I must apologise that after a fairly good run of blogs I have fizzled out towards the end of the year. Here we are on the last day of 2009, and one of my resolutions is that I will try harder next year to keep my blog going. The reason for the lapse, and this not an excuse but an explanation, is that after I finished with Peter Pan, the pantomime, I have been filling up the available hours working on Peter Pan, 'the novel'. When I have already spent large parts of the day sitting in front of the computer typing, the last thing I want to do is spend another block of time blogging. The good news though is that the book is coming on, and more importantly we are both enjoying the process. Sheila is writing some cracking descriptive and action pieces, while I am concentrating more on dialogue. I think the answer might be to do a quick blog every morning before I start work on the bigger project.
Richard and I have just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We had a lovely meal at the local 'Bistro' as travelling any further than the village centre is out of the question at the moment with as much snow as we have. The temperature today is not too bad a 0.3 degrees, but that is the first time it has been above freezing for at least a week. Two days ago it never got above -14 degrees all day and at one point it was -17.5. The air going into your lungs was unbelievably cold, and my cheeks and teeth were aching with the cold after a five minute walk. There has been fresh snow every night and it must be 12 inches deep in our garden. The village is beautiful though and the view of the mountains from my living room is picture postcard stuff.
Thank goodness for shopping online. We weren't travelling to USA this year but at least I could send some gifts to Debbie and Marty and my grandchildren and know that they would get there in time. It was necessary, this year, because of the weather to also use online shopping for Richard, and he for me. I ordered a metal detector at 3pm on 23rd December, and it arrived at 11am on the 24th! Amazing! Richard ordered a sewing machine for me at the same time....still waiting though. It was lovely to see Claire and Yngvar the week before Christmas...popping over for a weekend from Norway is somewhat easier than Dubai....and they were able to deliver and pick up their pressies.
We went carol singing in the local hotels, for charity, on Christmas Eve and raised £220 to be shared between Erskine and Starlight. Christmas day was quiet but very enjoyable, Allan and May and Mr and Mrs Oakley came on Boxing day and stayed until Sunday, we had drinks and nibbles at a cocktail party on Monday, Tuesday was our anniversary dinner, last night was a much needed night in (Richard has a touch of man flu)and tonight, being Hogmanay, anything could happen! Castleton Dancers are performing tonight in the Fife Arms between 9.00 and 10.00, and after that, if we feel like it we may pop up to the Moorfield to see the New Year in. What we won't be doing is going to the Village Hall Ceilidh. When we first came here 5 years ago, that wee Ceilidh was great, good music and good company - mostly locals of all ages. Then 3 years ago and every year since it has been inundated with folk just looking to get legless and the hall committee has done nothing to change that. They say they are selling up to 250 tickets at the door. That hall comfortably holds 70 - 80 for a ceilidh, 100 makes it full. You can imagine the wall to wall bodies if there are 250 in there! It is such a shame. There is possibly a need to offer an alternative venue next year...a private 'tickets in advance' Ceilidh in Castleton Hall maybe. Trouble is nobody wants to split the village. Ah well, next year, we shall see.
Hope all my blog readers had a great Christmas, and I wish you all the best for 2010.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Sorry for my neglect of this blog
Sorry blog followers, I have spent every spare minute since the pantomime writing my share of the new PP. It will all be worth it in the end, I am sure, but right now I have no writing energy left to do my blog. I will try to bring you up to date soon as there is lots to say.
Goodnight for now.
Goodnight for now.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Opening Night
I have just had a G&T to celebrate a successful opening night. Small audience but more than expected and definitely adequate. And all 5 flew! John managed to adjust a harness so that Findlay could fly with the rest of us. There was applause as we took to the air so it must have looked convincing. There were no major problems or mistakes, all ran to time, and we had fun. So that's one down and only 6 more to go. I am glad that we do it more than once, though I am not sure if I really want to do it 7 times.....
We are looking forward to having friends and family in future audiences- Irene and Lew on Friday night, Claire and Yngvar on Saturday night, May and Allan and May's parents on Boxing Day night....so hopefully some honest feedback!
Busy few days ahead so may not blog again until Sunday.
Break a leg!
We are looking forward to having friends and family in future audiences- Irene and Lew on Friday night, Claire and Yngvar on Saturday night, May and Allan and May's parents on Boxing Day night....so hopefully some honest feedback!
Busy few days ahead so may not blog again until Sunday.
Break a leg!
Friday, 11 December 2009
Tinkerbell flies.
After much talk and speculation about whether it would ever eventually happen...it did! Tinkerbell flew along with Peter Pan and the 3 Darling children...yes all 5 at once. Well actually, to be completely honest, only 4 tonight as the harness for Findlay, who plays Michael, the youngest just isn't fitting confortably so John, the director is going back to the drawing board on that one. But the rest of us did fly. Last week we tried one by one with the only winch that we had, to be elevated into a comfortable position. Wearing abseiling harnesses on backwards is not the perfect solution but that was what we had. After various adjustments we got reasonable comfort combined with a few feet of elevation. That was relatively easy. Since then John and his team have created 4 more holes in the ceiling for 4 more winches to come down, and in the blackout, to be attached to harnesses we are wearing under our costumes...not easy for Tinks whose costume is little more than a tutu. Peter Pan, flies out further and higher and stays up longer(3 songs)than the rest of us but then again she is 19, and some of us are old enough to be her Grandma. Once airborne it is fun and not too uncomfortable, but getting up and down again are the difficult bits to make look convincing to the audience. I guess it is just practice, and we have 3 more chances before opening night!
Our novel of PP in the 21st century is making progress although I have not added anything now for 48 hours. Must try to write some tomorrow.
I said I would let you know about the WRI monthly competition. You may be pleased to hear that my wreath made of plastic bags came first in the serious competition! That is 3 firsts in a row. I should mention that all competitions are entered anonymously and the judges are completely different every month. My decoration from a cone was not placed!!! Ah well you cannot win them all. Next month is designing a birthday card as it is the 85th birthday of Braemar's WRI. All suggestions gratefully received. More soon.
Our novel of PP in the 21st century is making progress although I have not added anything now for 48 hours. Must try to write some tomorrow.
I said I would let you know about the WRI monthly competition. You may be pleased to hear that my wreath made of plastic bags came first in the serious competition! That is 3 firsts in a row. I should mention that all competitions are entered anonymously and the judges are completely different every month. My decoration from a cone was not placed!!! Ah well you cannot win them all. Next month is designing a birthday card as it is the 85th birthday of Braemar's WRI. All suggestions gratefully received. More soon.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Paranormal activity!
I am going to report on something that happened a few minutes ago and leave you to come up with an explanation. I was clearing the table after breakfast and was standing in the kitchen with my back to the door that enters onto the hallway. The door was open, as was the directly opposite door that opens on to the dining room. One of Coolie's bouncy balls came from behind me and I turned as I heard it. It bounced past me through the kitchen and out the door into the dining room, past Richard who was sitting at the table watching the news and came to rest by the book case. My first thought was that Coolie must have started it moving from the hallway but discovered he was lying in the middle of the living room whining about another ball that was under a chair. Richard had him in his view all the time and assures me he was nowhere near the hallway. Who threw that ball?
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Hello again my readers after a long absence. This week seems to have been fully occupied from beginning to end and I regret not taking just a few minutes each day to record a mini blog. That would have been easier than trying now to remember all the stuff I wanted to write about last week. Forgive me if this reads more like a list than a blog.
Let me start with my night away in the big city last weekend. Using my bus pass for the first time I set off early on Saturday morning for a day's shopping, a night at the theatre and Bed and Breakfast in a luxury hotel. I used the bus journey to do some long overdue reading, researching, thinking and note making about our novel of
21st century Peter Pan. It is amazing what you can do in two hours when you can't get up and wander around, make a cup of tea, check emails, or watch a programme on TV. I must take more bus journeys in future. But I digress. Immediately after stepping off the bus I was in Aberdeen's newest and grandest shopping mall.If we weren't being constantly told the country is in a recession I wouldn't be aware that it was happening. A very classy mall, with very classy shops full of ordinary people with bulging shopping bags. Recession? My friend Irene had travelled up from Arbroath by train and the fantastic thing about this mall is that the door from the railway station enters on one side and the door from the bus station on the other. So we met up in minutes without even having to brave the elements! Not only that but our brand new, only opened in September, classy Jurys Inn hotel was an escalator ride away. Check in wasn't until 2pm but the friendly staff were more than happy to take our bags and store them safely until then. A cup of coffee, then off to fetch the stuff on my to-buy-for-Panto list that I had to get from the 'Fancy Dress' shops a bit further into Aberdeen centre.
We had tickets for the professional Pantomime in Aberdeen, Cinderella, starring Elaine C Smith. It was very enjoyable, up to the minute jokes, excellent special effects, good singing and dancing....and it was full. Tickets at £18.00! Recession?
No sign of it there!
Monday saw me travelling back to Ballater for a day's teaching. The morning started out rather icy with a dusting of snow and I agreed to let Richard drive me. I am so glad I did as the roads had not been gritted and were quite treacherous in places. Several cars lost control and skidded off the road including our friend Doug in a four wheel drive. The forecast was for worse conditions on Tuesday, so I told Jenny in the office at Ballater that I would prefer not to come back the next day if she could get somebody local. Luckily they were able to do a swap with a teacher who was supposed to come from Lumphanan to Braemar, so I got a day in Braemar with the Primary 5 - 7s, while she taught the Ballater class. I had a lovely time, especially because I knew all the children very well, but also their topic is the Highland Clearances and the task for the morning was to write a story about it. They also had the art teacher and a rehearsal for the Christmas production that day so it was an easy one for me.
