....so little time to chat to y'all.
Spent part of the weekend at 'T in the Park', though I can't remember seeing
any bands who were particularly good - I was mostly talking with friends
who'd just bought a new tent and wanted to impress me with its many and
varied features (yeah, I know, who would have thought that a tent has
'features'?).
Sunday was spent 'en famille' storming up Ben Vrackie - the speckled hill -
just north of Pitlochry. 'Twas a four hour slog - baby managed it but only
by virtue of much bribery - rewarded with spectacular views over the
Cairngorms to the north, the Tay Valley to the south, and Loch Tay to the
west. Frankly, I hate walking and always suffer from sore leggies
afterwards. I could run most of the track without difficulty, but walking
must use different muscle groups 'cause I felt rather tender on Monday.
Monday and Tuesday were spent doing boring stuff, but today me 'n' the boys
(plus three colleagues and their 32' Sadler yacht) went to Inchcolm Island
in the Firth of Forth. Really beautiful place, marred by the boatloads of
tourists deposited there three times a day. However, before and after
these morons have left, the place has a beauty and tranquility that's quite
touching, even to an old cynic like myself. We walked (dodging the crazy
seabirds that made serious attempts to remove what little hair remains on
top of my head) to the far west of the tiny island - there was a force 5
easterly blowing and we wanted to be somewhere less exposed - and spent a
blissful day collecting driftwood, building a small fire (BELOW the high
water line for all you conservation freaks) where we cooked a variety of
tasty treats and stuffed ourselves silly.
Before the meal big son decided he would prove his manhood by going for a
swim in the Forth. Whilst his mother would have forbade such a foolish
endeavour - there was a 1m swell and no beach, just some fairly pointy rocks
and a 3 kt outgoing tide running - I was minded to let him have his
adventure. In retrospect, I think I was foolish. Had he been unlucky or
unwise he would have been 300-400m from the shore in a choppy sea before we
could have got the boat round to him. But he has luck and he wasn't
foolish, so he swam around for ten minutes and came back quite the hero.
Later, I think that he too realised the potential danger in his jaunt 'cause
he asked me what I'd have done if he'd swum off too far from the lee of the
island and got caught the current. I explained that I'd have told the guys
to get the boat round to us, whilst I'd have swum out in his direction with
our spare lifejacket (it doesn't inflate automatically, you have to toggle
the CO2 cartridge). Two of us together in the water would have made a
larger target for the yacht. If we'd been rescued we'd have been ok, and if
we hadn't then neither of us would have died alone. (Sounds brave, doesn't
it? I assure you, I'd have died whimpering, crying like a baby, and raging
against the gods at the injustice of it all.) He looked at me kinda funny,
but I think the point had been made. He's old enough now to take
life-enhancing or life-endangering decisions. He has to weight the
potential seriousness of his actions and the risks he may call on others to
take on his behalf. If he chooses to risk-take, then he has to be sure of
his competence and not exceed his own limits. Which is - thankfully - what
he did. This time.
However, think we'll avoid boats and water for a while...