Anna asked me whether Gordon could use the Panda for a day or two, as his car had given up on him, and I said fine, but she must remember that it was my week for using the car on our day off, and she assured me that the car would be mine. I reminded her about the car using oil, and that it was leaking some water, and that Gordon had to check it every time before he used it. She told me that he was no fool, and that of course he would do all those things.
She was behaving very strangely, and told the tallest stories about her and Gordon having been a couple before, and that Yolandi, her friend, was their daughter born from that affair. As every one in the village knew Gordon, and knew how they came to meet, they were really astonished at this, and I was feeling a wee bit embarrassed.
Tuesday, my day off, I got up early, as I wanted to drive to Loch Tay, where I wanted to do some sketching, and then of course have my barbeque, but when I got outside, there was no Panda! I ranted and I raved, then I stormed over the road to Gordon's cottage, where Anna opened the door to me, looking very defiant and seeing how unconcerned she was about it all, I lost it, and a terrible argument ensued. We shouted lustily at each other, but I suddenly realized that shouting would not bring the car back, so I calmed down and asked her nicely to phone Gordon and tell him to bring it back. But she had no intention of doing that, and told me to go jump in the loch!
Oh, I was so cross, so I told her that I will give it twenty minutes, and if the car was not back, I was phoning the police and report it stolen. Of course that made her even more cross, but when I reminded her that on her insistence, the car was registered in my name, she suddenly realized that she was in trouble, and she went all quiet, so I told her again that twenty minutes was all she had.
I could not believe the influence that man had on Anna, as she was just not the callous type who would do such a horrible thing.
I went into the hotel, and made a cuppa, then sat in the pub watching the road to see if Gordon had a big enough fright to bring the Panda back, and sure as anything within about twenty minutes, he drove into our parking lot. I went out, but he ignored me flatly, not that I was bothered, but I nearly had a kingsize fit when I opened the enjin and found that there was almost no sign of any oil or water! I was enraged when I also found that there was just about no petrol, and that after we had decided to leave the car with the petrol gauge where it was where we found it on our days of using the car. Again, I knew that Anna was not responsible, as till now she had kept to the bargain.
I was standing there fuming and calling down the wrath of hell on Gordon, when Joe came out, and after I explained to him what had happened, he said that he was just quickly going to Callender, and that he would bring me oil and petrol. My day was spoiled, as by the time I got away it was past midday, so I just drove to Killin to get some more of the barbeque pans, as mine were finished, but had a picnic anyway at my loch.
That night Anna would not even talk to me, and when Alex shouted at her because he had no clean plates left, she threw everything down and just walked out, shouting at me that I can now do the dishes as well! That was so terrible, as she was now dependend on Gordon, but we had only about two weeks left before going home, where I hoped that she would realize that he would never fit into her circle.
Joe and Rosanne asked me if I wanted to come back the next year for the season again, and I said that I would love to, but will let them know if it was possible.
The two weeks went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was my last night, and we had a roaring party to send me on my way!
Lizzy, with whom I had become quite good friends by now took me to the airport, but until today I don't know how Anna got there, but she was already there when I got there, without any sign of Gordon.
I left the Panda safely in the parking lot after I took out the battery, ready to be put back for me to enjoy another season of exploring the Highlands of Scotland.

I was out after work with my beau, and when I came back Rosanne told me that Anna had gone back to Gordon again. I just couldn't believe how such an intelegent woman could be interested in that guy. Suzanne, Joe's wife and Rosanne's sister were also in the pub, high in her cups, and very talkative. She was so funny, as she would come into the hotel wearing this huge oversized jacket, and I have seen her stashing umpteen bottles of red into the many pockets of this jacket, and looked so uncomfortable when she left, the heavy bottles dragging down her tiny, quite unstable body, but she always managed, and she was a familiar sight, walking unsteadily down the road with her bulging pockets and unsure steps. As Suzanne was a shareholder in the hotel, albeit a silent one, she was, I supposed, entitled to take whatever she wanted, so why she always tried to smuggle the booze out was a mystery to us, unless she had told Joe that she stopped drinking.
I left the door of our room open for Anna, hoping that she would use her head and don't stay with that man overnight again, as I think he was horrible, and read myself into a state of sleepiness, where after I put out the light, hoping that if Anna came back, she would do her ablutions quietly, and not wake me up.
I kind of heard the door open, but as I was now at that stage where my brain was at rest, and although I heard the click also when it was closed, I just turned over and went back to sleep, sure that it was Anna, but kind of woke up again on hearing dragging footsteps coming towards my bed. I lay like a bally frozen slab of ice, not able to make either my voice, or my hands work, but when this person started pawing me under the sheet, I was out of bed like a flash, screaming at the top of my voice, thinking 'rape! rape!', but when I took a wee breather, I heard that my assailant was also screaming at the top of it's voice, and this voice was definitely that of a woman!
When I managed to control my shaking limbs enough to put the light on, I saw that it was Suzanne, who was looking at me with her large brown eyes opened very wide and full of fear, and I realised that she must have been looking for Joe, who used the room next to us,and misjudged the rooms.
By this time John, who rents the flat opposite from our room from the hotel, had come into the room, his face pale with fright, as he also thought that one of us was being murdered. Suzanne calmed down a bit, but both of us was still a bit upset, so she took out one of the bottles in her pocket, and told me flatly that she thought we both needed a stiff tipple after all that, and so, using our coffee mugs, we sat on the bed and finished the bottle, after which she left again on her quest to find Joe, who was out on a mysterious nightly visit somewhere!
Suzanne came up to the hotel the next day, but I think she was so sozzled the previous night that she couldn't remember anything that happened, and I decided to let sleeping dogs lie!
Anna was indeed back with Gordon, and nothing anybody said could make her see him for the rascal he was, but what bothered me was that she had started to tell all kind of strange stories about Joe and Rosanne, and how they abused us, but darn it, we could leave any time. I think as Gordon knew what we all thought about him, he was trying to alienate Anna from the hotel
But the funniest of all this was Anna in the passenger seat of Gordon's old, dilapadated station wagon of  uncertain age and make. That old thing was all rusted up, one window broken, and giving big, black,  loud and smokey  farts as far as it went, and to see Anna sit like a queen, head held high and regally, while the car sent out this bursts of smoke,
was enough to put anyone in stitches, but I felt like crying!

I loved Loch Voile, where I have discovered a beautiful secluded cove which I named Christina's cove. As it is quite a walk from the nearest parking spot, I only found it by chance one day, walking along the shore looking for pieces of old pottery, as to me it was fascinating to guess how old every small piece was. I was also collecting them to make a mosaic when I got home, as a memory to my wonderful days spent at the loch. When I found this small cove, I walked through the dense bushes up to the road to see if there was a place where I could park the Panda. There was, well, not a legal parking, as it is the entrance to the pine forests on the slopes of the mountains which the trucks transporting the logs used, but I parked the small car in a corner, and out of harms way.
Loch Voile is not as popular as Loch Earn, a few kilometers away, and is usually very quiet, except for a few fishermen, or now and then a family having a day out. But nobody ever came to my cove, and I used to take one of my one pound barbeque contraptions, some lamb chops, or chicken, and lay reading or sketching while my body soaked up the sun, and my nose enjoyed the smell of my meat on the coals.
My beau's house overlooked the glen of Balquidder, and although he gave me the key to go there when I was tired of my workplace, I didn't use it much, just now and then I would have a coffee on the back porch from where I had a good view over the glen and part of the loch.
The Balquidder glen is of course believed to be enchanted, and looking at the woods surrounding the loch, with their ancient and gnarled roots entwined over the hollows in the banks of the  streams running down to the loch, I sometimes expect a fairy or a goblin to come out and talk to me. It was also easy sometimes when the wind blew, and the trees started whispering, to imagine the shouts and noises of the many feuds that were settled here beneath the Braes of Balquidder, between the feuding clans.

The mountains guarding this beautiful glen are called The Braes of Balquidder, and I always felt that they were keeping a watchful eye on all that happened down in the glen.
Of course, Balquidder was also the home of Rob Roy MacGreggor, whose lands were taken by the duke of Montrose, after which Rob Roy became a vagabond, stealing from the landowners, and giving to the poor and oppressed. He was caught and jailed, and after his release he lived in Balquidder until his death, and his grave can be seen in the front of Balquidder church.
There is a beautiful song about the Braes of Balquidder that is usually sung with Gusto whenever there are a group of people with a guitar and accordion, and it goes like this: (hope I remember the words correctly)
 'Will you go Lassie, go, to the Braes of Balquidder, where the blueberries grow, among the bonnie blue heather, where the deer and the rae, lightly bound together, sport the long summer day, among the Braes of Balquidder.' Chorus:Will you go Lassie go, to the Braes of Balquidder, where the blueberries grow, among the bonnie blue heather.'
Bonnie means beautiful, and Lassie is a young woman.

