Week ending April 21, 2013

Saturday we picked up the Sisters at 8:30 and headed to Glamis Castle. 

 

 

The castle is beautiful and parts of it are some of the oldest still standing and not in ruins.  The family took the middle of the road approach on most issues and so was never attacked.  The same family still own the 40,000 acres it sits on today and some live in the biggest part of the castle and yet we saw lots of rooms.  It is very large.  Hopefully Bill was able to capture the grandeur of the castle from the outside as no photography is allowed inside. 

 

Outside was a chestnut tree that has been living since the 1700’s that is one of the most unusual trees I have ever seen.  The branches grew down and many were lying on the ground.  The grandchildren would love to play on it and in it.  It really was remarkable.

 We also visited a rural life museum close by showing homes and furnishing from olden times as well as farm equipment.  It was interesting to see how little space you could live in. 

 

 

 

We saw the author of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie’s birthplace, and found out that he was just like our grandchildren.  When growing up, he was always making up plays for he and his friend to put on for the neighborhood friends to come and see in the public wash house and charging them 2 marbles, a top, or other small toy as an entrance fee.  Which of you will go on to be a great author and play writer some day?

 

Flat Lily even got in on the action with Captain Hook and Peter Pan

Camera Obscura was the last place we visited.  It was amazing.  It is a room like a kaleidoscope.  It has an opening at the top with a camera lens and mirrors on the side in a triangular shape.  The image from outside is reflected on a round flat wood table painted white that had the appearance of being bowl shaped.  The operator turned a wheel that turned the mirror and we saw the landscape outside.  On a clear day, you could see distances as far away as 77 miles.  We could see the road we drove up on, people out walking in the village we had just been in, and everything else.  There are only 5 in Scotland and maybe only 3 of those still being used.

Week ending April 14

This week we welcomed our first group of missionaries with more sisters than elders on Wednesday.  We had 14 sisters and 6 elders.  This is also our only group that comes from the Provo MTC and so they come very tired.  We sent them to the castle for the afternoon to keep them awake.  It mostly works although some were caught sleeping in the café at the castle where they had gone in to get a drink.

Thursday was a busy day. Trainers arrived, doubling our numbers. The President interviews all the new ones to get acquainted with them and at 15 minutes for each it takes several hours.  They also go up Pratt’s hill to set their goals for their mission.  We each take a turn visiting with them about our area we deal with.  My responsibility is to visit with them about their flat and keeping it clean and what they can be reimbursed for.

 At about 6:00 the decisions have been made and the President announces the companionship and where they will be serving.  They receive their ties, scarves, and CD with the mission song on it.  Pictures are then taken of them with their companion, with the Mission President and Sister Brown, and as a whole group. They are given a sack lunch and those that are near enough are sent to their areas.  The others stay the night at the mission home.  We finish up about 7:30 and were able to come home.

 Friday was then the day we have lots to do.  We send letters to the Bishops, and Stake Presidents introducing the ones that will be serving in their area.  We update all of our records moving people around and lots of other things.  It was 8:00 before we got away Friday Night.

 Saturday was fun though.  Sister Price and Bill and I took off for Scone Palace which is the place where Kings of Scotland have been crowned.  At least 42 Kings have walked on that ground and many of them crowned there. 

 

 

Scone breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland.  It is the family home of the Earls of Mansfield.  It was the capital of Pictavia in the 5^th Century onwards.  Medieval Parliaments were held at Scone and it was immortalized in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. We sat on the stone that is a replica of the one they still use today to crown their kings and queens. I ate a scone at Scone Palace.

 

From there we traveled further north to Blair Castle which is another beautiful castle.  It is still in use today with the family living in one wing of it.  There was a wedding scheduled there and so we got to see the bride and some of the bridal party, the dining room decorated for the wedding and the area they were using to serve the luncheon after the wedding.  We also explored Hercules garden that would be really beautiful in summer.

 

We stopped at the Hermitage on the way home.  You are in a building with an outside ledge that looks out over the waterfall and is so beautiful. 

 

There are also Douglas Firs which seeds were brought over from America and planted and they are now some of the largest trees in Scotland.  They had a unique "bed" you could lie on and look up at the trees.

 

Week ending April 7, 3013

We had spring/summer weather yesterday.  The sun was shining brightly and it got up to 10 degrees Celsius. The sisters had a repairman coming to fix their washing machine and so we took off by ourselves and headed up the eastern coastline. 

 

We stopped along the way to take pictures of Lily (Arianna’s flat Stanley)as we walked along the beach,

 

 

visited castles,

 

 

 saw beautiful flowers,

 

 

 and the neatest playground for children. 

 

 

Then had a wonderful fish and chip lunch where there was a long queue for takeout and another queue for sit down.  We chose the takeout and went out and sat by the harbor to eat.  Then we went back for ice cream that was wonderful. I had raspberry and mango.

 

We got back in time to watch the morning session of conference on our laptop.  What a wonderful session.  I found many messages just for me and now have direction for my life for the next six months.  I am sure I will receive more with the next three sessions. 

Week ending March 25, 2013

On Friday, we left the mission office about 1:00 to start our trip.  We headed north on our way to the Isle of Skye.  On the way north we were stopped because we were told two Lorries (trucks ) had tipped over because of snow on the roads and it would be up to two hours before they were cleared up.  We were close to a turning point and so we decided to retrace our steps and go west by another route.  We ended up on some very narrow roads and had the sisters scared that we would get stuck up on top of the mountain and never be found.  We made it though and ended up in the very same place that we had been stopped.  We had made a complete circle in about two hours.  When we went to ask when they thought the road would open they thought it might be soon.  It did, and we were on our way again.  We arrived at the hotel about 9:20 which was three hours later than we thought we would.  Bill was tired but by the next morning we were up and going again.

Our hotel on the Isle of Sky

We were on the hunt for sea shells and we found lots in the exact same spot that Lee, Adell and I found them last year.  From there we were going to see Eilean Donan Castle.  We got there and it was closed for the day because of a power outage. 

We went into Ft. Williams and wandered around their main street and into a museum telling the history of the Jacobite Rebellion. I learned that we do not want to claim our Campbell history.  They were not very nice.  They were invited into the homes and were fed and given a bed and then in the middle of the night murdered their hosts.

Whipping table-a person was laid out on the table and then punished for breaking the law

We arrived in Oban where we were spending the night.  They are the seafood capital and we had a wonderful dinner on the pier.  I had salmon mouse as an appetizer and then haddock Moray dinner.

Our hotel in Oban

Sunday we had let the Oban Branch know that we were coming and would be willing to help in any way they could use us.  They meet at the Oban High School and have between 5-32 people come as an average.  Thirty two is in the summer when all the visitors come. 

High School in Oban

They had the Branch President and his wife show up and the High Councilman and his wife from Glasgow, all the members called in their excuses.  So we had Sunday School, taught by the Branch President, music was lead by his wife and music was a CD.  The Sacrament was blessed by the Branch President and passed by the High Councilman.  Then we four from the office spoke as well as the couple from Glasgow.  So everyone there participated.  It was a wonderful experience with eight of us there and six were visitors.

We got back home about 5:30 and had a wonderful weekend.