Author’s note: this is my fourth attempt at this blog. Versions 1, 2 and 3 were beset (all when nearly finished) with unscheduled crashing and unsaved text. I will not lie – I cycled through wry grins, petulant sighs and ultimately quite a lot of swearing. However, I closed the lid on it firmly lastContinue reading “Four take a mini break”
Category Archives: holidays
Out of Office
We have vacated the homestead for a week in the highlands (of which more anon) so this is the last report from Ruthven for a while. The days before we left were a welter skelter of trying to hoof out the worst of the shepherd’s purse and other muscular self seeders from the borders inContinue reading “Out of Office”
And so it was Christmas…
Christmas stole rather softly over Ruthven House this year. The bellwether of preparedness that is Monkey’s jumper was competed with 48 hours to spare and by Christmas Eve there was a fridge replete with pigs in blankets and stuffing balls, a lemon meringue pie cooling on the cake stand and, in an unprecedented feat ofContinue reading “And so it was Christmas…”
The Dog Days are over
Since coming back from Glenelg we have been gently crisping. The Dog Days of Summer had definitely arrived and the heat has been intense, settling on the garden like a lambent halo by mid morning and intensifying relentlessly to a late afternoon inferno. With the help of mum and auntie Lois we managed (just) someContinue reading “The Dog Days are over”
Corran and the drove road
On Sunday, we decided to retrospectively justify the night before’s dinner at the Pub with a walk up the glen from Corran, with the objective of following the river as far as we could go leaving enough time get back in time for last cake orders at Sheena’s Tea Hut. The drive up to CorranContinue reading “Corran and the drove road”
Strolling in Strathcarron
A few days ago we beetled off to look around Atterdale Gardens at Strathcarron (https://www.attadalegardens.com) A visit to some “bloody garden” was not, it has to be admitted, at the top of Lachlan’s holiday fun activities list. However, he manfully resolved to endure it stoically after several hours of committed moaning and many proffered alternativesContinue reading “Strolling in Strathcarron”
Unspooling
We have been in Glenelg for four days now and the threads that bind me to things to do have unravelled into a tangled heap on the bedroom floor alongside the running kit and crumpled shorts I pull on most days. The carefully curated holiday wardrobe lies tidily in the drawers and seems likely toContinue reading “Unspooling”