Dougie MacLean is from Dunkeld which I visited with episcopalian shoes on , treading round its cathedral aware that the English were at fault that most that went wrong in Scottish religion in the 17th century. Dougie MacLean sings about being Scottish in this song and comes from the Perthshire countryside. When I was in the Dunkeld town hall, I was introduced to the man. Shortly afterwards , my musical friend from Fife forwarded me this music. A review of Dougie’s life shows him working as a bus driver in the 1970s. A Perthshire bus-driver ticks more of boxes.
The Scottish Enlightenment (Pt 2) is clearly focussed on bus-drivers. I understand that Sir Brian Souter and his sister, Dame Ann Gloag both drove busses as did Derek Scott. I have been driven by Mr Scott and he is still a very good driver. All of these people are leaving enlightenment all over me and to now know Dougie MacLean was a bus driver as a young man gives me the common theme.
Another song passed to me by he of the Perthshire diaspora is this fine instrumental
I had Perthshire amber from my balcony. It touched the mountain of Schiehallion
easing towards Perthshire Amber
Derek Scott tells me that he and his wife watched Dougie at Perth’s Concert Hall
His independent record label is called Dunkeld Records, and Dougie and his wife bought an old country school, Butterstone, and live there with recording and art studios.
Dunkeld
Dunkeld has held me in its grasp. in 1689 all but 3 of its dwellings were destroyed in a battle between the English and Scottish loyalists, earlier, the Cathedral had been desecrated by the Convenanters and I don’t feel being English in this town which still seems to be in scaffolding.
But once you have got past the Cathedral (well at least the bit not held together by scaffolding), you find yourself in places that Edinburgh would be proud of.
Indeed, nearby Perth (I am told) was capital of Scotland before Edinburgh. Wilton was capital of England before London, which shows how you have to keep your growth in place. I like Dunkeld because it is Scottish Enlightenment 2, but I know that in doing so , I will side with Edinburgh and my friends are mostly from Glasgow and John Hamilton has his heart in the right place (I am told).
You may wonder why I am not halfway up a mountain and stuck looking at dams, and episcopal towns but I have further news. I have spent my penultimate day in God’s own country in the hills above the southern shore of Loch Rannoch.
Fond memories of fishing holidays with a local Gilly
I only drove buses/coaches on two occasions, Henry.
Once during a T&G strike in 1987 at other companies, which meant some non-union Stagecoach drivers on runs to/from London were subject to drivers’ hours restrictions and needed someone else to drive them and their vehicles back to Scotland while they slept at the back.
The second time I was asked to drive a large, empty minibus overnight from Perth to Andover.
On both occasions I drove so slowly I was never asked to do it again (eg 18 hours to Andover, with frequent stops at motorway services or in lay-bys to let queueing traffic behind get past!).
Most Stagecoach accountants in the last century, and graduates in the entry programme, learned to drive properly, at least 40 hours’ tuition.
I had less than 30 minutes’ test drive around Easterhouse in Glasgow before being entrusted to drive a Volvo B10M from Midland Road in London to Scotland.
I was insured, but I wasn’t good enough at it.
I’m sure Dougie MacLean was a good driver, tho’, whether you call him “duggie” or “doogey”!