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 First
of all, never believe Dennis when he tells you he knows what he's doing
(no matter what he's talking about). We almost lost him on the very first
day we were in Scotland. Fortunately, we were able to convince him that he
wouldn't have to wear a kilt and he climbed back onto the top. We still
have to keep an eye on him.
We arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland on
Wednesday the 2nd of May. The weather was beautiful and during our drive
to Fraserburgh, Joel almost lost his voice screaming as oncoming traffic
appeared to be in the wrong lane. The lighthouse (picture above) is what
we saw every morning out of our bedroom window. We were told that last
year during the Convention, the group who stayed in the same home never
saw the lighthouse because there was too much fog.
 Our hosts were Michael and
Margaret (right), and if
you ever visit Scotland, we highly recommend that you stay with them. They
are a brilliant couple, with a fantastic family.
Tim Parton was able to accompany us to
Scotland, and we were able to begin working on some arrangements for our
next project. We were excited to have him playing with us, but we had no
idea what was awaiting him in Scotland. Let's just say that he has a room
named after him in Fraserburgh, Scotland. Scotland has had limited exposure to Southern
Gospel until recently, but by way of Bill Gaither and his Homecoming
Series, Tim was instantly recognized by many of those attending the Gospel
Music Convention, the United Kingdom's largest annual Gospel gathering.
 The Convention began on Friday night with 9
artists. They were as follows: The Monteith Family (Ireland), Capella
(Norway), Synnøve
Aanenson (Norway), Marjory Watson (Scotland), Dynamic
(Sweden), Dallas
Holm (USA--Texas), Paid
In Full (USA--Mississippi), Mark
and Andrea Forrester (USA--Michigan) and yours truly. Each of the
artists performed 15-25 minutes each night. There was a European Showcase
on Saturday afternoon and an American Showcase on Sunday afternoon. We
also were able to sing in a local church in Fraserburgh on Sunday morning.
Each night, there were 800-1000 in attendance, and we enjoyed them as much,
or more, as they seemed to enjoy all of us.
Each evening, the end of the concert seemed
to be only the beginning. When we returned to the homes in which we were
staying, we would have another meal laid out for us (always a bigger
dessert table than anything else), and many of the artists would meet in
the room that had a piano (and Tim Parton) and would sing until well after
midnight. I don't think that any member of the quartet went to bed before
2am the entire time we were there. We were having a great time.
 Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to
visit Slains Castle in Cruden Bay. This broken-down castle is reported to
be where Bram Stoker received some of his inspiration to write Dracula.
Built around 1600, its roof was torn off in the 1920s, and currently there
are plans to turn the whole site into "holiday apartments". We
actually visited this amazing site 3 times.
 On Monday evening (5.7.07), we flew into
Birmingham, England, via Edinburgh (where we flew by Stirling Castle which
was lit up for the evening), where Missionary Larry Curtis picked us up. On
Tuesday, he took us to Warwick
Castle on the Avon River. This castle has been turned into a medieval
museum and offered some insight into living in those times.
We had a great time on Tuesday night
singing at Bro. Curtis' church. Some other pastors and missionaries were
able to attend, and we enjoyed meeting them.
 Wednesday
morning saw us riding the bus from Birmingham to London, where we promptly
met up with Marjory Watson (of Scotland, who actually lives in London) and
convinced her to become our tour guide. First, we ate lunch. This was
definitely our kind of tour. She had to be at a rehearsal that evening, so
we ended up getting some tickets to Les Mis, which is now the
longest-running musical in history. Joel did not go to the show. Instead
he decided to take in some of the sights of London on his own. After the
show, we met back up with Joel and headed back to the hotel. (Above
picture of Parliament and Big Ben, taken by Joel from the London
Eye.)
On Thursday Joel flew back to Atlanta and
the rest of us continued our guided tour with Marjory, who met us at
Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. We then toured the city
on the Big Red Bus double-decker bus tour, and ended with a boat ride down
the Thames. London is a beautiful city, and we learned many useful
historical anecdotes from our tour guide on the bus.
We actually went to a second show on
Thursday (last minute ticket prices aren't too bad). This time we saw Wicked
which is about the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy comes to Oz.
It's a great show.
Friday afternoon we boarded the plane to
head back to Atlanta. We made it to Detroit and through customs and then
boarded our plane to Atlanta. We were supposed to arrive at 9pm and at
approximately 8:30 we were notified that we were being diverted to
Charlotte because the airport in Atlanta had been shut down because of
thunderstorms. We sat in Charlotte for about an hour, then we headed to
Atlanta, where we waited on the tarmac for an hour because our gate was
filled with another plane. Atleast we made it home only 3 hours late. (One
of the other groups coming back to the States has stated that it took them
over 24 hours to get back home and without some of their baggage.)
So, we made it. We thoroughly enjoyed the
countryside in Scotland. It is gorgeous, and we didn't even see a fraction
of what that country has to offer. Next time, we'll go hunting for Nessie
for sure. I know we'll find him, or her (does anyone know if he/she is a
he/she?). But more than the beauty of the country, we were overwhelmed by
the sincerity and the friendliness of the people we met and who became our
friends. Margaret, thank you for thinking of us and convincing the GMC to
invite us.
Until the next time that we update this
portion of our site (should be another 2 or 3 years), we hope that you
have enjoyed the brief account of our trip to Scotland and England.
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