We had a wonderful evening last night.
We ate with the doors to the patio open and the table was set so beautifully
it was like eating in a silver service restaurant. The food was great, with ample portions of
asparagus, cauliflower and a delicious courgette and chilli salad to go with my
salmon. While Sean worked his way
through an enormous portion of sticky toffee pudding and ice cream, I was given
white flesh nectarines with blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants from the
garden. I wouldn’t usually eat that much
fruit but I was touched by the effort Denise had made, plus – it was just so nice! After dinner we were invited to retire to the
sofa for coffee. I preferred not to
drink tea or coffee? No worries, they
would slice some fresh ginger and make an infusion for me. The setting, the wonderful hospitality and
the beautiful weather made for an idyllic evening. That night we both slept like babies.
In the morning it felt rather odd that this would be the last full
day. Partly because we had such a lovely
stay at Knockbain House, I started to feel a bit nostalgic and didn’t want our
adventure to stop. Although inevitably it
would have to, because once we got to John O’Groats we’d run out of road.
After settling up, David and Denise said I could stay as long as I wanted
to and use the sitting room and gardens, so since I had enjoyed being there so
much, I took them up on their offer. I
went into the garden and ran the first 20 steps of Ershibashi (actually it
ended up being the first 18 steps, as I forgot about grasp the sparrow’s tail
and twin dragons, but never mind) followed by a run through of the long form
before heading inside for some meditation.
Wonderful. I really didn’t want
to leave, but I had to eventually, so off I went.
The journey to Thrumster was slow but easy and I stopped at a delightful
cafe called Poppy’s in Golspie. Yes,
there was more scenery. Yes, I still
wasn’t bothered.
In Thrumster I had chosen an old laird’s house which has a room to rent, as
I knew Sean would love the whole ancestral home experience. I, however, was not so keen. Insects began buzzing around my head as soon
as I got out of the car. The carpets
were worn, the paint was peeling and there were spiders’ webs everywhere. There were free range children and a dog that
attempted to smell one’s crotch. I fought
down rising panic as I realised how far I was from John Lewis Oxford Street.
I attempted to make myself feel at home by unpacking, but it didn’t work,
and I didn’t want to do any Pilates because I didn’t want to get down on that
floor, so there was nothing for it but to find something to do outdoors. I went downstairs and enquired brightly of my
hostess what I could do for fun in the area.
“Fun?!” She looked at me
pityingly. “Well, perhaps I could walk
down to the coast?” I ventured. She gave
me directions – about a 2 mile walk – and I set off enthusiastically.
God, it was awful. All the houses
were grim.
An air of desolation hung
over the place. Even the sheep regarded
me suspiciously. When I got to the
coast, you couldn’t even get down onto the clifftop proper and the views were
rubbish. So, chastened, I turned on my
heel to go back the way I came.
Immediately I found that it was uphill all the way. A pall of heavy grey cloud hung
overhead. Midges buzzed around my
face. I shook my head to get rid of them
and hit myself in the face with my ponytail.
I passed a box on fire by the side of the road.
My thoughts turned again to John Lewis. I trudged on.
I exchanged pleasantries with a man I passed working on his barn, and on
hearing he had a Yorkshire accent, asked how long he’d been living here. “15 years” he replied “and I love it here, I’d
never want to live anywhere else.” Dear
God.
I was almost at the house when Sean pulled up beside me and my spirits were
immediately lifted. We walked back into
the house together and d’you know what, the house seemed much nicer with him in
it.
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