chust sublime

Place the palm of your hand onto a sheet of paper and spread your fingers. Trace the outline of the five appendages. Today, we followed your fingers. I was taken out and our road traced the sea lochs of Argyll, up and around and down and back up and over again. Mist from hilltop down through the glens. The road ascending, swerving, dipping giving the odd stomach lurch. The verdant breath of the trees the hills making the mist drift making the heart lift then swoop. The rain came hammering then clear. Loch upon loch scribbling our journey round the peninsulas of fingers. There and back again.

The photo was taken in Inverary, the birthplace of Neil Munro who wrote the Para Handy stories, light hearted tales about a Clyde puffer and its crew delivering goods around the Highlands and Glasgow. The puffer's name was the Vital Spark and here, in the harbour at the top of Loch Fyne, is the very thing. When the skipper was at peace he would sit back, light up his pipe, look out over the water, the land, and say "Chust sublime".

Chust sublime.