Skene House - Holburn Aberdeen

Okay, I know I've been boring. I'm sorry! Basically I've been trying to get used to the bits and pieces of university before embarking on significant journeys. Can't blame me for that :P There have been the odd trips to random castles etc but I have no interest in random small town castles, lived in the Isle of Man for WAY too long to be interested in them! Hoping for a trip down ...

Stopped at the main part of town to get some 'chips' before the work function. I also was a tourist for a few minutes and took some pictures of the market cross and an interesting fountain. Then it was off to the lighthouse museum for the photo recognition.

... Indeed a good friend of mine from uni has said as much. I'm a thinker, I dwell on things people say, on articles I read, on things that happen on a night out (perhaps a fight in a bar between people I don' know), I'm sensitive to the 'atmosphere' in a busy city centre with drunk people walking around and I can take comments (even good advice) the wrong way. In short I over-analyse life. It's also true that historically I've not been very good at ...

... in the dark, and wind, and rain. Following a sign for another Inn, we drove 4 miles into the hinterlands, only to find that this Inn has no sleeping accommodations, either. So hotels and inns don't necessarily rent sleeping rooms. Terrific. I lo0oked for the phone number of a chain hotel in the GPS and called. Yep, sold out. Nearest accommodation is Dundee, 60 miles south. But you can try The Old Mill ...

... Rotary Club meeting, and the dinner and presentation went well. Afterwards we headed over to Alistair's house for some tea and shortbread. Boy does his wife make outstanding homemade shortbread. She promised to give me the recipe, and I can't wait to make it for my children upon my return home. We then headed to our hosts to pack as we are moving on to our last stop, Inverness.

... beautiful. Today we did things a bit differently. Heather, Tami, and I had a vocational day, and Paul and Rachel went to tour some of the local sights. I went to Banff and Buchan College to meet with Gordon McDonald the Facilities Director. B&B prepares students for the fishing and oil industries, along with other traditional 2-year programs such as health care aides, hairdressing, and skilled trades. After my day ended, I was fortunate enough to ...

... I headed over to the Elgin Rotary Club's chalet for a pre-banquet reception. We shared some wonderful fellowship and then headed over to the banquet. It is a formal Scottish affair ('20s theme) with the men in kilts, zoot suits or tuxedos. Dinner was wonderful (prime rib is always good) and then the music and dancing started. I left early as something I ate didn't quite agree with me. Paul ...

... post some pics when I get a chance. Hmmmm... so much to tell and my coins are running out. We drove down to Kilmore on Thursday and had a fantastic lunch at the Lobster Pot. Only we didn't stop there and went on to the pub with Mark & Thomas' family. We made new friends at the pub. hahaha! We weren't feeling so well when we got up on Friday. No more coins... until next time!

... Two men speaking in chasste hindi, amidst various other languages. The train arrives, and we find seats, amidst the rays of the sun. Get off and catch a bus. s speaks of sweets, kit sees a turkish sweet shop and we promptly alight. s chooses the sweets while the turkish women ga-ga over the babies. Initial plans were to get a curry in bangla town, but by now everyone's a bit tired and jaded from the constant sunshine, and so kit decides to cook dinner and relax. Back ...

... First off, it's pronounced glen fid' dik. It was the slow time of year so there were only four of us on a tour. We learned the process: ingredients barley, water and yeast. The barley is malted (soaked in water and allowed to germinate for awhile) and then kiln dried to stop the germination. The malted barley is then ground into a rough flour called grist. The grist is mixed with water (called the mash) and stirred, releasing the sugars ...