Ramstone Rhododendrons

Not a great spring for the rhododendrons this year.  Just as they come into bud a frost has come along and burnt them all.  The low temperatures have also held back the flowers.  The beds at the front of the house with the dwarf rhodies were all hit by the snow at the start of May.  The bed at the side of the house was hit in mid-May.  At least some of the later rhododendrons in the back wood are flowering OK and have been sheltered by the latest frosts.  Here are some photos of the rhodies in the back wood taken this week.

Nick Nairn Course

Julie and Isobel had a day at Nick Nairn's cookery school last weekend, a day baking bread.  Foccacias, Soda Bread, Chapattis, Strombolis and Caramel and Pecan buns!  A serious carbo-load! Here's a few more photos of the day.

Dry Slope Training

Now that the snow season has finally ended its back to the dry slopes and Ellie was up at Alford today getting some training in in preparation for the twin peaks at start of June.  Her skiing has certainly come on a lot over the last year!

Birthday Weekend

Enjoyed quite a weekend of contrasts, beautiful sunny weather yesterday and this evening an inch or two of snow!

Went out to the Echt Tandori on Saturday evening with my three girls to celebrate my birthday.  A fabulous meal with great company!  Came home and opened the cards and presents (including a rather nice bottle of Jura Origin single malt which I just had to test).

Easdale and Evening Kayaking

Spectacular day today, when the weather is like this there is nowhere better than the West coast of Scotland.

We went over to Easdale for a spot of lunch at the Puffer bar followed by a walk around the island and of course some stone skimming...........the ex-world champion was on good form!

Angus's Barguillean Garden

Friday saw us back at an old haunt, to update an old photo.  Angus's Barguillean Garden is near Taynuilt and enjoys spectacular views of the Glen Etive Munros.

Here is the original 2008 photo.....

And the 2015 updates..........

A Walk Round Arduaine

After a day and a half of horizontal rain it was a pleasant relief to awake to clear skies this morning.  This afternoon we went down to one of our favorite gardens in the area, Arduaine.  There were a number of the earlier rhododendrons out along with the magnolias and camellias.

Here are a few photos. (Well 20 actually!)

Fish & Chips

A posting specially for James and Anna!  The Oban Fish and Chips shop was as good as ever this evening!

Scottish U16 Inter-Region Tournament

Great day down in Glasgow at the Scottish Hockey Centre watching Isobel keep goal for the North of Scotland team against teams from the East, West, combined Borders / Midlands and Scottish Development teams.

They started off with a really strong showing against the Scottish Development team going down 2-1 having lead 1-0 at one point. They then went down 2-1 against the West before losing 6-0 to the combined Borders / Midlands team.  The day was however saved with a strong performance against the East to take a well deserved 1-0 win.

A great experience for all, especially playing on the Commonwealth Games pitch.