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Woodland Wonders
A happy coincidence meant that on the first night of Kathryn's stay was a very special event at Glean wood. Glenan wood is classified as...
John Burkinshaw
May 6, 20251 min read


Fun with Kathryn
Kathryn's slightly delayed visit finally arrived in March, having been cancelled due to the big storm in January. It was actually a good...
John Burkinshaw
May 3, 20252 min read


May in Glendaruel
Enjoy this little video of May in Glendaruel to give you a little taster of what life here is like at this time of year - beautiful,...
John Burkinshaw
May 1, 20251 min read


Easter Egg Rolling
Something John and I used to enjoy was travelling the country in search of weird British traditions. We saw the marble championships, the...
John Burkinshaw
Apr 26, 20255 min read


Bute Wildfires
Just one week after my walk on Bute there were wildfires raging on the west side of the island. I'd seen smoke rising from the island on...
John Burkinshaw
Apr 19, 20253 min read


Solo Walk on Bute
Sunday at the end of March was a lovely day - completely different from the day before when I tried to have a day out in North Knapdale....
John Burkinshaw
Apr 12, 20255 min read


Wet & Wild for the Over Forties
March 2025 - Now that the weather is improving I took the opportunity to plan a day out around North Knapdale. There were a few things I...
John Burkinshaw
Apr 5, 20256 min read


April in Glendaruel
Enjoy this little video of April in Glendaruel to give you a little taster of what life here is like at this time of year - beautiful,...
John Burkinshaw
Apr 1, 20251 min read


Winter Warmers
Winter has felt long and dark, but there have been some brighter moments. For example I went to watch Heather singing with the Voices of...
John Burkinshaw
Mar 22, 20253 min read


Hallway Overhaul
The very last thing to be completed in the house is the hallway. It was interesting, when we first moved in, to be able to see the...
John Burkinshaw
Mar 15, 20252 min read


Bits and Bobs
Continuing on with home improvements, I had asked John for some months for a loft ladder to be put in. He was dubious - I guess he was...
John Burkinshaw
Mar 8, 20252 min read


March in Glendaruel
Enjoy this little video of March in Glendaruel to give you a little taster of what life here is like at this time of year - beautiful,...
John Burkinshaw
Mar 1, 20251 min read


Dining Room Decoration
What we call the dining room is actually a room without a purpose in mind right now. Originally it was a dining room 3 owners back, the...
John Burkinshaw
Feb 22, 20253 min read


Picky Bits
Life has its ups and downs and over the last year or so I've tried some new hobbies, and had a couple of set backs. Mum introduced me to...
John Burkinshaw
Feb 15, 20253 min read


Living Room Perfect
The living room has kind of been put off because it was going to be a lot of work. When thinking about the painting there is the window,...
John Burkinshaw
Feb 8, 20252 min read


February in Glendaruel
Enjoy this little video of February in Glendaruel to give you a little taster of what life here is like at this time of year - beautiful,...
John Burkinshaw
Feb 1, 20251 min read


Riding Out the Storm - part two
The metaphorical storm. How do the ones left behind carry on? I would love to continue our adventure but the prospect of doing these...
John Burkinshaw
Jan 30, 20255 min read


Riding Out the Storm - part one
As I was writing this I realised that it was very long, and the first half was about the literal storm, and the second half was about a...
John Burkinshaw
Jan 28, 20256 min read


More maintenance work
Eyeing up a few more jobs in the garden which needed sorting, and having some free time on my hands while John was sleeping his way...
John Burkinshaw
Jan 25, 20253 min read


Walking in Colglen
Colglen is the name used locally for Colintraive and Glendaruel together. Although we have the right to roam in Scotland it is usually...
John Burkinshaw
Jan 18, 20252 min read
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