I was getting quite panicky, as the water was so cold that I could feel my blood getting frozen up, well, almost, and all the time the herd stood watching me, pushing their dinner around from side to side in their mouths. I knew I had to get out of the loch soon, and was walking slowly along in the direction of my camp, and the cattle moved slowly along with me. I was desperate, but just when I thought my body would be found frozen like a lolly in the morning, I heard voices, so I screeched! A few big eyed fishermen came running over the little rise, and sizing up the situation, their concern gave way for some hearty laughter. I did NOT think it very funny.
They walked up to the lochside, while the cattle watched them with great interest, then, maybe realising their fun was over, the turned heel, and disappeared over the rise! I had a sweaty brow, and a fast pounding heart, but the fishermen had a good laugh, and told me that as it was the time the farmhands usually arrived with their food, the herd must have thought me the benefactor of the day, and was following me hoping to get dinner!
I sat talking to them from some time, hoping to watch as they pull out one after the other of nice fat trout, but the going was slow, and I decided to head back to my tent and start my own dinner. I had a few nice minted chops, and potatoes that I pre-boiled, and which I was going to roast on the fire, and nice crusty bread, and stuff for a salad, Yummy!
I slept like a log, that is after I coated everything with midge muti, that means stuff to keep the critters out of the tent. There is nothing worse than the Scottish midge, as their bites sting and tickle for hours, and usually make huge red swellings that became quite painful. Poor Lizzy gets really ill from their bites, as hers became inflamed, and just looking at it makes one want to scratch! But that night I was left to sleep in peace, and woke up feeling fresh and happy!
 It was a beautiful morning, with birds singing, and the little stream singing a lovely and happy song song, specially for me, and I just sat watching as the sun started peeping shyly through the leaves high above me. Oh, what a lovely thing nature is, with the sounds, and the smells, and the wonderful fresh and clean air! I filled my lungs to full capacity, then blew out slowly, feeling the tingle of life running through my veins!
My breakfast was just super, as I had bacon, and egg, banana and tomatoes, all made in the same pan, and toast that I made over the coals. I just love fried banana with my bacon, so I revelled in the delicious meal, fit for any king,
I took my coffee down to the loch, and keeping a wary eye at the rise, ready to run if the herd emerged, but all was quiet, and it wasn't long before my eyelids drooped, and a delicious tiredness came over me. The day was my own, so I lay down and took a short nap under the now warm sun!

At long last Sunday came to an end, and while cleaning away the foodstuffs and filling the dish washer, I could feel my legs buckling, and my body sagging! Sam, my government paid aid of course only worked till ten, but over weekends it is really bad, as the kitchen are expected to do meals until all hours. I liked doing it, as all the restaurants in Strathyre and surroundings close kitchen at nine thirty at the latest, So I am stuck with the cleaning, as the youngsters helping at night are only allowed to work four hours, so they also work from six to ten!
But I woke up next morning, and it was Monday, and it being Monday, I was of course off! I lay in bed much later than usual on my days off, as I am usually off to one of my favourite spots to have a barbeque breakfast at seven. Today however, the old legs were a bitty lazy to respond, but after I dragged my battered body out of bed, and made a strong cuppa, I felt like a brand new sixpence again, and ready for all this day may bring.
It took only minutes to pack my stuff, made a flask of strong coffee, and took off at great speed, wanting to get away as soon as possible, as I am regularly called in for help, Theresa and Tony not able to manage. That is why I left before they were up and in, as I felt that I really earned my time off.
I have decided to drive to Aberfoil, on the Trossachs trail, as some way down a small and winding road, you got to loch Ard, and that is one of the best places if I wanted to sleep over in my tent. I always found a new and beautiful spot walking around, and today I did so again. I found a small stream, very private, as it was quite far from the road, with a lot of lovely leafy trees shading it from sun and prying eyes, so I put up my tent! Oh the joy of just lying in the dappled shade reading and musing over my quite hectic life, was unbelievable!
I decided to walk down to the loch, and look for old pieces of pottery, as I collected it. I have found the most beautiful, but sometimes tiny pieces of very old pottery at the different lochs where I loved searching the beaches!
A few cows were grazing lazily on a small green  rise, and never having had trouble with any highland cow, or any other species, I was shocked into first a kind of paralysed panic, and then into doing a creditable Olympic sprint over grass and rocks, as one of the herd, a huge bally bull, gave me one look, and decided that he did not like my presence! He gave one nasty bellow, and charged!
I moved like the wind over the field, making for the safety of the cold loch, and was inspired to even more speed when I peeped around, and saw that the whole herd was now giving chase!
Getting to the loch cost me a lot of skin on my legs, as I was wearing shorts, and the water was icy, but I waded in as far as possible, keeping a weary eye at my pursuers! This lot now stood at the edge of the water, and looked at me with what I first thought was hatred, but then I saw a cow with the biggest udder on earth watching me with soft brown eyes while chewing her grass. Soft eyes or not, I was not planning on leaving the safety of the water while this lot were watching me, and wondered how long it would take to freeze to death in the cold water.

It was one dreary looking female who got up the next morning, and it took a lot of willpower to actually get upright. I had to be in the kitchen for seven to do my prep, but at six I had the dicy job of switching on the geysers, as tony put it off at night to save a bit of money.
To do this was really hazardous, and feeling like I did this morning made it quite dangerous as well. The switches was in the room above the kitchen, so I had to slump up a very steep staircase, and getting to the top, usually quite breathless, I had to take a very deep breathe, as now the dangerous rafters awaited! There was no floor in this room, and the few rafters left was spaced about half a meter apart, and the switches resided on the opposite wall. So one actually needed the balance of a circus acrobat, and the nerves of a lion tamer to attempt this job! I was frantic, as a rule, but this morning, with the poor old head aching like the blazes, and the poor old eyes almost sightless they were so swollen, I took one humongous breathe, and like a bally tightrope walker I sprinted from one rafter to the other, and could not believe that I had actually made it safely to the switches!
 Then it was the return jumps, and I took another gasp, my chest now feeling real tight, and just went for it! Tony promised every time I moaned that he would have a decent walkway put up there, but as he is running around like a beheaded chicken himself, I think my moans went in at the one ear, and out at the other, as no attempt had so far been made.
The bar was in chaos! I had to make the coffee in there, as we use the big coffee machine, but every available space was filled with dirty glasses, and it smelled like one very dirty shabeen, that means an illegal drinking spot in our townships back home. I opened every window, and the front door to get rid of the stale smells, and hoped by the time the guests came down the place would be fresher!
I did see a few noses quiver in disgust as the people started coming down, and I noticed that they all looked like I did, with red eyes and pursed lips, although my lips were stretched in a kind of what I meant to be a smile! They were all very upset at the noise through the night, and I tried to explain that it didn't happen every night, but that we had a beach party! They were not at all interested in my explanations, just ate their food in silince, gazing at nothing in particular!
I was relieved to say the least when I had seen the last one off, then went into a panic as Toni came down, looking terrible, his hair uncombed, his beard long, and his clothes looking as though he had slept in it, which he probably did! I told him that I would see to any one coming in if he wanted to take a shower first, but he explained that the truck would be coming any minute to fetch the sand.
What a bally racket! Only Frazer and Willie came to help, themselves not looking quite alive, and between the lot of them they cleared all the sand from the pub lounge!
I found this card in a shop in Callander, and having experienced the bally midges for myself, I think this is probably not far from the truth!!!

