Scotland in September: 09/14/07

DEPARTURE
Friday 31st Aug
The team met up a few hours before take off with our respective family members. Rotary District 9640 GSE Coordinator, Ian Wilson and his wife Ross came along to see us off and present us with our Alumni Pin, which was lovely. Our team reserve Rowena Bell-Bradbury also came along to wish us well and give us some support and kind words. Amazingly we all managed to check in without paying excess even though some of us were up to 35+ kilos!! We all offloaded a few things and shuffled the contents of our bags around a little….

Having farewelled everyone we had coffee and made some last minute phone calls before boarding the first 11 hour flight to HK. Prior to boarding Nerida accidentally walked into the Men’s Toilet this gave us all a bit of a laugh, much to her immense embarrassment.

Having managed not to sleep on the first flight in an attempt to avoid jet lag (little did we know!!) we arrived at the huge terminal in Hong Kong for a three-hour stop over. Nerida and Margaret managed to catch some sleep whilst Jane, Catherine and I watched the bags and walked around the terminal.

The second flight was also jam-packed but the movies were good and because I had held off sleeping until the second flight I took a sleeping tablet (prescribed by the doctor!!!) and I was out to it for 8 hours of the 12 hour flight. Poor Catherine was next to me and was force to climb out to get the toilet! Oops..

EN ROUTE
Saturday 1st Sept
Arrival into London was fairly straight forward. We boarded an Express Train to Paddington and walked (with bags in tow!!) to Linden House our lodgings for the night. On arrival we discovered we could not check-in until 12 noon (only 7am at this stage). The receptionist was kind enough to give us access to a bathroom for a “shower”.

The shower was in fact a bath so after a quick tub I tried to get out only to discover that the lock was broken so I was actually locked in. Although I don’t suffer claustrophobia as such I seriously contemplated kicking the door in after 10 minutes but managed to make so much noise (I know, surprise surprise) that someone came to rescue me. Not a good start to an already tiresome day!

Keen to get out and about we headed in what we thought was the direction of the Portobello markets. After wandering through Paddington aimlessly we finally found them and enjoyed several hours wandering before grabbing some coffee and then lunch that we enjoyed in Hyde Park.

Although we could have gone back to the hotel at this stage we all wanted to try and stay awake in a further attempt to avoid jetlag so we purchased tickets on the Original London Bus Tour (open top double-decker) and spent 4 hours travelling on different routes of the City staring at the many sights and amazing architecture.

Sunday 2nd Sept
Having woken up at 4am (1pm at home) I laid awake thinking of my friends Georgie and Tim’s wedding cursing myself for not recording or at least writing a speech for the wedding reception. At 7am I went up to see if the rest of the team wanted to join me for a walk and all four of us then went for a brisk 30 minute walk through Hyde Park ogling at the amazing Gardeners Cottages in amongst the gardens and imagined living in Hyde Park.

We all enjoyed a nice breakfast of boiled eggs, toast and coffee in the narrow underground Breakfast Room before heading out for a proper explore. Linden House was happy to look after our bags whilst we headed back on to the Bus Tour - this time not too tired to get off!!

Catherine, Jane and I went to the British Museum whilst Margaret went to Westminster Abbey for the Sunday service and Nerida did some exploring of her own. Having only 30 minutes to get from the British Museum to Harrods to meet Margaret, the three of us ended up running across most of London, which was exhausting but kind of fun. Unfortunately we did not find Margaret but had a 5 minute visit in Harrods and headed back to Linden House to find Nerida and Margaret waiting and off we went to Heathrow by train for our flight to Glasgow.

After a harrowing time getting all bags checked in (again without excess) and going through security we jumped on our British Airways Flight which was fairly brief with the best airline meal I have ever had including real crockery!!

District Governor Drew Hughes, GSE Coordinator Harry Marsh and Geraldine O’Donnell greeted us (and our mountain of luggage) at Glasgow Airport before whisking us off to the Glynhill Hotel for a briefing on what to expect in the following month. After a buffet dinner with Drew and Harry we all gratefully crawled in to our beds for the first night in Scotland.

WEEK ONE
Monday 3rd Sep
Our first day in Rotary District 1230 was a tour of Edinburgh with two of our hosts Linsay Robertson and President of the Bothwell & Uddingston Club, Len Shaw (my host). We all piled into a red bus for a tour of the city, had some lunch in a fantastic gallery and finished up with a fascinating tour of the new Scottish Parliament with an incredibly knowledgeable tour-guide. After a stroll up the Royal Mile we were taken back to meet our first host families.

