Welcome to The Steven Family website

March

Another busy month for John tramping up and down the road, a few trips back to Scotland but not getting home until he weekends.
We bought Gillian a replacement laptop and popped down to deliver it. It was also the 30th anniversary of the opening of Roberts Lodge. A pleasant afternoon spent there whilst Euan set up the laptop and printer. Wendy also managed to meet up with an old school friend whilst we were in Berwick.
John got the works van to run home in before his week off, so his lorry could be worked on and serviced.

April

The month started with John having a week off and Wendy having a random Monday off so we used our Xmas present and had a night in Arrocher, very pleasant. This followed a night in Glasgow, after dropping Euan off at the farm for a couple of nights. He got some more driving practice in and helped out with the lambs.
Euan & John then wandered off to the Cairngorms for three days. We cycled 70km and visited the Red House bothy, Bob Scott's and Glas Alt Shiel.
We headed home, unloaded the car and reloaded it to go to Dumfries for Easter, camping. The weather could have been warmer but we managed a BBQ so it couldn't have been to bad. We had an excellent day out in Wigtown, wandering around all the book shops. Wendy had to travel back on the Sunday so she could go to John seniors funeral so Euan & John walked into a bothy before having a chippy tea.
We ended the month with a trip to Aberdeen, staying in an apartment for two nights. Nice meals out and a run up to visit Jennifer.

May

Bank holidays galore this month, well three for some of us. A good run down from Aberdeen before John was back to work on the Tuesday morning with an easy 08:00 tip in Dundee.
Went paddling with Euan at Stanley, good session on the water. Came home and did some bike maintenance in the afternoon. Managed a quick 10km bike ride on the Sunday. Weather was a bit poor on the King's coronation bank holiday so pottered about the house.
Euan was D of E planning the following weekend so John cycled off to Culra bothy for the night. New bridge on way in makes it easier now.
Didnt get home until Saturday morning so had a quiet weekend at home. Did a recce for Monday's drop, glad I did, a new build out in a field!.
Another bank holiday weekend, for John at least. Tried cycling into Sarah's bothy but turned back as it was far too boggy. Took black car in for air con to be fixed, mixed results!!
John ended the month by cheanging vehicles, moved up to a 16 plate, with a fridge!
Wendy's bit ....
Much of Euans time, when he wasn’t studying was taken up with rehearsals for the school show ‘Every Beautiful Thing’. Looking forward to the performance in June.
Euan completed all seven of his Nat 5 exams and started back to his fifth year in high school for Highers and one day per week at Perth College to study for a Foundation Apprentice Qualification in Creative and Digital Media Skills.

June

June started with Euan going off to complete his silver D of E expedition. Since he was away John & Wendy cycled into Glas Alt Shiel bothy, from Lochnagar distillery. A good cycle in and we had the place to ourselves. There were a few tents around but no one else stayed in the bothy.
We even remembered to collect Euan after his succesful expedition.
The following weekend saw a family outing to the car boot sale and classic car show at Errol airfield, good, except for the rain. The day improved enough for us to have a barbecue for dinner!
Euan & John had an adventurous weekend with a good river trip on the Tay with the kayak club folowed by a good day's climbing at Black crag.
Wendy & Euan went off to the Highland show leaving John at home to organise kit for them to do the Affric - Kintail way. Sunday saw us go and do a bit of shopping for odds & ends for the trip.
Wendy's bit for June
Wendy, Auntie Rosemary and Uncle Brodie went to see Euan take part in the school show ‘Every Brilliant Thing’. It was an unusual play, with some audience participation(!), but a great performance. In recognition of his production skills in drama, Euan was asked to provide the sound and lighting for Perth High’s Sporting Awards ceremony. He thoroughly enjoyed being given access to the sound booth in the assembly hall!! It’s his new favourite place!

