UK June 2011 – Day 20. Today I met an old friend,

it was the first time we’d seen each other in nearly forty years. Russell and I had said our goodbyes back when we left school in July 1972, exchanged a couple of letters and then lost contact. Thanks to the joys of the Internet we’d got back in touch about a year or so ago; he and his wife Chris have a bed and breakfast in Scotland; our planned destination for the day.

Before we could do that though we had to sit and enjoy the view from our tent for a while, which is when today’s picture was taken. There’s also a picture showing the damage the Loch Maree midges have done to me – imagine that all over your legs.

There was also another problem with our plan to go and see Russell and Chris. My cell ‘phone didn’t seem to want to work in the highlands, and we’d not been able to contact them, so they didn’t know we were coming. If they had vacancies that was fine, if not at least we could pop in and say hello on our way.

Getting there meant crossing the country again – they’re on the East coast, near to Inverness. As we drove (literally) across country I stopped under every cell ‘phone tower in the vain hope I could make a call. It didn’t work. I tired public ‘phone boxes, but in the age of cell ‘phones they are few and far between; and working ones appear to be even rarer. Finally I found a working public telephone and got through. Good sports that they are, Russell and Chris didn’t blink and eyelid at the zero notice and told us to come on over.

We arrived around three, and apart from a much-needed shower, the next ten or so hours were spent catching up on forty years of news. I’d like to say that I took a couple of pictures to commemorate the occasion, but unfortunately I didn’t.

Today’s extras

Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.