And the rain came tumbling down!…..continued into Friday

July 05, 2025

I’m not really doing a good job of catching up…but the past few days have been less busy so I should manage that now.

On Thursday morning I did a final sortie up to the little park whilst Hazel and Jude did an amazing job packing up. ( There were a few jokes about kitchen sinks when Jude brought the air fryer along for the outing!)

No sun today so nobody was out.

Garden art

Jude and Hazel’s house- named Carlotta because it was owned by one of people importing sugar from the Southern states of America. The Tate & Lyle factory was based in Greenock and Wee Hugh was the accountant there.

43 Mearns Street in Greenock, where my dad and 3 siblings grew up. They were given this new house when the previous one was bombed. Hugh told us there was a high hedge when he started courting Rita but her dad cut it down to half size so he could monitor good night kisses. Despite him being “ a good wee Christian boy”

We picked up Hugh and drove off into the lowering clouds. Hugh was in good form and chatted away without drawing breath. He does like a bit of “chitchat “. It is wonderful hearing of the certainty and continuity of his life. He grew up, married, bought a house and worked within just a few streets of each other. He and Rita travelled extensively with and without the girls, but always came home, even refusing transfer to T & L in Liverpool or London. He and Rita were fully involved in running and the athletics club and he rarely misses the Park Run every Saturday, where he cheers on the participants. Messages start circling if he doesn’t turn up! I feel privileged to have this time with him and the family.

The next exciting thing in a rainy drive was finding a wonderful little bistro inthe village of Arrachar, on Loch Long. Delicious food…goat’s cheese, chutney and ciabatta; a very Scottish themed burger with black pudding and haggis and the piece de resistance, Colin Skink gnocchi- a smoked haddock and cream sauce with gnocchi, topped with black pudding, haggis and quail’s eggs. Had to post photos…such a warming little place with great service and few people on a wet Thursday.

Deconstructed burger sans bun

Loo Literature

We reached our lovely (6 bedroom, 4 bathroom) Victorian “cottage” on Loch Goilhead, and Hazel and I managed a short walk during some moments of sunshine, before adjourning for a sherry with Hugh and to wait the arrival of the 3 “girruls” and enjoy Jude’s lasagne and the sharing of old photos.

I will continue here as the theme is still a wet one! I managed a walk early on, under a large umbrella, before a sumptuous family breakfast. The wet stuff was here to stay, so all 5 girruls piled into the car, leaving Hugh and Jude to watch movies.

After SO many viewings and photos of castles, I finally went into one! It was Inveraray castle, about 35 kms away down the end of another loch-Fyne. A perfect thing to do and we were lucky to have a guided tour from a fetching fellow in a kilt (Hazel and I-the other 3 visited the nearby old jail.)

This is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their 3 children.He is chief of the Campbell Clan.

As always,the guide offered some great insights into the history and also some good stories- we liked the one about a gravy bowl one Duke designed…it had a double silver shell so hot water in the outer shell could keep the gravy warm whilst the servants scuttled around the outside courtyards so as to appear magically in the dining room, without being seen by the upper classes. Sadly, the gravy jug was only big enough for the Duke’s gravy! Also stories of ghosts and intrigues…no doubt you have watched “A very British scandal”. This was about the Duke (Big Ian) who returned from the war somewhat the worse for wear. He made his way through 4 wives- the 3rd being taken to the cleaners by him!

After that it was time for tea and toasties and splashing back to Loch Goilhead.

We had dinner at a restaurant which is part of the huge holiday complex across the way. The view would have been great but we couldn’t see much of it…but good times with the family!