Margaret Here

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Friday and Saturday, August 30 - 31, 2019

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 Well, we went to the “Gig” Friday evening, but didn’t stay long.  It was still pouring down rain, the music was too loud.  We hadn’t known what to expect, but it was still a surprise to find out that it was a rock concert.  Lots of young people all dressed up.  The rain just doesn’t bother anyone here.  We “didna” stay long.

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Saturday we returned to the Cowall games.  The games had been promoted as a “grand event” so we were expecting to see lots of people and competitors.  Again, it was raining, although not as hard.  The crowd of spectators was thin.  The Scottish dancers were hard at.  Set up in a large tent, they danced all day.  There were teams of bagpipers from nearby towns and schools. And rock throwers, axe throwers, and log tossers from Germany and Iceland as well as Scotland.  Overall, to us, it was more like a county fair than the big event it had been touted to be.  But it was fun to watch, and we were grateful that the rain showers were light and scattered.

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Sunday morning Maureen and Todd took off early to return home.  The cottage was really quiet without them, so Mike and I relaxed for a while, then called a taxi to take us to town.  There was a nice restaurant offering a Sunday Roast, and of course we had to try it.  I had my first “skink”, which is a salted cod and potato soup.  It was delicious.  We wandered around town for a while, then grabbed a taxi back to Hunters’ Quay.  At the main reception we met up with a group of Ewings.  They had been to a botanical garden.  The group was planning to drive to Loch Lomond on Monday before going to the airport in Glasgow.  Since we had a hotel reserved in Glasgow, Mike and I opted to travel on our own and take the train to the city.

Farewell to the Ewing Family Association. 

 

We hope to see you all next year in Philadelphia. 

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Mike here.

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Saturday at the Cowal games was much more enjoyable than Friday.  There were periods of rain but some actual sunshine as well.  Having been a Irish Dance grandparent, I understood why the grandstand was packed for the Highland Dance competition.  The Scottish girl dancers wore much simpler costumes, hairdos and makeup than Irish dancers plus they could use their arms.  The dance competition ended on time and the dance crowd filed out since the enclosed dance platform tents in front of the grandstand did not give a view of either the athletic programs or the piper competitions.  We had planned to stick around the games until the closing grand piper parade and the march through the town, but we could tell that athletic games portion was running long and all four of us left early.  I didn’t feel bagpipe deprived since we had been at the Edinburgh Tattoo.

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Having faithfully stayed with the Ewing Family group through Saturday, Sunday began the great pooping out for Margaret and me.  The group had touring plans for both Sunday and Monday and we elected to skip both.  Sunday we used as a relaxing, walk around Dunoon day. 

 

 

Margaret here

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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We spent the morning packing up and working on our blog.  We met up with Maureen and Todd at the train station at 12:30 and caught an express to Glasgow.  Then we took an Uber to the Holiday Inn by the airport where we met up with members of the Ewing Family Association who had organized this event.  There was some confusion about who was doing what, where the rental vans were, and who was driving.  We eventually all piled into cars and vans and took off.  It was over an hour’s ride to a ferry.  Several of us had to wait a half hour for the next ferry.  Then just a few winding roads to Hunters’ Quay.  The restaurant’s kitchen closes at 9:00, and we arrived at 8:45.  They were gracious enough to accommodate our starving group.

It was a bit difficult to find our cabin in the dark, but it was a welcome site.  Cozy, two bedroom, two bath, with a comfortable living/dining area and a small kitchen.  Sleep came without difficulty.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019

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We were to meet for breakfast and take off by 9:30 for our trip to the Ewing Castle.  At 10:15, we finally left.  There were multiple routes to the Kilfinan and, of course, we took the long one.  So, it was nearly 12:30 when arrived at the Kilfinan Hotel for lunch.  It’s a charming building, over 300 years old, with a lovely bar and friendly staff.  Our lunch was a bowl of potato and leek soup and a small sandwich for 9.50 pounds.  (grrr)  Then we set off for the hike to the castle.  We were all prepared for a walk, but, this was a challenge for many of us.  Stepping though tall grass, slogging through mud, twisting ankles, slipping on wet stones, wading through creeks, straddling fences, and a hour and half later finally reaching our destination.  You have to take a look at the photos to appreciate all this.  It was an experience I will never forget.

