Tricks, tracks and treats…

A lot can happen in a fortnight…

First off Emily’s had braces fitted, they look pretty cool and it seems that the main downside was that she couldn’t eat half the sweets she acquired trick or treating. Both the girls went trick or treating – Emily for the first year went out just with her pals, and Niomi was chummed round with some friends and the Cat in the Hat. And then in between sugar rushes and sugar crashes there’s been a Halloween disco and I went to see Nick Cave with my friend Colin. 

There’s also been some autumnal stomping around whilst Mummy swanned off to Stobo; and Emzo turned 12 with a karaoke room party, an escape room and (my highlight) was a meal in Wagamama's. The garden’s been put to bed for winter and the final harvest’s have been made – although there’s still carrots, potatoes and parsnips in the ground and some sprouts ready to go; and with a bit of luck we’ll all be treated to them at Christmas. Wow - I'm exhausted writing all that but its all been good, and very much helped me get back on track after the hours changed and the dark nights appeared.

And then for a final treat I'm off to Lisbon on Thursday with friends John, Colin and Andrew. Can't wait - sunshine and vinho verde here I come😁

Tracks

Cruella

Kiss

Cat in the Hat

Videoclip: The powerful, intense and enigmatic Nick Cave

Or you can watch the videoclip here

Sisters 1

Sisters 2

Videoclip: Happy 12th Birthday...

Or you can watch the videoclip here

Happy 12 Emzo 💓

A day to remember….

Some days you just never forget. 19th October 2024 – the Wedding of Chloe Rooke to Alex van Tuyll (with two little Rookes appearing as bridesmaids).

It was a whirlwind of love. A joyous blast. A meeting of so many from all over the world, converging to celebrate two remarkable individuals joining together and growing into something even better. 

From the moment we stepped off the plane we were fully immersed in the magic of it all. From stumbling into the joint hen/stag dos; preparing the magnificent venues on the Wormsley Estate; a rehearsal, dinner and drinks reception for the wedding party and those travelling from afar; and onto the day itself. And what a day it was – travelling by vintage bus; entering All Saints Marlow to the sound of harp and strings; a service full of love demonstrating their deep faith; the church bells chiming before more vintage buses to Wormsley. And then straight to a drinks and canopies reception with string quartet on the terrace of the Garsington Opera House. Then a meal, toasts, games and dancing in the Boundary Room on the edge of the cricket ground at Wormsley till late. The sun shone, the views were spectacular and everyone had…well everyone had a complete ball.

It was everything you could hope from a wedding and a little bit more. And I have to say I was really proud of Emily and Niomi making wonderful bridesmaids, and I just loved the whole adventure.

A weary tidy up on Sunday, and then an even wearier trip home with Storm Ashley making for an 'interesting' descent to Glasgow.

It was a whirlwind, a blast, a time to remember – but it's the energy, the love and the joy that I’ll remember most.

Thank you Bucks Rookes – you can sure throw a party. You conducted a true masterpiece, with an orchestra of helpers made up of so many wonderful people. 

And mega congratulations to Chloe and Alex - a joyous day for such a joyous couple. It was all so very beautiful and inspiring being surrounded by so many great friends and family.

The Prep Party

All Saints Marlow from Marlow Rowing Club

The Wedding Breakfast

Salon La Paz

On the buses

The Happiest Couple

And with the bridesmaids

McRookes all scrubbed up

Videoclip: From start to finish...

Or you can watch the video here

Zonked

D&G…

Chilly misty mornings and damp in the air. Leaves everywhere, darkening evenings and fire on. Autumn is most definitely here. Whilst I’m not a fan of long Scottish winters, there’s much to love about autumn. It’s a season of change. Bringing everything together – harvest, family, reflections. Taking stock, renewing commitments and looking ahead. And with autumns change in our hearts we spontaneously booked a last minute long weekend in Kirkcudbright. It just felt right to get away from home for a few days and have some new experiences.

We’re fans of D&G (Dumfries and Galloway). It’s much unsung. There’s loads to do and plenty of adventures to be had. This time we lucked out with a great cottage in the centre of Kirkcudbright, a beautiful old fishing and artist town. We’ve visited before but never stayed so this time we made the most of its offerings with trips to Broughton House and the Dark Sky Planetarium (highly recommended), as well as sampling a number of local great eateries and shops. We also made a day trip to Wigtown for the annual book festival – Scotland’s answer to the Hay-on-Wye book festival in England, and caught up with our friends Yvonne and Wilf, as well as Tanya’s Uni friend Fiona and her family.

