Survey Result.
I'm going to write a shortened blog this week as our house has been inundated with family and friends. It is so wonderful to have them come and visit us in Portugal as I am not so keen on travelling anymore.
“Delayed flights, expensive flights and impossible communication methods have changed air travel from something that added to the excitement of foreign travel into more of a deterrent.” - Peter McSporran
My daughter Storm and her long-term partner, Duncan, arrived last weekend while our good friends Dirk and Klaska Muijs from Zambia arrived on Tuesday to spend the rest of the week with us. Next week, we join Storm and Duncan at the coast for a few days, unlike them, I will not be swimming, let alone surfing. I suppose that is the worst thing for me about Portugal, the Atlantic is bloody cold!
In writing the blog I get easily distracted, or rather make that an excuse for not applying time to writing the blog earlier in the week means this normally happens a day or so before posting. I dread late Thursday night trying to complete it following my daughter’s very patient review of my grammar. Hence, a short one this week.
I am leaving part of the blog to enable me to express my views on the result of the Global Compensation Deed (GDC) survey. I'm going to leave it until I hear the delayed result of the CSC (Compensation Steering Committee) survey, which I'm sure will be announced this week. To be truthful, it is now Thursday midday, the CSC must be aware of the result by now! Aah. Thursday evening and the outcome of the ill-construed survey is known. The no's are the majority, either way, there never was going to be any winners. The majority of the TDHs did not vote, was this apathy or just a lack of confidence that the deal would not be honoured by the government, so why bother voting? While the result is satisfying in regard to the rejection of the GCD and the bond offer it now appears the CSC is suggesting it wants to seek a better deal from the Government despite previously repeatedly telling us it was the only deal. It is time to accept the credibility of the GCD is now dead in most TDH eyes.
There is no doubt in my mind divisions, especially in finding the path forward will still exist. Will the present CSC steering committee happily resign and let a new team with professional participation now take the field with a strong mandate from the TDHs or will they, of their own validation, continue in their role? In my mind, to bring back unity the GCD must he set aside as a failed initiative. Whatever, going forward we must be more cohesive. Just removing the word bonds from the table will help with this.
"Whoever or whatever is nominated to take the negotations forward must have three prerequistes. A strong mandate from the TDHs, work transparently and engage professional finacial and legal non- partipant team advisors who independently review and give opinion on any proposals before presentation to the TDHs.". - Peter McSporran
Despite stepping outside their mandate, the present CSC members should be thanked for their efforts. They certainly tried to get the deal through notwithstanding recent claims it was the government's deal, not theirs.
"Farmers may have lost their farms but not their dignity. The Government made a serious misjudgement thinking we were on our knees.' - Peter McSporran
Date Confusion and Father’s Death.
I think I have a subconscious block in remembering years, let alone dates of close friends’ and families' deaths. I can never remember the year but have no problem remembering the events of the day in detail. Do others suffer from this?
While I was never close to my father, I admired and respected him greatly. When he ran the estate he was a tough and strong-willed yet fair leader. His word was his bond. At least he thought of himself as being fair, children always differ in their parents' view of fairness. Unlike the man I came to know in later years following his illness and retirement or rather semi-retirement. Due to his heart problems, I found myself in Rhodesia when I flew out in place of him to represent the family at my sister, Morag’s wedding to Lindsay Ross, in Umtali, 1972. Fifty years ago, a lifetime without my early years or retirement.
Unfortunately, my father suffered a number of further heart attacks and unlike now, surgery then on the heart was much rarer and his health never fully recovered. It was deemed he could no longer continue as the Managing Director of Killiechronan and his many other roles in business and factoring. On resigning, he moved to Oban which would ensure he would be closer to medical assistance as there were no hospitals on the Island of Mull, only GPs and of course district nurses.
How things have changed in the NHS these days. I can remember having many childhood accidents or illnesses and we would set off to the doctor's house in Salen where I would be attended to immediately by our GP Dr Flora McDonald. I can also remember her chasing me on the shores of Loch na Keal with the intent of giving me one of my vaccinations, probably a polio booster. The shore and river was us kids’ favourite playground.
