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Blogs by Steve Kerr
Home and Abroad.Now And Then.
7/13/2015 7:49:12 AM
The minutes on the clock slowly tick by on this wet overcast
July early evening. All my family are on holiday on the
Algarve.My nephew is playing football in Budapest and even
Daisy the dog is shacked up in some luxury canine hotel at
some secret Scottish location. On a recent browse at holidays
online I noticed that Travel Republic in the wake of the
current Greek crisis is offering hotel rooms in reputable
establishments for only £1 per night.A £35 air fare to one
of the more popular islands would give you a week in the
sun for under £100.There is a lot more hype surrounding
holidays now than there ever was.To be sure of enjoying
yourself you must book a foreign holiday:a certain road to
peace and happiness.There are even TV chanels dedicated
soley to the purchase of package holidays.All this seems
to have taken away the mystique and other worldness of
foreign travel.Holidays can often be over rated or tagged
with a big gawdy plastic bumper sticker. The current TV
travel programmes have such a mass produced fake sun tan
feel to them compared to the warm and inviting BBC"HOLIDAY"
programme of the 1970s ,hosted by Cliff Mitchelmore,Joan
Bakewell and Anne Greig, that was always a part of Sunday
evening winter viewing .So tempting and desireable were the
places shown ,probably because few could afford to go to
them.The film travelogues presented a host of saught after
pseudo-nirvanas that might sometime just be in the grasp of
the general public to whom foreign travel in the 70s was
no more impossible.
I would like to return once more to my granny`s cottage
that I briefly mentioned a couple of weeks back.The cottage was a fairy tale like affair with small church like windows
with diamond panes.It sat of the Edzell -Brechin Road deep
in the county of Angus .It had once been part of the
estate of the neighboring mansion- The White House- which
had belonged to the Queen Mother.It had been sold and the
estate divided up thus my grandparents cottage had a huge
piece of land atatched to it which my grandad slowly
cultivated into a beautiful garden complete with
vegetables and some fruit as well as an abundance of
flowers.Some years before my grandparents came to live
there the Queen and the late Princess Margaret when they
were much younger had afternoon tea at the cottage.The
tributory of the river Esk flowed through the garden which
was full of minnows and water hens who lived by its
banks.In summer the neighboring fields would be full of
ripe strawberries and raspberries as well as the host of
pickers who were usually housewives and school children out
to make a few extra pounds during the school holidays.
In summer my extended family would descend on the cottage
on a Sunday .A host of cousins ,uncles,aunts and even
second cousins and great uncles and aunts but it is the
tranquil sunny days of midweek during the school holidays
that I remember with great fondness the most .We would eat
fresh strawberries coated in sugar on the small compact
lawn and drink milkshakes or Creamola Foam and life was
carefree the responsibilities of adulthood and school a
long way away.A few yards up the country lane was the
hamlet of Newton Mill afew houses clustered tightly
together :it contained a small waterfall.There lay beyond
that a quiet and long country lane that saw few cars and
wound even deeper into the countryside .The main road
passed by the cottage on the right hand side .It has now
been replaces by a dual carriage way further up and is now
little more than a country bye way.The nearest dwelling
place before the cottage were two tiny lodges at each side
of the very grand gates that led into the kiethock
estate.Each cottage contained only one room :their windows
oblong with diamond shaped panes.One night my Auntie
Catherine was making her way home on the country lane at
the back of the estate .She thought to save time that she
would cross the road on the estate which led straight from
the lane to the lodges and the gate on the main road which
was only a few minutes from my grandparents cottage.She
rode her bike across the estates road .By this time it was
well past midnight ,pitch black and no soud except for the
odd owl.As Catherine was approaching the two lodges a
white haired woman in a flowing white gown exited one of
the lodges crossed the path and dissapeared into the
other.She was quickly followed by another ghostly figure
with white hair and long white gown running from one lodge
to another.My aunt screamed and let go of the handle bars
at the sight of the two phantoms.Terrified she mounted her
bike and rode somewhat shakily to my grandparent`s home.