I had no time to rest, as there was such a lot of prep to do, but I managed to sit down for half an hour while having my lunch. By six however I was pooped, and wondered how I was going to manage untill the kitchen closed, and if the work was not enough, Sam was quite cross when he came back at six, as he desperately wanted to share in the fun.
Tony had gotten two young girls in hula skirts to help me, but they were so bent on showing off that I saw very little of them, and had to send Sam continiously to find them. Of course this was just the dandy with Sam, as he got lost on the 'beach' every time, and then I had to leave all and go looking for both Sam and the girls. The only light in this madhouse of a kitchen was young Gary, who was called by his mother after I promised him double pay to work for two hours. Actually it was not allowed, as he had already done a shift during the morning, and the kids were allowed to work only four hours per day.
This kid was a marvel, and quite the opposite of his twin sister, to my thinking the laziest girl on two legs. Laura, the twin was about twice as tall as Gary, big boned like her mother, and quite coarse, while Gary was smallboned, and very well spoken, and could work like a horse! I always marvelled when I watched him wash the huge pots that were so large that he was quite dwarfed by them, but he was always happy and eager to please. The only drawback of course was that he was so small, and couldn't always reach things that I needed him to fetch, and when it was very busy I had to run and fetch it myself, which took up valuable time!
The beach party was a huge success, and became quite raucus as time went by, and it wasn't long before everything in the kitchen was also covered in sand. The plates and other stuff coming back from the party was covered in sand, and the poor dishwasher was making strange screeching noises, presumably from sand in its workings! It wasn't long before two plates of food from the restaurant, which was also open for bussiness, were sent back with complaints that there was sand in the food. How it happened I did not know, but, as the same waitresses doing the party was also serving the restaurant, I had a suspicion that they were shedding sand all over the plates when taking it in. I sent Sam to call Tony when a second lot came back, and asked him to let one of the girls get herself sand-free, and then only serve the restaurant, and after a bit of niggling, he gave in, and from then on trhere was no more sandy food coming back.
I finished just after twelve, and as the party was still swinging, I joined in the fun for a short while, but could just as well have stayed up all night, as the pub lounge was just underneath my room, and the music and laughter was so loud that my bed was hopping around on the floor! Well, almost! The noises lasted well into the early hours of the morning, and when the clock struck six, I had not slept at all, but had to get up to do breakfast! And to make it worse, I had to look happy and gay!!

As if I did not have enough to do, Tony and Theresa had decided to spruce up life in the village, and our hotel was going to have a beach party! A beach party? I was wondering how they wanted to accomplish such a thing in the hotel, but was soon enlightened about the extent to which they would go to make this a success!
I must say this of Tony, he wasn't up to snuff about running a hotel, and the rules regarding his contact and dealings with the guests, but he was full of ideas, all of them not always the most practical, but at least he tried!
So, on the Friday morning, with my lip already hanging to the floor, and my voice hoarse from trying to get the young Sam to get on with his job, I watched with wonder a big lorry, loaded to full capacity with sand, pulled into the parking lot! This was the sign for Sam to take off his pinny, in order to go and find out what was in the wind, him not knowing about the proposed party!
I tried in vain to call him back, but he kept himself quite deaf, and I was going into a bally fit of hysteria, as I was instructed to make a lot of beachy dishes, or rather, dishes usually served at seaside cafe's. That made for a lot of extra work, as the reastaurant was still to operate, and as week-ends a lot of people came out to dine more formally, I just could not neglect that part of my prep!
Within minutes it seemed that the whole town had come to inspect what was going on, as the lorry had now parked in front of the pub door, and dumped the whole heap of sand on the doorsteps! Tony, Theresa, Willie Dowel, and the be-painted, or rather be-tattoo-ed Frazer, looking like a colourful reptile without his shirt, frantically carrying buckets full of sand into the pub lounge! Bally madness! But soon there were quite a few helpers, who after their amazement had subsided, helped to cover the pub lounge's floor in a thick layer of sand!
I must say, when I later went to have a look, I was quite pleasantly surprised, as the lounge was transformed into a very credible beach, with umbrellas everywhere, and a few loungers, and colourful towels, and so forth!

I told Tony that it was no good, the young Sam only coming back at six, as I was in need of help with the prepping for dinner. I couldn't see why he could not come an hour earlier, and then leave an hour earlier, but Tony said that this was decided with his parents, as they did not want him to finish too late! I thought that it was one of the government's decisions, and that I had to abide but that, but in fact, they had to work only a certain amount of hours, but it wasn't specified when this had to be worked.
Dinner was a nightmare, and within an hour I was so fed up with the youngster that I could stick him in the frying pan and fry him till he got some life into his body. As he was so slow on the potatoes earlier, we did not have enough chips, with the result that I had spent precious time peeling potatoes when I had so much to do, so I instructed him to stop looking out of the door and cut the chips! I was given one nasty look from half closed eyes, but he started on the chips, doing it as slowly as he possibly could! Within an hour I was so tired of keeping Sam on the go, that I was ready to run away!
He was no better than the kids I had over week-ends, and I was forever asking for plates, and utensils, and pans, all this stacked up miles high on every available space! I saw him looking out of the door continiously, and giving hand signs and pulling faces, and decided to take a minute to see what was going on outside. Sure enough, behind the rows of cars a couple of heads peeped out, and they were also doing the handsign thing, and I realized that they were waiting for Sam to finish!
Of course. ten o'clock sharp, Sam took off his pinny, and I saw with amazement how the half dead youngster came back to life, and he bid me a good evening for the rest of my shift, then legged it out of the door and on to where his mates were waiting! They laughed and made one heck of a racket, before shouting: nighty-night Christine', and blew kisses at me when they saw me looking out of the window, before they assembled in a group, and set off to who knows what devilment!
Sam had done very little, and the piles of stuff to be cleaned and washed was enough to knock every bit of energy I still had out of me! This was not working, as my nerves were at breaking point with the continious begging for clean stuff, and Sam was not at all trying to be helpful by establishing where everything lived, so that I could send him around fetching stuff for me. And the hours he worked was just not suitable. as over week-ends we were busy till late, with me sometimes cleaning the kitchen at around twelve.

When I came back from my days off, I was informed by Tony that I was getting a young guy called Sam as an apprentice, and that he was starting work at ten that morning. I was so excited about this, and asked Tony why the lad couldn't start at seven with me, or at eight, and help with the breakfast!
The workings of this new plan by the government was then explained to me in fine detail! Youngsters who had no jobs would be employed by a hotel, or garage, or shop, where they were to be taught the ropes, and the government would pay the youngsters, and not the employer! And, he explained, they were only to start at ten, work until one, and then start again at six for the dinner shift. That was a brilliant idea, and I was really thrilled, until at about ten minutes passed his due time, my apprentice kind of ambled in, and I saw with a sinking heart that my guy was non else than young Sam, grandson of the owners of the Immervioulin caravan park, and son of Janet, a lively single mother!
My heart was sinking, because just a few days previously, Janet had told us that they just could not handle young Sam, as he was supposed to help in the park, but kept on disappearing, and only coming back when all the ablution blocks were cleaned by Emma, the younger sister of Janet, and the most hardworking girl I have ever met, and all the other jobs allocated to him was finished!
I tried to hide my feelings, and told him gently that what I wanted him to do first, was peeling the potatoes, and cut the chips, sighing with relieve that I would not have to do that on top of all the other chores! He rolled an incredulous eye at me, tried to outstare me, looked with utter disgust at the two big pockets of potatoes, the stuck out a thin finger, and asked with a voice like ice; 'You want me to peel all that?' I knew that if I did not get on top of this now, I will have a lot of trouble in the near future, so I gave him a stern eye, and said that yes, indeed he had to, or would he like to do the baking? I had to do some scones urgently, as they had run out while I was away, and also the lasagnes and steak pies were finished, and at this Sam capitulated, and after moaning and groaning for about ten minutes, after I told him to get on with it, he started the peeling!
All the excitement I felt when I heard about my apprentice had now evaporated, leaving me with a heart as heavy as a huge piece of lead, and I felt really sorry for myself! Tony was of no help, as he was great pals with David, Sam's granddad, and would not for anything on earth do anything to upset him, the family being our greatest supporter of take-aways! It took ages for the youngster to peel the potatoes, and after I had done the cooking and baking, he had done only three quarters of the first one. As it was now after twelve, with the lunch session almost upon us, I had to start cutting the chips, as I would need it for lunch!
he kind of kept going until one, when he downed the peeler, and disappeared like a bally daylight ghost! He was of very little help, and I had spent again a lot of time talking and trying to cajole him into working faster! I wanted to cry!!!

