Over The Sea to Rothesay.

I had a very pleasant day on the Isle of Bute on Thursday. Off I went on the
Calmac ferry from Wemyss Bay and shortly after docked in at Rothesay Pier. I was met by Tony from Bute recycling. Yes, that was the job. A day in the life of the recycling team for a feature story. And what a job they do. All types of rubbish is sorted, crushed and sent off to enjoy life as something else. I noticed a huge proportion of the cans being crushed were of the alcoholic variety, I was reliably informed there was a reason for that. I'll not state the obvious. They were a really friendly bunch and looked after me royally.

I have been going to Rothesay for longer than I can remember but I hardly recognized the pier. It is now all roll on, roll off huge hydraulic machines to get cars and people turned around at super speed. The romance has gone. Some things however don't change. I noticed from the top deck on my return, a familiar landmark. The "Black Bull"! Now be warned, it may look quite innocent but I've never come out of it in any fit state of mind, ever. It does absolutely great food by the way. I was very impressed by the hardy soul in his dingy as the freezing wind would have cut you in half. Where he was going to or had come from, I'll never know.

And finally, another first in my life. I managed to get on and off the Isle without one drop of alcohol passing my lips. I can hardly believe it!