The Silver Sands of Morar

(Another back blip). Best viewed in LARGE,

Today's goal was to reach the Arisaig Highland Games before they ended! In the car were my sister Kate, her children Natty and Jezzie, and their cousins Flora and Hamish. We stopped in Fort William to get a picnic and drop off more boxes of books and notelets at the charity shop; then took the Road to the Isles.

Arisaig's not exactly near, but the games are among the last of the mid-season, and they hold a special place for me because I used to visit Arisaig and the games as a child, when my aunt Anna lived in the area. So the first place to visit on entering the village was Aunt Anna's old house, along the road to Rhu. It is utterly transformed now, with a wrap around wooden cladding, extension. extra floor, etc. Still the same fabulous view over the bay, overlooking Rhum and Eigg, but the heart of Anna's pink prefab bungalow is only visible to those with an eye on the past. Kate and I wandered around the garden and the shore until the kids began to yell at us. I was gratified to see that the rock face that we used to climb, to gaze down on the road, was still gratifyingly huge. In fact, I wondered how we could have climbed it. aged eight or nine.

Over at Traigh Farm, the games had begun. Kate and I spent so much time browsing the eclectic stalls and the kirk's tea tent that I missed photographing the Highland dancing! The weather was blowy, but occasionally the sun came out. We sat on the hill overlooking the arena and watched the caber tossing and the heavy events, and our backs were warmed by the sun even as our ears were whistled! I don't think Jezzie had been to a Games before, and Natty wasn't over familiar with the format, and they loved the Father Ted quality of the announcements. The Clan Chief wasn't there this year, so I did not get a chance to quaff very expensive whisky in the VIP tent as I did two years ago (shame!).

The kids reported that they'd found a tent selling Golliwogs, so we went to investigate. The woman selling them looked as if she was expecting us (I guess there weren't a huge number of mixed-race chldren and young people at the games) and explained with a beaming smile that it was ok to sell them now, as they'd been renamed Jolly Gollies, so they weren't racist any more. We remained unconvinced. (Two weeks later, I saw new ones on sale in a 'historic toys' shop in Tintagel. Seems as if the backlash is back).

My blip of Arisaig games two years ago: https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3337340

After the prizes had been given, we went to look for the glorious beach at Morar. After a bit of disoriented driving, including a quick trip to Mallaig where the Jacobite engine was steaming in the station, we located the lochside beach, and discovered that the sands were still silver, as white as any Scillonian or Carribean beach, but the wind was still bracing!

I took off my shoes just to feel the sand, and had a wee paddle, and the kids larked around, still wearing their coats. Kate decided it would be a good place to return for a camping trip. I can't remember what I was thinking, because it was about six weeks ago! Probably wishing that Stroud and Arisaig weren't so far away from each other. That's what I'm usually thinking when I visit Argyll or the highlands.

Afterwards, we made the long journey home, and Flora made some puff pastry biscuits with pesto, and others with sugar and cinnamon, at about two o'clock in the morning. Delicious!

I had one last little splurge of clearing the floor in our mother's bedroom, as I was due to leave by train the next day. As it happened, things didn't exactly work out that way....