Bragleenbeg Reflections: 1984 - 2012: Contemplations from Scotland

1984 proved to be a seminal year in the lives of my family because it triggered my decision to move permanently from the country of my birth—South Africa—to Scotland. There was something magical about the remote Scottish glen where we spent the year, some ten miles south of Oban, in Argyle. In contrast to the gathering political storm clouds and tensions in South Africa, my sabbatical year in the Bragleenbeg glen that cradled the still waters of Scammerdale Loch that reflected the open sky and the green hills around, all speckled with white dots of sheep, was like a breath of fresh air, and we breathed freely. We realised we needed to find a new direction in life, though my obsession with acquiring a Roll-Royce Silver Shadow was probably more of an obstacle than a blessing! The musings that follow convey our progress and experiences in the ensuing years, and these include memories of the eleven years running a small hotel in the Scottish Borders, a sea voyage to Australia, life in the Great Glen of Scotland and on the wild coastline of Sutherland, followed by the short sojourn in Fife before we settled in the Central Belt of Scotland. —Charles Muller, 2013.