Well, I always like to start the blog with a photo and this one came to hand  which has nothing to do with Carradale but is of Brodick Bay, taken by my Dad in 1952!  Only difference to today are the haystacks and the puffer.  But of course the point is that not only can you see Arran from Carradale, but here too there is a timeless quality.  In 50 years there has been surprisingly little change, and what there has been has been to the good. A few new houses, a slip into the harbour, one of the nastier humps in the road smoothed out....

And so , of course, to the wonderful weather we had to end the season.  Thank goodness.  It didn't save the tomatoes, but many of the farmers must have been breathing a huge sigh of relief as the crops were gathered in and the ground dried out.  It has been a stunning autumn and makes the long haul of winter seem a bit less of a thought.

As for the village happenings;  well SSE have pretty well finished their huge project so we are now losing the perk of lots of guys needing accommodation;  on the plus side we can get up the road without being mown down by a stream of white trucks.  They still have to fell the old pylons which could be fun.  The Ashbank has just changed hands so we have yet to see what happens there. Angie's  shop is going strong thank goodness and we still have a Post Office. And we're all getting used to filling up with petrol whenever we go to the town.

We already have the dates of the Skipness Christmas Dance, and the New Year Hall quiz (the Hall incidentally has had a green makeover with insulation and heat exchangers  - which they can't get to work - so we'll all be nice and snug). And next year's bookings are beginning to arrive.

As for work here at the Steading;  despite no shop we are working harder than ever .  Our greatest coup at the moment is sending some of our pendants to the space staion with Tim, Britain's first astronaut.  So we will be watching the take off with extra excitement.

Time to watch Grand Designs and get some new ideas - green roofs on the cottages/

Well, at long long last we're getting some decent weather, and what could be better than a good September. The colours are wonderful and a walk over the forest road was delightful.  This bit of road near Grogport is now known as the 'haul road' as it was used by SSE to bring big machinery over to their site.  If only the crane had stuck to it, it wouldn't have ended upside down in a ravine!  I now thought it was quite safe for dog walking when a grumbling and rattling echoed round , and over the hill, heading for the dogs, was a huge crane on a low loader.  Arne leapt into a peaty pool in terror.

And once this stuff gets stuck on them it just has to wear off round the house. Be warned!!!

Last burst of excitement in the village will be the famous Duck Race at the end of the month.  A long standing institution for the September week-end , it is organised by the church and there are all sorts of festivities as the ducks putter down the burn.  And wonderful prizes. Don't miss it!

But of course a late autumn break in one of our snug little cottages might be just the thing you need to set you up for winter so don't forget us.  We're busier than ever in the workshop so there will always be someone around to look after you.

At last!  A good drying day.  And just as well with three cottages changing over, our number 1 gentleman cleaner winging his way to the Algarve to play golf, new taps needed in Mhairi's,  and piles of ironing to be done so we had enough sheets. However Mike and I can turn our hands to anything, and wonderful Audrey did the ironing in double quick time, so all was well for our next visitors.  But as you get shown into a nice clean and tidy cottage, little do you realise the rushing around that has gone on in the background.

At one time I had 4 letting caravans on the caravan site and armed with our ancient land Rover (which Mike swears he will rebuild one day) fitted with a generator (for the vac.) I would sometimes have to get them all changed over and ready on a Saturday.  Nowadays many people book for shorter than a week, and for  any day, which actually makes our life much easier.

This coming weekend is the Mull of Kintyre Music Festival in Campbeltown with some terrific gigs. It has gone back to its Celtic Roots and with the Treacherous  Orchestra and Diamh it has some real pros.  We saw the latter in South Cork in May when we go over to a Fiddle Fair, and it will be nice to see them again in the Heritage Centre which is a lovely venue.

We are coming up to the last trips of the season of  The Waverley paddle steamer  from Tarbert.  We went a fornight ago and had a brilliant afternoon.  To be hugely recommended.  2.45 from Tarbert Pier every Wednesday afternoon. 

Well, despite the cold erratic summer we are managing to get some nice weather at the week-ends and yesterday was no exception though we started off our Sunday walk in a fine drizzle.  This excused us from one of our 7 mile marathons, and we decided to wander over Deer Hill.  By the time we got to the top the sun was out and there were wonderful drifts of mist ;  with the rhododendrons out and fresh green tips on the firs, it was well worth the hike.
Next excitement in the village is the Great  Carradale Canter - the harbour group's first stab at running a 10 K and  5 K. (sounds as if they are doing the running which I doubt)  Lots of entrants so it should be  a good day.12th July - details on line if you fancy a go.

Well, high drama  and panic in the village - the bakers stopped doing the papers!  Imagine the shock horror amongst our retiree population.  And what's more - if you hadn't got them from the pier shop in the past you certainly weren't going to get them now.
All because the Campbeltown supplier had closed.

However after about a week of tension - and those who were getting them posted up from Campbeltown lambasting  poor John the postie if he was late with deliveries - the issue has been resolved.  Papers again.  Phew........

Well, what a great spell of weather we've had ;  the hens just love the sunshine and the combination of a glorious day and the pleasure of digging up the garden to make dust bowls is almost too much for them.  So they just lay more and more eggs and for me Spring is a frenzy of cake and quiche making.  We had the daft idea of getting a smaller freezer and there's not much extra room for all these goodies so if you happen to open your cottage freezer and find it packed with chocolate cake then just quietly eat it!

