January 2018

Happy New Year 2018!
It's been a different start to the year. Mummy and Euan were still on holiday in Thailand so Daddy celebrated with friends in Errol before heading back to work on the 2nd January.
Daddy had his annual CPD training on the 14th January - It was as exciting as ever - NOT!
Rugby training has been indoors this month however it has still been necessary to wrap up warmly as it is freezing inside the hall
It was Auntie Jennifer's 70th birthday this month, so we helped celebrate with a suprise afternoon tea at the 'Clattering Bridge' cafe near Fettercairn. Thankfully there was no snow blocking the road!
At the end of the month, we nipped down to Berwick to take Auntie Gillian out for a birthday meal. We stayed at the Youth Hostel overnight before doing a quick trip to Alnwick on the Sunday morning.
In celebration of Robert Burns, Euan had haggis, neeps and tatties for lunch and dinner on the 25th! (He loves haggis!) He also managed to memorise 'A Man's A Man for A' That' but didn't win the contest at school.

February

February has been a low temperature month this year!
Euan had a couple of taster sessions of curling organised through school. He quite enjoyed them apart from having cold feet! During the mid term holiday, Euan and Mummy travelled to Glasgow for a day out. We loved our visit to the Science Centre at Pacific Quay but the sleety walk along side the Clyde was a different matter! To defrost, Euan and Daddy headed south for milder weather. They enjoyed two days in London, managing to visit Uncle Bob recuperating in Romford hospital, a trip to the Imperial War Museum and a considerable amount of eating! Meanwhile, back in Errol Mummy spent her time catching up on housework - no prizes for guessing who had most fun?!
Euan's class had a school trip to a local farm for the day - He enjoyed most of it but wasn't too interested in the talk about the cereal crops. He did use the information leaflet he had been given to look up some recipes using Scotch beef!
The end of the month saw the arrival of 'The Beast from the East' (no, it wasn't Mummy on a bad day!) This was a snowstorm resulting in three days off school for Mummy and Euan. Daddy however only had one night off work! Unfortunately the following night he needed to be rescued by the police from a huge snowdrift whilst trying to get back to Errol. He eventually had to abandon the car a mile away and walk the rest. Euan was very industrious after the snow fall and took great pride in keeping our path and pavement clear. Here's hoping March is a bit milder!

March

March started with Euan generously giving us all his cold germs and ended with a family camping trip.
The poor weather continued into March, but school was eventually reopened on the first Monday in March. Daddy and Euan were part of the squad who cleared snow from the playground in preparation for this. As a consequence of the poor weather, rugby training has been restricted to one Sunday session. He'll have forgotten how to play by the time there's a match!
Euan took his Cub Scout priomise this month and is now the proud owner of a necker and woggle!
A slightly delayed Parent's night took place in the middle of the month. As usual, Euan is doing well, although he isn't keen on maths - his parents can relate to this.
Mummy was geared up to taking part in the first ever Errol 10km run - unfortunately this was also postponed due to adverse weather conditions so Mummy has a few more months in which to train for it now!
Euan took part in the 'Adventures of Superstan', the scool play. His part as a reporter didn't involve any lines but his miming of taking photographs was excellent. Auntie Rosemary and Uncle Brodie came up to see the performance. We all enjoyed the subtle humour!
We headed up to Comrie at the end of the month to try out our new tent. We are all very impressed with it and were very grateful to Daddy for packing the heater. It was a bit chilly... Brrr!!

April

What a month! Thankfully no April Fool's pranks but lot's of other things going on!
Euan's Easter holidays were full of activities. We started with a camping trip to Comrie, then as Daddy was on holiday a more adventurous walk and overnight stay to a bothy at Glen Feshie was undertaken. Euan did very well, walking for over an hour, in the snow and carrying a rucksack to reach the (5*) bothy!
After a couple of days to recover, we all headed down to Belford to carry out a bit on DIY on our old house. Euan madde a very good job of painting the cupboard under the stairs!
The following week it was Mummy's turn to entertain Euan - we had a trip to Edinburgh to the mining museum at Newtongrange, a visit to the cat cafe in Aberdeen, posh breakfast in Dundee and a bike ride to the Madoch Centre in St Madoes for hot chocolate and cake. The final weekend of the holidays involved another camping trip - this time, to Aberfoyle, where we cycled part of the Rob Roy Way and made pizza in Daddy's Dutch oven - very scrummy.
We were invited to celebrate Mirabelle's 50th birthday at the Subub House on the 21st April - it was a lovely sunny evening and we had a lovely time sitting outside chatting to the other guests
As it was the 'World of Work' week at school, Euan had the opportunity to spend the day with Uncle Brodie to find out about farming. Euan was most disappointed that no lambs were born during his vist!
It's now the summer term at cubs and lots of interesting activities are planned. Euan is especially looking forward to making fire!!

