Menoquisitive [men-oh-kwizzy-tiff]; following one's nose

Having kwizzed Mac1 as to the decision not to go to Bute, any tiffs were avoided by the almost immediate discovery of things worth investigating at Colintraive (Colin-try-ff...don't blame me...), which is the mainland side of the spit'n'jump ferry run.

There was a sharp narrowing of the already slender road and a very immediate bridge. Blow your horn, cuz the local hoon on the quadbike might have been coming back at a lick.

Actually, neither of these shots properly conveys the 45 degree angle of the slopes on that thing. It makes for excitement and adventure and, as you will have gleaned I am sure, excitement and adventure is something we embrace in the Mac-clan.

Little Ren got parked on the far side and we were facing a barn. A highly decorated barn. Murals of some artistic merit covered each side. Colintraive Heritage Centre, one side said, was open from May to September.

This being April, we entered through the open door.

No lights on, but there was enough natural glow from the big open doors to be able to enjoy most of the information and artefacts.  Particularly poignant was the little page of paper stuck on the office window. It might have been missed had we not been the sticky-beaks excitement and adventure seeking gals we are.

Sorry about the blur. Couldn't use the flash as it would have hit the glass too hard.

"The King commands me to assure you of the true sympathy of His Majesty and The Queen in your sorrow."

It is simply signed 'Derby' then annotated Secretary of State for War. There is no date, but the Earl of Derby held this position from Dec 1916 to Apr 1918.

Too many such letters sent.

We moved on to the agricultural and fishing exhibits.

Yes it was a grand wee visit and we'd have lingered longer, but it was freezing in there and lunch was calling from the Colintraive Hotel. The only vegetarian option was the soup - but that was delcious, with home-made crusty bread; this was followed up with fresh scones, jam and tea.

As we walked back over the bridge, we spotted a sign for the community garden...