The following day, it was raining (or as Margaret would say, “pissing”), and it continued all day.
A note on Scottish weather: this is not the place you want to go on vacation, if you want to work on your tan. It rains a lot, and is overcast most of the time. It is still wonderfully beautiful, and when the sun breaks out, it is like the Blessing of God.
Our first stop was to a glass-blower’s shop in Tain, called “Glass Storm.” It is owned by a young couple who have been making glass objets d’art together for 15 years. Brown informed us later that they have just announced their engagement. Brodie gave us a nice demonstration of glassblowing, followed by lots of questions, and then we all browsed the glass shop. After making our purchases, we went on our way.
Our next stop was Ballone Castle, which stood atop a spit of land close to Portmahomack, on the North Sea. It looked for all the world like something from MacBeth, with the wind-blown rain, and whitecaps on the water. An acquaintance of Brown’s has already refurbished the inside of the castle, and was just finishing the outside, so we had permission to walk around. Considering the rain, and now bitter cold, I didn’t stay out of the car for too long.
Next we stopped for lunch at a shop that produces plaid products (but not the traditional clan tartans). They had everything from carpets to hot water bottle covers. In addition, they produce ceramics with plaid patterns, as well as other patterns. We felt that most things were prohibitively expensive, albeit beautiful.
We then went out to look at two examples of Pictish standing crosses. The first was standing where it had been found, on a small hummock on the side of a road. Especially considering the weather, the presentation was unsatisfactory. It was difficult to get a good view of it, because it was surrounded with plexiglass, and the combination of rain and scratched plexi made it difficult to view, although it certainly protected the stone itself.
By the time we got to the second standing cross, the rain had stopped. This was at an old church in a town called Nigg. I was thrilled to see some familiar names in the charming graveyard outside the church. I saw Fraser, Cameron, and McKenzie, on the stones as we walked into the church.
We passed through the sanctuary of the church, and saw a beautiful stained glass window portraying the white Highland Rose. The cross we sought was behind the altar of the church, in a sunken room. The top and bottom of the cross had been broken off from each other, and repaired with a section of blank concrete. We could, however, see the pattern clearly, and I liked the presentation more than the enclosed one we had seen previously.
Brown said that they had recently located an additional piece of the cross and were now in a quandary about how to incorporate it. The new discovery indicated that the estimation of the width of the missing piece was off; also, it raises the question of whether to break the concrete back off (risking further damage to the cross) to include the new piece. But it is not the only missing part, so they are leaving it alone for the time being.
We returned to Knockbain Schoolhouse, to a trout dinner, and a “wee dram” afterward, by the fire before retiring, with the promise of better weather on the morrow.
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