24th October 2025
Litter

The Scottish Tourist Board has researched residents attitude to Tourism in Scotland. Overall the reaction is positive towards visitors. The only two negatives were traffic congestion (47%) and litter (46%).

Regarding litter, my Inverness experience is exactly the opposite. It is the local people leaving the litter not the visitors. I find visitors care about the town, often feel more should be done to protect, sustain our heritage and we should have more trees in the streets (15th August Blog). Projecting the problem onto visitors is just a way of avoiding confronting a national problem that we have had for decades.

I occasionally collect the litter I find on my walking route. This is a bagful I collected inside 10 minutes in the Churchyard

Keeping Britain Tidy has been a campaigning organisation since the 1950s. I like their latest effort.

On a lighter note.

I saw this in an Inverness store recently.

I wondered if I should submit the image to the Facebook page of the Dull Men's Club

I am a fan of the Dull Men's Club. The Dull Men's Club seeks to promote a slower, more relaxed life. Not to feel pressured to fill every minute with exciting, meaningful activity. To enjoy, to feel pleasure and excitement from everyday life and mundane objects. Above all, not to take life too seriously.

There are a few ladies post to the Dull Men's Club but to a dull man this is never going to be an issue.

There are a few traditional conventions for posting a Dull Men's Club image.

• A banana is placed in the image to give an indication of size and space.
• The author signs off their post with their name, age and shoe size.

Alan 73 9.5

(I was a size 9 until 1993. Whilst playing football my big toe was trod on, broken and flattened, turning one foot into a 9.5)

How dull is that !

Links;

'Dull Men's Club on Facebook'

'Dull Men's Club website'

15th October 2025
The Tourist Information Centre Closes

Sadly the Inverness Tourist Information Centre closed last week. All Information Centres in Scotland are closing this year as everthing goes digital and online.

I said goodbye to Ian (pictured above) and his team and I would like to say 'Thank You' for their help, support and friendliness over the years. Ian is going to work at the new Inverness Castle Experience, which hopefully, is opening in mid-November.

You can follow its progress on the new Inverness Castle Experience website.

It seems a retrograde stepto clos e the Information Centre as there was always a constant flow of visitors in the shop. Nowadays it seems to be impossible to be a tourist without a smartphone.

We are sadly left with another empty shell of a shop in the Inverness High Street.

Although High Street shops are closing in Inverness the opening of new hotels. restuarants and coffee shops in the town shows no sign of abating.

One of the new small restuarant/coffee shops is the Ember Kafe in Queensgate. Its unique selling point is that it has games to play on every table e.g. Chess, Connect4.

The Ember Kafe window display is interesting and seems to be a nod to 'The Eagles' 1977 song 'Hotel California' which is a hotel that you can check-in but not leave.

Maybe they like to jest but I am not sure it works.

The menu is varied and has a wider range than most small Inverness restuarants. You can order a a Haggis and Cheese roll or a Grilled Halloumi & House Spicy Sauce.

A few small resturarants in this street have opened and soon closed in recent years. The Ember Kafe was busy when I walked past on Sunday and seems to be trying hard. Maybe too hard.

I will give it a 50/50 chance that it will be open in 12 months time. I hope I am wrong but will let you know.

6th October 2025
Old Shop Sign Recovered

During a recent renovation an old shop sign was discovered. The shop is now a hairdressers but the owner has decided not to cover the old sign and keep it there. It was MacGillivary's shoe shop which opened in 1946, just after the Second World War. Shoes were a profitable business during the 40s/50s and 60s as the profit margins were good. As with a lot of businesses the larger chains undercut the independent sole trader (no pun intended) and shops like MacGillivarys started to close in the 60s.

Historically, MacGillivary was not an uncommon name in Inverness and those who have been on my walks may remember I do tell a 'MacGillivary' story

The shop is in an area of Inverness called 'The Crown' as it is believed that MacBeth may have had a castle there in the 11th century. MacBeth received a bad press from Shakespeare and for their time they were probably a nicer couple than we are led to believe.

The shop is part of a larger buiding constructed in 1878.

Over the years I have at least two people interested in Victorian chimney spotting. Chimney spotters are known as Caminologists. Standing on the spot where I took the above photo I counted at least 70 Victorian chimneys. So if there is anyone interested in coming on my walks and chimney spotting, we can go on a 'nerdy' hour looking at chimneys.

Let me know beforehand because there aren't many of us about.

29th September 2025
Postcards

When I started my walking tours in the mid-1980s if someone sent me a postcard of their home town, I would send them a photo of the Loch Ness Monster. This continued for a few years and I have a collection of postcards that I cherish. The sending of postcards declined in recent times and I stopped mentioning it.

Recently a few people on my walks have shown an interest in reviving it.

So thank you to the Dolittle and Miller families for sending me the above postcards. The Fort Worth, Texas, postcard is now the biggest in my collection. Postcards are noticeably bigger nowadays. The Golden Gate Bridge is the first in my collection which you can tilt and the light changes between day and night, the technological improvements since the 1980s are amazing.

