I took a ride out to Ballater yesterday. The journey is always a pleasure and reminds me why it's so good to be living in Scotland. I stopped a lot, getting out of the car to listen to the silence. A rare experience, the deep silence of the hills.
It wasn't a good day for taking photos sadly, overcast and misty, and I can never quite capture the pretty peeps I want, sometimes because there's nowhere nearbye to stop and sometimes because the vastness is diminished by the viewfinder. A grouse came out from the heather to give me a sharp eye but I didn't dare move to point the camera at him so that was another opportunity missed. The 20% hills are impressive but don't photograph well either because there's usually a killing bend in them half way up causing the car to choke a bit and spoiling the vista, or there's a 4x4 behind huffing at my heels. Walking up them would be the only way. Ha! My legs are still stiff from the beach walking as it is.
It was great to see the book people again and hear how they are doing. Not badly it seems. Trade was a little down last year but so far this year has been good, which is what I'm hearing in this High Street too from the small shops. B has also maximised his resources by co-publishing a book about his locality by a local author and is reaping the rewards of that project - it's a rich vein. I should return to my own similar project but I can't get over the feeling that it's something to be done by a true local. Also, let's face it, it's more than I can do to stay focused on the other story at the moment!
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