Scotland IV: October 2009

In the weekend of Fri. 23 Oct. to Sun. 25. Oct. we went to the Isle of Sky via Inverness.
Train up from Edinburgh, 3 and a half hours, 13:40-17:10.
On the train up Kari and I drank the champagne Dines got from Tim Denvir.
Walked and checked into our hotel Columba on Ness Walk.
Had dinner at very nearby and very good restaurant Rocpool.
Coach to Portree, 3 and a half hours, 9:30-12:50, great ride along Loch Ness, no monster, Urquhart castle, and through Morriston Valley (Glen), to the Isle of Skye.
For a Google Map of the Isle of Sky click this
Arrival at Portree and our lovely little hotel Rosedale with its charming view over the colourful tiny harbour.
A taxi was ordered, and in three hours+ it took us around the central loop of the Isle: First to Talisker Whiskey distillery, at the foot of the majestic Cuillin Mountains, and then along beautiful roads, sea scenery, ancient culture landscape and old villages.

Dines had some great lunches with George Hay !
- One, Wedn. 23 Sept., was a Hadrian's Brasserie in The Balmoral Hotel. Great.
  Kari and Dines went there with Ruth and Maurice Naftalin for a most enjoyable evening,
- Another, was at Restaurant La Garrigue, Wedn. 28 Oct.
  Phantastic wine: MAS DE DAUMAS 'GRANDCRU' ROUGE 2003 Bottle BPS60.00 (and food).

Leftmost: Kari with her patchwork in the bus from Portree back to Inverness.
St Mary's Cathedral - across the street from Dines' flat.
Dines enjoyed Even Song there the first Sunday he was in town.
On Sunday 11 Oct. Dines went to St Vincent's Chapel, in Stockbridge for Eucharist. George.
Besides having been a very successful computer scientist/software technologists,
for 30+ years with IBM around the globe, is a very competent,
fully accredited (Episcopal Church of Scotland) organ player.
Dines enjoyed the Eucharist and the organ music very much.
George had chosen some Buxtehude and some Bach. Majestic!
On one of the last days of my stay Henry came to my office. Who is Henry?
Well Henry Thompson is my generation and his father had been President of ILCO:
Intl. Lumber Co., and, before that, plantation manager - where many in the Bjørner family:
Two uncles and three cousins received from him and his successors their Philipppine mahogany plantation training.
Loads of memories: Henry and I had never met before. Next day we had lunch on campus: a nice ``Swedish Bistro !''.

When in Scotland make sure to avoid saying England when you mean the country you are in. Either Scotland, or Great Britain.
- Does being an Anglophile prevent one from
  - also liking, intensely, "all" things Scottish,
  - while still having this almost schizophrenic view of some English attitudes:
    - that they continuously forget that the Empire was lost some 50 years ago,
    - that they have not yet gotten past the class society:
      Working Class, Middle Class, Upper Class; stiff upper lips, etc.
    - while they did indeed save us, on the continental part of Europe,
      beyond the "fog in the Channel", during two World Wars.
- From what I, Dines, know the Scots fought hard in both WWI and WWII,
  - as did the ANZ's: Australia and New Zealand - we have seen the immense cemeteries in A and NZ.
- I, Dines, say all this because I have recently seen, on Danish TV, the Foyle's War series
  and heard about the revival and reissue, on a CD ROM,
  of Dame Vera Lynn's songs from my childhood, or rather, from WWII.
  - So I, Dines, bought four set of four DVDs each of Foyle's War
  - and The Very Best of Vera Lynn CD ROM!
- And now I, Dines, sit there listening, with sentimental and also remembering-History-tears, to Vera Lynn
- and enjoy reviewing the Foyle's War episodes.
These Brits have something, it seems, that no other nation has:
something which in the last 100 years have saved us all
- with the Scots fighting out many battles in continental Europe.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 6 weeks at UoE.

Dines Bjorner 2011-11-19