Happy New Year!

This year I went to my in-laws house for Xmas.

My boyfriend's mum lives in England in my home town - 400+ miles South of Glasgow.

My parents live in Wales - 300+ miles SW, having moved from our home town a year and a half ago.

Last year we went to see both families. It was too much travel for me.

This year I was apprehensive. I had agreed to spend Xmas at HIS mum's but wondered how I'd find it and whether I'd miss my family.

It turned out to be ok actually. It was odd not having a home in my home town, but Xmas at his wasn't so different. 

We drove on Xmas morning, leaving at 6am with clear roads down.

We arrived & shared gifts around lunchtime.

The dinner (4pm) was turkey & ham with trimmings (delicious) followed by fruit pudding & cream.

By evening-time his sister was drunk so games were off but tv-watching was in order: Dr Who special, Eastenders special... Then bed.

On Boxing Day we met old friends and played games with various family/friends' offspring.

It was VERY nice catching up with people I had not seen for some time.

I would do it again.

Hope you had a great holiday. Happy New Year (when it comes)!

Merry Christmas!

apologies - bottle of champagne down....

Checked In....

Am in the airport with cereal and coffee. Full fat milk tastes GOOD!

This Xmas I am not going home, but I have now seen my sister and mother and all present exchanges are complete.

It was a great weekend - thanks dudes.

On Saturday night we went to the cinema to see the Strictly Come Dancing final in 3D. It was s brilliant atmosphere & watching dancing in 3D really does work.

Anyway - concert tonight. Xmas soon!!

Love my job

Trumpet one I mean. It's Messiah season.

The office job's in trouble - think we're all for redundancy in the next 12 months.

Insomnia

OK - this is MY blog... so it is really all about me.

I cannot sleep.  I can't decide whether it's the chinese take-away or the cold temperatures... whatever the reason, I am awake at 4am.  What to do at this hour?  Read my blogging friends' updates of course!

Expect me anytime soon.

Windy City!

We have gale force winds. I am scheduled for a rehearsal 60 miles away. Police have advised us not to travel. Train company said trains likely to stop at 9.30pm.

My conductor has not cancelled the reheasal. He has not given me the OK not to attend.

I am therefore stressed to the max with a splitting headache having made the decision not to attend (after avoiding several flying objects whilst awaiting bus outside bus shelter as inside shelter was even more frightening - creaking & bending!).

I feel guilty. Or lazy. Or cowardly. That should read AND rather than OR.

First snow this winter

Yesterday my Brownies and I went to see a pantomime: Peter Pan at the Pavilion.

We met at the church hall to get the train into the city centre.

The show was great fun - they loved it. They also enjoyed the train journey (although they tried to shut the doors while the last 4 of us were still disembarking which would not have been funny. My assistant held onto the train on the outside til they let us off!).

This morning I woke up to the scene below. It's 3am but look how bright it is with the reflected light.

I now feel ready for Xmas! Shame there's 2 wks of school & work to go yet....

Anyone else in the festive spirit just a BIT too early?

Adam Ant Tour 2011.

Tonight we are going to see Adam Ant!  See - something actually exciting (and a bit weird) to tell you.

This is to remind me really that I'd like to update the blog afterwards - I expect it will be funny.  I HOPE there will be audience members dressed appropriately.

To avoid any confusion from the uneducated please see the weird and wonderful Mr Adam Ant....

UPDATE:

It was amazing.  I really liked it.  He looked pretty good and the venue was huge so felt a bit empty but when I tried  a rough headcount it was maybe 1000.

He has still got it - he can sing well and the double drum-kit set-up means you feel the vibrations through your body as soon as the gig starts.  The songs are better than I'd remembered and the show overall was excellent.  He had 2 kits, 2 guitarists, 2 hot singing/dancing ladies, plus the great Mr Adam Ant with his pirate outfit in the centre.  I found I could sing along to more songs than I realised I knew.

