Chapter SeventeenBallater, Scotland, Christmas 1976
Angus Houston raised his glass, charged with the finest Glenfiddich malt whisky, and proposed a toast to the assembled family. “On the occasion of ma wee son's first Christmas, I shall ask ye all to drink a toast to his future happiness, aye, and to his prosperity, for 'tis sure he has a good life ahead of him. Ma friends, join wi' me in a toast, to Hamish Harry Houston!”
His father had acknowledged in the toast the name to which his son was by now universally referred, though for the toast, he used his given name first, thus keeping himself and everyone else in the room happy. Young Harry Houston simply lay on his mother's knee, dozing happily, as the family party continued around him. The child was oblivious to the raucous sounds of m
