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SCOTLAND 2012
| Tents large enough to allow 170 people to be seated for dinner and dance afterward are called "marquees" in the U.K. This particular marquee was kind of a scary place to be in the hours leading up the party on Saturday night. The cloth roof blew precipitously in the wind, and you sensed that at any moment, you might find yourself under yards and yards of material. Although it was a dangerous day to be a purple flower in East Lothian, they looked amazing in the tent. Giant baskets like the one at left hung from the ceiling and centerpieces on each of tables were so large that the touched the ceiling. But while the dress might be Scottish, there was also a strong Western theme. As guests arrived, they were photographed in front of a backdrop of the Grand Tetons. (My contribution to the party was the small stack of plastic mini-cowboy hats that you see next to Leslye and David at left.) After a two-hour cocktail hour (during which guests were served mini-cheeseburgers with American flags sticking out of them), there was scrumptious dinner of haggis, venison and chocolate birthday cake. There were a few speeches welcoming Cameron to adulthood (see right). That was followed by an hour of Scottish reels. This had been troubling for me in the days leading up to the party (at one point, I'd even contemplated going to Atlanta and taking lessons with Janice), but when they started, I realized that we really weren't talking about the kind of stately dances you see in Jane Austen movies. Scottish reels are raucous, fun and of the 170 or so people at the party, there were about 20 guests who were really good at them. The rest of us just drank a lot and just sort of lunged into the fun. |
| My tenth (and maybe the last for a while) visit to Scotland was one of the best. When Janice and I were there in November, Janice suggested that since: 1) the Hardies are leaving this summer to return to Wyoming; and 2) Cameron was turning 18 and "leaving" (we call it graduating over here) school on the same day, a party was in order. Little did she imagine that David and Leslye would follow up in such a big way. |
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| . Not leaving the party until midnight? Good news! You can still be home by dark. This picture was taken about fifteen minutes after midnight.Scotland is so far north that in mid-summer, it's only dark for about two hours each night. While it made getting home after late nights easier, it was somewhat problematic if you actually wanted to sleep at night. |
The dress code for the evening was "tartans, kilts or trews (a
particular kind of tartan trousers that are cut like army pants).
Beyond that, I was under the impression that the party was
black tie--so I bought a pair of "Spirit of Black" tartan trews to
wear with my tuxedo. I found out after I got to there that the
black tie option had been waived. Oops. At right, Janice got
into the spirit with a tartan jacket and a special "fascinator"
she'd found in a souvenir shop on The Royal Mile. The fancy
flamingo wineglass came from Atlanta.
particular kind of tartan trousers that are cut like army pants).
Beyond that, I was under the impression that the party was
black tie--so I bought a pair of "Spirit of Black" tartan trews to
wear with my tuxedo. I found out after I got to there that the
black tie option had been waived. Oops. At right, Janice got
into the spirit with a tartan jacket and a special "fascinator"
she'd found in a souvenir shop on The Royal Mile. The fancy
flamingo wineglass came from Atlanta.
I can't remember a party that was more fun (or when I'd had more to drink.). Janice and I
stumbled back to the house where we were staying around 4:30--long after the sun was
up.
stumbled back to the house where we were staying around 4:30--long after the sun was
up.
Speaking of where we were staying, the
Hardie House was full of Cameron's
friends from school, so Janice and I were
taken in by David and Alison Johnston, the
lovely couple you see me pictured with
above. The live in a village near
Haddington called Athelstaneford
(Athel-sten-FORD) in a house called
Fairnielaw House. The photo at right is
the former stable house at Fairnielaw
House where Janice and I stayed.
While we were in residence, David treated
us to a dram of the "peatiest whisky in the
world." It was very generous of him, and
ten days later, my tongue is still fuzzy.
Hardie House was full of Cameron's
friends from school, so Janice and I were
taken in by David and Alison Johnston, the
lovely couple you see me pictured with
above. The live in a village near
Haddington called Athelstaneford
(Athel-sten-FORD) in a house called
Fairnielaw House. The photo at right is
the former stable house at Fairnielaw
House where Janice and I stayed.
While we were in residence, David treated
us to a dram of the "peatiest whisky in the
world." It was very generous of him, and
ten days later, my tongue is still fuzzy.
| We also found things in the store that just sort of struck us as odd. Given that I think we saw the sun exactly twice during this trip, and I wore a sweater every day, it's not much of a surprise that the sunscreen wasn't moving at Tesco. |
| The Falkirk Wheel (right) is the world's most unusual canal lock. I won't go into a long description of it here, but if you want to Google it, it's pretty interesting. While I was amazed by the engineering, it was kind of disappointing to be told that the canals it connects are no longer used. The Wheel itself was built to be a tourist attraction. |
| So naturally, all that sightseeing and shopping worked up a big thirst. We stopped at lots of pubs. Our favorite was "The World's End" on the Royal Mile. As you can see, Janice was reluctant to let go of the fascinator she'd worn to the party. |
| But as always, most of the fun to be had from visiting the Hardies is visiting the Hardies. In addition to Cameron's birthday and school leaving, Lachlan also celebrated receiving an award at school while we were there. below. He's showing us where he's standing in his school picture. We look forward to seeing the Hardies in Wyoming, but we'll always have warm memories of their--and our--time in Scotland. |