Paisley. Past,present,future? The Paisley Witches.Renfrew.

This is a post about history, a lasting legacy, changing times, fortunes made and spent, and what we should keep, ignore or throw away in the future.
The wind vane above is a perfect example of that. It sits on top of Renfrew town hall, so high up that its finer details are practically invisible to nearly everyone passing by on the streets below yet someone has taken an obvious pride in its construction knowing its merits would remain largely unsung. The main centre of Renfrew, an ancient riverside royal burgh and barony on the wide banks of the River Clyde, has had a million pound makeover and transformation recently. It has a real life Baron. Guess who? Believe it or not Princes Charles is the current 'Baron of Renfrew' as it,s a hereditary royal title. You couldn't make it up. He's also the current Duke of Rothesay and  'Lord of the Isles' a title originally given to Somerled, who held sway over much of Western Scotland with his prodigious fleet of fast moving war galleys in the 12th century. He was defeated and killed between here and Paisley during the battle of Renfrew around 1164. Renfrew itself as an entity came into being when lands here were granted to Walter Fitz Allan for the purpose of defence against Viking raiders and the threat of attack from the land grabbing and much feared Somerled who dominated and held the entire west coast in his life time from the far flung Outer Hebrides as far down as Cumbria and the Isle of Man. In the present day, against all the odds, Renfrew has held onto its own independent local dairy, its local character, shops and the last remaining passenger ferry across the River Clyde. Which is why I was here. I needed the ferry as my short cut into history.

Renfrew town hall with its weather vane. With the changeable weather recently its been a pick and mix bag of rain, wind, snow, and sunshine most days. A couple of Saturdays ago it was raining all morning but then brightened up around 1:00 pm. Not wanting to waste the sunshine I decided to cycle along the canal then take the Renfrew ferry across to here with the intention of exploring Paisley by bike.

First stop after Renfrew was the cycle track up onto Saucel Hill near Paisley Canal railway station. This viewpoint has a great panorama over the whole town. For many generations Paisley was the largest town in Scotland, a title now fought over by new towns East Kilbride and Livingstone.
From the trig point its still obvious where the money and power in the town once came from. Two great mill buildings catch the eye. The photograph above is the Abbey mills business centre complex, formerly the Anchor mills. This is a side on view of one gable end.   Length wise it's  much more impressive.
http://www.paisleythreadmill.co.uk/history.php
Nearby stands the equally massive Coats thread factory. Clark and Coats are two family names at the heart of Paisleys growth and lasting legacy. When they became a partnership and joined forces it created the worlds largest thread factory that went on to dominate the British, American and overseas markets for decades, employing over 25,000 people at its height. Coats are still a major worldwide brand and actually employ over 35,000 people now but the work force in Scotland has shrunk dramatically as cheaper labour markets and business conditions in places like India make it far more economical to work from there.

Some of the main employers now in the town are connected to service industry providers like the University of the West of Scotland seen above which has a large scattered campus throughout the town and the Renfrewshire council buildings which are situated beside the historic abbey and scenic central plaza with its colourful flower beds which are always a delight in spring and summer.

Here we get to the crux of this post. Although some parts of Paisley are run down and dilapidated and money for any improvements is tight in the current financial climate I always think Paisley as a tourist attraction has so much untapped potential. Its high street has seen the usual hard times and closing shops, not helped by the massive Braehead  retail park sucking footfall away but it has a beautiful river flowing right through its centre and has some incredible historic buildings that are worth saving for future generations. The Abbey is a gem. Seat of the Royal Stewarts and resting place of Robert the Bruce's eldest daughter. This central open plaza around the Abbey is a fantastic peaceful feature with the White Cart Water snaking through its heart.

Looking in the opposite direction you see the much loved Hammils, the spot where the river tumbles over this volcanic sill beside the mill where in the early days of weaving two large waterwheels on both banks here once used to power the cottage industry set up beside them. From tiny acorns...

