A Little Slice of Fife – Part 6

Carnoustie Golf Links

By Marshall Carder

Bert had agreed to drive us around the council area of Fife up to Carnoustie (in the council area of Angus) and arrived very early the next day to collect us for the hour ride. We were well rested but full of anticipation and downright fear of facing such a tough course, but at the same time we had just played three straight days on the most hallowed ground in golf, so we almost felt like we were going to be able to handle it.

A Little Slice of Fife – Part 5

Celebration

By Marshall Carder

We had finished our jaunt around the world’s most famous course and now it was time for reflection. We tipped and thanked Paddy, our caddie, and made our way up to the pub on the corner for some libations and grub. Brooks ordered the haggis and the rest of us went for the fish and chips. Sitting on the bench against the wall, Brooksie was practically lying on his right side but clearly intending to be seated. I asked him if he wanted to sit up and he replied that he had found a comfortable position that was not hurting so he wasn’t moving. But even in that state, the pure sense of joy was radiating from him. Over and over he kept making comments about how great it was.

A Little Slice of Fife – Part 4

On the Old Course

By Marshall Carder

As the sun rose the next morning, we were all up already. There was very little banter, for we were all a little tired and perhaps a bit nervous about what we were about to undertake. So, with all of our hopes and dreams hanging in the balance, we emerged from our beachfront home and started the walk toward the course.

A Little Slice of Fife – Part 3

St. Andrews!

By Marshall Carder

And so we set off for St. Andrews. The train up from Liverpool was particularly eventful and certainly would have made for some lively and interesting conversations among the local English folks, if they were naturally inclined.

A Little Slice of Fife – Part 2

The dream emerges

By Marshall Carder

As the weekly rounds turned into years, the bonds between everyone grew despite all of the on-course antics. There were many scenes of high drama, like the time Brooksie told Christian after a round that he had better seek professional help because he was the craziest person Brooksie had ever met, which was saying a whole lot considering his background in psychology and Synanon. You see, Wells had adamantly disagreed about the final resting place of one of Brooksie’s balls and a full-blown shouting match had ensued complete with all manner of denigration. And normally that type of behavior could have resulted in a parting of ways, but for Golfers it meant nothing after the next t-time was made. Such is the power of the game.

A Little Slice of Fife – Part 1

What is it about golf?

By Marshall Carder

One senses a magical anticipation just before a round of golf. It’s much like that feeling you had as a child on Christmas Eve, wondering what your presents would be, hoping for the perfect gift, even seeing yourself holding it, and yet all the while knowing that you could end up with a bunch of ugly clothes from Grandma. And I guess that’s why the game has had such an allure to so many for so long. Because you know there’s such a thing as a perfect score, and you can hit every shot, if only in your mind. And even though the game might never deliver that perfect score, there are moments when the shots are timeless and brilliant and would be good on any course, in any tournament. That is the game’s hook. That is what keeps us coming back.

My Heart’s in the Highlands – Part 4

Inverness, Culloden & Edinburgh

By James T. Carney

Inverness is a pretty town, and I was glad I stayed there so as not to hold my fellow hikers up (as I said at the end of Part 3). Among the things I saw in Inverness was a monument to the Scots who had died in the two World Wars and in wars since. The number of names from World War I was almost twice as great as the number of names from World War II. In some ways, Great Britain never recovered from World War I, and the memories of it were partly responsible for the appeasement policies the British government followed in the 1930s.

My Heart’s in the Highlands – Part 3

Some hiking trials

By James T. Carney

The first day of our hike, we covered 14 miles of relatively level but gradually rising territory. We probably gained a total of 800 feet in elevation but it was so gradual I didn’t feel it. I did feel the 14 miles, however, and I was overjoyed when we reached the headquarters of the Cameron Clan and picked up the van to go back to Alltschellach. We were scheduled to return to the Cameron headquarters the next day, but we would first visit the statute to the British Commandos (akin to our Special Forces) who had trained in the Highlands before going off to fight in World War II.

My Heart’s in the Highlands – Part 2

Assembling at Alltschelach

By James T. Carney

The history summarized in Part 1 was far from my mind and from the minds of my intrepid companions as we assembled for our first trip as a trio on a wet, rainy day in Glasgow. My long-time friend Detmar Straub had accompanied me to Montenegro and the Pyrenees, and my local friend John Shortridge had gone with me to Machu Pichu, the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park. We would now go on the epic Great Glen Way, which crosses Scotland from the Atlantic to the North Sea through a geological fault that is clearly visible on any map of Scotland running northeast from Fort William to Inverness.

My Heart’s in the Highlands – Part 1

The author on the trail
[September 2, 2019]

Some history before hiking

By James T. Carney

The Scottish Highlands have always been considered the heart of Scotland even though only a small percentage of Scotland’s current population of some 6 million live there. About 600,000 live in Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, and most live in the Lowlands of the South. Who are the Scots and how do they relate to the rest of the British?

Walk of Hadrian’s Wall—Part 2

Birdoswald Fort

From disasters onward

By James T. Carney

[Sequel to “Thirteen years later”]

We then went on from Landercost Priory Church to Birdoswald Fort, where we encountered another disaster. We missed the last bus back to Carlisle. We were marooned in the middle of the wilderness by a Roman remains with the shop closed down by that time of day. By our good luck, another two hikers were coming from the opposite direction and landing there at the same time. They had a mobile phone with them and called a taxi, which dropped them off and put us on the major bus line, where we caught a bus back to Carlisle only to face more disasters the next day.

Tuesday Voice: Walk of Hadrian's Wall—Part 1

[click to enlarge]

Thirteen years later

By James T. Carney

I first saw Hadrian's Wall in 1996 when I drove around England with some friends on an eleven-day trip. Driving north from York, we saw the old forts at Chesters and Housesteads before turning south to Penrith. I felt greatly disappointed as we left the Wall without further exploration and vowed to come back. The next summer my older boy, Jim, and I made an abortive effort to walk the length of the Wall but on the third day of the trip, just as we started to get to the most interesting part of the Wall (which really only exists in the middle portion of the 80-Roman-mile length), his feet gave out. He then told me that he had been having foot problems all summer—something which I would have preferred to know earlier. So our trip ended in disarray. Like McArthur, I vowed to return. Thirteen years later, in September 2010, I did. Along with my good friend Rich Gainar—from the old U.S. Steel Pension Fund days—we walked the length of the Wall from Browness on the Solway to Wallsend outside of Newcastle.