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Wish you were Vermeer… in Edinburgh’s National Gallery Johannes is, Vincent is, The Glasgow Boys are and the New England masters.

Those who have come to see me to share the state of their five states and one Commonwealth.

All of which I have come to love since I first started visiting there 36 years ago.

Only the New Englanders’ flight is running late and our morning meeting has been pushed back to the afternoon.

Giving me longer than I’ve ever had to saunter around The National Gallery.

Despite having lived in Edinburgh’s seaside resort of Portobello for ten years.

And now four years back in Scotland, and staying in North Berwick just down the east coast.

Art of the matter

Hit the Jackpot: Jack Yeats in the National Gallery in Dublin

Filling in a couple of hours in the art gallery before travel meetings became a regular pastime in my 13 years in Ireland.

When I would lose myself in the Da Vinci sketches, the Impressionists and the Jack Yeatses in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

For Dublin 2010s, now read Edinburgh 2020s when two and a half hours is still not enough…

To truly appreciate the Renaissance, the Impressionists, all of Scottish art and the Flemish and Dutch masters.

Virginal territory

Centrepiece when I visit is the Vermeer on loan from the National Gallery in London, Lady Seated at a Virginal (there’s a Vermeer exhibition in Dublin too btw).

One of only 34 canvases the Delft artist painted, your eye is immediately drawn to Lady at Virginal.

For her similarity to her more famous compatriot Girl With A Pearl Earring.

And for those already asking the question, I did the same of our guide, a virginal is not a comment on the model’s virtue.

But a rectangular spinet, or harpsichord, with the strings parallel to the keyboard which were popular in Vermeer’s day.

Playing to the Gallery

Now while the rest of the world seems still seduced by the Mona Lisa smile in the Louvre.

I would be more taken by Johannes’ women and would advise anyone either living in Edinburgh and its environs.

To take an hour or two out of your day, or tour, to visit Lady at her virginal, and Cupid with whom she shares the frame.

Spend time with Rembrandt or go a wandering into Van Gogh’s or Monet’s fields and Canaletto’s Venice.

And scoot along to the minister skating on the ice or maybe learn about The Glasgow Girls.

Yes, women painted (and still do) and at last galleries like Edinburgh and further afield have come to recognise that.

Dreaming of New England

Sound as a Mound: The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant

As for the New England masters I picked up that Bostonian JS Copley had a part to play in bringing the glory of the military hero Lord Duncan to our attention.

And that he was a compatriot of Benjamin West whose painting Alexander III of Scotland Rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin FitzgeraldI also scanned on my trip around the gallery.

As for the other New England masters, well I wish they were Vermeer… in Edinburgh’s National Gallery.

But they were half a mile away from here, here being The Contini Scottish Cafe & Restaurant at the National Gallery.

No, not to be seen in this prime spot on The Mound, next to Princes Street, near the Sir Walter Scott Monument, above the Princes Gardens and on the doorstep of Edinburgh Castle.

But rather in the parallel thoroughfare of George Street in Contini’s sister restaurant.

I did break bread with Visit New England, Connecticut and Newport, Rhode Island.

And even in the short time I still had left learned how New England is still leading the way in the worlds of sport, culinary and the revolution.

All of which, of course, I’ll share with you.

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD

Caribbean, Countries, Europe, UK

400 years of Will’s World

10th November 202310th November 2023 funtime65

And as if we need an excuse it’s 400 years of Will’s World… excellent, party on, as we mark four centuries since his folios were first published.

And as the companion the BBC will no doubt ask me for, to support the fine Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius series, here’s his go-to sets.

Anyone for Venice

Venice: The republic of Venice with its rich maritime empire and narrow, sinister alleyways was fertile ground for Will.

And where he set The Merchant of Venice (the clue is in the title) and Othello, studies in anti-semitism and racism.

The lagoon city’s labyrinthine closes remain relatively unchanged since Will’s day.

So visitors with any literary knowledge can conjure up Iago and Cassio, and in the Ghetto the money-lender Shylock.

The prints of Denmark

Kronborg Castle, Denmark: And the inspiration for Will’s most celebrated creation and play Hamlet.

A lookout post at the Royal Danish Castle of Elsinore… between northern Jutland and modern-day Sweden.

Where every summer the Danes put on the play… wherein we’ll catch the conscience of the king of theatre.

