Roads to Joy

Forever is a long way, but early yesterday afternoon we stood on the western seashore of mainland Scotland and looked across the Irish Sea, beyond the granite island of Ailsa Craig where all good curling stones come from, to see Northern Ireland beyond on its left, and the Mull of Kintyre a bit closer behind on its right. It really is amazing how far you can see on a clear day.

We were half-way on our circular excursion investigating further and further into southwest Scotland, but when we arrived back home, we thought, ahh, do you know, we’re living in possibly the very best part of this beautiful land. The best part, certainly for us, right now, anyway. We don’t feel especially righteous, like those upon whom the sun is said to shine, but we do feel blessed.

It’s no wonder that one of the local breweries in these parts, Five Kingdoms in Isle of Whithorn (not literally an island, but an isolated isthmus) has taken that name: the ancient ‘kingdoms’ of Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland, and the Isle of Man are all said to be visible from this far southerly point in the county of Dumfries and Galloway at the same time, in the right conditions. I can vouch for two now, clearly visible from our vantage point further north, and at sea level to boot.

It’s amazing, after months of dreich, to realise how much of an epiphany simple sunshine actually is. Perhaps it’s not surprising at all that we’ve felt better and better this week, as the sunshine days build up, the flowers in the garden reach for the light, and we ponder how to spend our days outside. We’re off to the garden centre, along with a visit to the hospital and the grocery shop, on Wednesday, where we’ll hope to acquire a reasonable range of blossom and colour to festoon around the bare patches of the borders.

More prosaically, we hope to see our new veranda, currently in pieces awaiting installation, all set up in the back patio sometime during the first week of May. Just in time to enjoy the great clement outside even if intermittent rain (as also happened during our circular tour) intervenes.

Somehow I feel as if I should be dancing toward the exit, in homage to Morecombe and Wise.