I always remember I was fascinated by this place and a trip here to the pictures to see Disney's 'Song of the South' or 'The Jungle Book' was a magical adventure. Popular Tourist towns like Annecy in France have capitalized on a similar, water rich central district, with less historic interest yet are rightly busy with visitors and holidaymakers.
It must be a lack of money, vision, market forces, our poor, unpredictable, weather and a despondent
general outlook to blame. There is so much to admire here yet on my cycle around I observed many once great buildings lying empty and abandoned to their fate that in more money rich areas ( like Edinburgh's Dean Village say) would be saved and converted into stylish riverside apartments. I know we cant save them all but it just seems so wrong to tear them down or, although listed, let them fall into decay. The photographs shown are the ones that have been saved or are safe at present but many more not shown here are in limbo, awaiting an uncertain future.

Which bring me to this. I only discovered this marvellous hidden treasure a couple of years ago on a previous cycle trip. The Coats Fountain which sits in the middle of Paisley's oldest park, The Fountain Gardens, near the Wee Barrel pub, donated to the people by Thomas Coats himself and now lying largely ignored but not forgotten in a down at heel suburb in one of the older parts of town. In its heyday with the jets working and the surrounding pool filled with foaming water this must have been something to see as no expense was spared in its construction. Walrus, sea lions, cherubs, aquatic plants and herons adorn its many levels as it sits here forlornly awaiting a time when it can be restored or relocated and then revealed in all its former splendour but for that to happen the surrounding district would need to be transformed and gentrified first or it would just be vandalized.

Incidentally, The American singer Prince is reputed to have named his hit single 'Paisley Park' and his own recording studios after the distinctive Paisley pattern motif which became very popular during the swinging psychedelic 1960's. Paisley in turn was inspired to create this iconic, twisted teardrop, design on shawls, table clothes, fabrics and wallpaper by studying Indian and Iranian craftwork of the period.

A detail of the ring of walrus heads. This is Paisley's answer to Glasgow's Doulton Fountain in Glasgow Green outside the Peoples Palace, a fountain which also lay dry, derelict and unused for many years but which is now restored.

The Coats Memorial Church. A gothic extravagance that can hold 1000 worshipers inside. Thankfully still in use today. This stands opposite the University.

Directly above it on a hog back hill is one of the oldest districts and its well worth a visit climbing up here for the views and the buildings. This is the view uphill towards Oakshaw Trinity Church which towers above its surroundings high above the more frequented Museum in the street below. Once you get up here you find a quiet flat street running along this summit with a variety of old buildings and houses either side.

Naturally the Coats Family are well represented up here too. The Observatory is still in action today with current weather reports being used by the media and a local night sky appreciation society. The Coats Family are also responsible for the masterpiece in stone that is Dunselma, their former sailing lodge that still overlooks Strone Point near Dunnon and looks like something out of a  gothic fairy-tale. Coats Land in Antarctica is also named after them as they sponsored a prominent expedition there. Clark and Coats were the Rockefeller,s and the Vanderbilt,s of Paisley.

A view of the flat street. I met a guy in a mobility scooter up here from Blackpool who was exploring the history of the area too which was intrepid stuff given that it,s still cobbled streets in many places.
Enthusiasm and a positive outlook will get you far in life and he had both.
At the other end of the street is a second notable domed building, The  John Neilston Institute, once a fee paying school now converted into upmarket prestigious apartments. On the left hand side of this is a steep cobbled lane leading down off the hill towards St Mirren football club's ground.
From up here you can also look west across the roof tops towards the Gleniffer Braes.

At the other end of the street you can look east back towards the abbey and the clustered spires of churches and town hall tower. The 4:15 pm clock is the right time by the way. The other is not.

 

Paisley is a fascinating town with a long history. I used to know it fairly well as I grew up a short bus ride away and was taken on mid week and Saturday shopping expeditions here by my mum in the days before large supermarkets and family cars when it could often take half a day just to obtain half a weeks messages by the time you'd worked your way round all the shops. From what I remember, going back 50 years to my childhood, mostly it was the men of the household that worked full time then as the married women with kids needed more time just to obtain groceries in a thriving busy high street. After standing in queues to be served in butchers, bakers and candlestick makers  they then had to rush home to cook the ingredients and provide a meal for the hungry workers and children coming in at night from school and factory. I was drafted in aged five to twelve as a welcome extra bag carrier around the shops and on the bus during school holidays and weekends. When ordinary folk started getting cars and out of town supermarkets grew up, the same weeks shopping could be done in under an hour. All under one roof.
The reason I bring this up is I've been watching Mary Portas with interest and her attempts to save the nations High Streets recently. So far she has offered some good innovative ideas but its going to be a tough struggle to reverse the decline, as she admits herself, because few individuals have the time, patience or inclination to go round separate shops in a high street setting nowadays. Especially with city centre parking restrictions compared to the relative ease that out of town shopping  facilities offer. Paisley was also the original home of a childhood favourite of mine. As a young child I had a treasured collection that is now considered out of favour. Don't remember where they actually disappeared to but being innocent of any underlying issues involved  I loved them deeply and just though of them as wonderful works of art. Probably nicked by my youthful mates as we all collected them avidly back then along with football cards and bird's eggs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson%27s
Its a shame the high streets are fading because it does rip the heart out of any town or city centre if all you see are boarded up shop fronts. Paisley has been hit like a lot of similar sized  towns, especially as it is so close to neighbouring Glasgow and  Braehead. Even Glasgow's famous Style Mile is not immune to the relentless bulldozer advance of the mega store.

