Lonach Highland Gathering & Games

This year was the 169th annual Lonach Highland Gathering taking place at Strathdon near Aberdeen.

We attended this year to represent the Clan Milne along with some of Pippa's Mum and Dads friends. The weather wasn't great but fortunately we were well prepared - with a couple of Gazebo's.

An excellent lunch was of course provided and enjoyed by all.

The day's events start with the March of the Clansmen at 8 am where, carrying pikes and standards, they visit prominent households in the area claiming a wee dram of whisky at each stop. This includes a visit to Candacraig House owned by comedian Billy Connolly and his wife Pamela Stephenson. A horse and cart follows behind for those that don't make it...

Eventually, after lunch at the village hall, the Clansmen make it to the arena and march to great applause.

Other activities included tossing the caber, throwing the hammer and the tug of war and well as traditional scottish dancing and pipe bands.

Traprain Law

A few weeks ago we did a walk up Traprain Law. This is a large volcanic outcrop not far from Spott.

It wasn't a great day but even so the view from the top was impressive.

We decided to come down from the top via a route with various signs - 'Footpath Closed' and 'Loose Rocks'. Still, we didn't let this put us off......

A couple of people near the top stood and watched as we came slithering down. We decided to call our new activity 'Bumbling' as it involved use of that part of the anatomy.

A pub lunch in nearby East Linton soon revived us.

Breaking News!

We are a bit behind with our blogging but thought that the sale of our house in Leeds and the purchase of a new little car deserved a quick update to the site.

Some of you may recognise our previous house in Elmete Grove, well we're pleased to say that as of Friday it now belongs to Mr and Mrs Smith. Honestly!

We are now looking for something in East Lothian.

We also have a new addition to the family. After some bad experiences with our well travelled Volvo we decided that a new backup vehicle was in order. Here is our new Smart car, Hildie, on a trip to the beach.

Melrose 7's Rugby

This weekend we went to the Melrose Rugby 7's Tournament with Pippa's Mum and Dad. Rugby 7's were invented in Melrose - it's a game of rugby played by 7 on each side, each half is 7 minutes long and it's played on a full size pitch. The whole tournament is played in one day.

We were blessed with the best weather of the year, the sun shone and it was a beautiful warm day.

The four of us in the stand.

Lots of people came in fancy dress. As well as this bunch of bananas there were Santas, Penguins and superheros!

The Army Parachute display team dropped in to deliver the ball for the final game.

Easter at Neil & Clair's

This Easter we flew down to Bristol to visit Neil and Clair. On our first day we hit Bath. It was a cold but sunny day and so inevitably we found a pub in which to warm up.

All the pictures are taken by Neil as we remembered our camera but forgot the memory card - oops! Neil also does great Wood Cut Prints - His website (Inky Fingers) can be found in our links section on the right hand side of the site.

What you don't see in this picture is the technical issues associated with the self timer.

Nor do you see the impressive catch Neil made when the camera fell off table!

On our second day we headed to Wales and the Welsh Heritage Museum.

They have reconstructed houses from across Wales all dating from different eras.

The school house.

John and Clair taking in the history lesson from one of the guides.

Day three and we visited Snowshill Manor. It was owned by Charles Wade. He lived in the Priest's House and used the Manor as an exhibition space for the many items he collected.

On our final day we braved the cold and wet and visited Windmill Tump (an ancient burial site).

St Lucia - Part II

Our first ever holiday together, over 5 years ago, was spent in St Lucia at Rodney Bay. In January of this year we returned and stayed just across the road from where we stayed the last time. It was just as good as we remembered it - great weather, laid back culture and the most amazing food.

Our hotel where from which we had views out to sea.

Reduit Beach which we walked along every day to have lunch in Spinnakers beach bar.

John taking in the view on one of our early morning walks.

Accompanied by me.

Me, in The Edge restaurant which claims to serve Eurobbean fusion (a mix of European and Caribbean cooking). We're not sure what that means but it tasted fantastic.

Sunset from our balcony.

New Year with Neil, Clair, Laika and Dylan

You'll guess from most of these photos that New Year was cold in East Lothian. We spent our time dog walking on a variety of local beaches, jigsawing in front of a roaring fire, eating and drinking.

The photos in this blog are a mixture of ours, Neil and Clair's. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.