The local hotels now girding up for the Christmas and Hogmanay crowd. The dog walking manager of one of the local 4 star establishments says that Christmas is set to be busy but Hogmanay looks like it will break - or at least match - all records. Summer visitor numbers , he informs us , are up more than 40% since the pandemic . This strong demand may also explain the enthusiasm with which the builders are getting on with restoring the old hotel by the monument. It's barely light and they're already swarming all over the place in a rush to get it ready for its Easter re-opening. The hotel manager tells us ( and we have no reason to doubt him ) that there are 40 million Scots expats scattered across New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the US and that ancestry tourism, thanks to Outlander, is becoming a big thing. In fact it's becoming a billion dollar industry.
There is of course one attraction in St Andrews that continues to draw visitors whatever the weather or time of the year.
In the R&A shop window a collar and lead set for your dog. I'll wager there are a few of these to be seen around Pebble Beach. The ultimate accessory for the canine golfer.
Out on the Old Course an American player takes a photo after each stroke. His colleague does the same. They will, literally, be able to say that they can remember every inch of their game - and have the photos to show it. Their progress around the course is conducted at a leisurely pace . A group of eight or so golfers from North Carolina are standing outside the club house chatting. From what we overhear it seems that something has happened the government is shutting down for a month and American troops won't get paid over Christmas - a fact which is causing the North Carolinians to raise their voices in a way that voices aren't usually raised outside the R&A. Their 'immoderate' language attracts looks of disapproval from some of the Caddies. Swearing on the sacred turf is seen as being akin to swearing in church .
By the estuary 20 black sheep are enjoying the long grass. They are put out here in the winter . Their dense coats make them oblivious to whatever the local climate can throw at them. When the black sheep arrive you know Hogmanay can't be far behind.
So begins an overcast start to a Friday in an exceedingly quiet wee town on the North Sea. Parking is currently a dawdle but come Sunday the first of the Christmas visitors in Volvos rented from Edinburgh airport will descend on the town en masse.
7 comments:
Well as part of the Scottish diaspora to New Zealand, my great grandfather was a McIntyre, from Comrie, who came to New Zealand in 1906. His mother was a McMurdo and his grandmother was a McIsaac. My parents dinned with friends who even in New Zealand in the 1970's and 1980's who drank to a "king over the water".
Hari Om
Ancestry tourism was a thing long before Outlander - that's more about voyeurism and a lust for the 'olde worlde' romance: just ask all the Asian and other fans of the show who have precisely zero blood ties to Scotland. The effects are closer to those caused by the GoT crowd on Ireland. Big business to be gained, though, of that there is no doubt.
Very different music choice today... YAM xx
I clearly remember being told as a child there were certain jobs/careers unavailable to me because I was a 'girl'. I very much enjoyed the Swedish breaking glass link. 1969...it seems like yesterday, until I take a peek in the mirror.
I, too, very much enjoyed the story of the SAS pilot.
I also agree that ancestor tourism has been popular for quite awhile. Ten years ago we trekked over northern France searching for the Devigne family plot…and found it!
It's nice to see the black sheep again. They are rather beautiful. And it's interesting to hear the North Carolinians were so distressed about the shutdown apparently coming later today, as chaos seemed foreseeable. I also enjoyed, I think, the story about how the pyramids were built. I have been reading these stories since my son was a small Egypt-obsessive, and I am not sure how I feel about the mystery being potentially resolved.
The black sheep amid the pale grass is an entrancing picture.
Roistering revelries beckon.
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