21/10/2022
After a big Irish weekend, Monday was a rest day, well that is what the grandparents intended, Lachlan had not got the memo and was zipping about at “super speed” making sure that no grandparents sat down on his watch. The kids had been so good while travelling they had earnt themselves ice cream and churros, but first, they had to rug up, it was questionable ice cream weather.
What Lachlan lacked in churros eating, he made up for in chocolate consumption.
Monday night’s episode of Sewing with Sophie had a special guest as the output has doubled for a huge weekend.
Liz was left embarrassed with “UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt scraps nearly all government tax cut plans”. The days seem limited as “Liz Truss’s government is living hour by hour”.
By Tuesday, everyone was back to full energy levels, to the Falkirk Wheel! Fittingly, the same day the BBC published an article on “how the Falkirk Wheel revived Scotland’s canals”, however sadly we did not feature. Grandpa thought the wheel was “impressive how quiet it was for its size”.
It was a short drive around the corner to the Kelpies. Grandma thought the horses were “majestic”.
After ticking off the two attractions in Falkirk they pushed on a wee further into the real Stirling. The grandparents signed up for a seven day Historic Scotland pass. Everybody prepare for a castle marathon, starting with the sumptuous Stirling Castle.
On Wednesday, it was back to Monty Python’s Doune Castle on the hunt for the Holy Grail. The kids remembered their way around and led the way onwards and upwards.
The Holy Grail is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often guarded in the custody of the Fisher King and located in the hidden Grail castle… A “grail”, wondrous but not unequivocally holy, first appears in Perceval, the Story of the Grail, an unfinished chivalric romance written by Chrétien de Troyes around 1190. Chrétien’s story attracted many continuators, translators and interpreters in the later 12th and early 13th centuries, including Wolfram von Eschenbach, who perceived the Grail as a stone.
The grandparents were impressed with Doune Castle. We thought we better tick off Dunblane Cathedral while we were in the area.
Lachlan was enjoying the freedom of the cathedral and was darting between the carved animals on the pews while testing out the acoustics.
For dinner, we enjoyed the special coloured pasta, hand-carried from Italia by the grandparents.
Thursday was another rest day, well timed because it was a wet one. Eloise set to work preparing for her weekend friends.
The Westminster circus shifted up a gear as “Liz Truss resigns as British prime minister after just 44 days”, but it only gets better, “Boris Johnson considering running again to be PM, say allies”. Nicola Sturgeon suggested a “general election is now a democratic imperative”.
Part of going to bed early, Eloise requested a “special computer breakfast” Friday morning. Therefore, first thing today, we were both at the desk, the only problem was Curious George was still asleep, Eloise was not impressed, strike seven.
At midday, we made our way to the local station ready to tick off more Historic Scotland attractions. Lachlan was conserving his energy for the afternoon.
The sky was brightening up so we made the trek up to Batman’s world in the Necropolis.
After a stretch of the legs, we made our way to the impressive Glasgow Cathedral.
After a solid nap, Lachlan finally joined us. Grandma loved the Gothic architecture.
Lachlan was certainly a lot more active than when we were here last February. There were some A+ drains for him to inspect.
After inspecting the cathedral and drains, we noticed that St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art was finally open. Liam has always liked the building. Some of the displays were qwerky, but we don’t think we will be rushing back.
The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art is a museum of religion in Glasgow, Scotland. It has been described as the only public museum in the world devoted solely to this subject… It was constructed in 1989 on the site of a medieval castle-complex, the former residence of the bishops of Glasgow, parts of which can be seen inside the Cathedral and at the People’s Palace, Glasgow. The museum building emulates the Scottish Baronial architectural style used for the former bishop’s castle. The museum opened in 1993.
It was then home for final preparations before an enormous day tomorrow.
Sounds like Australia is still copping it, “emergency authorities say the Murray River will peak sooner than predicted as storms move in across Victoria”. In the Westminster circus, “Keir Starmer leads calls for immediate general election”. So “who could replace Liz Truss as prime minister?” The “Scottish Tories dread the return of Boris Johnson”.
[…] parties for the day was about to commence. Super Mum and Grandma had done wonders setting up. The aprons they had mass produced throughout the week were a nice […]