'Swingers' prepare for the consequences

DORNOCH — When engineers energised the temporary test line above the links earlier this month, they anticipated data on cable tension, wind shear, and cabin sway. What they did not anticipate — though perhaps they should have — was the immediate revival of one of the district's oldest and least-discussed traditions.

Alex and Jamie Vernon of Embo confirmed this week that they are expecting their first child, conceived, by their own cheerful admission, somewhere between the Tee Box Station and the temporary northern anchor point during an evaluation run in which they were the sole passengers.

"The cabin was warm, the mist was down, and the attendant said it would be forty minutes because they were still calibrating. We're calling it a calibration baby."

In the Highlands, such couples have a name. "Swingers" — from the gentle oscillation of a stationary cabin — were a recognised feature of gondola life throughout the region's earlier eras of aerial transit, according to RDGC Chief Executive Dr. Gary Bethune, who has spent sixty years researching the phenomenon among other aspects of gondola heritage.

"The historical record is unambiguous," Dr. Bethune said. "Parish registers from the 1890s show pronounced birth spikes nine months after any period of sustained cable operation. The old crews knew it. They used to say a gondola line carried three things: passengers, mail, and consequences. We are proud, and frankly a little moved, to see the tradition restored so promptly. Day eleven of testing. Remarkable efficiency."

Station Master Stan Pennington was more measured. "From an operational standpoint, we ask passengers to remain seated with the safety bar down, and I'm given to understand the Vernons complied fully with that guidance," he said. "Beyond that, what happens in the cabin is a matter for the passengers, the Almighty, and the sway sensors, which did flag an anomaly that evening. We've logged it as weather."

The company has stopped short of formally endorsing the practice, though it has not stopped very far short. A commemorative "First Swingers of the New Line" plaque is under consideration for the cabin in question — believed to be the red unit, though Dr. Bethune cautions that the yellow cabin "also had a very quiet forty minutes" during the same period and the matter may require further genealogical research.

Cryptocurrency Specialist Lucas Matusik confirmed that the child will receive a symbolic allocation of RDGC coin at birth, "vesting on their eighteenth birthday or full line completion to Brora, whichever comes later."

The Vernons say they are unfazed by the attention. "Our grandparents met on a gondola. Or near one. There's some dispute," said Mrs Vernon. "Either way, it felt right. And the views were lovely, from what we saw of them."

The baby is due in the fall. The permanent line, the company notes, is due somewhat after that.