Poor Anna was in a state about her man that just did not conform to any known way of behaviour, and I tried my best to sour the relationship even more, because by now I have formed a very good opinion of him and his doings. The young friend of hers was still living at his cottage, but now she had brought in a young man that looked very dissipated and highly drugged, and the three of them suited each other to a tee, was my thoughts. But poor Anna was devastated at what she thought of as betrayal, and  I thought of as callousness, so I tried to keep her busy, but as I had now a wee love affair going, my time was also not at her disposal all the time we were off, and at night time after we finished work.
When we heard that Suzanne, Joe's estranged wife was wanting somebody to wallpaper her sitting room, we jumped at the chance, as it would bring in a few much needed pounds, and so I reckoned, would take Anna's mind off off what was happening in the cottage across the road.
So full of vim and vigour, we started on operation wall papering, Anna being the expert, me not so adept, but I have done my own bedroom once! She was very good at it, as she was at most things she attempted, and not once had she told me she could do something, and then not able to deliver. The first afternoon we removed most of the old paper, and the rest the next day, and after three days of hard slog, the walls were prepped, holes filled up, rough patches scoured away, and we were ready to commence.
We worked together well, me leaving the measuring and cutting to the expert, and then I had to roll the glue on, and give the strips of paper to Anna who was standing at the ladder, ready to get it onto the wall! We managed to do one wall, and as it was our precious full day off the next day, we told Suzanne that we would finish the rest in the days after.

I had plans to take the City Liner to Dunfermline to see the Abbey and the burial place of Robert the Bruce's body. He was one of Scotland's great leaders and also a contender for the throne of Scotland. He led the Scots to victory over the English at Bannockburn, but never got his rightful status, as King Edward 11 did not want to relinquish his rule over Scotland. He died on 7 June 1329, and his body was buried in the Dunfermline Abbey, while his friend, James Douglas, took his heart on a crusade to the holy land, but never made it there, as he was killed in a battle against the Moors. Robert's heart was recovered and brought back to Scotland, where it is interred in Melrose Abbey. I love the history and the wonderful stories.
So, after making sure that there was no message from Gordon, Anna said she would join me, and we took the Panda into Stirling, where we bought two day tickets for the First busses, as with that you could travel the whole day, and at that stage only cost us four ponds fifty! We had a wonderful day walking around the old city, and the Abbey was just as I would have had it for the burial of such a great man. We sat on the grass having apicnic, and the little squirrels were so tame they took titbits out of our hands.

On our next day off, Anna was at outs again with her lover, and as it was my turn to have the car, I asked her if she would like to go to St. Andrews with me, as I wanted to see the University buildings, and also the world famous golf course that my son in law to be vowed to go and see when they came to visit me. It was all wonderful, and we walked around the whole day looking and marvelling at all the youngsters in their different styles of dress, and also watched some golf being played, and I so wished that Stephan could have been there to enjoy it all!
Later we found a pub, and that was quite a mission, as there was nothing suitable to us around the aeria where we at last found accommodation. And that alone was a mission, as all the cheaper B+B's were full, and the others were way to expensive for our tiny budgets. But we were lucky to spot a backpackers  hostel in a small street, where a South African young man was in charge, and he gave us a dorm all to ourselves, and we thanked him profusely, as he was supposed to fill up one dorm before he started on the next one. Anna being Anna, of course switched on her toothiest smile, and it wasn't long before the young man was like putty in her hands, and he then even gave us instructions on how to get to a nice pub, but as both of us are a bit weak when it came to any sense of direction, we got properly lost, and found a pub, not the one he directed us to, just in time for a meal before they closed the kitchen.
We had a lovely time, Anna of course at her very best, I suppose trying to forget her stormy love life, and as the people were all very friendly, it wasn't long before we were part of a group of happy revellers, drinking and singing some wild Scottish songs.
I was a bitty scared now to have more than a glass of wine, remembering how I had absolutely no judgement after my pub crawling spree with Alex, and the result there off, so I sipped very slowly on mine, but Anna was the belle of the ball, captivating her audience with her wit and vivacity, and they on their part kept plying us with drinks. I had two glasses in the end, unobstrusively sliding it over to Anna, who was having the time of her life. I knew that I had to stay in possesion of my piglets, meaning relatively responsible, as Anna would need a firm hand to get her back to the hostel!
When the pub closed, Anna was not ready to retire, and I had to almost drag her out of the pub, she demanding from the bartender where she could find a decent party! But every one was gone now, and I was left with a very reluctant to go home woman that was feeling on top of the world, and without any sense left, and I had to get her back to the hostel, and I just couldn't find the bally place again!
I was dragging Anna along aimlessly, as I really had no idea as to where to go, and trying to find a living soul in the streets of St Andrews at that time of night was impossible! But by the grace of God I spotted a familiar cafè where we had a coffee during the day, and although it took about two more hours, I eventually got the babbling Anna to safety!

I accepted another red wine from my beau, as my throat was quite dry from all the dancing, and after that I gave myself over completely to the enjoyment of the moment. Alex had given up on keeping me safe, and had left for his caravan that was parked in the caravan park, trying to give me a last warning about my beau's intentions, but of course I knew only too well, and at that stage I was ripe for any mischief. So when, let's call him Danny, asked me to go with him to his place, I readily agreed, all sense of propriety and judgement by now having left my alcohol infused brain, and I walked out of the pub on the arm of my young beau, with almost the whole village, and caravanners, and guests watching!
But I was too high on my alcohol cloud to care, and was a willing partner in what happened that night.
I woke up early, and for the life of me couldn't remember where I was, all I knew was that I was in a strange room, and when my eyes got accustomed to the dark, and I realized that there was a man sleeping next to me, I was out of that bed like a flash. It took some time for me to remember about the previous night, and I was horrified, so I got dressed quickly, my head pounding like it was going to explode, and I took to the road. As I had only a vague idea of the way we drove the previous night, I decided to turn left out of Danny's drive way, and started walking.
It was a small road, running underneath trees and I could make out a mountain on the one side, and after walking for ages, I came to a loch. That was wrong, as we never passed a loch the previous night, and after hyperventilating badly just thinking of going back, I realized that I was completely lost, and would have to go back to my beau's place, so that he could take me home. So I started on the long walk back, and I was absolutely wrecked by the time I re-entered his house, where he was still sleeping soundly. My head was ready to fall off, it was aching so much from the alcohol I had consumed, so, it being only six o'clock, I lay down on the bed again, and tried to close my eyes, hoping that my head would just ache a little less.
But I had to be at the hotel at seven, as I kept the key for the kitchen, and we had a lot of people to feed. Danny was not at all selfconcious about the previous night, and tried to pull me back into his bed, but I was adamant to be in time for work, so I told him to take me back quickly. He then suggested that he would come and pick me up later, and we could spend the day at his house, or drive somewhere for lunch.
At the hotel we both threw stones at the window where Anna was hopefully sleeping, as she had to open the door for me, and after what felt like forever, her face appeared at the window, and I asked her to please open the door for me, at which she disappeared without  showing that she understood, and I felt really uncomfortable,as she did not look to good!
I waved my beau a hasty goodbye, hoping that Anna was awake enough to indeed open the door, and legged it around the side of the hotel to the back door, but halfway there all hell broke loose, as Anna had forgotten about the bally alarm, and this thing was now heralding me into the hotel by screaming like it was absolutely beserk! I stopped for a moment, wanting to turn tail and run away, but my consience would not let me, so I braved the back door, where Joe, Rosanne, Ged, their kids, John, and just about all the guests were milling around, not knowing what had put the alarm off, or opened the door! Of Anna there was no sign. By now Ged had made a run for the alarm and switched it off.
Joe, Rosanne and Ged of course knew what I was doing outside at this time of the morning, but the guests, the ones that haven't met me yet, looked me over with mistrust on their faces, and I felt very, very silly! Took me a long time to live that down, but that was also the start of an affair that would last for quite a few years, but I also realized that drinking too much make you loose all sense of judgement, but it was also that night that I discovered Loch Voile, where I spent many happy hours for years to come! On the top photo just the roof of my beau's house can be seen, while the bottom one was my first view of Loch Voile in daylight!

