Monday Meander.

It works!  Now it is becoming much cooler, and the day becomes shorter, it is wonderful to set up the stove.  It takes minutes to get going, and from then on radiates heat throughout the downstairs of the house.  The picture above shows the wood 'catching', but once that has happened everything gets turned down and one, two, maximum three lumps of wood have us feeling cosy, all evening.

Minerva McGonagall is comfortable in the bedroom.  So all is well with the world.

Soon it will be time to pack away the garden furniture.  Once the strong winds come I do not want to see the odd chair heading for the North Sea, or the neighbours.

Whoops, naughty birds.  Fear not, they never flower, which as I understand the cultivation  is such that it needs to before you can start making money.  Its a shame to be illegal to grow it, as it is quite bonny, but to be on the safe side, best pull it up.  But then again....

East Rathen Church.  This church is up the road from us and to the right a bit, its a few miles from actual Rathen.  But the way churches were built way back is fascinating.  Or should I say why and where they were built.

Gothic church of 1842 with subsequent alterations and extensions. T-plan with later octagonal spirelet. Squared rubble with pinnings typical of the area. Fixed pews in the gallery and moveable seating in the nave.

The parish of Rathen is said to be one of the most ancient in the county of Aberdeen, and at one time contained within its limits the greater part of the parish of Strichen, and a part of the parish of Fraserburgh. The church and teinds, it is said, were at an early period appropriated to the Cathedral of the diocese, the incumbent of the benefice becoming the stipendiary of that establishment, till its dissolution at the Reformation.

' there was about the tyme of morneing prayer for diverse dayes togithir, hard in the church a queire of musicke, both of woces, organes, and other instruementes, and with such a ravisheing sweetnes that they ware transported which, in numbers, resorted to heire it with unspeakable pleasure and never wiried delight. The preacher on day being much takin with the harmonie, went with diverse of his parisheners in to the church, to try if there eyes could beare witnes to what there eares had hard, but they ware no sooner entred when, lo, the musicke ceassed with a long not, or stroke of a wioll de gambo; and the sound came from ane upper lofte where the people used to heare service, but they could see nothing.' 

This report is from the church prior to it being re-built in 1842.  Spooky! 

And here is a close encounter with a couple of deer.

Meandering on a Monday.

What a day this has been.....

It is finally Summer - albeit an Indian Summer, though I have not seen any smoke signals.

The DP and I went for coffee at the Lighthouse Museum.  For me to add to and tweak the Disc Cover Art Exhibition.

I thought you might be interested to see the diversity of what has been donated by so many lovely people.

All being sold for £2.00 each to raise funds for the Lighthouse Museum.

I have two up there, one a fox and one our black cat Sith.

The Dawn Patroller has three, cat, gull and deer photographs.

Meanwhile, the harbour was packed.  Reached their fishing quotas so all moored.

This gives you some idea of the size of some of the big fishing boats.

And what the smaller boats have to compete with.

And it is the big boats that have been caught illegally fishing, not all of them, but some and who have made a lot of money from hiding such catches from the powers that be.  The fines reflect this, but I see the BMWs still in evidence.

Ah well, tis all grist to the mill.  Back to the Lighthouse Museum for a shuftie at the 
wildlife taking advantage of all the reflected warmth.

Back home I accept this is why the DP left the thistles.  Goldfinches taking full advantage, they love the seeds.  Followed by a Woodpecker who is more than happy to have his food on 'a plate'.

And finally, to this post of what a day this has been, I have been taken onto the Board of the Lighthouse Museum as a Trustee.  What on earth have I done to deserve that?

Not sure but it certainly deserves a glass of red.

Tis Autumn sliding down to Winter.

First I have to report (ha) that we finally got into the local paper, The Fraserburgh Herald.  I regularly send in news items, and pictures, that only need lifting, but they never are. Which doesn't look too good for me from other members of the group.  I have taken to sending some of the group what I have submitted just to prove I do send them.

But today we struck gold.  A new reporter, our Graham, has done us proud.  Though he did have to keep stopping me in full flow as he has not yet mastered shorthand!

