First Christmas in Moy

The Scots certainly know how to celebrate and Christmas is no exception. As Marianne was leaving on Christmas Eve morning I decided to take her to the parade in Grantown on 23rd which I had heard was lovely. It didn't disappoint with Santa on his sleigh pulled by reindeer and led through the town by a piped band and children carrying flares followed by carol singing led by the Grantown brass ensemble with mulled wine and mince pies to follow. Set that in a typical stone built highland town and drench it all with snow and it would be difficult to create a more festive scene!

It was all repeated in Aviemore on Christmas Eve with the addition of dozens of children dressed in costumes and fireworks as well. There must have been around two thousand people there so it was a pretty impressive sight.

It snowed during the parade and carried on after midnight so definately was a white christmas!

We had a very sedate Christmas day - it felt strange to not go to church in the morning, something we have done every year but other than Inverness Cathedral there didn't seem to be a service anywhere but we were able once again to appreciate the stunning creation with a walk in the, by then, knee deep snow down to the loch again before heading home for lunch which Sarah and I enjoyed cooking together this year.

Boxing Day saw a fruitless attempt to get the 307 up the drive with not even the local garage with a 4x4 being able to shift it more than a few yards! We have certainly learnt a lesson the hard way - don't take the car down the drive if snow is forecast! One of our neighbours kindly came round with his snow blower before Christmas but even with that we weren't able to get the car up and there has been about 15" of snow down since! Fortunately we have had the 807 at the top so have still been able to get around but it has been inconvenient to not be able to use the other car as Joe is still needing to go into work in Aviemore and it is an hour round trip for someone to take him and pick him up.

Today we have had friends Bryan & Carla from Surrey to visit along with their friends Scott and Karen (it's amazing how many people have tracked us down since we escaped to the highlands!) which was lovely and we are currently waiting for Daniel and Julie to arrive, tracking their progress on Glympse.com which has been fun. Matt and Maria will hopefully fly in later tonight as well so we will have a full house.

In the meantime the avalanche over the back door remains poised and the icicles outside Richards study continue to grow.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

I finally left Sutton at about 10.30 after breakfast with Tony & Marilyn having filled my 'mug that plugs into the cigarette lighter' (which is just about the greatest invention ever if you regularly drive long distances) and a hot water bottle wrapped in my duvet in case I keeled over part way up the M6 or got stranded. After a quick sortie round IKEA at Wolverhampton the journey was remarkably straightforward and although I suspect that I arrived in a haze of caffeine and sugar overload (don't try this at home - or even in a car!) nevertheless I was in pretty good shape when I arrived at 23.30. The last 15 miles or so were the worst as the snow was beginning to fall heavily by then and I followed a gritter for most of the way meaning that although the road surface was good, the paintwork on my car probably isn't now!

When we woke up the next morning it was to scenes like this, so I was glad that, crazy as it had seemed I had followed my instincts and not driven overnight. It would have been a much more difficult, if not impossible journey and I would almost certainly have ended up sleeping in the car somewhere (although I still had my emergency rations thanks to Steve and Mary). I had to jettison my sandwiches after the box slid off the passenger seat and spent a couple of hours in front of the hot air fan - I didn't fancy risking warm chicken sandwiches!
Sarah and I, being the 'hunter gatherers' went off to Tesco to forage for provisions for out 'mulled wine and nibbles do' which we were holding the next day and Christmas goodies. Fortunately the Highland Council are excellent at clearing the roads and once we had made it out of our drive the roads were fine.



On Sunday the snow fell pretty well all day and although we made it to the Christmas celebration at church in Smithton we weren't sure if anyone would get to us in the afternoon so were delighted when our first guests arrived pulling their small daughter on a sledge! Most people in fact made it and we were so pleased to meet many new people - it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon all round. It has already been suggested that we do it again next year.

By Monday morning we were even more snow bound. Richard optimistically took the bin up the drive but we weren't surprised that it wasn't emptied - all the waste collection teams are deployed to gritting and driving snow ploughs in these conditions. We have been leaving the 807 at the top of the drive but even so needed to dig it out in order to get out to Inverness to pick up Marianne who is staying here for a few days. I'm not sure that I was properly dressed for the job!Today Marianne and I took Rhema out and went down to the loch - which looks spectacular at the moment. It was facinating to see different deer tracks in the snow - especially what looked like those of a large stag ( perhaps belonging to a large jolly gent dressed in red....?).


No visit to us is quite complete without a trip up Cairngorm and so we took a chance on the weather despite the temperature being -15 and were fortunate to get up there ahead of the cloud so that although not totally clear, it was still pretty impressive. The ski-ers and boarders were out in force and I know that both Tim and Matt are keen to get out there when they can.





In the meantime we watch with interest the impending avalanche from the roof and wait for the next person to slam the door.......

Good King Wenceslas....

