Arthur's Seat

Back in our Seat

After a two year absence we are back; some changes in design, courtesy of Typepad, and further modifications to come. You may need to refresh your browser if you had this blog in your Favourites.

 Happy Reading, and comments, as ever, all welcome.

Moving On

Mr and Mrs Seat are both moving jobs this month; from tomorrow we are on holiday. Hopefully we will be able to post from the in-laws in Italy on the aftershocks from the Italian elections, and on other irrelevant roman chit-chat.

Then we head east for two weeks in SE Asia. Posting will be light to moderate...

Back in Scotland in May.

Toodle Pip! (h/t PG).

Happy Christmas

Mr and Mrs Seat will be observing the festive season with lashings of brandy butter, lardings of turkey and rondos of carols. Have a fantastic time and we'll be back next week to help you squeeze into 2006.

St Petersburg - Despatch 1

Perhaps one of the most extraordinary weekends ever in the Seat household - 250 Scots and assorted others decamped to St Petersburg to join forces with the Caledonian societies of that city and Moscow for a St Andrew's Day Ball. The high point (apart from getting to bed at 5am on Sunday morning) was attending a private concert given in Empress Catherine's theatre in the Hermitage; the low point was the reading of a turgid St Andrew's Day message from the First Minister during the pre-Ball dinner. Whoever wrote it has a tin ear, and lacks the most basic of writing skills.

I have begun to upload some images from the weekend - more to follow.

Outed

Back from Russia to find our cover has been blown. Glad to see the Debating Society is still flourishing - the PG would approve - Public speaking and considered, logical argument  are invaluable assets to acquire for adult life.

ps Mrs Seat is in London with the camera - a report on our jaunt to the East will follow her return.

To Russia with love

Light posting - London earlier in the week and now we are away to the Venice of the North - no, not Inverness. Full report - and photos - next week.

Skye Gathering Dances Over to Russia

The Skye Ball dates back to 1877, when the chiefs of the Macdonald and MacLeod clans decided to establish a Highland Games each summer which would rival those in Inverness and Oban. The Skye Gathering Ball took place on the night before the games, but some years ago they became separate events. This year, after a chance discussion with the secretary of the Caledonian Society of St Petersburg in Russia, the ball is taking place not on Skye but amid the splendour of the Shuvalov Palace, once a home of the Tsar of Russia. Over two hundred people are travelling by chartered aircraft from Scotland to St Petersburg to take part in the event on 2 December. The group will include three clan chiefs who will attend a reception, the ball and a performance of the Hermitage ballet on consecutive days.

Cadency

We have the great good fortune to live near Mr and Mrs PG and their three fine sons - Mrs PG is a fantastic chef and it seems as though she has been putting something in her hubby's soup as he has been writing great stuff recently. Perhaps he just has time on his hands. This is one of the finest paeans for parenthood I have read; I hope we are as blessed when the time comes.

A walk on the wild side

A visit to Venerable Seat Towers for family lunch today. The autumnal storms have been bringing rain and wind over the last few days with more forecast next week. Today the rain held off but it was still windy, and leaves were being whipped from trees along the shore.

We walked through the beech wood outside the village, where the grey barked trees form a vast cathedral:

The hedge roses along the path have produced fantastic hips this year:

This chestnut tree, having dropped its conkers, now prepares to shed its leaves:

The week that disappeared

I woke up here yesterday; then I drove here to catch a plane to here to visit here before taking a taxi here to get the overnight train here.

Home now, though.

Cars

Spent much of this weekend test-driving the Ford Focus C-Max with Mrs Seat. She is looking to replace her 10 year old VW Golf DL which has trundled along for 90,000 miles but is now beginning to show its age.

We found the C-Max by accident, lurking in a corner of the local Reg Vardy dealership (the car was lurking, we were "just browsing"). A test drive was arranged for Sunday. The 2.0 TDCI is a pleasure to drive, and the Focus based underpinnings of this mini MPV provided great entertainment both on the City bypass (quiet and little road noise) and on the back roads around Ormiston (excellent road holding and acceleration). However, the car we tested had a few defects - the driver's seat armrest fell off as we got in. Mr Vardy's salesman wasn't prepared to come down to the price Mrs Seat had in mind, and we walked away. On balance, we will probably buy one; but just not yet.