A change of perspective

The past few weeks have been a bit tough.  The weather was struggling to move from winter to spring; a laborious transition. The ground was holding onto its seed and refusing to let it spring up.  I still have no job, though I did have one for a week and then left because I am NOT designed to work in retail.  The futility of selling overpriced items (beautiful and delicious as they were) to people who really didn't need them was soul sapping. It was such a strange experience because I LOVE the store and the people were really friendly and I don't mind hard work but every night I'd come home and say, "really?" Better not to be there I decided so here I am still searching. Job hunting can become a reason not to get out of bed.

This past weekend was like squeezing a pimple. There were some tears and snot but the relief of getting that out of my system meant that I had a clear enough head to make a decision to make Monday a better day. I had a few chores to do today and so I made it into a journey, took photos on the way and sent them to my friends (see below). I stopped in the most beautiful furniture store (one of many along King Street - just around the corner from where I live), oggled the $4,000 leather pouff and the $13,000 hanging chair, talked with Noel and sipped the sparkling water that he offered me. It was a charming 1/2 hour of my time in the company of a knowledgeable and well spoken gentleman. He gave me a tip on a place to go for a weekend, gave me his card and told me to pop in again. I just might because that furniture was breathtakingly gorgeous even if there was nothing in the shop I could afford. My eyes were satisfied after my visit. 

  

Next I had a coffee at Tandem, plus the best ever GF brownie for my lunch (OK maybe not the best choice but it was delicious). It's so good to enjoy the journey, the rest of which involved a banking transaction with the nicest of bank managers (thank you Ryan from Scotiabank), and the purchase of some on sale art bits and pieces for my grandies.

The last thing I purchased was a map of Canada. That's right a honking great big enormous map and I've put it up on the wall where we have to walk past it. Is it trendy, does it fit in with our decor? No, but it is there to remind me to change my perspective.  You see I have allowed the 4 walls of my small apartment to enclose me and shut me down.  I've seen Toronto as a confined space. What I needed to do was look at where I was in relation to the opportunities that Canada presents. Really, have you ever look at how enormous Canada is? It is HUGE and we are going to have a go at exploring it.  So the planning is going to start. I'm not sure that we are going to be able to do this without a car but lets see what can be done. Watch this space for the Canadian adventure.....

BTW, the other weekend we took the streetcar to the other side of the city to High Park because the cheery blossoms were out and they don't last long.  We could barely see the trees for the people, but they were beautiful, a gift from Japan.

After that we took the streetcar down Queen Street to the Loaded Pierogi for lunch. Lunch was delicious though the Pierogies themselves were not GF. I ate a couple just to taste what they were like - in the dumpling family.  They had beautiful toppings though, mini meals of tastiness all on their own. People have been appearing along with the spring weather and so there was a nice bubble of conversation in the restaurant and the lovely ladies next to us were happy to discuss their plates and then have a good look at ours once they arrived. A short walk to King Street saw us back on a streetcar for our ride home.

Now that the weather is warmer we have started to have an evening walk around the distillery. I have always been drawn to bright lights but this is seriously a pretty area to wander around. It's nice now that there are people out and about, sitting in the restaurants and in the outdoor areas. This is the nice side of city living. 

From Mill Lane to Mill Street

So we are here, Mill Street, Toronto.  I am sitting this morning watching the sunrise bounce off the buildings and skim across the lake. I've traded morning birdsong in Mill Lane for morning birdsong with a background of traffic on the expressway which dissects my view out across Lake Ontario (well part of it anyway). Gone are the quiet country lanes, fields and canals that I used to walk and hello urban jungle.  Actually I like living in the city again but I do miss the beautiful English countryside.

We are carless (by choice, though we are sometimes doubting that choice) and so exploring our new neighborhood on foot, bike, streetcar (quaint but effective) and subway. We have also just joined a car share scheme and will use that to get out of town occasionally and for big grocery shops. It does make exploring a little different but parking is at a premium here and we are within walking distance of the big fella's work. Speaking of which, the exercise has had a wonderful side benefit for him at least, of weight loss, down yet another notch on the belt this morning. Our first 6 weeks here were in the biting cold of the winter's end. We had some snow and ice to contend with but it was not much and not at all like they have here for winter.  I have to admit that I still find snow exciting but I am so pleased that things are warming up.

So what have we found so far? Two weekends ago we took the ferry to the islands just off the end of downtown (picture above is a view back towards the city).  About a 20 minute walk from home to the ferry.  It was most probably the first really nice weekend that we could go and explore the islands. Next time we will take our bikes and a picnic with us. There are beaches, gardens, a fairground, lots of lovely grass and it's quiet.