Admittedly Adam Ant is physically a bit awkward - other than his Adam Ant dance moves his other dancing is as awkward as your dancing Grandpa.  Looking back at old videos I think that may have always been the case!

On a few occasions I was reminded of the film Music And Lyrics, in which Hugh Grant plays an 80's pop star still singing the same songs making the the moves the fans still want to see to make some cash after his career stalled.  Adam Ant has a new album out next year but he's definitely had a few career lows (and mental health issues).  I found I really did want to see the moves... my favourite moments were when they did Prince Charming and Puss in Boots.

I wonder if Adam Ant is going bald?  I think he must be.  His pirate hat was never removed, even when the jacket and shirt were (revealling his own gig t-shirt cut down to a vest then ripped down the front - Love that he wore his own current tour t-shirt onstage.  If the aim was to sell it succeeded, as he had a queue at the merchandise stand at the end).

Life & Routine

I'm getting old!

Lately I have felt I am losing the fun I previously found in my daily routine. I suppose this is inevitable.  I have worked I'm the same part time job for 6+yrs, worked in another for 2 yrs, a third for 3/4 yrs...

I have become lazy and complacent. I know what I'm doing and I find much of it easy.  I enjoy it well enough and I know I can maintain a decent standard of living doing what I do.

I feel dissatisfied because I do nothing to push myself. I have several ideas that I should follow up but am not sure where to start and so do nothing. On the flip side I am not stressed and have enough time to relax.

I fill my time with crafts and cooking. What happened to my career drive?
Is this what prompts people to start families? Boredom, the feeling of getting stuck in a rut? Or is it the natural development of a person, part of the aging process? Is it the realisation that you are now experienced, and the desire to recapture some excitement of seeing things for the first time?

I need to get out and learn some new skills. Take some evening classes or find a new job. I'm only 32 and might well have a good few years yet!

P.s.made chutneys - want to see?

Stravaigin

Bloody Mary & mount gay rum. Not at the same time. Fun.

Catch up

Last time I posted, I was about to go in Brownie pack holiday as QM.

Well there were challenges: making 26 rounds of toast to go out as close to all at once as possible. I found there was a 4 slice toaster which was great.... Only on the last day as I packed up I found another 4 slice toaster. Eight at once would have made life easier. Oh well!

Of the 4 Brownie packs I had the only 2 homesick kids, but it turned out they were really just upset as they had been put in separate groups. Easily fixed.

The kids enjoyed it - reviewers last night liked watching a movie best (101 Dalmations - Disney classic of Brownies' choosing!).

Netherurd is a lively facility but too expensive for us really. Even without any of the cool outdoor sports activities and with almost free crafts (pine cone bird feeders) it cost £65 each. Given that we have a closer site with similar facilities costing £35 where we probably have money to pay for crafts too it's not worth the difference.

QM on pack Hol.

Why do I agree to these things?

Magic Magic Train.

Still loving the train although I had to run today to catch it!

Friends

I have had an amusing week spent out with friends.  I am now completely broke, but that's ok when I spent all my cash having a good time.

On Thursday I went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant, which I really enjoyed. I met an old friend from work and it was great to catch up with her.

Friday brought an impromptu night out with my college buddy, ending with a curry.

Saturday I caught a train to Dundee to play oompah music in a beer festival. It was awesome.

Today... Well I'm on a train right now, have a parents' meeting at 4 for Brownies. Hopefully there will be time for a shower first... Beer festival smells are lingering.

Day Trip

Today my Brownies have taken a trip to the Royal Concert Hall. We went to see an introduction to an orchestra concert for kids. 

We caught the train at 10am then went to the concert.

That took us to lunchtime so a quick Happy Meal macky d's was had before we got the train home.

Arriving at the hall 30 mins early left time for toilet trips and then a game of Down On One Knee outside in the sunshine. 

Everything went well and the kids all enjoyed themselves.

Success!

Commuters

How irritating do you find it when the train arrives at your destination on time but is held outside the station for 5 mins or so?

