What do Vermont and Scotland have in common?

Apart from many Scottish names, This year its the spectacular Fall, or as we call it Autumn. On Monday I spent a glorious Autumn day in the company of Sandy Craig, his girlfriend Zelie and their 2 boys. Sandy had prepared well for the tour by reading up on Scottish history so it was more of a seminar on the hoof than a tour. He is a doctor from the North of Vermont, so I did some tweaking to bring in a bit of what Scotland has contributed to the field of Medical Science. It was a super day spent in the company of intelligent and enthusiastic people. You have a good woman there, Sandy, hang on to her and the kids were great. The day was rounded off with fabulous Indian food at the Kebab Mahal. Thanks guys and I think you might see me back in Vt next year.

I am now off to take a German family for an afternoon walk and again the weather is lovely. Tonight I welcome Lini, also from Vermont for a few days. She was having difficulty with getting accommodation so she will be in my guest room. Her mother is a friend of a friend in Shelburn, Vt.

I was browsing yesterday and came across a site for an organisation claiming to be 'The only professional guides in Scotland'. What a load of tosh! When hiring a guide, look at the testimonials page before the 'qualifications'. Self educated Scots include John Muir and Andrew Carnegie, So, you don't need a badge to be a professional guide, just knowledge, personality, people and presentation skills, adequate insurance and, most important of all, clients prepared to put their trust in you and recommend others to you, having been pleased with what you have given them.

As Robert Burns said,

'The rank is but the guinea stamp, the man's the gowd (gold) for a' that'

Slainthe, Bill