Sat 9th May
Today I planned to progress onto Oban. I was up at a reasonable time and set off at my usual 10am. I set my satnav for a parking layby on the way into Oban that I wanted to check out as a possible night stop. After the short journey I pulled into the layby and it seemed perfect, so knew what my plan was for that night.
I had looked up online what there was to do in Oban. I had been before, and I think we had looked around the shops, ate fish and chips and been on a boat trip to Isle of mull to visit Tobermory. I wanted to see if there were any events on in the town, like a show or interactive experience. I’d seen a whisky tasting, and a ceilidh night, but I wasn’t too fussed on the whisky, and the ceilidh was for a different night. I then saw a link to a Facebook event, a ceilidh and open mic afternoon fundraiser. It was a charity fundraiser and looked to be a locally organised event. This was great, I had been feeling a little lonely, missing home, and this seemed like a great way to get some social interaction. It was on at 2.30, so I had time to look around the town first. I parked up in a long stay carpark at the other end of town and walked along the seafront taking in the different shops. Memories were coming back to me; I remembered parking in that car park and waiting in the car while my uncle went to buy us all steak pasties that someone had raved about. I remembered the shops, that’s where I had bought my Scotland cap that I had ended up losing, and strived to replace, which I now wear on my trip. I passed a chocolate shop, which did look nice, but indulgent, when I’m perfectly happy with a bar of Cadburys. I was in search of the loo and saw signs to the north pier, which when I reached them realised you had to pay 50p! this is the problem with built up areas, you have to start paying for things, the car parks and the toilets! By the north pier there was a nice seating area next to a run of cafes. Mostly seating for the cafes, but there was a long bench edging a wall and it seemed a free for all, and a sun trap. I made this my lunch stop and it was perfect. I ate my lunch while people watching then read my book for a bit, until it was time for the ceilidh.
The venue was called The Rockfield Centre and dead in the centre of town, so easy to find and a short walk. When I arrived there were about 4 people sat at tables and about 6 people who looked like they were involved in organising the event. I paid a donation amount and found a seat. The organiser came over to say hello and introduce herself, her name was Lousia and she was one of 3 women who ran fundraising events for the charity AISHA, which supports women and families in Gaza. Louisa had worked in Gaza and made friends with the founder of the charity, getting involved that way. She thanks me for coming, I explained a bit about how I’d come to be there, and she explained that they were hoping for some more people to turn up before we started the Ceilidh, then would move onto the open mic event. There was a young lad at another table who was going to play the serpent, the introductory instrument before moving on to the bagpipes, and a lady on another table who was going to sing. I could have bought my cornet and played something, but it was a bit late to go and get it now, and I was happy to sit back and enjoy the other performers. As the start time passed, one of the other organisers stood up to explain they had hoped more people would be there and were seeing how things progressed to determine how the afternoon would pan out. We ended getting a couple more people in order to attempt a ceilidh dance with 8 of us. David was playing the penny whistle, and he was being accompanied by a man on the guitar, they sounded great, very authentic Scottish. They’d been playing as people were arriving and it was a real privilege to experience some genuine local talent, not manufactured. People who lived in the town, had these skills, and been brought up in the Scottish traditions were sharing their talents with us. We attempted a ceilidh dance but have to say it only just survived. But that’s how ceilidhs work right? People muck up the moves, forget what they’re doing, go the wrong way. I was lucky as I had Isbal as my partner and she’d obviously done it before. I spoke to her after and turned out she used to live on one of the islands but had to move to the Oban for secondary school. She’s gone to Uni but only completed two years and was back home working at an outdoor nursery for kids, where all their learning is outside, a great idea.
After that dance we were all hot and bothered so we had a musical interlude before the next dance. The young lad played his Serpent, very well, with no music to read from, and the lady sang her folk tune. Isbal was then roped in to play the guitar and sing. She hadn’t prepared anything, but her mum (being one of the helpers) persuaded her to take part. She was great, very natural. Then another lady was hailed up to play another Scottish folk song, again I don’t think she had purposely prepared anything, but sounded lovely.
We had one more ceilidh dance, which was hilarious. People were swinging one way and the other, grabbing the wrong partners, people dropped out, it was brilliant! The whole day was lovely and really gave me vibes of my own church events from back home. A very community lead event with people who just want to get others involved for the purpose of a good cause.
After it had finished, I topped up my water bottles in the café on site, said my thank you’s and goodbyes and headed for the seating area in town again for some more reading. I sat reading with no agenda, no time restraints apart from to have dinner at some point and go to my layby for the night. It was such a nice feeling to let go and just be. I read, I sat, I watched people. Eventually it did get a little chilly, so I decided to make my way to the van and my layby for the night. When I arrived, I found another van camped up and a car, which was reassuring. That evening I got some great photos as the sun set and the hills next to the loch silhouetted the night sky and reflected in the water.