Alex was in a MOOD! It was Friday night, it was busy, with the whole of the Immervioulin caravan park in for a meal, and the hotel was full, and I was of course again the bally slaansak for Alex, him taking out all his frustations on me, as I was the closest! Rosanne did come in for a while, but then decided that Alex was coping fine with me as his assistent, and legged it to the pub, where all her friends were assembled. At that stage I could already see that Rosanne was tired of the kitchen, and I later heard from a few other pub owners that six to seven years were the limit for owning and running a pub. I could readily believe it, as it meant long, long hours, and hard work.
I was just too slow for Alex on this night, and as he had taken out the metal plate that he usually wore instead of  false front teeth, understanding him was indeed difficult without a bit of lip reading. The result was that I kept on asking him to repeat his requests, at which I then stand directly in front of him, watching his toothless mouth, and he got so uptight that he threw a bally plastic container with a piece of steak pie that had to be warmed up at me, shouting at the top of his voice that he could not abide bloody f.....g fools, at which Joe and Rosanne came running in, Alex's voice of course being heard all through the hotel, and I told Joe that I refused to work further with Alex unless he put his plate back in his mouth, as I could not make out anything he was saying!
Rosanne then stayed for a while, and when she thought it prudent, she returned to her friends, leaving me with the scowling Alex, who had put the plate back, not with good grace however, as he said it hurt him.
All ended well however, and afterwards Alex begged my pardon sincerely, but as by now I knew how nerve wracking the busy times were, and also that it wasn't personal, I forgave him readily, and he said that he would take me pub crawling the next night after work to make up for him being such a boar!
I was quite looking forward to that, as I never got a chance to really go to the other hotels, and I knew there was live music on at the Ben Shaenn, and that usually meant dancing till early morning. We started at the Munro, and I did not think it a good set-up, as it was quite dirty and the people having their drinks there, a strange lot indeed! But under Alex's watchful eyes I drank the two reds he bought me, sure that I could be strong enough against him not to have many more.
We then went to the Ben Shaenn, where he bought me another drink, but as the live band was playing some nice and jolly tunes, I danced a lot with a lot of different people, Alex watching me with a Fatherly eye. In the end I had three more wines, and was feeling a wee bit giddy, when he said that we would now proceed to our own hotel.
He bought me yet another drink, believing as all Scots do, that buying someone a drink was the best of deeds ever, but as I was not feeling so well and feetfast anymore, I sipped it very slowly, feeling like only my bed could be of any consolation now! That is when my young toyboy walked in with a group of his friends, and immediately he came over to me, and he put his arm around my waist, telling me in a alcohol influenced voice that I have a fantastic body! As I never thought of my quite out of proportion body, small breasted, small hipped and wide thighed, as fantastic, I wallowed in this praise, and all Alex's efforts to save me from this dangerous situation fell on deaf ears. When Joe put on his favorite dance music, I was coerced until I took to the floor in the strong arms of my young beau, and he held me very close, and  kissed me in my neck, and I loved his attentions, my sense of judgement at that stage just about nil!
Poor Alex was in a state, trying to get me to go to my bed, as he was partly responsible for my being so sloshed, but I was floating in a cloud of alcoholic bliss, and told him not to be a bloody spoilsport, at which he sat at the counter, watching me with falcon eyes, a worried look on his face!

I had a letter with some photos from Trienkie, who were in South Africa for two weeks holiday before returning to England to finish her second year, and I felt extremely home sick, but as she would anyway leave again soon, I quickly got over that, and got on with my time in Scotland. I was beginning to also miss Irma a lot, but she was so busy with shows that I don't think she had much time to think about me, although she did text me daily.This photo of Trienkie was taken not far from where I lived, on the road between Gordons Bay and Rooi Els.
We sometimes had some pretty weird and wonderful people staying in the hotel, and it was very enjoyable to talk to them during breakfast when taking their orders. We had this one couple, in their mid fifties, who had an adopted son of about thirty, and the three of them had booked a double room with a single bed added. That was quite weird, but they were very nice, and as I had to take their orders for breakfast, we had a nice conversation, and they loved the fact that I was a South African, as they went there on holiday a couple of times, and loved it.
This people were staying for two nights, and they asked me for a drink after work, and as they were so nice I accepted their invitation gladly, as Anna was not good company at the moment. She was now back in the hotel, swearing that she would never go back to Gordon, but I had my doubts about that.
Anna looked a bit upset when I told her that I was invited for a drink, but did not say anything about it, but I knew that she did not like to be left out.
That night just as I was about finished with clearing away all my pizza stuff, and Alex his lot, we got an order for 17 pizzas from a group renting some cottages across the river! I was devastated, and said outright that I was tired, but Rosanne came to the kitchen and insisted on us doing it, as it was some very influential people! To give her credit, she helped me, and we put up a production line, me rolling the dough, Rosanne putting the stuff on, and Alex putting them into the oven, and then into the boxes. But it nevertheless took ages, and Anna was finished long before me, and without even telling me, went up to the room.
When at long last we were finished, I was sent to the cottages with the tower of pizza boxes, and when I came back I peeped into the pub to see if my people were still there, and almost committed a bally murder, for who were sitting their boldly, laughing and smiling wide enough to almost split her face in two, but my friend Anna. She was dressed to kill in a small low necked top, lips and cheeks as red as she could get them, and eyes kohl lined and heavily made up.
I retreated, hoping that they didn't see me, as I just did not feel to drop in on that party, me being extremely cross, and also very tired. So I just went up to the room and went to sleep, but was awakened somewhere in the early hours of the morning by the door slamming, and Anna standing just inside the room, looking heavely upset. I sat up, wondering what happened, but she just gave an angry sob and disappeared into the bathroom, and took a long shower. I tried to cajole her into telling me what went wrong, but on that subject she kept mum, and I never found out what happened to upset her like that!
 My would be hosts of the previous night was a bitty stiff with me during breakfast, and I had to do all the waitressing, as Anna refused to go into the diningroom while they were there.

The Sunday after the Ceilidh I drove out to Killin alone, as Anna's stormy love affair was on again, and I had tea and scones there, it being nice to be served by someone else now and then, then drove back at my leisure.
It was a beautiful day for a change, and the seating in front of the hotel was overflowing with people, the ones not sitting on chairs making use of the steps and other spots. Liz and a lot of my other friends were sitting out also, and when I drove in, they shouted at me to join them. I still had about two hours before work so I parked the car and tried to have a coffee, but with the Scots around, that was impossible, and I ended up with a red wine. I had to laugh when Janet, who waitressed now and then, looked at me in wonderment when I refused another drink and said: 'Fancy someone saying no to a drink!' And that is how the Scottish are.
I have stopped going into the pub when there were a lot of local people in, as I had such a bally shock the first time, because I ended up at a table with about ten people who insisted on buying me a drink on every round, and as I usually passed it on to Anna, I would actually have only about two. Then, suddenly, there were this lull, and all eyes turned to me, and I realized with horror that it was my turn for a round, costing me almost thirty pounds! As I could easily do without a drink, and have coffee instead, this did not go down well with me, and I could see why Alex was always moaning about his financial difficulties, as he went to have a few drinks with his friends every night.
Anyhow, I could see that both Liz and John, the one who kept on saying that Anna and self were so very quaint, was as drunk as skunks, but I was getting used to people a bit high in their cups, so I laughed and joked with them until I had to get ready for work.
It was a busy night, the hotel being full, and Alex was extra impatient, and I was running around like a chicken without a head to find everything he asked me for. Anna was again not good! I had to help her a few times by taking some puds in, as she was in no state to do it, and of course Alex had no sympathy, telling her shortly to snap out of it and do her own work. I wish she could see that Gordon was not her type at all, and send him on his way, but whenever I talked into that direction, she would clamp up, and tell me to go to hell!
As we were short of waiters also, I had to take a lot of the meals to the pub, where my heart went into fibrilations every time I caught my loverboy's eye, and he smiled at me so nicely, and that of course was not good for the concentration needed in a busy kitchen, and a few times Alex's voice rang out in exasperation when I forgot something!
I was as cross as a teased wasp with Joe, who came into the kitchen and stated that I was a fine friend! I looked at him in surprise, not knowing what he was on about, and he informed me that as a friend I should not have Lizzy get to the stage of drunken stupor she was in now! He then turned on his heels and went back to the pub, and I stood fuming, as I was away the whole afternoon, and had only one drink with Liz and friends. One of the young waiters, who heard this, was working in the pub that afternoon, and was upset for me, and told me that he was going to tackle Joe about it.
I was busy clearing up when I became aware of a commotion in the pub, and went to see what was happening. It was Liz, who for some or other reason had peered into a huge and empty potplant holder, and not being so steady as she should have been, then disappeared from the amazed view of the people outside, head first, into the pot!
It was apparently one major job to get her out, as she was as limp as a rag doll, and fighting like a tiger, telling people to bugger off and leave her alone, and that is just like her!
Later Joe apologized profusely, as the young waiter had spoken to him, but I was a bitty hard assed, as he should have known me by now, also that I am constantly talking to Liz about her astma that was made so much worse by the red wine!
Poor Anna, for the first time I've known her, did not feel like going into the pub, so I went with her up to the room, where she cried herself to sleep!