Where it be done

Scotland: Where it be done it be done quickly, to misquote Will and Lady Macbeth.

The newly amalgamated Scotland is naturally the setting for Will’s new project, the glorification of King James I of Great Britain.

And helpfully for us he namechecks those dramatic places in the north… Inverness, Dunsinane, Cawdor and Glamis Castle.

Athens is a classic

Spoiled and ruined: At the Acropolis in Athens

Athens: And you’d think that any focus would be on the play which references the classical Greek city, Timon of Athens.

But that tale of the Athenian who squanders his riches on parasitic companions until he is poor and they reject him.

But for real Atheniana we turn to Midsummer’s Night Dream where four Athenian lovers are manipulated by fairies.

Shakespearabbean

Bermuda: And to show that Will’s World, like his imagination, stretched far and wide we’ll take you to an exotic island.

Of course we know Will liked a foreign isle for his characters’ adventures.

From Othello’s travels in Cyprus among others.

While we know too from our own peregrinations in Tenerife that Shakespeare was fond of Canarian wine.

But it was Bermuda where Will sent Prospero.

Inspired by William Strachey’s letter on the shipwreck of the Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609.

America, Countries

The Saga of Over 140 Tours

19th August 202319th August 2023 funtime65

I started a thread that’s started the whole world smiling, and with apologies to the Bee Gees mine’s is the Saga of Over 140 Tours.

My old employers from my student days in Aberdeen, where we made lunches for their day trips in Grampian, have been in touch.

And they have flagged up their brochure Worldwide with the tagline Over 140 Tours to explore worldwide.

Now I know we’re all living longer but Over 140s?

Saga, as well as being my summer employers which funded my Top Deck Oktoberfest booze bus antics was also my parents’ go-to travel providers.

Worldwide vision

China in their hands: The folks at the Great Wall

Saga has built its reputation on providing the best travel for the over-50s.

And yes that’ll creep up on you although these guys speed up rather than slow down.

It’s not nicknamed Sex And Games For The Aged for nothing.

Saga are teasing us in their new Worldwide brochure with somewhere very close to home which is home.

Dream experiences

Scotland is new on the menu alongside Valencia, the Azores and India.

Alongside old favourites across Europe, Asia, Australia, Borneo and more.

Of course Saga offers dream experiences across the travel spectrum…

You know… solo tours, stay and explore, small group tours and escorted tours.

Now as Saga like to start as they go on they’ll take the stress out of your door to airport experience by giving you a VIP driver.

Either to London or your local airport.

Mighty Mississippi

And because it’s what would make my missus happy then I’ll flag up the sample Journey on the Mighty Mississippi.

Journey on the Mighty Mississippi is a 15-nighter down the grand old river from £5,945.

That includes your travel insurance with 11 excursions and visits.

Welcome to the Jungle: Elvis’s Jungle Room

And…

Tours of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans
Entrance to Studio B, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Graceland
Complimentary shore excursions in every port on the cruise (‘Hop-On Hop-O’ coaches in Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, St Francisville, and visit to Nottoway Plantation)
3 days – free time
7 nights in hotels, 7 nights cruise on
American Queen and 1 in flight
International flights.
Prices are based on return flights with British Airways (direct) or United Airlines (indirect) from London Heathrow.
Supplements may apply from other airports
22 meals: 9 breakfasts 6 lunches
7 dinners

Countries, UK

Looking for Nessie

28th July 202328th July 2023 funtime65

It was needle in the haystack time with all those glove toys on the one table… we were looking for Nessie.

Or more specifically the Son and Heir’s personal Nessie.

He had brought it in with him and helpfully put down on the table!

With all the other Nessies.

Of course those who question the existence of Nessie obviously have never been to Scotland.

And certainly not his home in Loch Ness, near Inverness in the Highlands.

Where the sea monster is in every shop window.

Loch at us now

The Loch Ness Centre will have gone through many a refurb since we visited the Highlands way back then.

Yes, even after our repatriation to Scotland a couple of years ago.

The latest iteration of the base has been at a £1.5m cost and comes with a brand new tour.

Columba’s cross

The Loch Ness Centre tracks Nessie’s 1,500-year history which we can trace back to Saint Columba of Iona, no less.

Or more accurately Irish author’s Adomnán’s Life of St Columba who regales us with how St Columba combatted the monster.

And told Nessie to leave his follower Luigne moccu Min who was swimming in the River Ness alone.

