Well here I am sitting by the fire in Ullapool all cosy with Tom and Floof while James makes his delicious asparagus risotto for tea. It’s wet, wild and windy outside all over Scotland and when we drove north yesterday we saw that the rivers were very high and flooding the fields, especially the River Spey at Kingussie. I have developed a very chesty cold so I’m glad that we decided not to go to this years Ceilidh in the Village Hall, and I’m looking forward to a quiet evening, on this my 62nd birthday. All three of my lovely sons have been in touch to wish me a Happy Birthday.
It has been a good year in many ways for me personally, however there has been sadness for some of my family and friends whose close family members have died or are very ill. We had a great ski holiday in January with Heather and Ewan which proved to me that my skiing days are not quite over yet. We have had several really good trips to London and we stayed in Ally and Cat’s beautiful flat for two of them. We took the Eurostar for the first time and had a couple of sunny days in Paris which were great fun. We went to some fantastic concerts and plays both in Glasgow and London and have more planned for next year. We accidentally followed Sir Ian McKellen home to Limehouse one night which was very amusing! We went to France and Belgium on a wonderful holiday with Davie and Chanel, and a trip to Islay and Jura by ourselves. We went our annual visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford and had a superb week in the Cotswolds. We visited Jenn and Russ at their gorgeous house in the Dordogne and they were marvellous hosts, showing us around the area. Davie and Chanel bought their first house, in Uddingston, and I’m thrilled that they are living only three miles away from us. They have also got a clever and cute little cat called Skye. My grand-cat. We spent lots of time in our cottage in Ullapool, the most ever, almost a third of the year at 110 days. Then in October into November we visited Jamie and Kerry in New Zealand, met their enthusiastic and good-natured Dalmatian puppy Whisky, my grand-dog, and celebrated their engagement with them while we were there. We also had an idyllic short break in the paradise that is the Fiji Islands.
And the final tally for James’ steps this year is 9.77 million! A record for him and an amazing achievement.
So let’s hope that next year goes well for all of us; not just family and friends but the rest of humanity, because as John Donne wrote 400 years ago this year:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
It has been a good year in many ways for me personally, however there has been sadness for some of my family and friends whose close family members have died or are very ill. We had a great ski holiday in January with Heather and Ewan which proved to me that my skiing days are not quite over yet. We have had several really good trips to London and we stayed in Ally and Cat’s beautiful flat for two of them. We took the Eurostar for the first time and had a couple of sunny days in Paris which were great fun. We went to some fantastic concerts and plays both in Glasgow and London and have more planned for next year. We accidentally followed Sir Ian McKellen home to Limehouse one night which was very amusing! We went to France and Belgium on a wonderful holiday with Davie and Chanel, and a trip to Islay and Jura by ourselves. We went our annual visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford and had a superb week in the Cotswolds. We visited Jenn and Russ at their gorgeous house in the Dordogne and they were marvellous hosts, showing us around the area. Davie and Chanel bought their first house, in Uddingston, and I’m thrilled that they are living only three miles away from us. They have also got a clever and cute little cat called Skye. My grand-cat. We spent lots of time in our cottage in Ullapool, the most ever, almost a third of the year at 110 days. Then in October into November we visited Jamie and Kerry in New Zealand, met their enthusiastic and good-natured Dalmatian puppy Whisky, my grand-dog, and celebrated their engagement with them while we were there. We also had an idyllic short break in the paradise that is the Fiji Islands.
And the final tally for James’ steps this year is 9.77 million! A record for him and an amazing achievement.
So let’s hope that next year goes well for all of us; not just family and friends but the rest of humanity, because as John Donne wrote 400 years ago this year:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
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