Pub Golf

Happy Birthday Laurie!!

Ah, I love these four day work weeks! What a beautiful thing. However, it's really gonna suck when my next job after this contract requires five days. Boo.

I dropped into visit Ruth & Ellie for a bit, then walked into town to browse. Tonight is pub golf which doesn't involve playing golf at all. It's a nine hole game and a pub represents each hole. Dangerous! This is Keith's course first social. I have been planning for weeks to go, but then changed my mind when I found out it involved drinking your drinks at each pub in as few gulps as you can. And they were starting at 5pm! I would be passed out by 6pm. Not my idea of excitement. Part of the fun is getting dressed up in some really goofy golf gear, basically the goofiest clothes you can find. So I was browsing the charity shops (like frenchy's at home) incase I decided to meet them later in the evening.

I dropped Keith and Speedy off at the base at 4:30pm where the taxi was picking them up to go into Falmouth. Everyone looked great! Funny, but great. I planned at that point I would definitely meet them at some point. However, that never materialized. I decided I was quite content relaxing at home. I'm sure they're all having a blast though and someone is guaranteed to be sick! Glad it's not me!

Movie Night

Keith was up at 4:30 this morning as he has to go to Yeovil for the second part of his dunker qual. He was impressed. Yeovil's a few hours away so they had to leave early. I think the guys picked him up at 5am.

Oh my God my legs are so sore today! I definitely have to give them a rest!

Dave and Ruth hosted movie night tonight. Ruth & Ellie are down for a few days so Ruth cooked up fajitas! Mmm. And she had a spread of desserts. I was in my element. She had made a traditional English dessert called Summer Fruits. It was excellent. Rachel hasn't been feeling great so she didn't come over, and Speedy came for a bit. After we were stuffed we watched 'Blades of Glory' with Will Farrell and the guy from Napoleon Dynamite as the main characters. It was very funny. Especially seeing Will Farrell on figure skates. We hung out for a bit afterwards and came home and crashed as Keith was quite bagged from being up so early.

Another Run!

Woohoo I did it again! I was determined again on the way home I was heading out for another run...even though my legs were a bit sore from yesterday. Decided I would make it a shorter run. It was harder today as my legs were tired and sore, but I did pretty good again considering. Can I keep this going???

Ah Running

I have been wanting to get myself back into running, but it hasn't worked out until today. Over the weekend I was going to go, but talked myself out of it quite easily. So on the way home from work today I decided I was going for a run as soon as I got home. And I did. I changed quickly and went. It wasn't as tough as I expected since I hadn't ran in over a month. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a walk in the park either, but I was happy with myself. It felt so good.

August Bank Holiday

Today was the last bank holiday until Xmas! How wrong is that! It's so weird to have different holidays than home. So next Monday when everyone at home is enjoying Labour Day, we'll be working. It's just not right.

We spent the day cleaning and all that boring stuff as it's been awhile. Also cleaned the car, so now house and car are nice and clean. I packed up the souvenirs I bought for my family and got them ready to mail tomorrow. What an exciting day!

Matthew Off To Calgary

Wow, Matthew leaves for Calgary today. Thank God I'm not home to see him go. I'd be crying for sure! I believe his flight is around 8pm. He's going out to find work and live with Chatham and Joey. I hope it works out for him.

We're enjoying the long weekend knowing we don't have to go to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is a bank holiday here. Unfortunately we don't get Labour Day, but I guess this is close enough. We've spent the last few morning being lazy and sleeping in. Oh the life when you don't have kids. We walked into town in the afternoon so Keith could get his haircut and just for something to do. We continued down to the park and walked around, it was a beautiful day. Watched a movie in the evening...Cop Land.