‘Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once,” Col exhorted, with his sign of the cross doing the trick.

The saint had clearly scared the bejaysus out of Nessie because there were no further sightings of Nessie until the 1870s.

Nessiemania

While there was a spate of finds in the Thirties with Hugh Gray’s 1933 photo credited with the start of Nessiemania.

Which has seen 11 films either about Nessie or with references to her or with her as the central character.

With Scooby-Doo even getting in on the act.

And even that confounded the Mystery Machine Mob with Velma accepting that ‘maybe some mysteries are best left unsolved.’

Today’s Loch Ness Centre is in the location of the the old Drumnadrochit Hotel where Mrs Aldie MacKay reported seeing a ‘whale-like fish’ or ‘water beast’ in the waters of Loch Ness.

Plain cruising

In the deep: Loch Ness Centre, Drumnadrochit

Of course what we all want to do is get out on the water and the Loch Ness Centre have a man who knows it like the back of his hand.

Captain Alistair Matheson will take you out on his vessel, Deepscan, named after the 1987 Operation Deepscan expedition of the loch.

You and your other 11 guests will take a journey through the past 40 years of scientific research.

And while you’re scanning the waters for Nessie, you’ll always have the breathtaking beauty of Urquhart Castle in your sights.

Standard tickets for the one-hour immersive tour at Loch Ness Centre is £13.95 for adults and £10.95 for children.

For the one-hour cruise it is £216 for the dozen of you, £19 per adult and £16.95 for children.

And seeing you’re asking, no I’ve got no more a Scooby than Velma, but we’ll be back, looking for Nessie.

One hump or two? The Loch Ness Lodge Hotel

Loch Ness is a half-hour’s drive from Inverness which can be reached by air from major airports.

Stay at the Loch Ness Lodge Hotel for £127.30 for a standard twin for two for the night.

America, Caribbean, Countries, Flying, UK

Dominica where tall is her body

26th January 202226th January 2022 funtime65

What does your country mean… and surely it isn’t as lyrical as Dominica where tall is her body?

The good people of Dominica came-a-calling yesterday as part of our Caribbean Tourism Organisation conference.

And we kicked off, of course, with their biggest calling card, the Waitukubuli Trail.

At 115 miles long, in 14 segments, it is the longest trail in the West Indies and will take you ten to 14 days to compete.

Named by the indigenous Kalinago people it showcases the 29.2 miles high north-south island.

With peaks as high as 4,747ft.

What’s in a name?

And Waitukubuli is, of course, where the poetic Kalinago came up with the name.

There are other appealing place names and attractions across the island such as Boiling Lake, Champagne Reef, Trafalgar Falls…

And wellness, spas and warming springs aplenty.

Our friendly smiling Dominicans put up with good grace when people mistake them for the Dominican Republic.

Which is about 600 miles from Roseau, the capital of Dominica!

Your best way (and what a way) is by a short boat ride from Guadeloupe where Death In Paradise is filmed.

And Guadeloupe is served by American Airlines from Puerto Rico.

Then Nevis

Our friends in Nevis, a twin island with St Kitts & Nevis, has to field similar calls.

With mountaineers mistaking this island in the sun with my island in the snow and its largest mountain, Ben Nevis.

And Hamilton, of course

Scotland and Nevis, of course, have a very topical association through a son they both share.

And he spawned the most famous opening lines in the history of musicals when Alexander Hamilton’s nemesis Aaron Burr sang:

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished, in squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

Of course it is forgotten no more and not just because of its association with the Founding Father and hero of New York, but it all helps.

And his birthplace on Nevis is a must-see for fans of Hamilton.

A better Montpelier

Holiday hopefuls too get a pleasant surprise when they go looking for Montpelier in France…

And find the luxury Montpelier Plantation & Beach hotel in Charlestown set on a 300-year-old sugar plantation.

While Restaurant 750 offers diners views of St Kitts.

And yes, we’ll meet you on the road.

And reveal more of these lyrical islands.

Such as Dominica where tall is her body.

Countries, Culture, Deals, Europe, UK

Storm Barra and island it’s named after

6th December 20216th December 2021 funtime65

After a first year and summer away at University I was told in no uncertain terms to get back for Christmas with my family instead of going off with friends… all of which comes to mind with Storm Barra and island it’s named after.