 Another iconic building near Saucel hill and Paisley Canal Rail Station.  Russell Institute. Ground breaking architecture at the time and still a magnificent building decorated with numerous sculptures like this one here with an angel holding two infants. A Deo Salus translates as 'Health comes from God' as its original purpose was as a clinic for children and its still used for health care to this day.
Rediscovered Paisley? You betcha!   Discovering the history and odd corners of towns and cities is as much fun for me nowadays as discovering new mountains.

Below is one of the strangest and most infamous periods in Paisley's long history. I read a local book on this many years ago. Isabel Adam's excellent book 'Witch hunt.' The last collective burning of witches in Western Europe. Were they guilty? You decide. Worth a read for its grim depiction of human nature and mutual class distrust as its worst in a climate and era of superstition so alien to us now in these enlightened times.
Or are we?
 Even today if you're rich, famous or powerful your word seems far more likely to be believed by the courts than the poor in society. A horse shoe still seems to hold power as even in recent times it was replaced, just in case, to keep their malice at bay. But whose malice? Or did the real culprit live on to become an upright citizen and creative designer in the town.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley_witches. A cautionary tale of burnings, spite and ignorance.
Enjoy... and be really grateful you did not live or die then. Or steal a drink of milk from a rich family.

Tinto. Dawyck Botanic Gardens.

A spur of the moment, last minute decision, on Friday Night saw me heading over to Ron's Saturday morning as a good  forecast was predicted for sun in selected parts of The Borders but cloudy with rain elsewhere. Alex was off Corbett bagging near Bridge of Orchy but he had a sunny day too.
We headed for Tinto and a very early start to beat the crowds as this is a popular hill at weekends. Nice to see some lambs at last.
I did this hill from Wiston to the south the last time a couple of years ago with Alex  and never met a soul on the ascent, climbing steeply up to the Pap Craig on a very faint path. Part of the reason for this is the lack of parking spaces on this southern side and we ended up stopping outside a YMCA type building with a huge wooden climbing frame which did seem as if it was meant for private parking but luckily it was deserted and all we could find.

This time we parked at the large purpose built car park at Fallburn near Thankerton but, although early to arrive, it was amazing how quickly it filled up with walkers. Jam packed an hour later. As Tinto is the highest hill in Central Scotland at 707metres or 2320 feet its a popular choice for a sunny day out at weekends. Much quieter mid week.
From this side its safe to say its not a faint path. Never been up this way before. Only the third ascent of this fine hill in 40 years, each time by a different route.

Its an easy and pleasant way up though and we met  loads of other walkers heading in the same direction. There had been a heavy and prolonged over night hailstone storm with a white blanket a couple of inches thick around the summit.

With a strong overhead sun throughout the day though this soon melted. The top photo with the lambs was taken on the way back and the hail had disappeared by that time.

As its an isolated summit on the southern edge of the central belt Tinto has great panoramas on a good day. Massive skies above that seem to stretch on forever.

Spotted this colourful Male Wheatear on the way down. A  much loved summer visitor that breeds here on the upland slopes but winters in Africa. Newly arrived in Scotland from its long annual journey where it hunts for insects, surrounded by the feet of elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and wildebeest. That's back in Africa by the way, not up Tinto.