Len and Margaret made me feel very welcome and entertained me with stories from their travels in Australia whilst serving me up some great wine from back home. Before long I collapsed into ‘my’ room for some much needed sleep.

Tuesday 4th Sept
The day started with a tour of the local Church and adjoining café and community centre in which Harry Marsh is very involved. The team then took some time to go over out presentation as we had our first ‘performance in the evening. Unfortunately we experienced some problems with the laptop so whilst the other girls went to the Bothwell Castle Harry took me to meet local identity Tommy at a local pub, Camphill Vaults before getting the laptop sorted out.

That night we attended our first Rotary Dinner with the Bothwell & Uddingston Rotary Club and enjoyed our first meal of Haggis. This was quite a performance as we all stood to clap the haggis in and enjoy some poetry before toasting the chef.

Luckily our first presentation went exceedingly well and we managed to sing in key (with Catherine’s guidance) which was great. The Rotarians also thoroughly enjoyed playing 2 UP with us and Skippy was awarded to the lucky winner.

Wednesday 5th Sept
Vocational Day
Tour of the Tunnock’s Chocolate and Biscuit Manufacturing Company production line with Company Secretary, Bruce Reidford.
Lunch and a tour of the office at Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce with Chief Executive, Douglas Millar
Meeting with Scottish Enterprise’s Director of Growing Your Business, Douglas Dickson who took me to The Atrium Business Centre for a tour of the serviced offices and business incubator with Deputy Chief Executive, Marian Gardiner.

Having enjoyed a busy day ‘working’ we all met up for a BBQ Dinner held for all team members and their hosts at Roy & Margaret D’Silva’s House (Nerida’s host family). Talk about fellowship and hospitality!!

Thursday 6th September
Cultural Day
Harry Marsh and Len Shaw took the team for a Red Bus Tour through Glasgow stopping at Glasgow University, wandering around Hunterian Museum. We were all shouted lunch at a groovy café recommended by Len’s daughter Fiona.

After a fun filled day with the boys we were running late for changeover to the Eastwood Rotary Club so it was a quick goodbye before heading off with my new host family, Steve, Heather, Joanne and Martin Malloy (Richard’s their other son was away in Australia so I got his room). Before long we were back in the car heading for the Eastwood Rotary Dinner. Again the presentation, 2UP and singing went down a treat.

Friday 7th September
Vocational Day
Meeting with Alan Busby, Training Executive at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
Meeting with Douglas Bowie, Director of Finance and Margaret Gibson, Director of Marketing & Communication at The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust
Tour of two schools with Catherine and Jane.

Having completed another days ‘work’ we were treated to a great night out of Ten Pin Bowling followed by a scrumptious Indian Feast (the wine wasn’t bad either!) with the Eastwood Rotarians.

Saturday 8th September
Having enjoyed a good night’s sleep we were taken for a wander through the Kelvin Grove Art Gallery before hitting the retail mall, Buchanan Street with District Governor Elect, Catherine Stewart and Judy….

My host parents Steve and Heather prepared a yummy feast (including our second haggis) for me, Nerida, and her host family, David & Shena. My host sister Joanne then taught us how to play tennis on Wii before we all retired to the lounge at which point Nerida and I fell asleep on the couch!!

Sunday 9th September
As a final treat the Eastwood Club took us for a ‘Hack’ at the local horse riding school. As the most amateur rider in the group I was lead by a rope with the rest of the team following behind which I am sure was fairly torturous for the horse riders amongst us but we had a couple of trots which was nice and I think David who joined us for the ride will recover eventually….

Then we were all off to a local garden centre and café to meet our third host families in Ayr. Nerida and I were together this time and had the pleasure of being hosted by Don & Lud Stevenson at their home ‘Lismore House’ in Ayr that we found highly amusing as we both grew up in Lismore, Australia.

Our visit kicked off with a quick drive around Ayr followed by a scrumptious meal of smoked salmon, prawns and the best steak I have had for some time!!

WEEK TWO
Monday 10th September
Ayr Rotary Club was the our first lunchtime meeting so Nerida and I had our first “lay in” and had the morning to do some washing and ‘get in the zone’ for our presentations. The venue was stunning, presentations were seamless by this stage and we enjoyed playing 2 UP with the Rotarians as we had at each club. I have however heard some concerning tales about Skippy’s welfare since we left him with Muir (the winner of 2UP) so I think I might have to send welfare in to check on his living conditions!!