People were still laughing the next evening, and I had to also laugh, as it must have been quite a strange sight, me sitting about two feet higher than the driver, but as I had to bend down to hold onto his shoulder, my face was just about in his neck!
I was mystified about Lizzie's car running out of oil, and when I asked her the next day about it, she was very surprised that I thought the oil had to be checked regularly, and topped up if necessary! She thought that oil was only checked and filled up when the car went for its service! When I thought back how my hubby had drilled into me the different aspects of looking after a car, I had to smile, as he sometimes got so upset with me if I couldn't understand how everything worked, that he drew it all out for me, and I still had the drawings he made! But at least I had a good teacher. And in South Africa we have petrol guys filling up your car, and they always check the water and oil too, and topping up if needs must be. As Liz only learned to drive in her later years, I suppose using a driving school, nobody had ever taught her anything about the workings of an enjin.
The next morning I went off on my own, first to my loch, loch Voile, where I made myself a hearty breakfast on a throw-away grill, and then watched the sun playing on the water, sipping my coffee.
I was always intrigued by the strange phenomena of the effect the sun had on the water of the lochs. Before sunrise the lochs would be like mirrors, not a ripple, unless a fish jumped up, and started a ripple. But the moment the sun came up, it was like a magic wand being waved, and the whole water mass came alive , and the mirror like image became a living, moving being!
Then I packed up, and drove to loch Tay, where I was anxious about my wee wild ducks. The first year I came, I stopped at this picnic spot for a coffee, and there was this duck hen that came asking for a titbit, and then became my best friend, quacking mournfully as she waddled after me on her short legs, until I got in my car and drove off. The following year she had a man at her side, and the two of them looked so happy, just eating the crumbs I threw them before waddling off to the loch. Obviously she was not lonely enough anymore to follow a human around.
Then the next time I went there, she still had her man at her side, but now a third party, a big male, had come into the picture, and he was nudging closer and closer, and chased off by my duck's mate, but in the end a huge fight broke out, and the smaller one, which have been with the hen now since the previous year was chased off!

It took us hours to walk back, and most of the afternoon was gone before we got back to the car with the oil. Knowing absolutely nothing about how far the oil tank should be filled up, we really went for it, and filled it until it spilled over. Very proud of ourselves we got back into the car, and it started after a while, and off we went, but luck would not play along, and we did not even get around the circle, when black smoke started billowing out at the back again! Liz put on the brakes with gusto, and we screeched to a halt, both of us quite jittery by now, as the cars behind us did not think it funny the way Lizzy came to a dead halt in front of them, and they let us know how they felt by hooting, and giving some strange finger signs!
I told Liz that I would try and push the car off the road, and of course my muscles were not strong enough, and I was desperately working away, getting only ugly looks and some more hooting, but there are still some gentlemen on earth, as again a young guy stopped and gave me a hand. Strange that the older oompies(old men), never stop to give a person that is obviously in distress a hand, and they are also the ones that let rip with the hooters! never try and tell me that the youth is bad!
Lizzy then decided to phone her son who lived in Glasgow and ask for help, as we just did not know what to do. He told her to stay put, and that he would come as soon as possible, and would then decide what to do.
The sun had long gone to sleep when at last he arrived. Alan, as her son is called, is like his mother a wonderful dresser, with suit and tie of the best cloth, and black leather shoes that could be used for a mirror! He had a look at the engin, and looked worried, then decided to phone an emergency truck to come and get the car. As he was on his way to some or other seminar, he could not take us back to Strathyre, so he waited until the towing truck came, and asked the guy to take us back home before taking the car to the garage.
Why I am always the one to pull the shortest stick I could thus far not work out, but true to bad luck a la Christine, the guy looked us over and decided that as there was only one passenger seat, I could sit on the box in the middle. What was hidden below this box I did not know, but the thing was about two feet higher that the seats, and my head kept bumping on the roof, and this roof was bally hard, and I felt like a silly bird sitting on a perch, and to top it all, I had nowhere to cling to, and kept sliding off! And one thing this tow truck driver did was driving like he had ten bally devils behind him. When we got to the tight bends between Callender and Strathyre, and after I had landed on his lap about ten times, and almost flattened poor Liz, he told me to clutch at his shoulder to keep me on my perch, so I rolled the old eyes a bit, and clutched! I did and felt a lot  more comfy, as I could at least keep to my seat!
The Inn was busy, with people sitting outside, and all the drinkers sitting outside had a good look at us driving into the town, and the next day a few saucy remarks were made about me clutching the poor driver!

I finished the night without the flattop, but the next morning I told Tony that I will not work another night without it. I was a bally nervous wreck the previous night, and said that if it wasn't back, I would refuse to work, and look for another job! As chefs were very scarce, not a lot of them interested in working at a small hotel, Tony went into a kind of nervous jibbering, and he jumped on the phone, andI heard him speak to Theresa, telling her to bring the flattop back as it immediately! I should have known that she would have taken it, as I knew that she had got Tony so far as to give her one of the toasters! Without that it was also difficult if we had a full house, but I could still manage, although I have squealed like a bally old hag about it, all in vain!
At about ten Theresa's husband stopped in front of the kitchen door, and I sighed a big sigh of relieve when I saw the flattop being taken out! The rest of the Sunday was fine, as I had Gary, and the two lazy girls, whom I now ignored, and with me able to use the flattop again, I managed without a hitch!
I was off the next day, and Liz asked me to go to Stirling with her,. We made a date for ten, but when I got there at the appointed time, she was still in the early stages of her morning ritual. I have described it before, but will do so again! Once she is able to get out of bed, she make herself a coffee, lite a ciggy, then sat slumped at the kitchen table, sucking at the cigarette with nervous and long pulls, drinking her coffee with huge gulps, hands shaking like she has some kind of shaky sickness. Then she would make another coffee, have another cigarette, and then she was ready for a shower. Now all this smoking and shivering takes about two hours, after which she would feel alive enough for a shower. She is almost as bad as my son in law when it came to showers, and hers lasted for about half an hour! Then it was time for another coffee and a cigarette, by which time she would be coughing like somebody with a lung ailment. Then she got dressed, and after yet another coffee and cigarette, she would dry her hair, and put on her jewelry, which she loved!
Anyhow we were seated and ready to roll at twelve thirty, me fuming at the wasting of my precious day off, she all smiles and bonhomie, all at one with the world, as she used to say!
We were just rounding the second circle before entering Stirling, when all of a sudden her car gave a few kind of jolly jumps, and the next moment a thick black smoke poured out somewhere in the back, and then the enjin just died! And there we sat, blocking the traffic, so I got out to see what was wrong, and maybe get somebody to help push the car off the busy road.
A young couple did stop, and they helped me to move the car, and the guy then asked about what happened, and with this information given to him, he opened the bonnet, poked around a bit, then told us that there was no oil in the oiltank! He looked some more, then said that Liz could be very thankful, as the block or something like that, did not crack!
So on his advice, and the car now off the road, he undertook to take us to the nearest garage for oil, but as they had an appointment, he couldn't bring us back! He drove for bally miles before we came to a garage, but we bought the oil, and started back!

