By Alan Ward

Retired Church of Scotland minister

We’re just back from a couple of weeks away on holiday in north-west Scotland. When you’re retired, it’s the being away that makes it a holiday. Of course, when you get back people ask, “What did you do on holiday?” Because we’ve been going to the same house in the same wee village for 45 years, I’m tempted to answer, “Oh, just the usual.” Walking, paddling, gardening, house maintenance, sailing, fishing, reading (especially on wet days) and visiting Tobermory by ferry for a taste of city life. And, in the absence of any TV reception whatsoever, thinking.

And I thought that a much more searching question to ask a returning holiday-maker would be this: “What did you LEARN on holiday?” Did we just let the same old stuff wash over us, or do we still have some curiosity about our surroundings and the people we meet? One thing I learned was this: when the Corran Ferry across the narrows in Loch Linnhe was off for three days because of an accident with a rock, it affected hundreds of locals in Ardnamurchan and Morvern because supplies were seriously delayed, and visitors were deterred from coming because of the difficulties of travel. I learned that one seemingly small travel disruption can badly affect many people, including ourselves. Who’d have thought it? I learned to spare a thought and a prayer for travellers everywhere, remembering some words from the story of King David in the Bible: “We are all bound together in the bundle of life.”