The street art is fantastic here in Toronto, reminds me of the lane ways in Melbourne and I'm often surprised about where I find it, like under the expressway or train lines.  I can't buy Vegemite. The cafe culture is good (yeah!) and the food is generally good and culturally diverse (not so in Peterborough, UK). I cant buy Vegemite.

There are a lot of performing arts (going to a show tonight only a 2 minute walk from our door).  Toronto has a big film production centre which is just down the road from us. Torontonians are friendly, helpful and have a beautiful accent, even if I can't understand them sometimes. But, they spit, seriously, I have not seen so many people spit since I was in Asia, it was totally unexpected in this city. They also hold their line on the footpath and wont blink an eye if it means you have to step off out of their way. Drivers are, however very courteous to pedestrians. Not far from the city are ski fields (95 mins), quaint towns and beaches (a streetcar ride, cycle or long walk).  I've also now got a reasonable idea of how to get around the city. Did I mention that I cant buy Vegemite? Thank goodness for Amazon.

We live in a tiny apartment now. One bedroom and a den area that I have transformed into my sewing area/ office. We have downsized yet again and it is interesting to see what we really need.  Storage space is lacking so we have thrown out anything that isn't necessary. I think we have adapted to our new space now but this is definitely a place where everything has its place and it needs to sit there in order for things to work. On Sunday our Eufy arrived; a little round robotic vacuum cleaner. I was skeptical but he's great!! He is the answer to our need to clean the carpet and not having any space to put a traditional vacuum.  In fact as I type, he has switched on for his 10am clean. 

One of us has a job and one doesn't...... but hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime I've done a fair bit of reading, sewing, walking and cooking. Oh yes, and there has been the odd coffee consumed. I'm enjoying Mill Street and the city, but I still miss Mill Lane (and its inhabitants).

Great reads for the 1st quarter (well maybe not all of them, but let me know what you think)

  I have loved reading since I was a child. I read for the pure pleasure of the moment whereas my other half reads and remembers all the details.  We have totally different experiences reading the same book which makes for some interesting conversations.... I usually read on an ebook and currently I am using a Kindle.  I have worn out two Kobos (the first early version was a gift and it had buttons that I literally wore out, the second decided to die after three of years hard work) and only switched to Kindle because I have Amazon.  The benefits of using an ereader are that I can take lots of books if I am traveling, I can read in bed after lights out, it is not heavy to hold (I have arthritic wrists) AND most importantly I can enlarge the print which helps my eyes deal with all the reading.  Plus the back lighting is much easier on the eyes than the ipad or small print books.  However, I do love a paper book and occasionally we will buy some.  We have found a couple of great places to buy pre loved books recently and have found them to be in good condition (see here). I have also brought second hand options off Amazon and had no problems (saves SO much money!).  Our limited space means we take these back to the shop when we are done and replace them. So here goes what I've read lately, mostly since arriving in Canada.

A woman of note

This novel follows the adult life of a female virtuoso pianist and composer in Vienna in a time in history when women were usually seen but not heard. As a pianist myself, I really enjoyed this novel. The ability to create in the absence of tangible assets actually was a lesson for me. We are all creative but some people have a "gift" and when that is lit within, circumstances do not eclipse the creativity.  This novel made me thankful that I live in an age when I am unrestrained by many of the social conventions that restricted the main character in this novel.

God on mute

I started this book in February as our church was running a series of the same name. Unfortunately I only got half way through and had to hand the book back as we were leaving the country. I may have to purchase this and read the second half.

This book looks at why God doesn't always answer our prayers. I found it hugely challenging, most particularly in the way I pray. This book really does tackle some of the big questions around prayer and does so in a really thoughtful, calm and provoking way.  Provoking because it asks questions of the reader and if you take some time to think through those and find answers for yourself then I think that you might look at this subject through a different lens....

Jeffery Archer - Books 6 & 7  The Clifton Chronicles

I hadn't realised that Jeffery Archer had written the final 2 books in his series The Clifton Chronicles. So when I came across them, I had to read them as I had enjoyed the other 5 books so much. I find him a good and easy read but I did think that these two books were just written to fuel his retirement fund (sorry Jeffery).

The runaway wife by Elizabeth Birkelund

I picked up this book from the sale table because the cover blurb said it was by the author of The Dressmaker. I didn't read the author's name at the time and just assumed it was by Rosalie Ham (see below). Anyway, this was a interesting book about a wife who had everything (so everyone thought) except the things she thought were important. This book looks at the expectations placed on us by others and the life that we might create if we had an opportunity. The setting is the Swiss Alps, it made me want to pack up and head straight there.

