Benches

We woke to a cold morning with a skim of ice across the bird baths and geese flying high, northwards, probably pink-footed on their way to their daily feeding fields; too early, despite the recent warmer weather, for a serious migration north.

The morning walk was our customary one, along the track between Golspie and Dunrobin Castle, watching the usual waders now back along the shore after recovering from Storm Otto, with a brief and rather chilly stop to sit on the bench and enjoy the view across an incoming tide, remembering....

....another bench with a view, this one at the end of Ormsaigbeg with its panorama across Kilchoan Bay to Ben Hiant and the entrance to Loch Sunart; a bench perhaps a little too excitingly sited as it was frequently blown over by the westerly gales.

It wasn't until I reached a certain age that I realised how much I enjoy a well-sited bench, somewhere with a view to enjoy and, ideally, an occasional traffic of people passing with whom to exchange views on the weather. Perhaps there should be a special tax on all pensions, say 0.01p in the pound, to ensure a plentiful supply.