Long summery days :)

For once,  I feel justified in boasting about the weather!  23 degrees yesterday, 21 today...not dark until 11pm, light again at 4am (ok, that one is a bit annoying...6am would be a bit more reasonable).  Tucking a blanket around the window before going to bed is becoming a normal thing to do now :)  Before I get too caught up in summery-ness, here are some lovely pics of the cherry blossoms outside the church.  They were there such a short time but so beautiful!



Beautiful Blossoms!

Hilton Parish Church









The Lighthouse Cafe







So, what has been happening I hear you say? Well since you asked, it's been a pretty full-on two weeks.  I've been teaching 3 days a week for the last two weeks at Kilchuimen Primary, and will do again this week.  It's so good to have some continuity and really get to know the kids and school. 
It takes about 45mins to get there, but since the drive is along the edge of Loch Ness I'm not complaining! For those of you who are teacherly, I just have to put this out there: Class teachers in Scotland don't do playground duty! All duties (including before and after school and eating supervision) are done by senior staff and classroom assistants...yep, 'lunch hour' actually means a full hour to have lunch!!!!

So far, the schools I've taught at have been great. Once you are at a school for more than 5 days, the pay goes up and you are then expected to take on curriculum planning and have greater involvement in organising resources etc.  Having a longer stint at Kilchuimen has been a really good opportunity to get my head around how things work here.  I've been teaching a class of 14 P45 (gr 3/4) students who are all so polite and lovely....yay! 

Well, enough about school stuff...this weekend has been all about relaxation and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!  On Friday I'm off to Switzerland for 5 days to visit some lovely swiss friends, so will write about that next post!  Have a wonderful week and make sure to keep me up to date on what's happening for you :)


Today's adventure: Horseriding with my
lovely housemate Bregtje!

 


My latest cute thing - Heilan Coo, and my latest
hobby - crochet!











My trusty companion Moss and I in
Loch Ness (obviously not a deep part...wouldn't
want to get eaten by Nessie)
What an experience!

And finally, on a beautiful sunny day - my favourite place
for relaxing: the lovely/weird window in my room.
(Thank you Claire for the paper garland!)





Skye adventures

Hello there, I hope all is well in your part of the world.  Here it is raining and windy but otherwise a lovely Sunday afternoon.  I can't believe how fast time is passing....I've been here 3 months now!  I'm enjoying the rhythm that life has at the moment, but know that there are more changes just around the corner.  In a month I will move to the Isle of Iona, where I will be spending the summer break, before returning to Inverness in August.  More on that later! 

Last weekend there was a bank holiday on Monday so I decided to take a long weekend on Skye.  I'm still learning the art of relaxation, and finding the motivation to take solo holidays can at times be difficult but this was definitely worth it.  In short, it was absolutely amazing!  Skye is kind of known for changeable weather..I've heard some people who have visited and seen nothing but mist.  But for me, I feel I got to see the island at it's best....three days of beautiful sunshine! 

View from Dun Flodigarry hostel

Although it's connected by bridge now, the island itself has a very different feel from the mainland.  In distance it doesn't take long to drive around, but the amount of times the scenery changes is crazy. 

There are spectacular beaches with turquoise water.....


Sandy Beach at Sleat Point



A cafe I spotted on the hr long walk
to Sleat Point 

....huge jagged hills with hidden lochs...




View of the Cuillins from "Misty Isle" boat on the way to Loch Coruisk



At Loch Coruisk

....brilliant hill walking with even more brilliant views....



View on the way up to Old Man of Storr (Isle of Raasay in the middle,
 Scottish mainland in the background)



At the top!












...beautiful buildings...





Dunvegan Castle




Portree Harbour

....and lots of not always road-aware sheep and cows.





Moo!



Baa!






  There are good main roads but also lots of single-track roads (a road that is the width of one car, but is for traffic travelling in both directions).  Actually, I decided I love driving on the single-track roads for a few reasons: Firstly, I had to travel slower because of possible oncoming traffic, which meant I could enjoy the scenery more.  Secondly, it is lovely when another driver is courteous and pulls over and lets me pass first, and when I pull over or reverse for them I get a wave and smile and feel that I've made a new friend!  All in all it makes driving a more pleasant experience :)  The pictures really don't do this place justice....so come and see for yourself!  Here are a few more favourite pics.  Have a lovely week :)

Hamish MacBeth!!!

 Hello! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend.  Yesterday and today have been beautifully sunny here...still cold, but sunny.  Last week was rain and more rain so it's a nice change.



