Do You Want Gin with That? 4th Feb

Today is another harder than usual day - the anniversary of my son, Kyle’s funeral. Vince was us early and off to catch the sunrise but I decided to stay in bed a bit longer. I mostly just lay awake in the warmth of my blankets but at daylight (8.00am) I decided that no matter the sadness I felt I shouldn’t waste a day on this beautiful Island - so up I got!

I spent some time painting and reading until Vince cape home about half past nine. We pattered around and did some household chores and I made us a cooked brunch - including my first attempt at “Tatty Scones”.

After clearing away breakfast I did some more painting and Vince worked in the laptop.

At 12.30pm we set off to Portree to the Co-op for a couple of things we’d run out of but most importantly some Zip Fire Logs (not actually logs) to start the fire back at Willie McLeods - I bought one recently to just to try and it worked well, so we were on a mission. The self was empty but desperate for warmth I asked a staff member, Stewart,who kindly checked out back and reappeared successful - we took the box of 8 @ £2.65 each!

Then it was off to Sligachan where I tried to get the shots of the bridge and the Cullins in the background without any people - not easy even in Winter which is the off season.

Vince did some droning around Sligachan with some long exposure shots.

The rain came in, and we had hoped to get to the Ord Loop for sunset but that wasn’t going to happen, but we did get to see a rainbow. So we took a slow drive down to Slate, stopping along the way to get some fuel, a toilet stop and some flowers and chocolates for our hosts.

Back on the road, the rain let up briefly, and we stopped just opposite the Hebridean Hotel in Broadford to take some shots looking out towards the Isle of Raasay and the mainland.

The rain back upon us, we headed down to the turn off for Sleat, and drove to the Kilmore Church, near Camus Cross and took some photos - this could possibly be somewhere my relatives went.

We were still about a half hour early for Penny and Clive’s dinner invitation at 6.00pm, so we just sat in the church carpark and sat on our phones doing stuff to kill time. They had invited us to stay the night in their Bothy to save driving home, but Vince felt it best to go back to Willie McLeods, so we had politely declined that kind offer.

Then it was a quick drive down the road to Duisdale, where our new friend’s live in their gorgeous “Hut” with a fantastic view over the Sound of Skye to the mainland. We were warmly greeted by Penny and Clive, and of course their three dogs, Jessie (liver/white springer), Lola (black/white springer) and Digby ( a mixed terrier). We also got to meet Syd - their black and white cat - but I kept my distance due to my allergies, and took an antihistamine just in case! Penny had us in stitches over Syd's escapades with the 3 dogs, and also their annual Christmas card shoots - absolutely hilarious!

We had a chat over nibbles and drinks - to which I lost my Gin Virginity, thanks to Penny. In the past I have accidentally bought Tonic Water instead of Soda Water, and not particularly liked the taste - however, I’ve now discovered it is really yummy when it’s put with Gin! So much so I had 4 - yes 4 - very large glasses of Gin and Tonic!

Penny also explained that the Isle of Skye Distillery had classes where you make your own unique bottle of gin and can create your own label for it. For £85.00 for a shared still between 2 people - so we will definitely have to look into that whilst we’re here! She gave me two little miniatures to take home.

Clive cooked a marvellous meal of butter chicken and his famous onion rice, and Penny outdid herself with the most amazing meringues - so large you could almost bath in them - Yummy, Yum, Yum! I’ve asked Penny to share the recipe with me so I can try it back home!

After dinner we shared some of the After 8 Mints I Brough - which turned out to be Penny’s favourite!

They introduced us to a new game called “Exploding Kittens” - a card game that is lots of fun and had us in hysterics - Vince wants to get a set for ourselves.

It was around 11.00pm when we said our farewells and reluctantly left the warmth of the house and our new freindships, and of course the much needed fur-fix from their loveable animals - we miss our own dog Cebar!

As we passed through Sligachan in the deep, inky night, Vince stopped and tried to get some Astro Shots over the Bridge and Mountain. I stayed in the car as there was so much cloud I couldn’t see any stars and it was raining, so that would make it difficult as well. He returned unsuccessful, slightly damp and cold whilst I was quite comfy inside the car, especially in my Gin induced cosiness!

We got home about 1.00pm and I went pretty much straight to my bed. Vince stayed up a bit longer checking out his photos and making a Horlicks drink. After about an hour of waiting I called out to check he was okay - and he joined me not long afterwards.