IT'S CURTAINS FOR THE COTTAGES!

Last year on  a very pleasant holiday in Norfolk (Norfolk for goodness sake, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, acres of flat...); well, it was the opposite of Scotland and there were some very nice hotels, and we were struck by all their lovely curtains. So we decided we needed new curtains for the cottages.

Up till now I always thought you had to make your own curtains;  I didn't realise you could go into a huge emporium in Glasgow and actually BUY them.  And just so much better than my rather pathetic efforts.  So off we went to Remnant Kings (now there's a mis-nomer if ever there was one) and spent about 3 hours coming to a very expensive compromise -  put me and Mike into a room and ask us to agree on something ..... Another 3 hours was spent deciding on linings ( fireproof, thermal, etc etc) and then we went home.

6 weeks later an enormous parcel of curtains arrived and - having  put in new rails , another major job -   we hang them up and - disaster!  Mhairi's ones are too long.  Either there is some mystique in the way you measure curtains, or they got it wrong.  And try taking up professionally made lined curtains!  Another 6 hours per pair.


However they are now up and hanging and very nice they are too.

So please,please enjoy the new curtains.

It's always a great delight when the first primroses appear - and they often flower till the end of May so keep us cheery until the rhododendrons come out.  Mike and I both have our favourite spots and vie to see who finds the first flower;  he won but his are being eaten by deer this year!  I have a lovely secret hazel grove up the hill which has escaped the attention of the Forestry , and is always carpeted with the flowers -   and I won't tell you where it is. But if you are out for a walk, do brave a few of the paths off the main forestry roads as they can lead to delightful little spots with wonderful vegetation. And nobody minds where you wander.

A lot of the rhoddies have been cut down - we don't know if it's a grand plan to get rid of them (some hope) , or they are all part of this dreaded larch desease.  So all over the hill you see little spirals of smoke where a pile of them are being burned - a fine job in the sunshine but it must be pretty grim in the wind and rain. We are having a rep. down from the Forestry Commission to the next Community Council meeting so we will quiz him. We often feel that as a village we are totally surrounded by Forestry land but we never really know what they are up to. A patch up the road has caused a lot of trouble falling over and blocking the road or bringing down wires, so they have been persuaded to fell it. Makes your route into the village look very different.

Well, the first of the daffs are out - not particularly early given that we've had a completely frost and snow free winter - but if they've any sense they'll keep hidden away from all the rain and gales.  I knew it was a great idea for Mike to buy expensive winter tyres - we've not had a drop of snow since.  But they do birl us through the rain and pot holes very nicely.

No frogspawn yet.  We had, for years, a wonderful frogs pool on the edge of the forest road above us.  However Carradale has been hit by the larch virus which attacks Japanese larch in particular - and there were quite a few in the woods above us.  So in their usual messy way the Forestry have been in with forwarders and huge trucks etc and are in the throes of clearing these out.  The road is horrendous and the frogs are obviously steering clear! So dog walkers, you have to stick to the Bay at the moment.

New curtains!  that's our latest excitement. Just a question of actually putting them up.  Mike is so busy building a new bathroom in our own house that he ignores my cottage nags.  But all will be ready when we really get going by Easter.  Keep the bookings rolling in.

Hello, and welcome to 2014 at Carradale Cottages.  Just to show you what a warm balmy climate it is down here, these are the first snowdrops from Colin's garden which will soon have a carpet of them.  As people walk past they all have a sneaky look through the gate because they are quite renowned.  Colin was very pleased with his snowdrops and when we took over the cottage and sorted the garden we had to make sure they remained .

Well, bookings are coming in thick and fast this year. If you are an old hand you would note that we have actually REDUCED our prices - in line with a lot of other people.Well, times are hard for us all and we'd rather have the cottages occupied than bleakly empty.

Cath, our wonderful cottage lady, has moved on from the village so Alan (better known as Neilly) has taken over. Years of working in the hotel have given him an excellent grounding and you will not notice any slip in standards.  We hope to do a bit of re-curtaining and things over the next month or two,

Carradale is much improved by the re-opening of The Glen bar and restaurant.  Now run by a couple of real professionals it looks super inside (they admit there's still much to do outside so don't be put off) and the food is excellent and easy prices.  A wonderful addition to the place which we must all support.  On the down side Angie has had to cut her opening hours in the shop but as no one on holiday gets up before eleven anyway, it shouldn't affect you.  And in the summer a new slip is to be built down at the harbour, so bring your boats as well as your golf clubs!

