Up,Up, and away….at last!

A previous post  told of the postponement of a balloon ride for Daughter’s 40th birthday, accompanied by Lady of the House. After a number of attempts to re-arrange it, we at last heard from her that Saturday was to see it all come true.

At 11pm on Friday night she confirmed the good news that a morning flight would take place from Biggar near Lanark….the bad news was that we had to be there by 7 am!

Biggar is a pretty little town in the middle of the south Lanarkshire countryside, and working backwords it was established that Lady and I would have to be up by 4.30 am to pick up daughter at 6!…..and with another hour’s drive to Biggar!

But you know what happens when you have to be up very early….you don’t sleep very well, and I was awake at 3.45 am and at my cereal by 4am!

The journey there all went to plan and we arrived at the site on a lovely autumn morning with a layer of mist and low cloud. Even then there was some doubt about whether it would take place because of the wind speed limits and the low mist.

All was OK’d and the laborious task was started to unpack the balloon from a bag the same size as you see the round hay-bales in. It was a bit like unwrapping a tent, but of gigantic proportions! The noise of the fans and then the burners, to expand the envelope was ear-damaging, and the sight of seeing the pilot walking about inside the balloon, checking for leaks, as it was being blown-up, was somewhat surreal!

There were 16 passengers tightly-packed into the wicker basket….fat people would not have been able to clamber into the basket, never mind sit down with any degree of comfort!

I had been taking a video record of all the preparations, and was taking some final still photos before they took off. I turned round briefly to get the video out again, and when I turned back, they had lifted-off and were rapidly rising into the clouds!  The pilot was obviously not prepared to descend and rise again, just for me to get some more shots!….but hey, that’s just life!

My intention had been to follow the balloon by road, keeping visual contact, but I never saw it again, even when the sky was a perfect blue! I drove around some of the beautiful Borders roads, with my eyes gazing upwards. I had to admit defeat however, and return to Biggar. A mobile phone call told me that they had landed safely, and allayed my fears that they had disappeared into some kind of Bermuda Triangle in the sky!

IS THAT A NOOSE I SEE BEFORE MY EYES? 

Theywere brought back for champagne and a chat about the events which happened when they spooked a herd of animals, and the farmer’s reaction!…but that’s another story!

But what do we give her for her 50th?

Life-cycle

Daughter is a member of Her Majesty’s Police Force…and when not on duty, she is actually quite a nice gentle person!

This weekend, she is the only WPC taking part on Saturday 5th Sept in a cycle ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow. It is some 65 miles, starting at Edinburgh Quay, and ending in Glasgow City Centre, via the towpaths of the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Donations and sponsorship will be divided equally between two charities:-

………….Erskine was set-up in 1916 to care for the wounded returning from WW1, and still cares for those returning from the present conflicts, and

………….The Moira Fund which was founded by family, friends, and colleagues, in memory of Moira Jones, who was murdered in Queen’s Park, Glasgow in May 2008. It will make grants to individuals who have been bereaved through violent death, to provide specialist bereavement counselling, access to respite and retreats, and a support network.

Two wonderful charities who deserve our help so if you have not already contributed give it a thought. You can get more details on the appropriate websites, or donate directly….

www.Erskine.org.uk

www.themoirafund.org.uk

 http://www.justgiving.com/pigsonbikes/

GOOD LUCK, FOLKS….hope the legs (andbottoms) hold up OK!!!!

Up, up, and away….almost!

 

Today was supposed to see Daughter (birthday present) and Lady of the House on a hot-air-balloon trip from Falkland Palace in Fife. We had a pleasant drive over to this beautiful countryside and had a meal with old friends. However the flight was was diverted at the last moment to Perth, and so we had a mad dash to be there…..only to arrive and discover that the flight had been cancelled because the wind was 10 miles/hour!

The limit is 8 miles/hour, so a 150 miles round-trip and meal costs have been wasted. I wonder if the Mongolfier Brothers were held up because of a difference of 2 miles/hour, or are we seeing the safety culture going to silly levels. Surely part of the thrill of such a flight is the adrenaline rush!

If you are considering getting involved in such an event be prepared for a disappointment.