Shopping in Truro

We went into Truro today as Keith is looking for a few 1 gallon glass jars. He has found a recipe for making brandy - a legal recipe that is. It's basically putting a bunch of vodka into one of these jars with a load of fruit and letting it sit for 3 months. He's wanting to make it for Xmas. We didn't have any luck finding the jars but we did look at some furniture and went into some clothing stores...so that's always good. We made our first stop at McDonald's while in Truro since we've been here. Neither of us are big Mickey D fans but I needed a vanilla shake so we stopped. I didn't pay much attention to see if the menu is much different but they do have a lot of milkshake flavors.

Rachel and Speedy came over for a BBQ and to watch a movie - Two for the Money.

BBQ at the Kotzer's

It's been a quiet week with me working, Keith relaxing at home, and us just getting settled back into being home. It's Friday so I am off. Keith and I went into Falmouth to Trago as we're thinking about buying a couch. Laura dropped by today to see if we wanted to come over for a BBQ. We dropped over to their place around 5:30pm and spent the evening visiting with them, it was great.

Back To Work

Ugh, back to work. Made sure I went to bed super early last night. It sucked too because I finally got ahold of Michelle who I haven't talked to in months and I had to cut our conversation short because I was so bagged...yep, even after all that sleep in the car! Climbing into our bed was wonderful! One thing I will never understand about British life is the lack of top sheets on beds. There is always a fitted sheet, then a duvet. Which means the duvet cover has to be changed everytime - I hope to God anyway! It also doesn't make for as comfortable, cozy sleep in my opinion. In the two weeks we stayed at one place that had a fitted sheet and a top sheet - bizarre. So we were very happy to be back in our own bed.

Work wasn't as bad as I expected, nor was I as tired - probably because I hit the hay early. My boss is now on vacation for two weeks so that's kinda sweet. It's always nice to not have your boss around...yeah Pam if you're reading this we partied when you were off...hehe...just teasing!

Keith has another week off. I was so jealous getting up this morning I almost beat him with my pillow. Haha - not really!

We have to cook!? I don't understand? We've had someone cook our three meals a day for over two weeks, how can we go back to cooking for ourselves and cleaning up? We'll just have to hire a maid. Mom, you wanna come be our maid?

Homeward Bound!!

Happy 31st Birthday Michelle!!

Woohoo!!! We are homeward bound! So what if it's 5:30am, we're going home! We got up and on the road early as we had a very long trip ahead of us, 10-11 hours. At 8am we stopped at a rest station for a big breakfast. I was in and out of sleep for most of the journey. Somewhere along the wonderful M6 was another accident. We were stuck in traffic for an hour getting through this. Fantastic. We eventually made it home around 4:30pm with Keith driving every inch of the trip home and 99.9% of the entire trip around Scotland. I'm not disappointed he gets bored in the passenger seat and would rather drive. I on the other hand would have us in the ditch because I'm gawking at everything I see. We were both very happy to be home.

We had a fantastic trip and couldn't have covered more of Scotland if we wanted to. It was a bit ambitious but it was a great way to see as much as we could and know what we want to go back to see and what no to. My favorite part of the trip was definitely St. Andrews, then the Scottish highlands. Oban was also a favorite. For what I saw of Edinburgh it is a beautiful city and I definitely want to revisit. With such little time spent there and most of it in the dark, we really couldn't enjoy it's full potential. We have learned the max time for a trip of this sort is 10 days and will keep that in mind for next time!

Some of my observations on our trip - the Scots are generally friendly people, the accents range from easy to understand to thick as can be depending on what part of the country you're in, I believe all street signage is in both English and Gaelic (it definitely is on the Outer Hebrides with some signs in Gaelic only), Scotland has different money from England -I assumed they had the same as it's all British pounds but it's issued by the Bank of Scotland and England's by the Bank of England (makes sense really) and even though it's the same currency apparently the English sometimes will not accept the Scottish pound, but the Scots will always accept the British pound. A point I have learned since moving here is don't get the Scots mixed up with the English. Most English prefer to be called English rather than British and the Scots always want to be called Scottish - being called British makes them too similar to the English and they don't want to be anywhere similar - I compare it to us not wanting to be mistaken for Americans. I'm sure I made many other observations during the trip, but am drawing a blank at the moment.