Trains!

I am a train convert.  I love trains!

I have been getting trains to Edinburgh for school, rather than driving.  There were pros and cons for this:
Pros 
1/2 hr walk from the train station to school (good for diet).
No parking concerns.
I found a train for £9 return (so it's cheaper than the drive)
Sitting on train more relaxing than driving through heavy traffic.

Cons
1/2 hr walk from the train to school (long way in bad weather)
Longer commute (from home - 2.5hrs so 1 hr extra each way).
£9 return train requires a long wait after school as it's only on Crosscountry trains.
£9 train not ideal due to Brownies on a Tuesday - any delay on trains would make me late.

Since my cons had a few solutions:  I can get a cheap ticket on the way TO school SINGLE, and a less cheap off-peak single home - for less than the peak rate fare.  It would then cost £18.00 rather than £19.30.  Not a huge difference but I like it.

OR - I can get the cheap ticket TO school and a BUS home - £12.00.

Essentially - I am now public transporting on Tuesdays but still driving on Wednesdays.  Today I'm leaving it as late as possible because I really don't want to do the drive.

LOVE the trains!

Glasgow Rugby

Went to see the Glasgow Warriors tonight.  This is the first time I've been to see them since they moved to a proper stadium.  I liked the old rugby field.... and I have a bit of a turnstile phobia.

I decided enough was enough (possibly boosted by the 2 stone weight loss) so decided to brave the turnstiles again.

And I LOVED it.  I missed rugby.  Very much fun.

Brownies - New Game Under Development

I have had an idea for a game - we are doing a WW2 bit this term (for Remembrance Sunday mostly but trying to make it personal & fun). *note - just checked and Remembrance Sunday is meant to be about WW1 which is fine - means we do WW1 for a wk then WW2.

We are going to ask the vicar who knows a lot about how the hall we meet in survived bombing in the war. The church has a stained glass window commemorating this.

We are then going to make poppies and lay a wreath.

The following week we have a granny coming in to tell the girls about being their age during WW2.

She has ration books and a diary from the war.

I think that ration books would make a great game for the kids:

Currently in the planning stages but I think.... Set up tables of goods - they are your shops. Have a bakery, a butchers and a grocers.

Split the girls into groups. Should this be sixes, or into age groups so the older ones get to take it further than the younger ones?

Give the kids ration books & a shopping list - Perhaps they have senarios:

You are shopping for a family of 4. Buy ingredients to make one day's food for your family.

Family favourites:

Mum - Loves porridge

Sister - Loves cheese sandwiches

Brother - Loves fish

Granny - Loves cake

You are shopping for a family of 3. Buy ingredients to make one day's food for your family.

Mum - Loves potatoes

Dad - Loves beef

Big sister - Loves apples (rare)

Little sister - Loves milk

You are shopping for a family of 2. Buy ingredients to make one day's food for your family.

Mum - Loves cake

Sister - Loves carrots

Points to be awarded for teams buying ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Bonus points for buying the favourite foods.

There would be an opportunity for the girls to be inventive - family that loves cake and sandwiches could buy flour, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast... which would be cheaper than a loaf and a cake.

Bartering would be allowed - a family who had bought six cakes but only wanted 2 could sell them back perhaps if they then found they would need bread..........

I still have thinking to do on this but it looks as though it would work to me.

What do you think? Any helpful suggestions welcomed.

Tart!

I am such an ignoramus! Or naive... Take your pick.

On the train I sat next to a man because he had a plug socket I could use for my phone charger.

As I had to ask to use the socket (as it was in front of him) conversation was sparked by me.

He was very interesting - from New Delhi working in Glasgow.....

We exchange phone numbers and facebooks, because he sees me using Facebook and I assume he wants more local friends having moved recently to Scotland.

2hrs later he asks "so are you married, have a boyfriend...?".

THEN the penny drops!

