Back to front...

Geez. So much is happening I can't keep up. In fact it's making me lose time. For the record I've realised I've forgotten some weekends and should put down for posterity a few key events in the Rooke Family which happened BEFORE the last blog post....All gone back to front I tell you.

So flash back in time to our ceilidh in February, which was followed very swiftly by Tanya's birthday. Slightly toned down this year but it did include a tasty inpromptu trip for high tea to the Broadcroft, courtesy of friends Katy and Nico.

Then a few days later my niece arrived with her boyfriend Alex. They brought with them sunshine both in spirit and in weather. It was a real tonic having them to stay, the girls loved it and so did we - particularly as Tanya and I got a day out to climb Ben Lomond AND then go out for dinner. Alex is a really, really lovely guy from the Netherlands and we had a lot of fun together. He's great company and it was a real pleasure meeting him. But sadly when they both left they took a little bit of that sunshine with them. Thank you for visiting us, looking after the kids, and please, please come back and bring more sunshine soon!

And then next up was the Hillwalkers weekend away to Pitlochry, which was equally blessed with sunshine. Our trip up turned into a 4 hour nightmare due to road closures but after a pitstop with a fellow hillwalker, Andy in Dunblane, we made it. Walks up Ben Vrackie and around Dunkeld were really amazing, and Niomi did herself proud on Ben Vrackie - climbing all the way up aided by a massive bag of Haribo. I particularly loved hugging the Birnam Oak. At 600 years old it felt deeply mystical and wise.

And all that was before my weekend in Milan. Phew...no wonder I can't keep up.

Birthday Girl - still crazy after all these years 😁

Maximum cake effort - I did well

Chloe and Alex

Ben Lomond - nothing wrong with our half century legs

The bench of sociability

Hillwalkers Assembled

The Birnam Oak

Atop Ben Vrackie

Marvellous Milano…

Part of my 50th plans was a trip to Madrid Milan with some great friends. (We were originally going to Madrid but EasyJet cancelled on us). I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I have to say it absolutely blew me away. I was seriously impressed:

Some things not to do in Milan:

1. Don’t spend all your time going from place to place on their wonderful Metro. Whilst it is wonderful – super quick and efficient, you will miss seeing a new sight round every corner, some stunning architecture and just absorbing the amazing atmosphere in the city. Take a bike tour or walk instead.
2. Don’t try to find good restaurants on trip advisor before you go. Every restaurant seemed to be pretty tasty if you ask me. Wander around and look till something tickles your fancy.
3. Don’t just stick to the old parts of the centre, some of the modernist architecture was really imaginative and just as amazing. The centre is huge and encompasses so much, but don’t just see the sights, there really are many, many sights slightly off the beaten track that are just as worth it. We didn’t make it inside the Duomo nor did we visit the Last Supper. Both I thought were must-dos but I didn’t feel like we missed out.
4. Don’t think Milan is just style and shopping. Whilst there is plenty of that (there are an endless number of exceptionally stylish places to shop, eat and drink), there is also a whole lot more to Milan than that.

But we didn’t just while away the hours in Milan, we also did a day trip to Lake Como and a half day to Bergamo. The whole area was just fantastic…

Key take-aways:

1. It all felt very ‘civilised’ – a wonderful culture, aperitivos are great, sunshine helps, everything worked, and it just felt – well – very nice. I could get used to that.
2. Ambition in town planning makes for truly stunning places to visit. The Milanese seemed to have protected their history and embraced the future really well.
3. Cycle tours, particularly those a little off the beaten track, are a really effective and cool way to see a city.
4. Tenants Super is a delicacy in Milan. And a small bottle, strolling through a park with some roasted chestnuts is actually not too bad.
5. Milan is twice the population of Glasgow but its city centre must be 4 or 5 times the size. And all of it packed with sights, tastes, style and atmosphere.
6. Its fine to leave somewhere unfinished. Particularly if you like somewhere. Gives you plenty of reasons to return.
7. And finally, wandering around having great conversation with some great friends in a great place is a really great thing to do.

So a big thumbs up for Milano. And a massive thank you to Colin, Andrew and John for a truly amazing trip and making my 50th even more memorable. And also a thank you to our respective partners and kids for letting us go off and enjoy ourselves for a few days. You know we're worth it.

(Oh and also thanks to John for taking most of the photos below!)

Arrival in civilisation

The local mall

The local park

Classy and stylish

Pootling around Chinatown

The modern was very cool

Living living

The canals with plenty of life

Pick a spot for dinner

Duomo

The side of Lake Como

The view for lunch

Bergamo

I miei amici

Try everything...

It's almost impossible to get Niomi to sing or do any performance when you want her to. She's not too sure about any sort of audience at all. But despite this she's a girl who spends a lot of her time singing and clearly loves it. And, if you're lucky, you can sneak a little recording (unless she spots you). She's got a really lovely voice and I'd love her to fully find it one day...

Videoclip: Try Everything

Or you can watch the videoclip here