To my Dear Readers
Thank you for your concerns and good wishes. They really do mean a lot to me.
It's been a wonderful but, at times challenging, few weeks. My New Zealand family arrived and my Island family went down with Covid and Carol and Brodie were quite unwell. Gaz was working on his own and soldiered on. Obviously with The New Zealand Family flying back to New Zealand tomorrow we all tried to stay well away and avoid anyone with Covid. Wendy's (New Zealand Family) Mum and partner in Edinburgh also succumbed so no last minute goodbyes there either.
As alway The Family had a great time here catching up with people from their past. I had a great time just being with them again. Obviously I was in hospital part of the time and I confess that it's taken me longer than usual to regain my strength 100% again.
Today is the first really beautiful day here for weeks (The Family knew what was possible weatherwise and just got on with things). This photo was at 0450 this morning.
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The Wedding in Edinburgh was, for me, one of the most emotional affairs I can recall attending. I'll hopefully blog about that soon. A rare occasion for me to wear my full Highland Dress.
A great start to my day as well as yours, Graham. Such a beautiful view. Glad to hear that equilibrium has been restored and look forward to hearing more from you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David.
DeleteSo nice and what a sunrise. I hope you wore your kilt in the traditional way with everything hanging loose.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, that's for me to knlow and you to guess.
DeleteI hope you have fully recovered from your emergency - how awful for you and worrying for your family, without the added problems of Covid.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning sunrise. Keep well, Graham. Looking forward to the wedding photographs:-)
Thanks, Janice. Wedding blog soon.
DeleteOh, that is such a beautiful sunrise shot. What a welcome to another day.
ReplyDeleteI am pleased that you are on the mend and am looking forward to hearing all about the wedding.
JayCee we do get stunning sunrises and sunsets here. One thing making them spectacular is the large skies we have. If I walk a little way I can stand on a hillock and see 360° to the horizon.
DeleteOh goodness, too bad Covid had to disrupt the visit. Hope all are well now and you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteIs that the view from your home? How fabulous is that?! That's a terrific way to start your day, Graham!
Ellen, thanks and, yes, that is the view from my kitchen window. It's why it takes me so long to do things when sitting at thge breakfast bar with the laptop.
DeleteI am glad to see this post. Boy. Covid sure threw a monkey wrench into this reunion, didn't it? Get well soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debby. I've recovered from the op thanks.
DeleteSo very glad to read this post. Eagerly waiting for more news from you. Your morning view is very special!'
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jill. It is indeed. Although this morning the sun has gone and the Mainland is drowning in rain apparently.
DeleteYou know what will make you feel wonderful? Showing us photos of you all dressed up for that wedding in your full Highland Dress! I am sure of it. So sorry that Covid had to rear its ugly self. Hope all your family is doing much better now and hope the same for you. x
ReplyDeleteKay, your wish is my command.
DeleteLate nights and early mornings can be breathtakingly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGlad that the wedding and get together was successful, but sad for the COVID disruption
Thanks for your thoughts GZ.
DeleteSorry to hear about the covid! I hope Carol and Brodie have recovered, and that you and the NZ family managed to escape it. The sunrise view is spectacular and your garden seems to be thriving! Hope we'll get to see photos from the wedding! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Monica. I didn't have an update yesterday but I'm hoping for good news today. Wedding photos soon.
DeleteCovid is around a lot at the moment. I hadn't been concerned about you being away from blogland because you said you had the "New Zealand family" visiting and you don't normally blog when you have visitors. Incidentally, what does "New Zealand family" mean? Do you have a second family there?
ReplyDeleteRachel, my New Zealand Family are not blood relations but, in many ways, the relationships are even stronger. Wendy (a lawyer) and I were colleagues many many moons ago. She and Martin (a dentist) became great friends and after the trauma of the BCCI scandal which Wendy and I worked on another mutual friend and colleague (Catherine) insisted that we all went away to Italy for a holiday where we could not be contacted. Wendy and Martin and then Catherine all left the Island and W and M and their 4 wains eventually emigrated to New Zealand. I went out to visit in 2006 and then 'lived' there for 6 months a year for many years. See A Hebridean in New Zealand. (in side bar).
