Clara in Scotland

Clara has certainly been the star of the show during her 2 weeks in Scotland. She managed to do so many things during her time in the country and will no doubt take many great memories back to Japan with her. Indeed, these memories will surely be with her for the rest of her life.As you can see, one of the things Clara did was horse riding. She actually went riding a couple of times, accompanied by her grandparents and Sophie, the daughter of a colleague of Joep's. Clara and Sophie got on very well and I was really happy for Clara to have another friend to visit when she is next in Scotland.
After horse riding came ten pin bowling. I'm not a great fan of bowling so I decided that bowling with my eyes closed would provide a bit of excitement. Clara on the other hand decided to use the ramp to launch the balls down the bowling alley. The results of the bowling are as follows :
1. Pauline 2. Clara 3. Joep 4. Kane 5. Yuki
The biggest mystery of the day is how on earth my mother managed to come first!! She even managed 3 strikes!!!

Up next was ice skating. I wisely opted out of this activity and occupied myself with taking a few photos before retreating to the car to listen to the radio. This was probably the best decision I have made in a long time. All and sundry were crashing into each other and falling to the ice. When the skating had ended, Clara was complaining of sore ankles, Yuki was breathless, Mum was complaining that she was hot, and Joep had sworn that this was definitely the last time he would be seen on ice.

There is no doubt that Clara had a lovely time in Scotland. My parents had arranged a full schedule for her and had even made up a room in their house solely for her to use. There were no downsides to the time Clara spent in Scotland. Only good memories which will remain with her for many years to come. The problem is now we have to start planning for her next visit...........