So ... Luton airport closed, Gatwick closed, traffic travelling at 20mph on the M1 and I'm driving back to Moy today! I'm writing this while on my break at work and my car, which I can see from the window, is covered and the snow has settled on the road. Still there are advantages to having all ones belongings in the car......If you see a report of someone wandering up the MI wearing an assortment of clothes, wrappped in a duvet and listening to her i-river guess who??
Steve and Mary have provided the emergency provisions in the form of liquorice logs so I can ration them out.....

Hopefully by the morning the roads will have been gritted and travelling will be easier but I did decide today to set off as soon as I finish work in the morning rather than sleep for the day and drive overnight when the real feel temp is expected to be -13!! If I can at least get some way north before sleeping I stand more chance of getting back before our 'do' on Sunday.

Our consultant has just phoned to say she cant get in - her road is blocked and no taxi will come out so I may have to stay on in the morning anyway if staff cant get here - seems bizarre that Moy isn't getting any of this.....

.....or is it?

Richard e-mailed these pictures to me today - perhaps we aren't about to be plunged into the depths of winter just yet! The day I left we were picking our way through icy roads to visit our two immediate neighbours and take them some crab apple jelly - now, not a snowflake in sight.

This week I have had a number of 'challenges' staying (and supposedly sleeping) in the nurses home..fire alarms again, a screaming child at the nursery below my window, a cement mixer ditto, dark brown water coming from the hot tap and to cap it all someone took my 'do not disturb' sign from outside the door! It has no material value, being simply a laminated A4 sheet of paper depicting a cartoon nurse cuddling a screaming baby and the request not to ring or knock. I used to put it on the front door in Belmont and have had it for years. Ironic that it should disappear just as I finish here - tonight being my last night.

I have had an ear infection for the last few days and finally, realising that I might not be able to fly back on Wednesday decided to get some treatment. I now have drops and antibiotics and the doc says it should hopefully clear up enough to be able to fly - if not, listen out for the sonic bang at lunchtime on Wed - it will be my eardrum exploding as we take off! The silver lining - and there had to be one, is that it has rendered me slightly deaf so the last couple of days have seemed quieter in the nurses home!

As usual I have met up with a number of friends while down here which is always a pleasure and we are now taking bookings for visitors in March as we are pretty busy until then. Tomorrow I am having breakfast with Matt and then heading to Oxford in the afternoon to see Daniel and Julie and give them a hand with some more decorating before driving down to Winchester on Mon evening to see Tim & Ruth. It will be good to see them all again although I am feeling increasingly like a snail, carrying my house with me. As the car has been down here for a couple of months now it has gradually filled up with things we have acquired - several boxes of Richard's possessions from the surgery, a number of sheets of conti board from a wardrobe that Tim & Ruth had dismantled (I take full responsibility for that - but have always maintained that a car is only a 'proper' car if you can get such things in it), various purchases from 'southern' shops, a kettle, Vax, tv, duvet, pillows,large quantities of books and tapes that have been out on loan and been returned (cuddly toy?)- it will be an interesting exercise to finally unpack it.

The Christmas celebrations seem to be pretty lavish in Scotland with a lot going on against a beautiful backdrop so we are looking forward to taking part, as well as our own 'mulled wine & nibbles' that we are putting on the week-end before Christmas. We are hoping for a good response from our neighbours

Before that there is scheduled to be a meteor shower in the middle of the month and the best place to view it is about six miles from Moy because of the lack of light pollution - could be time to fill a few flasks and hot water bottles and go and sit in a field......

Sarah and Joe will be heading back North soon and are due to arrive a day or so before me. Having been under strict instructions not to put the Christmas tree up before they got back we will have to go and inspect the trees in the paddock to see if anyof them are suitable for felling. It may be that they are growing too close together to have any healthy growth low down.

As the wallpaper is now stripped off in the hall we may have to paint the wall before we put the tree up as it will be difficult to move it once it is in place. Richard has been composing a newsletter this year - (we have been remiss for a number of years) so finally we should be able to announce what we are going to call the house and let people know our new address - we've only been there five months!

Winter is here

Our old friends Rutton and Kate nobly came up to see us for just one day. Unfortunately it was the one time that we had a long delay on the flight and they were 2.5 hrs late landing. They had Richard to keep them company at the airport so at least they were able to catch up to a certain extent.

On Sunday we woke to heavy snowfall but ventured into Aviemore and then, fortified by a mocchacino at the Mountain cafe, decided that clearing skies meant it was worth a trip up Cairngorm. Unfortunately the train disappeared into the clouds at the top meaning that the view was non-existent when we got there.

It doesn't seem to have put them off tho' and we are looking forward to them coming back in the spring when hopefully the weather will be a little kinder.Rhema seems to have recovered and was delighted to have some new people to make a fuss of her! The advantage of bad weather is that we can indulge in cooked breakfasts and log fires.....

I am now back in Sutton and as Sarah and Joe are on their 'tour' visiting friends and family, Richard will be on his own for about nine days and has been left instructions to check all the Christmas lights etc before we all get back as Sarah didn't want us to put up the Christmas tree until then. Hopefully we won't increase the light pollution too much!