Late light

Another good day. The three of us went down town in the morning for the weekly shop. As always, Tesco is a good place to meet friends and so a number of conversations were enjoyed, followed by a quick visit to the library.

After lunch I drove up the Pennyfuir Cemetery to try to get some ideas for one of the upcoming competitions at the Photo Club, 'Graveyards'. My suggestion, so I must try to find something different! Unfortunately the sun was going down on the other side of Oban and the light was bad - a morning expedition is obviously required.

On the way back I diverted to Pulpit Hill where the sun was catching the incoming 'Clansman', so that's my Blip today. Behind the ferry the shape of Duart Castle can be seen in the shadow and to the right of the picture is Lady's Rock, a small islet which is submerged at high tide but which has a marker. I'm not sure when the marker was erected, but the Rock has caused two notable shipwrecks - the ferry PS Mountaineer in 1889 and the steamship Clydesdale in 1905. 'No lives were lost in either case', history records.

History also records in a variety of editions the story of an intended death which didn't happen. In 1527, MacLean of Duart decided to murder his wife for reasons too wordy to go into here. He rowed her out to the rock one night, tied her up and left her to drown when the tide came up. The next morning the rock was empty, so he arranged her funeral in Inveraray and when he entered the castle hall with the empty coffin he was surprised to see his wife sitting at the head of the table! She had been rescued during the night! Some time later MacLean was murdered by one of his brothers-in-law, so she got her own back!

Quote of the Day: 'The best way to meet a woman is in an emergency situation - if you're in a shipwreck, or you find yourself behind enemy lines, or in a flood.' -  Mark Helprin.