Eastern Scotland

I arrived in Golspie in Eastern Scotland on Friday via bus from Oban on the west coast. The bus drove the length of Loch Ness, but no sitting of Nessie. I am staying with Mel Langille, from Nova Scotia, who has been a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church the past five years (20 years before that in NS). Went with him to one of his three celebrations this morning. Yesterday he took me to Dunrobin, the ancestral home of the Sutherland clan, just up the road. A wonderful place. Queen Victoria stayed there for a few days and her bed is still there - horsehair mattress and all. They also had a display of falcons, owls and eagles on the ground. What great birds. Even when they fly just inches over your head. Mel is into bag piping and was out last night, so I read some Church Times (church newspaper) and started the book, The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, coming out this week as a movie. I also watched a great movie, Priest. It deals with two Roman Catholic priests and their struggles, covering many issues - celibacy, homosexuality, seal of confession, authority, calling, forgiving, etc. It would be a great movie to watch in a deanery and discuss after. Very moving and thought provoking. I leave for England tomorrow, arriving in France later this week. It is interesting hearing the story of the Anglican Church here in Scotland. Very open and in the fore front of same gender blessings but that is rarely mentioned outside.