Around Inverary

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At the start of October, I spent a happy Saturday on a photo-walk organized by a friend around Inverary in Argyll, the group numbering nearly 20 folks.

It was quite a day – over 7 miles walked, folks socialized with, the town and surrounding landscapes investigated.

We started with a trip up the bell-tower and the adjacent All Saints’ Scottish Episcopal Church in the middle of town:

After that, we visited Inverary Jail – quite interesting to get a glimpse of the conditions folks lived in. A friendly guard posed for us:

As we were walking around to the castle for lunch, there was a burst of sunlight over the landscape. A few days prior to the excursion I had discovered an old Pentax film camera in a storage box, and loaded it with film and acquired an extra 50mm prime lens for it, along with an adapter to the Sony NEX-7. So this is Strone Point and the top of Glen Kinglas, on an old 50mm f/1.7 “nifty fifty” Pentax PK-fit lens:

We had lunch in the Inverary Castle tearooms:

Inverary Castle

Inverary Castle

The afternoon was spent climbing up Dun na Cuaiche. I was impressed to see what an effect the geology has on the area, as (igneous) felsite hills to the north of the town give way to psammite (partially metamorphosed sedimentary) bedrock along the shore of Loch Fyne. The watchtower is a folly – the only thing it looks out over is the castle itself, affording no real protection from anyone else feeling like invading!

 

Corpus Christi at the Cathedral

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Yesterday was Corpus Christi, a joyous celebration of the institution of the Eucharist – a service I’ve only previously heard of.
And so, in a spirit of investigation, I went to St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow.  There were lights all around the rood screen and candles; the Blessed Sacrament was processed around the aisles in glory; there was sweet rose-scented incense; there were many rose-petals; the organist opened the swell and hit a 32′ pedal as folks clanged bells around the table. And there was joy.

Festival celebrated properly, methinks.

St Ninian’s Scottish Episcopal Church, Portpatrick

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St Ninian's Scottish Episcopal Church, Portpatrick

The building’s diminutive size lends a certain quaint charm to the idea of people coming here to worship, hence the vintage style processing on the photo.
Unfortunately, it also means the maximum seating capacity is only about 30.
The folks were pleasantly welcoming, but services are either Matins or stuck in the 1929 liturgy for some inexplicable reason – even worse than the 1970 version.
The most offputting thing is the fuss made (both written in the pew-sheets and announced) that there will be a `gathering note’ at the start of the hymns. What they actually mean is the building is too small for any kind of instrument of its own and the bought-in CD was made by a company that didn’t understand how to correctly accompany hymn-singing (with a proper introduction and consistent tempo, no such note is required). The resultant boom-box karaoke cacophany is just ghastly.
The church is part of a trio of charges around Wigtownshire. Services are Sundays at 10.30am if anyone’s interested.