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Published: August 26th 2019
Glimpse of Scotland
Fascinating patterns of currents and wavesHorribly, we had to wake at 4:15 am to make this day work. Suitcases had to be at the bus by 5:00. Packed breakfasts were available in the lobby; mine was Chicken Coronation sandwich (mild curry with raisins - quite good). By 5:30 we were on the bus, which left at 5:40. At the nearby ferry terminal we were expeditiously directed into a line. Where we waited until shortly before the sailing at 7:30.
I had taken a sea-sick pill before leaving and was wearing my sea-bands, plus I stood outside the whole trip. In fact, the Irish Sea was calm, for a sea. Most thrilling was seeing Ireland and Scotland at the same time! Both stretched long fingers of land into the water. The view was misty, probably always is. The land that we sailed past was reminiscent of Labrador, less craggy than Newfoundland. Close to
Cairnryan (9:52 arrival) we herded back onto the bus and drove into rolling green farmland.
Our destination was
Culzean Castle, both for tourism and to buy our own lunches. The line-up at the main café was long. (We make long line-ups wherever we go by virtue of our numbers.) Susan and I decided
to walk down to the Old Stables café, as some of the others had done.
The expansive Castle grounds were manicured, and the decorative moat formed a welcoming garden. A bridge and turrets attracted our photographic attention. By the time we arrived at the café, a group of Westwinds people were already leaving the outdoor patio. The process of buying a sandwich tested the patience of patrons, and in our case allowed us to fall into the temptation of cake and coffee. (My ginger cake was tasty.)
After lunch was just enough free time to tour the Castle. The décor was late 18 century in
Adam Style. The first room was the “armory” where identical guns and swords were arranged in impressive patterns on the wall. Innumerable family artifacts helped us imagine life as it might have been when it was the seat of the
Kennedy family. The huge kitchen was testimony to both the elegance of life upstairs and the number of staff needed to run the estate.
Our next destination was half an hour away in
Ayr where we were to sing. Our venue was the Town Hall, in a purpose-built concert theatre used for many events.
Loudoun Hall 1530
Most historic building in Ayr Nicole took advantage of the large balcony to have the sopranos sing from above. The stage set-up was tricky because of rounded moveable risers, good for sight-lines but requiring attention to avoid falling. Plus, the arrangement had to suit both the choir and the band to minimize clatter during the intermission.
While the band continued with set up, the choir had free time. At first I joined some women who were going to walk around, but that only lasted until they saw a famous-name shoe store (unknown to me) and went in to shop. After a polite bit of time, I walked back onto the pedestrian precinct to photograph the well-preserved buildings with modern shops. I stopped to chat with Cathy and Rod who had been having coffee at a now-closing café. Rod asked and was told that a good place to eat was a couple of blocks away. The restaurant looked very ordinary, but the fish and chips, with a pickled onion, were good and the service friendly. Although the server and we had difficulty understanding each other’s accents, we enjoyed the interaction. I finally remembered to give away some pins and a paper flag provided to us
Ayr Town Hall
Built to attract performances to the town by Westwinds for that purpose. The server seemed quite taken with the gesture.
On the way back to the Town Hall, Rod joined some of the other spouses, and they went off for a drink. Cathy and I walked farther along the main road, looking at the old buildings. In one secluded square a sign drew our attention to
Loudoun Hall (1530); some women came along, and we asked them a question about it – they laughed and confessed to be residents who had never looked at it and knew nothing. Cathy and I did finally find the River Ayr, but time was too tight to explore more.
The choir warmed up again, and Nicole gave us a pep talk about enjoying our music. Five minutes before the concert we took our places for “
">Yanaway”. The acoustics were marvellous, especially suited to the interlaced haunting chants. As the choir moved onto the stage, I stepped up to the mike, only to be fully blinded by the stage lights shining directly into my pupils. The shock led to a few mistakes, but later Susan said it sounded good. Nicole had asked us to have fun and to show it, and
we did. Although we couldn’t see the audience, their applause was prolonged. During “
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
We've been around the world
We've traveled a lot and Scotland still remains one of our favorites. Thanks for taking us along.