………….Let’s hope a re-booked flight is not called-off.

Life begins at……

It’s a bit weird!…..some of our favourite bloggers are approaching, or have reached, a certain unmentionable age…..in fact one used the fact as the title of her site….and no-one really wants to admit it! 

I actually imagine that it isn’t so long since I, and the Lady of the House were at that stage and we had a large house-party……sideburns and smoking pipes were very-much in evidence! But now that our Daughter has hit that age…..that puts rather a different aspect on this number! She doesn’t look it, I must admit, but neither did her Mum at that age. Maybe there is no such thing as ‘looking one’s age’, or feeling one’s age!

The fact is that we only get one chance at each age….it is a one way street, and it is probably best just to enjoy it as best you can…you can’t turn the clock or calendar back, or halt their progress. You just have to accept that the positive thing called ‘maturity’, brings along with it the baggage called ‘age’.

Some writer once said that he knew that we were all born, lived and would eventually die, but he hoped that the Almighty would have made an exception in his case!……… ‘fraid not.

Life is for living and with all its problems and limitations, this world is a wonderful place; and with all their problems and limitations, other human beings are all we have.

So, Daughter, take on the world as you always have, value your friends highly, hate no-one, don’t be too hard on yourself or others for none of us is perfect, always try to look to the positive side of every event, let yesterday go  gently into history, enjoy today, look eagerly to tomorrow and continue to do good in the world.

Do this and we will continue to be proud of you.

Mum and Dad

Kalt und Warme!

Lady of the House and I have just returned from a break in the tremendous heat of Tenerife (in the Canary Islands for the geographically- ignorant). Even as we approached the west of Scotland, there was a nip in the cabin air, and when the air-bridge was opened (after we had landed of course) one’s lungs were suddenly subject to the sudden shock of dropping from 24C to something approaching 0c.

The usual long wait for luggage allowed some adaptation to our ‘normal’ temperatures, and even the warmth of Daughter’s welcome could not hide the fact that we were in a different world again!

Adeje has a number of very nice hotels (and ours was no exception), and attracted a great variety of nations. I have always loved using different languages although I must say that Italian is my favourite. This time, however, German was the main language to be heard, with some French, Dutch and Flemish.

Many of the younger Europeans about now seem to have excellent English, but it was still evident that the vast majority of Brits do not speak a foreign language beyond the few words from a phrase book.

At the New Year Party we were grouped with Germans (our looks, or my slight corporation may have been responsible for this) and spending a long, noisy evening chattering in a foreign language is very tiring. However we all seemed to understand each other better, as the alcohol flowed. So perhaps this is a preferable way to understand foreigners than going to boring night-classes or reading boring text-books!

A small Borders town

Over 40 years ago, (1967 to be precise) when Lady of the House and I were just engaged, I was living in Watford, and used to travel up on Friday overnight by coach (11 hours!) from London to Glasgow to visit her, and make sure the wedding was still on!

The coach had a few ‘comfort stops’, and the one north of the Scottish border was in a small neat market town. We knew when we had arrived there as we were rudely wakened from our slumber by the lights going on and the doors being opened. We were graciously allowed the facilities of the local hotel, before we headed on our last leg to the arms of our loved ones, and Lockerbie to its own devices.

Fast forward to  Christmas-tide 1988 and we were preparing for the festivities. Son was still at school and Daughter preparing for her passing-out parade at the Scottish Police College the next day.

We had promised hospitality to the young son of friends, who was driving up the A74 (which skirts a number of pleasant small market towns), and my folks who were over from Ireland and were also driving north.

They had all arrived safely and we were looking forward to having a Happy Christmas…..and then we turned on the television and heard what had happened to that little Borders town……………….

Say ‘Awwwww’

Daughter of the House sent me the following delightful little photo for those who like that kind of thing!

 

 

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IT IS SAYING!

 

SORRY FOLKS….had to convert to gif, and animation not working….anyway, a pretty little scene!

Getting back to normal?

I’m looking forward to tomorrw night when Young Lady of the House, and Daughter, return from their sojourn on the sun-kissed beaches of Cala San Vicente, no doubt tanned and relaxed.

