The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Side 33

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
31
A boat trip on the Firth of Clyde
was one of my many interesting
experiences. We sailed on the St.
Colombo from Gourock to Airdryshaig
and took a bus back .to Glasgow. The
boat carries cargo as well as passengers.
Many of the towns along the route
depend on the boat for mail and sup-
plies. There were many passengers
aboard, including a group of school
children, accompanied by their teacher,
who were on a day excursion. We
were delighted to hear them sing
Grace before dinner.
One of the towns we found interest-
ing was Pitlochry in Perthshire, which
lies in the valley of the Tummel River
near .the Old Road to the Isles. It is
on the main road from Edinburgh to
Inverness. It is known as the holiday
resort in the heart of the Highlands.
It is said that one can enjoy any sort
of holiday pastime in Pitlochry
whether it be golfing in the pictur-
esque hills, swimming in the rivers,
horse-back riding, boating, hiking or
just relaxing.
In Pitlochry one can find at Loch
Faskally Dam the fish ladder where
the salmon clocks in on their way up
to their spawning ground.
In 1951 Mr. John Stewart, a great
lover of the stage, founded “Scotland’s
Theatre of the Hills” in Pitlochry.
Opening night was May 19 to which all
the London dramatic critics were invit-
ed. That year the plays were presented
in a tent. The stage is quite large and
the auditorium shallow and fan-shaped.
They continued to hold the shows
there for 'two years but now have a
semi-permanent building. It has a
capacity of approximately five hund-
red. For the short period of time the
■theatre has been in existence it has
enjoyed surprising success. The play I
saw was “The Lass wi’ the Muckle
Mou,,’ a Scots comedy by Alexander
Reid, which I enjoyed very much.
When I was in Pitlochry early in
July the town was holding Tartan
Week. Visitors and the home folk were
asked to wear their tartans .whenever
possible and they responded to the
request very well. As I didn’t have any
tartan I was given a lovely Tartan
handkerchief. Contests of different
kinds were held both to arouse inter-
est and to increase trade in the town.
There was a great deal of variety in
what one could see and do. The
sponsors of Tartan Week deserve a
lot of credit for their splendid idea
for stimulating interest in their town.
It has been said that one can always
arrive in time for tea in Scotland. I
had that happy experience on many oc-
casions during my visit.
Oh, to have the time to spend a
summer in Scotland, travelling to the
smaller towns and visiting with the
very hospitable Scottish people.
Mattie Halldorson
3deal ChxiitmaA
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