Having the children to help was  of no use to me, as at nine sharp, the two girls took off their pinnies, and giving me a good show of them being two wee angels by smiling like two wee angels, they hastily left the kitchen! Young Gary was still at the sink scrubbing away, and on my telling him that it was time to leave, he said yes, he knew, but will finish the pans for me. What a sweety! When he finished I made him a nice helping of chips and cheese to take home!
The orders still streamed in, and without Gary to scrub the frying pans, and a lot of steaks, gammon steaks, burgers and chops being ordered, I lost my temper completely, took off my pinny, and stalked into the pub, where it was absolutely buzzing, and told Tony that if that flattop is not back in the kitchen in five minutes, he could do the meals himself!I was so furious that the tears rolled down my cheeks, and people tried to calm me down, by offering to buy me drinks, but I was in no state to calm down, as my poor nerves were in a bad state!
One of the local women, Fiona, asked me what was wrong, and on telling her that I am alone in the kitchen, with loads of of orders, and not having even somebody to do the dishes, or scrub the pans, she was horrified, and came back with me to the kitchen, where she stayed for the rest of the night, scrubbing, filling the dishwasher, and doing salads for me! Bless her!
I was absolutely drained when at last all the meals were done, and the kitchen cleaned, and fell into my bed without showering, and lay for ages worrying about getting up at six again, with my body so tired and my legs cramping from the long hours.
I made up my mind that if the flattop wasn't back the next day, I would leave. If I couldn't find another job, I would go to the islands for a week or two, then go home.
When Tony came in, halfway through breakfast, I was cold and untalkative, so after ordering himself a breakfast, he disappeared quickly back to the bar. I was not giving up on my demand that the flattop came back, or I was leaving, and I could see that he was a worried man, cooks not readily available in the rural villages. I started wondering about what he could have done with the flattop!
When I took his breakfast to the bar, I asked in a chilly voice what he intended to do, and he told me that Theresa had taken the flattop away, and that she was very vague about its where-abouts, but would see if she can find it, and bring it back! What utter nonsense, and when Theresa came in, I demanded to know where the thing was, and she went all red, and told me that it was none of my bussiness, as Tony had given it to her.
I was slowly getting behind the working of this lady's brain, as so far a lot of things have disappeared, and on asking about it, it was always the same answer, that he had given it to Theresa! So I believe that she convinced Tony that stuff wasn't needed, and then she took it.

It was one of my most stressful mornings ever in a kitchen, and by lunchtime I was more tired out from trying to get the two girls to actually do something than from the work itself. As in Scotland children older that twelve are allowed to help out, they are not to use knifes, or work for longer than three hours, I still had a lot of prep to do.

As this things work, I was not prepared for big groups yet, a lot of time lost on talking to the girls, and of course Ewan with his small bus would turn up, and my tummy just did a few summersaults. The fact that the kids were not to use knifes meant that they also could not do the salads for me, and as Ewan had  thirteen people that day, plus himself, I hyperventilated! Badly! I just could not see myself doing them, plus all the other orders coming in. But Ewan is one swell guy, and when he saw my distress, he rolled up his sleeves, and did the salads for me, which was an enormous help!

And of course all the cars en route to the Oban ferry had to stop, and poor me was like one scowling old zombie, doing everything automatically, sweat running down my face, and my heart jumping around somewhere in my throat! When inbetween this Tony came in with an order for six scones, which meant that I would have to beat some more cream, which took for ages, I just exploded, and told him to do it himself, or get Theresa down! When I earlier asked the girls to do some cream, first the one, then the other had to go to the toilet urgently, and me having been so stressed out, never had time to do it up to this point!

I never got to my room for a rest until four, and as it was Saturday, I had to be back at five to do the prep for the evening. For that whole hour I just lay on my bed, thinking of my tranquil homestead back home, wondering about my own sanity in coming back year after year for more of this kind of punishment! But I so love Scotland, the glens, the lochs, and the beautiful mountains with the streams of icy water running down them, that I knew I would come back for as long as I could!

I went back to a chaotic kitchen, as a few more cars stopped for some refreshment, and as Tommy only came during my days off, Tony or Theresa had to do the kitchen while I had a rest. As between three and five it was usually quiet, the public getting ready for the evening onslaught, they could easily do the few scones or toasties that was the usual thing for that time.

 But the kitchen was in disorder, and I could see that I would have to do a lot more chips, Tony informing me that the public had gone mad, and everybody who came in ordered chips and cheese! Also the grated cheese container stood empty, and I use it a lot for lasanges and stuff, so over and above my usual prep, I had to replenish a lot of stuff.

My young helpers arrived at six, by seven I was still doing almost everything myself. The two girls were not there to work, and they showed some antagonism towards me when I showed them for the third time how to do the dishes, the pans, and keep my workspace clean. Both kind of stared at me with cold fishy eyes, and excused themselves to go to the toilet,. And that is how the night went. Every fifteen minutes first the one, then the other would tell me they needed the toilet, and the stayed away for up to twenty minutes.
The wee boy Gary, half the size of his twinsister Laura, was of different making, and he got stuck in and worked. He listened to what I told him, and it was a incredible how this tiny youngster scrubbed away at the huge pots and pans, and I was amazed to see how deftly he scraped the plates, rinse of the excess food, and loaded the dishwasher!
The only fly in the ointment was that he was so short that he couldn't reach high enough to be able to fetch me stuff from the high racks, or the top racks of the fridges.
When the girls came back after their twenty minute pee, I scowled at them, and  Francis then made a show of doing some work by taking a plate, open the tap a tiny bit, then held the plate underneath the small stream, leaning casually on the zink,  her eyes on the clock above the pantry door! Laura was not doing anything, and gary was doing salads for me. By this time I had no pans, and as the flaptop was not there anymore, I had to do all the steaks and stuff in the pans!
So I told Laura to clean the pans, and she nearly collapsed from shock, and said that Tony never told them that they had to scrub pans, and out she went, supposedly to tell Tony how horrible I was.
After a while Tony came back, his arm around Laura's middle, and I could see that she was putting on a show of utter misery, that for Tony's benefit,, and my neckhair attempted to all stand up straight! He then told me that they were brought in to do the dishes, and my running, fetching stuff for me, but scrubbing pans was not their job!
I exploded, and told him that in that case, he had better do it himself, as I was already behind with my orders, or I am quitting! So rather than upset the two girls further, he did the pans himself!
That was the start of many fights, as trying to get the girls to help took up more time than if I just did my own washing and scrubbing and fetching. As they were only allowed to work three hours because of their age, I still had to clear up and clean the kitchen on my own, but the blessed peace after they left was pure bliss!
I asked Tony for some help on Saturday mornings, because most dishes ran out on Friday nights, and I really struggled to get everything done before lunchtime, and I suggested young Gary, as he was a little trooper! But low and behold, eleven the next morning, with Gary already busy peeling potatoes, in sauntered Laura and Francis, who bolted straight to Tony when I told them that between them they had to wash all the pots I have used.
So in came Tony, strutting between the two young horrors, and I knew that his sympathy was not with me. So when he started asking me if it was really necessary for them to scrub the pots and pans, I flipped, and told him that I did not ask for them, only for Gary. He was in a flutter then, as I could see that this two girlies had him right where they wanted him, and told them that he would find them something else to do for the morning, and the three then left, giggling outrageously! I sighed, and made myself a cuppa, and gave Gary a coke!

I went back to work after my two days off, feeling on top of the world (well, almost). after speeding away from the black clad people, I had taken another small road from Comry that led up to the hill where my wild strawberry patch were, where I found a nice spot under a clump of trees to just lie and read, and contemplating life with all it's strange people. The unfriendly black robed lot was bugging me, as I was sure they were devil worshippers, and the fact that they came to one of my regular spots was to say the least, a bitty unsettling.
Anyhow, as always I was quite refreshed by my green trees, but while prepping for breakfast, I had this strange feeling that something was wrong. As I had only a limited time to get everything done, and then a busy time taking orders, making coffees and teas, and cooking breakfasts, it wasn't till after the last guests were served, and I made myself a cuppa, that I started looking around the kitchen, to see what was bothering me.
To my utter amazement, the flat top, a thick iron plate, warmed by a small gas flame, on which I cooked the steaks, chops, gammon steaks, and some fish sorts, were gone! I started hyperventilating, as without that thing, I was lost on the busy week-end nights. So I sat down outside, my head in a spin, wondering if it had maybe broke down, and was sent in for reparation. I calmed down then, hoping that that was the answer, and went back to start the days prep.
When Tony came in I asked him where the flat-top was. He just stared at me with a kind of challenging look, and told me that between him, Theresa and Tommy, the guy who came in to cook when I was off, they had decided that it was an unneccessary gadget that sucked up a lot of gas!
I just goggled at him, and then a fury so terrible welled up inside me that I wanted to clobber the little man, or squash him like an insect, and I told him that from now on his bally housekeeper can do week-ends, as she was such an expert in the running of a kitchen. I was furious, and stayed furious for the rest of the day, and when Theresa ambled in asking me to make her something for lunch, I exploded, and told her to do it herself.
I came down from my rest in a foul mood, as I knew how difficult the night would be, even though it was a weekday, which usually wasn't busy. And as during the week it was mostly locals, who came in for a hearty meal. usually steak and ale pies, or chicken and leek, or curry, I could use the pans for the occasional steak, or chops, but the worry of what I would do that week-end made me all shivery.
On Friday night, just before six, Tony came strolling in with two young girls flanking him, his scrawny pelvis pushed forward at an amazing angle, like always when he talked to a personable youngish woman or a girl. Following this trio was a small boy, no taller than my worktable.
The boy and one of the girls, an amazon who were almost as tall as me, were twins, and the children of Caren, who helped out some days, and the other girl was Francis, the daughter of my previous employer, and they were all about thirteen years old, two very lusty young teenagers!
Oh my good heavens, within half an hour of that lot started, I was so fed-up with the two girls that I wanted to throttle them. The wee boy, Gary, was however a little worker, and he got stuck in, and learned quickly how to master the dish washer, but the girls were there for anything but to work!

