The Skelpit Lug Ceilidh Band, in the days when I was a regular member, used to meet for practices at the house of our bass-player, Alex Gowans. Alex would often serve food to early arrivals, and his curries were characteristic.
On this occasion, there was what sounded like an almighty crash out in the street, which turned out to be one of a series of tremors that shook the area over a period of weeks. The strongest was only Richter 2.8, but they excited a good deal of interest, not least among the pupils at McLaren High School, where I was teaching at the time. We kept in contact with the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, who sent us copies of the seismological traces; and some of the kids posted off Incident Report forms.
The quakes died down soon after, and thankfully there were no adverse effects. We are indeed fortunate in that our country is so stable in such respects.
The effects on Alex’s curry are pure fiction of course; but Alex expressed himself delighted with the song, and I occasionally dust it down and perform it. |