The Srathyre agricultural show was held yearly in the community hall, and it was not only veggies and stuff that was proudly displayed, but flowers, cakes, different breads, and even paintings and photography was part of this affair. It was a nice outing, as everybody knew each other, and there were hefty discussions about each other's stuff, and also a bit of bitching about the stuff of someone not liked very much! They also had a tea room, with home made cakes that were delicious, and Anna and self went straight after cleaning the rooms, just in time for the last of the judging to be done. Peggy, a lovely and spunky lady of some eighty and a bit, living in the housing complex where Liz also lived, had the most delicious coconut ice sweets, and also cupcakes and some flowers, and I kept my fingers crossed that her sweets would get first!
There were also some wonderful veggies, and the photography was just superb, but we went back for a wee rest before our shift started, as we were going to the after party after work. This party, where Scottish country dances are danced, is called a Ceilidh (Caylee) and it reminded me a lot of the line dancing where I used to take Bennie, in Chipping. But it was quite different, and I just loved it!
I was sitting out to quench my thirst and rest my tired legs, as there were some couple dancing on, when my young Scot, the one that had been making eyes at me for some time now, came in, and after getting a drink, he started looking around, and when he saw me, he gave me such a smile that I melted!
Anna, who was again back in the hotel, Gordon having told her that she sometimes looked so old, the horrible man, jumped up, grabbed him and tried to get him to dance with her, but he just winked at me, showing me to come and join him, gently pushing Anna away. Luckily Willy, one of the nicest men in Strathyre asked Anna for a dance, so I landed up in the arms of my beau! It was bliss, and I did not have to feel guilty, as it came to my ears through the busy grapevine, that he and his girlfriend had broken up! It was a glorious night, with him instructing me into the intricacies of the steps and turns, and I of course just lapped it up!
After the party he walked me back to the hotel, his arm around my waist, and there, in front of all to see, he gave me a bally kiss! Although it was very enjoyable, and I was a bitty sloshed, I told him to stop doing that, and asked him whether he realized that I could  almost be his mother, at which he laughed uproariously and said: 'well, my love, you are not!' There was a German couple whom we had fed that morning, and they had stopped, and looking at us, after the kiss, the woman said: 'Oh, how beautiful!' I was a bit embarrassed, but my loverboy, or should I say toyboy, as I don't want to use his name, he having been married to a different girl from the other one for a year now, asked whether I would have a last drink with him.
Joe of course never lifted an eyebrow, him being used I suppose to little intrigues like this, and then of course, put on 'That's Amorè', his special song for would be lovers, and then watched us dance the rest of the night away. Nobody actually lifted an eyebrow!
I got to bed at five in the morning, after having had some trouble getting my beau to go home, as he wanted to come up for a coffee! Coffee indeed! But I eventually convinced him that Anna was up in the room, as we shared our possy, and he left then with fairly good grace!
Anna was not in the room when I got there, and I was worried sick, as Gordon  and her friend were not at the Ceilidh, and there was not a lot of people that would still be partying, where she could hang out! But I had to try and sleep, as in two hour's time we had to be in the kitchen again to start the first of our many tasks.
I had one heck of a morning, as Anna just did not pitch, and I had to keep myself together not to make a mess of people's breakfasts. I was worried sick, my imagination running riot, and I could see the red wine infused and lovelorn woman floating down the Balvaig, and into the loch! She was really so upset because Gordon was not at the Ceilidh, and she had been looking forward to spending the evening with him! But just as I was about ready to get a search party out to the loch, Anna appeared, one huge grin almost splitting her face, and she announced that she went to Gordon to see why he didn't come to the Ceilidh, and they had made it up! Naughty girl!

From then on I was quite lonely, as Anna just about moved in with Gordon, leaving me to do a lot of things on my own. But Liz and I were becoming quite good friends, although it was heavy going with her too. She smoked like a bally chimney, and drank like any Scot, a lot! To top that off, she had severe astma that was of course worsened by red wine, and the cigarettes, but oh boy, just you try and show her a piece about what red wine can do to an astma chest, and she gets all red in the face, and tell you strait out that she is definitely not interested in your opinion or anyone else's! I tried it once, but will never do so again, ever!
But things between Anna and Gordon turned a bit sour, for what reason I did not know, and she stopped going with him to his job on her days off, and started going with me again. We went to Stirling, me driving of course to pick up a young girl that did waitressing for her in her restaurant, and was visiting us for the weekend, but I was apprehensive, as in Windsor, this girl also came for a visit and brought a bally drug addict with, apparently her boyfriend, who lay in the sittingroom where Anna and self slept, and then the two of them also, and this guy stole twenty pounds from my handbag.
An older man, very nattilly dressed with a feather in his hat and a bird on his shoulder, and the cutest dog, looking everything but friendly  when first seen, was charmed and cajoled by Anna while we waited for the train until he had to smile and started talking to us. He was from the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebredis, and was on a visit to his daughter who were coming to pick him up.
The girl eventually came, and my misgivings just got stronger and stronger, as I realized that she was here to stay, and what Anna was going to do with her, I just did not know. She had to be smuggled in to our room, as Anna was scared that Joe would throw her out, and it was just not on for me, as now we would be three in that room, specially as I knew that she had no intention of leaving.
Irma told me how the kids working for Anna had abused her kindness, as she had a soft heart, and would help anyone that was in trouble, but she was unaware of how they gave free drinks to their friends!
I was maar a bitty cool, as I still remembered the money her druggy boyfriend stole from me at a time when my assets were a bit low!
Luckily Anna and Gordon made up again, and they both moved in with Gordon! All went well for a time, the girl driving around with Gordon to his places of work while Anna was working and Anna was full of talk about how well the three of them got on. Two weeks passed without this girl making any move to leave, and Anna was very easy with that, until she came upon a lot of naked photos of her young friend, taken in some or other forest, and she was quite hysterical when she came to show me, and ask me what I thought about it! I could not give her any consolation, as I did not know what it was about, but she moved back into the room, and cried a lot! I told her to have it out with them, as nothing ever came right if it is not solved!
Gordon was full of stories, telling her that it was just a plain photo shoot, and that he was immensely interested in photography, but, as she said, he must have used a throw away camera, as she had never seen any kind of camera in his house! Poor Anna, between the two of them they convinced her to move back, but I still could not trust that youngster, who looked as sweet and innocent as a newborn baby! But what bothered me was that the photos were tucked away under his underwear, and Anna found it when she was neatening things up for him, and why did he not show it to her in the first place!
The three of them looked as if they were happy together, and the village people just shook their heads, and wondered about Anna living with that man!