It's quite nice to think someone would be interested. Perhaps this dieting think has made some difference... Been a long time since I've been chatted up. So long I no longer recognise it.

Note to self: drop in boyfriend reference earlier in the somewhat unlikely case that the situation might occur in future.  Not sure I used "we" very often either in my stories now I think about it. That'd be a good idea too.

Start of Term and feeling GOOD!

Nearly 2 stone lighter, and fairly organised already, I am looking forward to the start of term!

Brownie planning is on the way, and I am enjoying my last weekday off until October... by sitting here on the computer watching telly.

This may sound sad, but I am very happy.  We were away twice this week for camping trips, and have done a load of walking in the highlands through some STUNNING scenery.

Tonight I am teaching a couple of pupils, before meeting some friends for a few drinks.

Don't think it gets much better.

I love free champagne

Even when it's found in a drawer belonging to an ex-colleague where we suspect it has resided since 2006 if not earlier.

Yum...... (actually is good.  I do like free stuff but it's made me happy this evening on a school/work night).

it all went a bit pete tong

Fake Cockney rhyming slang for Wrong.

I drank too much last night.  I embarrassed myself.  I told my friend's Mum on the phone that I was 'wankered' and then fell over whilst on the phone and said the F word.

Still - today has been fun.  Went swimming and then to a pal's house for tea.  Enjoyed it....

Lazy Day

I'm loving this sunshine.

Bbq today and we won't need a fire to stand by for warmth or an umbrella to cook under.

I also like the Blogger phone app.

So Shallow! The band: Crow Road

There is a band on at the gig I'm at who all have bad hair. I am automatically offside.

I am not so shallow that this would actually be sufficient to dislike them, but I am shallow enough that if they will have to be amazing musically to gain favour.

I am not proud of it.  I just discovered a character flaw I was unaware of.... I'm not exactly perfection in a woman!

Regardless, it seems I prefer pretty boys!

In my absence

blogger has changed!  Where's the navy blue border etc?

Oh well.  It's not as easy to see right now, as I'm sitting with the sun shining in behind me through the living room window.

That's right people!  SUNSHINE in Glasgow!  I am delighted but have tidying up to do today which is disappointing.

My reaction... blog.  (Bad plan, TC.  Get on with it!  Then get out and have some fun).

The plan:
Sort out the clothing mountain on the floor of our bedroom.
Do some gardening?  Or some shopping for food.
Walk to the city centre (5miles) for a gig tonight.
Tomorrow: Tidy more because people are coming round for bbq.

Recent activity:
Been to see looots of gigs.  We saw a Saturday gig, headliners: Bwani Junction at King Tuts - loved them.
We saw  Otherpeople and The Kings Hats, and Song of Return at King Tuts and liked the first 2 of the three (who were actually the 2nd and 3rd of four but the first band were not worthy of mention).
We then went to see Trombone Shorty in Edinburgh Queen's Hall and LOVED him.  I saw him in New Orleans last year so was very excited to hear he was coming here.  The crowd was disappointing.  I was surprised to find a hall half full and was a bit annoyed that only one of my brass playing friends happened along.  Ignoramuses. Watched the gig sipping iced water to get through.  Agony in the car on the way home but totally worth it.  (He's hot - check out the link).  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8594717/Trombone-Shorty-Pied-piper-of-Treme.html
Had root canal treatment yesterday.

Holiday was good!

Had a blast. Love France.
Went to Francofolies festival... mademoiselle k (pictured) was outstanding.

i love it here!

Since we arrived weather has been changeable. I decided to begin with weather because it's what we Brits tend to discuss often.

We have been to Les Minimes and Ile de Re where we had enough sun to swim and dry off mostly!

We have climbed 2 of the 3 towers in the harbour. We have taken a boat to Fort Boyard. It is imposing and so remote it's difficult to imagine being imprisoned there. Amazing.

We have eaten a variety of delicious food, worthy of a separate post.

This is only day 4!

HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow we go to La Rochelle.  Excited....

Knackered!

