What’s going on? Your June entertainment guide
SIGNS ACROSS THE divide A haunting tune
Nobody else heard the music
Sean Murray, from Oxford
Standing on the desk of the ferry, I squinted my eyes against the rain, watching the waves bash against the side of the boat. I was on my way WR WKH LVODQG RI 0XOO R WKH FRDVW of Scotland. I’d last visited as a teenager, fallen in love with the hills, mists, lochs, wild sea – and of course, the whisky!
It was lashing with rain and visibility was poor.
Short journey
The ferry wasn’t very busy and the journey was short. I settled myself on an outdoor seat and watched through the drizzle as we left the port.
Suddenly, I realised I could hear bagpipes.
The sounds lingered and dipped in and out of ear shot, but somewhere on this ferry was an expert bagpipe player.
Out of sight
‘Wow, isn’t that amazing?’ I said to the guy sitting next to me. ‘What hauntingly beautiful sounds to go with this weather.’
He shot me an odd look. ‘I can’t hear anything,’ he muttered. ‘Excuse me – I think I’m going to be sick.’
I jumped hastily up and went to look for the bagpipe player. It wasn’t a huge boat, EXW , FRXOGQ¶W ¿QG KLP RU KHU anywhere as I wandered round the ferry, trying to follow the sound of the music.
Mull was clearly visible. Clouds hung low and the rain was pelting down. Water SRXUHG R P\ ZDWHUSURRI KRRG I was looking forward to getting to my warm hotel room and a steaming mug of tea.
%XW ¿UVW , MXVW KDG WR ¿QG WKH bagpipe player…
‘Do you know who is playing those bagpipes?’ I asked a woman as we docked. ‘What bagpipes?’ she replied in an American accent. ‘I’d love to hear bagpipes!’
Just as I was about to step R WKH IHUU\ , ¿QDOO\ VSRWWHG the piper. He was wearing a kilt, marching along the pier with his bagpipes.
How had he managed to get R WKH IHUU\ EHIRUH PH" , ZDV RQH RI WKH ¿UVW WR OHDYH I was going to run after him, thank him for his music, but he PDUFKHG R LQWR WKH mist, bagpipes still playing, and was lost to sight.
Either that or he simply vanished away. Nobody but me seemed to be able to see or hear him.
To this day, I’m convinced he was a ghost.