Lots on in the village over Easter - it's a great time for family visits;  what's more all the traditional Carradale holiday visitors turn up in force so the Golf Club is packed and it's hard to find a place to eat. It would be lovely if the summer holidays had the same feel of camaraderie but times have changed and we don't get so many repeat visits as we used to.  People come and have a lovely time exploring Kintyre, but next year it has to be somewhere else. But we do have our wonderful old faithfuls, and many people pop down for a few days of nostagia!

The huge electricity project up the road has moved into a new phase and is much less disruptive.  What's more, most of the back road is being resurfaced which is wonderful.. This is going on at night and the other day Mike, returning from Yorkshire, had to do the last part of his journey along forest roads! We still await the exciting part of laying a cable undersea from Crossaig to Hunterston but there won't be much to see.  We'll all be taking trips back and forth on the Arran ferry just to get a peek.

Talking of which, Arran fares have come down drastically thanks to a subsidy call the Road Equivalent Tariff, so we'll all be having a day over there with the car for next to nothing.  When this came in to the Outer Isles they weere inundated with mobile homes, and the people in Mull are dreading the same.  Arran seems a bit more laid back about the whole thing,  and what a nice perk if you live on the island.

Not very exciting , but we've just installed a nice large tumble drier in the bothy for all to use. Douglas and Colin's already have washer/driers but when the Bendix in Mhairi's gave up the ghost ( nearly 20 years old - why did my expensive new Hotpoint give up after 18 months?) we just put in a washing machine only.  We've been so busy over winter that drying sheets had become a bit of a problem, hence the decent sized tumble drier.  So, a useful wee extra we hope.

On a business point, the cottages have always come under the Wallis Hunter banner, being part of Mike's overall business.  However our jewellery is moving over to becoming a limited company at the end of March, and the cottages will be the only thing left in Wallis Hunter.  Makes no odds to anyone -  but with modern payment methods, cards Paypal etc, it causes me (accounts!) a lot of hassle.  Have you tried opening a new bank account recently?  Don't.

Well, so much for Spring, Woke up to a nice covering of snow this morning - you may be able to spot the brave wee daffodil hiding behind the fence.  My doughty assistant made it up from Campbeltown, but the school bus is still sitting at the top of A Creuch  (that VERY steep hill), scared to descend.  We get slightly stuck here in the snow - all these braes and glens - and the best this winter was a taxi driver heading back to Campbeltown who spent all night on the hill at Saddell.  But it doesn't happen often.

A foul weekend, so we were all delighted to go up to the Hotel on Sunday for a Red Nose bakery event.  We all took wonderful cakes up, and then ate them.  Place was packed and the raffle was terrific - Mike and I managed to claim 3 prizes - and we put two more back.  But we needed the wine as we had been entertaining at the week-end and stocks were depleted. Full marks to Tom and the hotel for a great effort.

Whist is starting in the Hall again on the odd Friday, so you may be lucky enough to be here at the right time. It's great fun and no-one gets cross if you play the wrong suit.  Mike and I last played whist in the high Andes in an extremely cold tent, by candlelight - so cold that you couldn't manage to hold the cards.  So Mike refuses ever to play again. Just as well.

Well, the sun's out now so hopefully the bus will have descended , the head mistress will have appeared, and life will go on its merry way.

Well, I'll bet you're all wondering what this stunning photo is.  FROGSPAWN!  A real harbinger of Spring and has just appeared on our pond up on the forestry road.  Whatever the weather, whatever the winter, we can guarantee that the frogspawn will appear around February the 15th.  How do frogs know the date?  Is it something to do with Valentine's day and frogs and princes?  Who knows.  But one year no frogspawn appeared anywhere.  The dog walkers were all distraught.  'Have you seen any yet'  was the cry -   and then at last , but we could never work out a reason. 

Sometimes , just as it's hatching, the Forestry decide to grade the road, dig up the pool, and ruin everything.  Gradually over the year we resurrect it, and the frogs still come back.  If I'd been them I'd have give up long ago and gone to a more frog friendly spot.  On a sunny day, if you're lucky, and creep up VERY QUIETLY, you can see as many as 80 frogs sitting in the sun gently croaking.

So, Spring is nearly here, Colin's garden is a mass of snowdrops, the first daffs. are nearly out, and Carradale is winding up to get going for the coming season.  The Network Centre is changing hands, our shop is now closed, the slip at the harbour is NEARLY finished (they have a wee web site if you fancy a keek carradaleharbour.co.uk) and Roger is baking again at the baker's and has moved back to the village so it lovely bread and rolls again. Time to start planning your Carradale break.

Well the Christmas Roses managed to come out in time for Christmas so that was a welcome sight.  These particular flowers have a long history - started off in my Father's garden in the Borders so they are probably about 80 years old at least.  It was always so icy there that they had to be nurtured and hidden under glass, and usually appeared about April. Not so in Carradale!

We had the delight on Christmas Day of no water.  For years we were on our own supply and it frequently froze over the festive season - one of the reasons we went onto the mains.  So slightly ironic.  Especially as it went off on the first of January as well. But on the whole we are delighted with the mains supply - we got a bit fed up with the peat and pine needles which, despite our best efforts, crept into the system.

New year and Christmas behind us we're all set looking forward to 2015.  At the moment only Mhairi's cottage is available, but after February Douglas will come on line again.  We will raise prices very slightly this year - I know, I know, there's no inflation etc etc.  But we always give our brilliant band of workers pay rises and Alan does a marvellous job on the cottages.  

If you're boaty people the slip in the harbour is well on the way and you'll be able to launch  from there - don't think it applies to many of our visitors - but maybe it will entice someone new? No problem leaving boats in the car park up here.

So, we look forward to seeing you in the coming months - oh yes, don't forget that our shop is now closed , we're just too busy doing other things.  But we're all still here working away.