Fiona’s phone conversation with the Duchess of Argyle started better than she could have expected.
“Look, Fiona, we’re practically family. Please call me Eleanor. You’ve lived around these parts all your life. I’m almost an ‘incomer’ by contrast. What can I do for you and Gordon?”
“Well, Eleanor, I know you have a very busy life at Inveraray. It’s common knowledge how well you manage that enormous estate together as a couple, and keep it all afloat. Glenmorie is not the same kind of challenge for us but I wonder if you would share a few ideas about bringing in the public?”
“Fiona, I am happy to do that. I believe your three children are still fairly young? We have had a lot of help and understanding from our three. The entire September Festival project is manned by a huge number of volunteers as well as the people who live and work on the estate.
What I am suggesting is that you look for volunteers particularly when you are putting together events that draw visitors. You can’t do it on your own.”
“I see what you mean. What sort of events have you found to be the most financially beneficial?”
“Oh, that’s easy! We keep a close eye on all our expenses and compare the results of anything we try. If an event does not prove to be profitable, we scrap it and go on to something else. It helps to get feedback of course.”
“That’s a very practical approach. Your own family’s background in business helps a great deal.”
“Well, Fiona, I hear you have tremendous skills in the area of wildlife preservation. It’s a matter of playing to your own particular talents.
Overall, the music events, the Highland Games and the estate produce we sell are the big earners. You will know we have pipe bands to lead the visitors around the estate on special days. We set up big tents with displays of all the fruit and meat we prepare and we have estate labels for all our products signed by the Duke. The tourists love that. They especially love it when the gentleman wearing an apron stating, ‘Duke of Argyll’ turns out to be the actual duke who is serving them. There must be thousands of his photos all over the world by now!”
“I like that idea, but I think Gordon would be happier with the fishing or stalking groups on the whole.”
“Of course, Fiona, you have to gear your efforts toward the time and energies you have to spare.
Your Glenmorie is closer to Oban than we are. You should be able to capitalize on that and do some advertising in the local newspaper and in the tourist shops as well as on a website.
Oh, one last thing! Remember to flash the tartan. It’s yours by right. Make it work for you. The visitors from Japan are wowed by it.”
“Thank you so much for your time Eleanor. You have given me so much to think about. I see the planning is the most important part of the project and I will get to it at once.”
“I know you and Gordon will do well, Fiona. Let me know if I, or Ian, can be of any further help.
Campbells Forever!
Bye for now.”
Fiona put down the phone and sat still, running over the conversation in her mind.
The Duchess was very gracious with her help and advice. She seemed like a regular person rather than the mistress of such a huge enterprise. Fiona Campbell would need to scale her plans far down from what was accomplished at Inveraray but there were very good hints she must consider before she started anything. It was essential to use the advantages Glenmorie might have over a larger estate. Perhaps the smaller venue lent itself to more intimate encounters with wildlife, for example. No big military bands would work for them.
She must keep in mind that Gordon was no Torquil Ian Campbell. His Grace, the Duke of Argyll, took a close interest in, and participated in, all the commercial activities of his estate in a way Gordon would never care to share. Although you could not guess it to see him, the Duke was a polo champion for the Scotland team two years running.
She mad e a few notes and went off about her daily chores knowing that the best ideas suggested by her conversation with the Duchess would float to the surface as time went by.
She checked her email for a response from Wildlife Services then picked up Neil, dressed them both in outer wear against a chill wind and decided to walk to the castle to see if Donald was in the offices.
A meeting with his Marie was next on her agenda.
Rena and Steve Collins were determined to be an integral part of the Oban community. Their move from Sussex in England had happened very organically and although they had not set a limit on their time in Scotland, they wanted their influence there to be as positive as possible.
Rena was in her office at the Primary School with the door closed, reading an enquiry from the Argyll and Bute Education Authority. They wished her to accept a dual position as Head Teacher of the Primary School and Head Teacher of the Oban High School. The latter position was on a temporary basis until the new head was available but was likely to last for several months.
She knew, without their telling, that the vacancy rate for teachers in Scotland remained at 6.2% which was currently the second highest in the UK. This was an unusual situation and one that could have a dire effect on the pupils who studied at both these institutions. Her own background in teaching, together with her success at the primary school, must be prompting this request.
She carefully considered whether a joint leadership role was feasible.
She had the energy and the knowledge to bring to the task.