Edinburgh & The Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle

Up somewhat early this morning to hit the road. We have a half hour drive to our final ferry ride, then about 4 hours to Edinburgh. It'll be a long day. We boarded the ferry in Armadale and it was less than an hour to Mallaig on the mainland. Once on the mainland, we drove and drove and drove. It seemed like quite a long day. Our drive did take us through some beautiful places. One place I definitely want to visit is Fort William. We drove through Fort William as it is Saturday and insane with traffic from holiday makers as they're called here (vacationers). It looked like a really nice town on the water with lots to offer. Many people on our journey had mentioned it's beauty, but we were quite happy to carry on through as we just wanted to get to our destination at this point.

Shortly after Fort William we drove through the Ben Nevis and Glencoe Mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The drive was quite spectacular even on a drab rainy day. I felt like an ant on the road through these mountains as the road lies at the base and the mountains tower over either side of the road. Quite impressive. There was also a bit of an erie feeling to them on this particular day because the fog draped itself over the summits and just lurked there. I tried to take some pictures while we were driving, but they don't do the scenery justice. Someday I will revisit.

We finally arrived in Edinburgh around supper time. Holy cow this city is HUGE! We arrived in this massive city without a city map hoping to find a tourist information center - no such luck! So we drove through the city and around it for an hour to an hour and a half. We stopped at a grocery store to see if they had any maps. No go! So we rooted through the touristy brochures and we're lucky enough to find two small maps we could somewhat pin together to get us to our destination. Thank God! By the time we arrived at the University of Edinburgh residence where we were staying, we were pretty low on patience. After a brief relax in the room - this is a new residence and wow, they're like a hotel room - Saint Mary's residence was never like this! - we headed out for some shopping and food. Oh yes, and once again it's raining and the Tattoo is outside!

We walked into town and spent an hour or so shopping getting souvenirs and such. Actually, I got a large portion of Xmas shopping for my family done! Yay! The city was extremely busy due to the Tattoo and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Finding a place to eat was a bit tricky as both events were going on in the same place so we were in the heart of the chaos. We found an Italian restaurant and spent a few hours relaxing, eating, and drinking. The Tattoo wasn't starting until 10:30pm so we had plenty of time to kill. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating so we didn't want to hang around outside. We did walk around the Royal Mile a bit before it got crowded with the line up to the Castle where the Tattoo was held. To try and stay dry I bought us ponchos - yep, we were stylish! I didn't care as long as I was dry. Next stop...another pub for another drink.

It was finally time to get in line. This was insane! Hundreds and hundreds of people packed into the street all in ponchos and umbrellas. Eventually we made it into the Castle and the Tattoo began. It was impressive. I hadn't been to a tattoo before so it was all great to me. Keith has been to the Halifax Tattoo and said it was very similar. What made this Tattoo spectacular was the Edinburgh Castle in the backdrop with the bands marching out of the Castle. The stands are in a U shape with the front of the Castle as the final side of the rectangle. The stands are all uncovered/outside. The Castle has lamps lit all around it to make the atmosphere. Even though it was raining and foggy, it was still great. At the end of the show there was a fireworks display - this is why we chose a Saturday show because we'd been told these shows are the best. The fireworks were really good, but a bit hidden due to the fog. All in all, it was fantastic. We made a long journey back to our room and crashed hard once we were finally dry.

Isles of Harris, Lewis, Skye

It's sunny! That's because we're leaving the Hebrides today!
Checked out of our B&B and went shopping in the little shops around the town center. We spent most of our time in the Harris Tweed shop we found. This place was so cool. The Isle of Harris is famous for it's tweed and you see it sold everywhere throughout Harris and Lewis. However, there was an actual weaver (don't know what the proper term is) and his shop was stacked high with scarves, sweaters, bags, jackets, etc. It was very neat. Once we were finished it was back in the car. Can we stop driving yet???

