I’ve been away quite a lot over the last three weeks and it’s now good to be home but the time travelling for family, work and holiday were great too. I spoke, and listened, at a marvellous Book and Arts Festival in Strontian – the Three Lochs Festival. What a setting, what a friendly group of people and what fun!
The festival was COVID-affected, for a start this biannual event was supposed to happen last year and numbers allowed to attend were greatly reduced but, in many ways, that just brought out the best in people. I think speakers, audiences and organisers were all mutually delighted that the others had made the effort and we talked with and without masks (as appropriate) and there were discussions as we met at the hand sanitisers.
Of course, the location was superb, and slightly more surprisingly the midges were few and far between and the sun shone all the time. And there was wildlife too – Otters and Ospreys on the lochs and something ate the peanut butter that we smeared on a stone outside our bedroom window but we’re just guessing that it was a Pine Marten as we didn’t see it. On my first visit to Ardnamurchan the views were great and there were dolphins, divers and auks offshore. Northamptonshire this wasn’t!
But it was the friendliness of all involved in the Three Lochs Festival that will stick in the mind for a very long time. I hope to attend as a punter some time in the future as it was such a great event and I’m very grateful to the organisers for asking me to attend as a speaker.
No surprise you enjoyed yourself at Strontian how many other places are so wonderful they have an element named them? https://www.restaurantnorman.com/what-town-in-the-west-of-scotland-has-an-element-named-after-it/
The village of Ytterby in Sweden outdoes this by having no fewer than four elements named after it but I have no idea how wonderful a place it is in any other respect. I wholeheartedly agree, however, that Strontian, and Ardnamurchan in general, are truly wonderful.