Wednesday - Friday were spent at home but with lots of admin. jobs for SWRI to do, as well as normal cooking and cleaning. I did manage I am happy to say, to spend quite a bit of time with PP and I think Sheila and I can both see where we are going now. But we still have to get there and there's still a lot of writing to be done, after which there will be editing and proofreading...and that will also take a fair bit of time. If we are going to be ready for the end of February we must push on. Actually Sheila is going off to India in early February and I have agreed to finish all the setting the print, typing, posting jobs etc but we must get the story finished by the end of January, about 7 weeks away, That sounds like a lot of time but when you put Christmas and New Year into the mix it won't be.
Last night, Saturday, we, the Dinner Theatre Group, presented the Murder Mystery of 'Who Sleighed Santa?' to an appreciative audience of 30. Despite all the personality clash hiccups we had during the run up to this performance, it went really well, and everybody got on famously together. Some acted like I had never seen before...amazing what a live audience can do. That is one more project we can tick off the list. However, it doesn't give us any more time in the week as Panto rehearsals are now about to be stepped up. Today's rehearsal started at 2pm but since they were to be practising songs, and Tinkerbell doesn't sing, I managed to wangle an afternoon off. But looking ahead to the week there is a rehearsal every night except Thursday, and Thursday is the WRI Christmas night out. The competitions this month are a table centre decoration and a tree decoration made from a cone. I shall let you know in due course if a get any points this month.
Looking forward to the week ahead...writing Christmas cards, buying pressies, planning meals, but more important than all of that, two very important events coming up both on the same day! December 8th is the birthday of Debbie, and I can remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday. (How come I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday?) Happy Birthday Debbie. Talk to you soon. And December 8th is the day that Claire (and her little lives) will begin her new life in Norway, after spending over 9 years in the Arabian Gulf. Safe journey and good luck Claire. See you soon.
Let me start with my night away in the big city last weekend. Using my bus pass for the first time I set off early on Saturday morning for a day's shopping, a night at the theatre and Bed and Breakfast in a luxury hotel. I used the bus journey to do some long overdue reading, researching, thinking and note making about our novel of
21st century Peter Pan. It is amazing what you can do in two hours when you can't get up and wander around, make a cup of tea, check emails, or watch a programme on TV. I must take more bus journeys in future. But I digress. Immediately after stepping off the bus I was in Aberdeen's newest and grandest shopping mall.If we weren't being constantly told the country is in a recession I wouldn't be aware that it was happening. A very classy mall, with very classy shops full of ordinary people with bulging shopping bags. Recession? My friend Irene had travelled up from Arbroath by train and the fantastic thing about this mall is that the door from the railway station enters on one side and the door from the bus station on the other. So we met up in minutes without even having to brave the elements! Not only that but our brand new, only opened in September, classy Jurys Inn hotel was an escalator ride away. Check in wasn't until 2pm but the friendly staff were more than happy to take our bags and store them safely until then. A cup of coffee, then off to fetch the stuff on my to-buy-for-Panto list that I had to get from the 'Fancy Dress' shops a bit further into Aberdeen centre.
We had tickets for the professional Pantomime in Aberdeen, Cinderella, starring Elaine C Smith. It was very enjoyable, up to the minute jokes, excellent special effects, good singing and dancing....and it was full. Tickets at £18.00! Recession?
No sign of it there!
Monday saw me travelling back to Ballater for a day's teaching. The morning started out rather icy with a dusting of snow and I agreed to let Richard drive me. I am so glad I did as the roads had not been gritted and were quite treacherous in places. Several cars lost control and skidded off the road including our friend Doug in a four wheel drive. The forecast was for worse conditions on Tuesday, so I told Jenny in the office at Ballater that I would prefer not to come back the next day if she could get somebody local. Luckily they were able to do a swap with a teacher who was supposed to come from Lumphanan to Braemar, so I got a day in Braemar with the Primary 5 - 7s, while she taught the Ballater class. I had a lovely time, especially because I knew all the children very well, but also their topic is the Highland Clearances and the task for the morning was to write a story about it. They also had the art teacher and a rehearsal for the Christmas production that day so it was an easy one for me.
Wednesday - Friday were spent at home but with lots of admin. jobs for SWRI to do, as well as normal cooking and cleaning. I did manage I am happy to say, to spend quite a bit of time with PP and I think Sheila and I can both see where we are going now. But we still have to get there and there's still a lot of writing to be done, after which there will be editing and proofreading...and that will also take a fair bit of time. If we are going to be ready for the end of February we must push on. Actually Sheila is going off to India in early February and I have agreed to finish all the setting the print, typing, posting jobs etc but we must get the story finished by the end of January, about 7 weeks away, That sounds like a lot of time but when you put Christmas and New Year into the mix it won't be.
Last night, Saturday, we, the Dinner Theatre Group, presented the Murder Mystery of 'Who Sleighed Santa?' to an appreciative audience of 30. Despite all the personality clash hiccups we had during the run up to this performance, it went really well, and everybody got on famously together. Some acted like I had never seen before...amazing what a live audience can do. That is one more project we can tick off the list. However, it doesn't give us any more time in the week as Panto rehearsals are now about to be stepped up. Today's rehearsal started at 2pm but since they were to be practising songs, and Tinkerbell doesn't sing, I managed to wangle an afternoon off. But looking ahead to the week there is a rehearsal every night except Thursday, and Thursday is the WRI Christmas night out. The competitions this month are a table centre decoration and a tree decoration made from a cone. I shall let you know in due course if a get any points this month.
Looking forward to the week ahead...writing Christmas cards, buying pressies, planning meals, but more important than all of that, two very important events coming up both on the same day! December 8th is the birthday of Debbie, and I can remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday. (How come I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday?) Happy Birthday Debbie. Talk to you soon. And December 8th is the day that Claire (and her little lives) will begin her new life in Norway, after spending over 9 years in the Arabian Gulf. Safe journey and good luck Claire. See you soon.
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Apologies
Apologies to my blog followers for the silence this week. Three days teaching, 12+ hours of rehearsals, preparations and deliveries of 200 senior citizens Christmas dinner invites, a few (but not enough) hours on the writing of Peter Pan's 21st century sequel, and a fun Saturday and Sunday in Aberdeen with Irene took up all my time. As I am teaching again on Monday and Tuesday look for a full report on ALL activities on Wednesday.
Have patience, will talk soon.
Have patience, will talk soon.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Play, pickle and print
Looking at how busy the week ahead might be I thought I would just write a short blog now to keep everybody up to date. No need to mention the weather....no change there! Pitlochry Theatre was a real treat. The play was very funny and the Atholl players did a fantastic job. I would have to rate them as very professional indeed. The Christmas shopping was a bit of a non-starter though. A lot of the shops are the same or a variation of the same....Edinburgh Woollen Mill type. Any shops that were different went from the cheapest of cheap poundstretcher to the '£500 for a cashmere dressing gown' at the House of Bruar. We did manage to find some useful bits in the poundstretcher and lunch at the House of Bruar was as usual excellent. While there we bought several kgs of apples. Why? It was the end of the day and the young man was selling them cheap just to get rid of them.
The bulk buy of apples led me to making a batch of chutney last night. I had half an eye on the WRI March competition anyway which is for chutney. My recipe calls for it to mature for two or three months. For once I am organised ahead of time.
Today has been all about Peter Pan. Not the panto but the children's novel which Sheila and I are working on. I spent quite a few hours today...not really writing anything new but getting familiar again with what we had done before, rearranging it according to the competition rules, scanning and copying, taking stuff off the old computer to get it on the new, and thinking...yes thinking! (while ironing!) I wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow and Tuesday as I am really getting back into it and would rather be doing that than teaching. I have promised myself though, (and Sheila) that I will do at least a couple of hours each day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week.
Might manage a blog too, of course.
The bulk buy of apples led me to making a batch of chutney last night. I had half an eye on the WRI March competition anyway which is for chutney. My recipe calls for it to mature for two or three months. For once I am organised ahead of time.
Today has been all about Peter Pan. Not the panto but the children's novel which Sheila and I are working on. I spent quite a few hours today...not really writing anything new but getting familiar again with what we had done before, rearranging it according to the competition rules, scanning and copying, taking stuff off the old computer to get it on the new, and thinking...yes thinking! (while ironing!) I wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow and Tuesday as I am really getting back into it and would rather be doing that than teaching. I have promised myself though, (and Sheila) that I will do at least a couple of hours each day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week.
Might manage a blog too, of course.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Le Chien has French Lessons
Coolie is off to stay with Michel and Magali for 24 hours just to brush up his French while son mere et pere are going to Pitlochry. (Again?) This is an early birthday treat for me. We are heading for House of Bruar for a bit of Christmas shopping and lunch before checking into the B&B. Tonight's theatre experience will be vastly different from last week's. It is a Scottish play, called 'Paras o'er the Barras', done by the Vale of Atholl Players, an amateur dramatics group. It will be interesting to see the standard as we have no idea really how good or awful our dinner theatre group and panto players really are when compared to other amateurs. We shall do some more Christmas shopping in Pitlochry tomorrow and then back home.
The floods in the lake district of England and south of Scotland are being described as of 'biblical proportions'. We have had a lot of rain here too...seems like it has been every day for more than 40 days and nights....but at least we have had no flooding in our area and none forecast. It continues to be very mild for the time of year, though we did have cold spell two weeks ago and the mornings were frosty when I was driving to Ballater school. Talking of which they have asked me to go in for two more days next week. That will be 5 this month in total and I will be happy to stop at that...a nice bit of pocket money for Christmas.
To be truthful, I don't have time to work, and I cannot imagine how I had time before. Between the panto, the Murder mystery, the secretarial load of the WRI, the Jacobite project and the rewriting of Peter Pan my days are filled before I even think about housework, shopping and cooking! And therein lies some good news. Remember the chocolate cake that cost me a small fortune to make last month? The one that I kept in the freezer for the WRI competition? Well the cakes were judged last night and I have been told that mine was 1st. Yahoo!(I couldn't stay for the judging as I had to go and be Tinkerbell.)With two firsts and a third so far this season, I am getting quite competitive and already planning next month's entry which is a Christmas table decoration. You will find out in due course about that.
Au revoir.