She had already encouraged her ambitious Deputy Head to take on greater responsibility at the primary level. Jordan was a fan. He would support her.
It all depended on whether she would be accepted in the larger High School. Having had occasions to work with secondary teachers in her role at the Teachers’ College in Toronto, she understood what impact a stranger, and unknown educator, could have on a reluctant staff. Promotion from within the ranks was preferable to bringing a stranger into the mix, but in the present circumstances, there was no leeway within the schools to allow for two additional teachers in administrative positions.
The fact that Rena was from Canada might well play in her favour. There could be no adverse gossip about her prior teaching career, other than the mostly good reports from the parents and teachers in her current Oban school.
If she handled the double role with discretion and humour, it might be possible to blend the two. She thought of her senior class children and how the transition to the High School could be made more convenient if she initiated some of the methods used in Canada.
Already her thoughts were moving from ‘maybe’ into ‘when’. It was an indication of her excitement at the prospect. Should she and Steve decide to make their home in Scotland on a more permanent basis, this change, with its additional finances, would make the process easier.
She decided to make a phone call thanking the superintendent for his offer and asking for a day or two to consider it. She must talk to Steve without delay.
Steve Collins was constantly amazed at how well he had made the transition from Sussex to the Highlands of Scotland. In essence, his work was quite similar. He moved between sites as he had done in England, but what was different was the opportunity to observe the spectacular Argyll countryside in all its seasons. Not that the roads were empty of all traffic. Heavy loads were moving constantly from place to place on the coastal roads but overall there was less traffic than in the crowded south of England, and when he looked ahead during his journeys to Inverness he saw sea lochs, snow-capped mountains, verdant glens, ruined castles and the occasional red deer on the heights.
Every journey was a new adventure. The only problem was that he had to try to explain the wonders to Rena each night when he would have preferred to have her there by his side. Their exploratory runs on the weekend would have to suffice until the summer holidays gave Rena some time off.
The entire work situation was stimulating to him. There was a sense of possibility here that excited him.
Whenever he attended the Argyll and Bute Council Chamber meetings, at Kilmory, there was always something valuable he could contribute from his English experience.
He knew better than to make a point about English ideas being superior, however. That was a mistake. Scots expected their own local knowledge to be more important in the decision making process. Steve quickly learned to couch his opinions in general terms and all was well. He still had most input whenever new projects were being considered by the council. It was his job to advise and recommend on building matters.
A recent discussion about a proposed Business Improvement District in Oban was up for debate in council. He was pleased to hear the site under consideration would in no way spoil the character of the old town. It was clear that the tourist visitors to the area were a valued source of income to many. Anything that brought more development and provided more jobs was vital in slowing the exodus of young people to more fertile job markets in England and elsewhere.
Steve listened, and waited for an opportunity to introduce the topic of green technologies for the new Business Improvement District. He was very impressed by Gordon and Fiona’s Net Zero house. It was a bold move, still in its early stages, but if it could be proved successful in the long run, it could open up a wide range of building options in less accessible areas. Gordon was willing to have a deputation from the council visit his house at a future time and Steve kept this nugget of information close to his chest until the perfect moment presented itself.
Apart from business matters, he was proud to see how well Rena was blending into the community.
The school environment was the right place from which to make a multitude of connections and through his wife he also had a web of contacts related to a tight group of families from the local solicitor, George McLennan, to the doctor, the shepherd, and the English couple from Brussels now living in the house of Anna Drake.
He had heard of the mysterious Anna before, from this very couple. When he and Rena were attempting to find a way through the tangle of government and legal problems surrounding Rena’s abrupt departure from Toronto, both James Patterson and Caroline Fenton had played a crucial role.
He and Rena met up with them again at a recent gathering and Anna Drake’s name came up in the conversation more than once.
He admitted to considerable curiosity about that lady. Many people seemed to circulate around her and there were obviously stories to be told, including how all these interesting families had been drawn into her circle.
All in all, the move to Scotland was proving to be a great success. In his travels, he had begun to keep an eye open for a future house purchase. If he sold his home in Sussex, currently rented, he could afford to buy a more permanent home in these beautiful surroundings. He toyed with the idea of an Eco house along the lines of the one Fiona and Gordon owned but none of this had been discussed with his wife, as yet. It was too soon to introduce that topic.
Unless both of them were fully committed to living in Scotland it was all mere supposition.