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Monday 28 February 2011

The Birthday Bash

The family birthday bash was super. The arrangements got changed a bit in the preceding weeks. Our youngest was going to fly up to Inverness, and could only get a flight on the Wednesday or Friday, so we booked the cottage an extra night, and travelled up a day early. The other two MAKs (middle aged kids), and partners were arriving Thursday morning on the overnight sleeper train, so arriving a day early meant we were there ready and waiting – the youngest, (who’s being made redundant due to government cuts) had a job interview on the Friday, so he didn’t make it at all in the end.
The girls hired a Range Rover for the period of their stay, so we went around en masse – so lots of chatting and photo shoots and stuff. We went to Forres to see where we had lived, played, schooled (Pilmuir Primary). A few changes here and there, but lots just as we remembered it. The house was a bit sad – the houses are not used for RAF people now, and we thought the estate would be smarter – but it’s looking in need of some TLC. The MAKs were running this way and that, reminiscing, and not saddened by the state of the place. Lots of happy memories, bathing the present in past sunshine.
The Cottage

We had a nice time touring about, visiting Fort William, eating out at the base of Ben Nevis, and played lots of board games and card games that we used to play when they were kids. The girls left Sunday morning, with snow falling, and every where white, even though it didn’t start snowing until mid-morning. The boys stayed until Wednesday, continuing the touring, chatting, photo shoots, eating out, games and all, right up to the last minute.
We were going to do some birding after the boys left, but the weather was naff, and the local beaches were hidden by houses – so we went back to base to tidy up and pack. Base was a 6 bedroom house, 5 doubles and a nursery with a cot and a zed-bed, 2 doubles ensuite, + huge kitchen and diner, seperate dining room, 2 lounges, reading room, and ancillary room, (I’ll put the proper word in if I remember it – LoL). Gas central heating which was very cosy. £800 for the week, no extras as electric and heating included.
I didn’t have any en femme time, but I was happy to be my usual self (which means I felt girlie as always, even if I couldn’t express it much). We did the 480 mile trip home in 10 hours, including a detour of an hour and a half or more, for breakfast in Glen More Cafe, (the one on Autumn watch 2009). The breakfast was a proper English breakfast, very tasty and traditional, but the crested tits didn’t turn up today, although the red squirrel did, and stayed for quite a while.
All in all, a super family holiday / gathering. We all missed junior, but he was remembered a lot in our reminiscences – LoL.
See the whole cottage - Here

2 comments:

  1. Wow!! What a gorgeous place! I love to see pictures of places like this....the way life is lived in Scotland....the kind of thing a tourist from the States might not do. Now, I want to go there!

    Calie xxx

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  2. Hi Calie,

    The Highlands of Scotland are beautiful, and the West coast is spectacular, and the people are so friendly too - it all makes super holidays.

    Washington state, Spokane, Couer-d-Alen (Idaho), that whole area is so stunning.

    Hugs Anna xxx

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