I love Mull and was very fortunate to spend Christmas with the MacKinnons (for those of you that don’t know, Kirsty MacKinnon is my flatmate and good friend.) I think I ate more food in two days in Tobermory than I have in the past week! It was sensational but I really think that I should think about some sort of diet now! Seriously.
Winter has hit Scotland in a big way recently with snow falling all over the UK. I was fortunate to have my first white Christmas and while no snow actually fell on Christmas day, the snow that had fallen before Christmas was laying and I was able to go sledging. The Tobermory Golf Course on Mull has the most perfect hill for such a thing and Kirsty and I got a few good runs in before retiring back to the house to help organise the big turkey dinner.
It was a sensational Christmas with Kirsty, her Mum and Dad Ishbel and Iain, the two dogs and cat and then Cameron (my chum and Kirsty’s other half ) joined us on Boxing Day with even more presents!
So let’s go back a few months and pick up where I last left off in this wee blog!
October was a month of birthdays with Greig, Euan, Alisdair and Tracey (although born in November) all celebrating major birthdays; Greig’s 25th, Trace and Al’s 30ths and the big man turning 50. A few surprise shindigs and a few headaches later and I was all birthdayed out but it was a run of good celebratory events with good friends.
October also hosted the World Solo Drumming Championships of which I took part in with Cameron as my piper. It was a great experience and although I was as nervous as anything, I felt that I played well. I didn’t get any placings but was happy enough with my performance and the evening out afterwards! What was interesting to me was that there were only three females in the adult competition. I think that’s a bit shocking, but that’s a discussion for another time.
I met Billy Connolly in October as he came into Slanj early one morning. I’m not big on celebrities but Billy is one of a few celebs that I have always wanted to meet so took the chance to get a photo with the Big Yin. The photo isn’t the best as the photographer, (Thomas!!!) decided that putting his finger over the shutter was a good idea! But at least I have photographic proof of meeting one of my favourite comedians.
Later in the year I also got to meet Charley Boorman at a book signing. Charley is a bit of a hero of mine. – He drove around the world on a motorbike with Ewan MacGregor. I love him, Mum loves him and I was so excited when I found out through Facebook that he was coming to Glasgow. Definite highlight of the year as he is as lovely in person as he seems on TV.
I was very proud of myself and my rear end in November as I went to the Glenfiddich Piping Championship with some well respected tweed wearing pipey types to sit through ten piobaireachds and ten double MSRs. Surprisingly, I enjoyed myself and now have a new found enjoyment of ceol beag. The Ceilidh after the day’s piping was even more enjoyable, albeit I awoke the next morning with a sodding headache and sore arms from the dancing. – All a good sign of a good night of course. I won’t mention the sickness throughout the night though… I blame the open bar.
In November I travelled with my chum/cheif home sickness looker afterer/nagging old dear/Scottish mother, Euan to Germany to teach the Panzar Division for a weekend in the village of Mulhausen. It was my first time in Germany and we had a great weekend piping, drumming, drinking beer and eating schnitzel! We also had a cheeky Italian… yes I know, strange for a small German village.
December has been all working, drumming and shopping for Christmas and it's completely flown by!
I hope you, wherever you are in the world, have had a spectacular Christmas and Santa brought you all you could possibly want. Please be safe throughout Hogamany and the new year and I hope to see you all soon!
