Back to Scotland

The GRR Autumn UK trip started with a golden wedding anniversary lunch in Abeerdeen

Hosted by my sister Barbara and her husband Bill , sharing the celebrations with Bill's sister Nancy and her husband Wallace who were married  a few weeks before B & B. No pics I'm afraid till Ros sends me one to include.

Off next morning the 21st to Edinburgh for meetings at AS and then to Monaliath Hotel at Laggan to meet up with the Yorkshire contingent - John F, Rod, Simon, John A and Adam. A near perfect day on the Saturday for our hike up Creag Meghaigh and a couple of other Munros on way back. Views magnificent. John's dog Mia an excellent additional companion.

Morrone on Sun morning to collect stuff required for LEJOG and NB and back to Edin for  a delightful dinner with Keith and Fiona , meeting Hew and Karyn Dalrymple for first time. Monday was hectic - returned hire car to airport , got bike serviced incl new wheels - splashed out here with the rims worn and and the Adirondac experience of having a tire and rim explode. I was concerned at prospect of biking 1,000 miles with only 50psi of tire pressure.

Left for station early on Tues am fully laden and accompanied by Keith . Train an hour and a half late due to severe flooding , only to get to Newcastle and find train terminated. Offer of free trip  back to Edin and tickets valid for following day. Disaster then struck. As I was rushing to push fully laden bike over a steep ramp to get access to platform on other side of station, the heavy back end came down , one of the pedals catching me on the shin and inflicting a considerable gash. Blood flowing freely of course . Applied a tourniquet handkerchief ( always useful - Mary please note ! ) and then bandaged up by a first aider at station. Of course missed that train , but got the next one back to Edin and the long suffering K & F. F later insisted ( and I'm so grateful to her ) on my going to A & E  where I spent almost 3 hours  waiting to get treated. Well worth the wait though. The gash had exposed the muscle and nearly the tendon. A delightful Danish doctor ( and keen cyclist who understood my predicament ) stitched me up with a belt and braces job ( cosmetics I said not a problem ! ).

Back then in pouring rain to Waverley station the next morning and a 2nd try at getting to London and Penzance. At time of writing , all going well. Not easy though with uncertainty of getting bike on train due to limited capacity and a pretty hairy ride from London Kings X to Paddington. Missed train there by 5 mins , but v helpful ticket office staff managed to secure a bike slot on a train an hour later . Then another exceptionally comfortable 5 hour plus 1st class trip to Penzance and  a B & B booked at the Torwood. Leg stiff but with stitching and antibiotics , should be OK. Will change dressing tonight and see how it looks. With benefit of 1st class ticket ( great thing to have senior status ! ) have managed to put leg up for over 10 hours.

Asheville , Lexington, Columbus and back to the Rim Trail!

Since getting back from Ireland and hearing the wonderful news of Iona's complete recovery from that nasty virus which had her in the HDU of Limerick general Hospital for 4 days, it's been hectic.

Mary's mother recovering from carotid artery surgery needed help to get back to independent living at Deerfield and we decided to make a road trip out of it , driving across Kansas ( again! ), stay with Betty a week and then return via Columbus, OH to enjoy Labour Day weekend with Duncan and Katy . The plan worked well and we managed too to fit in a delicious lunch with John and Luanne Milward in Lexington, KY ( managing too a quick visit to Bob and Sue Fox's house also in Lexington ) and an early morning breakfast with Mike and Joan Weingarten at CrackerBarrel outside Dayton on I.70 as we headed home from Columbus.

                        Betty performing at her 90th in front of 50 or so guests at Deerfield. These celebrations took place 3 months earlier on June 9,  but I failed to record them at the time.

              Betty with her sister Polly and the 3 girls after performing "Today while the blossom....."

                               The birthday girl holding the Ryan card - the only ones sadly missing

          John & Luanne Milward who were so good to Meghan , Jane , and Duncan many years ago

 Bob Fox , our ex neighbour from Douglas Crescent , Edinburgh days almost 40 years ago and his wife Sue.  Bob introduced us originally to the Milwards

 Duncan when he hosted me for a round at the OSU course minutes from where he and Katy live

       A highlight of Columbus visit joining 104,000 at an OSU football match.  Incredible.

                             Making the O...H...I...O  sign on conclusion of an easy OSU win.