Brian Clarke then took us all via the Electric Brae (an optical illusion) for a tour at Culzean Castle which was amazing and very interesting. It was an incredibly sunny day so we had tea out in the gardens before taking a lovely drive back to Ayr.

Lud prepared a lovely meal which we enjoyed before Don dropped us three girls off to indulge in a sauna at the local leisure centre. The car trip was fantastic as Don & Lud did a duet for us on the way!!

We finished off the day with a Hot Toddy (we were both feeling a little fluey by then) and some Ukrainian Vodka (the best I have ever had!).

Tuesday 11th September
Vocational Day
I had the pleasure of spending a full day with Chief Executive of Ayshire Chamber of Commerce, Bob Leich. Firstly we met with a group establishing a new Chamber of Commerce in Renfrewshire then we returned to the office (via a lovely café for some lunch) where I met the dynamic team including Adrienne Howard who looks after accounts and Ayshire Film Information, Claire Baird who is the Business Liaisons Coordinator, Helen McBride, Development Manager (membership), Anne Reid, Development Officer and everyone else – seven in total!!!! One day Ballina, one day;-)
As the Ayshire Chamber office is situated within the terminal of Prestwick Airport, I also fortunate enough to have a tour of the establishment with Neil Richardson who is the Public Relations Manager for Infratil Airports Europe.

After a big day I returned ‘home’ to help Lud and Don prepare for the team’s farewell party at their house. A great night of poetry, singing, food and drink followed.

Wednesday 12th September
A relaxing day repacking and shopping with Lud. We dropped in to see Don’s office and have a coffee before collecting Nerida from the local theatre where she had her vocational visit.

Then it was off to Seamill Hydro for two nights of R&R which meant goodbye to our new families. The only conciliation being that they would see us again in Aviemore at the end of the month.

The team enjoyed a dinner in the restaurant and an early night.

Thursday 13th September
Swimming, massages, reading, television and a brisk walk up the hill into town to collect supplies for a light diner in the Dunoon Suite!

Face masks, hair treatments and another early night.

Friday 14th September
Irvine Seagate President, Ian Dickson and Rotarians Jim Fairgrieve and Jim Anderson collected the team first thing and whisked us off for a Vocational Day.
The morning was spent with Alec Anderson, Economic Development Officer at Perceton House discussing various economic development initiatives and strategies.
I the spent an hour “blethering” with Walter Findlay and Jim Jardine at the Ayshire Business Gateway about business start-ups and development.
Just up the road I met with Brian Scobie at the Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire to talk about business awards.

Jim Fairgrieve took me and Margaret for a great lunch at a restaurant before dropping me to the home of Louise and Ian Dickson, mine and Nerida’s fourth host parents. Louise cooked us an amazing salmon curry which isn’t surprising as she use to be a Home Economics teacher. At this stage exhaustion was starting to kick in so we took the opportunity for an early night.

Saturday 15th September
Ian and Jim took us all for a day on the Isle of Arran via the ferry where the girls went off with Ian to the Castle whist Jim and I took a bus ride to the local distillery. We enjoyed a tour of the distillery and learnt about the distillation process. The tour finished up in the Tasting Room where the guide spent 15 minutes telling us about different aged whiskey and how to tell the difference, half way through his spiel Jim and I both looked at our watches as the bus was leaving in 5 minutes so the guide gave us our taste “a wee sensation” which I proceeded to “neck” much to the horror of the guide and the amusement of Jim.

After our return bus trip we caught up with the girls and Arran Rotarians Moira and Ken for lunch. Moira then took me for a whirlwind tour of Arran, which included: Arran Aromatics, the Cheese Shops, the Arran Brewery and Chocolate Shop.

On the return ferry ride to Irvine we sat next to a bunch of rowdy Scotsmen who had been out for a Golf Day in Arran. Margaret tried to have a nap but they all started singing “wake up Maggie” which was hilarious. They also wanted to know what was happening in Neighbours!!

After our big day we enjoyed a scrumptious Dinner Party at the Dickson’s House and enjoyed some poetry and singing.

Sunday 16th September
Much to the horror of our hosts we took the opportunity for a free day at a shopping centre called Braehead and spent almost fine hours wandering around. Rock climbing was on the agenda until we caught sight of the shops!!
I joined Jane and her hosts, Hugh, Maureen and Dawn Hutchison for another yummy meal and then had a quiet night at the Dickson’s.

-to be continued-