After the hill we headed for the nearby Dawyck Botanic Gardens which lies in an upland bend of the River Tweed near Drumlzier. I actually thought we would be too late for the Spring display of flowers here in this wonderful sprawling garden but due to the unseasonal arctic temperatures and lingering snow on the mountains all around, Spring hadn't really sprung yet and not many daffodils and other early flowering plants were out. Very disappointing as it was £5.50 to get in. Gutted. Wah!!!!!

One of the few decent splashes of colour were these... Lords and Ladies. Slightly sinister plants that resemble  miniature triffids in some ways. Some parts of these are highly poisonous and attract flies and other insects to pollinate them. They have a host of peculiar names and have been responsible for the accidental poisoning of curious children for centuries. They have berries that look like beautiful luscious sweets straight  from Willie Wonka land but if you happen to swallow any of these berries children you will not be happy bunnies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arum_maculatum

The old rustic chapel high on the hillside at Dawyck.

A microlite pilot. Anytime I see one of these I always think of the film and bouncy song 'Those magnificent men in their flying machines...they go up up up then they come down, down,  down....' And also the mysterious professor that lived in a high tower in Rubert the Bear stories who was always flying off over the woods and villages in a tiny plane. Great fun if the engine doesn't cut out :)

One of Boclair House in Bearsden on the way back. No real Spring happened but Summer is here at last. Seen the first house martins, butterflies and swallows flying around.

Video this week is a cracker that everyone should like. 'Hebrides. Islands on the edge' has been getting heavily plugged on the BBC recently. What stunned me most though was the brilliantly evocative song they used to promote the trailer. I just had to look it up.
Its Finlay Quaye, Beth Orton and William Orbit combining to create a slice of pure heaven on earth.. This short video for his classic song is as good as the hour long Hebrides first episode itself.
 Well worth a look in glorious full screen  HD. Enjoy.

Beinn Narnain. Blue Remembered Hills.

At long last Spring is finally here, forcing her triumphant and much loved body out of the frozen earth to face a gantlet of bitter daytime winds and shivering icy nights which isn't doing much for her complexion I have to say. Her rosy cheeks ( cherry blossom trees) have been stripped of colour almost instantly as soon as they've burst out on the branches, stripped off with gale force ferocity. Her amazing saffron and white coloured eyes ( each a crocus iris surrounded by a bed of simple snowdrops) have been obscured all too often this year under a falling curtain of real snow. Incidentally, ever wondered where saffron comes from? Now you know. Iranian variety mostly nowadays. The original Stigmata as the yellow/ orange central stigma can leave a long lasting stain. Picked by hand for over 4000 years and used in decorative cave art by early humans since the dawn of recorded history.

Finally, at last, the Daffodils have arrived. A full month later than last year. All hail the jet stream and its fickle, wicked ways.

As I've been writing my memoirs recently my thoughts turn back to the beginning. Where it all started. Sweet Springtime and  my first visit up Ben Narnain. Last of my original three Munro's.
 Slioch and Beinn Eighe were my first two but Beinn Narnain was my third and I've since been up this mountain over thirty times although the last was 15 years ago when JB and myself squeezed into the depths of Jam-Block Chimney and Engine Room Crack in a buttress below the summit to find ourselves being led up these fine subterranean rock climbs by a heavily pregnant female. As our bold leader thrashed and grappled in this vertical slot above our heads I had visions of her waters breaking with the effort involved  and us drowning in this latter day parting of the red sea but she completed them in good style then hauled us up the routes. This was very early on in our rock climbing career and she was our most experienced leader. The baby was nothing to do with us I hasten to add. We found her like that. Honest!    In time little Moses was delivered safely into the radiant sunshine within a climbing harness, not a basket in sight.

Above is the summit of Beinn Narnain with the wonderful Spearhead Buttress in profile. Both rock climbs can be found deep inside the base of this cliff so I can truthfully say I've not only been up Beinn Narnain but through it as well. No other Munro has had anything like this many ascents from me so it must have some strange, intangible power that draws me back.
Most of the hillwalking guide books suggest tackling this Munro from the col between the Cobbler and Narnain  by following the well used tourist path up to the Narnain Boulders under the Cobbler then heading right from the Bealach a Mhaim. Good. That keeps the masses away from the real prize. This is a very boring route to the summit which is why Beinn Narnain is unjustly underrated. Its actually a fantastic hill when you climb it direct from Succoth by following the right hand side of the Allt Sugach burn on a faint, steep path  beside, and sometimes actually in the trees, which leads you up into a superb hidden corrie nestled between Cruach nam Misseag and A' Chrios. If you climb Beinn Narnain from this direction you will treasure its ascent and mountain pedigree every bit  as much as I do.