That week-end we had a group of bikers staying, and during breakfast they were very charming, and it wasn't long before we were laughing and joking with them, and they asked us for a drink after work, which we readily accepted. It was such a lovely night, and Joe, giving me a big wink, put his favourite lovers song on, and  soon we were floating over the floor and between the tables to the the tune of 'That's Amorè', me in the arms of a handsome, burly biker, Anna, looking like heaven had just opened its ports to her, clinging to her beau, another handsome guy. It was bliss, but one of the guys almost ruined the evening when he asked me if Anna was my older sister! Ye gods, she was angry at me, and I was as bally innocent as a newborn lamb!
My beau then suggested that to say thanks for a lovely evening, he would like to take me for a run on his bike early next morning! I nearly fainted, and felt my eyes popping out a few centimeters, as me and a bike have never been easy with each other. When I met my husband he had a big Honda, and after a lot of begging, both from him and my sis, who loved bikes, I consented to go on a short run with him. The run was indeed very short, as, when the first bend came up, and my husband leaned to the side the bike was leaning, I thought we were in for a big fall, so I leaned to the other side! When eventually Kian, my husband almost not to be got the monster upright and under control again, he was furious, and vowed never to take me out for a treat again, a fact that really made me very, very happy.
So now, all this years later, somebody wanted to take me up again, and I profusely thanked him, but, I explained, we had to be in the kitchen at seven for breakfast. Anna, the bally traitor, was all eager to go, and with me shivering and shaking, the lot decided to make the run at six, so we could be back in time.
I had to take one of Anna sleeping tablets, as sleep was not coming to me easily when we eventually got to bed.
The next morning broke too clear for my liking, as I prayed for gales and hail before the pill took me away to dreamland. I told Anna, who for a wonder was up before me, that I was not going, and she was upset, thinking I suppose that if I didn't go, they would cancel the treat, and I couldn't convince her otherwise. So she gave me one of her pills to calm the nerves, and it helped a little to stop the worrying, but I still wouldn't go, so she coerced me into taking another one. When at last we were dressed and ready, I was almost like a bally rag doll, a very happy one at that, and ready for everything that came my view. However, on looking out of the window at the bikes that were roaring to life one by one, I had a complete relapse, so Anna gave me yet another pill, and within minutes I had lost all feeling in my limbs, all sense of fright, and all inhibitions, and went down very eagerly for my big treat!
We had to put on two of the guys who weren't going with's helmets, and these were so heavy, my lame, doll like neck just wouldn't stay upright, and my chin kept falling on my chest, but at last I was seated on the monster, my arms tightly around the guy's middle, my head pressed to his back, me not able to lift it, and my senses quite dead! When the first bend came up, I weakly tried to balance the falling bike, but my muscles just would not work with me, so I left it, closed my eyes and fell into semi consciousness!
Of my treat I just did not remember anything much, and when we at long last turned back, I was so relaxed with my head resting on the broad back of my biker, that we could have gone on forever. It is actually a small miracle that I did not fall off that bike, and when my beau asked, on looking at me intently after we stopped, if all was well, I told him about my fear, and Anna feeding me the pills, and he was so sorry for putting me through all the trauma, but as a biker he just did not understand my being afraid of a bike!
Prepping for breakfast was hell, and Anna had to in the end do most of it, as I kept on falling into a semi sleep, and as she later told me, just stood there like a bloody idiot, while she had to do all the work! The bikers had a hearty, full Scottish breakfast, black pudding, Haggis, and all the rest, Anna moaning and groaning at the stupid me that was of no help. But afterwards we stood outside waving them off, my beau having given me a hearty kiss, and Anna looked besotted after her beau gave her a long, long kiss!
Then we sat ouside having our own breakfast before starting to clear up, and after some fruit salad and yogart I felt a lot btter again!

Anna's love affair just did not want to get off the ground, I think the poor man got cold feet, as Anna, once onto something, was like a bally leech and would cling to whatever it was, tenaciously. She was so sure that he wanted a relationship, but to me it looked as if he was running!
One afternoon Anna asked me to go by bus with her to Killin, where this man was busy at the Coach House hotel redesigning their  gardens. On asking her how we would get back, she told me not to be such a bally muttonhead, as of course we would get a ride back with Gordon, as she was going to buy him dinner. I wanted to know why I had to be part of this stalking, but by now of course I knew that Anna really couldn't function on her own, and after a lot of sweet talk from her side, I said okay, right, I'll do it, sure that nothing could go wrong! What worried me a bit was that after seven there were no buses running through Strathyre anymore!
So that Monday we took the last bus going the Killin way, and after walking the stiff little way up to the hotel, it being quite some way out of Killin, we were seated at a table in that hotel's pub. Sitting at the counter with a long beer in front of him, was Gordon, looking terrible against the other men that were all scrubbed up and neatly dressed! I was amazed at Anna, who after he only greeted us with a stiff nod, breathed into my ear: 'Isn't he the most beautiful thing God ever made?' Must say, self was a bitty startled at that! We had a drink first, and Anna sent one to Gordon, and he actually looked our way to say thanks, at which Anna took heart and went over to him, and with her sexiest voice invited him to have dinner with us, an offer he took up without any qualms.
We ordered, and the waitress then, on Anna's telling her to, took Gordon's. I was so sorry for her, as he never even came to sit at our table, and she had been looking forward to being with him so much, but I was also thankful that he kept to himself, me being a wee bit snobbish, and in that tattered old jersey full of holes he sure did not give out a good impression! The bally fool! We did expect him to come and sit at our table to have his meal, although I did send up a small selfish prayer for him not too, but the bally man just sat at the counter where the waitress gave him his food, and gulped it up!
Poor Anna tried hard not to show her disappointment, and drank way too much to drown her sorrows, and then we noticed that Gordon was leaving the pub, but thought that he was going to the loo. Anna still sure that he would offer us a lift back, was looking a bit crestfallen, but soon I became really anxious, as the  bally man just did not come back!
I told my fears to Anna, who laughed too loudly, telling me not to be a fool, as he would at least offer us a lift back. I asked her whether she had actually asked him when she spoke to him, but she told me that it was a silly question, and he would come back, and all would be rosy!
He did not come back, and after watching the door for ages, I went out have a look if his car was still there. It was not! He just left without even saying thanks to Anna for the meal, but he was anyway so sloshed that I didn't think he even realised that we were without our car!
We were in trouble! As it was peak holiday season, every hotel around was fully booked, and on our asking the owner of the Coach House whether she had a twin room available, she just laughed, but on Anna telling her the heartbreak story, she said that she would put us in the store room, which had a few spare beds that had just to get matresses and bedding on.
I thought that this little episode was the end of Anna's passion, but the next morning when he passed our window in his battered old station wagon, she again asked me whether I did not also think that Gordon was the most beautiful thing God ever made. I was feeling revulsion in my breast, but knowing how humiliated she must be feeling, I said 'yes' in a very unconvincing way, but she luckily did not pick up on that, being to intent on following the car with loving eyes until it vanished around the corner at the Ben Shaenn. To be honest, I thought that it wasn't that he wasn't interested in Anna at all, but I could see on us arriving at that pub, that he was already sloshed out of his mind, and didn't know what he was doing!

It was going well between Alex and me in the kitchen, and after Joe had told me a few times that I put too much of everything on the pizzas, and me rectifying that little problem, I became the Strathyre pizza queen! Alex also taught me more and more, and even let me do some meals, under his watchful eye of course, and I really enjoyed working in the kitchen. One drawback of course was that both Anna and self was very tired, as we had a lot of work on our shoulders.