This weekend I have been in Dundee with my mum.

She has just left on the train.

I want to sleep!  She's the oldie and I'm the one who's knackered..... dear me!

Last night with some of my older Brownies... boo hoo!

11 of my Brownies are old enough to go to Guides in September.

As I was writing their Adventure certificates this week I felt quite sad, as it feels like no time ago since I was writing their Promise certificates (they get these when they join)!  

Still I am pleased to be sending the Guides a great bunch of girls, and am sure they'll love taking over the Guide unit (as I think there might be more of them coming in than the Guides has already).

The Guide leader is very happy to be getting them back, as she took the Rainbows which many of them were part of when they were littler!

Which reminds me - I need to email her their details.

 

Pack Holiday is over - phew - I'm TIRED!!

We got back yesterday afternoon after a wet weekend at Loch Lomond.

This was our pack's first ever (since I've been involved at least) solo pack holiday. No test for the Guiders, and 16 Brownies from our unit.

Friday night went quite smoothly. They arrived, unpacked, we ran through some rules, then they made a huge poster with stars and colouring sheet aliens, planets etc.

The Guiders marked out constellations in chalk on a huge black piece of paper, then the girls stuck stars on the chalk dots to make the constellations. We then filled in the gaps before trying to work out where the constellations were.

Saturday began well with the usual breakfast, inspection, points etc then a walk to Loch Lomond. The afternoon, however, was a wash-out. On the campsite there were 14 tents full of Guides who were set for a very wet and windy weekend. I think one camp went home early.

As I said in my last post, I'd brought HUNDREDS of space-themed craft ideas. I hadn't thought we could possibly run out, but we were right down to the emergency plans by the end of Saturday!

This craft worked really well - Alien party hats.  One of the girls added her own twist, and put the eye on the back of her head.  It made me laugh!  (can't get the picture to rotate & save - sorry).

Bedtime was funny - they all asked to go to bed early!  That'll be because they didn't sleep much on Friday night and were up at 5.30am on Saturday (they weren't out of bed - but I had to go in to tell them to go back to sleep at 5.30).

Sunday was a bit better, because the rain was lighter and we could get the girls in their waterproofs, wellies for some outdoor play. We even had the odd 20 minute burst of sunshine!

Brownie Pack Holiday!

This weekend we are off on pack holiday (Thankfully I'm feeling so much better!!!).

Our theme is Space, and so far we have done some alien pictures (chalk on black card) which a very helpful Mum laminated this week. It took her an hour! We will use these as placemats on the holiday.

We are going to Loch Lomond. It's beautiful, but we've predicted bad weather. The kids'll be fine - they'll all have wellies and waterproofs and we will still go out and about. I have lots of indoor activities on standby too: fimo magnets, alien headdresses, masks, flying saucers, meteorites... loads of stuff.

I'll tell you about it when we get home.

Health

For several months I've been concerned, because (how to put this delicately so as not to embarrass anyone) I've been 'up on the blocks' (thanks to Mrs S's December son for that analogy) for 4 months without much of a break. A few days off at most.

After 3 months I went to the docs. Of course it should have been sooner. Really I should have gone years ago when I became aware that my cycle was a bit weird.

Anyway, with the Royal Wedding and the other bank holidays it was weeks til I got the results.

The result is that my hormones are wrong (probably due to polycystic ovaries) and I am now on a medically-required diet. They won't treat the symptom until I lose a lot of weight.

SO... life is now about counting points and checking calories/fat.

On one hand I know I should have done this anyway (and had started half-heartedly dieting weeks ago), but on the other hand I am angry that I don't have a choice and angry that the treatment is witheld.

Thus far it has been quite fun, but when it comes to the next 69hr working week it might be less enjoyable to plan and prepare healthy meals.

I will just have to work it out when it comes.

Next week will be a bit of a trial run at that, as it's Brownie pack holiday next weekend and I can't get any time off work to prepare for it... late night shopping trips and a mid-week dash to Loch Lomond will test my willpower.

