Scotland for a Wedding

(seen on the right of the doorway)

Mar Lodge is quite isolated but lies deep in the Cairngorms in Scotland.  The Lodge is large, very large, very, very large!!  The wing on the right of the photo was hired for the Wedding party, we had our own kitchen and lounge/dining room downstairs and all the bedrooms above.  It was furnished in the style one would expect from such a great house.
On the day of the wedding, after a few 'incidents', we all gathered in a side room  and waited for the bride to arrive.


 Katherine's wedding gown was beautiful, her embroidery picked up the colours of her bridesmaid dress.



The bride's mother made the 'rope' for the tying of the knot.  this tradition was explained to us by the Registrar.




 After the Ceremony there were the 'usual' photographs.......

....the Bride and Groom .....

...... The family photographs ......

...... the family and friends group photos .....

.... we went back into the hall for the Speeches and managed to get a photo of three of the children who came.  These children were just sooo welbehaved although, in fairness, Molly was in charge!

The cake was cut and presents admired, cards read, toasts drunk and then we had the Wedding Meal.

The dining room was delightfully laid out - the décor gives an idea of the history of the lodge, but the meal was wonderfully different and catered for individual tastes.

We had the smaller ballroom to ourselves for the reception .... lots of fairy lights, highland music, dancing and swirling kilts!

 The Groom's family is sitting this one out as the happy couple go by ...

.... then the family joined in ......

.......... great fun by all ......

In the Tower.... photo heavy!!

Once inside we decided to follow the crowd down towards the Medieval Castle, climbing stairs to enter.

This was the way to go but first we would stay at the top of the stairs and take in the view......

The Bloody Tower

The view opposite was the infamous Bloody Tower - will have to come back another day and see inside.

Traitors Gate - inside the Tower 

I have never seen this side of the Traitors Gate, only the view when travelling along the river.

King Edward I's bedchamber

Inside the Medieval Castle, the other side of the windows above Traitors Gate, the rooms were furnished but we only visited this one.  

The private Chapel was behind this door, such a beautiful archway - all the walls were decorated like this.

! ! ! ! !

Once outside I spotted this ........


.......when I pointed it out to PJ, he felt honour bound to join the queue!!!!

The White Tower - with queue

We wandered along and round to the large square where the pride of place was the White Tower.  

Monkeys on the wall

As we walked around to the back, following the queue to view the Crown Jewels, these monkeys made us laugh!  There were several animals about the place, constructed of chicken wire yet most lifelike.

Very Wet!!!

The rain was still pouring down, the queues were very long.

PJ reckoned this one to view the Crown Jewels was about an hour and a half long!!

Queen's House

In the rain!!

This view was a most unexpected surprise!!!   

It is Tower Green itself with the Queen's house in the centre.

It felt like being in the grounds of a stately home, not the middle of London and so close to Tower Bridge!

Beefeater and PJ

I took lots of photographs, PJ just got wetter .... but we found a Beefeater in his winter uniform with a l a r g e  umbrella.
PJ asked him a few questions and I asked permission to post his photo on this Blog!
What a gent!
So friendly and informative.

Poppies from the outside

As we were both so wet we decided to make our way back to the Tube, leaving by the side exit and walking along the river bank.

We came back alongside the drawbridge and spotted the poppies again.

...... meanwhile back at home ....


.......there is a discussion raging about whether the display should stay for longer  .....

...... those poppies represent soldiers who could not stay for longer .......

Change of Venue - from Liverpool to London

We had intended to follow Bittern on a Steam Train trip to Liverpool but British Rail cancelled the trip (someone doesn't like steam trains!!!) so we spent the day hanging out the sheets!!!  We sat in the sunshine talking and decided that as we weren't going to Liverpool we would go to London to see the Poppy Installation at the Tower of London.  Coaches were booked and tube trains sorted and at the ungodly hour of 05.30 hrs we were up and ready to go .....  The rain started to slowly fall as we left Tower Hill station, but this did not deter us, we joined the moving lines of people as they moved towards the Tower.  By the time we reached the main road the crowd of people were crushing, there were two police to manage both the crowd and the traffic, which they did magnificently and good humouredly.
We reached the edges of the moat and managed to get down the steps to see the poppies ....


