Hello fellow Pentland Canoe Club members,
Kim and I wanted to say a slightly belated but heartfelt thanks to all those who gave us such a wonderful send off from Thurso. We had a really great day canoeing down the River Thurso as pirates and the screams of excitement from Kim, as we went over the waterfalls (small weirs) and as she got capsized by John Speirs, were priceless.
It has been somewhat manic since our house move was brought forward at such short notice and it is only now that we are starting to feel vaguely organised. In fact, we shall be getting round to putting some pictures up this week and the view across Thurso Bay that you kindly gave us will be finding a home which will remind us of the happy 2 and a half years we spent with the club in Thurso. We shall also be getting the honorary membership, of which we're immensely proud, framed too!
As always when we get moved by the Navy, we have to start anew with making friends and settling into the local area. However, having done this for a few years now, we both agree that Thurso, Caithness and in fact the north of Scotland have made a lasting impression. We've made far more friends and done so much more than we ever expected. The Pentland Canoe Club have been a major part of that - the efforts of the coaches, committee and other helpers are fantastic and a great example of what can be achieved.
I have now been on what is called rather grandly, the Advanced Command and Staff Course, for nearly 2 weeks and it is pretty intense with a very challenging amount of reading to do, so please excuse the tardiness of this 'thank you'. It means that I will be limited in the amount of canoeing or kayaking I will be able to do over the next year, however, I'll be looking to see what might be available locally during my leave periods. When I move on to another posting next year though, I'll be looking to get back into a club, do more coaching and learn more skills. Hopefully, I'll persuade Kim to become a bank based coach too.
We'll definitely be returning to Thurso over the years, especially if there is a chance I could come back in the job of my former boss. When we do, we will look to join you out paddling on a Thursday night or on a weekend, or else just adjourn to a local haunt to catch up socially. On that note, I think we're going to sample the Strawberry Vodka in the hamper you gave us - we polished off the Cocoa Mountain chocolate in no time by the way.
Very best wishes to all in the club,
Kim and Mark