This place actually does look a lot nicer when the sun shines. Some parts are quite beautiful. We arrived in Tarbert where we catch the ferry with a few hours to spare. We visited a local gallery in the photographers house and bought a few of his framed photos. Then we visited every shop we saw, as there was more than enough time. Beside the terminal there was a small pub so we dropped in there for lunch. We had an excellent lunch and of course some beer and cider! You can see that our vacation didn't have a day without beer and cider. Haha. It's time to leave the Hebrides. Yay! I am so anxious to be off these islands. Disappointing to say that because they were going to be the highlight of the trip, but I have had my fill of remote life.

The ferry took about an hour and a half to the Isle of Skye where we arrived in Uig. We drove another hour to our B&B, Seaview Guest House in Broadford and arrived around 7pm. I love this village! It's on the ocean and it just has a welcoming feeling to it. Our hosts were fantastic. Also very welcoming and friendly. One of my relatives actually visited Broadford with his wife in the spring and highly recommended visiting the area. Excellent recommendation.

After the drive we were starving and decided to go to the Broadford Inn which was recommended by our hosts. The food and atmosphere was excellent. While there we learned that the Broadford Inn is the home of Drambuie! We were wondering why there was a Drambuie menu on the table and it was added to several of the meals. I figured I had to try one of the Drambuie martinis and it was so good. I was tipsy after that one. Before leaving I popped one of the Drambuie drink menus in my bag as a little souvenir - and of course to make that martini at home.

This is my summary of the Isles:

Barra, Eriskay, and South Uist are mountainous and scattered with a lot of rock and trees.

North Uist is much greener, more trees. softer, and has a warmer feeling.

Harris is basically a rock field. Mostly mountains with no trees and a ton of rock. Lots of sheep and peat and very cold looking.

Lewis is the warmest looking of the isles with trees, farms, beautiful mountains with lochs. This could be because it was sunny as yesterday it looked much more drab like the other isles. The sunshine definitely makes a huge difference.

South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Berneray

Another drab day. Left Lochboisdale and headed up the Uists thru Benbecula. Benbecula is the most inhabited place in the Outer Hebrides next to Stornaway. If I hadn't of read this fact, I would have had no idea as it seemed quite small to me, but I guess it is more spread out. We stopped at a few shops before getting to Benbecula including the Salar Smoked Salmon Company. We hadn't tried their salmon before but we thought we'd check it out. It was a bit of a drive off the main drag but well worth it. Excellent salmon. We tried some samples than walked out with a few small packs for us and a large pack for Xmas. The lady told us it will last for several days during our travels (which it did) and would freeze well for 6 months. Once we arrived in Benbecula we decided to have lunch before heading to the ferry.

The middle Isles are mostly connected via causeways. The only way from Barra to Eriskay is via ferry. Once you arrive in Eriskay there is a small causeway that connects it to South Uist. South Uist is then connected to Benbecula by a causeway, Bencecula connects to North Uist via causeway and North Uist connects to Berneray via another causeway. To reach the next Isle, isle of Harris you must take a ferry ride. The Isle of Harris and Lewis look like they are the same isle, but are detached in some form to make two separate isles.

It only took about an hour and a half to travel from Lochboisdale to the ferry to go to Harris. The isles are not large by any means! It is definitely a different world. It's hard to explain really. I definitely felt like I was in a far away place and somewhat disconnected from the world. The isles are very peaceful where no one is in a hurry, but it is hard to enjoy when the weather isn't cooperating. I really wanted to try kayaking while in the Outer Hebrides and there were so many hills/little mountains to climb. We had also taken our camping gear to hopefully camp out on one of the beaches, but we would have been soaked doing so. Basically we enjoyed the Hebrides by driving and sight seeing. Not very exciting really being stuck in the car just looking at everything.