After the frenzy of the kitchen, I was glad when my day-off arrived, and it wasn't seven yet when my little car was packed, and I set of for somewhere where it would be cool, and calm, as my nervous system was maar a bitty frail! Tony would just have to get more staff in, as I just could not keep on at the pace I was going now!
I had decided to go to The Devil's Cauldron, just outside of Comry for the day. My favourite space around there was at the river, where a huge tree had fallen across it, and this tree was bent in such a way as to make for a comfy place to lie and read. The curves just fitted the curve of my body, and I had many a time fell asleep there. Quite dangerous, as I had to wade through the water to get to the tree, and although the water was not too deep, with lots of rocks, I think a person in a deep sleep falling into the water, could easily be drowned. So I always tried to stay awake!
I had already fell into the water once when I spotted two foxes skulking in the bushes. I thought, when I first spotted them coming in and out of the bushes, that it was two dogs, and wondered how they came to be there. When to my delight I saw that it was foxes, I was so intently watching them, trying to keep them from disappearing from my sight, that I leaned over too much, and fell straight into the river!  Nearly bally drowned, as my clothes were heavy, pulling me under the swirling water!
I read for a while, then made myself a breakfast on a throw-away barbeque thingy. It was lovely, as I had bacon, sausage, banana, which I also fried, toast, and tomatoes! And of course coffee!
I heard a car stop high up where the parking spaces are, and did feel a tinge of unrest, as there were a number of picnic spots, and I knew that some of the picnic making people became quite rowdy, liquor and beer of course playing a big role with the Scots!
So I sat waiting for them to come down, and when I spotted the first ones, a cold thread of unease ran down my spine. They were all dressed in loose black kind of overcoats, and the ones coming in my view after them, were all dressed in black. Not a sign of any other colour. I kept very quiet, and was relieved when they took the small path that led up to the Devil's cauldron!
The Devil's Cauldron is a whirlpool that swirls and gurgles viciously as the water from the waterfall high above it fell down with force. It is amazing to watch, but it had always scared me, and after the first time, I never went there again.
This black dressed people all carried black boxes, and that also seemed evil, so I just waited for them to be far enough away before packing up, scrambling havey cavey to the top where my car was.
I had a huge shock! Standing watching my car was two more black dressed figures, and as my head appeared from below, they turned and watched me with cold eyes, their faces without expression. I kind of squeaked a greeting, but they ignored me, so I just dumped my stuff into the car, and left with speed!

A working kitchen at peak hour is a busy kitchen, and as I was the only person cooking, I was spinning around, fetching stuff, turning frying meats, heating up and getting ready frozen stuff like lasagne, macaroni and cheese, steak pies, and many more, cooking veggies, grilling trout, frying chips, and fish, and another hundred and one things. As our menu was so big, it was really a struggle when say, a table of twelve come in. Then I really had to keep my wits intact, as of course, everybody would order a different meal, and of course, all the meals had to go out together, and warm!
So by the middle of the evening I would be sweaty, and my hair under my hat would be wet and oily from the steam coming from all the different cooking utensils! And if then, in the middle of ten or more orders, the chips would sometimes run out, and all my screaming for help would go unnoticed by the harassed waitresses, I had to drop all, and peel potatoes, only enough for the meal I was busy with. I usually have enough chips cut, but when Ewan with his bus full of young tourists had been in for lunch, usually just before I went off for my rest, I knew I was in trouble. But as I was already in the kitchen at seven every morning to do breakfast, I could not go through until the kitchen closed at night!
My day started off at six, by me running up to the loft of an annexe adjoining the kitchen to switch on the water, as Tony switch it off before going to bed. Doing this was one hazardous job, specially early in the morning, when your body still aches from exhaustion after the previous night, and your eyelids were still too heavy to open completely. The loft had no floor, and the rafters were about half a meter apart, and to get to the switches that was on the opposite wall, you had to kind of jump from rafter to rafter, and hope it didn't break, as they did look a wee bitty rotten! But my worst fear was that I would miss my footing, or loose my balance, and fall down the two flights and into the laundry. I tried not to look down, but I bally well knew that there was nothing to stem my downwards fall if I did miss my footing!
Then I would have a shower before dressing and and going down to do the prep for breakfast. By the time the first guests came down, I was usually wide awake, and ready for some chatting when taking their orders. I loved doing breakfast, as I met the most amazing people from all over the world!

I had met a nice gentleman on my first day off of the week, so I was in quite a happy space, as he was going to take me around the next day. Everybody was eyeballing me when I brought the man, called Colin, into the pub for a drink, and I got the idea that he was not too welcome. He was a bitty loth to come and meet me there, but I overrode his objections, and in the end he did come, but I could see that he was just a wee bit uncomfortable.
Anyway, we sat in the conservatory, talking and laughing, and decided that he would come and pick me up at ten the next morning. Tony was again quite rude, and I decided to get Colin to tell me what was going on. At first he rallied round, but I wanted to know if there was a secret, so I asked him to either tell me, or take me home. Apparently he had come into the bar for a meal one Saturday before I came, and as he is quite a nice looking man, Caren, who had way too much to drink, had been coming on to him, and Caren's husband, who was also by now nicely sloshed, took exception to her being all over this man, and called for him to come out to the back, for he wanted to give him a few of the best! And, Colin said, all he wanted to do was to eat his meal in peace, and go home.
So everybody, them being friends, got all mad at this poor man, and all he could do was leave his food, and under heavy verbal attack, took to his heels! I did not know him well enough to know whether he was telling the truth, and that he was as innocent as he pleaded, but he was good company, and took me all over the place, showing me things and places that I had not so far found by myself, but when he wanted me to go to his home for the night, I heard a faint alarm bell ringing, and politely declined! It was a good sign to me that he was not upset, but took me home, and waved me a friendly goodbye. I never thought to see him again, but was not unduly upset by the thought!
I was enjoying my work, as Tony was not looking over my shoulder the whole time, but Harry, the boy, stressed me out a bit. I found him taking huge pieces of cake, and big humps of icecream, and as that was happening a lot of times during the day, I knew that by the time the week-end came, we would be out of icecream, and that I would have to bake extra cakes and I was already so busy. Tony just shrugged his shoulders, maybe not seeing the seriousness of this!
He then started whining again about baking some biscuits, and to get him off my back, I stayed on after my shift ended, and we made a lot of biscuits, and I hoped that that would keep his sweet tooth happy, and that he would stay out of the kitchen. As we are not that close to a town, it is bad if we run out of stuff!
Colin phoned on the Sunday night, as I was off the next day, but I did not want to get involved with someone that I was not quite sure about, so I told him that I have made other plans, which I had, as I was going for a swim in Christina's pool, taking Lizzy with! Much safer!

