The second Rotary club we visited on our holiday in Scotland was the following evening, when we went along to the Morangie House Hotel in Tain, to visit the Rotary Club of Tain and District, somewhat closer
to our base in Portmahomack. We were
relieved to discover that, not only were they expecting us, but as we signed
in, I was handed my Rotary badge, to my amazement. Apparently when we were in the Hotel earlier
in the week for Sunday lunch (one of the best buffet lunches I have ever had,
and that’s saying something) the badge must have dropped from my pocket, and
the Hotel handed it to the Rotary Club.
I know that my fame as Consort to
the DGE is far-reaching, but I am impressed that a Hotel in the North East of
Scotland knew I would be visiting the local Rotary Club that week.
Tain
Tain is a relatively young Rotary club, and only recently
celebrated the 5th anniversary of its Charter. We have visited them in each of those years, so have seen them grow over that time. Their current president, Mark Sutherland-Fisher, we have got to know quite well over the years.The club has an excellent venue in the Morangie House Hotel, where food and service is
excellent. As a starter, I had haggis
and black pudding. Now I’m not normally very keen on black pudding, but this
was the most delicious I have ever had, followed by a main course of sea food
tagliatelle.
The DGE with Mark Sutherland-Fisher
The speaker that evening was a local woman, Jill Kippen who, with her husband keeps birds of prey. I am very keen on raptors, and not
enamoured about keeping them in captivity, but I was most impressed with her
knowledge and her obvious love of her birds. She owns a couple of Harris hawks,
and brought with her a Ferruginous Hawk, called Igor, who was a magnificent
creature. Igor’s breed hails from
Northern USA / Southern Canada and is so-called because of the rusty-red
coloured feathers on its back. Jill regaled us with stories of living with
these predators, how Igor almost blinded her one day, and how he got lost another day, almost dying of starvation before she found him again. Interestingly,
Igor is so bonded with her, that he would never fly away when released, as she
provides a ready source of food, without him having to exert himself to find
it.
Jill Kippen with Igor
The Hotel staff were appalled when the hawk was brought in, and tried to stop her from coming in with him. Eventually they relented so long as she just came in to show him off and then went out again. We actually were in his company for about 10 minutes before Gill took him back to the car. I am not sure why the Hotel were so unhappy about it, maybe they were worried he would swoop down on some unsuspecting diner and make off with his dinner.
The evening was also interesting because I found myself
sitting next to a charming lady from Belgium, and obviously I took the
opportunity to display my knowledge of Flemish. Oh yes, I can speak Flemish
along with several other languages. To be honest the sum of my knowledge of
Flemish is to ask ‘Will you dance with me?’ which I learned on a Barclays
football tour to Ostend back in the ‘70s. I have been waiting for 40 years to
try it out on someone. My fellow dinner guest wasn’t at all offended, although
politely declined my request. She will probably be mortified when she learns
that she turned down the Consort to the DGE.
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