after their first astonishment the girls found the whole situation very funny, and the three stood at the caravan door laughing their heads off! I decided to try and see whether I could make it to the caravan, and found the water coming up to my knees, so I waded through, and brought some clothes for them to dry ground.
It looked scary from inside the caravan, all the camping chairs, and clothes, and food, and like I saw earlier, even a small fridge, bobbing up and down on the water.
Emma was having a hard time gathering people's stuff, and it looked so strange, the small kajak going up and down between the caravans! We couldn't help a lot, the water being too deep, but, together with Andy, one of the mcGregor boys who lived in a caravan on the sight, we could salvage a few things that was floating in the shallower water.
We had decided to go to Edinburgh for the day, and as the car was standing on the verge of the now busy road, the two youngsters of course stood hiding behind a bush until I had done my thing with the beach umbrella and got the Panda started.
I drove back to Irene's house so that the three girls could change into dry clothes, and then we were off to Stirling where I would park the car, and we would take the bus from.
Edinburgh is to me one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, the Royal mile stretching away from the castle like a street from a story book, and one could almost write one's own fairy tale.I loved to sit in the park between Princess street and the mount on which the castle stood watching over the city, and I sometimes laughed out loud at the antics of the small squirrels, who were a happy bunch, and not at all scared of people.
The only flaw in this wonderful day was Kristani and her new shoes. Irma had warned her to put on an older pair of walking shoes, but na, na, Kristani wouldn't listen! So after walking up the quite strenious road to the castle, Kristani started limping, and moaning! Kristani is a Virgo, and like all Virgo's, my son included, she could MOAN! At first Irma was not very sympathetic, as we had all urged her to wear the older shoes, but after a while we could't ignore the moans anymore!
So, as Kristani wore the same size shoe as myself, we swapped, as I thought that maybe the shoes wouldn't hurt me, but after about five hundred meters my heels were starting to blister and I had to call a halt, and we swapped back! She had bought this pair of funky shoes at Camden Town, and we realized soon enough that it might not have been a good buy, although very trendy!
We then found a shoe shop, where Irma bought a pair of cheapy flip-flops, and it went well for another fifty meters or so, until Kristani started moaning that she now had blisters not only at her heels from the other shoes, but also between her toes where the thong of the flip-flops went through!
By this time all of us had lost the tiny shred of sympathy we still had, and we all three told her shortly to take the bally flip-flops off then, and walk bare-foot, which she promptly did. From then on things were a lot nicer, and we could again fokus on all there was to see, and Kristani's plaintiff moans that her feet were cold fell on deaf ears.

 The art museum in Edinburgh is one of my favourite places, and we spent quite a long time in there!

I stayed with the girls at the caravan until Irma got back, and I was introduced to Ally, who looked everywhere but at me, and I could see that Irma was bursting with laughter.He had a quick coffee with us, all the time having quite a hard time evading eye contact with me, something I just couldn't understand.

When he left, Irma told me that Ally believed that it was me who tried to get one up on Irma, and had phoned him to make the other date. Goodness, we had a merry old laugh at the poor man's expense, and when Irma told me that he almost had an apoplexy when he heard that I was her mother, our mirth did not know any boundaries.

Both of us, and the girls, remembered that he was not alone that day when he brought her the letter in Comrie, as there was another young man behind the wheel of that truck. But it was quite embarrassing to me, knowing that the bally man thought that I would do something like that, even if Irma wasn't my daughter!

We figured out that it must have been his friend , and indeed a few days later we were told that it was indeed, and that his friend had asked some American girl to phone him! What a bally relieve.

That night it rained, and rained , with heavy winds, and I was quite worried about the girls in the caravan. To make my night worse, Jim must have had one big night at the pub, as he came up the stairs, making a terrific racket, and then lay snoring fit to wake even a hundred year old peach pip!

When morning came at last, it was still raining, but the winds had stopped, and I thanked the Lord that I didn't have to work.

I had a leisurely coffee in bed, then lay reading a bit, as the other three would definitely not be awake before seven thirty.

