Friday, 27th
The rays of the sun seeped in through the windows and gently warmed the room. The dull pink flowers set against green wallpapered walls were smiling at us.
We woke up refreshed at about 9 am. The window looked out in this massive green garden. In the corner of the garden was a little pond and a fountain. The sky was draped in deep blue with a sprinkling of fluffy clouds. Perfect.
As we gingerly climbed down the stairs, an aroma of fresh toast filled the air, and my hungry stomach grumbled. David was in the kitchen preparing the breakfast. A lavish spread of toast, juice, tea and various kinds of spreads (margarine, butter, ginger marmalade, raspberry produce and home made honey) awaited us. Over breakfast we warmed up to each other and started planning our days ahead. David was very helpful in preparing the itinerary. We planned for a trip to Glamys castle in the afternoon but before that we had to walk the lovely dogs puppy and skip (a mountain dog).
The house that we were staying in was about 150 year old made of stone. The story was that workers used to be crammed in these accommodations and apparently many died because of illness and hunger. It is also said that the houses here are haunted. The small neighborhood was neatly arranged and quite bright. We walked to the woods adjoining the neighborhood. The woods was an artists palette with different shades of green. Huge trees, little stumps, wet with dew, patches of mud and general greenery around. The dogs seemed to enjoy very much playing ball. For about an hour we walked in that honey sweet fresh air discussing politics, weather, soaps, employment, history of India, Scots and England.
We came back and quickly changed for our day out.
We hopped in the neat little Volkswagen once again and headed towards Davids office. It was a tidy little place from where he also sold the soaps that Ann made. We checked our emails. Made bookings for Edinburgh and London. We also spoke to fellow, recommended by my friend Manish with who we could possibly stay in London. He sounded pretty enthusiastic to host us, its a different matter that he did not pick our phone calls when we landed in London.
We changed few Euros to Sterling pounds from the Bank of Scotland (David pointed us that the Bank of Scotland and Bank of England issue their own notes, though they are of the same value). Opposite the place was a magnificent statue of Peter pan.
Next to David's office was the workshop of a distinguished craftsman Bruce Walker. He made exquisite glass etchings, carvings of birds, delicate figurines and scenery in glass bowls, tumblers, plates on just about everything. In fact right opposite his workshop in the courtyard was a huge rock sculpture of the earth, carved by him from a boulder. This stunning work of art revolved on a platform, carved from rock again. There was a little fountain which spurted water right from the center of the earth. This fountain was an addition later and the water source is linked from an 100 year old well, which in turn was discovered quite accidentally while paving the road.
Our next stop was in Forfar to pick up our tickets. We rode past houses with thatched roofs, wide clean streets, a jute mill (where the jute from India was processed during the East India Company days), vast farmlands with honey gold colored straw cut and neatly rolled in bales and strewn across.
After collecting our tickets, we went to the Tiffin House for a cup of tea and tuna and mayo sandwiches. After that we finally moved towards Glamis castle.
The stunning castle, spread across acres of greenery has been the home for the Earl of Strathmore since 1372. The castle has been home to legends, myths and history. King Malcolm II is rumored to be murdered here and there is a secret room where noblemen played cards with the devil himself. It is also said said to be the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth.
We went excitedly through different wings, the artifacts on display, the haunted chapel and at the end of the tour we went through another exhibition which hosted memorabilia from an era gone by. Dresses, postcards signed by the Queen as 'Lilibet'
David took us through it all like a seasoned guide and we followed him through every corner, hanging on to his words.
We reached back home and made ourselves some tea. David left us to enjoy the surroundings and he went to get Ann from the fair.
With Ann, came the news of the fair and the days happenings. As we sipped some beer magically David produced an awesome dinner of fish (haddock and salmon), vegetables and potato casserole. We had a more relaxed and varied conversation about India, the religion, mysticism, caste system etc.
Ann had an incredible day at the fair. She sold most of her stock and had to replenish her stocks. G and I helped her pack. We assembled the translucent colorful soaps in shapes of stars and sea horses on clean cellophane sheet and passed them through the machine to cut and seal it in neat squares. Next we used a blow dryer to shrink wrap them. We then pricked them to release any trapped air. By the time we finished, we were all visibly tired and finally called it a day.
The next day G and I were to accompany them to the fair at the Blair castle grounds. Interesting.
