Grrrrr.....

If I hear this misquoted again I'll scream!
The correct version is " Ne'er cast a cloot 'til the May be oot" (Yes, you've guessed it, that's a Scots saying!!

It is NOT "Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out!" (This is utterly meaningless - sorry BBC, that is a dig at some of your presenters)

Why? Well, the original means 'never cast off your (winter) clothes until the May blossom (ie the hawthorn blossom) appears on the trees. - a wise and sensible precaution in this fickle climate of ours!

A 'cloot', rhyming with 'loot', in Scots is a cloth (ie clothing) - whereas a 'clout', rhyming with 'out', is commonly perceived as a belt round the ear delivered by an angry parent (when such things were not politically incorrect, of course!) Hence the anglicised version of the saying is rendered utterly meaningless. OK, there is less of a problem with the confusion between the month of May and the May blossom - these tend to be contemporaneous anyway!

Please, please, if non-Scots are to quote Scots sayings, afford us the respect of getting them right! (or has the BBC got rid of its pronunciation unit altogether?)

Went away in winter, came back in summer!!

Went off to New Zealand a month ago leaving 6" of wet snow on the ground, and came back to 22 degrees and green grass! Watch out, this may be the summer - enjoy it while you can!

Into a new financial year now, and a further year of interim arrangements for the operation of the Speyside Way - come to think of it, we seem to have been running on 'interim arrangements' for as long as I can remember! Unlike New Zealand, where all the great tramping tracks are seen as a national asset and fully funded by the Department of Conservation, the trails here in Scotland have always had to make do with whatever funding could be 'cobbled together' at the time. Are they a valuable asset or not? And now, of course, we are in the crazy situation where new trails are being developed all over the place with capital money from goodness knows where, at a time when we do not have two cents of revenue funding to look after the long established ones! Sorry, I'm ranting again!

The good news for all of you out there, however, is that we WILL be able to operate the Visitor Centre in Aberlour for one more season, but probably ONLY ONE more season. The same applies to the Accommodation Leaflet (now published for 2011) and the website - the likelihood is, though, that 12 months from now we will be looking to the private sector to provide some of these information services. This, of course, almost certainly means that instead of us, the public sector, providing free listings to accommodation providers, for example, some 'readies' may have to be exchanged for future inclusion on websites and leaflets. Ah well, I guess others will have to share our pain!

The first major event of the year kicks off in less than two weeks' time - the Speyside Whisky Festival. Those seeking accommodation in the Aberlour/Craigellachie areas that weekend should look out - it will be at a premium.

Look out too for the Ranger Events that weekend, and hurry up and book, they are always sold out.

See you there!

Long time no see...!

How time flies - can't believe my last post was in September! What an early winter we had. Deep snow in late November, coupled with very low temperatures, took us right through into 2011, bringing more damage to property, trees and wildlife. Since then more 'normal' service has been resumed, ie rain, chill, darkness - typical Scottish weather. As we pass Valentine's day, the days are lengthening, the birds have started to sing, (mistle thrush and wood pigeon yesterday, great-tits for a couple of weeks now) and we begin to wonder if winter could really be nearly past?
Here on the Speyside Way we are not immune from cut-backs in Local Authority budgets, and we are trying to work out how best to keep providing a satisfactory service. Disappointingly, the level of demand for information on the route over the winter seems to be at an all time low - also perhaps an indicator of uncertain economic times as well as a reflection of yet another poor summer, weatherwise, in 2010. There is also undoubtedly a 'dilution' factor, as trail users are presented with a rapidly expanding choice of 'long distance routes' - the launch of the 'Scotland's Great Trails' initiative by SNH in the spring will see some 20 routes branded as LDRs, with another 17 waiting in the wings. As custodians of one of only four statutory routes, we confess to having very mixed feelings about where this is going, and the financial implications for Local Authorities across Scotland.
In a different context, attempts by the Cairngorms National Park Authority to complete the route to Newtonmore continue to encounter difficulties. Not unexpectedly, Kinrara Estate is resisting the imposition of a Footpath Creation Order, and the appeal will be determined by a Scottish Government Reporter sometime in the next few months.