A long time since I last saw this friend. She was called Sophia Dale, an Australian lass who had moved to the UK some years before. Sophia was a singer, who also composed her own songs and music.
I encountered her on-line early in 2013, and arranged to meet her in Lochmaddy after a month. The local arts centre, Taigh Chearsabhagh, would organise a Saturday afternoon meet-up, where you'd get a bowl of soup in exchange for music. So, I toted a keyboard all the way to Uist and met up at TC. I was allowed to leave the keyboard there for the weekend. Sophia and I went for an amble around the village before we took the bus to her home in Tigharry, in the west of North Uist. We proceeded to talk all evening and into the night. I did not return to my B&B until after midnight. We chatted an awful lot more the next night. The memory is that we would have a meal in the kitchen, whilst the daylight faded from the west-facing window. Normally, Sophia would not have any lights on at night, but for my convenience an angle-poise lamp was left on. Her little cat, Torran, kept us company whilst time passed.
My experience with Sophia was unique, but I have since learned that most people that met her had a similar experience. I met her again in April 2013, for what would be the final time. Five years later, Sophia passed away in her sleep. By then, she had moved to Berneray, 30 miles up the road. As she pictured herself as a mermaid, we say that she swam away.
One of many people I met during my time in the Outer Hebrides that I'll never forget.