The rays of the sun seeped in through the windows and gently warmed the room. The dull pink flowers set against green wallpapered walls were smiling at us.
We woke up refreshed at about 9 am. The window looked out in this massive green garden. In the corner of the garden was a little pond and a fountain. The sky was draped in deep blue with a sprinkling of fluffy clouds. Perfect.
As we gingerly climbed down the stairs, an aroma of fresh toast filled the air, and my hungry stomach grumbled. David was in the kitchen preparing the breakfast. A lavish spread of toast, juice, tea and various kinds of spreads (margarine, butter, ginger marmalade, raspberry produce and home made honey) awaited us. Over breakfast we warmed up to each other and started planning our days ahead. David was very helpful in preparing the itinerary. We planned for a trip to Glamys castle in the afternoon but before that we had to walk the lovely dogs puppy and skip (a mountain dog).
The house that we were staying in was about 150 year old made of stone. The story was that workers used to be crammed in these accommodations and apparently many died because of illness and hunger. It is also said that the houses here are haunted. The small neighborhood was neatly arranged and quite bright. We walked to the woods adjoining the neighborhood. The woods was an artists palette with different shades of green. Huge trees, little stumps, wet with dew, patches of mud and general greenery around. The dogs seemed to enjoy very much playing ball. For about an hour we walked in that honey sweet fresh air discussing politics, weather, soaps, employment, history of India, Scots and England.
We came back and quickly changed for our day out.
We hopped in the neat little Volkswagen once again and headed towards Davids office. It was a tidy little place from where he also sold the soaps that Ann made. We checked our emails. Made bookings for Edinburgh and London. We also spoke to fellow, recommended by my friend Manish with who we could possibly stay in London. He sounded pretty enthusiastic to host us, its a different matter that he did not pick our phone calls when we landed in London.
We changed few Euros to Sterling pounds from the Bank of Scotland (David pointed us that the Bank of Scotland and Bank of England issue their own notes, though they are of the same value). Opposite the place was a magnificent statue of Peter pan.
Next to David's office was the workshop of a distinguished craftsman Bruce Walker. He made exquisite glass etchings, carvings of birds, delicate figurines and scenery in glass bowls, tumblers, plates on just about everything. In fact right opposite his workshop in the courtyard was a huge rock sculpture of the earth, carved by him from a boulder. This stunning work of art revolved on a platform, carved from rock again. There was a little fountain which spurted water right from the center of the earth. This fountain was an addition later and the water source is linked from an 100 year old well, which in turn was discovered quite accidentally while paving the road.
Our next stop was in Forfar to pick up our tickets. We rode past houses with thatched roofs, wide clean streets, a jute mill (where the jute from India was processed during the East India Company days), vast farmlands with honey gold colored straw cut and neatly rolled in bales and strewn across.
After collecting our tickets, we went to the Tiffin House for a cup of tea and tuna and mayo sandwiches. After that we finally moved towards Glamis castle.
The stunning castle, spread across acres of greenery has been the home for the Earl of Strathmore since 1372. The castle has been home to legends, myths and history. King Malcolm II is rumored to be murdered here and there is a secret room where noblemen played cards with the devil himself. It is also said said to be the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth.
We went excitedly through different wings, the artifacts on display, the haunted chapel and at the end of the tour we went through another exhibition which hosted memorabilia from an era gone by. Dresses, postcards signed by the Queen as 'Lilibet'
David took us through it all like a seasoned guide and we followed him through every corner, hanging on to his words.
We reached back home and made ourselves some tea. David left us to enjoy the surroundings and he went to get Ann from the fair.
With Ann, came the news of the fair and the days happenings. As we sipped some beer magically David produced an awesome dinner of fish (haddock and salmon), vegetables and potato casserole. We had a more relaxed and varied conversation about India, the religion, mysticism, caste system etc.
Ann had an incredible day at the fair. She sold most of her stock and had to replenish her stocks. G and I helped her pack. We assembled the translucent colorful soaps in shapes of stars and sea horses on clean cellophane sheet and passed them through the machine to cut and seal it in neat squares. Next we used a blow dryer to shrink wrap them. We then pricked them to release any trapped air. By the time we finished, we were all visibly tired and finally called it a day.
The next day G and I were to accompany them to the fair at the Blair castle grounds. Interesting.
1 comment:
I like the way you end your posts :)
cheers
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