“There is no more enjoyable day spent in childhood then turning rocks and seaweed on the shore in search of crabs, eels or shannies (small fish).” - Peter McSporran
As I have written in previous blogs, my father insisted on continuing to keep some cattle and sheep on the land be leased, known as the Glebe from the Church of Scotland. Further, he took up an administrative role with McBraynes where he worked a normal full day. As a child I never went on one holiday with my parents, relaxation was agricultural shows or livestock sales. His job at McBraynes came between checking the stock come rain, snow or shine, morning and then again in the evening. I cannot imagine his days were much less than ten hours if not twelve, in summer much longer. He always loved livestock and would have not been happy without them. In saying that, although they gave him joy in his so-called semi-retirement, all this work probably brought about his final heart attack which he had at home. I must say my stepmother, Flora was fully involved with the animals. She ran a bed and breakfast from their apartment helping more in winter when there were no tourists. The West of Scotland is not a great tourist place in winter, not cold, but what we call ‘dreich’.
In 1985, I arranged for my brother and his wife to come and visit us in Zimbabwe and in transit on this trip he heard of our father's death. At the same time, I was attending the Commercial Oilseed Association (COPA) AGM in Kariba at the Cutty Sark Hotel. Although I cannot remember the year, I remember the day well. As is usual before most of the association’s annual meetings there would be drinks. Cocktails would be too polite a description and snacks the evening before. The reason I remember it so well was because I had been delayed on the farm and only left at 1730 hours hoping to arrive by eight if I drove with my foot down. No speed traps in those days. We could do that trip in two and a half hours despite the windy roads. The roads were in excellent condition and there was little traffic. Unlike nowadays, the roads have been destroyed by heavy international freight trucks further exacerbated by a total lack of maintenance. Nowadays it will take you at least double the time.
“In Africa, it seems things do not get better, the reverse is a constant. On occasion, a rare leader may slow the trend but on his exit or his own corruption things soon return to the not so slow decline of infrastructure and services.” - Peter McSporran.
I did not get there in the two and a half hours as shortly after seeing a pride of lions at Mukuti Airstrip I whacked a porcupine with one of its quills puncturing my front left tyre. I did get to Kariba slightly late and shortly after arrival, Diane telephoned me with the news of my father's passing. Nothing I could do about it that night, but on returning to the farm late the next day which coincided with my brother’s arrival, it was decided I was best placed to go home to Scotland to help with the funeral, the lawyers and livestock. For my brother, a junior lawyer at the time was also going to visit my sister in Malawi and as we, as a family did not see much of each other, it was best for him to stick to his schedule. He struggled with his conscience, we had helped with his airfare as were in a better position financially at that time. We convinced him to stay.
The long and the short of it, I left Diane on the farm and headed to the UK. Everything was in place for the funeral already on my arrival in Oban. Flora’s brothers, Willie and Dougie Harley had come to her assistance. I should say Flora, whatever her faults was a hard-working strong woman capable of handling most things in life by herself. Other than the funeral, there was the issue of the livestock to sort out which I took on myself to deal with. Flora, probably rightly so, thought it would be too much for her to continue with them. She also declared she planned to sell the apartment and buy one in Edinburgh where she could enjoy the arts better. So, to this end, I organised the livestock sale through Corson’s who ran the livestock market in Oban. They were most helpful with my father being a client of theirs for many years.
The cremation was a small affair at the crematorium close to the Erskine Bridge, the closest one to Oban some two hours away. Afterwards, we had some drinks at a local hotel in Dumbarton and headed back to Oban with Flora and Fiona. My father came from Campbeltown, so many of the family from the ‘Wee Toon’ attended.
Flora and I heard the will and she immediately wanted it changed more to her benefit allowing her to sell the apartment, all us children agreed that would be to the best and this was organised, although only when my lawyer brother, Archie returned from his trip to Africa.
On the day of my departure, Flora and I met in the lounge to say our goodbyes where she took it upon herself to inform me, “Peter you have been a wonderful help and you are a kind person, but I never want to see you again.” That was her final words to me. Although not unexpected in that we were not close, it did rather take me aback.
I tried to keep in contact, but she never replied to my letters or answered my calls. Rather, she answered and when she heard my voice would put the phone down. I never did meet her face to face again only once seeing her walking on Princes Street when I was driving through Edinburgh. Funnily enough, although my girls never saw her again, one day she agreed to meet Rozanne many years later.
Unlike my sister, my relationship with Flora was not a stormy one. Following my father’s marriage to her, this coincided with me leaving for school on the mainland visiting home only on holidays. The unfortunate thing about my father's death is that it happened when he was organising a trip with my cousins to come to Zimbabwe. The last and only time he visited, I only saw them briefly as I got married on leave from continuous service in the army arriving back from the bush just before the wedding day. He thought I was mad to stay in Rhodesia during the war, but not at any time did he ever put pressure on me to leave.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
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