The Port na Luing Visitors' Book

We have kept our visitors' book since 1966. Childrens' writing has become grown up and now their children giggle about their parents' early writing and add their own names.

Large parties have developed spontaneously... One afternoon three generations of the Oliphant family arrived in the old red ferry boat; Stewart girls appeared on ponies; the Rev Frazer came running over the hill with his family following more slowly behind on bicycles; Guy Jardine sailed in; Hinky and Uncle Bill drove down. All these and six Oggs shared tea on the beach!

We've met people with fascinating interests... The man from Mull who made Wombles, the young man who left his address as `The Zoo, London' and was going off to join the Foreign Legion. One couple were involved in `The Society for the Preservation of Bothies'. Professor David Bellamy sent three skin divers to stay with us as part of his `Operation Kelp'. They kept us well supplied with clams and delighted us with their poetical descriptions of the sunlight falling on the barnacle encrusted remains of the Tapti.

Angus the fisherman was a favourite with the children. Every morning they would look out for him appearing around Fasachd and there were screams of delight as he headed our way to take them fishing. John and I then had a peaceful couple of hours before Angus came in for his cold tea!

There have been a number of visiting yachts... John went out to meet friends off `The Foggy Dew' and was thrown a wooden leg! He was introduced to Bill Dunn and there followed an afternoon of hilarity! The Aitchison family on 'Lucina' were regular visitors - we met them quite by chance when John heard Peter on the radio. With the aid of another radio ham in Oban, the yacht was talked in from Tiree to Port na Luing. This was one occasion when I really appreciated amateur radio!

In the early days the cry `Beef coming' didn't herald the approach of cows, but rather the arrival of strong useful looking men! We were despairing of ever getting a double bed up the stairs when the cry rang out. Without hesitation a delightful young man took down the bannisters, hoisted the springs over one shoulder and soon had the bed in place.

We watched in horror as an apparently empty car, with both doors swinging wide, came rapidly down the track. A well known person had arrived in the hope of a dram... He left a couple of hours later, happier and with all doors firmly closed.

Thirty one years of visitors recorded in our book now provided entertaining reading and invariably visitors spend some time perusing the past before making their own entries. We shall need to move into volume two before too long, but hope that our original book will just make it into the twenty-first century!

Doreen Ogg.