When at last I got the panda going, getting soaking wet in the process, I drove slowly and carefully to the caravan park to see if the lazy birds were up. What met my eyes was a situation so bizarre that I just sat on the verge of the road, looking down at a sea of water where the caravan park was supposed to be! I saw Emma going from caravan to caravan in a kajak, and everywhere people's belongings were floating lazily in the new formed loch, even a small fridge was bobbing merrilly up and down.

I put on my water boots that was always in the car, and walked down to have a talk with Emma, who was looking scared but determent to look after the people, and she assured me that my kids were quite alright, as the caravan was on higher ground, and the water only got up to the door, but didn't flood it.

The three inside was still sleeping through all this, and after some good and raucous yelling, a face appeared at the window, and I saw the eyes grew round, then another face, same thing, and then Irma at last had a look, and I had to laugh at her astonishment!

Luckily, or maybe not so, most of the caravans were empty, as a lot of them were parked in the park right through the year, so there was no casualties, but boy, oh boy, looking at the stuff floating around that poor Emma tried to gather, I think there must have been a lot of damage!

Back in the village we heard that in very rare instances the Balvaig, that flows through Strathyre and into Loch Lubnaig, overflows, and the caravanpark swamped, and this temporary loch has actually a name, and that is Loch Occasional! Very funny!

Irma and kids came to the hotel at twelve when I finished my morning shift, and after a hasty change of clothes we set of for Callender where she was to meet her beau, Ally. The arrangement was that the two girls and self would sit in a cafe across from the road to watch for when this man came, as we were a bitty early, and Irma would stand in the Ediburgh Woollen Mill shop until we gave her the thumbs up that the man had gone into the fish shop where they were to meet, and then go to the pub up the road.
It wasn't long before the tall dark and handsome man got out of a white Isuzu truck that had stopped almost in front of the cafe where we sat, and made his way to the fish shop. We were very excited, and waved like some escaped lunatics at Irma, who then emerged from her hide-out, and made her way shyly to the fish shop!
We saw them shake hands, and then came out and walked down the road, so we knew that we had to entertain ourselves for a while, as Irma would let us know whether they hit it off, and whether she was driving home with us, or with Ally. So we had a light lunch, and made a round of all the shops, and it was about an hour later, when I was getting tired of trying to entertain the bored girls, that she at last sent a message that it was fine, she was driving home with Ally.
We stopped at the Edinburgh Woolen Mills along the road just outside Callender, a huge sister shop of the one in Callender itself, where we had a lot of enjoyment with the highland bull, named Hamish. He is one very clever bull, and will not come to the fence if you didn't hold a camera, or in some instances, a bunch of the veggies that you could buy at the shop.
However, when a bus full of tourists pull into the parking lot, Hamish would rush to the fence, his long hair waving in the rush of wind he made, and stood making the most babylike noices, I was sure to impress the tourists. Hamish of course is known all over the world, as he is a big attraction here in the highlands, and the tourists of course would buy the overprized veggies by the armfull, just to take some photo's, or make a video.
 And of course  mr. Highland Coo knew this, and he would just be the clown, showing off something terrible, and people, including myself, just loved him!
On the way back we stopped at loch Lubnaig, where we sat watching the fisherman. I am sorry, but I have never seen one fish being pulled out along this loch, but the must surely catch something now and then, or they wouldn't come week after week. I knew most of them, as they all have caravans at the Immervioulen park where the kids stayed, and always had a meal with us. Strathyre lies almost on the banks of loch Lubnaig, at the furthest end, some way around the bend.

