Duncan on sentry duty on the rock in the garden.....

Calum's "new" yacht - bought for £1.00!!!!!  finally arrives in Plockton.

August 23, 2017

It is bowling along towards the end of August – the days since I last wrote have simply shot by!

The new carpet in the flat kitchen is down and I am very pleased with the look of it – fawn interspersed with green. It will be good for a room which the dogs use a lot, especially as they come in there, often with wet feet.

Having said that, I cannot say we have had many very wet days. Recently it has been rather warm with occasional windy spells and yes, a bit of rain! Noticeably absent, to date, are the midges- wonderful!!!

The builders have come and gone, so the front porch roof is now new, with the old solar panels gone. There is a slight pitch on the new grey corrugated roof and it looks good to me. Importantly, it will not leak! The solar panels had been fastened through the old roof, so in time water seeped in and did some damage..... All's well now.

I still have to have the painter to do quite a bit of indoor work and then the house will be completely overhauled, if that is the correct word. It has been a busy twelve months with outdoor painters, plumbers, electricians, joiners, carpet layers and masons working here – and now a young friend cuts the lawns beautifully, when needed. I am quite spoiled, you note!

Regatta this year was at the end of July, beginning of August. Moira, Catriona, Sean and Daniel were all up and the boys had some good crewing in local boat races. Daniel was lucky enough to skipper the Seolta, owner and helm Ian Hay, in the boys race – and he won the cup! Ian, you made one boy very very happy, thank you!

After the family went home I have had plenty to keep me busy, with guests from many different places – I just love meeting everyone! This week I have two very keen gentlemen walkers staying for some nights, then a little lull before a very busy time....

And!!

Alison is here, all the way from Toowoomba, Australia. She is staying for about three weeks and her visit was timed to coincide with the wedding of friends Dave and Denise who have come here often over the past years. We kept Alison's arrival a secret from them (they met each other last year here) and so Dave and Denise were delighted last week to arrive and meet her again!

The wedding was on Calum's Seal Trip boat – just the happy couple, Alison and I, Calum and his wife Jane, the crew member and the Celebrant. Oh, and the dogs, who behaved impeccably, thank goodness – they were there at Dave and Denise's request.

That same day, friends of Alison's arrived in the village and they visited us twice.

After Alison leaves here, she;'l have a few days in Edinburgh with Moira and then travel south to meet other friends, whom she met on her last year's trip to Iceland. From there she will get to Heathrow and the long journey home. I shall, as usual, miss her a lot.......

But we have plenty of days still to do some touring around, cross stitching – the finished article will be subtly spectacular – Alison's doing, not mine! - and talking about the new house Alison will move to, shortly after her arrival home – I wish I were near enough to help her flit......

I hope you are well and that you may be heading to the north west of Scotland one time soon? Come to visit Plockton, please!

Best wishes

Ann