         A comfortable interlude in a delightful 40 plus mile bike trip to north of Columbus

    Back on more comfortable terrain  - our beloved Rim Trail above our house at  Snowmass

                                        Ditto - views to the South of Capital and Daly Peaks

                 With Gaby at the annual Aspen picnic at the Aspen municipal golf course.                                     Catering for all provided free by the Town for the first 750 !
                                                       We weren't late!

                                     Mary fishing with Gaby on other side of pond - stoic she was !


Back now to Snowmass where G has 2 weeks before setting off back to UK for End to End bike trip.  Mary will be over in mid Oct in time for a 2 week family reunion - minus D&K - at North Berwick. Bus driving and a lot of mountain biking , music ,  bike trips to Aspen,  time with Gaby, etc keep us from getting idle.

Ireland

It was hectic getting away, but with our neighbour Akasha driving us to the airport after an hour's circuit of the Tom Blake trail on mountain bike, we had a smooth trip. Aspen - Fort Worth/Dallas - London HTR - Shannon.  There we hired a car and drove the hour and half to Meghan in Roscrea.  And what a memorable 14 day stay we had there.  Cormac ( largely ! ) on terrific form and 7 day old Iona deliciously cute.  With Dennis doing a lot of locum work and long hours 'Granny Moon' and Grandad put to work in no uncertain manner. 

All going swimmingly well until Iona contracted a very nasty virus and spent with Meghan and Dennis 5 says in HDU , Limerick Gen Hosp.  Terribly worrying and a nightmare for M & D particularly not knowing precisely what it was.  We manned the fort with 20 month old Cormac and progressed leaps and bounds in the granny/grandad bonding process -  wearing us almost to a shred in the process ! But hugely satisfying, mostly a lot of fun ,  and we were so pleased to be on hand to help in this significant way.

Iona now made full recovery with she and Meghan safely back home and we're back in Snowmass enjoying the rest of the music festival. A long and tiring journey with both of us suffering , we suspect,  from the virus Iona had ,  but the sun and warmth not to mention the  ' relaxed ' lifestyle we lead aiding recovery. The occasional bit of relief bus driving is most welcome though.  Mary not yet back to gardening with Gracie but next week maybe.

Music festival in full swing

There has been a host spectacular performances , certainly too many to relate. The New World Symphony on Wednesday night ( announcement of the birth of our 2nd grandchild in Ireland coming to us in the middle of it prompting us to suggest a suitable middle name should be Hiawatha or Minniehaha),  and last night's performance at the Wheeler Opera House of Magic Flute though stand out.  Just fabulous. The raw talent and the unbridled enthusiasm of literally everyone in the performance ( we had  our usual seats in the front row and therefore almost feel we're in the orchestra pit ) are breathtaking.

In between we've had most days either on the Tom Blake or Rim  trails, been to oboe and violin masterclasses, playing a little ourselves, gardened a little ( free gratis ) for neighbours, played duplicate bridge with Barb in Basalt, had a day with Gaby and are  generally enjoying an Aspen summer.

The attached shows Mary heading off to the morning yoga session in the village with our little garden in full bloom . Preparing now to leave on Tuesday for Ireland for a couple of weeks leaving our music student Vivian in charge of the house and, importantly, the plant and shrub watering.

Aspen Music festival

Inside the Benedict Music tent.  We do this 2 or 3 times each week. Today going in for a conductors' orchestra concert in which our resident ( for which we get free tickets throughout whole festival ) oboe student Vivian is playing. Just hearing her practice each day as we go about our business in house and garden is a delight.

 Ed Berkeley directing one of the Sat morning  opera masterclasses in the Wheeler Opera House. These 2 hour sessions between 10 and 12 each Saturday morning are a highlight of the year for us , not just of the summer. Stunning performances with ever more talented students coming through and a wonderful range of scenes from operas of every description. We bike in to Aspen , get our free tickets at 9 , and have a very special hour soaking up the early morning sun and atmosphere outside a cafe a block from the Wheeler.

Jane on Sky Trail and J & M at Music tent

Jane  on the new Sky Trail on the Droste property - recently acquired by the County

Aspen Music festival concert picnics. Let them commence !

Looking towards the Benedict Music Tent and enjoying another magnificent performance.

Jane and Mary on Tom Blake trail

Jane showing fine style in classic position on this magnificent trail which crosses much of Snowmass ski area.

 

Mary displaying customary , and exemplary, caution in coping with this water hazard.