And we also walked (and I ran) out and about in woods and valleys. Breathing in that autumn air. Enjoying Scotland’s autumn, feeling the change in the air. I think we all returned refreshed, revitalised; grateful for our unexpected break and some good times before the winter.

Kirkcudbright Marina

Hello Hedgey

Wise words in Wigtown

Rocketman!

Autumn good times 1

Autumn good times 2

Autumn good times 3

Twas good for the soul…

With a rubbish summer weather wise, September still had some delights up its sleeve. And with the forecast for Aviemore set to stun, off I popped with my friend Liam to celebrate the last of summer (and his birthday a tad early). 

After an eventful journey up, Friday night saw a back to back sun set and moon rise as we munched on a bunch of homegrown produce turned into bbq delights. The beauty of it just blew us away. Then Saturday was a cycle in Rothiemurchus – Loch an Eilein, Loch Morlich and Lochan Uaine – 40km with the sun splitting the sky and not a cloud to be seen. Truly Scotland at its finest. The sun just shone and shone and fed our souls before summer ends. Another great night spent by a wee burn – more fire and bacchanalia before Sunday saw us climb Sgor Gaoith. As we slogged our way up we broke through the cloud and spent the rest of the day surrounded by a marvellous, massive cloud inversion – the higher Cairngorm peaks just poking through.

Vanventuring is a great life – and we had a total blast for a few days before the sun starts to really recede and winter comes fully on. I did welcome my shower on my return however, before waking on Monday feeling very grateful for a vanventure well spent. Twas good for the soul...

Happy Preemptive Birthday Liam!

Sunset in the West

And Moonrise in the East

Panorama struggled but you get the gist!

Loch An Eilein

Cycling out the Cairngorms

Loch Morlich

Camp

Into the Cloud

Inversion 1

Inversion 2

Twas good for the soul

Bramblin’…

No such thing as a free lunch? Well there is if you forage for it. And we’re a bit of a foraging family, particularly in spring and autumn. September’s a great time for free treats from the earth – apples and brambles a-plenty for chutneys and vinegar; rosehips and hawthorn berries for a winter syrup. And the veg in the garden are still producing – tomatoes, beetroot, kale and green beans. It’s the last of the fresh produce before the hard winter months come in. A time to stock up and bed down.

And so with Mrs Rooke away – the kids and I jumped out to the hedges to pick natures fruits, and returned with magenta coloured fingers and mouths and a massive tub of blackberries. And then it was over to Mrs Rooke on her return to magic up blackberry vinegar and blackberry and apple chutney. It’s good for the mind, body and soul to live off and with the earth.

Not impressed with blackberry fingers

Hard at work

The Red Hand Gang

Blackberry stupor

Mum and Daughter night out

Autumn and the morning commute

Talk to the animals…

We're a great fan of experiences and so earlier in the year had arranged for the the girls to get presents of a half day zookeeper experience at Edinburgh Zoo. We’d heard stories that it could be quite fun but we still weren’t really sure what to expect, so we just followed instructions and duly arrived with wellies and facemasks on  early on a Saturday morning ready to see what the animals could throw at us (apparently Covid restrictions have only just stopped for zoos!). It had taken quite a few months to get a booking so it was clearly quite popular, and we sat waiting in the entrance lobby quietly excited.

Their zoopkeeper guide was called Hannah, and she quickly explained the running order and equally quickly it became obvious that this was a zookeeping experience for the girls, and that Tanya and I were somewhat superfluous, mainly there to hold the coats so to speak. The girls were going to be working with their very own big five – red panda, meerkats, opossum, hairy armadillo and then a grand finale of feeding the penguins. There’d be some mucking out to do, some mucking in to help feed and train, and then a little bit of mucky play thrown in. Needless to say they loved it!! The whole experience was really, really well done and really, really hands on. And then with the rest of the day to look round the zoo (my personal highlights being the cheetah and chimpanzees), all in all it was a top-rated day out, really educational and fun. Thanks to all who contributed to the experience and special thanks to Hannah the zookeeper for being spot on in her approach and managing to get an unsure Niomi to feed the penguins.

Zookeepers!!

Instructions from Hannah

Bruce, the red panda

Mucking out

Training

On lookout duty

Loving the zoolife

With the hairy armidillo

Feeding time

A fishy tale

Videoclip: Zookeepers

Or you can watch the video here

How apt

Our closest relative