Royal Wedding Party

My friend Suzy asked if she could have a Royal Wedding party in our back garden.

We are therefore v excited - as plenty of folk are coming and we have loads of food!

However in Glasgow it is really NOT cool to be pro-royals so we'll just keep it a secret and call it a 'day off' party instead.

Easter eggs all gone!

This is where they went!

My friend Suzy is having a bbq for the Royal Wedding and there are to be cakes. A lovely lady is bringing a 3 tier cake stand so we must fill it. Suzy is making fairy cakes (cupcakes). I am making scones (when I have butter).

Mum bought me a Green & Blacks dark choc egg. I love dark chocolate, but that was too much for me to face. So I melted it down and made triple-chocolate-easter-egg brownies.

They are GOOD. Saving the rest til Friday will be a real effort.

p.s. Can you see my New Orleans Hornets basketball cup? We keep our tea bags in it - can't bear to throw it away.

still alive but not blogging

I'm not really into the blog thing at the moment. I don't have time to read blogs or to write mine.

I'm not 'closing down' because I like having my blog. I like updating when I feel like it and I enjoy checking out my friends' blogs when I do have time.

I will be back when I have something I want to say, but until then - best wishes from Glasgow.

blogger crashing

I seem to have fixed the browser problem by going into New Post through Edit rather than selecting it on the dashboard... but I have been having blogger issues.

Selecting 'new post' has caused my browser to crash repeatedly.

Exciting News! (to me)

Our Brownie pack won the local annual competition to win a trophy!

Last year I think there was an art competition of some sort.  A few years prior to that we had a trip with the division to the bowling alley and the pack with the highest lane score won the trophy.

This year we organised a Basketball Tournament, with pom-pom making craft and cheerleading (taught by a dance instructor) plus some music and hot dogs.

It sounded fun, but I had to work!  My gig was good fun and in a place I love with people I like, but I'd been excited about the game - we'd discussed it at a meeting and it sounded like fun to me - and I felt guilty that I wasn't there as I'd been one of the people most keen on the idea.

My assistant guider took them with our YL and unit helper so we were well covered for numbers and I knew the girls were safe.

I helped a bit by doing a timetable (actually by tweaking a timetable our commissioner (boss Brownie leader) had done so it worked with the number of teams who had signed up).  It went like this...

BROWNIE BASKETBALL FUN DAY - GOOD LUCK!

BASKETBALL - LARGE HALL, DANCING - STAGE, CRAFT - SESSION ROOM UPSTAIRS, SNACK - FROM KITCHEN.
DURING EACH MATCH THE OTHER TEAMS PLAYING THE ROUND SHOULD GO ON STAGE TO LEARN CHEERLEADING
IF YOU ARE NOT PLAYING IN A ROUND, YOU WILL BE DOING CRAFT & MAY GET SNACK
13:00	MEET & GET ORGANISED - LARGE HALL
13:15	SHOP OPEN IN SMALL HALL
13:30	IMPORTANT!  ALL TEAMS TO LARGE HALL (TO HEAR RULES OF BASKETBALL COMPETITION)
13:40	ROUND 1 - LARGE HALL
			V			CRAFT - SESSION ROOM
			V			SNACK - KITCHEN
14:00	ROUND 2
			V			CRAFT - SESSION ROOM
			V			SNACK - KITCHEN
14:20	BREAK - LARGE HALL
14:30	ROUND 3
			V			CRAFT - SESSION ROOM
			V			SNACK - KITCHEN
14:50	ROUND 4
			V			SNACK - KITCHEN
			V			CRAFT - SESSION ROOM
15:10	ROUND 5
			V			SNACK - KITCHEN
			V			CRAFT - SESSION ROOM
15:30	TEAMS MAY VISIT SHOP OR TAKE A BREAK
15:45	ALL TEAMS PRIZEGIVING CEREMONY IN LARGE HALL
IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS A TIE BETWEEN TEAMS (ONCE POINTS FOR ALL ACTIVITIES ARE ADDED UP) A TIE-BREAK SHOOT OUT WILL BE PLAYED I'm looking forward to hearing about it tomorrow night at our meeting.  We will get our trophy once our unit name has been engraved on it.