The floods in the lake district of England and south of Scotland are being described as of 'biblical proportions'. We have had a lot of rain here too...seems like it has been every day for more than 40 days and nights....but at least we have had no flooding in our area and none forecast. It continues to be very mild for the time of year, though we did have cold spell two weeks ago and the mornings were frosty when I was driving to Ballater school. Talking of which they have asked me to go in for two more days next week. That will be 5 this month in total and I will be happy to stop at that...a nice bit of pocket money for Christmas.
To be truthful, I don't have time to work, and I cannot imagine how I had time before. Between the panto, the Murder mystery, the secretarial load of the WRI, the Jacobite project and the rewriting of Peter Pan my days are filled before I even think about housework, shopping and cooking! And therein lies some good news. Remember the chocolate cake that cost me a small fortune to make last month? The one that I kept in the freezer for the WRI competition? Well the cakes were judged last night and I have been told that mine was 1st. Yahoo!(I couldn't stay for the judging as I had to go and be Tinkerbell.)With two firsts and a third so far this season, I am getting quite competitive and already planning next month's entry which is a Christmas table decoration. You will find out in due course about that.
Au revoir.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Of pheasant plucking and nut cracking
The week began with two more days at Ballater primary school with 22 primary 2s and 3s. Pleasant enough but it didn't fill my heart with longing to return to the classroom. I know I made the right decision to retire from education when I did while I still have enough energy to do all the things that I didn't have time for during the 40 years in the classroom. I am equally sure that teaching was the right career for me and I have not one single regret about spending my life to date doing that. But now the time has come to move on!
I have made contact with my friend Sheila about the possibility of finishing the cracking children's novel that we half finished 5 years ago. She is keen to go for it too so we will talk later today about how we should proceed. There is a Scottish publishering company - Floris Books - which runs an annual competition for novels for the 9 - 12 age group set mainly in Scotland. Our tale of 21st century Peter Pan fits the criteria and their entry date of late February would give us the much needed deadline to work towards.
Other projects still simmering away in the background of my life at the moment are the drama group's murder mystery coming up in less than 3 weeks, the panto which currently takes up minimum of 9 hours a week, and plans for the Third Jacobite Uprising.....
But what of pheasant plucking? The other day a friend phoned offering free pheasants (her husband is a gamekeeper) as they had more than they could deal with after a successful days' sport (Sport? Not what the birds would call it!) Richard said he was willing and able to do the cleaning and plucking so I agreed to take two brace and planned to add them to the menu for Friday night's dinner for Allan, May, Christopher and Nirit. Nirit is Jewish so I wasn't too sure if the pheasant had been treated in a kosher way??? But that is another story. I was out visiting an old neighbour when the pheasant arrived and I came home to the most awful sights and smells in my kitchen. Richard sitting at the kitchen sink wearing his butcher's apron and up to the elbows in carcasses, feathers, guts and blood while an aroma of foul fowl surrounded him. Coolie was enjoying the scene of course. Once all the nasties were dealt with I was left with the next task of deciding how to cook them. Isn't google a wonderful thing? Google is definitely of minor god status in my opinion. Various recipes came up and in the end I decided casseroling in cider sounded good, and I also decided that getting them into the slow cooker early in the morning on Friday and leaving them to their own devices for the day was the way to go. At least that way they wouldn't interfere with all my other culinary plans for the day and if they didn't work out, well, at least they had cost me nothing in either time or money...although they had cost Richard a fair amount of time. I also decided to only use the breasts and to boil up the legs and other bits for Coolie. The resulting casserole was indeed very tasty and gobbled up by my body building nephew at dinner and then again as a top up supper before he went to bed.
Yesterday evening Richard and I treated ourselves to a night at the ballet. The Moscow Ballet were performing the Nutcracker at Pitlochry Theatre...currently our favourite venue. It was most enjoyable. The costumes were beautiful, the music outstanding (though it wasn't live)and the dancing, especially by the principles was divine. How can they move their bodies like that and yet make it seem so effortless? However, we were disappointed a little in the story side of the show. We were expecting the full story of the Nutcracker, very Christmassy etc, but it wasn't quite the version we had hoped for. The first half seemed to be setting the scene and did have a token Christmas tree as part of the set. There were various 'dolls' dancing, plus we got a glimpse of the menacing mice and the toy soldiers. The second half was filled with various corp de ballet routines which were good but not brilliant, interspersed with excellent performances from each of 4 pairs of principles, and an oustanding duet from the prima ballerina and partner but none of it seemed to be related to the story. During the final dance somebody uncovered a toy nutcracker and held it aloft! Still, it was a lovely evening and a bit of culture for us! We are back to Pitlochry next weekend for something completely different which I will tell you about in due course.
I have made contact with my friend Sheila about the possibility of finishing the cracking children's novel that we half finished 5 years ago. She is keen to go for it too so we will talk later today about how we should proceed. There is a Scottish publishering company - Floris Books - which runs an annual competition for novels for the 9 - 12 age group set mainly in Scotland. Our tale of 21st century Peter Pan fits the criteria and their entry date of late February would give us the much needed deadline to work towards.
Other projects still simmering away in the background of my life at the moment are the drama group's murder mystery coming up in less than 3 weeks, the panto which currently takes up minimum of 9 hours a week, and plans for the Third Jacobite Uprising.....
But what of pheasant plucking? The other day a friend phoned offering free pheasants (her husband is a gamekeeper) as they had more than they could deal with after a successful days' sport (Sport? Not what the birds would call it!) Richard said he was willing and able to do the cleaning and plucking so I agreed to take two brace and planned to add them to the menu for Friday night's dinner for Allan, May, Christopher and Nirit. Nirit is Jewish so I wasn't too sure if the pheasant had been treated in a kosher way??? But that is another story. I was out visiting an old neighbour when the pheasant arrived and I came home to the most awful sights and smells in my kitchen. Richard sitting at the kitchen sink wearing his butcher's apron and up to the elbows in carcasses, feathers, guts and blood while an aroma of foul fowl surrounded him. Coolie was enjoying the scene of course. Once all the nasties were dealt with I was left with the next task of deciding how to cook them. Isn't google a wonderful thing? Google is definitely of minor god status in my opinion. Various recipes came up and in the end I decided casseroling in cider sounded good, and I also decided that getting them into the slow cooker early in the morning on Friday and leaving them to their own devices for the day was the way to go. At least that way they wouldn't interfere with all my other culinary plans for the day and if they didn't work out, well, at least they had cost me nothing in either time or money...although they had cost Richard a fair amount of time. I also decided to only use the breasts and to boil up the legs and other bits for Coolie. The resulting casserole was indeed very tasty and gobbled up by my body building nephew at dinner and then again as a top up supper before he went to bed.
Yesterday evening Richard and I treated ourselves to a night at the ballet. The Moscow Ballet were performing the Nutcracker at Pitlochry Theatre...currently our favourite venue. It was most enjoyable. The costumes were beautiful, the music outstanding (though it wasn't live)and the dancing, especially by the principles was divine. How can they move their bodies like that and yet make it seem so effortless? However, we were disappointed a little in the story side of the show. We were expecting the full story of the Nutcracker, very Christmassy etc, but it wasn't quite the version we had hoped for. The first half seemed to be setting the scene and did have a token Christmas tree as part of the set. There were various 'dolls' dancing, plus we got a glimpse of the menacing mice and the toy soldiers. The second half was filled with various corp de ballet routines which were good but not brilliant, interspersed with excellent performances from each of 4 pairs of principles, and an oustanding duet from the prima ballerina and partner but none of it seemed to be related to the story. During the final dance somebody uncovered a toy nutcracker and held it aloft! Still, it was a lovely evening and a bit of culture for us! We are back to Pitlochry next weekend for something completely different which I will tell you about in due course.
Saturday, 7 November 2009
And another thing
I forgot to tell you about a curious incident that happened last week. I awoke with a start one morning, while it was still dark, to the sound of one ring of the front doorbell followed by what sounded like the handle being depressed. My first thought was that it must be Richard coming back after taking Coolie out for a walk, but on turning round I saw Richard fast asleep beside me. I looked at the clock and it was 5.20. Who on earth could be at the door at that time in the morning, and who would try to come straight in? I lay motionless, listening and waiting for the next sound. There was none. 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, and nothing more was heard. Was it a dream?
When I finally awoke properly about two hours later I realised it was 5th November and would have been my Dad's 86th birthday. Dad was a strong spiritualist and after Mum died he was convinced she visited him frequently. His favourite story was always how she warned him one night that he hadn't locked the door. He got out of bed to see and sure enough he hadn't locked the door. Perhaps he was checking that we had locked ours. Who knows? Happy Birthday Dad, wherever you might be now.
When I finally awoke properly about two hours later I realised it was 5th November and would have been my Dad's 86th birthday. Dad was a strong spiritualist and after Mum died he was convinced she visited him frequently. His favourite story was always how she warned him one night that he hadn't locked the door. He got out of bed to see and sure enough he hadn't locked the door. Perhaps he was checking that we had locked ours. Who knows? Happy Birthday Dad, wherever you might be now.
A Hamster in a Wheel
Here we are at the end of another week, another wettish week at that, and not a lot of progress made in any department. I started off the week weighing 54.1kg as reported in my last blog, then dropped a little to 53.8 which pleased me greatly, then went back to 54.1! GRRRR. The weight will start to come off though, of that I am sure as I am controlling my alcohol intake, and my bread intake and I have always found they make a huge difference.
I feel a bit like a hamster in a wheel this week, putting a lot of effort and time into I don't know what. Well let's see what I have done. I have written (and read) a large number of emails, ordered several items online...everything from an elf's costume to a hob and oven...(and that's another story), done some research for the Jacobite project, made a poster or two, taught a primary 2/3 class at Ballater for a day, taught a kids' dance class in Braemar, attended two drama rehearsals, went to a meeting with a business mentor as a follow up to the course we did on increasing B&B business,attended a castle meeting, cooked 15 meals for two, cleaned out a kitchen cupboard and the fridge, vacuumed, did laundry, watched TV......ad infinitum. Lots of stuff but nothing creative and I feel that if I haven't created or achieved anything of worth I have wasted my time. So let's see if I can do better tomorrow.
