Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Close Relations
09/05/2007
Monday morning and it is good to be alive and striding out in a flawless Glen Trollaigh with a pack of mutts bounding around. The reason for this elation is the safe return from an arduous Burghley Horse Trials, although bags of fun this event had me fairly pooped by the end, and the overnight drive home left me with a distinct touch of jet-lag. However the recuperative powers of an illegal deep dip in dearest Dottie’s Great Bath of Trollaigh, now firmly plumbed into the off-limits boudoir, and the clear morning air of Glen Trollaigh, Post English School Holidays fairly ups the dander, with the added pleasure of a blind eye being turned to a mid-day recovery glass or four. One might query the importance of P.E.S.H to our diary, suffice to say that, particularly after such a dull and chilly summer it is a pleasure to waive the little ones off back to school, from now on the campsites will be empty, the highways and byways settle to an easier pace and rural shopkeepers can relax after eight weeks of bored, badly behaved, screeching underage hoodies stealing everything that isn’t nailed down, whilst their be-shorted, shaven headed dads on their first visit to the land of Tennents, peevishly complain about the lack of choice in the Lager department.
Burghley has always been a late summer get together for Clan Trollaigh. It provides the opportunity for those horsy Begg-Trollaighs from the south to entertain their kilted cousins and for the first time in two years Uncle Mungo and Aunt Morag were on leave from up the Zambezi where they have spent many a fruitless year attempting to interest the locals in The Wee Free Kirk. Well to be more accurate Uncle Mungo has spent many a fruitless year, whereas Morag, forty years his junior comes from the local royal family and is not too interested in the kirk, only in some other famous attributes of dear Mungo. We were a happy band over the four days with Morag’s six foot four frame in traditional robes and Mungo in clerical mourning coat complete with knee gaiters. Much to the relief of the judges Lucinda Begg-Trollaigh has retired from equestrian competition, however she maintains her mannish dress and this caused a fracas when a cheery Polish PhD supervising the smooth running of a toilet block directed Lucinda away from the Ladies and into the Gents, by the grace of God Uncle Mungo was at hand to restrain a snarling Lucinda before her riding crop connected with the Polish PhD. A substantial cash tip soothed international relations, although Lucy B-T was still seething when we left for the North Argyll Glens two days later. Yours Aye, Archie, The Baron Trollaigh.