Once clear of the deep minty smell of the pine forests lower down a small dam is reached then you follow this connecting stream up past waterfalls and alpine meadows filled with tiny perfect flowers like dog violet and water forget me not's.

The long lasting snow fields have recently melted leaving behind the usual comical passageways of furry mice and voles as silent evidence of their yearly struggles for life under the insulating blanket of the pack above, eating, sleeping and carrying out daily trips for food under a metre or more of snow and ice. You can see in this photograph some neatly chewed ends of grass nibbled to keep them alive until the snows departed.

One of Ron above the corrie with Ben Lomond behind.

Substantial waterfalls on the journey up the corrie between Cruachnam Miseag and A' Chrois. This was Narnain at its finest with all the melting snow pouring off the hillsides.

Usual crap day in blue-sky-scot-land. Signs and portents in the azure sky above our heads.

One of Beinn Ime from the upper slopes of Narnain. There were several para gliders flying above here. The children of Icarus reborn. A perfect day for it with a warm sun and light winds in the upper thermals above the mountains.
 They must have had two cars as they took off near here then drifted away into the far horizon over Loch Lomondside until they disappeared from sight roughly 6000 feet up. Beautiful to watch. Omens of the end of days flying towards the sun? So high I couldn't get a clear shot even with a zoom as there was nothing for the camera to focus on apart from sky and tiny shrinking dots. Were they consumed by solar flares or did they land over the rainbow... or maybe just in Callandar village?

One of the summit cairn with the familiar great pyramid of Ben Lomond behind. Egypt or Scotland?

A zoom of the Cobber and the central summit block which I always think resembles an elephant  pushing a log, seen from this angle. India perhaps? In contrast to the hordes on this popular favourite Beinn Narnain was its usual quiet self with only two folk met on the entire round trip. We returned via the summit of A' Chrois  by way of the connecting ridge then back down easy slopes to re-join the dam and the same empty path we came up. By the lack of footsteps this path gets rarely used nowadays and hasn't changed its character in 45 years since I wandered up here as a teenager with my very first outdoor club. The Golden Dawn. How many times can you say that about a path up a Munro these days? That it hasn't changed in 45 years. The 'discoverie of witchcraft' perhaps.... Or 'Frazer's Golden bough'... or  just one of Scotland's best kept secrets... Until now.
 Beinn Narnain.   Its a magic mountain. Enjoy.

In keeping with the nostalgic theme here's another man looking back at life. A great reworking of an already classic song about love, redemption and regret for failures in the past. When this video was recorded both Johnny and his wife June knew they were ill. Its their epitaph. They both died a short time later.
Written by nine inch nails, singer/songwriter- Trent Reznor.

Largs. Arran. Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.

A large scale  panorama of the Arran peaks seen from the Heights Of Clyde Muirshiel. This is a very underrated area and the largest regional park in Scotland. It also has exceptional views but only if you enter it from its western border,in the seaside town of Largs, which we did. This was the last trip of Easter and the place was jumping with holiday makers.

After Ron picked me up at my house in his car we parked near Largs Academy, which was closed for the Easter holiday. The tenement building in the above photograph used to have a name plate called GoGo Street on it, which I thought was a great name for a street and made it really stand out. It was memorable. I was disappointed therefore not to find it. Maybe I missed it or its fallen off.

This street is where the Gogo Water enters the sea from its journey high in the moors of Clyde Muirshiel. From the Academy, halfway up the hill in Largs, follow the same road upwards until you come to a farm and a track leading uphill through scattered trees. This is the easy, fast way into the park and takes you past the farm on a good landrover track without difficulties until it reaches Greeto Bridge not far from where the Greeto and Gogo waters meet and merge.