The Dressmaker - the movie.  Book by Rosalie Ham

I have to write something about this movie based on a novel by Rosalie Ham. I recently watched this with Big Red and we both really enjoyed it.  It is totally quirky and SO Australian; it made us miss Australia a little and laugh out loud a lot! It is one of those movies that you can feel the temperature, taste the dust and see in wide angle the whole of the towns life. It is about the things in life that impact, wound and heal. Its about love in strange places, social conventions and courage. This is a movie to make you reflect, laugh out loud and cry. We both loved it.

The Overlook (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly

I like Harry Bosch both in a novel and in the TV series. Connelly has developed a convincing character. Bosch is a no nonsense cop who doesn't like to play by the rules. It gets him into scrapes but also helps him solve crime. This time things aren't quite what they first seem when a body is found in a car at the overlook above Hollywood.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Jenny

This book made me laugh.  I'm not sure why I have never read any of this series before because it has been around forever. recently I have been buying books for my grandies and I have decided to read what I buy when I can fit it in.  This book was so relatable from both my memories as a kid and a mother. We used to embark on plenty of road trips with our kids and we ticked lots of the boxes in this book, including pulling a boat behind us.  I think this book should appeal to both boys and girls and I am looking forward to reading some to Mr 7 on our next visit.

Sea of Memories

This was a light and fluffy book, picked up from the pre read shop. I'd call it lying in the sun holiday reading material - you don't need to think about it too much.  

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

We both read this book and enjoyed it. It all takes place in the same space but is full of movement and and light and dark as it moves through time. My main reason for selecting this book was becuase I saw that it was coming out soon as a movie and I do like to read the book before the movie.  I hope the movie doesn't disappoint. It has elements of suspense and surprise, it explores relationships

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

This is my first novel written by a Canadian writer. It was recommended by Kathleen from my writing course who always has a book in her hands. What I love about living in other countries is that after a while you start to see how the culture infiltrates and impacts that society. The marrow thieves looks at society after it has totally broken down, people have lost the ability to dream, and the environment has been ruined. In the aftermath of the huge environmental changes (chunks of land falling into the ocean - watch out LA), the establishment are trying to steal the marrow from the bones of the indigenous peoples in an operation that mimics that of the holocaust. To read the book is not, however, horrific.  It is a book of hope and promise and human stamina in the face of adversity. It was a great departure from my recent reads.

The Sari Shop Widow by Shobhan Bantwal

I really enjoyed this one. I love reading stories from a different cultural perspective to mine.  Having been into the sari shops in Auckland, NZ, when I lived there,  I can imagine the colors, jewelry and the atmosphere. The sense of honoring family is strong in this book and I think that is a challenge to think about how that sits within my own antipodean culture. Books dont have to be "deep" to learn from them...

The Innocent By David Baldacci

David Baldacci is always a good read. Full of suspense and action packed, it looks at how relationships form in the  strangest of circumstances. But really this book is all about a hitman and his race to live with a teenage girl and a female FBI agent thrown in for good measure.

Unbreakable By Andrew Wilson

Andrew Wilson writes so clearly and succinctly. This is a small book but it packs a big punch. It discusses what Jesus said about the word of God. This is a book to read carefully, chapter at a time,  and digest for a bit. It will sit by my bed for a while

The Alienist

This is my latest read. I had seen the shorts for this movie and wanted to read it before seeing it.  The opening scenes are graphic and straight away showed some difference to the movie. Set in NYC in the late 1800's it follows the tracking down of a murderer using the new science of criminology against a backdrop of police corruption and political disbelief. 

Books on my next to read list (already downloaded and ready to go) are; 

The Unnamed Midwife By Meg Elison
The home for unwanted girls
Texas: A novel by James Mitcher
Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo
The Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen

Lille: Our last european fling....for a little while

The weekend before we packed our bags and left the UK for Canada, we took one last trip to Europe, as you do. This trip had a purpose; to get our friend Jo out of the country and traveling. We were supposed to be accompanied by Sarah as well but she detoured to hospital the day before we left so we had to go without her (sad face). We chose to travel by Eurostar because Jo is uncomfortable flying. Eurostar has become a favourite travel method for us. We could hop on the train from Peterborough to London, switch to Eurostar (a 5 minute walk across the road) and be in Paris 4 hours after leaving home. THAT is impressive to an antipodean who has, for years, longed to travel Europe.

Why Lille? Well, its the first stop on the train so the least expensive AND we had never been there. Did it disappoint? No it did not! I loved Lille.  It has the old town and the new but they merge nicely. The buildings range from futuristic (the railway station) to cathedrals and museums.