The story surrounding the new hob and oven is somewhat amusing and akin to the crazy beginnings you used to get in the series Six Feet Under, although luckily this one didn't lead to anyone's death....although it could have! When I went to clean the twin room after our guests left last weekend I discovered that bizarrely they had made tea in the kettle, instead of in the cup. Consequently the previously creamy/white kettle was now a dirty grey colour on the inside. Because it has a metal element inside I couldn't use Milton or similar to clean it so I decided to let some water boil in it, leaving the lid off so that it would continue to boil for a while. I left it to go about some other chores. After a time I heard a strange popping/puffing sound coming from the kitchen. The water had boiled over the top of the kettle and down under the hob (bad design) causing a short. Smoke was puffing out from the switches. It was a little scary but thankfully it didn't burst into flames. Richard immediately cut the power and our electrician neighbour came round to see what could be done. We now have only two rings working on the hob, and a long time ago one grill element burned out on the oven so we just decided that it was time to treat the kitchen to a new appliance. It will all be arriving next week sometime.
And by the way, I am doing two more days supply teaching at Ballater next week so I suppose I have at least earned a bit of money if I have done nothing else.
Ciao for now.
I feel a bit like a hamster in a wheel this week, putting a lot of effort and time into I don't know what. Well let's see what I have done. I have written (and read) a large number of emails, ordered several items online...everything from an elf's costume to a hob and oven...(and that's another story), done some research for the Jacobite project, made a poster or two, taught a primary 2/3 class at Ballater for a day, taught a kids' dance class in Braemar, attended two drama rehearsals, went to a meeting with a business mentor as a follow up to the course we did on increasing B&B business,attended a castle meeting, cooked 15 meals for two, cleaned out a kitchen cupboard and the fridge, vacuumed, did laundry, watched TV......ad infinitum. Lots of stuff but nothing creative and I feel that if I haven't created or achieved anything of worth I have wasted my time. So let's see if I can do better tomorrow.
The story surrounding the new hob and oven is somewhat amusing and akin to the crazy beginnings you used to get in the series Six Feet Under, although luckily this one didn't lead to anyone's death....although it could have! When I went to clean the twin room after our guests left last weekend I discovered that bizarrely they had made tea in the kettle, instead of in the cup. Consequently the previously creamy/white kettle was now a dirty grey colour on the inside. Because it has a metal element inside I couldn't use Milton or similar to clean it so I decided to let some water boil in it, leaving the lid off so that it would continue to boil for a while. I left it to go about some other chores. After a time I heard a strange popping/puffing sound coming from the kitchen. The water had boiled over the top of the kettle and down under the hob (bad design) causing a short. Smoke was puffing out from the switches. It was a little scary but thankfully it didn't burst into flames. Richard immediately cut the power and our electrician neighbour came round to see what could be done. We now have only two rings working on the hob, and a long time ago one grill element burned out on the oven so we just decided that it was time to treat the kitchen to a new appliance. It will all be arriving next week sometime.
And by the way, I am doing two more days supply teaching at Ballater next week so I suppose I have at least earned a bit of money if I have done nothing else.
Ciao for now.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Tinks is here
This will be a very quick wee blog as I am off out to panto rehearsals very shortly but I just wanted to tell my followers that the Tinkerbell costume arrived today! The good news is that I can get into it! But it will look better with every kilo I drop. So watch out for a weight confession in my next blog.
Two other things of note that happened today....3 of my premium bonds each won £25, and I started dance classes with the kids at school. It was fun, but I had forgotten how noisy a dozen kids can be at the end of a school day. That was the first time inside the building since I left in July. Nothing much had changed but it felt quite strange.
Still raining here....seems to have been raining for weeks. There is also quite a dusting of snow on the hill tops.
Two other things of note that happened today....3 of my premium bonds each won £25, and I started dance classes with the kids at school. It was fun, but I had forgotten how noisy a dozen kids can be at the end of a school day. That was the first time inside the building since I left in July. Nothing much had changed but it felt quite strange.
Still raining here....seems to have been raining for weeks. There is also quite a dusting of snow on the hill tops.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Santa Claus, Peter Pan and Bonnie Prince Charlie!
My life has been highjacked for the moment by Santa Claus, Peter Pan and Bonnie Prince Charlie. I apologise to the readers of my blog for the short delay there has been this week in getting this post out. Part of the trouble is I have spent so much time on the computer with these three gentlemen that when it came time to write a blog my fingers and back side were sore!
Let's take Santa first. The Dinner Theatre group are doing a Murder Mystery in Mar Lodge at the beginning of December. The pack we chose, 'Who Sleighed Santa?' gave us the scenario and character descriptions (that's where I play the drunken elf)but dialogue is supposed to be ad libbed. One or two of the players, but mainly Santa, wanted a more formally organised piece, where there were scripts and a running order. So on two afternoons this week I typed for what seemed hours...actually it did take about 4 hours to put 7 pages of script and stage instructions together. Hope it works.
Now for Peter Pan! Well the panto rehearsals are 3 nights a week for 3 hours at a time, but in addition to that I have spent a lot of time on the computer looking for Tinkerbell and Elf costumes. Particularly for Tinkerbell, I want to look cute! And by the way I have had a great idea about the weight loss campaign! I know exactly what I should do to lose weight (Scottish Slimmers programme is fantastic) but I need an incentive to keep going. I think I will do a Bridget Jones and tell my blog readers my current weight each time I write, and you can all help me keep on the straight and narrow. As of today I weigh 54.1kg. I would like to be 51kg by the time I fly on a wire!
Coming now to Bonnie Prince Charlie! He is the third man taking up my time at the moment and I know that once Christmas is over he will be the main culprit. We had the Castleton dancers AGM here last night and I 'made' them watch part of the show which we had done in Jakarta. I must say they were VERY impressed with the standard of dancing ....and so was I. I had forgotten how good we were. I have been doing quite a bit of planning and typing up memos for the proposed Jacobite Experience! This will be a kind of whole community Living History exhibition followed by a show of music, dance and drama telling the story of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. I want to involve all ages in this, from the babies to the grannies, and turn Braemar into a 1745 village for one day! (Overtones of Brigadoon). The project will be to raise the awareness and raise funds for Braemar Castle and if it is successful it will be repeated throughout the summer...maybe once a month. This morning I have been using the internet (God bless it)to research what kind of sports and games were around at that time. My French neighbour and Jacobite expert, Magali has just been at the door to tell me Michel has already started planning to make wooden Red Coats as target practice, and also an idea to make white cockades for sale. Watch this space as this project unfolds. I am about to search online for some cheap bolts of tartan to make costumes!
So a busy but fun time ahead, as a captive of SC, PP, and BPC!
Let's take Santa first. The Dinner Theatre group are doing a Murder Mystery in Mar Lodge at the beginning of December. The pack we chose, 'Who Sleighed Santa?' gave us the scenario and character descriptions (that's where I play the drunken elf)but dialogue is supposed to be ad libbed. One or two of the players, but mainly Santa, wanted a more formally organised piece, where there were scripts and a running order. So on two afternoons this week I typed for what seemed hours...actually it did take about 4 hours to put 7 pages of script and stage instructions together. Hope it works.
Now for Peter Pan! Well the panto rehearsals are 3 nights a week for 3 hours at a time, but in addition to that I have spent a lot of time on the computer looking for Tinkerbell and Elf costumes. Particularly for Tinkerbell, I want to look cute! And by the way I have had a great idea about the weight loss campaign! I know exactly what I should do to lose weight (Scottish Slimmers programme is fantastic) but I need an incentive to keep going. I think I will do a Bridget Jones and tell my blog readers my current weight each time I write, and you can all help me keep on the straight and narrow. As of today I weigh 54.1kg. I would like to be 51kg by the time I fly on a wire!
Coming now to Bonnie Prince Charlie! He is the third man taking up my time at the moment and I know that once Christmas is over he will be the main culprit. We had the Castleton dancers AGM here last night and I 'made' them watch part of the show which we had done in Jakarta. I must say they were VERY impressed with the standard of dancing ....and so was I. I had forgotten how good we were. I have been doing quite a bit of planning and typing up memos for the proposed Jacobite Experience! This will be a kind of whole community Living History exhibition followed by a show of music, dance and drama telling the story of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. I want to involve all ages in this, from the babies to the grannies, and turn Braemar into a 1745 village for one day! (Overtones of Brigadoon). The project will be to raise the awareness and raise funds for Braemar Castle and if it is successful it will be repeated throughout the summer...maybe once a month. This morning I have been using the internet (God bless it)to research what kind of sports and games were around at that time. My French neighbour and Jacobite expert, Magali has just been at the door to tell me Michel has already started planning to make wooden Red Coats as target practice, and also an idea to make white cockades for sale. Watch this space as this project unfolds. I am about to search online for some cheap bolts of tartan to make costumes!
So a busy but fun time ahead, as a captive of SC, PP, and BPC!
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Typecast or what?
Being 4ft 11ins has its disadvantages, like not seeing over other people's heads in the theatre, not being able to reach high shelves in the kitchen, and having everybody else look down on you all the time. But I guess it has advantages too and playing Tinkerbell in the local pantomime might be one of them. No lines to learn but lots of stage time and lots of dancing. Considering I am playing a drunken disgruntled elf in the Christmas Murder Mystery I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, I am being typecast. The part of Tinks is a fine one and I am pleased with it but I am determined to do it justice and have resolved to lose at least 6kg. There is nothing much I can do about being an ageing Tinks, but I am determined not to be a chubby one. If nothing else I have to consider the 'flying' scenes....not sure what John has in mind yet but for sure it will include a bit of flying!
The first read through is tonight, but since Tinks doesn't speak perhaps I will take along a bell and ring it when appropriate! More later, Ciao!
