Callum's 21st Ceilidh!

Saturday night was my cousins 21st party. He had a Ceilidh (which is a party with Scottish music and dancing). I was rather worried about being able to dance the scottish dances without making a fool of myself but was dragged round by family and friends without too much trouble. It was a great night and I really enjoyed getting to learn some tradtional dancing. It was also nice to see so many boys in Kilts for their formal dress rather than suits. I was rather taken with the swing of the kilt from the back!! Callum had a great night with his friends and family and even managed to drag his Aussie cousin round the dancefloor without injuring himself or me!

Appointment Night

Friday night was the first of the Common Riding events, Appointment night where the Standard Bearer is announced to the public. The standard Bearer is carried on the shoulders of the attendants from the Town Hall on a chair. He is carried around the town to the sounds of the Band and followed by the public. The Standard Bearer then visits each Pub and he and the attendants sing traditional Common Riding Songs. We went down to see the Standard Bearer and marched around after him. It was great fun and quite exciting to be experiencing something I have heard about since I was a little girl. There is a real sense of community with everyone out walking with their family and friends and chatting to everyone along the way. I then went to the Pub with My Auntie Pat, Auntie Viv, Uncle Malcolm, Auntie Irene and Uncle Allan for a few drinks and a gossip. We had a reasonably early night as we would have a busy night the next day with my cousins 21st Birthday Party.

French Riviera

Last week I spend 4 days in the South of France in a small village called Villefranche with my Aunt and Uncle. It's a beautiful place with sheltered bays and turquoise water. We spent Monday exploring Nice; we walked along the promenade, browsed through the expensive designer shops, walked up to the viewpoint and man made waterfall. Tuesday we walked around the bay and over to Beaulieu-sur-Mer yet another beautiful bay. We spent the afternoon on my balcony watching the boats coming in and out of the harbour. On Wednesday we went to Monaco and Monte Carlo, I was hoping to see someone rich and famous but no luck. It rained for most of the afternoon (hence the bad hair in the photos - well more so than usual!). Had a great time wandering round checking out the enormous boats (twice the size of a house) and the fast cars. We went and saw the changing of the guards at Price Alberts. Thursday we had a wander round Villefranche as it was raining heavily. We had one last ice cream and a wander along the front before heading to the airport for our flight home. Overall a great 4 days - even if Scotland had better weather!!