In the spring of 2018 I put together many of my paintings on a Scottish hill theme for a one man show at the Kinghorn Station Gallery. I intended to post the paintings in time for the exhibition, but I was too busy. So, only a year late, I'm doing this now. I could not afford a catalogue but I did put together a loose leaf folder which I called 'The Exhibition Viewers Manual' containing photo's of the paintings and text relating to them. The manual forms a basis for this and subsequent blogs, with a few extra comments and additions. I hope this makes sense.
 |
| On Ben Macdui
0il on canvas, 61cms x 71.5cms.
|
On an April morning I left Bob Scott's bothy and walked up Gleann Laoigh Bheag. I intended to climb Derry Cairngorm up the side of a burn on it's south western slope, but I was in a complete dream and walked past my turn off. Soon I was climbing Sron Riach and could see Derry Cairngorm across the glen. It was too late now to turn back, so headed, quite happily, up Ben Macdui. It was one of these dark, gloomy days, but with cloud just above the four thousand foot mark. The steep slope soared skywards, partially covered by snow fields. I now looked down on the summits of Carn a' Mhaim and Devils Point and into the gloom of the Lairig Ghru. The true immensity of Macdui is revealed on this slope. The term 'awsome' is greatly overused, but I did feel awe, along with a little trepidation.
By the time I'd reached the ruin of the sappers bothy black cloud covered the top, blowing stinging, horizontal snow. At the summit I turned my back on this and marched on a bearing till the mist cleared. Then I had the pleasure of loping over big snowfields all the way down to a frozen Loch Etchacan. All the way I kept my eyes peeled for the Big Grey Man, but he was not there.
 |
| A Mountaineer Fleeing. Oil on canvas, 46cms x 66cms |
The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui
In the past, when people had to make their own entertainment, the Highlands were rich in stories and legends. Many of these tales were of fairies, witches, monsters and the supernatural, created to make the listener uneasy or give them a fright. Most have now been forgotten, but one or too, like the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, have grown arms and legs and attract tourists from all over the world.
The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui would have been forgotten, or not even born, had not a senior member of the Cairngorm Club, at an annual dinner, told a strange tale. The speaker was Professor Norman Collie, an Aberdonian by birth and now first Professor of Organic Chemistry at London University. He was also one of the great mountaineers of his era and had climbed extensively from the Rocky Mountains to the Himalayas. The year was 1925, but the event he related occurred much earlier, in 1891.
He had just left the summit of Ben Macdhui and the mist was thick. He couldn't see much and his only sensation was the crunch of his boots. Then he began to hear another crunch, as if someone was following him, but taking a longer stride than him. It happened again and again and he could make no sense of this. He stopped and peered back into the mist but could see nothing. When he started walking again the crunches followed him. He was a rational man and told himself that this was nonsense. However, his nerve broke and he fled in panic all the way down to Rothiemurchus forest. He said "Whatever you make of it I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben Macdhui and I will not go back there again by myself, I know."
His account was published and all sorts of speculation and nonsense swirled about it. Collie hade only heard a noise, but eventually he received a letter from a very reputable source that claimed to have actually seen the Big Grey Man. The writer was Dr. A.M. Kellas, who became a Himalayan mountaineer and a pioneer in the study of high altitude physiology. One day he and his brother were just below Ben Macdhui summit, hammering on rocks and trying to find crystals. Suddenly they saw a giant figure come down towards them from the summit. It disappeared in a hollow but while waiting for it to reappear they were overcome with terror and fled down to Loch Etchacan and off the mountain. They were absolutely convinced this was a physical entity and not a shadow or optical illusion.
Since then the Big Grey Man has been mixed up with all sorts of nonsense, including flying saucers. Others, on the outer boundaries of religions such as Buddhism, claim he was one of the five 'perfected men' who control the destinies of the world and have even conversed with him in the Lairig Ghru. My own view is that people do get frights, especially when they're tired and suffering the sensory deprivation of thick mist when there's very little tangible to relate to. The human mind abhors a vacuum. Also, too much is made of Collies and Kellas's scientific rationality. They wouldn't be the first or the last scientist to find an outlet in practical joking. However, if such a creature does exist he must be lonely. For companionship, the cause of sexual equality and the propagation of the species I have invented a Big Grey Woman. May they be happy!
He had just left the summit of Ben Macdhui and the mist was thick. He couldn't see much and his only sensation was the crunch of his boots. Then he began to hear another crunch, as if someone was following him, but taking a longer stride than him. It happened again and again and he could make no sense of this. He stopped and peered back into the mist but could see nothing. When he started walking again the crunches followed him. He was a rational man and told himself that this was nonsense. However, his nerve broke and he fled in panic all the way down to Rothiemurchus forest. He said "Whatever you make of it I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben Macdhui and I will not go back there again by myself, I know."
His account was published and all sorts of speculation and nonsense swirled about it. Collie hade only heard a noise, but eventually he received a letter from a very reputable source that claimed to have actually seen the Big Grey Man. The writer was Dr. A.M. Kellas, who became a Himalayan mountaineer and a pioneer in the study of high altitude physiology. One day he and his brother were just below Ben Macdhui summit, hammering on rocks and trying to find crystals. Suddenly they saw a giant figure come down towards them from the summit. It disappeared in a hollow but while waiting for it to reappear they were overcome with terror and fled down to Loch Etchacan and off the mountain. They were absolutely convinced this was a physical entity and not a shadow or optical illusion.
Since then the Big Grey Man has been mixed up with all sorts of nonsense, including flying saucers. Others, on the outer boundaries of religions such as Buddhism, claim he was one of the five 'perfected men' who control the destinies of the world and have even conversed with him in the Lairig Ghru. My own view is that people do get frights, especially when they're tired and suffering the sensory deprivation of thick mist when there's very little tangible to relate to. The human mind abhors a vacuum. Also, too much is made of Collies and Kellas's scientific rationality. They wouldn't be the first or the last scientist to find an outlet in practical joking. However, if such a creature does exist he must be lonely. For companionship, the cause of sexual equality and the propagation of the species I have invented a Big Grey Woman. May they be happy!
 |
| The Big Grey Woman Offset drawing and watercolour, 29cms x 31cms. |
No comments:
Post a Comment