Glasgae

As Andy was writing sermons today, I decided to head to Glasgow and do some visiting. First on the list were my lovely Grannie and Grandad who live in Cardonald (and you can see Tommy Sheridan’s house from their kitchen window!) The journey normally takes about 50 minutes, but today there was loads of traffic and it actually took an hour and forty. Still, it meant that I got to listen to Queen’s Greatest Hits II all the way through (with plenty time for repeating my favourite tracks) which always makes for a good sing-a-long.

Once I was there, I enjoyed a couple of hours chatting, showing off holiday photos, and munching on homemade pancakes (with the butter spread 6 inches thick - just the way that most old people and I seem to like them!) As I was leaving, the rain stopped long enough for me to get this picture of Grannie and Grandad with the very large hanging basket currently blooming at their front door.

No Grannie is not on steroids, Grandad is just standing on a lower step!

Grannie had told me when I arrived that the man next door had been taking pictures of the basket, and I had assumed it was because he was so impressed by it. Conversation later revealed that he simply had a new camera which he was testing out, and he had even been taking photographs of the other neighbours putting out their rubbish bins! Still, he gave Grannie the resulting prints so I think she was chuffed.

Next I went on a little adventure to East Kilbride using the directions which I got from the AA route finder website. Anyone who has used AA route finder in the past will know that the directions are not always accurate so I had no idea where I would end up. I saw parts of the world I did not know existed, and passed by places I had always heard of but never been to eg. Rouken Glen and Giffnock. Still, I reached my destination (Michelle and Dave’s flat) without any problems although I obviously went wrong somewhere as I approached their street from the left when according to my directions it should have been on the right.

Michelle and Dave (at a wedding - not dressed up for my arrival!)

A cup of coffee and a good chat later, and I was back on the road to Fife. This time my tunes of choice were from The Bodyguard soundtrack. One word = amazing.

Catherine

Lucca

Me and The Ponte Vecchio

We’re just back from a week in the historic heart of Lucca, an ancient walled town that dates back to Roman times, and wow what a place it is! A vast army of wooded, lush green hills encircles Lucca (the Apuan Alps my old boy informs me) which you could almost be forgiven for thinking belong in Scotland – that is of course until you look up and see the undisturbed bright blue sky!

Our rented apartment, a great combination of modern amenities and rustic charm, was ideally located just a short walk from the medieval walls and not too close to the centre of town to be disturbed by the noisy ‘passeggiata’. The apartment was four storeys up and came complete with a spacious balcony, so we had views to die for! We were certainly high enough to be blown away by the beauty of the terracotta hotch potch that is Lucca’s skyline.

Part of the view from our balcony

I want to leave any detailed holiday descriptions to Catherine, but thought I could briefly list the things I liked and disliked about the holiday:

Likes

• The narrow streets and high buildings made the town a great place to meander through
• The colour of the buildings – all different shades of oranges and yellows
• The weather – not too hot or humid, but in the thirties every day!
• The balcony – a great place to read and soak up the sun
• The town walls – lined by trees for the most part, so slightly cooler, the perfect place for a cycle run
• The bikes – a real, and surprising highlight. I loved cruising around and exploring on our ‘biciclette’

C’s bike

• The amphitheatre – the cafes here were cheap and what a backdrop to enjoy some good coffee
• Spending quality time with my family – it was great to get up and spend all day with my wife and my parents (here, I’m beginning to sound like Michelle! Only joking MT!!!)

My Mum and Dad Chilling Out On The Walls

• Puccini – Anyone who has been to our house here in Inverkeithing will know by the pictures in our living room and doubtless the records playing that I dig Puccini. Going to his home town and seeing Turandot and Madame Butterfly will live long in the memory

Puccini’s Home On The Shores Of Torre Del Lago

• Food and drink – cheap, really cheap, and tasty – especially the ravioli for 4 euros. Cannae grumble!
• The doors – the ornate, sturdy front doors to the houses were like works of art, really amazing.

