Edinburgh Zoo holds these rather splendid adults-only evening sessions, fundraisers I think, where grownups can go along and hear about the work they do, meet the animals, and generally mill about with no weans in tow. Helen and Paula went along, supped down some Champagne, and Helen took this rather fabulous picture of trees reflected in the penguin pool.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Slackers
Our new *thing* is slacklining. It's basically tightrope walking, but on a wide, springy ribbon rather than a wire. I ordered up a proper one, but in the meantime found out how to - literally - lash one up. I used it to amuse the kids one rainy day we had Eloise for a play date, and they were going a bit stir crazy. We did a bit of fishing too, and - as tradition dictates - caught nothing.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Father's Day Out
I was awoken this morning - at a very civilised hour - by Holly, bearing pancakes she'd made herself, closely followed by Louis bearing a card he'd made himself, starting with the words "Dear Fraser Millar..." Louis told me I could do anything I wanted as it was Father's Day, so we went to Glentress. Helen had a prior engagement with Paula at the Scotsman Spa, so we took Dave along for encouragement. It was a lovely jaunt, the usual skills loop / green loop / blue descent back to the café combination, with me riding back up to get the car. Louis is quick and gung ho as you'd expect, but so is Holly when she puts her mind to it. They both tried new things, acquired new skills, and worked hard on the uphills. A very rewarding outing for a proud dad!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Gala Day
As befits its status as a formerly autonomous village, Davidsons Mains has an annual Gala Day, during which the "king" and "queen" and their "court" are paraded down the main street. They're selected on the basis of long-term family residency, an uncomfortable and anachronistic blend of nepotism, inbreeding and primogeniture. Notwithstanding all that though, the Gala itself had rides, candyfloss, hot dogs, falconry, pony rides, beat the goalie, face painting and a stage presenting what appeared to consist primarily of prepubescent girls performing inappropriately sexualised dance routines. There were one or two significant highlights though; Lewis Kennedy, a 14-year-old kid who sang - very well - one cover and one of his own songs, accompanying himself on (picked) guitar and generally outclassing everyone else on stage. And praise be! La Favorita are opening a branch in the former Blackhall Lounge. The local eateries are expanding! Holly hooked up with Julia S from school, they had a lovely time wandering around autonomously, dabbling with games of chance and sticky confections. Louis ran into a few of his chums too, enjoying light saber duels with Fraser, Digby and Kieran. It was a lovely afternoon out, which we toasted with our new poison of choice - Cava and Chambord. Delicious!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Citius, Altius, Fortius
Two weeks on, and it's Holly's turn for a sports day. The weather wasn't quite as glorious as for Louis', but pleasant enough, and it didn't rain! The older kids compete in house groups rather than classes, so there were all shapes and sizes in Holly's team. She looked tiny! But she set about the various events with gusto, and did her house (Silverknowes) proud.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Glentress Four
This last week has been Tweedlove, the Peebles-centric cycling festival named for the river that runs through the town. We headed off to Glentress on the day of the Glentress Seven, and found the trails - our trails - blissfully quiet and race-free. After a warmup in the refurbished skills loop, we did the green then swooped down the bottom part of the blue, under the new Go Ape installation and all the way down to the cafe at the foot of the hill. Later, Holly and Eloise sampled the fruits of the famous Glentress coconut plantations.
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