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Ms (Leigh) Bella St John aka Luxurious Nomad ~ https://ElegantisVitae.com/

Wonderful Scottish Birthday (post 3 of 3)

…continued…

…and we even had a real-life pipe major give us instruction on the bagpipes…

…and two rainbows on the way home…

…to have such wonderful friends…  I am so very, very blessed…

“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.” – Jane Austen, ‘Northanger Abbey’

~ Bella

 

Wonderful Scottish Birthday (post 1 of 3)

The last weekend in September friends from all over the world to belatedly celebrate my birthday… with many of them staying here on the loch…

…and it seemed a shame to have so many amazing people with amazing talents, intellects, and knowledge to be in the one place and not to share those gifts with each other, so we turned it into our very own private ‘think tank’ / ‘thank tank’!

…then back to the loch for dinner…

 

 

…and although we all said we were not going to stay up too late, this group started texting me at 2:15am!  🙂

…to be continued…

 

 

Inverary and St Conan’s Kirk, Scotland

Friends from several countries flew in for my belated birthday celebration.  In addition to being one of my dearest friends, Tom and I work on several projects together so he flew in early from the States before being joined by his wife, daughter and son-in-law a few days later.

I decided to show Tom what my ‘Luxurious Nomad’ lifestyle was like re combining work and exploring and so decided to go for a mini-road-trip to Inverary and St Conan’s Kirk, working in the car and in a pub we found along the way…

~ Bella

 

 

 

Rosslyn Chapel

Some may be aware of Rosslyn Chapel from the works by Dan Brown – but this enigmatic building has been on my bucket list for many years prior to the consipracy novels…

Before entering the Chapel, one passes the Old Rosslyn Inn building – I had no idea of its existence, nor its many illustrious visitors…

Now under the stewardship of the current Earl of Rosslyn, Rosslyn Chapel has been owned by the same family since its foundation in 1446!

Unfortunately, there are no photographs allowed to be taken inside the Chapel, however there is an abundance of images online – I would suggest checking them out as it is quite extraordinary.

…next we head off to Edinburgh to drop one of my Louis cases into the LV doctor…

…and this (on top of the hill) is Edinburgh Castle…

…a strange sight on the way home…

…and now back safe and sound after a lovely day!

~ Bella

 

 

My Scottish Piece of Heaven…

I feel so incredibly blessed to have found such an extraordinarily beautiful place to curl up and write… and such lovely people…  This photo is taken literally from my back door…

These women were training for a seniors long-distance open-water swim…

~ Bella

 

 

 

Braemar Gathering with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

The Braemar Gathering has been on my bucket list for many, many years – and yesterday had the most wonderful day finally checking that item off the list!

The first challenge was finding where David and I were meeting…  My GPS first of all sent me to a cul de sac in the middle of a group of houses… The intention, however, was to leave my car at the railway station part-way, and for David to meet me there and him to drive us the rest…

“Not a problem,” thought I- I will just look at the map – only to discover I had no cell coverage!  So, I did it the old-fashioned way and followed my nose – figuring I could always ask for directions… but eventually found the railway station car park – only to have David text me a little while later, “Can you send me the postcode again as I’m at the destination but it’s all houses”…  LOL!

Eventualy we met up and headed off on our trek to north-east Scotland.

…although a couple of times we did zig when we should have zagged – but as a result found the most lovely places!

This old church was delightful…

David was a gem and braved the brush and stinging nettles to get some shots of the other side of the church for me…

…and interestingly, in among the headstones that were mostly early 1800s, was this one…

…back on our way again…

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and the pretty bridge on the left is where we leave the main road for the road that takes us to the Braemar Gathering…

Our seats were definitely not the most comfortable in the world, but in every other way, they were PERFECT!

This cute little building is the Royal Enclosure…

 

 

See that boulder he is holding…  This is the Scottish equivalent of shot put!

These drum majors are about to toss their baton over a high obstacle and then catch it again…

…and if you look carefully, you can see the baton in front of the trees…

See the guy in the green net..?

He is throwing this!

…and now the Scottish equivalent of the hammer throw…

Remember that huuuuuuuuge cow-bell-looking weight?  Well, in this event, the men need to throw it backward, over their head, and over a high wooden bar…

…and now for the caber toss…

Had the guy not been in the way, these would have been two excellent shots of the fellow going over the high-jump!  🙂

The object is to toss the log into the air in a way that it flips over, with the end onto which you were holding now lying furthest away from you…

Arrival of the royal party consisting of Her Majesty, Prince Charles, and Princess Anne…

The Queen was wearing a stunning colour!  These photos do not do it justice…

…and what would be an event without the sack race!

I wasn’t feeling fabulous and so David was a gem and managed to find a lovely policeman who snaffled me a buggy…

…and being the girlie-girl I am, I first needed to make sure Louis and the hat were all sorted…

Finally, we met back up in the parking lot and were again on our way…

…stopped for a quick bite to eat on the way…

What a magical day!