 

You can easily walk around Lille. The shopping is amazing in the old town with loads of boutique shops as well as the big names. You need lots of money to buy there, so we didn't, but we did look at a lot. I thought we'd had a reasonably quiet weekend but when I look at the steps we took (32,000) and the photos, I realise we actually packed in quite a bit over 3 days. We left early Friday morning and got back home early evening Sunday.

We stayed in a great Airbnb on Rue Princesse (apart from the lack of firewood which would have been nice on a really cold weekend!). It was well placed for cafes, patisseries, shops and restaurants.  Our first night we had dinner in a loud congenial restaurant (can't remember the name) but this was a meat feast - the others had steak and I had veal scallopine which was wonderful and tender. On our way home we booked into Le Scoop for the next night's dinner.  Le Scoop did not disappoint. I love it when no planning turns into a great event.

While in Lille we also, strolled along the canal, visited an old hospital (fabulous blue & white tiling, furniture and museum pieces, went through the cathedral, came across a market square full of wonderful food and treasures, ate galettes, pastries, tarts, fresh bread and found a few good cups of coffee at the local cafes.  We looked at clothes shops, furniture stores, in underground caves, at a Marionette museum and a motorbike shop (of course we did - Legend Motors, Lille, great old bikes). There was plenty to see, lots of good memories made. And if ever you need a great couple to travel with Jo & Steve are it. All you need is a pack of cards and the party is started. It is always great traveling with friends. We had great conversations, lots of laughs and the big fella and I learnt to play euchre. I think Steve (Jo's other half) and I were just on the cusp of winning when we wound it up for the night.....



We all managed to squeeze in a snooze on Saturday but we needed that after the serious amount of walking we did. I would highly recommend Lille as a lovely weekend holiday destination.

Au revoir

Living lightly, packing up, moving on.

Today is the day. It's snowing, the packers are here and I am finalising all the loose ends of our life in the UK.  I'm also emailing backwards and forwards to the realtors in Toronto about finding us a new home. I say home rather than house because I firmly believe that home is where your heart is and home is what you make it.  Home in Toronto is likely to look different to the UK but wherever we land I will make a nest.

We have lived in a fabulous home for the past (nearly) 3 years.  A little bungalow on a magnificent 5 acre property next to a stunning "big" house. I couldn't have imagined living here and I am so thankful that we found this magnificent place and it's lovely owners. In their words, we arrived as tenants and leave as dear friends.We are so grateful to have found the best landlords and made a new friendship.

And now the detritus of our life is packed in boxes on a truck. Not that many boxes. Everything was done and dusted in 3 hours. We came with 2 suitcases and 2 carry-on bags and we have tried to live lightly. This is not an easy thing. Marie Kondo makes it look simple. Despite this, in an attempt to live minimally we have resisted the urge to buy unless it was necessary. Some secondhand pieces (crockery, dining table & chairs) were purchased, some pieces (sofa bed and a TV) were gifted to us and we tried to buy no more than we really needed. And still, as I sorted what to take and what to leave behind, I found that we had gathered so much that was so unnecessary, the small dust bunnies of life. I have now managed to pass most of this onto others. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

My wardrobe did not miss the sorting process.  I have been trying to turn it into a capsule wardrobe for a couple of years and now it is truly tiny. I look forward to buying a few well chosen pieces to add to it.  Living lightly takes quite a bit of work.

So that's it. Our 42 pieces are in the truck, our 3 suitcases are ready for the plane, an afternoon of cleaning ahead, two dinners and we are off!  My heart is full of gratefulness for all we have seen, done, experienced and participated in. For jobs, friends, church and village life. We take with us so much more in memories, and our hearts than we came with.

People say we are adventurous and fearless but we are just ordinary people living an extraordinary life. We have hopes, dreams, fears and failings just like everyone else but we are trying to live the one life we have to the max. Follow our next adventure, to Canada.

Grateful. Excited. Apprehensive (just a little). Loved.

Au Revoir

Crab Apple Jelly

Our beautiful little home has a fabulous big lawn with beautiful flower garden and fruit trees. Through the archway at the back is the landlord's orchard in which we have been given free reign to pick whatever we like...

 I hate seeing things go to waste so have recently been making apple pies and apple sauce but without the family around to feed, I just have to stop cooking. However, the other day I found that the crab apple tree was laden with fruit ready for picking.

 There is something so satisfying about cooking the produce from your land. (well, someone else's land technically but we wont split hairs).

 I haven't made crab apple jelly before but the end result looks great.  Like most jams it just takes fruit, sugar and lemon juice, a lot of boiling, some skimming and then you're done. I did feel a bit sick pouring all that sugar into the pot when I have been so busy trying to keep sugar OUT of our food, but the end result is so beautiful.  Satisfaction is a beautiful jar of homemade jam.

