Our first Christmas at Clacheranmor was always going to be a major milestone and special for us as we started a new chapter of our lives. Before everything kicked off we accepted that for the first Christmas we'd probably do the running back to see the kids and parents, and are extremely grateful that as things have developed they have adjusted and become independent on the travel front!
To say that we live somewhere rural and pretty dark at this time of year, there's quite a bit on if you look it out, so over the festive period we saw the local pantomime (Cinderella) starring our neighbour Dave (as Lord Hardup). He was outstanding - better than the panto itself! The local thespian enthusiasts were really excellent, and included one of the doctor's receptionists as Dandini. About the same age as John, it turned out to be Samantha who lived about a mile from John as he grew up. John has vague memories of New Year's Eve parties at her house hosted by her parents which included him being introduced to whiskey aged 12! What a small world...
We also saw the Argyll Voices choir at our local village hall a mile away - some fantastic singing of both serious choral stuff and Christmas Carols. Folks put in so much effort and Heather, our neighbour, is part of the group. There was even a little ballet, and a lively German sing-along which was great fun.
Our neighbours, Heather and Dave, as ever were excellent company and threw us together with Adam and Emma and Liz's sister, Jess, for an evening. A lovely get-together with some speciality buffet treats all made by Dave's fair hands. Good times all round. (Liz: this was the first time I saw John looking genuinely happy for over a month and it was truly a wonderful evening for that reason alone.)
Amber joined us with, coming up before Christmas Day and staying about a week, managing some work-from-home between Christmas and New Year. She was adamant that we get a Christmas tree. Sourcing a tree on the west coast of Scotland is quite easy. There are commercial plantations, which we respect, but plenty by the roadside too - mostly stunted and deformed. Amber and Liz chose one and the bow saw quickly got us what we wanted - a six foot lovely tree with didn't shed much over 10 days or so, but spiky as hell. With a few lights on it looked a treat.
Our local church at Glendaruel held a nativity service on Christmas Eve which was the usual fun and games we all love about that special service. Every kid within a 5 mile radius must have been involved and we enjoyed our balcony view, where we could see the lady co-ordinating the play crouching behind the front pew waving chocolates at the little ones to get them to play ball. There was an awkward spot where no-one in the congregation could follow one of the hymns, but the church was full of life, warm and welcoming. And we even managed to drag Amber along for the first time in about 10 years.
Photos are of a lovely hour at Kilbride bay, our nearest loveliest beach on Boxing Day. Liz and Amber managing a little paddle and John enjoying a nap in the strong sunshine!
Weather was pretty awful, but looking out from the house is still inspiring. We had a day of snow which fortunately fell (lol) on a day with no travel commitments. Lovely to see it! On the photo above you can see the footprints of a red squirrel at the right hand edge of the road. Otherwise, December saw on average one sunny day per week and the rest of the time it rained quite determinedly. We filled the rainy days with fun board games by the fire.
Charlotte come up a little later, and we picked her and Hugo up from the airport in Glasgow on the 28th. We fully respect that they have lives themselves and would not want them to put their events on hold for our benefit - largely speaking up here, any date is the same as any other date and we feel family events like Christmas don't necessarily have to happen on the 25th just because someone arbitrarily decided that was the day.
Charlotte and Hugo chose to take the plane and Amber the train. It's a bit swings and roundabouts and in time we think they will decide to drive. Using public transport is inflexible (book in advance for a 1/2 decent price) and in the lap of the gods in terms of reliability. It's also no cheaper than the fuel in a car, even for one.
Our neighbour, Shona, kindly dropped us off a rack of lamb, presumably from one of their flock, which Amber cooked beautifully with a crunchy herb crust - delicious.
Liz's mum and dad also came as we headed into early New Year and managed a few walks out and about and gave us great company.
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