Wrong track?
Quite by chance I came across an online advert the other day promoting rail travel to Oban.
The four-minute, high-speed view through the driver’s window shows the entire – I think – route between Crianlarich and Oban, with stops at Tyndrum, Dalmally, Loch Awe, Falls of Cruachan, Taynuilt, Connel Ferry and Oban.
I have never made the journey by train, though I have, of course, driven the road countless times so I am well aware of what a stunning trip it is, with scenery beyond compare.
The problem with the ScotRail film? Well, apart from the speed of condensing the entire journey into four minutes, is that more than half of what should be a glorious advertisement for the experience of rolling through such a wonderful landscape actually takes place in teeming rain.
As a result, not only does the film rattle by at such a great pace as to make it difficult to see much detail in the first place, the water streaming across the windscreen obliterates almost the entire view from Loch Awe onwards.
The caption on the film says: “Never taken the train to Oban before? Watch this and see what you’re missing.”
It’s a splendid initiative and could be a winner. The production team just needs to go back and do it again on a sunny day and just a mite more slowly.
In the Pink
I have no personal experience – for manifestly obvious reasons – of the annual Pink Ladies Day event held to pamper women who have experience of breast cancer.
However, I am a huge admirer of the initiative and its principal organiser Nicky Murphy, a friend and former colleague of mine.
So I was delighted to note the significant success of the recent event held at The View in Oban, which rounded off the fundraising for this year. According to Nicky, the bingo and raffle dolloped another £1,200 into the kitty. Great stuff and let’s hope it continues.
What do you think?
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