 .... to the left ....

.... and to the right .....

The crowds moved slowly down the hill and separated into those who wanted to view the poppies and those who wanted to enter the tower.  That's when PJ decided to tell me he had bought tickets for the Tower also!!

We crossed the drawbridge and viewed where we had come from ....

...... and then turned round to find the poppies flowing over the bridge!

The poppies are ceramic, larger than I thought and we had chance to see them close up.



The poppies, supported by quite thick wires,  were built up and over from the moat below.

Entering the Tower of London, I wished that I had read up about the history before this visit ..... such a lot to see ......

Gardening in the sunshine

I went into Training today and started deadheading  the Hebes.

It is getting really difficult to tell which one has always been in the garden and which one is the cutting from St Paul's Metro Station.
The one nearest the camera is the cutting!
Both of the bushes were covered with different kinds of bees and visited by a couple of butterflies - even at this time of the year!





Among the flowers in the centre I found these Grape Hyacinths, already in flower!


I wonder if they will flower again in the Spring ......

I trimmed the lavender bush and then sat in the sunshine making lavender wands from the cuttings.

They looked rather flashy although the photo doesn't show them in full colour.



As we started on our journey home, we crossed the turning circle and there in front of us was Bittern.
It looked rather sad sat there among the old engines and cranes .....


BUT

.... on Sunday it was shining bright and dressed to please .....
ignore the little lady in white - she's just found out she's pregnant and is walking on water!!!!!

Update on the tiddlers.....

Remember?

 We have had the baby fish some time now and the little pond was getting so filthy, we could hardly see them among the muck.  We bought some proper pond liner in order to really clean out this little pond properly.
PJ did all the work (I just helped where I could) emptying most of the water out so the the original liner could be removed.


He caught the fish and placed them in a bowl while he sorted out the pond.  When we looked more closely at the fish prior to putting them back in the pond, we found that one of the fish is starting to colour up!

 It is turning red along the edges .... I know that you can't see it but take my word for it - the fish in the square is growing up!

We  placed the liner in the pot, took it out and replaced it in again in a slightly different position, until it was correct.

Once the liner was correct, it was filled with fresh water and the plants, then came the time of putting the fish back into their clean home.
Once they were safely in their new home, PJ built the wall all round it, even at the back where you can't see.

We gave the fish some tiny red worms as a special treat for all they had gone through!

How to spend a Friday .... not!

So I had my hair pinked up, was showered and shaved.
shaved?!?
yeah!
just in case my wrist wasn't good enough!  ha!
I was off to have an Angiogram and if they couldn't get in through my wrist they would enter through my groin.  Wish you hadn't asked now doncha!?!!

There were six of us waiting in the ante room, all with an eight o'clock appointment!  We were taken onto the ward, shown to our beds where we were asked to dress up in the wonderful back opening gowns and given some wonderful paper panties to wear.  Such fun!

We spent the next hour or so having forms filled in, information checked, BP checked and then .... the Doctor comes through and says 'can we hurry up please it's nine o'clock already!'
So the order of operation was sorted out (one could say!) and then during the course of the day it was changed.  All those lucky ladies who went to theatre first also had a cup of tea and toast, which then changed to a sandwich!!!  The rest of us just tried to ignore the fact that we had not had a drink or eaten since the day before :-(

Eventually I went down to theatre, some watched a good show, while I tried to relax against the pain, heat flush, pinprick and the x-ray square moved over and around my chest.  The Doctor, safe behind a screen, explained that everything was ok and I could go back on the ward!

Once I was more sociable, after coffee and a cake sandwich, the Doctor came round to the ward and told me that not only was I ok but, and this is a big BUT, I could throw away all my tablets.  Yeah!  happy dancing!!!