But I didn't mind, as I have now made lots of friends, and also had a wee flirtation with a younger man. This guy was from the beginning watching me intently whenever I went into the pub, and when I caught his eye, he would look into mine and I would feel this delicious fluttering in my stomach. But further than that it didn't go for some time, as he had a girlfriend living in London, and I am not the type to have a man cheat on his woman with me, but I would lie if I say that I did not enjoy the flirtation!
One afternoon after work Anna asked me to dye her hair for her, as she just couldn't manage, so far having been able to pay a hairdresser to do it. She had a LOT of hair, and although two years my junior, was completely grey, while I, with my mum's wonderful genes, did not have even one grey hair yet.  So, under Anna's instructions I started on the difficult job of first doing the hairline, then the roots, and I felt quite chuffed with the old self when after a long struggle, all the roots were done. Anna then of course had to sit for a while for the roots to take up the colour, after which I had to put the rest of the dye on, and then comb it through. I was bally exhausted, as her tightly curled hair was about five times the amount of other people's!
It was a great success, and I think Anna exhaled for the first time since starting, when she got out of the shower, and saw that her hair looked stunning. That night Anna was extra vivacious, as she took a lot of pains over her make-up, of course hoping that Gordon would be in the pub!
Alex had an almost volcanic outburst every time Anna went into the diningroom with some puds, and I just couldn't understand why, so I asked him, and he told me to look through the round glass window in the door leading to the diningroom the next time Anna went in there. As he stands directly across from this window, he of course could see most of what was going on in there! So when Anna came through with the next puds, which she actually were supposed to hand over to Angie, the waitress, at the door, I nearly burst from amazement and laughter, as she had a complete transformation the minute she walked through that door, and like the Queen herself, inclined her head gracefully at each table while  giving  her widest and toothiest smile! Oh, she was magnificent, and I felt like clapping my hands in enjoyment and in recognition of the fact that she could make her quite menial job into something special!
The next morning I almost expired! As it was very hot in the kitchen, we had the fan on, and this fan was directly over the door leading to the diningroom, and as Anna walked under it, her hair was lifted, and to my horror I saw that I had missed a quite big spot on the crown of her head when dyeing her hair! I hyperventilated! Badly! At first I decided not to tell her, but every time she walked under the fan, and I was confronted with the white spot, my nerves unravvled  a bit more, and my guilt grew to a huge bally mountainous affair! So I told her, as gently as I could, knowing that she would have to walk around like that until we could get to Callender for another batch of dye. Gosh, she was furious, and screamed at me that I am an old bitch, who did it on purpose, and when she suddenly started brandishing the utensils around, her black eyes fixed on my face, I thought it prudent to
flee to the pub, where I sat as quiet as a mouse until she had cooled down. This of course cost me to pay for the new dye! It was a lovely day, but I could not go up my mountain for my lunch, as I had to drive Anna to Callender to buy the bally dye. She had now started to drive a bit, and I could see that she was building up more confidence the more she undertook short drives. I could easily see why she just had to have a man at her side, as she was quite dependent.

Our first morning of doing breakfast started with a bit of a blow-up between Anna and self, as she couldn't get herself out of bed. She told me that as the hotel was not full, I could easily manage, and I saw that if I let it go and do it alone, it will start the same pattern as at the Windsor house, where I did a lot of the breakfasts on my own. She was still tired from the previous night, txt-ing to all and everybody that she had a man! I then told her that as Joe and Rosanne lived in the hotel, I will go and ask them for help, at which madam jumped out of bed and started dressing!
So at seven we were in the kitchen, after worrying for ages about the alarm that we had to put off first, none of us quite remembering the sequence, but in the end we decided to try the numbers we both had in our heads, putting in the numbers gingerly, then waiting anxiously for the sirens to go off, but all stayed quiet! It worked! Anna might be a bitty man-crazy, but she is a magnificent cook, and her presentation of the food, arranging it ever so tastefully, was really out of the book! It was to me a pity that Alex disliked her to such extent that he didn't want her in the kitchen, as she was much more equipped with the knowledge needed to take the food up a few notches by her presentation, than me.
We had decided that I would cook for one table while she took the food in, then we would swap, as I was definitely not going to stand behind the hot stove every day, and on top of that, I loved the interaction with the tourists.
Anna being Anna, every time before she went into the diningroom, out came the little mirror and the lippy, and only after she had made double sure that she looked good, would she go through the swing doors. All went well, but we were both knackered after we had finished the bedrooms too.
Liz, a finnicky and very conciensious lady when it came to her work, made us as cross as crows by inspecting every little thing we did, like pulling her finger over the top of the doors, and, though I didn't know it until this morning, she even checked to see if we cleaned out the bins in the pub and diningroom toilets. How I came to know that is, it was my turn to do the toilets, and when Liz came up to where we were busy in the rooms, and with a puckered doomsday face asked who had done the toilets, we looked at her in consternation, as it did not seem a worthwhile question, as long as everything was done. I knew that I had done everything, and I told her so, but she pulled this utterly disgusted face, and said that I couldn't have, as somebody wearing a bag, the ones you wear after some of your stomach and intestines were cut away because of sickness, had changed it, and put it in the bin, and, she said looking at me sternly: 'You never took it out!' I was absolutely flabbergasted, as I knew that I had washed out all the bins, and went down with her for inspection!
The terrible stomach bag turned out to be an empty plastic soap dispenser bag that I had taken out, and put it in the bin, forgetting all about it after I had to look all over for Joe or Ged to come and show me how to put a new one into the dispenser, and this one was lying in the bin with the little spout through which the liquid soap runs, looking upwards! Liz was a bitty sour afterwards, as Joe got to hear about it, and told this funny story to all the villagers, who took the mickey out of her for a few days!
After Liz had warmed a bit to me again, we had a good laugh about the stomach bag, Liz not laughing quite as heartily as we did. She was a very private person, and did not make friends easily, but we started talking, and found that we actually had a lot in common in the way we saw things. She was fiercely passionate about Scotland and her people, and I liked that about her, and as Anna was now becoming quite boring with her Gordon, Liz and self started to sometimes go out if there was something going on. On the photos are top, me doing breakfast, Anna waiting for Gordon, and me with Liz, next to me, Jane left, and one of the guests next to Jane.

Our new week did not start well! Joe informed us on the Wednesday that we will be doing breakfast also from now on, as Rosanne was wanting to spend more time with the kids, as they struggle to get ready for school in time. Anna was immediately on her high horse, but not in front of Joe, and was grumbling the whole day about the fact that they were actually abusing us, as we already worked long hours for a very small wage. Anna kept on nagging me to ask Joe for a rise, and I agreed to shut her grumblings up, and as I had another job still to go to if we got fired. Anna reasoned of course, that as I would be doing the asking, I would be fired, and I would be ok, going on to Chipping, while she would play the innocent, and stay on here.
By this time we had a fairly good idea about Joe and his dread of spending unneccesary money, and it was with a very heavy heart that I approached him, and said that as we would be working about twelve hours from now on, We would like to be paid a bit more! He exploded! I told him that in that case, I would be leaving, as I had this other job that I could go to, and I was ready to go, although I loved it in Scotland. The rest of the week was hellish, as Joe, whenever he had to pass me, just gave me a glare, gone was the  'Darling' that he so far used so easily on both of us, and I phoned the butler at Chipping and told him that I might be on my way sooner than what I thought. I then went to Joe and told him that as he is now really ugly with me, I would be leaving after the week-end, so as not to leave them in the lurch, and he had time to get some-one else!
He and Rosanne sat in the bar, and had a very serious discussion, but I was not worried, although I was sad at the thought of leaving.
After our shift of cleaning the rooms, Joe called us to the pub, and smiling broadly, although I saw some pain in his eyes for the extra he had to pay out of course, he informed us that they had decided to give us a pay rise! Oh, we were two happy women, and all was well, Joe even started calling me Darling again!
It was that same night when Chris, one of the waiters told Anna that she had an admirer sitting in the pub. I had never seen anybody perk up so fast, and when she had to take the puds in, out came her small mirror, and she would check her make-up, put lippy on, and tried to tame her hair. Chris would not tell us who it was, and I said that I would stand behind the door when she went in again, and try and see who of the men's eyes followed her! There were only a few single men in the pub, all sitting at the bar counter having their before-bed drink, with their dogs lying at their feet, and all of them were looking at the sexy Anna. She was disgusted that I couldn't see who looked to be smitten!
Of course, after work we had to go for a drink, Anna now so animated she was like a bally wind-up doll, her movements fast and her smile as broad as her lips would stretch. We sat for a while, Anna's eyes roaming intently over every man sitting alone, when John, a guy renting the flat opposite our room from Joe, asked if he could join us. He was very funny, and kept on telling us that we were so very quaint! Whatever the man meant I never found out, but Anna, thinking that it may be her admirer, became so bally worked up, that he left us and went to sit with a group of other people! So he was off the list! And then, oh my good heavens, a man called Gordon, who looked like a tramp, as he had his own landscaping business, and did all his own work, but never cleaned himself up before coming into the pub, came over to our table, and asked Anna to have a drink with him! She was ecstatic, and poor Rosanne's eyes almost popped out when I left to leave the lovebirds alone.
Anna came up quite late, and couldn't stop talking about her man, and I was devastated, as I would never ever go with somebody who never seemed to be clean, and came to the pub in an old jersey full of holes! I told Anna to relax and go to sleep, as we had to be in the kitchen at seven to get everything ready, but she was texting all her friends and family to tell them about her man, or so I assumed, and when three oclock I was still listening to this peep-peep, peep-peep of her phone, I jumped up, grabbed the thing from her and threatened to throw it out of the window! She was aghast, as it was raining, and I think that she realized that I was not playing, so she meekl;y went to sleep!