Moi, third right.  And thank you Graham, (he looked to be about 13 but I expect he was older than that.) (When did they stop sending kids up chimneys?)

So now it is September, nights are drawing in, so time to reconnect with reading, knitting and finally re-learning how to crochet.  Tis the start of knitting in the picture, a ballet cardigan for my granddaughter. (I remember knitting such cardigans for my eldest two who did ballet - but knitting one for a 9 month old is a bit odd, she isnt walking yet, never mind dancing.)  

 I am quite impressed with myself that I did manage to wield the crochet hook succesfully, so watch this space.

The book that is open is from the library, Fraserburgh Past and present, by John Cranna, who was the Harbour Treasurer.  It was published in 1914.

"The Author hopes the perusal of his book will give pleasure, not only to natives, but also to people having a business or a family connection with the town."  No mention of incomers!

But this incomer is totally enthralled by how much Mr Cranna has explored, discovered, and related.  When he actually had time to be Harbour Treasurer.......

Curtains drawn in the evening, another sign of approaching Winter.  During the Summer months it doesnt really get dark, here in the North East of Scotland.  I can stumble through to the loo at any time in the night and see where I am going!  And in the morning as I get up for breakfast, round about 6.30 to 7a.m. the sun is up, well, its light.  But now its getting darker, and cooler, and time to cosy up.

I seem to remember the snow came much earlier last year!  But not yet.

Disc Cover Art.

We put up our exhibition today.  Mainly on the back wall of the Museum Cafe.

Stained glass, glass and glass collected from the beach, together with Childrens' representation of Stained Glass, went up in the windows.

Nae bad, I hope you agree.

On the home front I have started my Christmas Cards!

Just a bit of fun, a prototype!  Spelt Fa wrong, I think it should be Far (Where) is the lum (chimney).

I have my art group in the morning and the task is to make Christmas Cards.  My next project will be Santa going round another lighthouse shouting, "Turn that Light Out."

At the moment my lights are out as I have another chest infection, but I am getting good at recognising the onset so am already on antibiotics so may well be able to carry on.  Here's hoping I continue to discover art.

Cairness House.

Our neighbours across the fields, taken from our sitting room window.

A bit closer.

Cairness House, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Fraserburgh in the County ofAberdeenshire, is the largest and finest country house in Buchan and one of the great houses of Scotland. It was built between 1791 and 1797 to designs by architectJames Playfair and replaced an earlier house of 1781 by Robert Burn, which was largely incorporated into the Playfair scheme. Sir John Soane assisted in the final stages of the construction following Playfair’s death in 1794. The park was laid out by Thomas White, a follower of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.

After the Second World War, the house was used as a farmhouse and gradually fell into serious decline. The park was destroyed from the early 1950s onwards with the mass clearance of trees in order to reclaim land for agricultural use. In 1991, the house was listed as a Building At Risk by the Scottish Civic Trust. A major long-term restoration programme of the house and grounds was instigated by new owners in 2001.

In 2009, the project won the Georgian Group Architectural Awards prize for best Restoration of a Georgian country house in Britain. The Georgian Group stated that: "From being a moribund building at risk riddled with dry rot, Cairness is now a magnificent private home." The prize was given by HRH the Duke of Gloucester at a ceremony at Christie's, London in November 2009.

Cairness House now contains a very fine collection of furniture and works of art and is open to groups by appointment. It is protected as a category A listed building.

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From the rear of Cairness, the DP took this photograph of an oil rig out in the North Sea.

Currently up for sale.  We shall miss Julio and Khalil if and when they do sell.  They have done an enormous amount of work at Cairness.  They also do bed and breakfast!  Also self catering in one of the gate houses.

You weren't expecting that!

And the rear of the house.

I have to say that I have no desire to live in such a place.  The responsibility, heating!, cleaning, oh no.

It is lovely to visit, particularly around Christmas time when we join the other neighbours at Cairness.

Quite happy to look at it from the window the rest of the year.

Saturday Surf.

Kinnaird Head Lighthouse.  Now the Scottish National Lighthouse Museum.  Showing why it was built there.

Down on Fraserburgh Beach.  Yes I did say Fraserburgh.

As they say, "Surfs up!"