Now I am home again, resting as I was told to, and so thankful.  When I was first diagnosed treated  implied as having a dicky heart, I prayed that if I was ill it could be treated with tablets but here I was .... thanking God and Praising His Name for what He had brought me through.
I have my souvenirs of course ......

 my left arm where the cannula was .....

my right wrist where the tube went in ....

.... and  ..... 

the bruise from my bloods taken a week ago!!!





but praising God all the time ... for He is good!

A Virgin Life

I have to say that it looks as though I shall be able to manage my blogs a little bit better as the new ISP is flowing ....... and life on the laptop has speeded up.
There was a dip in the proceedings - I did not throw the laptop through the window  .... close but no.  The TV was interrupted - in the last five minutes of a film of course!!!
We have had a week of wonderfulness!
So hopefully I will be able to spend my evenings catching up with you all.
Although I have not been typing I have still been working and .... travelling and .... creating and .... taking things easy.  I have travelled from one end of the country to the other and gardened all over the place but now the rain is here and keeping me inside - ish, so the photos will be sorted and the blogs will be written!

No more of this for a while  .....

Woo! Hoo!! New ISP! yeah!!

Make a note of today!

Hopefully it is the start of a great new relationship with the Internet!

The engineer phoned to say could he come round at 10.00hrs instead of 13.00hrs if that would be alright ..... well! of course it was!!!  So along came this nice young man with his toolcase and wires, so we made him a cup of tea and talked some and then he started work ......
2hours later he had connected all the equipment in the house, some we hadn't been using but now it is 'connected' -  we will be able to sit in the back room now.

So the superfast internet that never gave us a full days usage and was so slow has GONE!!

As I am not having to wait for the pc to catch up with me, all my typing appears on screen as I type (this is weird!), looks like we are in sync!

I hope to catch up with all my travellings, tell you all the stories, show you the places I have been, all my gardenings, all my news and ramblings.      I bet you are really looking forward to that!!

Here's a taster ...


for a wedding ....

to visit friends .... 

to enjoy ....



and so much more ......

Life! Wazzup? Life!

So here we are, six months down the road and no further forward medically speaking.  I am still not feeling one hundred percent but at least we saw a Doctor this visit to the hospital.  She rattled out her English words like a machine gun ... I am used to bow and arrow!
I think the gist of it was I am being treated for Angina, take this ... take that ... have another test ....    ....   and then what?
It would be good to be diagnosed with something .... I am still going down the 'bad Indigestion' line but heigh! ho!

Last Sunday evening as I sat watching TV I felt a bit of 'something' in my mouth, thought it was plaque but several 'bits' later I realised that there was a hole at the back of one of my front teeth.  Not good news for me who goes into a panic attack mode at the thought of a Dentist!!!
Here's what we did Monday ..... we went to the Hospital, had a test (?) then saw the Doctor who gave me a prescription for the Doctor's surgery which was on the way to the Dentist and then we went home.  That Dental Receptionist was sooo good I managed to get an appointment on Wednesday ... thrills!!
I went off to my craft group and didn't have a piece of cake with my coffee - don't want to make the hole worse.

Then early on Wednesday morning I went to ... the Dentist!  She was very good.   I don't have any hole in my tooth now and never had  panic attack either!!  The lady Dentist was polite, friendly and QUICK!
Give a yeah! for sweet young things who help the elderly!

I think I had visited at least one garden centre before the anaesthetic wore off and I could eat a slice of cake with my coffee.  By the time we had reached the third cafe Garden Centre there was no trace of any dental treatment.

So me and the 'indigestion' are going to have a nice easy day tomorrow, hopefully.  Maybe make a few cards, ATCs .... paint a few pictures ... visit a few woywwsers ... all from the comfort of my settee ....... now THAT is retirement!!

No photos, did you notice?  We have been soo busy that they will appear at a later date!