and realises it's been too long

Gosh! I haven't posted anything here since well before Christmas. Not that the world will stop turning but I like to keep busy and it's quite good self discipline to post regularly. So what's been happening and where have we been?

Well we spent a lovely Christmas in Wales with GlamourPuss and the Prof. On our way south we had a two night stopover at the lovely White Swan, Pickering, North Yorkshire. This is a great addition to our list of dog friendly hotels. The dog friendly accommodations are the hideaway rooms in the courtyard.  These are not the second class abodes sometimes forced on dog owners, they are large, cosy and luxurious. And you're not confined to your room either, dogs are welcome, and a real warm welcome it is too, in the bars (where you can eat off the restaurant menu) and the sumptuous residents only bothy, which is about as far from a mountain bothy as you can get. Unless you know of a mountain bothy with soft sofas, an open fire, magazines, free hot beverages and an honesty bar??? The food is good too and Pickering seems to be well supplied with nice little eateries if you want to venture out.

candlelit dinner

relax by the fire

pig in a jar

Pickering is a pretty little town with some interesting shops,  a heritage railway , castle and stand out medieval frescoes in the church of St Peter and St Paul which is tucked away up a vennel behind the pet shop (also recommended). The surrounding area has plenty to offer too and hopefully will soon recover from the terrible floods.* After exploring the town we headed to Filey to stretch our legs on the beach; the tide had other ideas though so we kept to the prom. Dogstarke did manage a little dip and met lots of nice dogs, including five other BTs (and was nice to them) so it was a good day for her too.

church of St Peter and St Paul, Pickering

Filey

enjoying the sea

Christmas Eve saw us loading up the sleigh and heading to Wales where we mostly cocooned and  enjoyed the splendid hospitality of the aforementioned Glamour'n'Prof. But we did sneak in a couple of visits to our old favourite The Angel, I loved the apres ski bar.

Rudi taking a break from the sleigh 

it has to be said, she was less than thrilled.......

just one of Glamour's trees

in the selfie shack

that might not be coffee.......

We headed back north for the New Year and after a brief stop off with the MacStarkes,  were home to toast 2016 at our local with a dram and some dancing.

a dram similar to the one taken

A belated Happy New Year!

Marina x


*Pickering avoided the floods

and enjoys being a tourist at home

PapaStarke came to stay for a few days recently so I had the chance to be a tourist at home again. His first full day promised the best weather so we planned a small expedition.
We wrapped up well and set off for the ferry from Cuan to Luing. Dad's not too good on boats but this was ok as it's just a few minutes across the sound, although it is a pretty fast flowing channel.
Safely across, our destination was Cullipool and the Atlantic Islands Centre where we could enjoy a spot of lunch. I  think an expedition without food is like..........Something that is no fun at all!

I've done the trip before, the first time along the coast and it appeared in DogStarke's blog back in June, and on another occasion MrS., DogS and I took the path over the hill crossing the highest point on Luing, but that was pretty muddy even after a dry spell,  so Dad and I kept to the road. It's still a nice walk with lovely views across Torsa to Loch Melfort and plenty of sniffs for DogS.  We passed the drinking cup but decided to hold out for something a bit more warming from the cafe.

to quench your thirst on dryer days!

At Cullipool Dad tried his hand at some stone skimming while  I distracted DogStarke, though she still managed  to swim out after some of Dad's skims! Then after all that activity it was time for a spot of lunch.

Luing scallops with black pudding

We walked back at a faster pace because the rain had come on, with Dad thinking the earth's axis had tilted because ".....surely it was mostly uphill on the way?".

The next day didn't even pretend to dryness so we had to look for an inside activity and Dad decided on a visit to  Oban Distillery . We had a lovely lunch first at The Waterfront Fishhouse then walked along to the Distillery, tucked in on Stafford street. What a good choice Dad had made,  I've been on other tours but thought that this one was just right, not too long, informative, entertaining and you get generous samples and a tasting glass to take away.

Next day we were joined by MasterS and GGGF so we celebrated with a meal out at another one of Oban's great restaurants Piazza at the North Pier, it shares a site with another lovely fish restaurant Ee-usk  but we all fancied some Italian comfort food on a wild night. We had a great time catching up and all pitched in to help Dad with his pud!

Scrumptious! And enormous

The weekend heralded the start of Oban's Winter Festival and on Saturday we explored the markets, bought lots of candles,  enjoyed scallop kebabs, a first for MasterS and watched the reindeer parade and Christmas light switch on.

waiting for Santa

  Then  back home for a celebratory meal and the first exchange of presents, I hope MasterS enjoys his Advent hamper.

just a regular calendar for me

Best wishes for the holiday season

Marina x

and sneaks a night away with friends

Six months. It's really been six months since the move.  Time then for a catch up with old friends from work.  We met up somewhere which is actually fairly in the centre of mainland Scotland, though far from the "Central Belt", so we all had an equal distance to travel.

                       

Kinloch Rannoch is in the middle- honest

We got a good deal at the Macdonald Loch Rannoch Hotel at Kinloch Rannoch in the heart of Perthshire. Our trip coincided with the arrival of storm Abigail bringing with her the first snows of winter, though luckily mostly confined to the hills. I'd wondered what the hotel would be like as Trip Advisor had some mixed reviews, and when I arrived,  the notice on the front door warning of reduced winter hours gave my over eager imagination thoughts of The Overlook Hotel.


What a silly!  Inside it was warm and bright, and other guests were finishing off their lunch.  I was early, the first of our party to arrive, which is  not like me, but was welcomed and checked into my room by the very friendly receptionist.

Schiehallion, the view when it's not sleeting

 I'd been allocated a loch view room, in fact we all had, which was lovely even if the glorious view was being temporarily obscure by sleet. We were tempted by the swimming pool but the lure of comfy chairs, tea and chat kept us in the lounge until it was time to change for dinner.

 Duly glammed up we  enjoyed  some  bubbly and  made our way to the restaurant. Our deal included a three course dinner, this excluded a couple of menu items unless we paid a supplement but that didn't bother us as there was a good choice and we each chose a different main course. It was good to see that the restaurant was busy, perhaps because of the deal, and the young staff coped very well. We moved back to the lounge after dinner and even though we'd discussed coffee seem to have ordered more drinks. You know, as a night cap to round off a lovely day

And off to bed.


I switched on the television to catch the end of Children in Need. ...............

Mrs Marina Starke likes Paris

                                                           Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite