May 2, 2024 had our Air Transat flight landing in Glasgow for a brief but heartfelt return to Scotland.
The timing of this trip was dictated by being back for Mum’s 90th birthday, but in the end that was a mute point. Estate work is still outstanding so I may need to deal with some of that remotely, but at least no need for concerns about Mum’s health while away :-(.
After another challenging drive to Pearson airport due to traffic and construction, our flight was perhaps the most uncomfortable in history. So no sleep for either of us by the time we landed at 7:30am! We left Picasso with George and Marucia for the entire time to allow them to know the county better. In the end, they decided it is a place where they will want to settle, so happy they were able to spend time on their own!
We rented a car to head to Kate and Andrews place just outside of Edinburgh in a wonderful estate home. As the car we had requested wasn’t available, we were upgraded to a very swank BMW brand new car – and due to the cost of the vehicle we had to purchase their CDW insurance since our credit card coverage wasn’t sufficient!
We settled in with Kate, Andrew and their 4 lovely daughters – Eve (still away at Uni), Alice, the twins Isobel and Mae and their spaniel Ollie. Their home, Chesterhouse, is a fantastic estate home and is set in an idyllic area with a horse paddock, chicken coop and lovely gardens all around. Andrew spends a lot of his time tending to the lot! Alice was busy studying for her crucial Year 11 exams for English and Maths, and also headed out to her football practice at dinner time, so we didn’t get to chat much with her yet. Isobel, the quieter of the twins, is working on her grade 5 piano. Mae plays the cello and is more outgoing. Both are lovely and we had great dinner discussions about travel and interests. Kate made a very yummy dinner of cottage pie with cheese on top, veggies and a fresh rhubarb crisp for dessert with cream or custard. Kate works for a financial firm in IT and although back in the office post covid, she had managed to work from home so was able to meet us when we arrived. Andy is also in IT and works strictly from home.