If anyone on my walks would like to send me a postcard let me know and I will give you my address.

As some of my original postcards are now 40 years old they have their own social history. So I have added a Postcard page to display some of my favourites.

22nd September 2025
Creating an Oasis

On a recent walk a gentleman from California told me that during these troubled times, where the news creates an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, he seeks to create around his family and community an 'Oasis' of calm. To find happiness in small moments and have connections with loved ones. Where there is respect for others, whoever they are and individual creativity is encouraged. While on my walking tour he gave some money to a lady playing a flute in the High Street.

This reminded me of a poster of a poem that I bought, circa 1973, from a street trader in London. The early 70s were also an uncertain time with a miner's strike creating power cuts and a three day working week. Inflation was 9% rising to 24% by 1975. An Irish Republican Army car bomb, one of many, exploded in Old Quebec Street, Marble Arch, London which was a few streets away from my bed-sit.

When I bought it we were encouraged to believe it had been found in 1692 in a church in Baltimore USA. This transpired to be nonsense and it is a poem written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann from Indiana, USA. The poem was not appreciated during Max's lifetime but became popular in the 1960/70s.

Is is called 'Desiderata' which is Latin for 'things desired'.

At the time the poem spoke to me and I still have it hanging on a wall some 50 years later. Here is a transcript.

• Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there is in silence.
• As far as possible without surrender to be on good terms with all persons.
• Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
• Avoid loud and aggresive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
• If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
• Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
• Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possesssion in the changing fortunes of time.
• Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; Many people strive for high ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism.
• Be yourself, Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
• Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
• Nurture strength of spirit to shield you from sudden misfortunne.
• Do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
• Beyond a wholesome discipine, be gentle with yourself.
• You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars, you have the right to be here.
• And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
• Therefore be at peace with God, whoever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours & aspirations be at peace with you soul.
• With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams it is still a beautiful world.
• Be careful, Strive to be happy.

The poem was recorded as a spoken-word record in the early-70s and was quite successful in the pop charts.

if you wish to listen to it ask 'Alexa/Spotify etc.' to play Desiderata by Les Crane.

15th September 2025
Inverness Sketches

I like to put women's stories into my walks and fail dismally as it is HIS-tory. There is one lady I mention on the Churchyard Tour. Isabel Harriet Anderson (1840-1904) was a local author who lived in Academy Street.

Isabel wrote several books about Inverness. They are very genteel stories about everyday life, the comings and goings of visitors to her family home in Academy Street and happy times at Christmas. Although sadly her dog 'Skye' was poisoned 'by a cruel hand'. Shortly before she died Isabel wrote a book called Inverness Sketches 1901-1904 which was published and deposited in the Local Library.

In Johanesberg in 2004, Stuart Thompson, who had emigrated from Inverness to South Africa in 1971, found a book called Inverness Sketches in a flea market. He discovered that it had been taken from Inverness Library in 1908 and was never returned, acquiring a fine of £5000! Stuart returned it to Inverness Library and the fine was waived.

I thought I would look at this book and visited the Library.

They have lost it!

8th September 2025
Is 'The Scream' in Inverness

In 1893 the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch painted 'The Scream'

Ten years later in 1903 Alexander Ross, local architect, designed the Iron Foundry in Academy Street. On the front of the building he placed a stone carving that looks to me very similar to 'The Scream'.

Was Alexander Ross influenced by Edvard Munch's painting?

1st September 2025
The Scottish Tourist Board Trainer said " Use AI "

At Scottish Tourist Board Training earlier this year the importance of having a regular Blog on your website was emphasised. I said that I was concerned that I would soon run out of ideas for a weekly blog. The trainer said "Use AI".

For the 25th August blog I wrote about William McGonagall's visit to Inverness in 1894. I thought I would see what would happen if I got AI to do it for me. This was the result.

William Topaz McGonagall’s Legendary Visit to The Gellions, Inverness: A Night to Remember (Or Try To)

On a brisk October evening in 1894, the Gellions Inn in Inverness braced for a cultural event like no other:

William Topaz McGonagall, the poet laureate of the gloriously terrible, had arrived. With the confidence of a man oblivious to his own infamy, McGonagall launched into The Tay Bridge Disaster—a tragic ode made tragically hilarious by his rhythmic commitment to clunkiness. Patrons sipped ale in awe, unsure whether to applaud or duck for cover as his booming voice rattled the whisky glasses.

"Friends!" he proclaimed, mistaking polite bafflement for rapture, "I shall now honor this fine establishment!" Cue An Address to the Gellions, a masterpiece of misplaced metaphors ("Thy walls, like tartan-clad giants, stand!"). Laughter bubbled under coughs, but McGonagall, ever the trouper, soldiered on.

By night’s end, the crowd—equal parts delighted and deafened—toasted his enthusiasm, if not his euphony. As he bowed, one drinker sighed, "Aye, that’s 16th October 1894 marked in history… and our ears."