The first read through is tonight, but since Tinks doesn't speak perhaps I will take along a bell and ring it when appropriate! More later, Ciao!
Sunday, 25 October 2009
A fine weekend....but not the weather
We have come to the end of another weekend. It is relaxing to think that the schools go back tomorrow after two weeks holiday and I don't have to be there. I seem to be so busy these days that I cannot for the life of me figure out how I ever had time to work before. How did I spend the weekend?
Friday was a cooking day and very satisfying it was too. We had invited Norma and Roger for dinner. Roger used to be in the Navy and he and Richard get on really well, and Norma is one of the dancers. Sadly her son died earlier this year, in Australia, so she hasn't been at dancing for a while and I haven't seen much of her lately. I had decided to do courgette soup, but infortunately could only get two courgettes in the village! Not unusual, but not enough. Then I remembered a recipe for two soups in one bowl, preferably a green and a red. You pour them simultaneously from jugs either side of the soup plate and when the two soups meet they don't mix but stay as though the plate is in two halves. It really looks amazing and has the wow factor at a dinner party. The soups I made were fairly thick. I don't think it would work if they were thin. (I made tomato with mint and courgette with peas -recipes on request) For the main course I did salmon en croute with a spinach and water cress stuffing and the dessert was homemade - yes home made chocolate cake as mentioned in my previous blog. We ate one quarter...yummy but rich. The rest is in the freezer and will be my entry for the chocolate cake competition at the WRI next month. A very pleasant stress-free evening.
Saturday was quite a lazy day and I spent time reading the weekend papers, wrote a few emails, went on line and bought tickets for the Russian ballet doing the Nutcracker in Pitlochry, and also for an am-dram play the following week, Paras o'er the Barras, did a bit of ironing, made a curry, and watched a bit ot telly while waiting for our B&B guests to arrive. They were coming from Manchester and we were expecting them at 6pm but they phoned to say they had been in a traffic jam for three and a half hours and would not arrive until 10pm. Poor things. But the good thing was we put the clocks back last night so we all managed an extra hour in bed. Sunday, after serving breakfast, I did a stint at the castle. It was quite quiet today...well the weather was awful and it is getting quite late in the season. I had one group, consisting of 3 young American students, an Austrian couple, and a couple from Shetland. They all said they enjoyed the tour. I am really enjoying doing it too. Did a few odd dance related jobs this afternoon and then tonight was the auditions for the panto!!!! There is a really strong cast this year. A lot of the teenagers are good singers and quite confident speakers...and none of them are the 'naughty' sort. They are all quite well behaved and take the matter seriously. I would not like John's job now, deciding who is getting what part. I am really not worried if I don't get a speaking part. I would be happy to do choreography. So we shall see. We may know tomorrow but we may not find out until the read through on Tuesday. So that was the weekend that was. I am planning to do some writing tomorrow...the short story that I am half way through, and a synopsis of the Jacobite project.
Friday was a cooking day and very satisfying it was too. We had invited Norma and Roger for dinner. Roger used to be in the Navy and he and Richard get on really well, and Norma is one of the dancers. Sadly her son died earlier this year, in Australia, so she hasn't been at dancing for a while and I haven't seen much of her lately. I had decided to do courgette soup, but infortunately could only get two courgettes in the village! Not unusual, but not enough. Then I remembered a recipe for two soups in one bowl, preferably a green and a red. You pour them simultaneously from jugs either side of the soup plate and when the two soups meet they don't mix but stay as though the plate is in two halves. It really looks amazing and has the wow factor at a dinner party. The soups I made were fairly thick. I don't think it would work if they were thin. (I made tomato with mint and courgette with peas -recipes on request) For the main course I did salmon en croute with a spinach and water cress stuffing and the dessert was homemade - yes home made chocolate cake as mentioned in my previous blog. We ate one quarter...yummy but rich. The rest is in the freezer and will be my entry for the chocolate cake competition at the WRI next month. A very pleasant stress-free evening.
Saturday was quite a lazy day and I spent time reading the weekend papers, wrote a few emails, went on line and bought tickets for the Russian ballet doing the Nutcracker in Pitlochry, and also for an am-dram play the following week, Paras o'er the Barras, did a bit of ironing, made a curry, and watched a bit ot telly while waiting for our B&B guests to arrive. They were coming from Manchester and we were expecting them at 6pm but they phoned to say they had been in a traffic jam for three and a half hours and would not arrive until 10pm. Poor things. But the good thing was we put the clocks back last night so we all managed an extra hour in bed. Sunday, after serving breakfast, I did a stint at the castle. It was quite quiet today...well the weather was awful and it is getting quite late in the season. I had one group, consisting of 3 young American students, an Austrian couple, and a couple from Shetland. They all said they enjoyed the tour. I am really enjoying doing it too. Did a few odd dance related jobs this afternoon and then tonight was the auditions for the panto!!!! There is a really strong cast this year. A lot of the teenagers are good singers and quite confident speakers...and none of them are the 'naughty' sort. They are all quite well behaved and take the matter seriously. I would not like John's job now, deciding who is getting what part. I am really not worried if I don't get a speaking part. I would be happy to do choreography. So we shall see. We may know tomorrow but we may not find out until the read through on Tuesday. So that was the weekend that was. I am planning to do some writing tomorrow...the short story that I am half way through, and a synopsis of the Jacobite project.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
It's Peter Pan!
The script is out and this year's panto is Peter Pan. Yeah, I like it. I am about to read through the character list and the script so we shall see if there is a suitable part. If there isn't I will be quite happy to do choreography as there are lots of scenes with the Indians, and the pirates and the lost boys where dance comes into it. Then I shall just concentrate on my part of Mavis, the drunken elf, in the Murder Mystery Christmas Dinner that the dinner theatre group is doing at Mar Lodge in early December. The fact that the panto is Peter Pan I take as a sign that I should revisit the children's novel that Sheila and I have half written. When it wasn't eligible for the competition a few years ago (they only wanted published authors)we gave up on it but we shouldn't have as it was a cracking good story, bringing Peter Pan right up to the 21st century. I will dig it out in the next day or two, and maybe publish some of it in this blog for comment.
Made a chocolate cake today! Haven't tried it yet as it is meant to be dessert tomorrow, but if it isn't scrumptious I am NEVER going to bake again. The ingredients cost a fortune, not to mention having to buy an £8.50 cake tin. The time to mix it was quite considerable, then 90 minutes of electricity to bake it. Tomorrow I have to make the gamache (look it up) and that also takes fresh cream, and loads of chocolate. According to the recipe you can get 14 slices and each is over 500 calories. That means 7000 calories in the whole cake! Wow.
Made a chocolate cake today! Haven't tried it yet as it is meant to be dessert tomorrow, but if it isn't scrumptious I am NEVER going to bake again. The ingredients cost a fortune, not to mention having to buy an £8.50 cake tin. The time to mix it was quite considerable, then 90 minutes of electricity to bake it. Tomorrow I have to make the gamache (look it up) and that also takes fresh cream, and loads of chocolate. According to the recipe you can get 14 slices and each is over 500 calories. That means 7000 calories in the whole cake! Wow.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Using my brain
Today was a different day. Richard and I went to a business seminar in Ballater and it was fascinating. The speaker was an Irish guy called Keith and he had his own consultancy firm called 'brilliantred'. He was dynamic. He must have been good because I didn't fall asleep after lunch which I nearly always do if I am in a lecture. It made me want to go and study business. Perhaps I will. He talked a lot of the same language that I have heard Claire talk...about the importance of branding etc. It has given us some new ideas to increase business, so hopefully it will pay off.
We didn't have too long at home before I had to go off to the dancing. We had beginners from 7pm - 8pm, social dancing 8pm - 9pm, then performance at the Invercauld after that. So worked the brain all day and the body all evening. I should sleep well.
We didn't have too long at home before I had to go off to the dancing. We had beginners from 7pm - 8pm, social dancing 8pm - 9pm, then performance at the Invercauld after that. So worked the brain all day and the body all evening. I should sleep well.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Autumnal colours are everywhere and the last few days have been bright and sunny and showing them at their very best. Unfortunately the bright sunshine is also showing up the dirty windows and cobwebs! Today was rather wet though and not quite so bright so we took the opportunity to drive to Aberdeen for some shopping. Nothing exciting...B&Q for Richard's bits and pieces and a supermarket for foodstuff.
I did another stint at guiding at the castle yesterday and I am gaining confidence and enjoying it more each time. I had a couple from Bishopbrigs who at first I thought were going to be difficult. He never smiled and kept asking questions, most of which I was able to answer, and she just kept talking and talking. However at the end they said it was a great tour and they even wrote in the guestbook, 'Margaret was a great tour guide'. I did tell them a couple of times that my name was Marilyn, but well.....
Watched a really harrowing film last night, 'The Last king of Scotland'. It certainly deserved the label political thriller, and the actors certainly deserved the awards they got. Then I went to bed and read a really stressful chapter in my book (Call the Midwife) about the life of people in the workhouse in the 1950s. I am surprised that I didn't have nightmares.
So no famous people or exciting events to report but the week ahead is about to get busy with a tourism course to attend on Wednesday, the start of the pantomime rehearsals on Thursday, and maybe hosting a dinner party on Saturday. Can't wait to find out what the panto is! Watch this space.
I did another stint at guiding at the castle yesterday and I am gaining confidence and enjoying it more each time. I had a couple from Bishopbrigs who at first I thought were going to be difficult. He never smiled and kept asking questions, most of which I was able to answer, and she just kept talking and talking. However at the end they said it was a great tour and they even wrote in the guestbook, 'Margaret was a great tour guide'. I did tell them a couple of times that my name was Marilyn, but well.....
Watched a really harrowing film last night, 'The Last king of Scotland'. It certainly deserved the label political thriller, and the actors certainly deserved the awards they got. Then I went to bed and read a really stressful chapter in my book (Call the Midwife) about the life of people in the workhouse in the 1950s. I am surprised that I didn't have nightmares.
