"Albatross" Heavy lift vessel ....
16th
July 2017 (Sunday)
.... 07.30 The first thing I noticed
when I went out this morning was the air temperature .... it is cauld! It’s a nice morning, but we
do have a brisk
North-westerly wind bringing an autumnal feel to the air; however it should warm up when the sun gets
going. I had intended going further on the bike but
the cold wind brought on a rapid change of ‘plan’. I’ll have walk on the beach later.
 |
| Balcarres House |
08.00 “Albatross”(with oil rig) is bumbling
along, almost in mid Atlantic. I searched
for, and found her North-west of the Azores... which I why I was able to ‘find’
her... she is ‘in range’ of land masts.
She will be ‘out of range’ again soon,
and I won’t be able to pick her up until she reaches the ‘other side’...
perhaps off Bermuda.
20.00 It has been an absolutely gorgeous day; sunny and warm... this could be summer! Balcarres House gardens were open this afternoon; as part of the ‘Scotland’s Garden’s Scheme’. I felt in need of some relaxing vibes so ‘cast orf’ the
car, and, to Balcarres I went. It was fabulous. I was still in the car parking area when I
met Monica and Alistair .... I knew it was going to be a happy afternoon. I
have always regarded Balcarres as my ‘alma mater’ .... it was an amazing place to spend my
formative years.
20.00 It has been an absolutely gorgeous day; sunny and warm... this could be summer! Balcarres House gardens were open this afternoon; as part of the ‘Scotland’s Garden’s Scheme’. I felt in need of some relaxing vibes so ‘cast orf’ the
 |
| Alistair and Monica. |
We
split up when we got to the ‘Big Hoose’... Monica and Alistair browsed round
the Chapel etc; I went into the gardens,
and had an enjoyable time with the camera.
At odd times during the afternoon I bumped into my ‘models’ (Monica and
Alistair) in the gardens; and, in the
Tea Room, before leaving. Patricia was
there; I know this because Monica saw
her, and.... I noticed Pat’s car on my
way out to the Car park..
As
I was leaving the Tea Room I saw Jean (Forgan) speaking to some ‘folk’ in the
courtyard: well would you believe it,
one of the blokes in the group was Iain Frazer, who I haven’t seen for many
years, and one of the lassies was Isobel Doig(?) , who
went to school with my
brother Alan. It’s a small world.
 |
| Balcarres. |
My
case is packed; just got the ‘pills’ to
sort out and I’ll be ready to go; I’m
going up to visit the ‘Auchnagatt Troops’, tomorrow morning. When I got back from Balcarres, I managed
to get ‘moored up’ at the West end of the Ferry High Street; parking is a lottery at this time of year.
The
weather forecast for tomorrow is ‘excellent’... “sunny and warm”; summer time?
Photographs
: Top – Balcarres House, Middle – Alistair and Monica,
and Bottom – part of the Balcarres House complex.