The Gellions survived, but its walls may never recover.

Please note: If you are visiting The Gellions in Inverness don't expect it to look like the above image.

25th August 2025
Are you a William McGonagall fan?

I don't tell this story on my walks but am considering it. William McGonagall (1825-1902) was a Scottish Poet. William is often associated with the term 'the worst'. The 'worst' poem, the 'worst' poet.

William wrote a vast number of poems, they could be fictional stories or current events of the time. Every poem is in rhyming couplets and William wasn't averse to changing the spelling of a word to make it rhyme more easily e.g. America to Amerikay.

William seemed to be fond of Inverness and it gets a few mentions in his poems, although he did say he preferred Glasgow! William came to the Gellions Bar on 16th October 1894, wrote a poem about it and seems to have had a great time

"Also the servant maids were kind to me,
Especially the girl who polished my boots, most beautiful to see.
The banquet consisted of roast beef, potatoes and red wine;
Also hare soup and sherry and grapes most fine,
And baked pudding and apples lovely to be seen;
Also rich sweet milk and delicious cream."

When you read William's poetry you don't have to do much thinking.

So as you might expect, I am a fan.

18th August 2025
Where are the trees?

A common observation made by visitors that come on my walks, especially those from the Netherlands, is that we have more trees growing out of our buildings than we do in the street.

This is unlikely to change untill the situation with Academy Street is resolved. Academy Street is the fourth most polluted street in Scotland. There has be plans for a few years to turn Academy Street into a partial pedestrian precinct. There has been opposition to this from the local traders. When I tell my walkers about this situation, those who have had experience of streets turned pedestrian in their own towns say it has been a positive move that hasn't caused commercial problems.

I would be in favour as I am enthusiastic about talking about trees.

11th August 2025
The Old High Church is Saved

Good News about the Old High Church in Inverness. A local community group 'Save Old High Inverness' (SOHi) have been successful in making a bid to purchase the church.

It would have been a shame if it had been purchased by a commercial enterprise as it is such a prominent feature in the town.

As with all these ventures, purchasing the property is only the first step and now it has to be developed into a sustainable enterprise. SOHi are looking for volunteers and anyone who could help in any way to build the future.

I would like to thank everyone who made this happen and contributed in any way. Such efforts are often unheralded but they are valuable for our well-being.

4th August 2025
Street Life

Arriving early one morning for my 9am walk I passed a man sitting in a shop doorway with a disposable coffee cup, apparently seeking money.

I said "Would you like me to buy you a sandwich?".

He said "Cappuccino".

On the same day a Baby Seagull was waiting for the Mobile Phone Repair shop to open.

28th July 2025
I didn't know I was a Donald Trump supporter.

I have been wearing this tie for about a year. I bought it because I liked it and on the walks I often talk about Elephants.

Dieter from Germany asked me if I was a USA Republican Party supporter. To my surprise I discover that the Elephant is the official symbol of the Republican Party.

From what I hear from those who come on my walks from the USA the majority are Democrats. A recent Scottish Tourist Board newsletter suggested that vistors from the States are wary of the reception that they may receive due to the present situation in USA politics. I can assure anyone from the USA considering visiting the Scottish Highlands that you will receive a warm welcome.

21st July 2025
Is there Voodoo in Inverness?

A churchyard is a haven for wildlife. On a few occasions I have seen a Stoat. This is the best photo of the Stoat I have so far. Stoats are efficient carnivores and I will often find dead rabbits on my walks.

On one of my walks was a young lady from Peru and we came across a the remains of a rabbit. She told me that if we were in Cuba this would be seen as a sign of Voodoo and maybe an entrance portal to the spirit world.

So is it a Stoat or is it Voodoo?

14th July 2025
Elizabeth Tey

Inverness Castle is being renovated so I have had to change my route to avoid getting run-over by bulldozers etc. This means I no longer pass the blue plaque commemorating Josephine Tey.

Josephine died in 1952 but is Inverness's most successful author. In 1990 her book 'The Daughter of Time' was voted by The Crime Writer's Association to be the best crime novel of all time. Alfred Hitchcock turned one of her books into a film.

My experience is that Josephine is better known outside of the Highlands than she is locally. Several fans of Josephine Tey have been on my walks, some from the USA.

If you come on one of my walks and you would like to see the plaque let me know and I will make a detour.

7th July 2025
Sometimes Stories Just Disappear

On the Churchyard Tour there were two Holly Trees positioned either side of a gravestone. These were placed here in 1846 by the Rose family so there departed family members could rest in peace and their souls could pass unhindered to Heaven. The Holly Trees are evergreen, representing everlasting life, they also hang and 'weep' over the grave as a sign of sorrow and the sharp leaves trap any passing evil spirits.

I arived the other day to find they had been chopped down by the council.

It is often seen as unlucky to chop down a Holly Tree because of the protection it offers, the leaves can act as lightning conductors in some circumstances.
So Highland Council be warned!