Telling the tale to my grandmother over a cup of tea or
something a might stronger she relived the terror.My
grandmother however was not surprised she too had seen the
two ghosts.They were infact the two very much alive sisters
who lived at the lodge .The two old ladies changed into
their nightdresses in the living room/kitchen ,waited until
no one was abroad and run quickly to the other lodge which
was their bedroom.
Those summer nights ,tell me more...tell me more
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More Blogs by Steve Kerr
• Once upon a Christmas - Friday, December 9, 2016
• A Song Of September - Friday, September 2, 2016
• Our Lives Are All But A Film of Neo- Realism - Saturday, August 20, 2016
• Poor Cow - Saturday, August 13, 2016
• Place - Tuesday, August 9, 2016
• One Hell of A Few Weeks - Friday, July 15, 2016
• Il Sole Dalla Sicilia - Tuesday, July 5, 2016
• Il Sole Dalla Sicilia - Tuesday, July 5, 2016
• June Is Bursting Out All Over - Thursday, June 30, 2016
• The Cottage By The Sea - Wednesday, June 22, 2016
• June in Halifax and Andalucia - Friday, June 17, 2016
• A walk in Kafirstan /Kalash - Friday, June 10, 2016
• We Are In Arcadia - Monday, June 6, 2016
• Travels In The Hindu Kush - Saturday, June 4, 2016
• Leafy Green Crescents and Eating Out - Thursday, June 2, 2016
• Creativity Cries Out - Thursday, May 26, 2016
• Blossom and The Crimea :products of this May - Tuesday, May 24, 2016
• Sweet Revenge And a Few Songs - Friday, May 13, 2016
• Tea In York And Satanic Mills - Wednesday, May 11, 2016
• The Blossom Outside - Sunday, May 8, 2016
• A Window On The Barges - Thursday, May 5, 2016
• A Bank Holiday At Elmwood - Monday, May 2, 2016
• A cold Day For May Day - Sunday, May 1, 2016
• An Ode To A Special Flower - Friday, April 22, 2016
• Akin to Metropolis - Friday, April 22, 2016
• The Battle Is On - Thursday, April 14, 2016
• January`s Days - Saturday, January 16, 2016
• As August Passes On Its Way - Thursday, August 27, 2015
• Buses and Baskets - Monday, August 17, 2015
• Hiroshima,Portuguese and Cilla - Wednesday, August 5, 2015
• I Never Promised You A Rose Garden - Saturday, August 1, 2015
• Home and Abroad.Now And Then. - Monday, July 13, 2015
• The Simmer Dim Of Shetland and TheThe Four Marys - Monday, June 29, 2015
• End Of Term and Days In Paris - Wednesday, June 24, 2015
• Old York In June - Sunday, June 21, 2015
• Saturdays Thoughts and A Little Pasta - Saturday, June 6, 2015
• Saturdays Thoughts and A Little Pasta - Saturday, June 6, 2015
• Vienna Calling - Wednesday, May 27, 2015
• The Days Of The French Ballad - Friday, May 22, 2015
• Quality Beneath The Glitz .A True Europe - Wednesday, May 20, 2015
• Dreams In a Chanson Francaise - Saturday, May 16, 2015
• Sun,Wind and The Islands - Monday, May 11, 2015
• Elections,1940s Hits and A Bit More - Sunday, May 10, 2015
• A Walk uphill - Wednesday, May 6, 2015
• The Mad Blossoms of May - Tuesday, May 5, 2015
• A View into A Celluiloid Past - Thursday, April 30, 2015
• Trees In The Wind - Wednesday, April 29, 2015
• Monday Morning in the Cyber Cafe - Monday, April 27, 2015
• A FRUSTRATING MORNING IN PUBLISHING - Friday, April 24, 2015
• Aprite La Finestra - Wednesday, April 22, 2015
• April Weekend In Bayswater - Monday, April 13, 2015
• South Kensington Easter Weekend - Saturday, April 4, 2015
• Lady Day ,plenty sunshine and freezing weather - Sunday, March 22, 2015
• Snow over Sheffield - Wednesday, January 21, 2015
