Monday 16 July 2007

Glencoe

A good run was had by all yesterday. The Pan Clan organised a run starting from Kinross then on towards Fort William. Through Glencoe towards Tyndrum, down through Glen Ogle to Lochearnhead. It was a roasting hot day and it felt good to get the breeze. Only problem came after leaving Tyndrum when the group got split up, and didn’t regroup until near Gleneagles. Three of us were left scratching our heads trying to remember where we should go after Crieff.

On the subject of technology, the intercom is working great now, though it took a couple of stops to get the volume and microphone sensitivities set up right.

Off topic now, but it’s my blog... At one of the main beauty spots in Glencoe, and there’s loads to choose, someone had installed a statue and a memorial plaque. Now this sort of thing gets on my nerves. I’ve came out here to enjoy the scenery and someone has tried to claim our landscape with a memorial to an unknown person.

When my metabolic processes are history, I'm off the twig, have kicked the bucket, shuffled off my mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the choir invisibile I don’t want you to pollute the landscape in my memory with the sort of tasteless sculpture that gets sold off in the rejects section of a budget garden centre. And no, I don’t want a bench either - round here it would be used as somewhere to land when the Buckfast hits hard. These people are littering the hills. No it’s worse than littering, litter is thoughtless. Someone had to think up this rubbish. It’s pollution.

I can’t believe that anyone who loves the countryside would want to be remembered in this way. Whatever happened to “take only memories, leave only footprints” or is that optional? Is it OK for me to spray paint my name on the rocks? No. So it’s not all right for you to concrete, drill and chisel your memorial into a place of natural beauty. I think the right approach has been set in place with regard to Ben Nevis. See http://www.nevispartnership.co.uk/memorials.asp


I have no objection to memorials, but to spoil the landscape is taking it too far.




















And on that note, the landscape can have the final word.


Pan miles so far 003047

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