I managed to get a lot of work done in the garden when the weather was hot, and the normal cleaning and hygiene necessary in any household was carried-out to normal male-standards…but I have a feeling that they may be subject to some criticism. I never really came to terms with the vast amount of thinking and physical work which the household requires.

I ate on three nights with Son, and two kind families offered hospitality so I did not require any great cuisine to keep body and soul together……thanks are due to them!

So it will be with joy in my heart that I welcome the ladies of my life back to the fold. Not just because I love them both to bits, but I am happy to hand over the reins of the household again, and Daughter can take away Benji the hamster to his own home

My last day of freedom (or solitude if you wish) will be a trip to the beautiful area of Tighnabruaich in Argyll, and then last minute shopping and tidying before heading to the Airport.

BUT WATCH HERE FOR WHAT HAPPENS ON SUNDAY!

It’s only a week….!

Daughter and Young Lady of the House are off this weekend, for a week in the sunny north of Majorca leaving me to look after myself…..I say ‘look after myself’ advisedly and the house and larder have been prepared for this break, by tidying-up and stocking-up respectively. Along with this, numerous pieces of advice (nay, instruction!) have been given, to make my very survival possible.

Young Lady is an excellent planner, and tremendously-well organised, so that no shirt is un-ironed, no surface un-scrubbed, and no phone-call un-made, before they set-off. Ergo, I will still be alive and ready to receive her back into the bosom of the household on her return. 

Daughter is similarly gifted and no-doubt her dwelling will be as clean as a new pin, and not a single dirty item of clothing will dare to be in the wrong place!

I will muddle by, consuming some of the pre-planned food in the fridge and freezer, but no doubt, along with Son, sampling some of the local ethnic food, with little thought for any calorific intake. In other words I will be enjoying myself in my own way…..the only difference being that I will have to get up in the morning and get to the office (possibly bleary-eyed, and woozy after too much rice or pasta), and still appear to be very professional and totally in control of my life. 

I hope they have a nice time, but it really will be good to see them back, and hopefully I shall not get too much hassle, if anything is out of place, or some food un-eaten!

Home from home?

This weekend was another holiday here, so there was the opportunity to head north with Young Lady of the House, and Daughter, to the Inverness area and beyond. Our first stop was at Spean Bridge, north of Tyndrum, where there is a beautiful viewpoint and a memorial to Commandos who had trained here service during the war. No matter how many times we see it, it still has the power to produce an emotion about events, just before our lifetime.

We have long-established friends who have the  good fortune to live in the Inverness section of the Highlands……and we shared a couple of good meals with them. The City of Inverness straddles the River Ness (obviously) which is picturesque, although just now it is low with the lack of rain!

 

 

Sunday was so hot that we went to the head of Loch Ness (no sign of Nessie!), and watched the tourist boats going through the canal between the Loch and the river going to the sea.

But most of all we wanted to call again at Foulis Castle, our ancestral home, in Evanton near Dingwall. The photo here shows how well-preserved and beautiful it is. (You can ‘Google’ it and get a large amount of information about life in the time of the Scottish clan system) We have been here many times before, including one of the Clan gatherings a few years back. I had written the ‘calling poem’ for the last Gathering in 2007, and it was published in the Clan magazine. We had to cancel our attendance, unfortunately, at the last minute, and so it was time to get the ‘Clan-Family fix’.

It is still a lived-in home, and we met-up again with the mother of the Clan Chief. She is a very gracious Lady and has an in-depth knowledge of the Clan, and the Castle. We were particularly keen to see how her garden, in the large courtyard of the castle, was getting-on, as she has tirelessly worked on it over the decades since we were there first in 1969!

We weren’t disappointed in any way. At 83, her brain is still sharp, and knowledge of the clan is now even more detailed. She has reconstructed the old kitchen in the basement, and two wonderful self-contained apartments have been built, with a respect for the existing building and incorporating many of the old artifacts.  The garden in the courtyard has developed immensely, again  with the eye for detail.

The weather was beautiful, in contrast to south of the country, and so we returned tired, (special thanks to Daughter who did the long periods of driving in her new car), and very pleased with the visit to our ‘Home from Home’.