Glider Grins

Joe and Mhairi got lucky when we stopped off at Portmoak Gliding School to watch the gliders and one of the club members let them have a wee seat in his pride and joy, which he was vigourously polishing; the kids thought they were going up in it but it wasn't to be.

Football Crazy, Football Mad

In week 2 of the holidays Joe had footie training in Ullapool every afternoon. It was run by our local professional team, Ross County, who play in Dingwall, 45 miles away. Dave's told him it's ok to support them and regularly reminds Joe he can support who he wants as long as it's not Rangers or Celtic! Last year Joe took part in a similar training programme with Celtic and at the end they were giving out scarves, water bottles and calendars (to brainwash them), Dave was thrilled when Joe marched up to him after he'd received his "goodies" and said at the top of his voice "Dad, it's all I love Celtic stuff...BUT I DON'T"! As you can see from the photo the two coaches, Davie and Tom, were more than happy to get their pictures taken, particularly Tom on the right.

Tattie Holidays

In week 1 we had a wee tour through the north of England with Auntie Grace, highlights of which were a quick trip across the causeway to Holy Island before the tide came in, a swordfighting contest at Alnwick Castle (Millie fluked it), a trot along Hadrian's Wall in the dark, a photo opp at our own wee toon,

- The Royal Family -

- Mhairi's treehouse -

- Oor Toon -

a whirl round Durham cathedral, a tour of York (National Railway Museum was Finlay's fave), an afternoon at Eureka! in Halifax, a day at the temple in Preston, and seven hours of white knuckling at Blackpool.

- Joe's castle -

We stayed a couple of nights in youth hostels (a bit of a disaster as Finlay wouldn't settle for excitement), a couple of nights at the temple with Grandma and Grandad, and a night at Auntie Bessie and Uncle Peter's, which was nice because we got to know Richard and Carol and their kids, Will and Thomas, who are some distant number of cousin.

On the way home we stopped in Edinburgh to take the kids to the theatre for a show called "One Small Step", then had a night at Granny's and a night at Grandma's, which just left enough time for me to get scalped and Christine to get fleeced buying Mhairi a new pair of boots for school (the cause of some minutes of contention, of which I had repented till I saw the toes worn right through after less than a week of school).

- Fin's behaviour scheme -