A day in York

Yesterday I went to York. It's an easy 1.5 hour journey from Peterborough on the train.  I went because David was off to a meeting there and I thought we might be able to catch up for lunch, didn't happen.  However, I had a great day mooching around on my own.  Thankfully I had worn my leather jacket as it was cold even at 10am when I arrived. My first mission was to find a cafe with GOOD coffee.  I was distracted as I passed the museum gates (one of my possibilities for the day) by a sign advertising a guided walk at 10.30am.  That was it! I now knew what I'd be doing for the next couple of hours. I whipped across the road and found a fab deli/cafe  Cabra Verde. I just had a coffee but it was great and the cakes and treats on display looked very tempting but for once I was good. This will be a place to return to on future visits.

Back to the park gates where I met up with John, a lovely retired man who is passionate about York, literature, history and coins (I'm sure he had many other hobbies too but we didn't have time to get onto those!!).  John charged the man standing next to me for my ticket as well before I explained that we were not together - the man looked very relieved! I love these sorts of tours because you find out so many fun facts that you would never know about just walking around with a guide book.  And so we set off on the Snickets, Ginnels and Walls tour with John who had an old leather satchel out of which he pulled coins found in actual sites around York, old books, photos and maps. He had stories of famous people from York, including Judi Dench (one of my favourite actresses) whose career started in York. Having worked at the library and then as a tour guide in the Minster, John had a wealth of information about the place. We visited the Kings Manor (below) where Henry VIII stayed when in York. We even got to see York's tiniest window which is said to be where the king's bathroom was. One of the fun things was that he pointed out many places where the city has been altered to meet tourists expectations. Tourism is York's major industry and the town was full of thousands of them yesterday.  But John  had photographic evidence of streets that were asphalted in the 50's and now are cobble stoned, once derelict buildings now prettied up to look like marvelous old shops and even one of the town entrance arches bearing arrow slits facing into the town (really, they were going to shoot their own?), where previously there had been arched windows - again verified by old artwork. It was a fun 2 and a bit hours and John was a great guide.
The rest of my afternoon I wandered the streets, checked out a few lovely stores and walked a part of the city wall. The walkway around the city wall did not exist when the wall was first built (thank you John for the info).  Apparently, wooden scaffold would be used on the inside of the city wall so that if the wall was breached the scaffold could be pulled away so that the enemy faced a large drop. It wasn't until ladies in crinolines started visiting York that the walkway was built for them to take in the views of the city and its surrounds.
It was back to the train station and the 16.02 to Peterborough. David jumped aboard at the last minute so we got to enjoy the ride home together, mostly through fields, some still being harvested, nice views, sunshine, sleepiness. We are loving the train travel, so comfortable, easy and FAST.
And my favourite sign of the day.......

Burghley Horse Trials

Waking up it was wet, wet, wet outside so we weren't sure what the day would hold when we were going to an outdoor event.  However hard it had rained overnight though, it managed to rain itself out and we ended up with a dry day that got warmer and warmer as it progressed.  We set off to Burghley around 9am and took the back roads in and across the fields of the estate. We are still amazed by the numbers of people that are at events. Apparently 160,000 people go to the horse trials over a 4 day period so its pretty busy.  We went on Saturday which is the cross country event day so there would have been around 40,000 people there.  It is quite spectacular. 
The event itself doesn't start till 11am but prior to that everyone heads to the shops and the score boards. Serious money is spent there!! It was fabulous to look at and very tempting.... you could buy anything related to horses  from clothing, boots, hats, to horse equipment and feed, horse trailers, and then there was everything unrelated but that would make you look fabulous anyway, Rolex watches, Aga ovens (go figure - "I brought my Aga at Burghley"), designer jewellery, cashmere clothing, leather everything and the list went on. I think my favourite thing was the alpaca scarves in the most beautiful colours and the finest weave.  I should have taken a few more shots of the fashion for the day, often involving tweed, hunter boots and sleeveless quilted vests.  There were some fabulous suits, but we couldn't choose which one suited His lordship the best.
Next to the shopping were the food outlets and oh my, there was some amazing goodies there. Massive wheels of cheese, amazing pies filled with wonderful concoctions, juices, cakes, fudges, the biggest meringues you have EVER seen (yes we did share one and it was delicious but oh so sweet). I settled on paella and David had a wonderful pie with mash to warm us up for the start of the event.
 Basically we walked the course and it took us the rest of the day. The course is about 6.5km long, up and down hills, with a couple of areas with big screen TV's to watch the action. I am so glad I have watched this all on TV before coming because when you are on the course you only see one rider for no more than about 20 seconds as they appear down the track, leap what jump or jumps are there and then thunder past you. It is all thrilling, but you then have to wait another 5 minutes for the next horse and rider.  We sat down by one of the big screens and it was great to see the rider coming through the preceding jumps and then heading onto the next ones.