Yes this photo was taken in Scotland...in a town called Plockton

 I've been thinking a bit about how different life is this year.  I remember at this PD session at school last year the speaker was talking about putting eggs in different baskets as a way of allocating out time between work, ourselves and family (for me this basket is my relationship with God first, then others).  I think this year the work basket is seriously deprived of eggs!  Apart from the obvious lack of money I'm totally fine with this balance for a while :)  I love helping at the cafe and now that all my paperwork is through I've got a few days of supply teaching lined up...so all good!  Planning life around random adventures instead of work is such a gift...I'm determined to make the most of this wonderful opportunity :)

Apart from being able to spill my brain on the page every now and then, writing a blog also means I need to do fun things in order to have something to write about!  This weekend's adventure was to Plockton, a pretty little town on the west coast.  More importantly, it's the town where Hamish MacBeth was filmed!   For those of you not familliar with Hamish MacBeth (shame on you!) it's about a country cop in a town called Loch Dubh who often bends the law and does everything he can to avoid promotion. I didn't see the man himself, but did get some nice pics of his old stomping ground:

My pic of Rory's shop...now a card and craft shop



Rory outside his shop

The Stag Bar today....unfortunately minus the cow...

The Stag Bar in Hamish MacBeth

My pic of Hamish's house!

The police house

Me standing in sort of the same place (didn't have the pic
with me so not exact)



The pic that was always at the
start of episodes

Here are some other nice pics from around Plockton (Loch Dubh!).  Hope you have a great week :)






The only hint of a Hamish MacBeth
past - a sign in someone's garden!

View of Plockton



Soaking up the sun... :) :) :)




Looking out from the harbour



The best bits and pics of Ireland :)

Well, it's been a week since I got back from Ireland.  I had planned to blog last Sunday after getting back, but had a bit of a mishap with the ferry (ie, i missed it!) so didn't get to Inverness until midnight having driven the last 70 miles on an empty tank (forgot to fill up too!).  Thankfully God looks after Scatterbrains like me :)


All in all though, it was an amazing time.  Trips like this make me realise how fortunate I am to be here and have the opportunity to see another part of this amazing world.  Rather than ramble on beginning with breakfast on day one (cereal, in a cup cos I couldn't find a bowl + really strong tea also, surprisingly, in a cup) I thought I'd write a bit about what I feel were the top three locations/sights.  Firstly though, here is a map of the lovely route Nessie and I took (placed here mostly because I'm proud of myself for figuring out how to stick a map on my blog):


View Larger Map

 

#1 Malin Head - (place C on the map)
This is an easy first choice.  I think there are some places that are easy to fall in love with for no apparent reason. The hostel I stayed as was so homely, the atmosphere really friendly and relaxed, and the scenery amazing!  Malin Head is Ireland's most northerly point, and hardly qualifies as a town.  There isn't much to do except admire the panoramic views out the window, chat over a cup of tea, or walk the amazing beaches...perfect! 

The hostel was right opposite the beach with amazing views.
I also had my first glimpse of Irish sunshine here!

I loved this pebble beach...It was hard to
decide which to look at, the ocean or
the pretty stones :)

#2 The Burren/Lisdoonvarna (place E on the map)
Ok, the double bed for 14 euro per night was a major drawcard here!  It is a beautiful spot though.  The Burren is a huge area of protected rocky landscape.  There are heaps of winding lanes, all with stone walls and cute little villages with thatched roofs.  I spent two nights here so the extra time exploring was great!  The cliffs of Moher are here as well, but I found that part a bit too touristy.  It was much more fun to drive the narrow lanes and see what surprises were just around the corner!  A unique and beautiful place.

One of the advantages of so much rain! A beautiful rainbow
over The Burren

Cute shop with thatched roof...not sure
about the pink though....

#3 Belfast/Titanic Experience (place H on the map)
Generally I don't think much of big cities, but Belfast was a nice surprise.  Unlike Dublin it seemed to cater better for people who aren't there just for Guiness :)  The botanical gardens are beautiful, the Ulster museum is amazing, as are the St George Markets, City Hall and of course The Titanic Experience.  Due to my careful planning (haha, as if!) I was in Belfast for the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic sinking....and actually went to the Titanic Experience on the anniversary night.  The work that has gone into putting it together is extraordinary.  Hugely recommended!

Titanic Belfast...the building itself is fantastic.

Beautiful springtime blossoms in Belfast

So there you go, that was Ireland.  Here are some other favourite pics.  Hope you have a wonderful week.  God bless!

Murals and monument in the formally Catholic part of
Londonderry

My favourite sweets...
Irish style!

A lot of the pavement in the formally Protestant part of
Londonderry is painted in Union Jack colours....and
then I saw the cars.  Coincidence or just strange!?

Hanging out at the Cliffs of Moher

Lemenagh Castle

Glendalough...a beautiful place for hill walking about
an hour south of Dublin

City Hall Belfast - taken from a weird angle

A cute little guy I came across
in Dublin