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| Arbroath...and its peaceful harbour. |
I don't know how this will come out sounding, but I cannot listen to Dougie MacLean's "Caledonia" without my eyes misting. There is something in the words and the music that sparks a deep emotion. A connection is made, to some innermost place in my being.
It's good to be in the other place that feels like "home" again, back by the North Sea and the timeless, red sandstone cliffs that built an ancient Abbey just a few doors away. The shell of the abbey still stands strongly, a marker to a fascinating and compelling continuum of history. It was there, in 1320, that Scotland was declared independent - in a letter to Pope John XXII.
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| The abbey. |
This morning, 693 years later, looking out over the same waters as did King William the Lion and the Tironensian monks when they founded the abbey in 1178, we ate our marmalade-sweetened porridge, oatcakes and butter, the sun rising in the east.
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| The red sandstone...the North Sea. |
It's so good to be back.
Duncan.
A very warm welcome back "home" to you both :o)
ReplyDeleteKind Regards
Ian & Linda
Hi Ian and Linda, Many thanks. It's been a busy couple of days with some "work" related activities this week and next but looking forward to getting out in the hills. :) We'll be in touch. Warm wishes, Duncan and Joan.
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