Finally back again

Sunday 24th April 2011
I apologise for the lapse in the blog but we have been down south to see the children and grandchildren for a bit and since we got back inertia seems to have set in.
I am always afraid when we go down that the grandchildren will have forgotten who we are. A few months is a long time when you are little.
Ella of course is to young to remember us anyway but I worry that Harry and Maddy will wonder who these strange people are that have turned up.
As it turned out, I need not have worried. Harry recognised us immediately (although he may have been primed) and when I went to collect maddy, she came running out shouting "Grumpy" at the top of her voice as soon as she saw me and then jumped into my arms. A beautiful start to a beautiful holiday.

We were only down for about 10 days and the weather was perfect (even though Gareth spent all the time praying for rain so that his grass would grow). Last time we were down at Christmas, Babs was working and Harry was ill so it was good to be able to see a lot more of them both this time. Phone calls and e-mails are all very well but I am not very good on the phone, being somewhat mono-sylabic.

It was a bit hectic trying to fit everything and everybody in and unfortunately my father was in hospital all the time we were therebut in the end we managed to see everybody that we had planned to see and had some good time with the family. I even got to spend a day with just Maddy and myself. (Our Maddy day) during which she was just a little bit spoiled.

I was very sad to leave, it is always a wrench ( or should that be it is always an adjustable spanner) knowing that we will not see them all for a while but they will be up with us in the summer so we do not have to long to wait and at least I am a bit reassured that the little ones will not have forgotten me.

It was still nice to be home after we got back though. I am pleased to say that rather surprisingly to me, this place began to feel like home very quickly and I now feel very relaxed and comfortable living here.

Just so you can see how nice it is, I noticed the following "you tube" clip from "The flotta tourist board" which you may like. We can see Flotta from the house, it is not the prettiest of islands, especially with the oil terminal and flare stack but obviously somebody likes it.



When we were down south, we picked up some chickens and some eggs for the incubators. This meant that we drove up to Aberdeen with two cockerels in the back of the car challenging each other and crowing as hard as they could. Fortunately we were working on the assumption that if they were making so much noise, then they could not have been getting to distresses at their travelling arrangements so we put up with it. The car was also getting slightly aromatic by the time we got home. The ferry got into Kirkwall at about 11:10PM and by the time we had got off the boat and got home it was about midnight. I still had to get the chickens away which was done with the maximum of speed and the minimum of ceremony before I could finally slump into my bed for a well deserved rest.

Pam was a shade irritated that the shower was not fitted in the bathroom as we had expected. ( I always tell Pam that you can not live here because everyone is relaxed and then expect them to work to timetables when it suits her.) Anyway it will get done in the fullness of time.