 The things that struck me most was that these were some seriously courageous people riding these horses, the horses are all big but some of them are MASSIVE.  A couple fell off and one rode past with a bloody nose and then another one nearly lost it right in front of us and managed to hang onto the horse's neck and drag himself back on. Real adrenaline pumping action.
We walked along an avenue with the plaques of past winners.  It was very cool to see the Kiwi riders in there and particularly Mark Todd who is around 60 and was still competing that day - we gave him a good old Kiwi cheer as he went past. He is an amazing athlete to have competed at the top level of his sport for 25 years or more. There are not many sports that you can do that.
 
We had a great day, we were thoroughly exhausted at the end but we had a Pimms to sustain us half way round so it was all very manageable.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

We had booked this weekend a while ago. That doesn't mean that too much was planned other than time off and tickets to shows. However, we like the mix of random and organised. Last Friday we left Peterborough around 9am and on the way decided we should stop somewhere about half way for a good break, food and a walk, it's about a 5.5 hour journey to Glasgow.  The first stop was for food at Cross Lanes Organic Farm.  We had spied this place from the road last time we travelled home from Scotland.  It might be the location or it could have been the grass roof with the sheep grazing on it that caught our eye.  It's a great building; positioned for the sun, grass roof one side, glass roof the other, hay bale building with reed water filtering system and best of all great food and coffee. Not to be forgotten is the organic meats, food and cheeses - some of which we had to take to Scotland with us.

After replenishing we crossed the road and drove into Barnard Castle, yes, that's the name of the town but there is a castle, or was, there.  We love walking around castle ruins, getting an impression of the size and how people used to live. This one would have been cold to live in but with stunning views up and over the river (great for spotting the enemy I guess). The town itself was gorgeous, this is definitely a good stopping point for us on our journeys north and next time we will head to the Bowes Museum for a visit.

As soon as we hit the border we headed into the worst rain we've been in since a tropical downpour in Queensland but it cleared quickly and the drive through to Glasgow and our very welcoming family was easy from there.
The next day we were up early and off to Edinburgh with the family. We took the park and ride option as there is such limited parking in Edinburgh.  We drove to Edinburgh airport and caught the tram into the centre of town for £3 return. The full tram was a good indicator of the volume of people in the city. They were everywhere! We had booked 5 events for the day. 

The first would have to be the standout for it's passion and intensity. I, Elizabeth is a 90 minute monologue of the actual words of Elizabeth 1. Rebecca Vaughan was a totally convincing queen and so passionate that she even had tears and snot (not nice but appropriate to the performance). A totally WOW show and had the 4 of us captivated from start to finish. This was followed by a photographic exhibition then kiwi, Jane Ashton's musical Promise and Promiscuity - a totally captivating energetic one woman show for anyone who enjoys Jane Austen.

We needed sustenance after the show and found ourselves at a fabulous place for lunch,  56 North.  It just so happens that this place has the largest selection of gins in Scotland, over a hundred from all over the world. Three of us selected our gins, then our mixer (yes there was a range of tonics) and then our garnish. It was a delightful lunchtime sip and was accompanied by a beautiful Ploughams Platter, yum indeed!


Late afternoon we went to the Assembly Hall at Mound Place which is in itself a fascinating building, and there we watched 5 guys and 1 girl throw themselves all round the stage and up in the air in Traces.  Their strength and agility was amazing. great show for David who happened to pick the seat which was at the end of their mats and where he was sometimes accompanied by a catcher in case they misjudged their tumbles. We tried to find somewhere for dinner but everything was booked out, we hadn't thought that one through, so we had to make do with fish and chips in a tiny chippie. That meal lead up to our final show which was a Nina Simone tribute, Soul Sessions. I really enjoyed it because I loved the story interwoven with the songs but it wasn't everyone's cup of tea.  At the end of all that we took ourselves back to Glasgow the way we had come and got in around 11.30pm. All exhausted.

Day Two dawned sunny yet again, the predicted rain disappeared and we enjoyed another superb day wandering Edinburgh.  This time we had nothing booked but we had the gorgeous Annie (another intrepid Kiwi) instead of the Scottish cousins, to accompany us for the day.  We wanted to just see the sights and we did; a book festival, numerous street performers (my pick would be Simeon Baker, a young Aussie percussion guitarist), people people and more people, the smallest pub, the groovy 70's caravan, a pub with our name - too full to go in, a castle (actually THE castle), beautiful houses, tweed shops, gardens and balconies, fabulous spaces to sit, and great food.                                            

   We finished the day satisfied that we had seen enough to fill us up for a while to come.  We are in love with Edinburgh and will go back to continue the journey......

