Snow in Edinburgh Too

St Andrews Day. Plenty of snow all over Scotland. Today it is fresh and warm if you take out the shovel and get to work.

And More Snow

The snow keeps coming. It is fresh and there is no wind. Two workmen came from Aberchirder to Portsoy this morning taking two hours instead of 20 minutes. There are 19" of snow in Aberchirder.

Schools are all closed. Activities are cancelled. No dancing tonight. No pilates tonight.

More snow

Dr Anne woke to find at least 10" of snow today. Apparently it fell between 1230 and 1330. Most roads are passable only for 4x4s.

Snow in November

Dr Anne found the weather a bit of a disappointment this autumn. Word came that winter was due to come with a vengeance. All week there has been reports of ice and snow on the A96, the A947, the A95 etc. Portsoy had escaped but not today. It is 'dinging down' right now. Thank goodness for a nice warm house.

The Bothy teas and craft fair was cancelled.

Pilates

Dr Anne attended her first pilates class last night. The class was held in the Church Hall. Dr Anne had left her nice warm living room to lie on this cold floor with draughts blowing under the door. She felt that it would be much better to employ Wendy as a personal trainer. She will decide after this four week course.

Dr Anne found the breathing fairly dificult. When would she breathe out and when would she breathe in? She found herself holding her breath. The exercises were pretty secondary to the breathing this time around.

Other Talk

Dr Anne will consider other topics during the winter months as the garden goes to sleep.

* Winter walks
* Winter visits
* Bothy activities
* Church activities
* Pilates
* Dancing.

Dr Anne is working on an exercise programme for her friend George. Walk one was along Cullen Beach. It was a beautiful day and there were dozens of people, most with dogs, walking along the sand. From the beach they walked up the brae and along the old railway line back into Cullen. A second visit to the beach was cut short by a heavy shower of rain.

Walk two took them to the Crannoch Wood. It was a new experience for George. They walked up to the loch, round it and back down to the car park. Again it was a beautiful day but there was a lot of fallen leaves underfoot which made the walk slippery.

Dr Anne used to attend a pilates class on her way home from work. Now that there is a class in Portsoy she has been for an assessment and tonight starts a four week course.

Dr Anne was a keen dancer throughout the years. At the beginning of November she attended the AGM of the RSCDS in Perth. There was a ball, a dance, forums, dance classes and a PR workshop. Dr Anne's main role these days is the organisation of the decoration of the Sports Hall with RSCDS tartan. Colin Dewar's band on the Saturday night is worth a mention. The lift was brilliant. Last week was the annual dance of the Banffshire Branch of the RSCDS. The band was James Coutts from Fife. There was a good attendance (circa 120). Food was good and the programme a little bit different from the norm.

The gym is now calling... will it happen? Watch this space.

It has been a long time

It has three months since a posting came from Dr Anne. Why you may ask? 'Stuff ' says Dr Anne.

There was a big storm at the beginning of September, 2010. The flowers were battered and the beautiful birch was bent double in the gale force winds. After that Dr Anne lost heart. The second flowering of roses were slow to come and poor weather did not show them to best effect. Now mid November the roses are still in bloom giving Dr Anne some pleasure.

However, David Austin's Princess Anne arrived this week so Dr Anne had to pull herself out of the slough of despond and take action. Pots were purchased at Christies and arrived with farmyard manure, John Innes number 3 and multipurpose compost late yesterday. Today Dr Anne sat down over lunch to read the instructions for planting and now all three are in their new pots. They must now receive tender loving care.