We had a lovely day, and after lunch and a look at the antique linen in Aberfeldy, It was time again for taking out my beach umbrella, and the two youngsters gave one very anxious look around at all the young boys , and made for the safety of the street corner, where they stood trying to look unconcerned and disinterested in the proceedings, until the Panda's engin sprang to life. Both then had another look around, and waited for every boy in the vicinity to be out of sight, before they legged it to the car, jumped in, and lay almost flat on the back seat trying to keep a low profile.
I was thinking back on two years ago, when I had a busdriver beau for a week, and my drive of humiliation through the streets of this same Aberfeldy, when his red rusted car with the shiny mags wouldn't start, and the low flying we did down the narrow and very steep little road to try and get the engin going, and the boombox that was rocking the little car like a boat in a storm at sea.
But how and so ever, we were again on the road, and I decided to take them to Crieff, and Comry, where we could maybe have tea and a cake.
We were sitting in The Granary, a cute little coffee shop in Comrie, eating away and laughing a lot, when suddenly from across the road a very, very handsome man came through the door, and mumbling something about Irma that was beautiful, he gave her a piece of paper with a telephone number, and a message that asked her so nicely to phone him, and that his name was Ally!  The girls were aghast that their mother could pick up a man, and the two of them, all dressed to kill, had only a few very interested looks from the Scottish boys!
We tried to convince her to phone the handsome lad, but she was adamant that she was not cheap, and that she was passed the teenage stage where dates were made like that! We laughed at her, accusing her of being a ninny, and scared of men, and what not, but it was Liz and Hanna who in the end convinced her that she was on holiday in a foreign country, and she might just as well forget all her good and modest ways, and have some fun for a change!
But what we didn't know was that in the meantime Ally's friend had played a horrible trick on him, and got an American friend of him to phone Ally and make a date to meet at a pub in Comry. So after some long and difficult negotiations, and all of us standing around her in case she got cold feet, Irma phoned this guy, and he was absolutely flabbergasted, and told her that the woman he had given the number to, had already phoned him. Now it was Irma's turn to be rattled, and she told him that she had definitely not phoned yet, and put down the phone. But this lad was not to be put off, and as he now had her number, he made a date to meet her the next day at a pub in Callender, where they could have lunch. It was all a mystery at this stage.

I left the three to roam the village, or do some hill walking, as I had to work, but was off the next two days. Liz, who had been to visit me in South Africa, and had met the kids, took pity on them, and the whole bunch went to Stirling for the afternoon. Later they all came to the pub, and when I finished work, I found them happily playing games, the girls at the pool table, and Irma playing scrabble with two of our Dutch guests.
The next morning I was at the caravan early, complete with my throw away barbeque pan, bacon, sausages, bananas, tomatoe, and some rolls to toast, We were having breakfast at Loch Voile, at Christina's cove, as that is still one of my favourite spots in Scotland. If it turned out to be a nice dry day, I was taking them to the devil's cauldron, where a huge waterfall cascaded down the rocks, into a hissing, moaning swirly pond beneath, just like a witches cauldron actually. It was an awesome sight, and I knew that the kids would love that!
From there we would go on to Aberfeldy, where we would walk along the river, and then have lunch at the small Turkish cafe, where the owner was just so amazing, and the food good and quite inexpensive.I wanted to show Irma the beautiful antique linen at an antique shop, as it was absolutely beautiful, and I was puting away money to buy an old bedspread or quilt before I go back this year.
But all was still and very quiet when I got to the park, and it took some loud knocking to wake that lot, and to get them out of bed took patience and THAT I never had a lot of!
I made them coffee, and they slowly awoke, Kiana the first to open her eyes, looking at me as if I had gone stark raving mad, telling me in a small voice that it was only half past six, and had Ouma gone crazy, or what?
Then Irma opened one eye, asking whether I had made coffee, and she at least sat up to take her cup. Kristani was the last to wake up, just sitting against the pillows, looking out of the window, where the sun was warming up the wet earth, and steam rose like fairy dust to the heavens.
I knew only too well how fast the sun could disappear again, and how rain clouds could cover the lovely sun in minutes, as this was Scotland after all, so I urged them to get up so that we could start the day.
It took about half an hour for them to do their ablutions and get ready, and by that time the caravan park was buzzing, everybody coming to the little shop next to the caravan to buy fresh rolls that came in still warm every morning.
Kristani and Kiana opted to stay in the caravan while I opened the bonnet of the wee Panda to poke at it's insides with my beach umbrella, as they just did not see their young ways open for that humiliation. But I was not embarrassed in the least, as I loved the little car, and as Jimmy had assured me that the car would not yet let me down, I was fine with the poking, and would have it done with the next m.o.t., as it was not long now before I would go home.