May

May started with a camping trip to Ardguilich farm, on the shores of Loch Tummel. We took Shan with us and we had a good paddle around on the loch despite the strong breeze.
The following weekend was the beer festival in Perthh but due to the poor forecast Euan and Daddy decided to go surfing instead. Lunan Bay was the destination and a good time was had. We then had a barbecue at home as the weather was better than forecast.
Sunday was the Perth rugby tournament, excellent weather, and a good finish to the season.
While Daddy popped down to Belford, Euan was washing cars as part of the cubs fundraising day.
Daddy then popped down to London to go to a computer fair and visit uncle Bob. He was certainly much better than last time we saw him. The bank holiday monday was spent popping to Belford again to clear the house out.

June

Here we are almost half way through July and we haven't written up June yet.
June started with Daddy being very busy with computer repairs and Euan cycling to school. There was a flying visit to Belford during which Euan and Daddy went bouldering at Bowden Doors and then a cliff jump into the sea at Beadnell. Home in time for a BBQ.
We eventually managed to get to a car boot sale, as sellers and we managed to come home with less stuff than we went with!
The following weekend we had a good day out at the Highland show and the month was concluded with a trip to Turiff.......Details in next month's instalment.

July

A good time was had at John and Jennifer's 50th wedding party. The next day we put Wendy on a train hone and then went climbing on the coast near Collieston. A good day's climbing ended with an enormous ice cream! Euan and I then travelled home on Monday.
The following weekend saw us climbing again, at a local crag, followed by a bbq at home.
Euan and I walked to a new bothy, Gelder shiel, very nice although a bit dark inside. Definitely worth another visit.
The following weekend we set off for a bothy, by canoe, but didn't quite find it due to lack of planning. A good camping spot was found but rain the next day saw us come home early. On Monday we went swimming at Olympia and Euan went on the cannonball flume - it ends with big drop into the water!
A family bothy walk. After a brief stop at at M & S for a picnic, we went to Treetops at Rothiemurcus before walking out to the bothy along Glen Feshie. We had the place to ourselves. A nice walk out on Monday morning
Euan and Wendy then departed for Cornwall, leaving John to fend for himself

August

August started with Daddy having a week off work and so a bothy trip was planned. Euan & I did three bothys in four nights.
First we went to Cadderlie, the one we failed to find previously, and stayed two nights. Got the fire going and cooked tea. We scared the next visitors away, not meaning too, but the next couple stayed. The next day we sorted some firewood, had a paddle on the loch and cooked dinner outside. Beef stew and dumplings, it was delicious. Another couple arrived while we were cooking dinner and then much later three tired and hungry Germans arrived. They were very grateful we had the fire lit. The next morning we paddled back to the car and headed to Fort William. A resupply of food was followed by a fish & chip tea. We the drove out towards Mallaig and paddled across to Essan bothy. A trek from the water through head high bracken was an adventure! We met a couple of teachers here and later another person joined us. We got the fire going and had a pleasant evening watching the bothy TV. Next morning, a brief visit to Fort William for more supplies, but only after watching the Jacobite express go past. Another transport treat was to see the Monarch of the isles ferry come through Neptune's staircase. We then drove up to Loch Arkaig and paddled across to Invermallie bothy. What a lovely bothy. We took over a room and cooked dinner. It was pleasantly warm so we didn't bother with a fire but did notice the fireplace has a grill that would support the dutch oven - we need to come back and try this out. The next morning we paddled back to the car and headed home.
We had a day in Dundee, climbing indoors at Avertical World and then met Mummy for tea before getting the bus home.
The weather thwarted our plans of a camping trip to finish the holidays so we went cycling, a good day out in Pitmedden forest, followed by a cultural visit to Aberdeen. We stayed in the youth hostel again, getting the same room, went to the cat cafe and the pictures. After the film we found an excellent Spanish restaurant, we needed the walk back to help digest the feast.
Back to work for Daddy and back to rugby training for Euan. Euan & I cooked dinner for Mummy for her birthday and had an early opening of the presents.
The month was rounded off by Wendy having another succesful year at the Errol Flower Show, far too many prizes to list here!