So no famous people or exciting events to report but the week ahead is about to get busy with a tourism course to attend on Wednesday, the start of the pantomime rehearsals on Thursday, and maybe hosting a dinner party on Saturday. Can't wait to find out what the panto is! Watch this space.
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
A very busy day
Today was in sharp contrast to yesterday. Yesterday I had hours to myself to spend however I wanted to but today was occupied from start to finish. I just discovered last night that as secretary for WRI I was expected to put up posters and inform all members by note that the meeting was this week. Consequently I had to type and print the leaflets and posters and also deliver them. I took a short cut by emailing some of the members! That job took most of the morning. I made some soup and had a quick sandwich while doing some accounting of the charity money before meeting Pat at 2pm to sort out the flower tubs! There are six of them; two at the south side of the village, two in the middle, and two at the north end. The work was very physical and involved moving heavy loads of soil and bulbs etc. Two hours later we had accomplished what we had set out to do. Finally we went into the garage which was next to the last two barrels, to get water for the plants and who should be filling up his tank with petrol but Billy Connelly! He looked so well groomed and smart compared to how he used to appear on TV. I just said to him, 'Lovely day we have had today.' So Prince Charles and Billy Connelly in one week....I wonder who I shall meet tomorrow?
As soon as I got home from the planting I had to prepare for the dance class...beginners and more, make the tea, and look out my stuff for the performance at the Invercauld. But I got a little sidetracked from all that by the emails going between the characters in the Murder Mystery. Great fun and quite funny.
The dancing was very quiet tonight as so many people are away, but we managed a few dances with the beginners, and then had a cup of coffee as there were only 4 experienced dancers after the beginners left. On to the Invercauld and a reasonable collection of £60.
As soon as I got home from the planting I had to prepare for the dance class...beginners and more, make the tea, and look out my stuff for the performance at the Invercauld. But I got a little sidetracked from all that by the emails going between the characters in the Murder Mystery. Great fun and quite funny.
The dancing was very quiet tonight as so many people are away, but we managed a few dances with the beginners, and then had a cup of coffee as there were only 4 experienced dancers after the beginners left. On to the Invercauld and a reasonable collection of £60.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Writing
Today was the perfect day to start writing. The weather was mediocre, the dog has a sore paw and doesn't want to play, and Richard left early this morning to go to Dundee. I have had hours and hours of time to myself without interruption. So did I write? No! Well nothing of substance. The odd email doesn't count, nor does the thank you scrawled on the invoice for slip stop powder, nor the cheques from Castleton Dancers. I did do some research on writing for People's Friend and My Weekly. I think I can do it but I just need to get a good idea and then......
One of my problems is that when it comes to writing I am a bit like a hyperactive child and I don't know where to focus. I have so many projects started but incomplete. Which one shall I choose. There's the basic ideas list for a village panto based on Brigadoon. Might be fun. There's the half way through children's novel based loosely on Peter Pan. Worth pursung. There's the idea of the story about the boy who has an adventure inside his desk, which I started for Zach when he was 7 or 8. He is now 17. I have to do a rewrite and planning document for the Bonnie Prince Charlie Show....new working title the Jacobite experience. Perhaps I shall write a short story about a lady recently retired who wants to write but doesn't know what to write about!
Well at least I have written a blog today, so I guess that is something.
One of my problems is that when it comes to writing I am a bit like a hyperactive child and I don't know where to focus. I have so many projects started but incomplete. Which one shall I choose. There's the basic ideas list for a village panto based on Brigadoon. Might be fun. There's the half way through children's novel based loosely on Peter Pan. Worth pursung. There's the idea of the story about the boy who has an adventure inside his desk, which I started for Zach when he was 7 or 8. He is now 17. I have to do a rewrite and planning document for the Bonnie Prince Charlie Show....new working title the Jacobite experience. Perhaps I shall write a short story about a lady recently retired who wants to write but doesn't know what to write about!
Well at least I have written a blog today, so I guess that is something.
Monday, 12 October 2009
A quickstep and conversation with a Prince
Saturday night was the evening of the long awaited Ghillies' Ball at Birkhall. We arrived in good time....or some would say we were early although a few people were there before us. We might have been even earlier if hadn't been for the little Roe Deer which got in front of us in the narrow country lane and just kept on running. We were willing it to jump off to the side and into the forest but no. Its little heart must have been pumping with both the fear it felt and the speed at which it was running. It must have stayed in front for at least 5 minutes (it seemed longer) and covered a couple of miles before eventually disappearing into the night.
On arrival at the marquee attached to the summerhouse, an elegant cold buffet supper was laid out, and wine and beer were flowing freely. The band played a few of the dances....a practice session for later it seemed...and only a few of us danced at that stage. Then around 10ish we were asked to stand round the room while Charles and Camilla entered and came round and talked to everybody. There were over 100 guests so it took at least 20 minutes. Then the dancing started for real, with almost everybody up on the floor, including the Royals and their house guests. One of the guests, a young man, looked different from the rest and he was a fairly accomplished dancer. His clothing and demeanour made him stand out. Pat discovered his name was Rory Stewart and so I googled him (Isn't google wonderful?) It turns out young Mr Stewart is quite a celebrity and somewhat famous. He is an author, traveller, advisor to statesmen, former tutor of the young Princes William and Harry, member of the secret service, authority on Afghanistan and Iraq, Professor at Harvard and has an OBE. Different? Well yes.
But the highlight for me has to be my dance with Prince Charles. It was sheer chance that the music for Paul Jones stopped when we were opposite each other. Our conversation went like this.
PC, 'Oh how lucky. I have got an expert to dance with.'
Band, 'The next dance is a quickstep'.
Me, 'Oh dear, I am no expert at this'.
PC, 'Me neither, So what shall we do.'
Me, 'Just keep moving and smiling. We are not being judged.'
PC, 'Do you often get judged when you dance?'
Me,'Not really, but we do get watched. It is not like Strictly Come Dancing though.'
PC, 'Do you watch that?'
Me, 'Sometimes. Not religiously'.
PC, 'I can't believe how many people watch it. 2o million or something.'
PC, 'How often do Castleton Dancers dance?'
Me, 'At least twice a week some times more. We do two performances every week, plus we have a training night, and a night when we teach others. Oh by the way, John sent some photographs for you and I have left them with your staff.'
PC, Thank you so much. You are so kind. It is such fun when you come to dance for us.'
Me, 'It is our pleasure really. We love it.
PC, 'A 60th birthday is a good excuse to invite you. Now I shall have to wait until I am 70.
Me, 'Not at all. Every birthday is a cause for celebration. 61,62,63.
PC, laughing, 'How long have you lived in Braemar?'
Me, 'Since 2004.'
PC 'And where were you before that?'
Me,' Libya!'
PC (eyes widened) 'Oil?'
Me, 'No, teaching. I was headteacher of the British School in Benghazi' And before that I lived in Oman and Indonesia.
PC, 'Was your husband with you?'
Me, 'Not all the time. I met my present husband in Oman but I was alone in Libya.
PC, 'You won't go away again will you?'
Me, 'No we have settled here.'
PC,' Good you deserve it.
Music ends, both say, Thank you very much.
What a story to tell the grandchildren, although being American boys perhaps they won't be all that impressed.
On arrival at the marquee attached to the summerhouse, an elegant cold buffet supper was laid out, and wine and beer were flowing freely. The band played a few of the dances....a practice session for later it seemed...and only a few of us danced at that stage. Then around 10ish we were asked to stand round the room while Charles and Camilla entered and came round and talked to everybody. There were over 100 guests so it took at least 20 minutes. Then the dancing started for real, with almost everybody up on the floor, including the Royals and their house guests. One of the guests, a young man, looked different from the rest and he was a fairly accomplished dancer. His clothing and demeanour made him stand out. Pat discovered his name was Rory Stewart and so I googled him (Isn't google wonderful?) It turns out young Mr Stewart is quite a celebrity and somewhat famous. He is an author, traveller, advisor to statesmen, former tutor of the young Princes William and Harry, member of the secret service, authority on Afghanistan and Iraq, Professor at Harvard and has an OBE. Different? Well yes.
But the highlight for me has to be my dance with Prince Charles. It was sheer chance that the music for Paul Jones stopped when we were opposite each other. Our conversation went like this.
PC, 'Oh how lucky. I have got an expert to dance with.'
Band, 'The next dance is a quickstep'.
Me, 'Oh dear, I am no expert at this'.
PC, 'Me neither, So what shall we do.'
Me, 'Just keep moving and smiling. We are not being judged.'
PC, 'Do you often get judged when you dance?'
Me,'Not really, but we do get watched. It is not like Strictly Come Dancing though.'
PC, 'Do you watch that?'
Me, 'Sometimes. Not religiously'.
PC, 'I can't believe how many people watch it. 2o million or something.'
PC, 'How often do Castleton Dancers dance?'
Me, 'At least twice a week some times more. We do two performances every week, plus we have a training night, and a night when we teach others. Oh by the way, John sent some photographs for you and I have left them with your staff.'
PC, Thank you so much. You are so kind. It is such fun when you come to dance for us.'
Me, 'It is our pleasure really. We love it.
PC, 'A 60th birthday is a good excuse to invite you. Now I shall have to wait until I am 70.
Me, 'Not at all. Every birthday is a cause for celebration. 61,62,63.
PC, laughing, 'How long have you lived in Braemar?'
Me, 'Since 2004.'
PC 'And where were you before that?'
Me,' Libya!'
PC (eyes widened) 'Oil?'
Me, 'No, teaching. I was headteacher of the British School in Benghazi' And before that I lived in Oman and Indonesia.
PC, 'Was your husband with you?'
Me, 'Not all the time. I met my present husband in Oman but I was alone in Libya.
PC, 'You won't go away again will you?'
Me, 'No we have settled here.'
PC,' Good you deserve it.
Music ends, both say, Thank you very much.