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We returned to the hotel exhausted, but still headed for another Ewing landmark about a 15 minute drive away.  Everyone thought it was a half mile from where we parked the vehicles, but some of us (Mike, Todd, and me included) decided to stay behind and relax.  I was glad we did, because the walk turned our to be more than a mile.  Maureen went and took great photos.

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We drove the shorter way home, but still did not arrive back at Hunters’ Quay until almost time for the kitchen to close (again).  Well fed, we crashed in our warm and cozy cottage.

 

 Thursday, August 29, 2019

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Today is Mike’s 70th birthday and the driving force behind our decision to come to Scotland. 

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We all met up at the lodge, piled into our cars and vans and drove to the nearby town of Dunoon.  At the Dunoon Burgh Hall, all of us Ewings met for the family gathering, a history lesson by Thor Ewing, a genealogy lesson by David Neal Ewing, and the official “crowning” of Thor Ewing as interim head of the Ewing Clan.  It’s all too confusing for me to understand, so I’m hoping that Mike can explain who’s who an what’s what.

Afterward, we walked around the town and had a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant (thank you, Moe and Todd!).  After dinner (in the rain) there were pipers and Scottish dancers performing in the square.  We caught a taxi back “home.”

 

Friday, August 30, 2019

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We were all to meet at the main lodge at 9:30 and shuttle to the Cowal Games.  It was pouring rain.  But we went anyway, except for Todd, who wisely stayed warm and dry in the cottage.  You will have to read Mike’s blog or Google Cowal Games to find out what it’s about.  I didn’t see much.  The rain came down harder than ever.  But the games went on. We watched a few dancers.  The Ewing Family had a tent set up, and several members manned it, selling Ewing tartan scarves, hats, and books.  We stopped by, bought a few things, then called a taxi back to the cottage.  I took a nap.  Mike and Moe walked up to the reception area and picked up some food and our laundry.  Tonight is the “Gig at the Gathering” which is supposed to be a highlight of the weekend.  I may just snuggle in and stay dry and warm.

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--  Well, I decided to join the others in the rain and venture out to the Gig.  We had dinner at the Argyll House, which was good, then walked up to the stadium.  The entrance we used in the morning was closed, so we had to walk all the way around to the other side, up stairs, in the rain which was pouring down.  The Gig was under a big tent and a very loud concert venue.  Lots of locals seemed to be loving it.  We did meet some Ewings from Louisiana who had not attended the Ewing Clan event.  And we joined some others for a short while.  Being cold, wet, and frustrated, we soon decided to head back to the cottage.  Once warm and dry, we spent the rest of the evening reading.  Moe and Todd played cards.  

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Mike here

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Margaret did a good job explaining Tuesday and I won’t elaborate. 

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Wednesday was the long cross country trek to a cairn denoting the ancient Ewing castle.  There is a tradition of roaming in Scotland that says you are free to walk anywhere as long as you don’t do any damage to crops (trampling) or animals (leave gates open) etc.  We ran the gamut of weather on our 4 hour hike, raining then sunny.  The twenty or so of us that made the hike circled up on the site of the cairn, broke out a bottle of whiskey and made an offering to our descendants with oat cakes and the whiskey.  We added a modern touch as one of the hikers produced a drone that circled us taking pictures.  The trip back seemed shorter as we knew the ditches and creeks we had to cross.  After the minimal lunch but a great draft beer we were off again.  As Margaret said the two of us passed on the second hike at Otter Ferry.  Evidently, we had taken the long way to Kilfinian Hotel and Otter ferry on tiny, twisty one lane roads lined with mossy stone walls.  With better directions we took a slightly shorter route with fewer on tiny, twisty one lane roads lined with mossy stone walls.  This all took longer than planned and for the second night in a row we just made it into the campground restaurant before it closed.

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Thursday, my 70th birthday was enjoyable and special to share with Moe and Todd.  We had a birthday dinner and watched a little bit of open air Scottish dancing and piping.  The lecture by Thor Ewing on the family history was interesting.  Modern techniques are allowing better translations of incomplete or faded manuscripts from Ireland and Scotland and his research highlighted recent changes.  We bought one of his books and I’m hoping it will let Moe and me get a better grasp on the backstories. 

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Friday was a bit of a washout.  The forecast was for a day of constant rain and it did not disappoint.  We stuck it out for a couple of hours and even with protected seats it was a miserable day.  While we were there in the morning there were dance competitions but after a couple of hours it was just too miserable and we came back to our cabin.  Tonight is the “Gig at the Gathering” and at least some of us will go back and join the party for awhile.