A Typical Lucchese Doorway

• Ice Cream – no, not the taste of it, but just witnessing the joy that it brought into my wife’s life
• Fiesole – what a lovely wee town, and what views over Florence
• Our Camera – I had great fun taking (nearly 1000) photos

San Michele

• Neptune and David – the statues outside the Uffizi in Florence were so impressive

Dude with a Corking Beard

• Mark Driscoll – I didn’t do as much reading as I thought I might, but his ‘Radical Reformission’ got me thinking
• Baralla – C and I ate there one evening. Great food and welcoming atmosphere
• Fairport Convention – I came out of the bedroom one morning to find my Dad ironing and listening to (and singing!) my favourite Fairport song…’Banks of the Sweet Primroses‘. (This list could go on all night, one more will do it)

• Lucca’s botanical gardens – a real treat to walk around, a lovely lake with terrapins and carp being the highlight

Dislikes

• Ryanair – uncomfortable seats and too many pleas to buy their merchandise over the intercom.
• Florence – too busy and too hot, not a patch on Lucca. That said, the Ponte Vecchio was amazing.

C Looks Down Over Ponte Vecchio

• Mozzies – ow, still sore
• Graffiti – everywhere you looked

More graffiti

• Baralla – Okay, so it made the above list too, but we went back with my mum and dad and the food wasn’t as good as the previous time and it was too busy and way too loud. (I can’t think of anything else!)

Overall, what a holiday! I loved it and would truly recommend Lucca to anyone wanting a relaxing break. I want to go back!!

Andy

and the REST OF THE PHOTOS!!!!

Lovely Lunch

Last week my Auntie Catriona and Uncle Alan spent a week in Thurso with my mum and dad - the first time they have been to visit for about 13 years!! (Talk about naming and shaming … ) This week they are in Edinburgh and today they took me out for lunch.

Uncle Alan and Auntie Catriona

We went to The Hub which I think might be fast becoming my new haunt. I was there with Jeni last week - so it seemed fitting to return with her parents - and had realised how nice and competitively priced it is. For example, if you order a muffin (which I am prone to doing) you don’t just get a muffin thrown down on a plate in front of you, you get a muffin beautifully presented with cream, a raspberry and dusted in icing sugar. All for under £2!

Anyway, it was really nice to catch up with Catriona and Alan. They were also able to deliver a bag of clothes to me from mum (she’s lending me some items which should hopefully be well suited to the Italian climate) as well as some little gifts from my parents recent holiday in Ireland … Yummy chocolate fudge for Andy, and a yummy looking candle like one of the ones below for me:

I haven’t tried to eat it. Yet.

Catherine

Mum, St Andrews and Elie

Chloe and a confused looking Lucy!

My mum is down from Inverness for the weekend so we’ve been busy. Last night we went into Edinburgh for tea (Pizza Express) followed by a mercifully brief jaunt to IKEA. This morning we were all at the Café. Catherine had done some baking that was demolished before I got a chance to sample it, which just means she’ll have to make some more.

Some Cafe Dudes

After the Café we headed to St Andrews and then to Elie for a quick walk round by the harbour. The forecast was for sunshine, but this never materialized and instead we had to deal with pretty strong winds as you can see…

Elie windy

We’re back home now, me watching the footie on one TV and Catherine and my mum watching a chick flick they hired out on the other. The second half has started so I’m away – I’m sure Catherine will write in more detail soon.

C’mon Russia….

More PHOTOS!

Andy

Mr and Mrs Armstrong

I write this post armed with tissue and surrounded by scrunched up balls of tissue that I have already used, because yesterday was an emotional day. My beautiful cousin Jeni was wed in a fairytale location, we dined and danced in a luxury marquee and now she and her dashing husband are jetting off on their exotic dream honeymoon.

Well actually the tissue has more to do with the fact I am completely choked with the cold! Walking around in a bridesmaid’s dress on a cold, slightly rainy day will do that to you. But it was worth it … and for the record, the paragraph above is still true!

Arriving at Dundas Castle

The wedding took place at Dundas Castle in South Queensferrry, an (extremely) stately home which was a fantastic location. From the twisty climb to it’s historic stone chapel, the turrets with panoramic views across the Forth, a grand sweeping staircase into the wood panelled halls … everything about it was unique to any other wedding I have been to. And the guest rooms were huge! Jeni, Lee and I got ready in the room where her parents were staying for the night and ‘plush’ does not do it justice. My brother claims that the bathroom alone was bigger than his entire flat (a slight exaggeration but not too far off the mark!) and it even had 2 armchairs in it. Why? I don’t know. But it was cool!

The Bride

Jeni claims that she was nervous but there was nothing to suggest that she was. She looked calm and composed … not to mention absolutely stunning! We all had our hair done at Boosh in Edinburgh earlier in the day and when Jeni was all set and ready to head to the chapel she really did look like a bride from a magazine. The look on Colin’s face when she walked down the aisle said it all. I think he was pretty much speechless!