Its Ireland’s turn to take over the alphabet of storms that are coming our way in Britain.

Unbeknown to me we’re in a mini-union with the Netherlands and Ireland (nobody tell the Brexiteers?).

And we’re flagging up storms with user-friendly and cuddly names.

Why Ireland have chosen Barra I’ve not got to the bottom of yet as it’s a Scottish island.

It may, of course, be named after Northern Ireland’s popular TV weather forecaster Barra Best, and be a hands across the border gesture.

Though quite what Irish fashion maven and weather forecaster Evelyn Cusack had to say about that.

And the fact that Eunice (who?) has got the ‘E’ I’d hate to think.

Anyway, back to the Irish storm alphabet, and apologies for not name-checking Arwen at the start of this round.

And again quite what the half-elven daughter of Elrond from Lord of the Rings has to do with Ireland is again a hole in my knowledge.

Life’s a Scottish beach

Back to Barra and it is only the fifth most scenic airport in the world.

Behind my Dear Old Mum’s beloved Donegal and some others.

Barra though lays claim to being the only regular beach runway.

It is served by Loganair and our browse found a return ticket from Glasgow to Barra from £71.99. The view and landing is free.

While landing on a beach means you can wear your flip-flops, if you’re an eternal optimist.

Having done the old seaplane in the Maldives, I surely must bookend it with the beach landing.

We’re pleased to see the Vikings are still coming with routes from Scandinavia.

Of course, you can also reach the island by the arterial Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, universally known as CalMac by Gaels and Barra lovers.

The Vikings were here

And while we’re here why Barra?

And some more flesh on the bone of Storm Barra and island it’s named after.

Because the Vikings were here and named it in Old Norse barr and ey, meaning rough island.

And by Vikings I mean Viking, with the ancient Grettis saga telling us ‘Omund the Wooden-Leg’ was the first to pitch up.

Although I imagine he had ‘Scariur The Evil Eye’ there too to keep an eye on him with all those sheep around.

The Vikings ruled Barra as part of its Southern Islands, or Suðreyjar, from the 9th century through to the 13th century, bar a short period when Somerled declared independence.

Barra has only actually been part of Scotland since 1266 as part of the Treaty of Perth and the payment of a large sum of money.

Priceless Barra

And if you’ve been to the Western Isles’ most southerly island (stay with me here) then you’ll know it’s been money well spent.

Money, in fact, isn’t the most important currency on the island, if the following story is anything to go by.

Ian MacNeill leased the stunning Kisimul Castle, off the coast of capital Castlebay, in 2000 out of patriotic fervour, to VisitScotland for 1,000 years… for £1 and one bottle of whisky per annum!

Walk this way

Like all our remote areas our tourism chiefs have jumped on them to promote walking routes.

And despite being in a chain of islands, Barra is no different, and is part of the Hebridean Way.

Whether you need to take your swimming gear or not but you can check out the island hop from here up to the northernmost isle of Lewis.

Call of Nature

Seal Bay is pretty much what it says on the tin.

While Cleat on the east of the 23sqmile island is where you want to go if you’re a surfer.

It’s probably a bit safer to be a historian (guilty) and The Dualchas Heritage Centre has all Barra’s rich history.

Whisky galore

So we’ll all take shelter this week (I hate the old newspaper phrase ‘batten down the hatches’).

And we’ll reflect on Storm Barra and island it’s named after.

And perhaps if you are going to be homebound (hello?, we’re back in Covid lockdown territory again).

Then you can order an oul’ favourite book, Compton Mackenzie’s Whisky Galore!, to occupy you.

Or watch the Ealing film.

Celtic society: With Barra boy Andy, Iona, South Uist’s Martin

Basically, it pinches the true story of when the SS Politician ran aground off Barra’s neighbouring island Eriskay in the Second World War.

With a cargo including 28,000 cases of malt whisky as well as other trade goods headed for Jamaica and New Orleans

The locals from the two islands, one protestant Great Todday (Eriskay) and one catholic Little Todday (Barra) have different reactions to the whisky and cash shipwrecked off their islands.

Of course if you know modern-day Hebrideans you’ll know whisky is the religion which unites both catholic and protestant.

And much was drunk by my friends that Christmas which is why I’ll be toasting The Hebridean, my old friend Finlay.

I trust he will be on Cloud Nine up in Heaven now with his dram. Slainte Big Man.