What a story to tell the grandchildren, although being American boys perhaps they won't be all that impressed.
Jacobite Experience
On Sunday 4th October I did my first stint as a volunteer guide at Braemar Castle. I was nervous and kept my notes close by me as a security blanket but never actually looked at them. I did two tours. The first was with a youngish American couple who didn't have time for a full tour so I was more than happy to give the shortened version, then if I missed anything out I would have a good excuse. The second tour was with a much older American couple who were lovely to talk to and made me feel very much at ease. What is it they say about 6 degrees of separation? From casual conversation that started about tweeds, which led to ties, which led to the Royal Navy, which led to Oman we discovered we had a mutual acquaintance in Don and Eloise Bosch...a missionary doctor and teacher who lived most of their lives in Oman and were given a grace and favour home by the Sultan!
Later that week, I plucked up the courage to email Simon Blackett (Factor of Invercauld and Chairman of Braemar Community ltd) and Doreen Wood (PR for the castle) to suggest that the show about Bonnie Prince Charlie that I wrote back in 1985 might be a good fund raiser for the castle. Simon replied within minutes, and Doreen shortly after, both to say it was a fantastic idea! So that is my free time after panto taken care of. I am excited by the thought of the project which I know I can improve on last time. Next year will be its 25th anniversary, so a good year to do it.
Later that week, I plucked up the courage to email Simon Blackett (Factor of Invercauld and Chairman of Braemar Community ltd) and Doreen Wood (PR for the castle) to suggest that the show about Bonnie Prince Charlie that I wrote back in 1985 might be a good fund raiser for the castle. Simon replied within minutes, and Doreen shortly after, both to say it was a fantastic idea! So that is my free time after panto taken care of. I am excited by the thought of the project which I know I can improve on last time. Next year will be its 25th anniversary, so a good year to do it.
Rediscovering Pitlochry Theatre
When we returned from Mull we were a bit disappointed to learn that Braemar had bathed in sunshine during our week away. Ah well no good crying over spilt sunshine. Soon after our return John Macpherson joined Julie, Richard and I on a visit to Pitlochry Theatre to see the new musical Whisky Galore! What an excellent night, with a very high feelgood factor. My face muscles ached because of the smile that remained the whole evening. The music was inspiring, the acting first class, the choreography slick and cheeky, the set and scenery outstanding and the story funny and very entertaining. What a cast, what a crew, what a treat. Before Julie left on the Friday she agreed to cook her wonderful Green Thai Pork again and we invited Doug round as he was heading off to Australia at the weekend. Dinner was delicious. Unfortunately I fell foul of a 36 hour tummy virus which left me with stomach pain and exhaustion on Julie's last day. So she became my nurse, poor lady, on the day before she had to travel once again overnight to London.
I was quite well by Saturday morning and that evening we made our way to Pitlochry once more, this time to see The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. A totally different evening from 'Whisky' but no less enjoyable. Helen Logan who played Jean was as good as Maggie Smith in the film. She was on stage for a good two hours and had lines all the way through. How do they remember so much?
I was quite well by Saturday morning and that evening we made our way to Pitlochry once more, this time to see The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. A totally different evening from 'Whisky' but no less enjoyable. Helen Logan who played Jean was as good as Maggie Smith in the film. She was on stage for a good two hours and had lines all the way through. How do they remember so much?
Julie's visit and Mull
It would be grossly unfair of me to blame the lack of a blog on the arrival of my dear friend Julie, but it might be partly the truth, along with an amazing trip to Mull. Julie arrived by overnight bus on Wednesday 16 September. She is a lady that I have the greatest admiration for. She is 77 years young, and physically, mentally and spiritually in great shape. What a life she has led and what a clever lady but it is her courage that amazes me. She climbed Lochnagar without a second thought, and the next day did not even have a stiff bone to show for it. She stayed for almost three weeks, and apart from the odd sad moment when she remembered her recently departed husband Mal, she was on the go...walking, dancing, talking, cooking, doing yoga, playing with Coolie, reading. The whole time she was with us I never once heard her say she was tired, and she hardly sat down apart from meals.
The weekend after she arrived we all went off to Mull for a week's holiday. We, i.e. Michel, Magali, Doug, Julie, Richard and I. The journey went smoothly and we boarded ferries without a wait, arriving at our holiday home in good time on the Saturday night. The house was spacious and comfortable though furnishings were a little dated. We had many good moments on the island despite the awful weather. Some climbed half way up Ben More but aborted the effort for fear of being blown off the top. We took a trip to Iona and had a wander round there...in the rain. On day two we drove to Tobermory and wandered round there...in the rain. We had a lesson from Michel and Magali on the use of a long bow....in the wind. And so the awful weather continued. Nights were fun, though, as we took it in turns to prepare the evening meals, all of which were excellent. Boeuf Bourgignone, Roast leg of lamb, Green Thai Pork, Chicken Curry, Haggis neeps and tatties....such a variety of tastes, consumed in excellent company and washed down with whatever best suited the meal. Sitting round the big farmhouse kitchen table chatting into the night will long be a memory. TV was only switched on to get weather forecasts!
The weekend after she arrived we all went off to Mull for a week's holiday. We, i.e. Michel, Magali, Doug, Julie, Richard and I. The journey went smoothly and we boarded ferries without a wait, arriving at our holiday home in good time on the Saturday night. The house was spacious and comfortable though furnishings were a little dated. We had many good moments on the island despite the awful weather. Some climbed half way up Ben More but aborted the effort for fear of being blown off the top. We took a trip to Iona and had a wander round there...in the rain. On day two we drove to Tobermory and wandered round there...in the rain. We had a lesson from Michel and Magali on the use of a long bow....in the wind. And so the awful weather continued. Nights were fun, though, as we took it in turns to prepare the evening meals, all of which were excellent. Boeuf Bourgignone, Roast leg of lamb, Green Thai Pork, Chicken Curry, Haggis neeps and tatties....such a variety of tastes, consumed in excellent company and washed down with whatever best suited the meal. Sitting round the big farmhouse kitchen table chatting into the night will long be a memory. TV was only switched on to get weather forecasts!
Lost days
Where have I been for the last few weeks? How can I ever be a serious writer if I cannot even spend a few minutes on my own blog, the reading of which at a later date will bring me immense pleasure. So many exciting and enjoyable events have taken place since my last entry that I wish I had recorded my feelings at the time. Now everything will be summarised and rushed. Such a pity. Let's make a start.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Brigadoon revisited
It has been a whole week since I last wrote in this blog. Not good enough! I must try to do it more regularly and now that I don't spend 5 hours a day at school there should be plenty of spare time. But somehow there doesn't seem to be. I did spend several hours this week on typing up the SWRI programme for the year, and then a few more hours delivering it and chatting to the various ladies on the way. Nice though!
In 1986, while living in Jakarta I took part in a production of Brigadoon, put on by the Indonesian-American Friendship Society. The Java St Andrew Society was asked to help out with the dancing scenes which we did with pleasure. About a dozen of us helped swell the chorus and perform bits and pieces of dances to add a touch of Scottish authentism to the show. I just watched the American film of Brigadoon last night and how I laughed. There was very little authentic about that. From the accents to the dancing, from the scenery to the 20 inch long heather it was more like a cartoon or a pantomime of what somebody thought was Scottish. Harmless enough, but pretty crap really. However it has given me an idea to write a pantomime based on the idea but set here in Braemar (a real life Brigadoon in some ways). I haven't written a panto for about 10 years so it is time to do so.
I am feeling guilty that I haven't been back to learn some more about guiding in the castle. The problem is that they don't do Wednesdays any more and Saturdays are out of the question as I have been so busy with having the flat to clean as well as B&B guest rooms. I suppose I could go Sundays but this week I have so much to do to get ready for Julie coming, and also preparing for the holiday next week. I shall write to Sheila, the chief guide at the castle, and apologise and make a commitment to go as often as possible in October before they close for the winter.
In 1986, while living in Jakarta I took part in a production of Brigadoon, put on by the Indonesian-American Friendship Society. The Java St Andrew Society was asked to help out with the dancing scenes which we did with pleasure. About a dozen of us helped swell the chorus and perform bits and pieces of dances to add a touch of Scottish authentism to the show. I just watched the American film of Brigadoon last night and how I laughed. There was very little authentic about that. From the accents to the dancing, from the scenery to the 20 inch long heather it was more like a cartoon or a pantomime of what somebody thought was Scottish. Harmless enough, but pretty crap really. However it has given me an idea to write a pantomime based on the idea but set here in Braemar (a real life Brigadoon in some ways). I haven't written a panto for about 10 years so it is time to do so.
I am feeling guilty that I haven't been back to learn some more about guiding in the castle. The problem is that they don't do Wednesdays any more and Saturdays are out of the question as I have been so busy with having the flat to clean as well as B&B guest rooms. I suppose I could go Sundays but this week I have so much to do to get ready for Julie coming, and also preparing for the holiday next week. I shall write to Sheila, the chief guide at the castle, and apologise and make a commitment to go as often as possible in October before they close for the winter.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
The case of the missing dancers
Well here we are on Games Day 2009. After a very wet week, prayers have been answered and while you couldn't say the sun is shining on the Braemar Gathering at least it isn't raining...not yet anyway, but the day is still young. Richard and I are giving it a miss this year and hibernating at home. We'll go out tonight to the Moorfield Hotel where Castleton dancers are performing, and we are doing our bit by having guests staying in our apartment, and others in the B&B.
