Tobermory

Fifty years ago I watched ‘The Wombles’. It was a cartoon series on the television about furry creatures with pointed noses who cleared up litter on Wimbledon common. They became popular and sung amusing but irritating songs. One of the Wombles was called Tobermory.

Twenty years ago I watched Balamory. It was another children’s television series about a group of characters… Edie McCredie the bus driver, Archie the inventor, Miss Hoolie the teacher, PC Plum… who lived and worked in a seaside town. I learned that it was filmed in some place in Scotland called Tobermory.

A few months ago we booked our ‘Lochs and Glens’ holiday. Publicity material said, ‘Visit the Isle of Mull and enjoy a cruise from Tobermory.’ Our coach would take us from Loch Awe to Mull, an island in the Inner Hebrides to see Tobermory’s brightly coloured buildings that we’d seen on Balamory.

Yesterday we our coach took us through stunning Scottish countryside, across on a ferry, to Mull and then Tobermory. The first sign we saw said ‘Tobermory Distillery’. It’s in Scotland so it’s bound to have its own distillery!

We arrived at Tobermory. We saw for ourselves the fishing boats and brightly coloured buildings. It’s a seaside village with its unique history and character, but it’s ordinary, with a baker’s shop, souvenir shops, a little supermarket. There were ordinary English, European and American tourists, and ordinary local folks making a living.

We went out on our boat trip. We saw dolphins swimming, jumping out of the water; we saw seals and sea birds – gannets, guillemots, razor bills, Manx shearwaters… That’s probably the part of the day I shall remember most.

My knowledge of Tobermory has grown – a name, a place, an experience. I’m reminded that my knowledge and understanding of people, situations, principles and ideas is constantly changing, developing, evolving… as is my knowledge and understanding of kindness, patience, generosity… compassion, truth, God… And the best knowledge and understanding comes from personal experience.