We decided that we really needed some life so we made a plan to go to Stornaway since it's the most populated town - we figured we'd feel less remote and we're anxious to see some liveliness. We caught our ferry in Berneray, then travelled another hour to hour and a half up Harris and arrived in Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis around supper time. We're in a city! Yay! You would never guess once you arrive in Stornaway that you're on an island, let alone the remote Hebrides! This is a bustling small city - a welcome surprise for us. We checked into our fancy B&B then headed out for supper. We walked around town and found a tapas bar where we had a variety of appetizers and drinks.

Isle of Barra & Eriskay

Woke up to rain. Dammit!! These islands are remote so the only things to really do are outdoorsy. Rain is not going to help us enjoy the outdoors! We got ourselves together and checked out of the hostel. The hostel was a 4 star and offered a private room, that's why it was appealing. I have decided that hostels are not for me, even though this was a 'nice' one. I can't imagine what they look like otherwise. I can't complain, it was pretty clean and that's always my main requirement when staying somewhere. The hostel overlooked Castlebay and Kisimul Castle - the stronghold of the Clan MacNeil since the 11th century. Barra was my main reason for visiting the outer Hebrides. I wanted very much to visit the land where my grandfather's (Mom's side) ancestors came from. It is a very neat feeling to be here knowing hundreds of years ago my ancestors lived and farmed these lands.


Castlebay is an interestingly odd village. It is small and completely surrounds the bay, hence the name. Maybe it was due to the drab day, but it just looked like a drab place, even being on the ocean. Something I became to learn/notice about the Outer Hebrides during our trip is that it consists mainly of rock, heather, and sheep. We dropped into the tourist centre and I bought a few pamphlets about Barra and the MacNeil castle and of course some postcards to send home to my Aunts to show them where they came from. We then went to a little cafe for breakfast. We were the only ones there! We had a Scottish breakfast then we hit the road. We drove through Castlebay and it's surrounding communities, then we drove right around the island.

The island is quite small and took maybe an hour to loop. We still had a ton of time to kill before we caught our ferry to Eriskay which connects to the Isle of South Uist so we stopped at a pub and had lunch and a drink. Since it was raining we couldn't do anything outside. We drove my some beautiful beaches, but it was too wet to check them out. Although the landscape of the Outer Hebrides is dull, there are beautiful beaches of white sand and blue Atlantic Ocean. Such a disappointment that we couldn't enjoy them.

Before we boarded the ferry we took a drive by the Barra Airport. It is so cool - the planes land on the sand! There is no runway - the sand it the runway! Also proves how remote the island is. We boarded the ferry and arrived in Eriskay 45 minutes later. We drove through Eriskay, some of South Uist and arrived in Lochboisdale where we were staying. We checked into our B&B, Brae Lea House around 5:30pm then walked into the main area of the little village. The main area basically consists of the ferry terminal and a hotel! We went to the Lochboisdale Hotel which was wonderful. They had a really nice pub and restaurant and good food. Thank-God because we spent about 3 hours there! A lot of food and drinks later we walked back to the B&B where we relaxed in the lounge reading.

Here are a few other pictures of Barra. I had a laugh at the Otter Crossing sign so I made Keith stop so I could take a picture.

Off to the Outer Hebrides!

We took our time this morning getting ready and checking out as we had plenty of time to kill before we caught the ferry to the Isle of Barra (Outer Hebrides). We really enjoyed this B&B - The Shian. Our host was Sandra and she was fantastic. One of my favorite places we stayed during our trip. She was very accommodating, welcoming, and the house was immaculate.

Once out and about we went searching for a laundromat as we were hoping to wash some clothes, but we didn't have any luck. Good thing we still have plenty of clean clothes left because there won't be anywhere to do laundry on the outer isles. So we spent a few hours wandering, shopping, eating seafood from a little takeout hut on the waterfront, then of course we had to grab a drink at a pub!

By this time it was getting close to 2:30pm and time to line up for the ferry. The ferry ride was 7 hours! Normally it is a 5 hour trip, but one day a week it stops in Lochboisdale (on Barra), then back to Castlebay where we were getting off. Unfortunately, the only day for us to make the journey was today - on the long haul. The transit didn't actually seem that long. We sat in the pub area, read our books, chatted, ate dinner, etc. Before we knew it we were in Castlebay. We arrived in Castlebay around 10:30pm. It was dark so we couldn't see what it looked like. We went straight to the hostel we were staying in and went right to bed.