Campanology, gave it a go!

This trip of ours was supposed to be about new adventures but you know, new adventures don't just happen, you need to be purposeful about making them, taking the first step and embracing them. You might not believe me but I can get myself into a pickle before I start something new.  However, last night I put myself out there and ended up having a great night.
I was recently inspired by my friend Amber who had a go and entered her jam in a local show in Australia; she even got a prize! Our local village gardening and craft show is coming up but as I have no cooking delights to offer, I am going to enter in the photographic competition, the theme is village life.
My idea for my village life picture was to go and photograph the campanologists hard at work; the local bell ringers. I had no idea what I was going to see or what they would be like but I had the nicest evening and even got a quick lesson and rang a bell myself. Not just any old bell, a 350 year old bell in a church that is centuries old, built on top of Roman ruins.
I'm not sure if my photos will win any prizes, I don't know that I captured anything special last night  (picture wise) but I met a lovely bunch of people who did their very best to convince me that I needed to join them regularly, even plying me with wine afterwards at the Prince of Wales Feathers. I might just do that!
Here's a few quick shots, one of the team even snapped me having a go.

Queen of Faffing

Let's set the record straight. The Queen of Faffing is not a beautiful country pub just down the road, nor is she a quaint thatched roof cottage.  No, this Queen of Faffing is me! That's right. Hard to believe, but true.
"What have you been up to today", my beloved innocently asked on our way home after he'd slaved away all day on his hot little computer.
I wanted to answer honestly but felt that my response was not really sufficient to account for the 10 hours since I'd last seen him. So I paused for a moment before giving him my response.
"I think I have perfected the art of faffing".
He looked at me......
It's true. I can easily while away a day doing not very much at all.  In fact on that particular day I'd washed the sheets, dried them, ironed them (yes, I DO iron my sheets, a much nicer finish on the bed I think), and remade the bed.  Currently we wanderers only have one pair of sheets so this all needs to be completed on great weather days, requiring coordination skills. I even did a second load of laundry, washed, dried, ironed, folded and stored. I checked up on my FB friends around the world, relationship building is important. I looked for a job, really, I did but nothing took my fancy.  In between I may have pulled a few weeds, though not enough to get my hands dirty or to make a large pile of weeds. I talked to the chooks who have decided my garden is a lovely scratching place, and tidied the cushions on my couch and well, that's about it. All that in 10 hours.
Seriously, I need to get a job but I am wondering, now that I have perfected the art of faffing, how will I fit in any work?

Fort William to Inverness

We had a few days with not much to do so decided to drive. We ordered a hire car  from Easirent.  DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ever hire a car from Easirent. To be fair, we did warn Easirent that we would tell all our friends that we would NOT recommend them or use their services again. Not sure why we had selected them anyway, they looked the cheapest but once we got to their desk the costs started to add up.  We had no choice but to take this car but really........ Anyway, the least said the better about Easirent.

We headed for Tyngrum taking a break at The Green Welly Stop.  This place can't be recommended for it's food but it has clean rest rooms, petrol, a fabulous shop that has Scottish goodies (shortbread, whiskey and lollies) and a great range of outdoor clothing and accessories plus good phone reception.  This was important as I had timed our stop to coincide with a job interview, only interrupted once by a fighter jet flying directly overhead, so loud that I couldn't be heard!! Interview complete we headed off again and on to Fort William where we stayed at a fabulous B & B, Buccleuch Guesthouse.  This was 5 star but at a reduced rate online so we feel like we got a great bargain.  It was sumptuous to say the least and that influenced our decision to stay for a second night.  The service, food and the bed were fantastic - think Grandma's feather bed covered in luxury linen. 

Fort William is a small town but a hub for loads of activities.  It is where the West Highland Way ends (we will walk that before we leave) and the road out of town leads to castles, bens, lochs.  Eateries are few and far between but we managed to find a pub with reasonable meals and a deck to sit on to watch the sun go down.

Our first stop next day was the Caledonian Canal where we laced up our walking boots and hit the track up beside the canal.  We were really fortunate to see a boat just starting to go into the lock at Neptune's Staircase.  We stayed around and watched it move up a couple of locks. Patience required. We missed a turn off but as you can just keep walking alongside the canal we still had an enjoyable walk before heading back to the car. 

