Well I’ve navigated the lumps and bumps of Great Britain today! Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland all in a daytime. Phew. The fast ferry (Dublin to Holyhead) helped. Boy it's quick! It was like being in a huge car, driving over the sea. Powering. We overtook Manx Shearwaters. But now I'm here on beautiful Deeside where there's a fishing party and a week's work ahead.
It's too hot for happy fishing but there are no complaints. All is very well indeed. The magnificent surroundings are singing out to the sun and these fertile lands on the east side of Scotland are churning out strawberries. And I'm churning out summery puds.. From frozen strawberry cheesecakes (below) to sky rise pavlovas...
On an afternoon out I went to see Crathes Castle. It's famed for it's lovely garden and for it's colourful ceiling paintings, c. 1599. Some of them make me grin. The Scots seem to love their helpful but rather odd sayings. After a visit earlier in the year to Inchcombe abbey, I laughingly remembered and wrote about the mad phrases etched into it's stone walls (scroll down and down to the Firth of Forth post. May 2013 I think). A few of the sensible sentences offered to readers at Crathes include; 'Interfering in someone else's argument is as foolish as yanking a dog's ear', 'Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a lame foot', and 'It's better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman and in a wide house'. (!) The traffic police north of the border are continuing the fine tradition. Whereas in England the messages on the VMS's (variable message signs) are mundane or out of date warnings, the Scots issue a different message on every one along the way like "Belt up in the back" (which i suppose could be taken two ways..) or "Please be a thoughtful driver" or "Heavy rain ahead" or "Don't hog the middle lane", just to be helpful and make dazed drivers smile.
My hunt for Pearl Bordered fritillaries (butterflies with a breeding spot near Loch Aboyne) was fruitless. But, within a little glass display case, in a craft shop near Crathes, I found my most coveted gold-smithery to date. Each piece is conjured in a workshop in Grandtully, by Aberfeldy. The craftsmanship of each piece is spell-binding and breath-taking. The owl bracelets below have painstakingly engraved feathers floating all over the inside. One day I will own a Malcolm Appleby gold bracelet...
