Scotland Henhouses 2009
Ah well, here we go again, off on a trip, dog sorted, cat in the huff, son staying at home (this time) not a lot of packing, almost proper bed, almost proper roof over our head, another weekend another country!
For those who dislike camping or are unable to camp, Centre 4 does a ‘wigwam’ weekend. Although in fact the wigwams are more like little hen houses, they have plastic mattresses on benches and a little fridge, kettle and heater. So, pretty posh really by our standards.
Barry, Lorraine, Grum, Allison, Will, Ray, Manuela, Keith, Rob and Harry
The usual crew attended with the addition of Ray and Manuela, who were most welcome and none of us will forget Ray’s joke about the junior doctor giving directions!!!!! Harry also joined us this time and contributed to the great fun we had…….thanks Harry, and Rob who is always fun and who tells great stories around a camp fire.
Saturday we rode to Thornhill, a little village not far from Stirling but nearer Callender. We were staying on a smallholding on a hillside that overlooked a huge glacial valley with an escarpment over the other side. I am quite sure geologists among you scoff at my description but, oh well, that’s how it looked to me. The view was almost prehistoric, you could easily imagine that it had not changed since the dinosaurs except for the odd ice age and all that. It was very dramatic and imposing, stretching for miles, the layers of stone all different colours and the colours changing as the sun dipped down in the late evening.
We had the weather this weekend, great sunny days leading up to the trip meant that Grum was already sun-kissed (burned to a pork scratching). I did my best to buy some sun cream before we left and it wasn’t until Grum put some on that we realised it had a blue tinge which promptly turned his face purple!!! Sorry my fault!!!! But it gave us all a laugh.
We had a convoy of eight bikes this trip, Denise and Malcolm joined us later in the car as they were working Saturday and set off much later. We pretty much filled the little site area which was relaxed and friendly.
We had a meal out on the Saturday night at the local pub, some meals were very good but others were quite ordinary but no worry, we decided to have a bar-b-cue on Sunday.
Sunday morning we cooked a big breakfast in the communal kitchen, and then the girls went shopping for tea. With true team spirit we shopped then everybody helped keep the shopping cold by dividing it between all our little fridges. Tea sorted it was time to explore.
Keith led us through the countryside, some amazing twistys up mountain sides and down into deep steep valleys. We even skirted a big stretch of water (Loch Lomond the locals called it!). We stopped for tea and cakes and were totally ripped off by the pub….not good but a lesson none the less. We got a good photo of Keith breaking the highway law, not often this law abiding citizen gets caught out! Now, I am sorry if this sounds girly but the blue bells…. well there were complete hillsides covered in them, as far as the eye could see these small blue flowers coloured the ground, it was hard to take in how many there were especially on a hair pin bend going down a mountain….. hence no photos!!!
Sunday evening was barby night, the boys cleaned the barby grates and the girls prepared and cooked the feast.
None of the lads tried to take over!!! This is the first time I have ever been involved with a barby with men present and not one of them tried to take over…….well done lads. You see, I get a bit obsessive about cooking on a barby, the meat has to be done in a certain order, there must never be raw meat next to cooked meat, the coals must be just right…not too early or it goes smokey. All the meat products must be cooked through completely etc. Anyway, well done again boys for your appreciation of our cooking. Lorraine mixed a very nice refreshing pick-me-up called a Woo Woo, thank you Loraine, yummy and very healthy I am led to believe!
Sunday was also the occasion of Denise’s birthday and Malcolm and Denise’s wedding anniversary. Well done Malcolm, only one date to remember and one present to buy. To celebrate we followed the barby with cake. Keith’s wife, Margaret, had decorated a fruit cake in regal icing and Keith had managed to transport it in his top bag. He was quite relieved to find it was intact on arrival. For those of us not too worried about their waistlines there was also a chocolate cake.
We also had a fantastic roaring fire. It was a great night, we even met some tortoises. Lorraine thought I was kidding her on when I told her the little animal runs down the hill contained little tortoises. I knew she wouldn’t believe me when I added that each one had a little house and that each little house had its own light on! This resulted in almost everyone going down the hill to see if I was pulling their leg…..I wasn’t.
Most of us retired about eleven, I think I fell asleep instantly but Grum had to move on a couple of noisy lingerers nearer midnight swapping war /army stories. I wouldn’t mind if I could understand what they were talking about but it was all in code…..
“The NCO met up with the HDB and they went to the WD40 for a one of those HND’s “……Eh…. what was that all about? I was never to know cos Grum moved them on!
It was so easy to pack up on Monday that we cooked another big breakfast, we sat outside, another lovely sunny day, more memories of great times, looking forward to the ride home, each of us peeling off as we got to our own roads. Riding through the Borders is always special to me as it’s my homeland and where I first stretched my wheels.
All our thanks to Keith for arranging the weekend, and Margaret for parting with him for another weekend. We really appreciate all the effort that goes into this type of planning. It was not easy this year and Keith did exceptionally well to get us booked in anywhere so thanks again from all of us.
THANKS KEITH
Allison