We had a quick coffee at the station cafe before making our way to the little Panda, who was washed and shone like a brandnew penny in the sun that was out after a few days of rain. Of course I had to first open the bonnet of the car, and poke the solenoid with my beach umbrella that I had won at the village fair, and the teenage girls, like any other teenager at that age, was absolutely stunned, and highly embarrassed! Irma, who in her poor days just after her divorce, had driven an old Volkswagen that most of the time had to be pushed to life, was less embarrassed, and once in the car and on our way, we laughed a lot as we remembered her embarrassment on morning when the Volkswagen again wouldn't start.
Across from her house lived a very prim, very important, and very well known, stockily built little phychiatrist,and as he was driving out from his mansion and noticed Kristani trying to push the Volkswagen, he demeaned himself to a great extent, got out of his car, and offered his help. Irma was shocked, as he usually just nodded stiffly, but also very glad, as Kristani was already late for school, and herself for work!
So, with Irma behind the wheel, the child and the smartly dressed phychiatrist pushed! Up and down the road, and after a while the poor man was exhausted, and asked Irma, as their wasn't even a spark of life, whether she had turned on the engin. She had NOT! So, the little man instucted her seriously to turn the key to on, and the Volkswagen's engin jumped to life after only a few meters, and a very agitated Irma watched the now sweaty and a bitty dishevelled wee man walk stiffly to his monstrous 4x4!

Anyhow, the three were very excited to be there, and we were sprinting along merrily, when we hit the area close to a few pig farms. Now this pig farms are usually okay, but after some heavy rain, and then some strong sunshine, the most hideous smell invades the area around it for about twenty kilometers. All three of them sat wretching, but by now I was an old hand at this, and just sat smiling and talking as if nothing was wrong, although, to be honest, I also felt a wee bitty weak on the stomach, as the smell was absolutely acrid that morning!
We passed Loch Lubnaig, the closest loch to Strathyre, and the girls immediately vowed that they were in for a lot of swimming! I just laughed, remembering my grandson Rene, who was also brave enough to try the water, but who had turned blue within a few minutes!
The caravan park was situated just before reaching Strathyre, and they were very taken with their view of the river Balvaig that flowed lazily down to the loch, and immediately liked Emma and Janet, the two sisters and children of the owners.

When I booked Irma and the kids's train tickets, I never thought that they might have to transfer at some point, as I always used The Great Western Flyer, and it always went straight to Stirling, and then to Glasgow, it's last stop.
I was elbow deep in dough, making scones for Irene, when my phone rang, and a very small voice on the other side informed me that Irma was completely devastated! The train from Kings Cross had run late, causing the three travellers to miss the transfer to the one to Glasgow, and they were now standing at the station, watching the trains come and go, not knowing what to do!I told her to go to the office and find out what could be done, and she said that they were actually now on their way there.
The long and the short was that they now had to wait till late afternoon for the next train, and would only be in Sterling at about ten that evening. But that the train couldn't stop at Stirling, there being a lot of work done on the lines, and would go straight through to Glasgow. But, Irma assured me, not to worry, as there was a bus that would bring them to Stirling, and they would be there at about eleven thirty.
I finished my shift and rushed to Stirling, very excited now, as I would love to spend some time with my kids and show them my special places. The bus from Glasgow came in, and I had my widest smile on, but  there was no sign of the kids! I squinted to see inside the bus, but by now it was empty, and my poor heart started missing a lot of beats, as this was the last bus from Glasgow!
I tried Irma's phone but there was no answer, and I was just about to bally expire from worry, when my phone rang. It was Irma from a pay phone, informing me that it took them such a long time to find the stop where they had to board the bus, that again they just saw it's tail lights disappear by the time they got there.
I was now in a tizz, as with the little Panda overheating when stopping and starting, I couldn't fetch them, and anyway, I would never find the station!
I said that I will drive back to Strathyre and fetch Liz from her bed, but remembered just in time that ten to one she would not be in a condition to drive, so I told Irma to find a hotel for the night, but said if they couldn't find a place to sleep, I will wake the Boys, and maybe one of them could fetch them.
They did find a place, and Kiana couldn't stop talking about the backpackers where they found accomodation, where some guy's underpants was hanging above her head on the bunkbed, to dry. Kristani was just on about the kids on the street the previous night, who were so drunk and unruly, and did a lot of vomiting, and she had actually to step over a lot of this.
The next morning I went to Stirling to fetch them, and was I relieved when the bus came in an I saw three happilly smiling faces peering from the window!