These two photos are of Lochboisdale.

Isle of Mull, Staffa & Iona

When researching Scotland I found this Three Isles Tour that covered the Isles of Mull, Staffa and Iona. I was immediately interested and booked it. Unfortunately, the downfall of this tour (which I was prepared for) was how touristy it was. Neither Keith or I were really interested in how touristy this tour would be but were very interested in visiting these Isles.

Doesn't Keith look happy! Haha. The tour consisted of a bus, boat, and ferry ride. We boarded the ferry in Oban around 9:30am to take us to the Isle of Mull where we'd meet our tour. The ferry is a huge passenger/car ferry (bigger than the PEI ferries I think) that takes approx 45 minutes to travel to Mull. Once we arrive in Mull we were to catch our bus...yes, a tour bus! When we got off the ferry I'd have to say there were about 15 buses! The buses were covering the same tour we were taking as well as tours to the other side of Mull. Clearly someone is making a fortune off this place.

Mull is a good size island, and is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides being 338 square miles. Unfortunately, approx 300 of those miles are single lane roads! These means long travel times when driving as you have to pull over into the scattered passing lanes when you meet a vehicle. Because of this a 30 mile journey took 1.5 hours! How crazy is that!? When the roads were built, it was too expensive to bring in the asphalt (or whatever the roads are made of, so they were built as single lanes to be cost effective. Although this may seem like a downfall, it is a beautiful island and adds to its peacefulness. We drove through mountains and by lochs (lakes) and glens (valleys), a few very small villages and miles and miles of untouched greenery and countryside.

The bus took us to Fionnaphort (small village on Mull - this picture is of Fionnaphort) where we met the fishing boat that would take us to Staffa. Staffa is an 33 hectare uninhabited island that lies 10 kilometers west of the Isle of Mull. The island is very unique and spectacular as it is formed entirely from hexagonally-jointed basalt columns. Here is a link to the information on it.

We spent an hour on the island checking out Fingals' Cave
and walking around the small island. Walking around the island took about 10 minutes! We also grabbed a seat on the rocks and had a picnic lunch of bread, cheese, and cider! It was great! Once the hour was up, we were back on the boat.




The boat ride coming over was about 30 minutes and was quite rough. Then trip back was brutal! Even being a fisherman's daughter I am not good with anything but calm seas. And this was far from calm! I have not been on a boat before in seas like this - it sucked and my stomach felt it. It was a long 45 minute trip back going against the waves. One poor little girl threw up right across from me/ Thank-God I was laying back and had my eyes closed or I probably would have been next! Haha.





The boat then dropped us off on Iona. . The first thing I saw when I got off the boat was beautiful white sand and clear blue water! I instantly fell in love with the island. We only had about 2 hours to tour around, so we checked out what we could, but it was nearly enough time to see everything we wanted to. The main place to visit was the Nunnery which is now stone ruins, and the Iona Abbey. The Abbey overlooks the ocean and Mull and is just amazing. It consists of a large cathedral, museum, gift shop and other buildings I can't remember the names of. We spent most of our time here as it is quite large, but visited a few gift shops as well. I would love to come back someday to visit the other side of the island and swim in the clear blue sea.

When our time was up we caught a small ferry back to Mull (10 minute ride). Here we met the bus and were on our way back to meet the ferry to Oban. When we arrived in Oban the ferry was a half hour behind schedule so we spent some time in the small tourist centre checking out the gift shop. Once we were back in Oban (around 7:30pm) we went back to The Lorne pub for dinner. After food and a few drinks we walked back to the B&B for rest and relaxation.

