Scotland: the games

Life on the boat was pretty simple, really. One person drove (mostly Gerald, designated skipper, although we all had little turns here and there), one person kept the skipper company, and the rest of us stayed inside the boat where it was warm & dry, until we were needed at a lock. 

We entertained ourselves with games & reading. Simple, brilliant fun.

Have I told you about bananagrams before? It is one of my favourite games. It's a bit like Scrabble, except it's much faster - each person starts off with 11, 15 or 21 tiles (depending on numbers of players), and you have to make intersecting words with the tiles until you've used them all up. At which point, you shout, 'Peel!' and everyone picks up another tile. Keep going until all the letters are used up. I love it.

See my little elf slippers? I am so glad I took these for extra warmth & coziness

Becky introduced me to Skip-Bo, which is an American card game. Very simple, based on luck as well as a bit of skill. The boys weren't too bothered by this, so most of the time Becky & I would play together. 

We played a lot of Scrabble & Uno too, but sadly, there's no photographic evidence.

And lastly, the most fun game to watch was when the boys decided it was a good idea to go for a swim in Loch Oich. We'd chatted to a local lady at Drumnadrochit who said she wouldn't recommend swimming as the water is so cold, but if we really wanted to, Loch Oich was the warmest place (in the mildest sense of the word) to swim, with the water being about 5 degrees! 

Us sensible ladies didn't need to think twice about not going for the swim, but when we moored and were greeted by three lovely Scottish children running off the pontoon & leaping in, the boys had to follow suit. It was so very funny to watch & hear their reactions to the temperature of the water sapping their body heat away from them!

 Gerald approaching the cold waters of Loch Oich

 John's face as he realizes just how cold it really is

 Gerald, by far the most hardy of the bunch, swimming off into the distance. Meanwhile...

 Ready, steady.....

 JUMP!!!!!

 SPLASH!!!!

Tim's face as he let out a roar (quite literally) from the shock

I loved that while you could visibly see the shock & impact of the cold on John & Tim, who swiftly got out and declared how utterly freezing Loch Oich was, Gerald glided through the waters, emerged on shore & pronounced how nice & refreshing it was. The Scottish children we met continued their running & jumping off the pontoon game long after our boys had left the water, and when we revisited Loch Oich on the return journey, they were still there, still jumping in, again & again, making many happy childhood memories.

the blue shack

One of the regular activities which took place on our holiday was running. Five of the group are in training of the Bristol Half Marathon, and being on holiday didn't mean a break from running. 

When we had moored at Loch Oich, Tim, John & I went for a run on a track alongside the Loch. After darting here & there, jumping over the tree roots that were sprawled across the path, we came across a little blue shack. We wondered aloud whether anyone lived there, although it looked pretty shabby & like it had been a long time since it had been loved. Tim poked his head round the door & spotted a sleeping bag with some empty beer cans, and the smell of wood smoke greeted him, before he withdrew to tell us what he had seen. 

When you were a child, did you ever see old, derelict & deserted buildings & wonder what it would be like to venture inside? I remember that feeling of avid curiousity - was there anyone living in there, and if so, would they eat me alive or shout at me for trespassing?

The feeling of nervous excitement & caution coursed through our veins as we toyed with the idea of venturing inside, wondering who or what we might find. Our intrigue overruled caution and we ventured in. Although there wasn't anybody in there, I still felt the need to creep around on tiptoes, holding my breath as I went, as though the emptiness of this little house commanded an unspoken reverence for its history.

Here's what we found...

 paper thin floors

 I wonder when this little oven was last used

 I loved the fabric of this blanket, despite the dirt

a teeny tiny bedroom that I could only just stand up in

One of the curious things about this little shack is that there was a kitchen, bedrooms, living rooms, but no bathroom. We pondered why this might be, then as we emerged back into the sunlight outdoors, I heard the sound of a rushing waterfall behind me and looked at the Loch in front of me. This shack was surrounded by water. Who needs a shower when you have a waterfall?

The Great Glen

We're back from a week spent in the Highlands of Scotland, travelling on a boat along the Caledonian Canal.

Our week was buffered with glorious sunshine & filled in with buckets & buckets of rain.  

As you can imagine, being somewhere as beautiful as Scotland meant that a lot of photos were snapped. So as not to overwhelm you, I'll be sharing some of my favourite images over the next few days.

