I'm off to the Royal National Mod in Fort William as a member of the Back Gaelic Choir, where lots of people will speak Gaelic, and all the newspapers, television programmes, menus, street signs, road signs, weather reports, tourist advice, programmes and shops are all in Gaelic. Heaven; and I hope no-one will spoil it by speaking in English, and I written to Mr Alex requesting a 'Total Exclusion Zone' be set-up around An Gearasdan (as it is properly called) to ensure that those speaking other languages are kept out.
The choir are staying in the centre of An Gearasdan and I have been given my own room in Camusnagaul overlooking An Gearasdan, albeit on the other side of Loch Lochy and a mere 25 miles away.
Mr Angus still has a house in An Gearasdan and whilst I am not allowed to stay there, or even visit with an explicit invitation in writing he is going to stay there when he visits the Mod. He obviously has a lot of important parliamentary business to attend to as Rhona is scheduled to be there too to help write some letters. According to Kenny, there is some important Ugandan issues that need to be resolved by Mr Angus.
Gaelic words spoken: 11,339
Strange looks from passers-by: 46
Buses caught: 3
Saturday, October 13, 2007
National Mod