A different option however lies to the right of this farm where the last of the houses end. We took this. A descending track runs down through woods in a deep gorge until it meets the Gogo water then runs along beside it, still on the left bank, past a green iron bridge, into the hills. Although a good broad track at first it gradually becomes harder to follow and turns into a grassy path with fallen trees, large boulders and some muddy bits to negotiate. Its very wild and scenic though which is why we went this way.
Keep following the river until you leave the woods behind and come out into a rocky open meadow area which often has sheep grazing on it. Here there is a faint path leading diagonally upwards across grass slopes on the side of the gorge until you come to the meeting of the Greeto and Gogo waters. Follow the Greeto water upwards past tumbling waterfalls, deep pools and smooth waterslides, many of which resemble well known beauty spots in the Peak district and Yorkshire dales. Although only half a kilometre long this tumbling area of falls is a beautiful and exiting section. Quiet and peaceful usually as is the entire walk.
Away from the outdoor centres at Cornalees and the Castle Semple and Muirshiel hill HQ above Lochwinnoch this must be one of the least visited areas in the UK which is why I like it. An empty jewel of lonely, remote summits hidden in full view.
http://www.clydemuirshiel.co.uk/  Bags more information here on the official site including maps, videos and pictures of the area.
This walk has long been a favourite of mine and I've been coming here for  many decades. Since I was a teenager.

Crossing the ancient and ramshackle Greeto Bridge which spans the river at this point follow a faint track across the moors to the deep rift of the Chasm, marked on the map as a waterfall. Here the Gogo has found a weakness /fault line and carves deep into the hillside. Its a short steep sided rock ravine that is very difficult and dangerous to enter but you can get a taste of it further upsteam where you can get down onto the river bed itself.
Upsteam from here the energetic can continue across the moors seen in the above photo to the distant and lofty Hill of Stake. At 1712 feet or 522 metres its the highest summit in the entire park and a Marilyn and a hump. After two consecutive hard days out however I wanted a far easier day this time so we cut down to the lower summit of Castle Hill where there is a seat, this small cairn, and a large circular 'Mountain and landmark finder' telling you what it is you're looking at.

This is surely got to be one of the best views in the central belt of Scotland with an incredible  panorama over the Firth of Clyde and the islands of Arran, Great and Little Cumbrae, Bute and the mountains of Cowal. Bit hazy today although we had the usual day long sunshine. Naturally, I take that for granted. No rain on a hill now for five years apart from an occasional light shower once a year just to wet parched lips. You  need to click on these photos to reduce the haze more. I've made most of them a larger size as this place is something special.

A zoom of the Arran peaks with Great Cumbrae in the foreground.

The hardest part of the day was coming off Castle hill on what is usually the tourist route up. Normally there is a flight of wooden steps under here but deep, fairly icy, hard packed snow was a surprise as we had left our ice axes in the car. There was very little left on the heights, melted off under a strong sun.
Incidentally a week of rain has cleared most of the snow off Scotland's Munro's and they are now in prime walking condition.

Milder weather and rain has done wonders for the Spring flowers as well. This is the small park directly below Castle hill Looking towards the Robert Burns Memorial Garden where we went next.

A small replica of Ayrshire in Largs, with miniature Alloway graveyard and old bridge (brig o doon).
Nice spot, sadly looking a bit run down probably due to the usual teenage nightly escapades of bad behaviour under cover of darkness and council budget cutbacks. Flowers were stunning here though.
Maybe they need a few of these to keep the peace. Nothing like a pair of sharp fangs in the darkness I find to keep folk under control. Always works for me.

A church gargoyle.

A couple of you long time viewers may have already seen this video before but its one of my favourites so I'm posting it on here for the first time. The stunning Coco-Rosie. A sister act not afraid of original ideas in music. Cant see them ever being hugely successful but they are certainly very different from the pack.
Putting creative ability before commercial appeal they will probably be highly influential some day and another act will make a lot of money out of their ideas.
Head David Bowie's new Album. Unimpressed by it. Meanwhile the stunning, earlier 'Heathen' is still vastly under rated and jam packed with great songs. Hype, a long absence, and a 'living legend' tag will get you to Number one it seems . Be interesting to see what the reviews are for his latest CD five years down the line though.



Anyway I've always thought this video might be inspired, in part, by the Bronte sisters and their troubled brother Branwell who incidentally died standing up at the family fireplace I believe. He was heavily addicted to alcohol, married ladies and small bottles of laudanum. An unusual way to go but I'm sure he had fun. They created an imaginary world for themselves as children where terrible adventures happened but it had a strict set of rules, which, if crossed, merited punishment. A south seas mythical kingdom of two warring islands. Gondal.and Gaaldine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondal_(fictional_country)