I woke up early next morning, and had to kind of fall out of the car, my back so stiff that it took me a good half hour of stretching and massaging the muscles in the small of my back before I could stand up straight. Anna was about a head shorter than me, so she could lie quite comfortably, but old long Meg me had to sort of curl up in a ball, and seeing that both of us were in that small space, efforts to roll around to find a comfy position was almost nil!
But it was another lovely day, and when I spotted a woman boiling water in the outdoor kitchen, I called her to the gate, and asked her for some hot water, which she was pleased to give, after I told her our dilemma! I made coffee in the flask, and then sat down to watch as people started to make haste to the ablution block for their morning pee, while others made for the kitchen to boil some water. The coffee was steaming in the chill of the morning air, and I drank it slowly, enjoying every sip!
It was still very early, but Anna woke up about an hour after me, and after drinking her coffee stated that she was going to wait for the gate-man, as she wanted her money back. I told her that there was no chance, as we knew the rules, and we came about twenty minutes late, but to Anna at that stage, money was all important, as she could not live without her cigarettes and red wine!
So we waited, and the woman who gave me the hot water came over for a chat, and gave each of us a cheese toastie wrapped in a square of kitchen roll. It was so nice of her, but she told Anna that there was no way in which we would get our money back. But Anna being Anna, she had her own plan up her sleeve.
When the man came to open the gate, Anna was ready with the toothiest smile ever, and using her sauciest voice, the very hoarse and low one, and calling the poor man "Bollie", a name she always used when trying to influence people, she worked on him for about fifteen minutes, but all of her trouble was in vain, as the man was unrelenting, and in the end, after having had a nice and steaming hot shower, as we were entitled to that, we left, Anna growling like an angry tiger.
We walked around, visited a shoe warehouse where I bought a lovely pair of calfs leather shoes for next to nothing, and had our lunch again on the wharf, this time it was salmon cooked over an open fire, served with brown bread and a beautiful salad, and it was delicious!
We then put our money together and bought some groceries for the lonely old woman, and she couldn't understand why we did it. Shame, she was really neglected by her kids, and living so far from a shop must have been a great problem.
One thing about Anna, she can be a pain in the backside when it came to her men -chasing, and a little bit of selfishness, but her heart was in the right place, and she would always try and help!

I was now so happy and were so busy, both in the hotel, and sightseeing, that my empty nest back in South Africa was becoming less and less of a heartache, and I was actually wondering whether I was a bit of an unnatural mum, not thinking all that much about my kids at the moment, although I spoke to them daily through the miracle of txt messages!
Anna and myself decided to go to Oban with the car, as we had such a nice time before, and we thought that perhaps we could go over with the ferry to have a look at Skye. So we packed our duvets and pillows, as we would sleep in the back of the Panda, whose seats could go down completely, making quite a nice space to sleep in.
The Ferry was so darn expensive that we left going to Skye for another day when our pockets were a bit fuller, and found a caravan park just outside Oban, where we booked a space, and then drove along the coastline enjoying the sights and the feeling of freedom! We then had a lovely barbeque at the side of the road, using a throw-away tinfoil barbeque pan, of which I bought ten from the one pound shop at Killin. It was a lovely evening, warm and dry for a change, and we sat on the grass eating and drinking wine, but when doing the meat we had found that we forgot to take salt, and the meat tasted so vooma-less, that I decided to walk to a lonely house some way up the hill, where a light was shining through the window. The occupant was an ancient lady, living alone, and she had only a small holder with salt, of which she gave me about half a teaspoon full, saying that she can't get to the shops, and her children did not often visit her. I told Anna, and she immediately agreed that we would buy the old lady some stuff the next day.
It was still early, and as we had only the car or the ablution block in which to spend the rest of the evening, we decided to go into Oban and spend the time until eleven in the pub, as the gates to the caravan park were locked at eleven.  We rolled into Oban at a snail's pace, as I had had two glasses of wine, and although not drunk, I was feeling a bit lightheaded, and we found a cosy little inn for the evening. Typically Anna, we had two men at our table in no time, she enticing them with her wide smile and flirty eyes until they were so stricken with passion that they would buy the moon for her, or so I thought! I was not far behind her, the wine I had drunk at the picnic spot, and the one I was busy  with now making me reckless, I threw caution to the wind, and flirted outrageously with the two men, Anna not liking it at all, and throwing me killer looks, but since coming to Scotland I had relaxed my strict morals a bit, feeling free after all those long years of bringing up kids and trying to save my marriage! We had a lovely time, and all too soon it was ten thirty, and I reminded Anna that she would have to finish her drink, as we had to be at the park before the gates were locked.
But Anna was not ready to go, the older of the two men now really making up to her, the younger one trying to get me to go home with him, but as he was old enough to almost be my son, I had no intention of having a night of passion at his place, although, to tell the truth, in my reckless state I did consider it.
Anna would not budge, and I decided to go, as she was adamant to stay!
The young guy walked out with me, trying to make me change my mind, but I am not as oversexed as my friend, and told him to go look for his own size! The thing is, I was blessed with very good genes, and people always thought me much younger than my actual years! I was just leaving the parking spot when Anna came around the corner of the inn, yelling for me to wait for her, but she was all over the bally place, and I had to get out and help her to the car, and then complaining all the way about my stupidity, wanting to sleep in a bloody car, and that if a bed was offered to me!
The thing with Anna was, although she constantly told me that she could NOT live without a man, her morals were still intact, and although this night she could go with a man. she did not. When we at last got to the caravan park the gates were locked, and there was nobody around to unlock it, so we parked the Panda in front of the gates, and made our bed.

I don't know if the lot at the hotel were plain sadistic, but one night I was called to the phone by Joe, and he said he didn't know who it was! I still don't know whether the lot were plain sadistic, as it was Iain on the other side. My heart jolted like a bally run away colt, not from love or excitement, but from pure  terror, as I did not want to go anywhere ever again with this man, so I told a white lie, and said that I had to work on Tuesday, but will get another day off, this day still unknown to me, and will phone him the next night to say when, of course without the slightest intention to do so. My voice was hoarse from angst at the idea of climbing into that red revving thing on it's mag wheels again, and Iain must have took it for lust or passion, as his voice became soft and caressing., and I got SCARED!
Anna was furious at me for being such a snob, and talked and fought with me the whole night, so, after a lot of deformation of my character, being unable to sleep with her voice droning on and on about people who thought they were better than others, I capitulated, and said Yes, OK, I will go one more time.
So under Anna's watchful eyes I phoned the next day, but not able to face that red thing again, I made her promise that because she was so adamant on me going with this man, I could have the Panda for the day, and so I told him that I would go, but in our car, and he could do the driving. I also told him to park his car at the top part in the parking lot, as he would have a good run for making it start from there, self not feeling to do some pushing!
He had a full day  planned for us, starting with breakfast, then on to the Famous Grouse whisky distillarry, then to Crieff for lunch, and it sounded very interesting, and I was actually quite fine with it all! That is before I saw the CHAIN! Sitting in a small cafe in Comry waiting for our breakfast, a small ray of sunshine suddenly sneaked through the window, and it fell on Iains chest, and I now saw that his shirt was unbuttoned, with just the two bottom ones intact, and on his quite yummy chest lay a thick, shiny, lit up to bally eyeblinding magnificanse by the ray of sun, a thick, fake, golden chain! Started hyperventilating! Badly! He must have unbuttoned his shirt while we were sitting there, and I noticed it only when the chain got lit up!
When the breakfast came, I had no appetite, that goodlooking fare now tasting like sawdust! But I struggled through, and tried to convince myself that it wasn't so bad, and that I was mature enough to weather this storm also, but ready to murder Anna for coercing me into this dilemma !
So on we went to The Famous Grouse distillarry, me trying to not think about that open shirt, and neither looking at it! We were standing in the keeping room after Iain bought the tickets for our whisky tour, when I saw a German tourist, he and his companion the only other people at that stage, nudge his wife, and with his eyes, and a faint nod of his head, told her silently to look our way. They were looking so intently at Iain, that I also took a peep, and almost expired! The bally man's shirt was now completely unbuttoned, and the chain was sparkling and shining brightly in the electric lights! I was so shocked I wanted to vomit! The rest of the wait for our tour guide was pure hell, as every tourist who came in, sooner or later noticed the chain, and there was a lot of nodding and winking, and also a few sympathetic glances to my side!
I took heart at the thought that when the tourguide came, and we started on our excursion into the mysteries of whisky making, the attraction of the chain would wane, as there would be many other interesting things to see.
Our tourguide was a young and very pretty young lady, who competently jostled us into a nice line that could easily follow her through the narrow lanes, but she was quite jolted out of her composure when we came to rest in a chamber where the process started, and her eyes fell on the chain, and I am not sure, but I thought I heard a few giggles behind me. 'Oh, earth, please open up and swallow me', I prayed, but as nothing happened, we proceeded further into the depths of this wonderworld, of which I saw absolutely nothing. The young guide's attention was so undermined by us, as she kept on looking so much at Iain, then at me, a frown in her pretty eyes, that she got a bit confused, and more than once got all mixed up with he different processes! Thing is, I was very smartly dressed in my Prada pants and a natty little top from Marks and Spencer!
When we at long last came to the actual tasting of the whisky, I was ready to die, and swallowed every glass of whisky that was put in front of me in one gulp, not bothered at all with the different aromas and nonsense we had to try and detect. I got a few extra glasses, the girl realising I think, that I was trying to drown my shame and sorrow. To top it all, Iain was asking a lot of questions, and played along with finding tastes and aromas with vigour, the chain swaying gaily and brightly as he moved!
I had to lean heavily on my beau's arm to get to the car when at last we could escape, under a wide variety of stares, some disgusted, thinking me a drunk, while others, realising I think, my shame, gave me such sympathetic looks that I sommer cried!
Iain then wanted to treat me to lunch in Crieff, a very upmarket village, but even walking on a clowd of alcoholic stupor, I did not see myself sitting in a smart restaurant, having to watch Iain flaunt both his chain and his six pack! And to make matters worse, underneath that six pack, was a small rounded pot belly! So it being a nice and warm day, we bought some take-aways, and I had my always present flask of coffee, so we sat in the park and had our lunch. I took some photos, but asked him to take the chain off, as it was shining too much in the sun, my camera wouldn't focus, as darn it, my kids would have a fit if they saw it!
At last it was time to go back, and I couldn't wait to get rid of my gallant beau, as he was just that, very thoughtful of my needs, but the open shirt just did not do it for me. Before we got back to the hotel, another bally mishap occurred, but that can wait till tomorrow!

