A Kirkymas Klassic...

Quick post on our Christmas here in Kirky. We had an awesome time with the Gurneys and Senior Gediks 😁💖. Lots and lots of Kirkymas magic and beautiful memories made. There was plenty of presents, loads of food, laughter all around and the occasional tear of joy. We sang, danced and made tiktok films to our hearts content. But importantly it was all that is good and important at Christmas - just spending lovely time together with those that you love. Kirkymas we loved you! Thanks to all the Gurneys and Senior Gediks for indulging my inner Santa joy, and making it such a special few days.

Vietnamese banquet courtesy of Ly

The Santa party

Yaas! He's been 😁

Santa brought a new friend

And a Taylor Swift poster (proper old school presents here)

The Kirkymas gathering

Videoclip: Xmas Tiktok fun

Or you can watch the video here

Merry Christmas everyone....

 

To all our family and friends near and far, we wish you a very merry festive season

and love, peace and joy in 2024.

STOP PRESS: And in a Christmas comes early kind of way, we've just heard that Ly has been given 'Leave to Remain' in the UK. The best Christmas present she could hope for 😍.

There’s something in the air…

Some folk may know that I’m a bit of a fan of Christmas. All that feel good, things aglow, tinsel-tastic build up just warms me'cockles in the middle of winter. Some years though definitely have me feeling more festive than others, and this year feels to be edging me more towards a Santa-sparkling festive crescendo. 

It’s a bit all change this year as normally its my family for Xmas and then we try and see Tanya’s family after if possible, but this year its Tanyas sister’s family and her parents for Xmas and then my brothers family for Hogmanay. It’s going to be quite the thing – 11 folk for the first few days and then 10 folk for the second part – somewhat the houseful which I luckily always enjoy provided we're well planned. And that's what it should be about. Quality time with those nearest and dearest. 

So whether its the festivities 'plus plus' and all the accompanying preparations, or whether it’s the recent early December snowfall and snowfun, or whether its Ly sharing our Xmas for the first time and us having lots of things to go to, I’m not sure. But whatever, I’m definitely excited. The puddings been stirred, cookings commenced, the tree’s up, the Xmas tunes are on, we’ve built snowmen and gone sledging…and there’s still party season, an Xmas ballet, Xmas films, Edinburgh and outdoor ice skating, and a whole host of other Xmas-tastic things to come. And its cold outside. 

So yes, there’s definitely something in the air….and I can’t wait.

Snowgirls

No. 3 - A Toy Poop 😂

Snow Angel

First Christmas here, first decoration

Decorating

Sending the child up the ladder 😇

Novemtures...

November has seen us full of the spirit of adventure. Emily turned 11 at the start of the month which was celebrated with her looking very grown up in her new dress and Vietnamese food cooked by Ly. Her tastes are definitely broadening out. It also saw her having a secret agent Escape Room party with friends. Looking at the photos my little girl is definitely not so little anymore – next year sees high school, where we’ve recently had an open evening which blew her and my mind completely (for different reasons). For Emily it was all so big and new, for me it was the fact that the teachers were so approachable and friendly – whatever happened to casual teacher/pupil violence in schools? Rapidly on the heels of her 11th and she was whisked off to Ardentinny on her P7 trip of abseiling, rock hopping, mountain biking, orienteering and other exciting stuff. She had a ball. We however were just left with radio silence and parental worry that she was hating it.

And whilst Emily stretches her wings, Niomi has been off adventuring with us enjoying some fine autumn weather. We’ve created our own magic with her and as ever it had a touch of Niomi’s uniqueness about it.

What of us older folk? Well we’ve also been enjoying the autumn air. I’ve been out and about on my bike and Tanya has remained committed to the outdoor swimming – crazy lady. Nice it may have been but cold it also was. Anyway, that’s Novemturing for you.

No longer a little girl

The Present Posse

The Party Posse

Videoclip: Two Cakes

Or you can watch the video here

Porters are needed on an adventure

And good direction skills

And an ability to keep look out

Off on a great adventure

Autumn by bike

Fright Night....

