I understand that HM The Queen, and her entourage, decamps to Sandringham for Christmas every year. It appears to be my lot in life to spend every Christmas and New Year here in Golspie, in the North of Scotland. At the beginning of the last century Golspie was a thriving fishing village, but fishing, on that scale, died out more than a century ago. As it has in most places around the UK. Overfishing, and the subsequent imposition of quotas, has all but killed off our once vibrant fishing industry.
Golspie's chief claims to fame now are Dunrobin castle, the seat of the Dukes of Sutherland, and the monument to the 1st Duke, situated on top of a local hill - Ben Bhraggie. Many people want to pull the monument down, because of the part the 1st Duke played in the infamous Highland Clearances. My own view is that it helps to bring tourists, and much needed cash, to this part of North East Scotland.
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This morning I decided to undertake the walk to the monument and back. I must have walked up that hill 50 or more times over the years and am always surprised how it moves further away and higher up every year. It couldn't possibly be because I'm getting older. I would say I met a dozen or more people on the way up or the way down. It is an excellent way to counteract the excesses of Christmas Day.
Because it's Christmas, and I'm feeling magnanimous, I have decided to sponsor myself for the walk up the hill and back. £1 per minute to Cancer Research on the way up and £1 per minute to Guide Dogs for the Blind on the way down. If you too are feeling charitable then please feel free to add to my donations by clicking on this link.
So many of my friends and relatives have been targetted by cancer this year. The frightful, and frightening, disease seems to attack people at random. I pray that they will find a cure soon and that my friends and relatives who have suffered, and those still suffering, will be free of it for good soon. That's a bit selfish - actually I pray for everybody who has been affected by this horrible insidious disease.
Christmas is almost over for another year in Great Britain and Western Europe. For my friends in Russia it was an ordinary working day. There everybody is gearing up for the festivities that will commence on New Years Eve and continue for 7 or 8 days. I say to them: c наступающим новым годом! and to my friends in Spain: Feliz año nuevo.
To finish, that timeless classic from Raymond Briggs' The Snowman.
