Just back from a week sailing on the West of Scotland, in the area around Oban, Crinan, Tobermory and Loch Linnhe. There are still crofts here. Only a few. Most have been converted into holiday homes and now the West of Scotland is a wonderful mixture of long-term residents with lilting accents and new residents with every accent, and most of the languages, under the sun.
As my wee map shows, none of this is new. The venerable Book of Kells, written around 800AD, contains lapiz lazuli traded from Afghanistan, by French traders who anchored their ships on an island off Crinan...
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| A modern ancient map... |
