Perth

Last Tuesday I drove to Perth, a pleasant Tayside city. Perth has some good street sculptures, among them the rather 'browned-off' woman pictured here and the fascinating sculpture in the middle of town of two men supporting a ring, one blindfolded and apparently struggling to push the ring away while the other rests nonchalantly allowing the ring to support him. I interpreted the meaning of the sculpture as the ring being a metaphor for life being balanced between pain and pleasure, effort and leisure. For an excellent discussion about the sculpture, including a comment by the sculptor and information about William Souter whose 1941 poem, 'Nae day sae dark', was sculptor David Annand's inspiration for this work, go to:

 http://lifesscience.blogspot.com/2009/10/nae-day-sae-dark.html

McEwens department store, something of an architectural anachronism, has a well stocked outfitting department where I made some additions to my meagre wardrobe. This otherwise mundane event was made interesting by a sudden failure of the store's internet connection just as my debit card was being processed; the store is apparently dependent on an internet connection for both card processing and telephone connections! This was something for which the staff had had no training. I asked them to hold on to my would-be purchases for an hour or so while they solved their problem and I refreshed myself elsewhere with a cup of tea.

Around the corner from McEwens I found another of Perth's wonderful anachronisms; 'Goodfellow & Steven' is an excellent cake and pastry shop with teashop above, everything that 'Starbucks', 'Costas' and 'Cafe Nero' are not, I can personally recommend the excellent tea, Cream Croissants and Cream Danish Pastries' served at 'Goodfellow & Steven'!

Later, back at McEwens, the necessary internet connections had yet to be restored and the payment had to be made manually by means of a triplicate paper set and a once commonplace but now practically forgotten plastic and metal machine; yet another anachronism.

A Sensational Banquet

A cold north-easterly air stream had swept away latterly persistent grey clouds. The sun shone from a clear blue sky. In leaf-dappled sunlight, sheltered from a brisk cold breeze, I felt deliciously sharp contrasts between pools of dark cool shade and brilliant warm sunlight.
I rested on the moss softened bole of a long-fallen tree to listen to the music of the place, sounds as old as time; the occasional buzzing of a bee; the babbling of the stream, audible dynamics of wing beat and fettered water flow. Above and around me phrases of birdsong orchestrated with a rhythmic soughing of treetop breezes and with more distant sounds; caws of crows and ravens, buzzards meows.
Near to the stream, the redolence of desuetude and decay familiar in damp shady places vied with the more potent aroma of wild garlic. Away from the water, fragrances percolated from myriad flower and tree blossoms, subtly scenting the air. Contrasting odours, foetid and sweet, confirming the the truth of all life depending on a perpetual cycle of death and regeneration.
A canopy of translucent fresh leaves dappled viridescent sunlight falling into mossy shade. Transient highlights on the ripples and splashes of the stream flashed shafts of prismatic colour, a vision of reflections from a flow of innumerable diamonds. Intense light, deep shade, colour, form – essences of of being.
I had felt, heard, smelt and viewed the quiddity of a flake of time in Dollar Glen. My lunch, a tasty soup of wild garlic and nettle leaves gathered there, completed the feast.

Menstrie

Menstrie, the second of the 'Hillfoots' villages along the road from Stirling to Perth, is dominated today by a huge whisky plant, acres of bonded warehouses and regimented rows of barrack like housing. There is little at Menstrie to encourage a visitor to linger but the village is not entirely devoid of attractions, first among which is the stunning scenic walking to be had in the hills to the north of the town. I spent this afternoon strolling paths following the west side of Menstrie glen to the Lossburn Reservoir, 900' above the village. From there I descended on paths to the east of Menstrie Burn. On the slopes a number of ruined buildings and clearly visible remains of long forgotten fields and their boundaries are evidence of comparatively intensive mixed farming having been practised there in the past. By the mid 18th century there were about 22 farms being worked along the glen but thereafter the farms were enclosed and the land returned to sheep grazing.
The paths were good as were the footbridges over several tributary burns that cascade down the hillside into Menstrie burn. There were spectacular views to the south, over the Forth valley towards the Kincardine and, in the far distance, the Forth bridges.
Late 16th century Menstrie Castle, (A large house rather than a castle.) birthplace of Sir William Alexander, founder of Nova Scotia, is another of Menstrie's attractions.