Page 181 - Guiding LIghts: A History of the STGA 1959-2019

Another incident at Ffionaphort ferry, I had a group, the Clan Kincaid. I knew the passengers as we had been travelling for 10 days together. I gave out the tickets as the passengers were boarding the ferry and there was one passenger missing.
‘I asked the ferry man to hold on a sec while I ran back up to check the loo, found the missing passenger as we hurried down to the ferry...there it was sailing off with all my Kincaids shouting to everyone’s amusement “you’ve missed the boat Jean!”
One evening The Lord of the Glens was moored at Inverness on the Caledonian Canal. The ship was full and I was ‘boarded out’ in a B&B nearby. I would rejoin the ship next morning ready for departure.
When I arrived at the quayside about twenty minutes before departure, I saw the ship slowly edging away from the jetty! I yelled frantically at the passengers who were out on deck and a crew member was alerted to assist me on board. My suitcase was heaved over the side and I was helped via the nearest aperture – the galley – into the ship. A loud cheer went up as I made it safely on board. Phew.
We returned by coach to the ship one evening and were looking forward as usual to our excellent dinner. After the guests had gone to their cabins, one of the senior members of the crew asked to speak to us guides urgently. He looked tense and anxious. What could have happened? Apparently the head chef had walked out and there was ‘nae’ dinner to be had that evening! Panic. Emergency. Think on your feet! We called the local pub to see if they could cater for about 16 hungry folk. All well. We then announced over the PA that we had a surprise for them this evening. For a change, we were going to have dinner at the local pub. They were delighted and enjoyed their evening.’
‘On another occasion I worked with a Canadian TV film crew who were filming a Christmas special with a Scots born singer called Johnny Reid who is well known in Canada and Nashville. Johnny was born in Overton, Lanarkshire and emigrated with his family when he was a young lad. We visited many places associated with Johnny’s family, in and around Glasgow and I have a vivid memory of helping to carry the filming equipment up the 246 steps to the top of the Wallace Monument! ‘Another VisitScotland programme I was involved with involved three university students who had asked for help to make a small film for a competition. Their idea was that the male Panda from Edinburgh zoo had escaped, he wanted to visit some of the main attractions around Scotland and he’d send postcards to the female Panda! We borrowed the Panda costume from Edinburgh Zoo on one condition. The person wearing the costume would always be in full costume and keep the head
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