he says " I’m sitting here" I never realised there was a H in sitting.:shock:
Ah Wick, That’s in my stomping ground. I find us easy to understand lol…
I go to the huge Tesco on the outskirts of Wick about once a month to stock up, always take the dog and we have a walk over to Castle Sinclair ruins, makes a change from hoofing at Thurso Castle ruins.
Back to the Isle of Bute and other memories: I had to locate a phone to contact our hosts as we had no mobiles in those days. so we parked close to the port. I was certainly impressed with the Victoriana below ground lavatoriums, but only checked out the male of course.
Bute in those days 1999 had one internet cafe which was still in its infancy. our hosts also escorted us to a church bazaar were we partook of a cup of tea and a biscuit and had a chat to the locals. I think it was Church of Scotland from memory.
we always seemed to be in a rush for some reason, one being a family barbecue back in Cheshire at a fixed date. But our hosts wanted to take us to other social events on the Isle and were disappointed we couldn’t make it. Their tied cottage was a beautiful old thing with newly attached annexes and was theirs although retired until the day they became deceased. Lovely thought.
They also took us to the main pub in the town centre which being pensioners day was packed. We were offered a table for four in the main front bar and told the more private dining room was full. This did not daunt our female host - off to the bar she went and had a ‘quiet word’ in someones ear and we were quietly escorted to the back dining room - we were after all visitors from OZ!
I have since of course watched the TV series - Hiking through the Highlands - and although Bute was a large community compared to the small often abandoned communities of the Isles it still gave me a feeling of ‘away from the maddening crowd’ - I could have lived for for a while - maybe a long while!
Loch Ness was too cluttered with tourists like ourselves but next time I might share my thoughts of Aultbea with you if you please?
Loved hearing of your memories Gumbud . Would love to hear about Aultbea .
Good Morning All You lovely People from a dreich drizzly Glasgow,won’t be venturing out today so will do a cook-up for the freezer…almost time to go into hibernation mode…time sure flies when Yer enjoyin’ Yersel’ 
Look forward to more of Your reminiscing about Scotland Gumbud,great stuff. 
Ditto grey day here too May. Getting the train to Carluke this morning to collect the Pinzgauer (Google is your friend) from my friend’s workshop. Love train travel, even though the bus is free. Train every time.
Mike.
Good morning
It’s overcast here … grrrrrr … I’m packed and ready for my 2 night coach trip … staying in Coventry with a visit to Stratford upon Avon and Worcester
I love travelling by train and always choose that option as long as it’s not too expensive.
No time to read Gumbud’s post so I’ve copied it so I can read it offline later … I’m looking forward to that
Have a good day everyone
Morning peeps, that is a bit of a monster Nephroin, never heard of a Pinzgauer .
Good morning everybody. Gumbud you certainly had a great time on Bute. Mike I’m like you prefer the train to travelling free on the bus, its ok on short journeys. Hairdressers for me and then some food shopping.
I thought a pinzgauer was a brown and white cow from Austria 
…No doubt Mike will tell Us what His is.
Kitchen smelling lovely of carrot & lentil soup,bolognaise sauce,and chicken curry…not taking any more pain killers,so My appetite’s back with a bang…time to get back to the exercise routine on treadmill & ex’ bike.
Hope You have a fab’ time in Coventry Myrtle and the weather’s kind to You…I’ve never been on a coach trip on My Own,though I’ve been on a few in the past with aquaintances,some I enjoyed,some not…Must have a look at Shearings though I think They’re mainly an English Touring company?
No, not the brown and white cow May, the vehicle version. Mine is a 6 wheeler and it’s big and heavy. No power steering either, so after a while you have biceps like Popeye ! (I wish). Just back from the workshops, so this afternoon’s task is to put all my junk in it ready for a trip to the bothy on Monday/Tuesday. FREEDOM !! Yesssssssssssss ! 
The Bolognaise Sauce and Chicken Curry sounds great. I don’t suppose that if I sent you a Tupperware container, you could er… mmm… maybe… erm…
Mike.
Hope you have a great time on your trip Myrtle . Looking forward to meeting you when you come here .
Have a good time at the bothy Mike , sounds like fun !
All your cooking May is making me feel guilty . I must have a fill the freezer day soon .
Myrtle enjoy your coach trip. May your cooking is making me hungry…Mike I’m sure you enjoy driving your ping gaur. Had my hair done then some food shopping.
Hope you are going somewhere nice with your new hair “do” Valentinojess !
Hello from Coventry :-). I’ve stayed at this hotel before so I knew what to expect and it is as good as I remember it was :-). Mmmmmm… I’ve got a double bed and a single bed in my room !!!
May there’s absolutely no problem going on a coach trip as a single … unless of course you are nervous about visiting new places and going out and about on your own … which I’m sure you’re not.
Not sure about Shearings departures from Scotland … the trip I’m on now is with David Urquhart who are based in East Kilbride. There are a lot of Scottish coach companies … get your friend Google on the job
The hotel us about 4 miles from Coventry so after dinner I got a bus there so I could find the train station … I might go home by train on Sunday rather than get on the coach then I can have a few hours in Coventry.
Great memories of Rothsay Gumbud
Enjoy your bothy trip Mike
Our departure from Bute was more peaceful than our arrival. the crossing direct from the suburbs of Glasgow to the Isle was somewhat rough and windy. But our kindly hosts had suggested we could leave the Isle via the northern tip. So we followed them to the northern anchorage and crossed onto the mainland again but welcomed by winding country lanes and not suburban roads. And so onto the highlands - but where do they stop and start and when do the lowlands become the high ones?
Good Morning Each,a wee bit grey and dull here but the grass needs cutting so hope the rain stays away,
Not too sure where the Highlands start Gumbud,for Me it’s when I’ve reached Loch Lomond then Fort William…‘You take the High Road and I’ll take the Low Road,and I’ll be in Scotland Afore Ye’ 
I went to Spain for 3 Months on My Own Myrtle when I first retired and rented a wee Villa…,But don’t know how I’d feel going to a Hotel Myself…I’ll ponder on it,
Put Yer order in for a takeaway curry Mike and I’ll see what I can do :-p