Home...

“Home is where love resides, memories are created, friends always belong, and laughter never ends.”

- Unknown

We came to Kirkintilloch on 18th February 2015, and since that time we have set about creating our Home. We obviously love our house, its been the setting for much memory making and wonderful times. We're lucky in that we have a wonderful place to live, with an equally wonderful garden to enjoy. It's been the heart of everything we've done in Kirkintilloch - a place of safety and refuge as well as a place of much adventure and joy.

But our Home is not just the bricks and mortar that we surround ourselves with. It's the community we live in, the people we interact with, and the collective memories we all make and share together. Whilst our house is a special place for us, equally special is all our friends that we have made on our journey here over the last 8 years. We came here knowing hardly anyone but we now have more than enough friends to keep us going for a lifetime. So thank you to all our very special friends in and around Kirky. You've made the last 8 years a complete joy. May we make more shared experiences together and have laughter that never ends.😍

And so to celebrate our home and many of the friends we've made on the way, we held a joint 50th family ceilidh for everyone. And it most definitely added to our wonderful memories - so thank you all for making it such a special night. We had a complete blast!

Our house, in the middle of our street

The 50th Ceilidh

Videoclip: 50th ceilidh fun

Or you can watch the videoclip here

 

Don't Stop Us Now

The Swimblers

Last Train from Broadcroft Central

Dancing Queens

The Hardcore

First contact...

For my 50th Emily and Niomi got me a birdbox complete with camera. I managed to put it up a few weeks ago so its been a waiting game since. But on 9th February 9:32am we had FIRST CONTACT! 

First contact

Videoclip: First Contact

Or you can watch the videoclip here

And then on Valentines Day they reappeared about 11:10am....This time making a full inspection on a potential new home. Lets hope they decide to move in properly soon! 😀

Birthday treats…

Wow, its been another whirlwind few weeks. I feel like my feet barely touched the ground in January and into February. First up was skiing in Chamonix with friends Colin, Gordon and Richard. And in a word - AWESOME! I’d forgotten how good it is to move through the mountains on skis, and just how good it is for you to be out in the fresh air and experience so much light in the darkest time of year. I left home feeling a bit meh from early January and returned home feeling truly on top of the world. A week of light, exercise, fresh air and the odd bit of partying and I was back in the game. Thanks to all the guys for making it a brilliant trip!

And then back down to earth and right into training for the Loch Ness Etape – a 100k cycle race around Loch Ness in April. And to get me in the groove I managed the Crow Road/Tak Ma Doon loop from Kirkintilloch. I’ve been meaning to do it ever since I moved here 8 years ago but always been slightly daunted. 50k and 700m of ascent later it was conquered on a beautiful January morning. Relieved and tired I slept well that night.

Next day was Niomi’s 8th birthday party – a crafting extravaganza making hobby horses. I think everyone really enjoyed it and it felt a really special affair for her. Her actual birthday was not till the 1st Feb and unfortunately I missed that so I’m really glad that the party was so grand. But bless her she postponed her birthday meal out till I returned! And as for her cake, well in true Niomi style she had a ‘Dirt Cake’ with worms and everything….Love it.

So where was I? Well unfortunately my Dad got rushed into hospital for an operation. Hopefully recovering now but a tornado end to a whirlwind few weeks. I did however get to go for a Balti back in Brum with my old friend Keith, although I could barely walk afterwards I was so full.

On top of the world

Me!

Skiing towards the Chamonix valley

A touch of apres ski

The skiing crew

The Birthday Girl

The Birthday Crew

Videoclip: Happy 8th Birthday Niomi

Or you can watch the videoclip here

Post-op, aged 93 and not looking too bad!!