July

Despite John not getting home until the Saturday morning, we had a steady run up to the start of the Affric - Kintail way. John set up camp and prepped dinner ready for the walkers. John had a steady run home and got home just in time to bring the washing in before an epic downpour!
The following weekend we had a night out in Perth, cinema and dinner. The latest Indianna Jones film followed by a French restraunt. Sunday was a 15km bike ride with lunch out before getting home to watch the British Grand Prix live!
We had a cultural trip to Glasgow, well a visit to Lomo watersports to buy a portage trolley followed by a nice meal in a Persian restraunt. Sunday morning saw us in the pub for breakfast, can recommend Wetherspoons breakfasts.
After John had had his HGV medical in Dundee, we headed off to Melgarve bothy for the night, nice fire and the place to ourselves. Sunday saw us walk int Luib Chonnal for lunch, hard going. We stopped for a chippy tea in Pitlochry on the way home. We saw a beaver swimming up the river whilst we were eating tea.
Euan & John got dropped off in Killin and paddled for a couple of days down Loch Tay and the river, getting picked up in Aberfeldy on the Wednesday evening and another chippy tea. Thursday was a quiet day at home sorting kit out before Euan & John headed for Berwick for a couple of nights. We camped at West Kyloe, excellent, and looked at Kyloe in the wood and Kyloe out to go climbing. A good days climbing was had before taking Gillian out for dinner. Sunday was a good run home, sort out of kit and John went back to work.
Wendy's bit for July
For this year’s long distance walk, Euan and Wendy opted for the Affric Kintail Way which is 74 kilometers long and runs from Drumnadrochit in the east to Morvich, near Shiel Bridge in the west. John kindly drove us up to Drumnadrochit to drop us off, then headed round to Cannich to set up camp for the night. The first section was 25km long and wound its way through woodland and farmland on good tracks. We passed through an area which had been affected by a devastating wildfire in June. Some parts were still smoldering! Our legs were tired by the time we reached Cannich and we were grateful for the dinner John had cooked (as well as a cold beer for Wendy!) Day two was around 19km from Cannich to just beyond the Glen Affric car park. The weather started off bright but became showery as the day went on. We stopped at Dog Falls for lunch. There was a convenient picnic bench with conveniences nearby! Trudging on, we eventually found a suitable spot to camp about a kilometer beyond the Glen Affric car park. Our third day would take us to the Glen Affric Youth Hostel at Altbeithe. The weather was a bit grey and overcast but it was pleasant walking through Glen Affric. After stopping for lunch at the end of Loch Affric, the rain started. By the time we reached the Youth Hostel we were very soggy! Glen Affric Youth Hostel is the most remote in Scotland. It’s quite small but powered by solar and wind power as well as having wood burning stoves in both public rooms so we were able to dry off our kit quite successfully. We had an entertaining evening chatting with the four other guests and the warden. Thankfully the rain had stopped when we left for the last section of the walk the following morning. The rocky path through the mountains resembled a flowing stream in some parts, and some of the stream crossings were entertaining as a result of the previous days rain! We passed Camban bothy en route, having a quick peek inside, just to say we’d been there. The steep descent on narrow rocky paths made the final day of the trek feel like it went on forever. On reaching Morvich, we decided not to stay at the campsite but walked out to the main road and caught a bus up to Skye. We eventually found a nice new campsite on the outskirts of Broadford for a couple of nights. It was super having a couple of lazy days in the sunshine with no midgies before we headed home.
Euan made the most of his time at home in July by producing some fabulous dinners for Wendy coming in from work. They’ll be missed when he’s back at school in August.
The vegetable patch has done well this summer. The cauliflower and peas were particularly good. The carrots, however, were a different matter. Might be easier just to buy them at the supermarket!

August

The weather was not settled enough to commit to a bothy trip so we just went to find some crags near Dunkeld. A succesful recce, guidebook now purchased in prepartion to go back and climb. Lunch at the Antiques centre on the way home before John drove up to Aberdeen ready for an 05:00 tip.
A new computer was desgined for the lounge, parts ordered and they all arrived during the week. The following weekend was spent building the computer, with a pause to take Wendy out to dinner in Perth for her birthday. A nice meal in Cardo's.
We rounded the month off with a bothy trip. We cycled into Luib Chonnal from Brae Roy Lodge, wetter than hoped for but we made it. Got the stove going and everything dried off. Better cycle out and a steady run home.
John had the Monday off so pottered about with a bit of bike maintenance and a computer job.

September

The big event in September for Wendy and Euan was to attend Jane and Kit's wedding on the 7th. It was a wonderful day and the bride and groom were such a happy couple. There was some wonderful signing by a number of guests and we did a bit of 'celebrity spotting' during the reception!
Wendy had another baking commission in September. Mirabelle put in a request for 70 scones to serve at a funtion in Subud House. It was quite a task to get them made in a short timespan but the mission was accomplished and guests from around the world enjoyed them
The weather must have been good at the start of the month as we dined on the patio and had a bbq. John failed to get home on two consecutive Fridays but made it home early on the Saturdays, in time to wash the cars, cut the grass and light the bbq.
We had a run down to the farm for the Bowhill Highland Games, Rosemary was the Chieftan of the games. A pleasant afternoon in the sun.
A quiet couple of weekends followed, a bit damp so time was spent pottering about with computers.
We rounded the month off with a trip to Berwick to see Gillian, to take her out for dinner, to celebate John's birthday.

