5 Merchiston Grove

After much time, stress, and expense to a number of people, our Edinburgh flat is now finally on the market. With all the global economic turmoil, I am the first to admit that a sale (at the price we want) may be harder and take longer to achieve. We will see what happens and may decide to re-let the flat around New Year. We are in the lucky position of not being under pressure to sell up and can adopt a wait and see approach. As prices in Edinburgh stagnate or even fall, it seems that the rental market is growing stronger and returns from the letting of a property are increasing. Not a bad dilemma to be in.

Anyway, we have spent a bit of money recently getting some work done to the flat and it is now looking pretty nice again. A lot of the money was spent at Homebase, which gave them a mandate to run rings round us and generally waste a lot of our time. Unless it is a product I can wheel out in a trolley, I will not be spending money at Homebase again.

I guess that I had better take some time to thank a few people who have helped with the process of finally getting the flat on the market. In no particular order : Lee, Lorna, and Kit, Mr & Mrs Noble, Mrs McMeeking, Murdo MacSween.

The biggest thanks go to my parents who accepted (as usual) all the burdens placed upon them. They spent a couple of weekends in Edinburgh after work on the kitchen and bathroom were completed, and have got the place looking great.

We will see what happens.....

Scotland - Edinburgh Wedding

The final leg of my holiday in Scotland was the journey to Edinburgh for the wedding of Michael and Louise.

The day before the wedding, I was able to meet Alan Thomson for lunch in Bar 38 on George Street. Alan is a friend that I met at the University of Aberdeen and who I shared a flat with for 3 memorable years (along with Grambo and Glovesy). He is still reet HC and is carving a highly successful career for himself in the Edinburgh legal world.

I also managed to meet up with some old colleagues from Deutsche Bank. They haven't changed. They are still a good laugh to be with and have not lost their taste for alcohol.

Going to the wedding was an excellent chance for me to meet up with my old school friends. We all had a really good time and I haven't laughed so much in a long time.

The ceremony started at the Catholic church at 2pm on Saturday the 21st of October. Before the wedding, lots of us went down to an area called the Grassmarket for a few beers. The weather was so nice that we could sit outside.

The ceremony was pretty good and not as long as I expected. It was great to see how happy Michael and Louise were on their big day. I took a lot of photos and also a video of the proceedings. Unfortunately, the church was a bit dark inside so some of the photos were not very good. I managed to annoy a good deal of people in the church with my video camera - it was making regular beeping noises. For every beep, I received a dirty look.

After the ceremony, we went to another pub for a few more beers before the reception started. The wedding reception was held at one of the best hotels in Edinburgh - the Caledonian Hotel. There were about 180 guests at the reception. The food was fantastic and I can honestly say that I have never tasted better roast lamb in my whole life. I've thought about the lamb every day since the wedding - it was that good!!

After the meal and speeches, the band started to play and finished about 2am. It was nice to hear some traditional Scottish music again and good to see Farquahar and play the fiddle and Archie play the accordian (both friends from the Isle of Skye).

The ceremony, reception with its excellent food and music, and the company of old friends, all made the perfect end to my holiday in Scotland.

Scotland - Isle of Skye

The holiday is over but Clara and I had an EXCELLENT time back in Scotland. We did many things and saw many people. The trip ranks as one of my most memorable in years. Everything was perfect, even the weather! We arrived late at night in Inverness on the 14th of October. After a day of relaxing, we headed to the Isle of Skye where I grew up. On the way to Skye, we drove past stunning scenery made even more stunning by the lovely weather. We passed Loch Ness (but did not see Nessie), passed Eilean Donan Castle and then across the bridge to Skye. It was a fantastic journey back home and I was really pleased to see Portree (the main town) again.

Eilean Donan Castle looked great and we stopped there to take some photos and make a visit to the gift shop. The weather was really mild in Scotland and enabled us to walk around in t-shirts. Very strange for mid October!!In Portree, I met some old friends and some cousins. The highlight of returning to Portree was seeing my grandmother. She's quite elderly and every time I see her again, I wonder if that will be the last time. In the evening, I did a tour of the Portree pubs which were all really quiet. I did manage to meet a few people and have a bit of a laugh.After we left Skye, Clara and I spent time in Inverness with my parents and I had an opportunity to do some souvenir shopping for the people I know in Japan. I then travelled to Edinburgh to attend the wedding of a friend from the Isle of Skye and left Clara with my parents. The main reason for travelling to Scotland was to go to the wedding and it proved to be a great day.

To Scotland

Clara and I will leave Japan and travel to Scotland for a short holiday. We'll be in Scotland between October 14th and October 23rd and we have a very busy schedule planned. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends again and the highlight of the holiday will be going to a friends wedding in Edinburgh on October 21st.

I'll try and update this blog when I'm in Scotland. We plan to go to the Isle of Skye, Inverness, and Edinburgh. Watch this space for photos and updates on our time back in Scotland. Cheers.