Trembling like a bally blamange, and clenched fists, the one around a huge knife, I told Theresa to get the hell out from behind my workspace. It was so busy that I found it impossible to get the meals out in good time, and as if the meals were not enough to worry about, everybody wanted puds as well, and I went and told Tony that he must have a good look and me, and see that I am not a bally squid or other animal with eight arms! The poor guy was stressed out of his mind in the bar, but darn it, if people couldn't eat, they would also not drink, and would soon go to another hotel.
So Theresa was told to help me in between, getting things from the fridges, and doing the salads and the puds, and that I would ring the bell twice when I was in need of help. But she obviously thought it her chance to show me just how good she was in the kitchen, and instead of doing what I asked of her, she kept on coming behind my worktop, and interfering with the food, turning steaks when it wasn't ready to be turned, putting chips in the fryer before I wanted it in, and generally getting self into a state of aggravation! The big thing with doing meals is that when I do an order, I arrange everything in my head first, then do it in that order, and if someone then interfered, I lost track, and then it was night!
After telling Theresa to get two gammon steaks from the fridge, I told her to get the salads ready, and do the orders for the puds. It was a table of ten, and in my brain everything was nicely worked out, when to put the chips in the fryer, when to put the steaks on, as some were rare, and other medium rare, with the gammon steaks going on last, as it dries out quickly if on for too long. As we had a large menu, with also lasanges, and chicken, and chicken and leek pies, and curries, and so forth and so forth, it was not always easy to stay on track!
I had everything under control, and was busy with the veggies for the steak pies, and when I turned around, Theresa had put the gammon steaks on!
That is when the last thread of self control just went out of the door, and I bellowed at the woman to get out, or be forever sorry. As I was busy with a sharp knife when I saw what she had done, and was wildly shaking this around, she left in great haste, and I was completely lost, my concentration now at nil!
Tony came in with Barry, Caren's husband, and a big eyed Caren and a smirking Theresa in tow.Tony tried to get my attention, but I was not at the moment available for a squabble, as I was trying to get my concentration on the ready again, so seeing that I was just ignoring them, they went out very silently, maybe scared that I would really throw the knife at them!
The problem here was that none of the others had any experience in a kitchen, so they just do not get it that doing meals are really stressful.

Being so short staffed is really hard on all involved, and I could see that the poor Theresa, who had to do all the rooms, and see to the laundry, and help out in the bar, was getting more and more prickly, and the rooms looked shabbier and shabbier. I was so busy myself, doing absolutely everything on my own, that I just had no time to pull the rooms together most of the time, and every morning during breakfast I had to cope with people complaining that the rooms, although clean enough was really unneat! So whenever I had a wee minute, and a wee bit of energy left, I tried to neaten up the rooms. By just neatening the duvets, and puff up the pillows, and arrange them neatly, the rooms looked more cared for.
Then we got a woman called Caren! Now Caren had worked for the Boys for a little while, but because of her dirty mouth, and slovenly dressing, they had soon got rid of her. As she was the only one in the village left without a job, Tony took her on, and by the pleased smile on his face, I could see that he was well pleased with his new employee! I think they were much of the same standing in society, and it wasn't long before Theresa was going around with a face like a thundercloud, as her authority was sorely taxed, this new woman soon starting to get Tony under her thumb, and trying to give instructions to Theresa.
It was quite entertaining, as both of them started running to Tony with tales about the other one, and to be sure, it was not tales of affection or admiration!
I had always stated that Theresa, although not very neat, worked really hard, and I knew that sometimes she sat out at the back having a cigarette, which I thought she well deserved! But when Caren found her sitting enjoying her cigarette in the sun, she went to Tony, and told him that Theresa was skyving, that means loafing, and Tony and Theresa had one humongous fight, during which she threatened to walk out! I thought it highly necessary for me to intervene, and because I knew how hard Theresa worked, and told Tony to remember that.  Caren got all uptight, and said she would get to me later, as I was interfering in what did not concern me at all.
So I gracefully retreated, hoping that Tony had enough sense to try and calm Theresa down, as, if she took off, we would be in deep trouble. All was well when I came back after my break, well, not fixed, but at least the two women were not fighting anymore, but just walked around throwing dirty looks in each other's way.
Theresa was not letting go so easily, and walked around spitting out words of condemnation, telling all that would listen about this fat slob of a Caren, with her flabby tummy hanging almost to the floor, and her backside as big as a bus, but I was not to be drawn into the fight, so I just laughed softly at her anger!

I was having trouble getting used to this new way of running a hotel. Tony was one of those people who wanted to do everything on the cheap, and then expecting people to love the food and the rooms. I was absolutely horrified when I went into one of the bedrooms that stood open, and saw the state of that room. The nightfrill was all skew, and the duvet was just put on, without even an attempt at pulling it into some semblance of neatness, and I had visions of Theresa standing at the door and flinging the pillows onto the bed. I pulled everything straight, and had a good look in the bathroom. That was quite clean, but again, the towels were hanging all skew, and the soaps were yet again the cheap pink ones that I had such a lot of fights over with Anne, one of my previous employers!
I thought of walking out, but knew that the Inn had already appointed another chef in the job they had offered me. So, either I went home, or stay and try and make Tony and Theresa realize that you get the type of people that you cater for! I vowed to keep my ears on the ground in case one of the other hotels lost their chef!
Also in the kitchen he had started to economise, buying the cheapest meat and other stuff, and after the third week of struggling with a cheap scone mix that just was rubbish, and meat cuts that was the worst on a cow, and chickens, I told him roundly that he was flirting with trouble. Where he got the meat from, specially the chicken, I just did not know, but knew that I could not cook with such horrible stuff.
So I sat down with him one afternoon, and had a good and earnest talk, in which he first got angry, then full of excuses, then promised me that he would in future get the food from reputable shops. I was relieved!
But then another botheration stuck out its head, in the form of Harry, Tony's son, who, on the Saturday morning, when I was at my busiest, came into the kitchen, and announced very importantly that I have to help him bake some biscuits! On my telling him that I was too busy, he said that his dad said he was okay with that, and I wondered at the ignorance of this people! He knew that I had a thousand things to do, as we had quite a few bookings, and as it was becoming really busy, the touristy season having begun!
Harry went away to complain to his dad, and it wasn't long before Tony appeared, followed by a very pleased looking Harry, and I felt the hair in my neck standing up straight!
Tony wanted to know what my problem was, and I could only stare at him, as he could see that the working spaces were full of things to prepare, and the oven held a huge lasange, and a pan loaded with veggies roasting. One big brawl followed, as Tony at last opened his eyes, and saw what I still had to do before lunch, but Harry was in no mood to be opposed, and started screaming abuse at me and his dad.
He was living with his mother during the week, and it seemed that he thought it was his due to be allowed whatever he wished for over the week-ends, but I just kept a deaf ear, and went on with my work.
I felt sorry for the lad, and later, when all was calm again, I promised that we could make biscuits the next afternoon after I had done lunch, during my off time.
The house is next to the hotel, and I look out onto it when working in the kitchen.

But my next outing, to Loch Etive, did not happen as planned! On the Monday, my first day off, I reconnected my battery, as I did every year, and the sweet little Panda started immediately! But then she would not move! I tried everything I could think of, and did everything my audience, consisting of villagers and Tourists, told me to do, but the Panda's wheels were as if welded onto the body!
 I phoned Stan, the man who always did the mot for me, and fixed such small problems as arised, and he told me to take a heavy hammer, and hit the wheels, and that should loosen them. So Barry, one of the villagers went to fetch his big hammer, and we knocked the blue blazes out of the wheels, with no avail! I phoned Stan again, and he promised to come and have a look.
I was worried about my wee car, as she and I had many adventures together, and she took me to the most outlandish places without ever leaving me in the lurch! In other words, I loved the little black box-like car!
I could not go anywhere that day, so I just waited for Stan, fretting all the time, wondering what on earth I was going to do If my Panda was scrapped!
Stan came soon after, and he tried just about everything he could think of, but the wheels just would not loosen. Knowing how fond I was of my little car, even he was sad when he told me that there was nothing to be done, and that I would have to scap the car!
So I sat inside the car, telling her that there was just no other way, and when the truck arrived to load her and take her to be squashed, my tears just would not stay back, and the man, a hardy looking fellow, looked at me very strangely. But oh boy, as I stood in the kitchen door watching the truck with my wee car disappear down the road, I sobbed!
The little car was just such a part of my life, and it was as though something precious had disappeared, something the people around me just could not understand.
But the Stan phoned me and offered me a wee Fiesta, his wife's, as she was getting a new car. At the price he offered it to me, and the wonderful condition it was in, I grabbed at the offer, and the next day saw me driving of at a nice pace, to the beautiful Loch Etive.

