A week from today, I will arrive in Scotland for the first time in 28 months. I am hoping to play a round of golf but the primary reason for my visit is to bid farewell to our long time general manager, Angus. Angus is retiring and calls my visit the “hand over.” If you’re a long time reader of this blog, you know that a small group of us have a home in St Andrews called Monarchs House that is rented out to golfers making the pilgrimage to the home of golf. Angus has been looking after the house and all the golfing visitors for 8 years.
St Andrews is not like many other places and very far removed from any town in the States. First of all, it is a magnificently beautiful medieval town. Unlike the U.S., there are no signs of wooden structures; everything is built from stone. Throughout the town, there are ruins that tell of the violence of the Reformation in the mid 1500s. St Rules Tower dates back to 1127. St Andrews also is home to Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world, founded in 1413. But it’s not just the history of the town or even the golf that makes me love St Andrews in particular and Scotland in general. I love the way of life, the people and the topography.
St Rules Tower
Recently, after all my years, I finally came to conclusion about why I love where I live and why I love the other places that I visit. There is a commonality in all of the places I gravitate toward. In Boston’s Back Bay, I overlook the Charles River and I am very close to Boston Harbor. I can also walk to anything that could satisfy my needs; food, drink, shopping, entertainment, open spaces and friends. In St Andrews, I am a 2 minutes from any of the beaches and able to walk the entire town and visit its shops and play golf. Here are a few of the other places I love: Plymouth, Sag Harbor, Newport, Marblehead, Savannah, Saucelito, Puerto Banus and San Francisco. All are water centric and all have lovely walkable old towns. Bring me to the mountains, away from water, and I can feel myself silently die.
In St Andrews, I intend on visiting all of my old haunts. They can expect me at the Russell Hotel for dinner and to say hello to Helen the manageress. I will have a drink at the St Andrews Golf Club to say hello to Gordon, Oggie, Alf and the rest of the boys (all over 70). I plan to see my old friend John, the one that always refers to my wife as the lovely Christine. I am going to have a dram with my friend Mike and commiserate about what could have been with Hamilton Hall. But mostly, I am going to breathe Scotland and all that it is to me. I never get excited about travelling until it happens but this trip has me on edge. As I found out 28 months ago, you never know when it will be your last.
* DUM SPIRO SPERO means “While I breathe, I hope” in Latin and is generally attributed to Cicero. The notable origin of the motto is St Andrews, Scotland. It’s attribution to Saint Andrew and his bones (relics) being taken to this small fishing village on the North Sea, contributed to its direct linkage between the saying, the town, the University of St Andrews and the Saint.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Back from St Andrews But Not Really
- Aye Wonder Pre-Flight
- When Pigs Fly Across the Pond
- St Andrews in All Its Glory
- Week 27 – 5 x 5