Halloween is not normally a huge part of our annual agenda but this year all the girls wanted the fully bhoona, with Ly being particularly keen to try her hand at ‘trick or treating’ (possibly incentivised by getting her hands on lots of sweets). So with Tanya away in Banchory and unlikely to make it back in time, it was left to me to sort out costumes, including my own. Now not being too particular I decided that this year I would identify with a non-specific scary thing. You know, just look generally a bit scary and I honestly thought that this would pass muster with the locals as we trekked around. Clearly Niomi, Emily and Ly thought it would work, commenting on how scary I looked, and so we all set off round the neighbourhood.

All was going well - confectionary supplies were increasing very well, Ly had mastered the pronunciation and intonation of her joke successfully, Niomi had pretty much overcome her initial shyness and Emily was taking being an Elf well and truly in her stride. Then I was blindsided by a 6 year old. “Who are you supposed to be?” came the question. Well I just thought a general scary thing would have cut it but clearly you actually had to be ‘something.’ After a slightly pregnant pause I had a flash of inspiration and came up with ‘a ghoul’ on the basis that this 6 year old would likely have heard of a ghoul but not know what one looked like (although neither did I). Honestly, I thought I’d done really well with my last minute impromptu costume – but there’s no satisfying some folk.

The kids were all however more than satisfied, returning home with bags of sugary bounty galore, probably to find it will be rationed out over a very long period of time…..mwah, ha, ha, ha….

Scary Kit and Angry Face

General Scary Thing

Elf (having now read LOTR)

Non-scary Princess Fairy

The Living Dead

The Motley Crew

Ding dong....

The offical photo of the happy couple

“She's getting married in the morning, ding dong the bells are going to chime.” Hot on the heels of her major successes in Utrecht and Amsterdam my niece Chloe has only gone and got engaged to that lovely boyfriend of hers, Alex. 

A week after we left them he whisked her away to the beautiful city of Milan (classy) and proposed on one knee from the dizzying heights of the Duomo – followed by a round of applause from nearby onlookers. Fantastic! The boy's got style. My favourite part of the story was that the engagement ring set off the security sensor on entry to the Duomo, causing Alex to rapidly do some secretive explanations to the security guard who was rather vocal in his apology. All this caused a slight quizzical exchange from Chloe but he bluffed his way through and plans were not derailed.

Needless to say, after what has been a bit of a tough year, we are delighted to have a wedding to look forward to. And even though it might not be tomorrow morning, it seems like the bells might chime next year with a bit of luck. And what’s more we have 2 VERY excited girls in our house as Chloe has kindly asked them to be bridesmaids! Emily was jumping with glee, to be joined by Niomi after she initially went into spellbound shock at the prospect.

Congratulations Chole and Alex!! We are simply delighted💕

Rock on!

Niomi is clearly expecting a carriage to travel in

And Emily is clearly very excited!! (as are we all!)

Trekking to Utrecht…

The star of the show

“I trek, you trek, we all trek to Utrecht”….So went the cry as a merry band of eight of us left the UK from various departure points to all convene on the beautiful Dutch city of Utrecht. A feast was in store both literally and metaphorically, for it was to be a weekend of fine classical music, fine food and fine conversation. The purpose of this venture was primarily to see my super-talented niece Chloe conduct in some of the finest concert venues in the world to audiences approaching 2,000. Chloe is 27, and achieving such heady heights already early in her career completely blew me away. The orchestra and audience were lifted with every twirl of her baton and I was left both speechless and with a tear in my eye.

But there were other missions to accomplish too – the sub-plot was to introduce ‘our family’ to ‘his family’. The ‘he’ of this story being her wonderful boyfriend Alex. And so the 8 of us became 13, as we toured Utrecht on foot and barge, eating and chatting away around what is a truly stunning and vibrant city. For the fourth time this year I felt Britain is just lagging behind and Europe rapidly racing ahead. That aside we all seemed to get on famously and the generosity of our hosts – my brother and his wife and Chloe and Alex – left us desiring nothing and full of joy and laughter which meant for everyone having a truly fantastic weekend. Thank you all so very much and it was a pleasure meeting many new faces (and also thanks to Nana and Baba for holding the fort in Kirkintilloch!).

