Whitmuir Hall Selkirk

Well I was all set to leave, my brother arrived to pick me up and told me that my father had passed away that morning. Devastating news. Rang Real Gap straight away and they were really good about everything. Have postponed trip until after the funeral which is this Friday.

Will update when I have details of my flights and my new itinerary.

... my life and one that I'm embracing with open arms, after the past couple of years I totally feel it's the right thing to do and in my heart of hearts I know it is. I'm on the path of my destiny now - not sure what the future has in store, but it's all good.

I will write again when I arrive in south east asia.

... in the car so today was the day to try them.

I couldn't clip both into one seat so Fergus went into the back beside his basket and Chloe came into the front in the hope that being beside me might make her happier. It did, to an extent but she wouldn't settle down, like Fergus did, at one stage trying to wedge herself in to the chair between me and the armrest. Eventually she dropped herself into the back footwell and wouldn't come back ...

... John's camera had died of battery and Steph's phone was also low on the juice, and since the shock, their devises now have power again! A miracle indeed. The last couple of hours were the hardest. We believe that the route was lying to us since the route we were taking went backwards and forwards and all around, making the journey far further than 12 miles. Another downside was that we didn't see a single other walker, except a guy in Hawick walking his dog. Just a few cars ...

... was nice as Ruan loves company big or little.Xmas eve evening we had a couple of drinks while we were all watching Ruan playing before his bedtime. He looked so cute in his sleep suit. Could just eat him! Xmas morning Ruan was not feeling himself at all, he is teething his back teeth and has a bad cold and sore throat. He was okay for a while then started getting fractious. He has his breakfast before we all went to the lounge where santa had been every so good and left this lovely ...

... icon, probably Celtic, representing a Nature deity, and a symbol of the rebirth of Nature from winter to spring. He is found in many churches of the North and is always portrayed as the face of a man with leaves or vines coming out of his nose, ears and mouth or enveloping his entire face. In the Rosslyn Chapel, the green man is everywhere: hiding behind an angel, in front of the altar, in the chorus. He is depicted ...

... Holyroodhouse Palace, but it's worth a visit, as well as the Queen's Gallery next to the Palace depending on what the exhibit is. Climb Arthur's Seat for some exercise after all those pints and some great views over the city. Check out the Leith Docks area for some shopping, food, and maybe a trip to the Royal Yacht Britannia, the old Royal's ship. Some other things to check out are Calton Hill, Edinburgh Zoo, The Royal Botanical Gardens, Rosslyn Chapel from the ...

... in Edinburgh is beautiful. There is an old city and a new city, but even the new city is 200 years old. There's tons to see. Tons of amazing views. We went to Edinburgh Castle and saw the very closet where James VI was born. That's something to brag about. We went up a big cliff and got pretty much a 360 view of the whole place. Edinburgh certainly confirms our theory that everything good to see in Europe is either up a crudload of ...

... the Greyfriars graveyard - itself an eerie place. To set the scene - the day had reached a maximum of about 15 degrees, it was cold and dark and windy. It was about 8:30pm and heading towards twilight. The cemetery is regarded as a 'thin' place between the worlds of the living and dead and people like Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Charles Dickens spent time in the cemetery to gain inspiration for dark and moody writing. Anyway, we travel through the darkening, windy ...

... through a little town called "Limply Stoke" -- which is still funny more than 10 years later! Other than that, we drove all around, stopping at every old castle on the side of the road. I was pretty sick of castles by the end of it.