Euan's bit

Cornwall... Lots of things to say! The train journey was quite quiet and peacful. Lots of snacks to keep us going! After we got there we driven to Auntie Margarets house. Once we got there we got into bed and slept like a log! I had a great time swimming the next day. After that for the next few days i went fishing, more swimmming (not at the same time!) and lots of eating! The journey back wasnt as good, we managed to get a carraige with no air conditioning and we were all tired.
Visiting all those bothies was an amazing experience. I had great fun at AVertical World indoor climbing centre for a day. We went to Aberdeen for a day. Very good time at the cat cafe! I think thats all I can say to conclude my first part of the website!

September 2018

We started the month by buying a hedge trimmer - the hedge was getting out of hand and looked increasingly scruffy once next door had trimmed their side. We gave the Dundee festival a miss this year but rugby training and cycling kept us busy. The lawnmower was put in for a service but was condemned so we need a new one for next year
A rare Sunday off from rugby saw Euan and John go swimming and climbing in Dundee whilst Wendy went for afternoon tea in Edinburgh. Some excellent climbing from Euan.
We all attended an event at the Subud centre in Perth to raise funds for a table tennis table. There was a quiz, which Euan won, after a tense tie break question! Do you know how high the statue of liberty is? He won a book, with an accompanying CD, very entertaining.
Wendy & John were at a loss of what to do whilst Euan was away on his hike, we watched a film and had a long lie in the morning.
The month ended with an excellent rugby tournament at Kinross. The P6 team are really starting to play well as a team and won a trophy.

Euan's bit

Seems very short this month, very quiet as well. No talk of the U.S or N.Korea trying to blow each other up with nukes. Lots of talk about Brexit though.
Any how, lets get started. Not long in to the year and I've already been climbing and swimming in Dundee with Daddy which was amazing. We headed in to Dundee and went to Olympia and then to Avertical World where I climbed and bouldered for a few hours, great experience, five stars. Halfway in to September and I'm going on a scout hike from Errol Village Hall to St Madoes Community Hall. Absolutely amazing and extremely hilarious.
We cooked sausages for breakfast and then had cereal. I really enjoyed it and cant wait to do it again! Thanks to my friend Shan who took me to the McMenace in Dundee for a talk with Nigel Parkinson, an artist for The Beano which is celebrating 80 years of laughter.
Mummy took me to Perth Doors Open Day We went to Perth Sherrif Court, a council building , where we met the Lord Provost, the old council building, the guildry and The Fair Maids House, which I really enjoyed.
To end the month I went to the Kinross Rugby Mini Tournament, where we smashed everyone and won 1st place with a staggering 35 points! I hope October is going to be not as quiet with a trip to Naples in Italy and goodness knows what else!

October

A quiet start to the month, we sort of remembered our wedding anniversary this year. But the main event is

The Naples Trip

Sunday

03:00 the alarm went off, quick cup of coffee and a drive to the airport saw us comfortably parked and checked in by 05:00. Time for a bite of breakfast before boarding the plane. An uneventful flight saw us in Naples by 11:00, local time. We took a taxi to the apartment and agreed we didn't need to hire a car whilst here. We found the apartment, eventually. Got settled in, went for a walk, got supplies for breakfast then had some lunch. A siesta was needed before going for another walk before dinner. We decided on an early night.

Monday

A nice slow start to the day after a good nights sleep before setting out to explore some more. We got our tickets for the open top tour bus and the bus to Pompeii. We also looked at ferries and trains.
We had lunch back at the apartment before setting our for a museum but got sidetracked by an underground tour, fascinating. There were layers of Greek, Roman, medieval and modern buildings.
We were going to jump on the tour bus for a quick tour but the top deck was full and then the last bus didn't stop! Never mind we went for dinner instead. We found a small trattoria that served excellent food with good service and a reasonable price.

Tuesday

A leisurely start saw us walk up to catch the tour bus. Very good, well organised and easy to jump on and off. The coastal tour was very scenic. Lunch was 1/2 kilo of mozarella with bread and tomatoes, very tasty. We have booked our ferry to an island for Friday. Dinner, which was very nice, was followed by dessert at a different location!