And before we knew it we landed back with a bump – straight into Storm Babet – but even that didn’t dampen my autumnal good vibes that our trek to Utrecht (and Amsterdam) had left us with.

Videoclip: Trekking to Utrecht

Or you can watch the video here

Boy talk...

In early October I spent a weekend visiting my Dad. We had finally found a new care home for him, Vale House in Oxford; and he moved in a few weeks ago. And it really is lovely. It's a specialist nursing dementia place run as a charity (as opposed to many which are businesses) and the care and the leadership are beyond anything I have ever seen in a care home before. It was designed by an architect who had a parent there and is full of very thoughtful touches. It's also a truly inspirational place to be inside; full of compassion, understanding and happiness. They really understand and they really care.

And now he's calm. After months of agitation, emotion and agression, he's finally calm...and so am I. I had a very lovely time seeing him and staying with my brother, but it was also very tough. I said everything I needed to and, whilst I'm not sure he knew who I was, we shared many giggles and memories. I saw three very different Dad's - tearful, giggling and peaceful. But most important was the latter. I left having sat outside holding his hand, with the sun on our faces sharing the warmth of the early autumn air. He nodded off quite regularly and was very calm. I left feeling overwhelming peace and grateful that I had that time with him.

"Peace is always beautiful."
Walt Whitman

Bedding down...

The end of September has been spent on hooves and skates. Skating was a first for Ly, Emily has been wanting to go again for ages and Niomi is still less than sure about the slippy stuff (Tanya takes it all in her stride). Horse riding was again a first for Ly, Emily and Niomi have been wanting to go again for ages and I am still less than sure about the horsey stuff (Tanya takes it all in her stride). Man was meant to go on two legs not four if you ask me, and after my last experience a few years ago I just body swerved the whole thing. Needless to say everyone else finds that funny.

The horse incident was on a long weekend in Banchory, and aside for my equine phobia Banchory was great. I got out running (firmly on 2 legs), breathed in the air and generally kicked back against the autumn blues that had gripped me for a few weeks. There was the usual dose of being wonderfully looked after, and visits to Crathes and Banchory’s finest charity shops.

And as the nights draw in and the weather gets wilder, we’ve also all taken to preparation for the change in season with the girls preferring drawing and cooking, and us adults getting the house ready for winter – clearing out, mending, organising, bottling and pickling. Autumn like Spring are seasons of change – one to the light and one to the dark. And this bedding down is helpful for me to prepare for the hunkering down of the winter season and the impending dark. I'm ready....I think 😕

Skater girlz

First time rider

Happiness is in hot chocolate...

...and in Nana...

...and in food.

Yum... A Ly creation 😋

Niomi by Emily

Emily by Niomi

Videoclip: Blades and Hooves

Or you can watch the videoclip here

The longest day…

Some days just seem to go on forever. Last December I turned 50 and it feels like I’ve been celebrating my birthday ever since. I set a target to do something every month and its been quite an adventure so far.

September's offering came courtesy of our good friends Yvonne and Wilf; a trip down the road to the Spotty Dog for a touch of archery, food, fire and merry making. I was indeed like Robin Hood with my band of merry folk and we all had a cracking time (which was welcome relief from the recent intensity of things with my Dad).

And what has all this celebrating given me (apart from a few sore heads)? Well my birthday offerings have made me remember how truly blessed I am to be surrounded by many, many good people. Friendship is possibly one of the greatest gifts.

Thank you Yvonne and Wilf for being Mr and Mrs September. I was made to feel very special.

The Merry Folk

Mr and Mrs September

Outdoor cooking with a view

Maid Marian was the winner!

Yet more birthday cake😋

Eyes by the light of the fire

Eyes looking for the light

Videoclip: Robin Hood and his Merry Folk

Or you can watch the video here

Friends