The pictures below are all of Iona. The first is where we arrived in Iona, the second is the lobster traps they use or lobster pots as they call them. The third is the Royal Mail bicycle for delivering the mail! I had to take a picture of it! The fourth is the ruins of the Nunnery, the fifth is the Abbey and the remaining two are various photos of Iona.

Oban

We woke up this morning saying "Can we go home now?". A week of traveling is tiring! We decided not to check out anymore of Glasgow as our original plan was to not worry about seeing much of the cities. They're quick and easy to get to via a flight so we wanted to take advantage of the smaller towns. So we jumped in the car after breakfast and off to Oban we went. It was a nice drive there even though I had a bit of a hard time keeping my eyes open on the journey. I think it only took us about 2 hours. Surprisingly there was only oncee or twice I slept a bit in the car. Normally my head is nodding a half hour into a drive anywhere. I guess I was too anxious to see everything.

We arrived in Oban around 2pm. What a really nice town! Both Keith and I thought the same thing when we drove in. Right on the ocean, not too big, not too small. Immediately it had character. We checked into our B&B then headed back to town to see everything.

We did a bit of shopping and of course visited the Oban Distillery!

We then visited the War & Peace Museum. The interesting thing about Oban is it is the birthplace of the 423 Squadron at Shearwater (Keith's old squadron). It was founded in Oban during War II. So the War Museum had a bit of information on it's formation. There is also a memorial over looking the ocean that lists 423. Very cool.


Next we visited McCaig's Tower. It is a very cool monument that stands overlooking the entire town of Oban. It looks similar to the Roman Colosseum. Here's a link to it and Oban

After our exploration we decided it was pub time. We went to the locals favorite "The Lorne'. Had a few drinks then we headed to the gayiest, touristy thing we could even attend....MacTavish's Scottish Show. We are both embarrassed to admit we even went here. It was an evening of eating while watching/listening to Scottish music. Sounds like a great time, but it was a huge conference like room overlooking Oban Bay which was nice, and it was packed with older people. The entertainment consisted of a bag piper, Gaelic singer, fiddle player, accordion player and a highland dancer. Still sounds good, but it just had the feel of being for tour bus crowds! Haha. They served food and drinks too. It was an interesting experience! That was the end of our evening as we are heading on a tour tomorrow to top the cake on us being tourists!

World Piping Championships!

Yep, it's raining! God dammit to hell! We dressed in the best gear we could to enjoy the rain. Haha. We grabbed a taxi to Glasgow Green where it was all happening. We arrived around 10:30am. Keith has been wanting to attend this event for many years - it was so exciting to be there with him.

When we arrived the Halifax Police band was playing. What timing! They go every year. They were doing their qualifying performance at this time. Unfortunately they didn't qualify. Once they were finished we went to talk to them as Keith knows half a dozen of them as he used to play with them in Shearwater. The band is made up of quite a few military people. I finally met Alan MacKenzie who I've heard so much about. He did a posting here just a few years ago - it may have been last year he went back to Canada. We actually have his TV and a few other items as electrical stuff (different power from Canada) just gets handed down to the next Canadian that is posted in.

We eventually grabbed our seats in the stands and watched the absolutely amazing piping and drumming. Simon Fraser University from BC was also there - they are excellent. This picture is of them. There were actually quite a few - I would say atleast a dozen - Canadian bands there. They were of various grades (1-4) with only SFU and a band from Alberta being grade 1 bands - the highest grade (top level in piping and drumming).

Five hours later and being soaking wet right to the bone, we watched as Field Marshal Montgomery of Northern Ireland won this years title, retaining the title they won last year. Simon Fraser came in second! So impressive to see a Canadian band be the 2nd best in the world.

At the end they had the parade of bands onto the Green for the prize announcements. When it was all finished they all played Scotland the Brave. Quite impressive.

After everything was finished we were so happy to get back to our hotel and get warm and dry. We lazed around for a bit then we popped over to the Oriental restaurant next door. Their menu offered Thai, Japanese and Chinese fare. Fabulous food and atmosphere! All in all a good day even if we did get soaked! It was worth it.