But let me tell you an amusing story of earlier in the week. On Wednesday evening we had our usual dance night (16 participants) in Castleton Hall, before 5 of us proceeded to our performance at the Invercauld. Margaret and Josie left the dance hall just ahead of Pat, Susie and I who switched off lights and locked doors etc. Recently in the Invercauld we have been given a bedroom to use as a changing room as the Colonel's Bed which we used previously has been being refurbished. We (Pat, Susie and I)arrived at the hotel and asked the young man on the desk which room we had tonight. 'I will just get you a key for one,' he said. 'Where are the other two dancers?' we asked. 'You are the first to arrive,'he replied handing us the key to room 10. We thought that perhaps they had gone to the toilet but when 10 minutes had past with no sign of them we began to wonder. Just then Sylvia arrived by car and we asked if she had seen any sign of the missing two ladies, but no the streets were deserted she said. Maybe they had forgotten they were dancing? So we phoned Margaret's house and caused her husband quite a panic. 'Can I speak to Margaret?' asked Pat. 'She's dancing at the Invercauld tonight,' said Graham. 'Well she's not here!' said Pat. We sent Bob off to see if the girls had gone to the Fife by mistake, but no. Then we panicked and wondered if we had locked them in Castleton Hall. Sylvia and Pat set off in the car to check the hall, the streets and Josie's house. Meanwhile the time was ticking by and we were supposed to be dancing. Susie and I waited and wondered. Suddenly the door to room 10 opened, and there stood Josie and Margaret, all dressed and ready to go. All four of us said at once, 'Where have you been?'
'We were waiting for you in the Colonels Bed!' said Josie. So the mystery was solved. They had obviously slipped in while the young man on the desk was elsewhere, and finding the Colonel's Bed once more in a habitable state had used that to get ready, all the time wondering why the rest of us were taking so long at Castleton Hall. We all saw the funny side eventually!!!!
But let me tell you an amusing story of earlier in the week. On Wednesday evening we had our usual dance night (16 participants) in Castleton Hall, before 5 of us proceeded to our performance at the Invercauld. Margaret and Josie left the dance hall just ahead of Pat, Susie and I who switched off lights and locked doors etc. Recently in the Invercauld we have been given a bedroom to use as a changing room as the Colonel's Bed which we used previously has been being refurbished. We (Pat, Susie and I)arrived at the hotel and asked the young man on the desk which room we had tonight. 'I will just get you a key for one,' he said. 'Where are the other two dancers?' we asked. 'You are the first to arrive,'he replied handing us the key to room 10. We thought that perhaps they had gone to the toilet but when 10 minutes had past with no sign of them we began to wonder. Just then Sylvia arrived by car and we asked if she had seen any sign of the missing two ladies, but no the streets were deserted she said. Maybe they had forgotten they were dancing? So we phoned Margaret's house and caused her husband quite a panic. 'Can I speak to Margaret?' asked Pat. 'She's dancing at the Invercauld tonight,' said Graham. 'Well she's not here!' said Pat. We sent Bob off to see if the girls had gone to the Fife by mistake, but no. Then we panicked and wondered if we had locked them in Castleton Hall. Sylvia and Pat set off in the car to check the hall, the streets and Josie's house. Meanwhile the time was ticking by and we were supposed to be dancing. Susie and I waited and wondered. Suddenly the door to room 10 opened, and there stood Josie and Margaret, all dressed and ready to go. All four of us said at once, 'Where have you been?'
'We were waiting for you in the Colonels Bed!' said Josie. So the mystery was solved. They had obviously slipped in while the young man on the desk was elsewhere, and finding the Colonel's Bed once more in a habitable state had used that to get ready, all the time wondering why the rest of us were taking so long at Castleton Hall. We all saw the funny side eventually!!!!
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Monday, 31 August 2009
A very memorable week
Following on from Tuesday when we had such a wonderful day at Birkhall and then in the Fife, the week ended on a high too. On Friday night we went to The Lonach Ball. It was the closest to a proper ball we have been to since returning from overseas and the fantastic balls in the Al Bustan Palace in Muscat and the Borobodour in Jakarta. The hall was rustic yet splendid and nicely decorated, the tables, all 25 x10 were tastefully dressed, as were the participants...all kilts and black tie and formal dresses. The meal was excellent, 4 courses, all hot and delicious. Short speeches and presentations, then some piping and a dance band. The programme was simple, mainly ceilidh with no less than 4 Gay Gordons!!!. The ball was due to finish at 2 am with a bowl of soup but we left just after the tea and sandwiches at 12 midnight as we had an early breakfast for guests the next morning.
Saturday and Sunday we were off to Pitlochry for the Performance Masterclass at the Festival Theatre. We both had a blast and can't wait to go again next year. The first day started with a singing class led my two professional performers, George Rae and Shirley Darroch. We learned so much about different singing techniques, and started work on At the End of the Day, from Les Miserable, my all time favourite musical theatre. What fun. Then we were on to a class in accents with Carol Ann, who was absolutely amazing and could switch effortlessly from one accent to another. We got to read bits of Death of a Salesman and had to try New York accents. Great fun, and a skill worth pursuing. The afternoon class was on moving and observing, again aided by real professional actors and actresses - Gary and Helen Logan. On the second day we perfected our singing piece and staged it....we will be seeing the video at some point. We worked on scripts and how to treat them, did some improvisation, and play reading, and learned how to stage fights. So much in two days....fantastic. I met several nice people and one called Trixie is going to keep me informed about other residential acting classes out there. I just loved the whole weekend and am now going to get tickets for Whisky Galore and the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie if I can. Can't wait to see all these teachers in their professional roles on stage.
Saturday and Sunday we were off to Pitlochry for the Performance Masterclass at the Festival Theatre. We both had a blast and can't wait to go again next year. The first day started with a singing class led my two professional performers, George Rae and Shirley Darroch. We learned so much about different singing techniques, and started work on At the End of the Day, from Les Miserable, my all time favourite musical theatre. What fun. Then we were on to a class in accents with Carol Ann, who was absolutely amazing and could switch effortlessly from one accent to another. We got to read bits of Death of a Salesman and had to try New York accents. Great fun, and a skill worth pursuing. The afternoon class was on moving and observing, again aided by real professional actors and actresses - Gary and Helen Logan. On the second day we perfected our singing piece and staged it....we will be seeing the video at some point. We worked on scripts and how to treat them, did some improvisation, and play reading, and learned how to stage fights. So much in two days....fantastic. I met several nice people and one called Trixie is going to keep me informed about other residential acting classes out there. I just loved the whole weekend and am now going to get tickets for Whisky Galore and the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie if I can. Can't wait to see all these teachers in their professional roles on stage.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Dancing in the Fife
What a night! A fitting end to a great day. We turned up for our usual stint at the Fife - 15 dancers instead of the normal 8 and we did the whole of the Birkhall programme again, including Kaleidoscope which went down extremely well. Most of the audience were native carribean....but now from London. Not only that we collected £185 which is the second highest ever, the record being £202.
Dancing at Birkhall
We had the most fantastic morning at Birkhall. The sun was shining, we all looked great and everything went like clockwork. For once my ankles seemd in good shape....mind over matter, maybe? I did take a painkiller but still they were better than they have been in weeks. The dancing went well, no mistakes, everybody smiled, including our Royal audience. We loved doing the Kaleidoscope and I can't wait to have it filmed from above. All the guests joined in the final dance - The Big Six-O. We gave Princess Alexandra a cheque for £500 for guide dogs for the blind...she was delighted. We gave Prince Charles £1000 for Erskine Hospital and a beautiful sword that Michel made...he was delighted, and I gave Camilla one of our corsages and invited her to be an honorary member of the Castleton Dancers. I told her practice night is Wednesday! She laughed and put on the corsage and said I'll be there. They also asked if we could teach the staff some new dances for the Gillies Ball in October and also said we would be getting 4 tickets every year.
Friday, 21 August 2009
Getting Started
It's 5 minutes after midnight on Friday 21st August 2009 and Mr Magrahi arrived home in Libya a few hours ago. Today is the first day of the rest of my life and the first day of my blog. I am celebrating that I have retired from education after 40 years...and 3 of these years were served in Libya. It will be interesting for me to see if I can keep up this blog, having tried unsuccessfully in the past to keep a diary.
This has been an interesting and varied summer so far, busy in the B&B, and wonderful visits from family and friends but the summer is drawing to a close and it is time to decide how I will spend the rest of my life. Will it be a case of strings of days filled with nothing more than housework, cooking, reading and of course blogging? Or will I find some other purposes? Will I find another job? Will I finally write my bestseller? Or even just my life story for my children? Will I knit countless jumpers? Will I become a better gardener? Who knows but it will be interesting seeing what develops.
Two things are certain though. We, Richard and I, will do more travelling here and abroad. Visits to friends and family who live in other parts of the UK. Visits to Debbie and Claire and their families in USA and Norway. And travel for the sake of travel to see new places and to revisit places where we have lived before. And secondly as long as my feet will stand it (excuse the pun) I will keep on dancing. The Castleton Dancers are going from strength to strength and gaining appreciation here in Braemar. The £21,000 that we have so far raised for good causes is quite phenomenal and we are very proud. Working together over the last few weeks to bring together a performance containing 3 original compositions for Prince Charles and Camilla next week has been very rewarding. Let's hope we have many more opportunities ahead.
This has been an interesting and varied summer so far, busy in the B&B, and wonderful visits from family and friends but the summer is drawing to a close and it is time to decide how I will spend the rest of my life. Will it be a case of strings of days filled with nothing more than housework, cooking, reading and of course blogging? Or will I find some other purposes? Will I find another job? Will I finally write my bestseller? Or even just my life story for my children? Will I knit countless jumpers? Will I become a better gardener? Who knows but it will be interesting seeing what develops.
Two things are certain though. We, Richard and I, will do more travelling here and abroad. Visits to friends and family who live in other parts of the UK. Visits to Debbie and Claire and their families in USA and Norway. And travel for the sake of travel to see new places and to revisit places where we have lived before. And secondly as long as my feet will stand it (excuse the pun) I will keep on dancing. The Castleton Dancers are going from strength to strength and gaining appreciation here in Braemar. The £21,000 that we have so far raised for good causes is quite phenomenal and we are very proud. Working together over the last few weeks to bring together a performance containing 3 original compositions for Prince Charles and Camilla next week has been very rewarding. Let's hope we have many more opportunities ahead.
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