Happy Campers

A camping weekend in Borrowdale, Lake District. June 2009 ....

The sleepy campsite yawned, stretched and slowly came to life as the canvas community became a buzzing hive of activity; the bustle of breakfast moving to the clattering billycan beat.

The four happy campers peered out of their tents and greeted the grey day, ecstatic to find that the wailing wind and rhythmic rain that had kept them awake all night, was, for the moment, nowhere to be seen.

One by one, the happy campers stretched into life. The gloomy grey cloud did nothing to dampen their high spirits as the mountains in the distance embraced their souls. They had become part of a quietly beautiful lush green world; away from the humdrum tumult of the busy city.

The clouds swelled with the echoes of their excited chatter as they walked, ambled, scrambled and clambered, up, up and over their conquest of Haystacks. The silence of the downward plod punctured only by dreams of well deserved treats they felt sure awaited them at the bottom.

It was a weekend of celebration, a special landmark for a special camper. Thirty whole years, passed in the blink of an eye and a heart beat of memories. They celebrated in camp style with charred sausages, warm fizz and a cake of mountainous magnitude. They filled their hearts with contentment and their lungs with sparkling mountain air.

Soon, the night sky darkened to the chattering of the happy campers, their heads enveloped by a red wine glow, as they counted floating lights and toasted the spirits that warmed them from the depths of their bellies to the toes of their souls.

It wasn’t long before the peaceful snores of the happy campers drifted out of the tent and floated away, lost among the arms of the old oak tree.

Scottish Adventures

Wedding Weekend Jan 10th 2009. Forter Castle, Glenisla, Scotland.
And so it was, on a very special winter weekend in the highlands of Scotland that the wind whistled over the mountain, dancing and stirring itself into a frenzy, before spinning its way down the glen. The castle stood tall, lean and proud; defiantly strong, it was the only obstacle in the wind’s southerly course. The fighting wind and the stalwart castle would tussle out their battle between them, the castle being, as always, silently confident of its victory.
This contest outside went entirely unnoticed by the happy residents inside the castle, because something was stirring within. An eclectic assortment of the closest of friends and family were gathered to celebrate. To celebrate love, to celebrate friendship, to celebrate happiness, to celebrate being, to celebrate hearts, spirits and passions.
And they dined and they drank, they toasted and they roasted by the big roaring fire. They chattered and nattered, they hugged and kissed and they ate and ate and ate. They danced the gay gordon, and the hokey-kokey, and plenty of moves that flummoxed their feet. The girls preened and the boys pruned the beer stack. There was laughing and smiling, giggles and titters, tears and snuffles and wells of emotion. A mass of memories collected in a flash and stored for a rainy day.
As the bright stars twinkled their way through the dark night sky, the storm died down and the castle won its battle. The happy troop of friends and family gave their warmest blessing to the bond, and blessed was the feeling of the very happy couple, for the parade of such extraordinary people that were entwined in their lives.
A special place, a special weekend and a very special wedding.
A Scottish adventure…..