Wednesday

Pompeii - Wow! We were overwhelmed by the size of the place. It was amazing, such a snapshot of Roman existence. You need more than a day to really explore it all. There is still some original lead piping visible in the ground. The frescoes were just as vibrant as they were 2000 years ago.
Dinner, in a restaurant of Euan's choosing, was very good. Ordering food can be a bit haphazard but tonight was a triumph. We got a take away dessert from a patisserie to bring home. Euan doesn't like rum soaked sponge!

Thursday

A more relaxing day today, visiting the Capodimonte museum, another wow! Huge palatial rooms and an impressive armoury with a huge collection of paintings upstairs. We also found the pizza fritte, fried pizza, shop but it didn't start frying until 6pm.
The first choice of venue for dinner was fully booked so we went next door. Daddy had lingue with scampi, not realising he would have shell the scampi himself. Very messy but very tasty. Dessert, at a different cafe, was accompanied by a limoncello, very nice way to end the evening.

Friday

A trip out to Ischia today. We had booked the 10am ferry. We had to check in at least an hour before to get the boarding cards. We were early enough to catch the earlier ferry!
Ischia must mean island of cats because we saw lots including one being transported to the island. The island is quite quaint and has some nice beaches. Euan and John went for a swim whilst Wendy rested on the the beach. We tried the buses to get around the island and it confirmed our decision not to use them in Naples. The return ferry trip was very plesant with a nice sunset as we arrived back in Naples.
We found the pizza fritte place again and had a deep fried pizza each, very tasty.

Saturday

Freedom! Today we split up, Wendy went to the archaeological museum whilst Euan and John sampled the delights of the Naples metro system and funicular railways. We got to the top of Castle of St Elmo with spectacular views across Naples including the airport. We spent half an hour watching planes landing and taking off. The Naples metro is very stunning with artistic displays decorating the walls and ceilings.
Dinner saw us return to the trattoria we found on Monday, another excellent meal. A final ice cream for Euan on the way home for an early night.

Sunday

An early start and a quick taxi run saw us at the airport very early. Plenty of time for breakfast before making our way to the gate. An uneventful flight, except for a small boy asking to visit the flight deck. Wait until we land was the reply. Euan looked entirely at home in the co pilot's seat.
A slight delay in getting the car back was not appreciated but never mind. A quick dash round Tesco for dinner saw us home about 16:30.
Well with the holiday over, it was back to work for Wendy & John, but Euan had another week off and went to Karen's for a few days. He had a wonderful time.
Back to rugby with a match at Dundee in glorious autumnal sunshine. They played 6 games and won 5. Had to concede defeat in the last match due to injuries!
A new kitchen has been ordered, for installation next year and the Suzuki has been retired. It has been replaced with another Skoda!

November

The month started with Euan on a Scout hike for a day and a visit from Shetland Granny. Excellent turkey dinner at the farm when we took granny back there.
The following weekend was Rememberance Sunday, we all attended the service and Euan had a reading to do, he was very good.
Euan had a couple of days off for half term and so Mummy had a couple of days off as well. They had a day out in Perth and a day in Dundee, underwhelmed by the new V& A museum. Some excellent rugby, at Cupar was followed by Daddy chasing around to fix computers.
And then it was the Birthday weekend! We went out for dinner, Tapas, again. The weather didn't recognise Euan's birthday, it was cold and wet rugby training but he stuck at it.

December

December saw the start of indoor training for rugby but at a later time. We used this late start to pop into Dundee one Sunday morning for a trip to B & Q etc. We even managed a bike ride in the afternoon.
A pleasant afternoon was spent at Mirabelle's, singing carols! Well John fixed a laptop whilst Wendy & Euan sang.
John got an an extra night off, Friday before Xmas and had a lazy day around the house before clearing the loft and moving a load of stuff into storage in prparation for the kitchen refit!
Christmas day was a quiet day spent eating so we got out for a good bike ride on Boxing day
Euan and John popped down to Berwick, collected Auntie Gillian and took her across to Galston to see Peter's headstone. We then came back to Errol for the night. Saturday saw us all go to Berwick and then call in at IKEA on the way home.
Euan & John finished the year with a bothy trip to Gelder Shiel, whwere we met a Dutch lady, who had the fire going, yippee

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