Glencoe

We rented a cottage for Valentines weekend in Onich at the "Highland Croft"  http://www.highlandcroft.scot/ I can thoroughly recommend it for a de stress, the owners Dale & Julia also do B&B, if your looking to stop in the area you will not go wrong.
Last weekend on the 13th was also the anniversary of the massacre of Glencoe in 1692, a heinous crime carried out by government forces and Campbell of Glenlyon on the McDonalds of Glencoe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe.
I have never driven or ridden through this magnificent Glen without thinking of that fateful part of our bloody Scottish history, the Glen even on a sunny day seems to hold the aura of a dark and mysterious place to me. There is a memorial to the fallen Clansmen, women and children so it was high time we visited.
Another reason to be in this area for us was that Fi's Great Great Grandad (and her family) lived and worked in this area and at the Ballahulish Slate quarry he is immortalised on the display explaining the quarry and surrounding area, another overdue visit.
A chilled weekend with plenty reflection on life and the meaning of life helped of course by the water of life!!
Next week we'll hopefully be back on the bikes in some way shape of form, its great top see the days getting longer and the temperature getting warmer, Spring is almost here!

Looking Down towards the Glen

Looking towards the Ardnamurchan peninsula, very pleasant

The slate quarry, the sun bringing out the colours

Fi pointing out part of the "arrest" system used by the miners to tether themselves to the face

Fi's Great Great granddad, immortilised

Thats him!

The massacre memorial

Nothing else to add

Flowers laid, the white rose a symbol of the Jacobites

Just down from the memorial

The Bridge at Ballahulish

Our new sheep King Ali Baba, expect to see more of him 

Real sheep listening to our every word

Our wee hoose for the weekend, recommended 

Capper Rally

Last weekend was the first camping weekend of the year for us at the Capper Rally just South of Edinburgh, a short trip thankfully to try out my wrist after my injuries 6 weeks ago. We were also trying out our new "retro" tent, a vango force 10, hoping the canvas construction that's been the mainstay of real camping for over 40 years would keep us warm.......it didn't. Despite having all the best gear, down sleeping bags and a great mattress we were still freezing and had to resort to pulling the jackets over us as an overblanket. Funny nothing ever changes, camp in the winter when its well below 0 degrees and it gets cold, simples! The other strange thing about this rally was its the first since the draconian change in Scottish drink driving laws, nobody was sure so most people kept it sensible, I probably had more pints of beer than normal to stay away from the whisky but all that means is you have to develop an elephants bladder to avoid baring your bum to a frosty moon in the middle of the night! The usual crew were there which was great, a while since we've all been together, Laurenne won best bike with her new 51 year old BMW, makes a change from Bert but his Indian would have been a contender for first place also. A bit of nonsense in the afternoon when Davie and Bob spotted a carry oot outside a bedroom window and thought they'd move it out of reach, transpired it was Kevin's, how we laughed as he described how he struggled out off and back into the window to retrieve it. Good Dutch turnout as well , the Dutch come over with their sidecars in search of snow and cold, they spent a week at Kinloch Rannoch before the rally and were happy it snowed as they got there...mad! Glad to say the wrist held up but it's no quite 100% yet, another departure from the norm was we went to Loanhead for a pint and then a chippy, walking down the road (sober...ish) with my chips I walked into the branch of a tree resulting in a bloody eye and another cut to my nose, really need to take more care!

Ready for the off

Our new holiday home!

Some of the bikes

Ian the mattress blower up

Cool Dutch outfits, well kitted for the weather

High jinks as Davie makes his escape watched by Bob the ringleader

Laurenne & Bert's bikes, cool!

Braw sky, clear means cold!

Fi trying to frighten me oot the tent in the morning

All Roads Lead to the Moon - Thailand 2014

First apologies for the lack of blogging recently, still unable to ride my bike so not much motorcycling to report. A weekend in Holland last weekend for Sylvia's birthday in Groningen produced mainly unusable photos, I must have been tired!!



We have though finally finished the Thailand Video, just over 40 minutes so its a committed watch!