Halloween began as the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Samhain. This festival marked the end of the summer weather and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that Samhain was when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest allowing ghosts and ghouls to pass back through. So on Samhain, when restless spirits would wander, children would disguise themselves by dressing up as ghouls and ghosts to blend in and protect themselves. It's also sa

Having realized that holidays alone are fairly miserable affairs, with too much time inside my own head and no one to share the amazing experiences with, I decided to co-opt Amber and Mat into joining me for an adventure in Madeira. None of us had been before but it seemed the majority of people I mentioned it to had, and had plenty of nice things to say about it.   It was a holiday of many firsts - the first time I’d booked a flight, the first car hire, the first time drivin

There are many ways to deal with grief, process the emotional onslaught and eventually, hopefully, find healing and peace. Everyone will...

I had a bit of a close call in the car this week - an error of judgment. I was driving down the Glen road and came up against a truck...

There are a million cutesy little sayings that probably make you want to gag but a few of them are actually little gems that I wish...

August was Artmap Argyll, which was a great excuse to go and see Adam and Emma and their new(-ish) studio over in Minard. They have...

This event has been on my wish list for about 15 years - ever since we took the girls to the cheese rolling and started looking round for...

On a wet and windy Sunday when I'm stuck in the house I like to pass the time with a bit of tai chi or qi gong, some lino printing or...

Believe it or not it does sometimes get hot up here! I'm not one for the heat, so when I'm finding it too much I head for the water to...

A skiff is a four person row boat of a design called the St Ayle's skiff - something I had not come across before we moved to the Glen....

Now I have a story to tell you - I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I think I've learnt a valuable lesson from it that I can share....

The front of our property runs along the road, but between the garden and the road is a burn, and one side of the burn is made up of a...

All the beauty of Glendaruel in August - varied, tranquil and it's home!

Despite living a little more remotely I am not short of things to go and do and see, covering a huge range of things from wildlife to...

The Nordic walking group has been great for exploring the lovely and interesting landscape around where I live. Here are some of the...

I left the accommodation for Dunvegan Baker y (apparently the oldest bakery on Skye) and chose a Chelsea bun and a latte, plus a sausage...

I got up early at 7:30am ready for a cooked breakfast at 8am because I knew I had a lot to pack in today and still reach my pre-booked...

John and I visited Skye in 2018 when we did a motorcycle tour of the Outer Hebrides, finishing off with two nights on Skye. We thought we...

Enjoy this little video of July in Glendaruel to give you a little taster of what life here is like at this time of year - beautiful,...

Time for a proper holiday, I decided to go for something I had partially planned with John over a year ago, seeing as much of the work...