1 EAGLETON NOTES: A Friend Stayed

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Tuesday 28 June 2022

A Friend Stayed

I have just taken a friend to the plane for her journey home to Glasgow. We've known each other a couple of years shy of half a century.  It's a very comfortable relationship. Sue and her late husband had lived here on Lewis until 2006 but our friendship remains as close as ever. 

During the last week we have been blessed by a few days with stunning weather and we made the most of it to see some of the Island's scenes and beaches that we tend to take for granted.

Garry Sands

Traigh Mhor

Uig Sands

Uig Sands

Cliff Bay

Plus a walk in the Castle Grounds


We also enjoyed plenty of good food and the occasional (as in 5.30pm is an occasion) gin and tonic.

The television hasn't been on for a week. After dinner (by which I mean around 9pm) we played Rummy or dominoes. Unfortunately for me I managed to win only one of the evenings. C'est la vie. 

43 comments:

  1. Stunning photos.Barbarax

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  2. Absolutely wonderful photographs. High latiitude light. Had to look up Uig Sands to check out the difference from Uig Skye.

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  3. Lovely photos, Graham! I just want to stand on that beach and breathe deeply! I need to calm my anxious self and seeing such beauty can help. Thank you!

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    1. Ellen, it's wonderfully exhillerating and calming at the same time being there. It is so far from anywhere for a start.

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  4. Happy visit, I hope you have more friends stop by. Beautiful and thoughtful photos

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    1. Thank you, Maywyn. Oddly, another friend who was coming in a few weeks time for a couple of weeks has had to postpone because of a hospital appointment (delayed 10 months!).

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  5. What a beautiful place to live. Those wonderful blue skies are all the more appreciated when they are not an everyday occurence. It is wild and wet here today.
    What a pleasant thing it is to share such beauty with a very good friend too.

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    1. Yes, JayCee, sharing - even just being there with someone else - make the experience so much more rewarding.

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  6. Thanks Graham, for sharing these images of what looked like a great visit with your friend, Sue, if we are to go by these photos alone. There is nothing "wrong" with an occasion to enjoy a G&T and 5:30 pm is a good occasion.

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    1. Beatrice, I noticed your comment in the emails and realised that I hadn't seen it on the blog so I went in search in the comments part of the dashboard. There were a number of comments from you and I have now freed them from their shackles. The odd thing is that they were not in 'moderation' but immediately sent to spam. I will try and keep an eye on that. Thanks for the comment by the way.

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  7. Friendships like this are what make it all worthwhile.

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    1. Certainly, David, without friendships like these life would be very much poorer.

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  8. Lovely to see some of your spectacular scenery, Graham. Sounds like you had an awesome week - I imagine you will miss your friend now she has gone home again. Mxx

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    1. Margaret, I'm glad you enjoyed the scenery. I did have an awesome week in so many ways and, yes, I do miss my friend now that she's back home. She'll return though.

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  9. I could walk on those beaches every day, in all weathers. Very different to Brighton.

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    1. Yes, Cro. In many ways I think you'd like it here.

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  10. Wonderful pictures! Great open skies, the Sea and having it all to yourselves - can't really get better than that, can it! Your mention of G&T reminded me that we've not had that in a long time; somehow we seem to have completely switched to Apérol Spritz for those beautiful summer evenings.

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    1. Meike, I cannot remember when I last had an Aperol Spritz. I must re-acquaint myself.

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    2. I'm all for white zinfandel, or bubbly "rose-aye" ... or a Cosmopolitan! 8-)

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    3. Marcheline, cold on a warm afternoon I agree.

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  11. Those beach photos look very refreshing :) Our midsummer weather here was much too hot for me (around 30C), which ironically meant I had to stay indoors most of the time... Rained Mo-Tu night though, and a bit cooler since then. - Read your comment to Beatrice above, the same thing has happened to me a number of times lately, with comments from some blogging friends not being published but marked as spam for no obvious reason.

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    1. Being over-hot is rarely an issue here, Monica. Whilst I'm sure you wouldn't like our winters (few do) on the whole we have a lot for which to be thankful. I just need to keep checking the comments.

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  12. Lovely pictures of the coast of Lewis. I was by no means disappointed.

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    1. YP, it's all very different from your walking country but it certainly has a certain charm. One can walk here for many miles in the hills and along the coast and see no one.

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  13. Oh, those photos bring back such great memories for me! I can't tell you how often I access "Google Earth" and go and visit the Isle of Lewis virtually... so glad Sue and you had a good visit, and that the weather cooperated!

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    1. Thanks, Marcheline. It would be great if you and T managed to return one day.

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    2. Yes, it would! Your kind spirit alone is worth the journey - the rest is cream on top.

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  14. A 50 year friendship? What an absolute treasure and blessing.
    And such stunning weather for Sue to enjoy and be reminded of the island at its very best.

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    1. Jayne, quite a few of my friends here have known each other for that length of time. Given that we were not born and didn't go to school here that is actually quite a long time for a friendship.

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  15. Absolutely beautiful....I miss living by the ocean. I could just pick up the scent of the air here in my office at the base of the mini-mountain in Maine. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to a few photos of your gardens this time of year. And oh how I miss my dearest long-time friends. So wonderful to have them. Good that you've enjoyed yourself.

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    1. Thank you, Regina. I have never lived very far from the sea and really can't imagine what it would be like to live inland. It is a problem as we get much older that our long-time friends become fewer.

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  16. How I wish I could walk on a beach like that. It's just magical.
    Now that I know 5.30 is an occasion, I'll be happy to celebrate it :)

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    1. Kylie, it's like the fact that the sun is always over the yardarm somewhere.

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  17. A beautiful friendship enjoyed in a beautiful area...

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  18. How nice to still keep up your friendship even though she has moved away. The photos are stunning. Beautiful sandy beaches and a bushy road leading to somewhere.

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    1. Diane, I'm fortunate in having kept up old friendships with many who have moved away from the Island for one reason or another: even as far away as New Zealand.

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  19. You live in a beautiful place, Graham. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live someplace where you can always walk to the ocean. Beautiful. It does make a huge difference to share time with an old friend, doesn't it?

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    1. Hi Debby. This comment went straight to spam for some reason. Just forund it.

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  20. The world is so much richer when you are with an old friend. You live in a beautiful corner of the world. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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    1. Debby, thank you for your comment. For me sharing a view with someone is so much more pleasurable than seeing it alone.

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