The first thing that struck me when I first entered the hotel after six months, was the overwhelming smell of dirty frying oil! So the first thing I did the next day after breakfast, was to see if there were any cans of oil, but there were none, and I went looking for Tony, as I was not doing any chips or anything else in that smelly fryers. he was quite taken aback, told me that the I am mistaken in my believe that the fryers should be cleaned, and the oil changed at least once a week if it wasn't busy, and twice during the summer. He told me to just do as they were doing so far!
So I told him that I was not going to chance people's health, and if that is how he wanted me to run the kitchen, I was leaving as in immediately! I had another job offer, and thinking back now, I know that I was silly not to take it, as it was a clean, well run hotel that offered me the job! But I am the world's biggest fool, and as loyalty is about first on my list after keeping promises, I come second a lot of times. Tony was shocked, looked at me with bewildered eyes, his small, thin body seeming to crumple in front of me, and my bally soft heart crumbled, and I said okay, I won't leave, but I wanted clean oil, pronto!
The poor wee man, who was thin when they first arrived, was now like a pencil stripe, as between him and Theresa they had done everything during the winter. There was almost no tourists during winter, and the kitchen was closed during the week, but in order to keep the inn running, the bar had to be kept open till the early hours of the morning. And over week-ends the two of them had shared the kitchen duties.
I had one humongous shock when, after brakfast, I took my own breakfast into the library where I used to always have it. But there was no library anymore, the beautiful leather couches had been removed, and a lot of small tables had replaced them, with the ugliest chairs around this tables, and cheap paper tablecloths, somewhat worse for wear covering said tables.
But what really threw me was the fact that all the books were gone, the walls empty of the wall racks housing them. And to top it all, the beautiful brown paint that gave so much atmosphere were now painted a stark white. I reeled with shock, as the library was used by quite a lot of the villagers, and guests, as they could sit there with a coffee or tea, and read for as long as they wanted! Now it was a very badly decorated, cold and miserable room.
I stormed out, so upset that I forgot that it was Tony's hotel now, to ask him why the heck they had made such a bally mess of the place, but had a further shock on seeing the bar! What used to be the most cosy, happy place, was now also a cold, unfriendly space, the walls also painted white, and all the beautiful prints off the walls! In place of the prints were now a few badly and cheaply framed notices, and my shocked nerves just overrun my senses, and I really went beserk when I found Tony. He and Theresa was busy doing the rooms, and from the conversation I learned that Theresa was actually the one behind all the changes, as she had convinced Tony that the library was a waste, and they could seat such a lot more people when it got busy! I kind of yelled at them, telling them that they had made the once tastefully decorated hotel into a cheap and ugly space! I was actually crying on and off all the rest of the day, until I went up to my room for a rest, where I stuck my head in the pillow, and screamed away my disgust!But, as I reminded myself, it was not my hotel, and if I wanted to enjoy my lovely Scotland, I just had to close my eyes against this atrocities, and do my work!
The thought of my next outing, this time to Loch Etive, lifted my shattered spirits a wee bit, and I was quite calm when I went down to do dinner!

I just had to say a last goodbye to my cove at Loch Voile, and made a quick sketch, as I wanted to do a painting on getting home.
The flight home was as usual, tedious, with a long wait of nine hours at Dubai. If you have a wait of ten hours and more, you are conveyed to a hotel for the night, but my luck was not that good.
Home was again quite daunting, as Haarlem had a lot of  creepy crawlies, and other eight legged horrors, almost as big as my hand sometimes, that moved in the moment I moved out! So on opening the door, it was no surprise to find umpteen of this spiders, luckily harmless, watching me with a jaundiced eye or two, from between their satiny but sticky webs, hanging from the rafters! A wee bitty creepy, but that was just the way it was, and I just put my luggage down before starting to clean my bedroom. I can live with a lot of strange and weird things, but a huge rainspider watching me lying in my bed, always looking ready to jump on me, was just not very comfy, so to have some sleep after the sleepless night on the plain, it had to be done.
The summer went quite quickly, and I was strong and healthy after a few months, and when Tony mailed me to ask whether I wanted to come back, I was all too ready to say yes. Well, I thought that as he had gotten the other chef when I got ill, I would not have the running of the kitchen on my shoulders, and also I would only do dinner when he was off.
So, with my childrens's moans and groans about my health and other things still fresh in my ears, I again boarded the Emmirates plane. Luckily I had only about an hour to wait before boarding the plane to Glasgow, From where I would find my own way to the hotel. To me it was a waste for Tony, and my previous employers to fetch me, as it took a big chunk out of their time, and they already so pressed for time.
I had a shocking surprise waiting for me at the hotel. Jo, Tony's wife, had run off with the chef, and the poor man was in quite a state of shock, and rage. So shattered was my hope of having a nice, easy season, as I was in charge of the kitchen yet again.
But I also found that Tony had employed a very unsavoury woman, whom nobody would employ, and this woman was all cheeky self importance, trying to teach me how to run the kitchen. I was a bitty shaken, as that kitchen was in a state of filth, and I had to start the next morning early to try and clean up a bit, before I would even try to attempt some baking and cooking!
I could just watch my little Panda from the window, raring to put back the battery, and take to the wee winding roads that I so loved!

The next day I took the road to glen Lyon, where I wanted to spend the day just walking Ben Lawers, the big mountain flanking the river in which I had my own personal pool, named, Christina's pool! It is one of the most beautiful spots I have had the honor to visit, and it felt really like it was just mine. Of course, as you had to scramble down the boggy mountainside to get to the river, nobody ever came there, and it remained a wild and serene spot, where sometimes you catch a glance of a Roe deer grazing on the slopes of the mountain, and sometimes a sheep would bring you back from a deep reverie, or a lovely sleep on the soft grass, with the sun baking down on you! Oh I just loved this place.
Here I had also built a cairn for my sister Lida, when she suddenly died. I painted a little message on a stone that I put inside the cairn, telling her that if she maybe is an angel, and fly over this spot, she must rest awhile, and enjoy the beauty of this place I so loved!

While sitting there in the bright sunlight, I thought of the night that Lizzy gave into my pleas to come and camp with me for one night! As luck would have it, we were inundated with midges, and after eating our dinner, me with my pyjama top over my face, and Lizzy wrapped up in her towel, we had to make a bee-line for my small tent. It wasn't long before the bally midges found a way in, and the four of us, Lizzy, me, and the two dogs scratched so much, that the tent collapsed on us! Then we decided to go up the mountain to where the car was parked. As I said before, the terrain is BOGGY, and by the time we made it to the car, surrounded by millions of hungry midges, we were covered in mud from falling into the bog holes! But the midges could not get in, and it was awesome to see them swarming around the car. Lizzy smoked one after the other cigarette, and I thought about the flask of lovely hot coffee far down below on the river bank!
So I went down to get it! Terrifying! And wet, and muddy, but the mud confused the midges a bit, and I made it down and back, Lizzy shining the car lights for me to see, but as it shone across the valley, no great help!
Next morning Lizzie wanted cigarettes! Badly! And I wanted coffee! Badly! So we drove to the small cafe in the glen, thinking that we would be the only customers! NOT!! As Lizzie had on a pair of shiny kind of Chinese pyjamas, covered in dried mud, it fell on me to get out. Self did NOT look good either, with a pair of pink shorts, and my mud smeared pyjama top! The guy thought we had an accident, and I had to explain viciously that no, the midges got us!!! The people having coffee outside stared in awe as I again appeared, with a packet of ciggies, and a flask with hot water!!
Lovely memories, and after I had my last barbeque of the season, I was ver, very sad o0n driving back, not knowing whether I would be back the next year! I had two days to go before leaving, and decided to take the Trossachs trail the next day!

