West
Linton
Another
pleasant surprise when we reached the venue – a perfectly set-up
projector, screen and PA awaiting us. This was fortunate because the
trusty Citroen had got stuck in the car park. Ian was eventually
rescued by some kind locals, and we were able to set up and perform
an emotional but very enjoyable final concert.
We
would have been more nervous before we played had we known that the
audience was made up of some kind of MENSA-on-steroids, consisting as
it did of a dizzying collection of poets, musicians, artists,
architects, professors and to top it off an expert in instrumental
acoustics.. Fortunately we were ignorant of this until afterwards,
but were then able to enjoy their fascinating company over dinner,
and try out an amazing array of obscure wind instruments into the
bargain. A highly memorable end to the tour.
So
some final thanks: To all our hosts for their hospitality; to the
many music societies for having us and battling through terrible
weather to see us; and of course to the Tunnell Trust for their
sponsorship which made the whole thing possible. See you again
Scotland.
Linlithgow
Unfortunately, with it
being day 6 of our tour, I have run out of new words to describe the
Scottish countryside. So here are some photos instead.
In the course of our journey down to Linlithgow we also hit temperatures of -7, which caused the condensation on the inside of Sally and Ian's windows to freeze.
The
return of 4G network to our phones signalled our departure from the
Highlands, and arriving in Linlithgow we retired to a pub for a meal
and a brief internet binge. We then made our way to our venue, the
local academy, and made the delightful discovery that the hall had
its own PA and projection facilities, as well as ex-BBC techie John
to man it all, meaning we could leave most of our gear in the car and
concentrate on the playing.
After
a lovely veg-filled meal (much needed after our marvellous run of
Highland cooked breakfasts) we really enjoyed playing to our largest
audience yet. The evening finished with a drink and a chance to chat
with the audience, including a number of Tunnell trustees (we were
extra nice to the treasurer). It was then time to return with our
kind hosts for the night Nora, John and Janet and get some sleep in
preparation for the trip to West Linton, our final stop of the tour..
Lochaber
The weather on the morning of our trip to Fort William was somewhat changeable.
By the time John had
returned from a fruitless amp search in nearby Kyle the snow had
closed in, so we set off south at a tentative pace. Fortunately the
trusty Picasso laughs in the face of snow and ice, and our only stop
was to stretch our legs and set up a snowball ambush for Ian.
The Ben Nevis Hotel had
one feature that particularly excited us after our snowy drive – a
swimming pool complete with sauna, steam room and hot tub. An hour of
pure bliss ensued, reclining in hot bubbles while watching the snow
fall outside the window.
Fortunately John's
magic amp had repaired itself on the journey, so we could proceed
straight to the venue for a relaxing set up, and a picnic featuring
Ian's trademark corned beef sandwiches.
Having managed to
forget my black socks, I was forced to swap with John (he could hide
them under his longjohns), which gave rise to the highly unusual
sensation of putting on socks which are residually warm from another
man's feet. John and I overcame our discomfort and we enjoyed another
successful concert with a great audience, with the highlight for us
being Ian mischievously stealing Sally's demonstration tune of
Somewhere Over the Rainbow without warning, forcing her to come up
with another on the spot. Many thanks to Jim for his help at the
venue, Clare for her administrative and organisational help, and
Elaine for waiting patiently to lock up while we packed down our
endless equipment after the concert.
We retired to the hotel
for an epic game of hearts in which the inebriated did battle with
the inexperienced, with the latter sadly losing out at the close. Our
last night in the Highlands .
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