10 August 2010

Bloggus Interruptus


Almost three weeks of travelling (and over 1,000 miles) and enjoying myself means that I have been  moving too fast to keep you up to date, gentle reader. I couldn't possibly fill you in on all the fun I've been having, but I'll begin in Scotland.
    I flew into Edinburgh and was met by Jan Farquhar, one of my oldest friends here in the UK. We took the scenic route to her family's home in Blairgowrie which took us along the coastal edge of county Fife through St. Andrew's, where the British Open had just finished. It made me wish that I was a golfer! The golf museum had this crazy group of bronzes, capturing the 'grips' of a bunch of famous golfers. The disembodied hands are very odd. We crossed the Firth of Tay through Dundee on the way to her home. 
    Jan and Derek and their two gorgeous daughters ( well done on those exam results, Pippa!) live in a beautiful manse overlooking the town and they treated me with great generosity, excellent home cooking and numerous cups of tea. I'm looking forward to a return visit. Soon! I can't forget to mention Finn, their excellent canine companion!  
    Blairgowrie used to be a serious mill town, producing linen from flax. Now it is known for what the British call 'soft fruits' - raspberries etc. That's what all those white tunnels are about with the wind farm in the background. We  took  a beautiful drive around Tummel Loch past towns whose names are poetry themselves..no wonder Scotland produced such fine poets. There is music in the language when the Scots speak.
    Toff and Georgie left for Orkney yesterday and I'm now in charge for a couple of weeks. Plenty of time to write about more of my travels and make some new birds in the studio.Tomorrow...Edinburgh.

12 comments:

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

Beautiful scenery!... and, yes, those hands are odd! They sure do catch the eye though.

Sue Pariseau Pottery said...

Gorgeous photos.

Unknown said...

What a lovely holiday! The scottish cattle are beautiful animals and the landscape is stunning. I can see why my husband has been insisting we plan a trip there once I retire.

Linda Starr said...

Love the panoramic scenes, just lovely, the hands, well, to strange

potterboy said...

My distant Douglas relatives lived at Borenich, on Loch Tummel (presumably before the dam was built and it was a loch), and then were cleared, moving to Muirhead of Liff outside of Dundee around 1805-ish. They were weavers. Another part of the family were Jute merchants in Dundee.

Lovely lovely part of the world.

Incognito said...

It's easy to see why this place warms your heart. Continued good travels!

Hollis Engley said...

Be careful of the Cotswold scrumpie, Daniel.

Anna M. Branner said...

Ah, there you are! Though I knew you arrived safely from Hannah's blog...Glad you are having a relaxing time. Im off on the 20th, believe it or not!

doug Fitch said...

Howdy Dan, reckon you'll be able to make it to Devon?

Tracey Broome said...

Lucky you! What a beautiful place.
I appreciated your comment on Sawdust and Dirt this morning re: Pilcher. I raised a bit of a ruckus on my blog, I'm afraid! If you want to express your feelings about him, jump on over and have a go, everyone else did! I won't delete any of it...

Quietly Otaku said...

I used to live in Dundee you should totally visit if you get the chance!

Hannah said...

You're right Dan. Those nuts knock the socks off our common greasy poor excuses for peanuts.