That British spirit
Written by John MacphersonIts 6am and a storm is rampaging around the hillside as I type this. It’s the first of the severe winter gales, lightning is rollocking across the Firth and a children’s very large trampoline has just sailed by heading east (these are westerly gales). I’m tempted to dash out and tie it to a fence but given the gusts we’re having I suspect it will simply pull the fence down, and anyway I have bits of our own stuff to secure.
When I looked out I noticed a sheet of the plastic ‘glass’ from our cheap greenhouse has escaped and was wedged in a tree, and the whole door had gone off somewhere. I’ve ventured out picking up various bits and sticking them back in to prevent any more damage – once the wind gets an ‘in’ to these flimsy structures it just blows them apart. (I found the door by the light of the headtorch, it was trying to escape into a neighbour’s garden. The grass is obviously greener over there.)
So, to put this all into perspective as my fingers warm up again, how about thinking about holidays…….
Destination? Arctic Circle.
What kit is needed: cheap tent, fluffy down sleeping bag (RAB of course), and a Honda C90.
Oh yes, just to make it interesting it’ll be done in the winter.
That modest Union Jack is a nice touch too.
Wrap your fingers round a cup of tea whilst you watch this………
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.