Balmoral and a birthday

I’m absolutely knackered tonight; I’ve had a busy weekend and I feel that kind of fuzzy way that you get when you’ve just come home from your holidays - even though I’ve only been away from home for two nights. Having said that, I’ve driven a fair few miles, the two nights were spent at opposite ends of the country and both nights I was last out of the hotel bar so it’s not too surprising that I’m knackered!

Gordon was away on an expedition for his Duke of Edinburgh award from Friday till Saturday and Alex was helping out at - then taking part in - the Gargunnock Hill Race on Saturday so Gemma, Ross and I headed off on a wee road trip! Ross had entered a half marathon that was being staged in the grounds of the Balmoral Estate on Saturday, so we decided to make a bit of a night and day away of it.

We headed up north on Friday evening and the scenery was simply stunning. It was a glorious sunny night and the three of us ‘oooohed’ and ‘aaahed’ the whole way to the Spittal of Glenshee (though you couldn’t really hear us over the beats belting out from the car stereo!).  Once we’d passed Perth, we practically had the whole road to ourselves; it was such a lovely journey.

The Spittal of Glenshee Hotel’s like a big cosy log cabin nestling in the hills and, although it’s a bit shabby, we enjoyed our stay. After a nice dinner, our sensible athlete headed off for an early night while the remaining two not-so-sensible supporters stayed up in to the wee small hours. A good blether and a fair few ciders later (Gemma had received some of her exam results earlier, so we had a good excuse for celebrating over a wee drinkie or two!), we also headed off to bed.

Saturday was another of those days that I wish I could wrap up and hold on to for just a wee bit longer. It started off with a good old buffet breakfast and another scenic drive up to Balmoral. The race was organised by the St James’s Place Foundation to raise funds for several local charities and, as Ross has been working this past nine months for St James’s Place before he heads off to University, he was keen to support the event. As soon as we drove across the wee bridge over the River Dee in to the grounds of Balmoral, we knew the day was going to be special. Like the Chariots beach race a few weeks ago, this wasn’t a big, fancy event, but the beautiful surroundings, the cheery organisers and the enthusiastic spectators all contributed to making it pretty unique. Just to add to the fun, Gemma and I were roped in to doing a bit of marshalling – which I would have been involved in down at the Gargunnock Hill Race had I stayed at home. It was nice to phone Alex and hear that all was going well with our wee village event, while donning a yellow tabard and cradling a walkie-talkie at a completely different event. I’m guessing that sounds a bit naff – but it made me feel good and not guilty about not being there to support my friends at our local event. Gemma and I managed to steer the runners in the right direction and enjoyed cheering them on at the same time. There was a 5k fun run that set off alongside the half marathon and poor Gemma was mortified at me continually getting it wrong with the runners in fancy dress; “Go the Smurf!”, I shouted at Marge Simpson and “Go Woody!”, I shouted at Jessie but, hey ho, I’m sure they appreciated the support all the same! Our marshalling duties finished in plenty of time to see Ross sprinting in to win the race. The organisers made a bit of a fuss of him at prize-giving since he’s so young, then made even more of a fuss when they discovered that he worked for St James’s Place. Ross doesn’t really do fuss all that well, but I think he quite enjoyed the attention all the same. Me and his big sister were certainly very proud!

We set off from Balmoral mid-afternoon, arrived back in Stirling at about five o’clock, had a very quick shower and changed in to our glad-rags, then drove down to the beautiful Peirsland House Hotel in Troon to meet up with the rest of the family for my nephews’ 21^st Birthday dinner. It seems like no time at all since I was breathing a big sigh of relief that my brother and his wife were having twins; there are loads of sets of twins in our family so, when Andrew and Craig came along, it vastly reduced the chances of me having a set! Phew! It was great to catch-up with the family (Gordon's feet had survived the expedition and Alex had enjoyed the hill run and peace of a quiet house!) and I always love to see my nephews. It was also nice for Mum to have her brood all around her, which she loves, but it doesn’t happen all that often.

After a second night of being the last to leave a hotel bar, then another big buffet breakfast (mmmmm) we headed up the road for home.

I’ve sat around for most of tonight, knackered, but content to be doing nothing much other than reflect on a lovely weekend that’s definitely made me feel really good.

Marshals extraordinaire!

Mum and her brood!

The winner!