Work of art

Once they were married, Mr and Mrs Armstrong cut the cake which was also unique! Hours of work had gone in to creating the sugar lillies, dragon flies, ladybirds and even a sugar bumble bee. It seemed a shame to chop it up but once it had been it seemed a shame not to eat any. And it tasted just as good as it looked!

All in all it was a fantastic day. There isn’t much more I can say about it than that so I’ll leave you with a game of Spot the Difference while I go and blow my nose for the 342nd time since I started writing this post …

Me, Auntie Catriona, Rachel and Mum

Catherine

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s birthday. I’m sure he is having a great evening as he is spending it at Presbytery. Woo!

When I was younger I would regularly get my Dad an Easter Egg as a present and this year decided to do the same … but I wanted to go for something a bit posher than a Snickers or a Crunchie one. And so I turned to Hotel Chocolat who do an amazing selection of the thickest Easter Eggs I have ever seen. However, there was a problem. They simply had too many to choose from.

Each of Hotel Chocolat’s eggs have names and with titles like ‘Your Eggsellency’ and ‘The Eggsibitionist’ there were quite a few that I thought would be suitable for Dad. I just couldn’t decide which one. Then, one night a few weeks ago, Andy had to wake me up from my sleep because I was disturbing him so much with noisy laughter! In the morning he asked if I remembered this happening, and although my memory of the actual event was hazy I did know that I had been dreaming about choosing an Easter Egg for Dad. And so, that very day my decision was made and the following Easter Egg was ordered:

It’s called ‘You Crack Me Up.’

Catherine

Weekend In The Highlands

Been a while. Apologies.

Dornoch Cathedral

We spent this weekend up in Inverness visiting my parents. It had been ages since we’d been up north, so it was cracking just chilling out, reading and eating all weekend. We did some shopping on Friday morning, visited Catherine’s Grandparents in the afternoon and went to Eden Court in the evening to hear Mahler’s 4th. We had a box to ourselves with some very comfy chairs which was a stark improvement on our last trip to a concert (Alcina in Paris) where our bumcheeks were completely numb after a few seconds! Mahler wasn’t played until the second half, which meant we had to endure some Ravel, but the SNO (not Evander) were in good form, so even that was bearable.

Saturday took us to Dornoch to meet up with C’s parents. We grabbed some lunch in Luigi’s (surprisingly not an Italian Restaurant) before having a walk round the town. I’d played a concert in Dornoch Cathedral many years ago with HRYO (Highland Regional Youth Orchestra), but I’d forgotten what a amazing building it is. In fact the whole town is lovely (if you disagree, pause and remember that we live in Inverkeithing!).

After Dornoch, we headed back to my parents to read (Schaeffer) and chat.

Here are some more photos of our weekend away.

Now we’re safely installed back in Fife. Hopefully we won’t leave it as long this time before we head for the Highlands.

Andy
P.S Herb wins the Best Album at the Grammies! Whoooohooooo!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to you all (or if you’re one of these strange American people, ‘Happy New Years Y’all’!!)

All the best for 2008 from us both

Andy and Catherine

Rebel, Rebel

There’s a car advert out just now which features the song ‘Hey Dude’ by Kula Shaker. It was on TV a few weeks ago and I mentioned to Andy that I had always wanted to get the Kula Shaker album but hadn’t been allowed because of the Hare Krishna connection that the band had. Andy told me that I hadn’t missed out on anything as he had owned the CD at one stage and thought it was rubbish. ‘Oh no’ I said casually, ‘I know what it was like. I used to borrow it from friends and listen to it all the time’

As soon as I said it I knew how geeky it made me sound! The fact that probably the most rebellious thing I did during high school was borrow a CD which I wasn’t actually allowed to buy is really quite sad.

Moving on … last week Andy bought me an early anniversary present in the form of a new pair of boots. They were to replace the ones I have had to wear all summer (due to the lack of flip flop weather) resulting in worn away heels and slippy soles which mean I end up on my bum every time I walk down a hill. But not anymore! My new amazing boots (see photo below) have full heels and grips. This is a great relief to me as I no longer fear for my life when running to the train station.

Yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary and when I came home, propped up alongside some of the cards we had received was a square, silver package which Andy suggested I open. Inside was none other than ‘K’ - the long anticipated Kula Shaker album! I do feel like a bit of a rebel now that I actually own a copy. I hope my mum and dad won’t be angry with me …

Catherine