Good Moorrrning Inverness!

After a rock solid sleep we arose raring to go on Sunday in Inverness. One item our checklist was to attend morning services in Inverness Cathedral. It was right up the street so rose early, enjoyed a cuppa (tea) and off we went.

As we approached the cathedral we were welcomed by pealing bells. This is a British form called change ringing. If you are a fan of Dorothy L. Sayers (as Jane is) you may remember Lord Peter Wimsey’s adventure in The Nine Tailors.

Inverness Cathedral is part of The Scottish Episcopal Church. The service we chose was a choral Eucharist. For obvious reasons, I took no pictures during the service. It was more “high church” than I am used to. But there was deep sense of reverence which combined with a connection to a past far before our time was spirituality meaningful.

Along with the beautiful architecture and ornamentation, there were some charming details in the Cathedral. The children had created numerous church mice to illustrate significant roles of the church. I set out out to capture them all and almost did. Here are a few.

As is true in many liturgical church’s pillows are provided for prayer times during the service. After the service, we found kneeling pillows decorarared with a fanciful series of colorful scenes from the legends of St. Columba. I feel a special connection because my last name, Malcolm means “follower of St. Columba”.

I particularly liked the one depicting the legend of St. Columba dispatching the Loch Ness Monster.

The projected rain did not come to pass so we took a lovely walk along the The Ness River where we too encountered Nessy.

By this time we were ready for a more substantial meal. At a local eatery, in addition to enjoying a wonderful meal, we had a delightful encounter. The place was casual and quite crowded, so when a young couple asked if they could sit with us, we agreed readily. They had recently become engaged and and returned to see if something they left there on their first date was still there. They showed us that the table we shared had a drawer, which was full of small handwritten notes.

They were thrilled to find that the note they wrote on their first date was still in the drawer. Their best man joined us and we had the best time celebrating this moment for these two sweet kids. When we revealed we are celebrating our 45th anniversary this month, the joy multiplied. We blessed their upcoming marriage and they shared their hopes for a long happy marriage like we have been blessed with.

We added our own note to that secret drawer of blessings.