• And the Epiphany passes into the mundane - Friday, January 16, 2015
• Misty mornings - Saturday, November 29, 2014
• 21ST OF NOVEMBER - Sunday, November 23, 2014
• And in November. - Thursday, November 20, 2014
• Hallow`een - Saturday, November 1, 2014
• A squirrel on an autumn day. - Sunday, October 26, 2014
• The early train to Doncaster - Saturday, October 25, 2014
• October17th - Friday, October 17, 2014
• Recent Events in Scotland. - Saturday, October 11, 2014
• MONOPOLY - Friday, September 12, 2014
• A Place To Lay My Head - Tuesday, August 26, 2014
• The Road to Rocacorba - Tuesday, August 12, 2014
• The Long Hot Summer Of 1914 - Tuesday, August 5, 2014
• Summer in the city and more of it - Tuesday, July 29, 2014
• Summer 2003 and some thoughts on today - Saturday, July 26, 2014
• World Cup Finals,Celluloid and Blue Suede Shoes - Sunday, July 13, 2014
• Notting Hill and Rio - Saturday, July 12, 2014
• A Carnival and Film Noir. - Sunday, July 6, 2014
• The Stars And Stripes - Friday, July 4, 2014
• Saints,Film Stars, Shoes - Monday, June 30, 2014
• Sunday 29th of June - Sunday, June 29, 2014
• Gym And The Ancients - Tuesday, June 24, 2014
• Mid summer - Sunday, June 22, 2014
• Standing Stones and other topics - Sunday, June 15, 2014
• Queens birthday and monarchy - Saturday, June 14, 2014
• The Americas - Monday, June 9, 2014
• A Mixture Of A Wednesday - Wednesday, June 4, 2014
• blogs,language and pastries - Monday, June 2, 2014
• The last day of May - Saturday, May 31, 2014
• European elections, a view... - Monday, May 26, 2014
• Whitsun lost - Monday, May 26, 2014
• Dundee - Saturday, May 24, 2014
• Visiting The Peloponnese - Wednesday, May 21, 2014
• A Pleasant lunch - Monday, May 19, 2014
• An elderly man at the market - Thursday, May 15, 2014
• Tuesday thoughts - Tuesday, May 13, 2014
• Sunday night - Sunday, May 11, 2014
• A Tradition - Saturday, May 10, 2014
• Sun,Techno and Beards - Thursday, May 8, 2014
• Eurovision semis and other activities - Tuesday, May 6, 2014
• May day weekend - Saturday, May 3, 2014
• Cherry blossom lane - Thursday, May 1, 2014
• april 29th - Tuesday, April 29, 2014
• marketing in the high street - Sunday, April 27, 2014
• and so to Easter - Saturday, April 26, 2014
• the week in retrospect - Monday, April 21, 2014
• Palms,reunions and more garden colours - Tuesday, April 15, 2014
• Moods , Lenten food and weather - Friday, March 28, 2014
• A new week - Sunday, March 23, 2014
• A Castle in Angus - Monday, March 17, 2014
• Manchester on a Sunday - Sunday, March 16, 2014
• Saturday Night TV-nostalgia - Saturday, March 15, 2014
• Marketing and cakes - Friday, March 14, 2014
• What is life without a question mark - Thursday, March 13, 2014
• Hospitals and songs - Wednesday, March 12, 2014
• The Princess Charlotte Augusta - Monday, March 10, 2014
• Nice is nice - Sunday, March 9, 2014
• Elmwood - Saturday, March 8, 2014
• The silvery Tay - Friday, March 7, 2014
• The days are getting longer - Thursday, March 6, 2014
• All things of March 3rd - Monday, March 3, 2014
• A dull day in Leeds - Sunday, March 2, 2014
• A Day of reflection - Saturday, March 1, 2014
• A Day In Ulan Bator - Friday, February 28, 2014
• February 1990 - Tuesday, February 25, 2014
• A Cafe In Arcadia - Saturday, February 22, 2014
• The living room on a cold evening - Friday, February 21, 2014
• A Day in mid February - Wednesday, February 19, 2014
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