I had a few days to go before my flight back home, and as Tommy was doing all the cooking and baking, I had promised Tony to do dinner, as they just could not cope. It was now October, and still busy, as the weather was really good.
So during the days I went to all my favourite places to say goodbye, as although I promised Tony to come back, I was not feeling all that strong, and if my health didn't improve over the next six months, I knew that I could not do the work properly!
The first , and my most favourite place I went to of course was Loch Voile, where I had spent so many happy hours reading, barbequeing, or just basking in the sun, like a very lazy seal! I found this small cove purely by accident when, as I do, I crawled down a steep slope to have a look at the loch from that angle. I was delighted when I came upon this little cove, and promptly christianed it Christina's cove! As it is so well camouflaged, nobody but me ever went there, but once I found two Porteguese tourists having a skinny dip in the icy water! They were two young men, out on a hiking holiday of a lifetime I suppose, and on finding this secluded spot, decided to have a dip! They were not even disturbed at me coming upon them, just did a few more splashes, dried themselves with their t-shirts, dressed, and after waving me a friendly goodbye, went up the slope!
From there I drove to Comrie, a village that was known for it's beautiful hanging baskets, with the most beautiful flowers cascading down like colourful waterfalls during the summer, and it also had a wonderful charity shop, where you pay fifty pence for tops and one pound for trousers. I have once found a pair of brand new Prado pants there, and payed only one pound! They always had something for me, even when I only bought a few books, and that was only one pound for three.
I then took a little back road that led me to the small house looking a lot like mine in South Africa, where I parked, and walked up the hill to have a look at my wild strawberry patch. That I also found by walking up a slope, and every year in June I came here to pick the berries. I brought Lizzy once, and after she gave me a fright by rolling down the steep slope, and got winded a bit! But she recovered and found her breath again, and we drove back to Comrie, where we bought ice cream, then on to loch Voile, where we had strawberries and ice cream! We had to sit in the car however, as it suddenly started raining, but nevertheless, it tasted wonderful! Then I said a quick farewell to the Blue lagoon, a beautifull pond just outside Comrie before heading back to to dinner.

Of course, if people who have read my blog before know, when Lizzy is on holiday, it means late nights in a pub somewhere, and sleeping till eleven in the morning. I have long since learned not to try and desturb my friend, as she became one ball of venom if roused before she was ready to get upright! Once she had her first coffee, slumped over a table, and a cigarette, then a second cup, and a cigarette, she would get up and slowly proceed to the bathroom, where she would stay, apparently having a bath, for about half an hour. Then another coffee and a ciggy, after which she would go and dress, and one dirty look from a very iiritated me, and she would fire up and usually shout 'DO NOT HARASS ME!!!' So I have learned to get up, as I was an early riser, pack myself a breakfast and a flask with coffee, and take to the roads, or the hills, or the beach, coming back at one, when I knew she would be up and ready to go anywhere I wanted to see.
On Seil there wasn't much in the line of places to walk to, as it is a very small island, so I took my sketch book and pencil, and di a few drawings, which I would later use as references for some paintings.
All too soon we had to go back, as I had to get my flight home.
At the hotel things did not look too good, but Tony had managed to get Tommy, a local man who used to be a cook in the army to do the kitchen, but I don't think they were ready to be on their own yet. Tony was not quite at ease in the bar, and as Jo was still going up to their apartment at between five and six every day, poor Tony was put under a lot of stress! I helped a bit before it was time for me to go, and I promised to come back the next year to help out.

I walked for miles along the rocky shores of this wild coastline, and did a lot of drawing. The little village of Ellenabach was also nice, but I had my eye on going over to the small island that I could see only a small distance away. But Lizzie was not so very enthusiastic, as the sea was quite rough, and the ferry taking people over to Easedale, is only a wee motorboat, carrying only a few passengers at a time.
But I managed to get Liz so far as to first have a closer look at the 'ferry' before she would decide, and I thanked the skipper for being so persuavesive, as in no time we were seated, our bums a wee bitty wet, and wedged inbetween all kinds of bags and boxes filled with the other passengers's shopping, but nevertheless. The first part of the crossing was fine, as it was quite a calm stretch of water before opening into the ocean.
There are no cars on Easedale, and only a few houses, so the people have to get their shopping to and from the ferry, in guess what? A wheelbarrow! Every household have their own marked wheelbarrow, and from the ferry this is then pushed to their homes. It looked like quite a job, as it was a bitty uphill towards the village centre. The museum on the island was one of the most interesting museums I have so far encountered on a small island, and full of things and stories about the life on Easedale, going back a long time.
I have noticed on my walks that the shoreline is flanked by huge slate kind of heaps, and in this museum the whole story of slate harvesting and cutting is told. What a terribly hard life this islanders had, eking out a living by cutting the slate. The pictures showing this men and young boys sitting bent over, their hands calloused and their faces showing misery, almost had me in tears.
We spent a long time in the museum, as it was quite extensive, with lots and lots of very interesting stories and objects.
Then it was time to go back! As is the way of the weather in Scotland, the sea was chased up and churned into a frenzy by the winds, and poor old Lizzie was in a state of panic when she saw the choppy water we had to cross. Must say, I was also quite panicky, but knew that if I showed it, we would sleep on the grass next to the jetty, as that would cause Liz to have a panic attack, something she gets regularly!
The skipper though looked unconcerned, but as we struggled to board, my heart did contract a bitty, and we were sopping wet in no time. We were the only passengers, save for an old man who was ensconced in a huge coat, with only his eyes showing. It is not a long trip but oh boy, as the little boat rode up the waves, just to fall back into a trough of grey water the next minute, I felt my lunch come up and go down umpteen times, but poor Lizzie quite lost hers in the churning sea!
We looked like drenched chickens when the cheery skipper gave us a hand back onto the safe soil of Seil. He then wished us a very good evening before he gave his attention to the passengers waiting to embark. Phew, I wasn't only wet from the sea water, but could feel the cold sweat running down my spine!

Of course we were scarcely twenty miles from Strathyre when we made our first pit stop. The dogs had to have a pee, and as poor old Benny was heaving and retching, I thought it high time. I have been upset in the past because Liz would not let he dogs stay at home, as Annette, a friend of hers, had so far offered to look after them every time we went on holiday, but Liz was adamant that her dogs also needed a holiday!
Anyway, we had a coffee at the roadside, and after I took a few very deep breathes of the fresh air, we were ready to drive on, but not until a little bit of drama! I don't know why Benny had such bad breath, and Liz had just about tried anything, from different tooth pastes, to all kinds of minty chews, all to no avail! But this I know, to drive for hours with that little dog standing with his paws on the back of your seat, retching like mad, and blowing gusts of the most hideous fumes in the back of your neck, was not for the faint hearted.
But more about the drama! Benny perked up very quickly after he had a run, and when another car stopped and a huge spiky hunting dog jumped out, he gave a snarl and a growl, and went for the kill. Poor old Liz gave one shrill scream, and with her slightly knock knees doing an awesome sprint, she reached the dogs just as the bigger dog tried to swallow Benny! This little Yorky, meaning Benny of course, had the heart of a lion, and the bally fighting instinct of a raging bull! It took some doing to separate the dogs, as Stouty, the other Yorky, decided to join the fun.
Seil island is very small, and you drive over the ocean to get to it. The bridge spanning this part of the ocean is about thirty meters long, and at first I did not believe that we had actually crossed the sea, but after consulting the touring guide book, I was assured that it was indeed the case.
We got to the cottage just after midday, and after unpacking our stuff, and scouting around the cottage, I made a light lunch, and as it was such a marvellous day, we sat outside for our meal. After the meal we walked down the tree lined road down to the village, where we had a coffee at the small cafe, but as there was not much going on, we decided to walk along the beach before going back.
There was a huge Bramble lane running along the road and next to our cottage, and the ripe, dark purple berries were inviting all and everyone to come and pick. So we did! I made a beautiful crumble with it the first night, and the next day a lovely cheese cake. We were having bramble pie, and ice cream and creamcake, and cheesecake to our heart's content, until somebody told us that the next week-end people from all over will be invading the island to pick the brambles! We then went a bitty slower in our harvesting, but as there was so many, we still enjoyed some dish with brambles every night!