Back from Scotland

Hello everyone and welcome to new friends who I met this weekend in Inverness and Broughty Ferry. I must say thank you to Cynthia and Hazel who brought me cards and ATC's which were gorgeous and much appreciated. Thanks too to Seila who sent me two scrumptious ATC's and a beautiful card - they are all on display now before I put them into my albums for safe keeping and good memories.
Well, I had mammoth journey up to Inverness on Thurdsday - made even longer by the incompetence of the person at the National Rail call centre who I booked the tickets with! Instead of getting there in six and a half hours (as I found out that I could have done) it took me over nine and a half hours and I had to wait at Glasgow station for almost three hours - that was fun! I had too much luggage to warrant walking around the city centre, and it costs £7.50 (yes, £7.50!) to leave a bag at the station! It turned out that, contrary to what I had been told, I could have used my tickets at any time of the day, so could have been in Inverness long before I did get there. Sigh!

However, the tain journey was marvellous. Not too many travellers, so I had space to relax and stretch out a bit. The scenery was spectacular and I saw masses of wildlife - pheasants, rabbits, deer, ponies, adorable lambs enjoying the sunshine and possibly an eagle - it was a big bird of prey, but we had sped by before I could properly identify it. Thrilling to see though. I took loads of photos but, of course, through the train window they don't come out too well and, looking at them now, they don't do justice to what I saw. I got very excited when I saw the signs that showed we were in the Cairngorms National Park! There was still some snow on the peaks.

I liked this picture which came out rather well and showed the lovely evening sunlight.

Near to Aviemore there was a rather scary moment or two! There was a sudden very loud "clang" under the train and then something very big and heavy seemed to be caught underneath and was clanging along up and down the length of the carriage. At one point it banged up right beneath a lady opposite to me and she almost jumped onto the table! After a few minutes it stopped, but we were all a bit nervous to say the least! The train didn't stop or even slow down and no explanation as to what it was - a bit of excitement anyway!

After the long journey, I was very happy to see how close my hotel was to the station! Couldn't get much nearer than that! It was a very grand old hotel with a magnificent staircase which, apparently, was the inspiration for the staircase on the ship Titanic.

Next day was my demonstration at Hobby Haven, which is in a charming Victorian arcade. It wasn't long before I was busily blowing ink through straws, stamping swirly birds and distressing pieces of card! Thanks to all the ladies who came along, including Cynthia (Rainbow Lady) and Susan. I hope that you are all enjoying your new puchases! The day just flew by and I didn't even get any photos. However, I'd taken a few of the cards (in the ultra bright bathroom in the hotel!) so here are just a couple: The owl is wearing a hat taken from the Wizard Shelf stamp and the background is from the luscious Que Sera Sera papers by K&Co. The Scottish Piper is backed with a handmade Tartan effect made with Alcohol inks onto Metallic Film.

Straight after my demonstration I was back on the train, this time to Dundee which was another four hours of travelling and then a taxi ride. (Yet again I had been sold strange tickets and could have got there much quicker if I hadn't been sent via Aberdeen!). A very late dinner and a good night's sleep set me up for my day at Kitty Krafts the next day. I had not long started the demonstration when the lovely Hazel and her boys arrived (with a friend who I didn't get chance to introduce myself to - so apologies for that!). Hazel looked great and stayed for around twenty minutes so I was very proud of her!

We had a big hug and swapped a few things before she made some purchases and was on her way again - so, Hazel, this one is just for you.....
style="color:#000066;">....you deserve it and I was so touched, again, that you made such a big effort to come and see me.

Well, it was another very busy day, with a lot of laughter as well. More tree blowing, alcohol inking and distressy stamping was the order of the day. Here are one or two more cards - mostly cute ones at the moment, but I'll take pictures of some more and post those asap. Notice the terrible pun on my Cherry the Cat card....you know me, I like puns!

Louise, who owns Kitty Krafts, now has a blog, so do pay her a visit and have a look at what is going on up there on http:/kittykrafts.blogspot.com . Before long my day at Kitty Krafts was over and Louise's husband Ross kindly ran me to the station at Dundee where I took a picture of Shackleton's ship, "Discovery", which I hadn't known was there before as I had a previously only been there in the dark!It's an awesome sight and very evocative of course. So, next thing was a four hour train journey to York which was lovely in the sunshine and with more gorgeous scenery. I had about half an hour at York station to grab a sandwich for dinner and then onto Manchester. This was when the lovely weekend beagan to go into meltdown unfortunately! The train carriage was invaded by football "fans" who made the rest of the journey (nearly two hours) a complete nightmare. Apart from the incredible amount of noise they were making in general, they were also shouting out foul chants and generally being totally obnoxious. I changed seats three times but there was no avoiding them. The one train guard on board was evidently highly embarrassed but too intimidated to do anything about it. One girl was right in the midst of them all and she did have a go at them but was given lots of abuse in return - when I spoke out for her I was also subjected to the abuse. When we were nearing my station I had to run the gauntlet of their stupidity and, when I stood my ground and told them just what a lot of disrespectful idiots they were, I was called every filthy name one could imagine. As I left the train I was showered in beer! Completely soaked and smelling like a brewery, I called the platform staff and complained bitterly that these yobs are even allowed onto the trains and that there are no security staff on the trains to deal with them. Myself and the other woman were the only two people who were not prepared to put up with the situation. I've been given a form to make a formal complaint and I certainly shall. It's unbelievable the way that football "fans" (I use the word reservedly, as these are just thugs) are allowed to run riot. It was scary to note that, unlike one time where if a lady complained about bad language or behaviour, a group of men would say "oh, sorry sweetheart" - these "men" had no such attitude. In fact, one of them stood up as if he was going to have a physical go at me. Well, it was a very unpleasant end to to my weekend, but I would rather go home covered in beer knowing that I hadn't just accepted the situation but had made a stand against such yobbish behaviour, than just say nothing.

Well, I can't leave this on a bad note! So, thank you for everyone's lovely cards, ATC's, comments and emails which all mean a great deal to me. I'll post details on creating the Tartan effects and a few more cards/ATC's as soon as I can. Must go now, as there is more rest and relaxation to be done today before getting back to work tomorrow! Lindsay