Whale-watching without whales

A bit rushed these last few days – the juxtapositions of things become ever more interesting.  You may be interested in this interview which I did with my blogging friend, Mad Priest.

The end of the week brought two events which I always think of as ‘end of term’ around here.  The first was a meeting of our College of Bishops in Oban – ending with a dinner with spouses.  And in the middle a whale-watching expedition.  But of course it was pouring rain and whales don’t go out in the rain.  The area south of Oban where we were is a sort of paradise of little islands, tide races, exposed rocks .. the kind of beautiful place where cloud, sea and land are hard to tell apart.  No whales and very few seals either – but we did see a sea eagle and chick.

Meanwhile John our guide decided to introduce us to the famous Corryvrechan Whirlpool – second largest in the world.  This seemed a sensible option for a group of bishops – could we safely navigate currents and eddies – and avoid being sucked into the depths of Psalm 130?  I’m glad to report that the College of Bishops proved buoyant and stable.

Our other end-of-term event was Commemoration Day at Glenalmond College – we had to do the remembering bit twice because of the fire regulations.  I didn’t mind that because I like Cranmer’s English – rather like flying a plane before the invention of the autopilot.  You have to think about emphasis and the balance of sentences to a degree which today’s material doesn’t always require.  Couple of verses of Floreat Glenalmond and home … enlivened only by the fact that the Faithful Passat passed 180000 miles and celebrated by illuminating its oil pressure light.  But I dealt with that by topping it up at the Strawberry Shop.