DeleteThanks for explaining.
DeletePrayers for everyone's health
ReplyDeleteIt is good to read you have a good time at the wedding. I look forward to a photo of you in your Full Highland Dress!
Thanks, Anonymous, I haven't quite worked out which Anonymous you are.
DeleteIt seems like covid still has a solid grip on us.
ReplyDeleteRed, Covid is rife here. I'm touching wood because so far I have avoided anything serious.
DeleteHello Graham, I missed the post where you said you had been helicoptered to the mainland with a kidney blockage. Just when you second family had arrived. This sounds a familiar scenario! So pleased to hear you were able to make the wedding and are now back in your lovely home and blogging again. Photo of you in full highland dress please. Regards Beverley
DeleteThanks, Beverley. I was going to say that it had happened before when friends were staying except on that occasion I was carted off by ambulance in the middle of the night! I will email you asap.
DeleteI have genuinely missed you. So glad you're back and doing well.
ReplyDeleteI will be looking forward to hearing about the wedding
Thanks Kylie. I miss my Blogland friends too. I know that I should be (and am) grateful for a very full and active life at 80 but now, occasionally, it all gets a bit overwhelming.
DeleteSame as Rachel, I wasn't worried about your absence from Blogland since you had said the NZ family were coming for a visit. Somehow I completely missed the bit about you being in hospital again. Hopefully, you are well on the mend now, as are the others who have come down with Covid. Speaking of which, I hear it is rampant in the UK again; my sister and I will be starting our annual Yorkshire holiday in just 10 days, so I guess we better pack masks for our train journeys.
ReplyDeleteThat sunrise is fabulous! With such a view first thing in the morning, your day was off to a wonderful start.
Meike, I'm not sure what the Covid situation is in the country in general but in the general population many people do not test and there is no requirement to do so in general although I was tested at the hospital (and was clear). It's certainly rife on the Island though and the responsible people I know have tested and been able (usually because they were retired or working in care services) to isolate. The Woodlands had to close off upstairs because they only had a few staff available for a while.
DeleteI do not see any blog post about being taken to hospital with kidney problem, this part of the comments is a mystery to me. Did you blog about it and then delete or was it on another blog somewhere?
DeleteRachel. It wasn't a separate blog post. I sent it as a comment on my previous post because I had been helicoptered off to hospital in Inverness on Sunday morning from the Western Isles Hospital. I was not able to write a post on my phone. For some reason it just wouldn't allow me to sign into the blog and I didn't have anything else with me.
Delete"Anonymous1 July 2024 at 11:22
Just to let you all know that I’m not ignoring all your comments. I had a great time in Edinburgh and will blog. Got home. Collected my New Zealand Family from plane on Saturday. 3am Sunday woke with blocked kidney. Was brought to Inverness by Helicopter Ambulance and am due to be operated on in a couple of hours.
I’ve discovered that I can’t write posts on my iPhone but I will hopefully be home in a few days and will post about the goings on."
ReplyDelete
Oh I see. Medical traumas with you always seem very played down. I would freak out at air ambulance being called and such emrrgencies.
DeletePhew! That's a relief to know that you are fine and you got through the medical emergency fit enough to fight another day, another year, another decade.
ReplyDeleteThanks, YP.
DeleteIt doesn't get any easier, does it.
ReplyDeleteNo, Tasker, I keep thinking that it should but I just being delusional.
DeleteThe view from your house is gorgeous. It's good to know you're feeling much better. Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. I'm just wondering where the last 12 days went!
DeleteThat is a great view, Graham, and also glad to read that you are recovering. Your trip to the hospital certainly seemed like some adventure, but not quite the one everyone, including yourself, would have preferred.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice, without the view I would get on with things a great deal faster but on the other hand the quality of my life would be much poorer.
Delete