The Loch's & the Locks

 Loch Ness

Loch Ness at dusk


Loch Oich

 A very wet Sara at Fort Augustus

Me & Gerald, soaking up the Scottish rain

 my favourite person pulling our boat through the lock on a very rainy day
{the butcher in the background made the most delicious pies - we went there twice & loved the Scotch & Bridie pies}

some of us didn't have adequate footwear for the slippery stones, so when it rained, we went barefoot

 Becky ensuring we stay alive in the lock

 Tim manning the ropes & the sun gleaming on our lovely cruiser, the Taransay III

on clouds, family and flowers

This is the last week of my PGCE course, which is very exciting, but also means that I have not managed to blog about the weekend before now. 

So here's a quick overview of the weekend events...

We set off for Surrey, hoping to leave a wet Bristol behind and find some sunshine. We found a few rays by the time we got there, having driving under heavy black & grey skies for hours. I didn't mind though, because I got to watch the ever changing skies the whole time (apart from during my nap), which is one of my favourite things to do.

It was exciting to be arriving, knowing that my Granny had no idea we were coming to celebrate her 90th birthday with her. Surprises are so much fun when you're in on the secret.

My Granny is priceless - when my Mum & Dad arrived she said to my Dad 'what are you doing here? I only saw you two weeks ago!' 

I could not get over these sugar crafted flowers that were on top of her cake. They were just perfect - attention had been paid to every single delicate detail of the colour, shape and form of the irises.

Irises for Iris

As I took this photo, my Granny was talking to a friend about the WI and how old white sheets make the perfect table cloths for cake stalls at Women's Institute Summer fairs. They reminisced on how it used to take a whole day to do one's laundry & chuckled at the way things have changed. I love hearing about what life used to be like in the years before I lived, told straight from the mouths of those who lived in those times.

 

After we had chatted & celebrated & eaten vast amounts of wonderful food (there were enough varieties of cake to open up a bakery), John & I headed to London to spend the night at his parents in East Dulwich.

I always love visiting the shops in East Dulwich - there are so many pretty things to pour over. I found two dresses in a charity shop for £12 and these beautiful incense sticks. 

I bought these from a gift shop called Ed, and while I was happily browsing their beautiful selection of gifts, I witnessed a theft! A girl walked out of the shop, setting the alarms off, and two of the staff ran after her. They returned ten minutes later, and hadn't managed to catch her. That must be so disheartening when people decide to steal something that helps to provide your livelihood. 

I also came home with these beautiful flowers grown with love in my mother's garden, and a bay tree from John's parents.

If you've made it to the end of this photo fest, well done, and thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings!

mother's day

When I think of my mum, so many things come to mind. I think of how she loved us so well as small children. Reading to us at bedtime, cooking us dinner from scratch every single day; answering the endless questions we would ask about anything and everything; going to search for my springy pink keyring that I lost on the beach - going out of her way to find this precious belonging which she had told me to leave at home because she could foresee the heart break that lay ahead. I think of her delicate feminine figure, walking down the garden to put the compost on the heap and getting lost amongst her carefully tended flowers. I think of the long plait running down her back, keeping her long hazel locks out of her eyes. I think of her gentle voice that so rarely shouted at us when berating our misbehaviour. 

Watching my friends around me start to bring children into this world, I see them cope with the tiredness of a newborn, and the way they give their all to meeting the needs of the babe in their arms, and find myself in even greater awe of my own mother and how she did this four times over. I think of all the energy and love she gave us as infants that we will never be able to remember. I love that my Mum and Dad have shared in this journey of parenthood, sticking side by side, a united force throughout. I love that whenever I tried to be sneaky and ask my Mum for something and she said, 'no', I would approach Dad with the same question and his first response would be, 'have you asked Mum?' They could see right through my childishness, seeking to get the desired response from one parent if the other hadn't given it. There was something wonderful about knowing that they were on the same page with decision making. That if one said no, the other would stand by this.

As an adult,  my appreciation of my Mother takes on a new form, seeing her love in a new light, seeing the sacrifices she has made for us in so very many ways over the course of our lives so far. I am so thankful that I have a wonderful, steadfast mother that I can call on  for help, drawing on her fountains of knowledge, that I might grow and learn and become a shadow of the brilliance that she reflects.

Happy Mother's Day, Mum. I love you & all that you do for us.

With love, your daughter xxx

come sit a while

Hello friends. How are you? It's been a while. The Summer has been truly British in nature. Little glimmers of sunshine here and there with plenty of rain and coolness. The school holidays are almost over and have been choc-full. (I'm really not sure about the phrase 'choc-full'. Is it even a legitimate phrase? I don't know. But for some reason, I feel it works in this context, so it's staying.) So, here goes with the recap of the last month. It's not quite in chronological order, as I am starting with the last first, but hey, that's Biblical so that's fine.

