Company’s Coming

I thought the biggest difference about Braidwood vs Orkney would be the scenery (and it is different – the Clyde Valley is more rolling, green hills with trees, tons of trees). But it turns out that’s not the case – instead, this week turned out completely differently from what was planned due to company arriving.

On Tuesday I met friends from Milton who were visiting Scotland. I took the train into Glasgow and took them to the Kelvingrove Museum where we saw Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross, had a lovely lunch and listened to an organ recital. A great wee visit before they head off on a cruise of the British Isles (that includes a stop in Kirkwall(!)). All of that was planned – it was the rest of the week that came as a surprise.

My niece’s Europe trip took a sideways turn, so instead of flying straight back to Canada, she detoured for a couple of days here. After leaving my Milton friends near their hotel Tuesday afternoon, I headed back into the centre of Glasgow to meet her getting off the bus. We has a great two days of shopping and dining in Glasgow & down in the southwest corner of Scotland in Castle Douglas.

Then the same day I dropped her off at the airport, I got a text from my cousin-in-law who was up in Scotland on business and had to stay on an extra couple of days for family reasons – could he come & stay & get some yard work done around the house? I never say No to people who want to do work around my home. The garden did not look at all the same after he left – he worked so hard, and was a great guest.

Over the course of five days I had four visitors – this would never have happened in Orkney – too remote.