I began the morning with a stop for a chicken, bacon and chorizo pasty and a cappuccino. The Scottish pasties are wonderful – similar I suspect to an empanada. We will surely buy a few on Saturday when we head out on the road. Next stop was Royal Mile Whisky where I have been buying my whisky for the past 2 years. I wanted to try some new ones, especially ones that you simply can’t get in the US and with one of the proprietors, Mark, to help, I managed to select four that I will be adding to my collection. They will be shipped to me and should arrive when I get home. After that it was a quick walk down to the National Museum of Scotland and a meeting with David Caldwell and Maeve Gilllies, two amazing people willing to assist with the Lords of the Isles Project. David is a well known Scottish archaeologist who has excavated Finlaggan for 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge. Maeve is a renowned jeweler who is working with the National Museum and Iona to bring to life the old designs of Alexander and Euphemia Ritchie. The next phase of her project dovetails perfectly with my Lords of the Isles endeavor and thus we will have unique jewelry associated with the project. Maeve suggested that while on my travels I should collect stones along the beaches that she will incorporate into exclusive jewelry designs for the book and her work with Iona. This will be an incredible collaboration and cross promotion opportunity. It is amazing how one thing leads you to another and thus the mission evolves. The evening was spent at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland meeting and lecture series where I made many connections to people interested in my Lords of the Isles project. I also became a Fellow of the society, being voted in with 63 other people from around the world.