I had the pleasure of having my one and only beautiful sister come and stay for a couple of days at the start of this week. Plenty of relaxing ensued in the form of an evening at the spa and drinking velencian orange liquid chocolate, courtesy of Hotel Chocolat. Being Barnes', our clumsiness had to come along for the liquid chocolate fun too. Sarah managed to pour some on her shoes & dip her nose in the good stuff in an effort not to spill it. Needless to say, it didn't work, but was greatly amusing. Thanks for the laughter, Sarah.

cranachan revisited

A little while ago I mentioned that I had made a scrumdidliumptious dessert whose name I couldn't quite remember. So I called it 'Canacharan Sundae'
Its real name is Cranachan Sundae - a Jamie Oliver special. Not a big difference in the name, but totally different meanings, and now that I know it's proper name, I figured I might as well use it!

Tonight, I made it for my sister & I.

Yum yum in my tum.

a little round up

For the last 5 days three of the four Barnes family children have been gallavanting in Madrid. Our host: The oldest Barnes child. The one who can cook, bake, create, speak incredible Spanish, whip me up a design for any kind of invite from a black tie meal to a kids tobogganing trip, the legend that is John. Our days consisted of...

cruising on the metrolate night
pizza al fresco
pefect ice cream
inspiring photography by him
blazing sun & a little bit of sunburn
coffee coffee coffee
catholic processions on good friday
old memories refreshed
sibling banter
spanish bilingual children
late nights
photos photos photos

design

So it has been the case lately that I have suddenly needed a whole lot of fliers & invites designed for various church events. I am very blessed to have two exceedingly gifted brothers who help me out a whole lot more than I ever help them, and time and again come to my rescue. John, thankyou for doing such a wonderful last minute design job yet again this week. You are amazing.

Having been so impressed with some of John's work, a good friend of mine asked if he might be able to design a flier for a charity coffee morning next week. (I know I didn't tell you this John - it would have needed to be done yesterday & I thought two jobs in one day was pushing the limits just slightly.) So, not wanting to inflict more work on my brother, I suggested that we (which I ultimately knew meant 'I') could make one. All we needed to do was take a photo of a cup of coffee, upload to picasa, add some text, and wham, bam, thankyou m'am, we'd have ourselves an invite.

Amazingly, it all worked out. The only downside was that I had to drink a cup of coffee in order to take the photo. Not really a bad thing. Only yesterday, for me, it was a bad thing. I had already had a large coffee with this friend who needed the flier, and one cup is my limit. Anymore and my head will feel like it is trying to take off, and I will not sleep well.

'Decaff?!' I hear you ask. Yes. I'd totally intended on getting decaff, but totally forgot. So I was buzzing like a crazy little bee for far too many hours yesterday evening. And here is the caffeine fuelled goodness that was the cause of my bee-like-ness...


Simple, I know, but hey, it does the job and I like it.

about a girl...

This is my radiant sister. I've been thinking about you a lot lately, Sarah. I hope you are having a wonderful, wonderful time in Morocco. I hope that you are seeing sights that utterly take your breath away, that you pray that you will never forget the moments you are experiencing. I hope that you are being challenged in the fantastic way that travelling to another part of the world tends to do. I hope that you are getting a thirst for seeing things outside of the 'world' you know - the one that you have grown up in and feel totally familiar with - realising now that there is so much more to see and learn. I love you. x

a liverpudlian lilt

This week I've had the pleasure of having my beautiful sister come to stay with me. She's so grown up and mature these days. The thing that amused me the most was the way she's picked up a hint of the Liverpudlian accent, after spending a weekend with the cousins in Liverpool over Easter. She even speaks German with a Liverpudlian accent. Apparently I speak German with a Scottish accent. Ho hum. Poor Sarah was privy to just how awful my sense of direction is. We ended up on the wrong section of the M5 again and nearly ended up in Wales again - this is becoming quite a habit for me. But hey, I always manage to get where I'm going eventually - it just tends to take slightly longer than it does for the average person. I need someone to teach me to navigate and map read.

All of my plants that I am growing are coming along nicely, although it's been dawning on me that I am going to need a whole lot more pots to plant the rapidly growing seedlings into, especially for my sunflowers. I am having a competition with Andy, a guy from church who lives just down the road with his lovely wife Kate. Our sunflowers have the potential to grow up to 9feet! So far I have 12 sunflower babies. If they all flourish, my little patio is going to be festooned with sunflowers - how exciting!

A few pictures from my walk to the office today...




There are some pretty amazing graffiti artists in Bristol.