I feel so extraordinarily blessed…

~ Bella

 

The ‘Up and Doon’ Maid of the Loch – that they built twice!

Situated in Balloch in Scotland, ‘The Maid’ is the very last paddles steamer to be built in Britain – and is the UK’s only remaining example of an ‘up and doon’ vessel

A what?

A ship that has been built twice!  Read on to learn more…

Assembled in Glasgow by A&J Inglis, the Maid was taken apart, transported to her new home in Balloch and reassembled before her launch in March 1953. Licensed to carry 1,000 passengers, she was the largest paddle steamer to sail Loch Lomond and played host to royal guests and celebrities as well as three million day-trippers during her 28 years on the water.

Unfortunately, she was decommissioned in 1981 and suffered neglect and vandalism, until thankfully she was purchased in 1992, by Dumbarton District Council.

Then, in 1996, the Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC) – a charity staffed entirely by volunteers – launched an ambitious rescue mission…

The Maid sails again!

…and I am THRILLED to announce that the money has finally been raised for the full restoration of the Maid of the Loch back to sea-worthy condition, and (apart from a small quiz night) we will be the VERY LAST EVENT held on her before she goes into dry dock for a top to toe refit! Being a history-lover to my very core, that warms my heart no end…

What event?  My birthday party that this year comes in the form of a Business Abundance Thnk Tank!  Seriously!  https://business-abundance-2018-19.eventbrite.com/  If you want to join us, you had best get in quickly and RSVP.

She will be out of the water for repairs for quite some time, but I am looking forward to the day when we can all set sail on this beloved beauty…

You can learn more about The Maid here:  http://www.maidoftheloch.org/history

~ Bella

Welcome to Scotland, the Dog Suicide Bridge, and Duck Bay

Heading north, I finally make it to Scotland!

I stayed in a hotel in Glasgow for a few days taking care of some errands, getting Prince serviced etc, before heading up to my lovely piece of Heaven on Loch Long … and on the way, called in to Overtoun House, home of the fabled Dog Suicide Bridge.

Built in 1862, Overtoun House is just north of Glasgow.

…and this is the famous ‘dog suicide bridge’, so named because for years, a significant number of dogs walking across the bridge without warning simply jump over the edge!

Even stranger are the reports of dogs surviving their brush with death, only to return to the bridge for a second attempt.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has sent representatives to investigate, but they were not able to find any plausible reason for the strange behavior.

While I didn’t ‘sense’ anything unusual here, I did find it very odd that my car alarm went off three times – while it was in full view and not a soul near it!

…and being this is the location of the ‘dog suicide bridge’, I thought it was strangely amusing to see this van parked right near the entrance to the bridge…

I was a little early to pick up the keys, so decided to have lunch at the Duck Bay Marina Boathouse…

…and my first glimpse of my piece of Heaven…

~ Bella

 

 

Magical Isle of Man

The minute I arrived on the Isle of Man, I fell in love with it…  This trip was only less than a week, but what a trip!

Once I had caught up on some sleep, Laurence collected me from the beautiful bnb in which I was staying.  Here, below, are my Prince and his beloved Baby, a glorious 1960 Alvis TD21 Series 1.

Even the weather couldn’t dampen my spirits…

I had requested fine weather and it took a little while to arrive, but arrive it did…

Unfortunately, being a classic car, there is often a minor challenge or two.  In this instance, Baby’s brake calipers stuck on, over-heated and we lost brakes – but I was very impressed that Laurence managed to bring all three of us (he, I, and the car) to a safe stop.

Problem fixed, and we were on our way again…  All just part of the adventure…

It was in this building that I spent twice the national budget – and loved every minute of it!

First stop, the lovely Miss Vicki’s shop…

…then next door to meet Miss Julie…

I adore that the tweed is made on the premises from wool that comes from sheep right here on the island!

I bought several jackets and a coat here – the coat she is holding is one of only eight made.  Julie owns one, I now own one, and there are six others in existence.  There was only a limited amount of tweed made in that run – and you can’t really tell from the photo, but the coat is like an Edwardian dress coat – it is stunning!

A couple of days later, and the orchids (I’m not good with flower types, so please forgive me if they are something other than orchids) had opened…  So pretty!

There is an abundance of enchantment on the island – and many places where it feels faeries still reside…

…and on my final night, Laurence took me back to my favourite restaurant – owned by friends of his, the delightful Ben and Leyla.

…and then the next morning, I was back to the port to board the now-fully-functional ferry back across…

…and then driving up to Scotland…

…and checking into my hotel for a few days…

…until I collect the keys to an amazing place on Loch Long that I have leased for my stay in the UK…

…and this is the view from my new back door – at least for the next few months…

But that is for this installment…

~ Bella