Next we were off to Mallaigh.  On the way we stopped at Glenfinnan and climbed the hill to view the viaduct on one side (aka Harry Potter's viaduct) and the monument at the top of Loch Shiel where Bonnie Prince Charlie rallied his troops.  The monument was closed and it was bitterly cold on the top of the hill so we headed off again, not before smiling for the Google Maps photographer, and enjoyed the spectacular scenery on our way to Mallaigh. It is a tiny port town, filled with tiny coloured fishing boats and the large ferries that provide transportation to the Isle of Skye. We had left our run a bit late that day and the weather didn't look so good for staying the next day on Skye so we had some lunch and a quick look through the shops and headed back to Fort William.

On the way we diverted to look at Loch Morar, Scotland's deepest loch. It was magnificent in its isolation. A few houses on the shores but no one to be seen. It's so hard to capture the colours (various shades of brown mainly), the light and the sky but it was all really intense and would be a fantastic place to just get away from everything.
Day Two we headed north out of Fort William with our first stop at Fort Augustus. This is another beautiful little town on the Caledonian canal. We watched more boats going through the locks there. Not too far on from Fort Augustus was our favourite castle so far, Urquhart Castle. 

Actually it's not a complete castle because it was totally ransacked in the 1500's (and apparently since then by locals for their use!). It's now in the care of Historic Scotland and it is has a great display in the visitor centre but also what is left of the castle gives you a great idea of its proportions. There are plenty parts that you can climb up, and the views of Loch Ness, which it overlooks, are just stunning. The only siting we had was of a lone motorboat, dwarfed by the size of the loch.
From there we drove up the side of the loch to Inverness where we stayed in a B&B on the banks of the river.  After a long walk around the town centre we found a fabulous Italian restaurant, Riva. They had a selected early evening menu which we thoroughly enjoyed. We finished it all off with the best cup of coffee we had had to that point in Scotland.  The barista was new to the job that night but he nailed it - real coffee made well - a satisfying end to the day.

  

Some Stamford Treasures

NOW I've found my new favourite place, Stamford. This is the prettiest town we have come across yet, though there is plenty of competition! Stamford is picturesque with a river, bridges, old old old houses, cricket in the green, water lilies (think Monet) cobbled roads, Wisteria strewn walls, stunning gardens, vibrant shopping and of course it's own beautiful churches. However to be fair, most towns whether large or small have a beautiful church or at least ruins from a church.

Walking up a street we passed ASK Italian and spied through the huge windows someone tucking into a lunch that looked too good to pass up. It was a little chilly outside so it was nice to step inside to a sunny and warm interior.  We were whisked to a table up by the kitchen and before long our Butterfly King Prawns were sizzling away in front of us.  We also ordered a rocket salad, with parmesan and balsamic, and olives. These were some of the best prawns we have had in a long time and that's saying something when we have come from the land of King Prawns (Australia).  They came in a small sizzling hot cast iron pan which had been drizzled with olive oil and then had rounds of baguette placed in the bottom that had turned crispy by the time they were ready to eat. I succumbed to the bread, it was too much for my will power. We finished our lunch with a well made macchiato each, just the right way to end our meal.
We have since returned to ASK Italian and had the prawns again pre a dinner of pasta for Number One and a beautiful chicken salad for me. We were not disappointed the second time or the third time we went back. I think this restaurant is definitely a favourite for nice clean tastes, great atmosphere and excellent service.

Finding the Wildwood

There are so many beautiful villages within a one hour drive of us that I am not sure we will ever get to see them all.  However we recently repeated a great experience by heading to Oakham for lunch.  The first time we had been was a Saturday and the town was alive with markets, people and loads of great little shops to explore. However, that is not the case on a Sunday! Only a couple of shops open, no markets, no people but we did find the Wildwood Kitchen which we had spied on our previous visit.  This looked like a great place to stop for lunch and we were right. After striking up conversation with the people on the next table we were reassured that this was a good decision, their meals looked good and they gave them the thumbs up.

There was pasta, pizza, burgers and more on the menu. We were both after something tasty so both ended up having burgers; a lamb and chorizo one for my man and a deconstructed portobello mushroom and haloumi one for me.  There was no fuss when I asked for the burger less the bun and I think I got some extra salad as well. I am amused that in the UK we have only found Haloumi deep fried. In Australia we eat it grilled (on the Barbie) or pan fried (with no fat). Here's an opportunity to reduce some fat on the plate!
We sat at a table in the front window of the restaurant which gave me sun on my back, a view of the cooking in the wood fired oven plus a chance to people watch on the pavement outside. Service was great, attentive and quick. We just had sparkling water with lunch but if we'd chosen a wine, beer or spirit then it was all on offer. There were a good range of people in Wildwood Kitchen that afternoon, including couples and families and the place seemed to cater well for everyone. Our meals were tasty, affordable and we would definitely stop here again.  This would be a great place to take friends.