You will be a bit taken aback as you drive down the back road.  A super sub station is being built north of Carradale and fairly massive works are going on to take all the wind power off to Ayrshire.  We are battling with the contractors to make the sure the road  is always kept open, and at least they promise us nice big new lay-bys.  It's all a bit of an upheaval but we have little say in the matter and we just need to make sure that no-one is inconvenienced.

And finally the goats on the Point.  They are in good form - soon to be producing lots of kids as  they give birth early in the year. Mike took this picture with my brand new Olympus film camera!  Well, I'm sure I'm not alone in not being able to work digital.  More exciting, some of our Christmas visitors were able to watch 3 otters playing for ages in the the grass out there which is a wee challenge for you.

Right, get those bookings in - web site is always kept up to date and we try and get confirmations off as soon as possible now we've got going for the year.

For those of you who like sitting out under the fig tree in the Douglas sitooterie, you will be mightily impressed to know that it has bourne fruit again this year.  7 figs no less!  All very scrumptious and Mike is enjoying them with his porridge for breakfast.  His apple trees have also been productive, and even our outdoor vine has some teeny weeny green grapes hanging from it's branches.

A bumper crop of brambles too - so far we have 20 pounds in the freezer!  I found a brilliant spot (which shall remain secret) , and we felt very smug last night as we came down with our haul  to meet 2 other bramblers who clearly thought it was their secret spot - and we'd beaten them to it!

A Skipness dance on Friday.  If you are ever in the cottage when one of these is on , then you must go. A wee Scottish dance band, no drink, wonderful tea and buns half way through, and everyone dancing their socks off.  If we go up in a bad mood we come back full of well-being, and congratulate the wonderful welcoming group that organise these cheery events.  What's more, nearly everyone wins a raffle prize! There will be a Christmas one with the terrific Gunna Sound playing, and a crowd of us from Carradale will be there.

Just in case you haven't noticed, we've revised our prices.  Again!  This year we offered super discounts if you booked ahead, but of course most people aren't that organised when it comes to visiting Carradale.  It's often a spur of the moment decision, especially when the weather's good.  And what a lovely summer we've had.  Another plunge in Carradale Bay last Sunday - late afternoon when the tide's coming up is perfect. Though most people seem to enjoy just standing in the water trying to pluck up courage!

Campbeltown Music Festival , which was a great success, was on last week-end,  and next Saturday Jane performs another of her plays in the Hotel. What a whirl of activity. And meanwhile we are wondering how on earth we will replace the wonderful Catherine who has looked after the cottages for the last 5 years.  And I'm sure Angie is wondering how she will replace Cath's partner Roger  in the bakehouse.  It's bad enough not being able to get rolls before 9 in the morning - but the thought of not getting rolls at all..................

Cath and Roger are returning to their home area of the Lake District, the delights of Carradale clearly don't overcome the lure of grandchildren! It's taken them about 18 months to sell their house - and there are another 26 on the market so if you fancy moving down you have plenty of choice. 

Well the busy part of the holiday season is over and the cottages are emptying - although lots of last minute week-end bookings still, it's amazing.

With the good weather to get us started and remind us of all these wonderful summers in the past ( how our memories forget the bad bits) we really had a great time.  Carradale Bay was packed, swimming was terrific, and from up at the Mains we could hear the shrieks and barks of people ( and dogs) thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Every now and then you can see a kite whipping up and down the beach, and we can sit on our balcony and see the masts of anchored yachts bobbing up and down.  Although the new moorings down at the quay seem to have been very successful - although why should it be that the rich yachties don't feel any obligation whatsoever to pay their mooring fees?  Perhaps that's why they can afford yachts and we can't.

Not enough entertainment going on in the village, although the couple of concerts that were on were terrfic , and packed out  And this week-end it's the Kintyre Music Festival so some very good acts in the Victoria Hall.  It's also the Artmap week-end in Argyll with studios all over the place open to the public - makes a super day out. (can be expensive if you fall for a painting).

New settee in Douglas which is very smart - and apologies to the poor souls who had to manage with the collapsing one.  They sent the wrong cushion covers, but we'll swap these on one of our trips to Glasgow.  And a new toaster - if only people would tell us when things break down rather than complaining when they leave!  We're always game to replace anything at any time.

Enough - time to take the ironing up to our wonderful ironer (orshould it be ironeress?) Audrey - who also kindly points out to me that the tea towels are getting a bit ragged. and so it goes on.