Bonnie Scotland

Fans

Last weekend Anna and I hopped aboard the Highland Chieftain for a trip up to the land of Braveheart, haggis and (as I was later to discover) a dessert which is best described as cold porridge. Our destination was Auchterarder, a village near Gleneagles which is home to Renee and Bob - Renee is our grandfather's cousin - who have been surrogate grandparents to Anna while she's been so far from home. Just when they thought that was over, I arrived!

We had a lovely time seeing the family and pouring over family trees and the countless old photographs, including ones of Anna and I growing up that somehow have found their way to Scotland over the years. We were lucky that by chance, Renee and Bob's daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Victor, were visiting from Hong Kong so we got to catch up with them as well. We went out for a great meal in Auchterarder's "high street" which was very impressive, small town NZ could never match that standard!

Scotland blessed us with some very Scot-like weather and brilliant autumn colours (see below). For the wildlife fans, I did try to get a picture of the robins in R&B's backyard but they and the rabbit at the station proved too elusive, as did the moles which left trails of mole hills everywhere. In fact, all I ended up getting was a sheep. Disappointing.

Our time in the north was very relaxing and over all too soon. It was very kind of Renee and Bob to put us up and I hope we keep in contact and see them again...perhaps in summer!

Anna, Renee and

Bob at the bustling

Gleneagles station.

Beside an eathquake

fault line which

resulted in a wee

cliff that amatuer

rock climbers now

practice their moves on.

The high road.

Or the low road.

Difficult to tell.

Everyone.