A Toot to Say Hi or Bye!
When I was just a little scrap of a thing, maybe two or nearly three years old I was crying sitting on the toilet- having got into some trouble or other and my dad shouted: “Put a sock in it!” And not wanting to get into any more trouble I dutifully took off my socks and flushed them down the toilet. Oh, be careful of what you ask for with literal minded children! The plumber’s bill was immense.
And now some of the inhabitants of a highland firth have asked those pesky cruise ships to do the same thing and put a sock in it! Cruise ships have been warned not to sound their ships' horns as they depart port. You see it’s all a part of the tradition of the sea to make a racket as you are leaving port and the ships made the signal, or noise depending on your viewpoint, when departing the Cromarty Firth, near the communities of Cromarty and Nigg.
After a single gripe the Port of Cromarty Firth had told the boats to put a sock in it, but they weren’t sure how widespread the dislike of the tradition is and so have launched a consultation. Well we all know how sea related consultations go, don’t we? Boaty McBoatface! Yes that was a good one for the Antarctic supply vessel, a triumph for Bart Simpsons everywhere. In the end they named an underwater drone with that name and the ship was named Sir David Attenborough as originally intended.
However, the inhabitants of the Cromarty Firth area have fought back and about 1,200 people have signed a petition backing the continuation of the horn blasts. Put that in your funnel and smoke that, as they might say. The ships’ horns are signals to say 'hello' or 'goodbye’. When we were on our Norway Cruise every time we met another Hurtigruten boat it was mandatory to go outside and wave like lunatics while the ships hooted at each other. Indeed at one point there was a competition between the boats to see who could make the most racket, we won by the way! They’ll finalise what they think at a meeting of the local councils a bit after Father’s Day on the 18th June and I suspect that the griper may not get their wish for silence to reign. Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth has been a cruise ship destination since 1978 and a fair number of ships call at the port, with 109 cruise vessels visiting last year. That’s a lot of tooting.
Now even if you father is mad at you for doing some mischief like I did you know he’ll always love you and be a part of your life, so why not take the strain out of shopping for Father’s Day and take a gander at the goodies on offer at James Pirie? Lots of them are half price or like the Aviemore - pint Crystal Tankard in a snazzy gift box at more than half price off. Thus buying a decent present at a more than decent price. You are off the hook, no problem. Happy Giving!