I have written two pages, as this episode was too long, and then yesterday posted the wrong one, so I retrieved it, and posted the right one, so there is a previous post to this one, posted today.

 We were driving happily along, I think we were happy for different reasons, me being in seventh heaven just thinking of never having to go anywhere with this guy again. Shame, he was such a good person, and I felt terrible to be so heartless, but darn it, if he couldn't see the stares of the people in the distillary, or my discomfort, I was sorry, but going out again was a definite no-no!
Just before turning off onto the road to Strathyre, at a place called Lochearnhead, we saw a lot of huge white tents, and a lot of people milling around. On me wondering what could be happening, Iain said that he was sure it was the yearly sheep shearing competition, and agricultural show, and on him enquiring whether he should turn in so I can have a look, I thought that there would surely be another few strange people, and with everyone milling around, my beau would not be so conspicious!
There was a big tractor standing at the entrance, and I realised that it was there to pull people out, the terrain wet and soggy from the rain that fell relentlessly the past week,  if getting out became a problem.
The little Panda, as usual a star, got to the parking area without trouble, but when I got out, and my boots disappeared almost completely underneath the mud, I realised just how bad it was, and if a lot more cars came in, there could be a real problem, so I was indeed glad to see that the tractor was manned by two strong, young farmers, ready for any emergency.
We spent a lovely hour or so, but most of the shearing competition was already done, and after eating a floppy, mustardy hot dog, we decided that it was time to go, the people thinning out quickly now with the rain that had started again. Everyone was talking about being so glad that the rain had kept off the whole day, but I don't think they realised just how soggy the parking lot had become.
The tractor was busy, as a lot of the cars with smaller enjins had to give up trying, and asked to be pulled out. We struggled through the mud, and I asked Iain if he didn't think it a good plan to ask for the tractor to help us, but he was adamant, he would get the little car out without any help. After struggling for bally ages, the Panda gallantly trying its best, without success, as we were just getting deeper and deeper into the mud, the one farmer came over to see if we would let them pull us out, but Iain looked at him with loathing and stated very clearly that no, we did not need help, and that the farmer was looking at a professional driver. Oh good heavens, he was a busdriver, not, as he seemed to think, a rally driver, and after that he tried extra hard, and I was getting quite hysterical, as the spinning wheels sent up huge pieces of sodden grass and mud flying through the air! People were gazing at us in horror and disbelieve, and I cried inside, as I had met quite a few people from Strathyre, and they all knew my car! When a group of youngsters started making funny remarks, I finally had enough, and slamming the door unmercifully, I waded through the mud, and asked the tractor guys for help. They looked at Iain, not sure what to expect, but I shortly and sweetly told them that it was my bally car, and I wanted them to get it out! My beau was not at all impressed, and sat very straight and stiff behind the wheel of the tractor- towed car! The rest of our drive home he was quite short with me, not ugly, just a bit unnerved, I thought. I was in no mood to be in his company any longer, and I told him that I needed a shower and a bed, and he left with a promise to take me on many more excursions! Like bally hell he was!
This time it was final, and all Anna's efforts to make this match from hell sound like one made in heaven, fell on deaf ears, and I just never answered the phone if I knew it was him!

We just wanted to be out and about in the little car, doing some sightseeing, on the first afternoon that we finished early, we were on our way to Killin, and had to go through Glen Ogle, on a road that we had been on when going to Oban by bus, but at Lix Toll the road made a split, the one going to Oban and Fort William, the other one to Killin. We had to get petrol at Lix Toll, and it was such a novelty for me as a South African to put in my own petrol, as at home we have petrol attendants who also check your oil and water, and even clean your windscreen. It was very wet, and cold, and of course I had to do all this, and even put air in the tyres myself, but had to first get somebody from the garage to show me how! Phew!
We had a lovely lunch, then walked around a bit, and visited the pound shop, famous for selling some good stuff, all for just a pound. There was also a huge antique shop, with some beautiful stuff, but of course above our touch, and not even Anna's best eyeflutterring, and toothy smile could keep the owner's interest after he realised that we were penniless!
It was raining very hard on our way back, and I was driving quite slow, when suddenly the road disappeared, and all I could see was a rainwashed windscreen. As it was a dangerous piece of road, I did some heavy breaking, and on closer inspection found that the windscreen wiper had come off. We were aghast, as the rain did not look to abate for a long time, and we had to work at six. I decided that the wiper could not be far away, as I was going slowly, and had stopped immediately, so I told Anna that as I was driving, she could at least get out and look for the thing. None of us had raincoats, as it was quite dry when we left the hotel, and Anna looked at me now as if I had asked her to commit a heinous crime, her black -lined eyes so full of unbelieve that I burst out laughing.
But this time I was adamant, and decided that I would also get out, but Anna was going to do her part too for a change, but she told me bluntly to shod my stupidity, and drive on looking through the opened window! Like hell I was! Not over that dangerous pass!
So, after thinking about my suggestion that we either walk home, hoping for a lift, as there were not many cars on the road, or find the wiper, she gingerly got out of the car, and so did I, but after some searching we realised that the thing must have flown a bitty further than first thought. Along the road a small stream was running, its banks quite muddy, and it was surrounded by thick bushes and a lot of Brambles with the most awful thorns. Anna went beserk when I told her that we would have to cross the stream as I was sure the wiper must have landed somewhere in the bushes. She refused point blanc, wailing that she was wearing her new boots, and why did it need two people to have a look, but darn it, I also had on a pair of good shoes! It was getting a bit dark by now, and I said flatly that we would have to sleep in the car, trying to scare her, and looking around fearfully, she started for the stream. It was hellish, the brambles so thick you had to squeeze through, and our hands were bleeding by the time we got through. And sure as heck, there, complete like a bally Xmas decoration was the wiper, hanging in a bramble bush loaded with ripe and succulant berries. After a good old struggle we managed to fit the wiper back on, and hoping that it would last at least till after the pass, we set forth again, at a bally snail's pace. It took a long time getting back to the hotel, the wiper flying off every few kilos, the wind so strong it took it some distance every time, and it was two bedraggled and mud covered women who tried to sneak into the hotel, Anna taking vow after vow never to go out in that car again, but I just smiled! I had at last managed to win one battle against her, even if it was a small battle!