Pancake Day

Tonight my Brownies made pancakes on tin cans with candles underneath.

They were tiny little pancakes, and it was great fun making them.

Don't think it's an activity I'll be repeating though.... too much mess!

Nice People

I have that Friday feeling!  I know I'm working tomorrow as well, but I'll have a morning off and I am quite excited about that.

The week has perked up.  Yesterday I met my pit-partner (trumpeter) and his Mum during my lunch break, which was lovely.  We then met his mum after the show with my boyfriend (they had watched it together as you got 2 for 1 tickets), went to the pub... and met his Dad too.  We had some drinks (diet coke!) and chatted for a few hours after the show, and the wind down was lovely!  We laughed, joked, regaled each other with stories.

A lovely end to another busy day.

This week is Half A Sixpence

Working nights again this week.

I enjoy the playing part of work very much, but am very tired this morning.  My normal working week is the same on a gigging week, only you add gigs to it.

This means that last night I finished work at 10pm, then had to go and find a colleague to pay him for doing the Brownie night of the show last week (so I could go to the Science Centre with my pack).

Bed time was midnight, and I leave for work at 6.30am today.

I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been out on the piss last night.  I didn't have a drop.  Actually I had about 2 mouthfuls of wine when I got into the house before deciding I didn't really like the taste (Chardonnay Pinot Grigio) and discarding the rest of the glass.

This morning I feel horrible.

Hopefully I will be home by 4.30pm which will give me 1hr in the house before I teach then go back out to do a show.  I will use the hour to SLEEP!

I hope that my friends are well.  I will see them soon!

WORKING

This week is Singing in the Rain, which is fun... but means I'm busy.  Nothing new there then!

Remainder of holiday

On Wednesday we tried to visit the distillery in Tobermory, but it was shut.  We had a drink in the Mishnish pub to cheer ourselves up and ended up staying there for most of the afternoon.  In the evening we had dinner out - which was really highly rated  (using my sister's Quantify game - marking everything out of 10).

Thursday:  We went on a wildlife tour - and it was fab.  The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly and they took us to areas we would never have visited alone.  Mull Magic they are called and they have a blog!

And the wildlife - stunning!  We saw white tailed eagles, golden eagles, seals, an otter, herons, buzzards, red deer, another deer that I have forgotten the name of temporarily... should I go on?

They have been kind enough to provide us with some photos - so I will pass one onto you.

Our otter:

This was our last day on Mull as we had to be back as early as possible on Friday for my sister to get to a hen weekend.

Mull Continued

I got as far as Tuesday in the Mull story.

Our next outing was a trip to Iona.  Iona is a small island off the South-West of Mull.  It is small enough that you can walk around it on a day trip, and is made up of grey stone with sandy beaches and green grassy rolling slopes.

Iona has religious links, with a monastery still existing on the island.  It was the home of St Columba and the monks here may well have made the beautiful pages of the Book of Kells.  I've Wikipedia linked to save me providing a less accurate account of the history... (or getting myself in trouble for copying my beautiful Iona book onto the Internet!)

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

I first visited Iona for a gig about 10 yrs ago.  It was the 50th anniversary of the old minister's ordination, and they held a celebration with his family (his daughter was one of my lecturers at college).  The minister returned to his church and held a service at which I played, then later in the day a party was held and as he had been in the navy I was asked to play some fanfares at midnight.  It was a really good shindig with some very friendly people.  I wished I could join with the wine and celebrations myself and have wanted to return ever since!

Iona is a truly stunning place with an amazing atmosphere and the journey to Fionnphort to catch the ferry takes you through some uniquely dramatic landscape.  Well worth the trip.