October

The start of October was very, very wet with rain of biblical proportions!! It was such bad weather that Wendy was advised to work from home and she was very grateful for this!
John's 60th birthday was a quiet event, mainly because we were going off on holiday the next day. More about the holiday in Lisbon in a seperate post. Wendy made John some tasteful poo cupcakes to celebrate his birthday with!
Later in the month, Wendy and Euan headed to the farm for a ceilidh at the church hall. As always it was an excellent evening and a great opportunity for Euan to see cousins there from Milan and Manchester! As we were at the farm, Euan took the opportunity to have a bit more driving practice. The initial hill start was a challenge but he soon go the hang of it and was quite happy driving along the track. He even managed to avoid running his mother over! We flew out to Portugal for our annual holiday. We had found an apartment in Lisbon and sorted our own flights. It all seenmed to work and the Portugese equivalent of the Oyster card was great.
Lisbon October 2023
Sunday: An early start, around 3.00am to drive down to Edinburgh airport. It was particularly wet weather which was a definite contrast to the warmth and sunshine which greated us in Lisbon.
On arriving, we found the metro station and quickly got to grips with using the travel card to facilitate using the underground.
We left out bags at a secure drop off and did a little exploring before checking into our apartment for the week.
Monday: Much of Monday was spent getting our bearings and doing some reconnaissance of Lisbon to try to identify what sights we wanted to visit. We has a trip on the Ascensor Da Bica elevator - a little tram that transports you up a steep hill. It moved very slowly and I'm sure we could have walked up much quicker, but it was an experience!
Tuesday: On Tuesday we were a little more adventurous and caught a train out to Sintra. It was quite busy and touristy but we spent some time visiting the Sintra National Palace. A very grand building with some stunning rooms with the most intricately painted ceilings. Euan and Wendy has a look around some of the souvenir shops and sampled the local cherry liqueur whilst John sat people watching and drinking beer
Wednesday: We walked from the apartment down to the coast at Parque de Nacoes where there was some amazing street art. The enormous cat made from rubbish was particularly impressive. Wendy and Euan spent a couple of hours visiting the Oceanario de Lisboa. A wonderful aquarium with some stunning exhibits. After lunch we met up with John and took a trip on the cable car which gave us stunning views of the Vasco da Gama Bridge (12.3 km long)
Thursday: We were becoming more confident using the public transport so our next adventure was on the bus down to Sesimbra for Euan to try out scuba diving. After some instruction, we all boarded the speed boat and set off for a sheltered cove. While Euan and his instructor headed beneath the water, John and Wendy chatted to the dive centre owner and were informed of some of the history of the area. Euan was absolutely beaming when he resurfaced, having loved the whole experience!
Friday: Another train journey, this time to Belem, home of the famous Pastel de Nata (Portuegese Custard Tarts). They are absolutely delicious. We had a little walk along the coast, seeing the Belem Tower and visiting a military museum. We also had a little wander round the botanic gardens which were full of interesting plants and birds
Saturday: Wendy and Euan set off to have a final wander round Lisbon and pick up a few mementos of our visit. Euan successfully navigated us to a lovely wool shop where Wendy bought some Portuegese wool for a shawl. John went on his own adventure and managed to find a beer museum!
Sunday: Up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus just a mile or so up the road to the airport. A trouble free flight back to Edinburgh, although we did have ages to wait for our luggage. We were beginning to wonder if it had stayed on for another week in Portugal!!
Rounded the month off with John cooking dinner for a change.

November

November was a fairly quiet month with nothing very exciting happening.
We took a trip to Edinburgh on the Ember bus to go for a 'Gentleman's Afternoon Tea' at Brewhemia. Although the food was good, the anticipated choice of beer flights that accompanied it was not. Never mind, it was a nice enough Sunday excursion.
We celebrated Euans 16th Birthday with a trip to Dean's Restuarant in Perth. Absolutely delicious food and Euans was suitably embarassed when his pudding arrived with a sparkler in it! His birthday cake this year involved penguins...and an unintentional iceberg melting scenario. Seemingly it was tasty but Wendy never actually managed to get a piece.br />

December

We had parents night at the beginning of December. Euan is doing well in all of his subjects but maybe a little more effort required. Hopefully there will be enough studying done to produce decent prelim results in January br /> Wendy met up with Rosie and Margaret in Edinburgh for afternoon tea at Tiger Lily. Lovely cocktails, nice food and good company! br /> We had a very relaxed Christmas day. Beef Wellington was on the menu - it turned out well much to Wendy's relief. At the end of the month we popped down to Berwick to visit Gillian. We went to the Maltings to see Cinderella then dinner out at Foxton's afterwards. John and Wendy even managed to visit a couple of hostelries on Bridge Street for a beer or two later in the evening

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