Midnight, Candle Light,.....

....Concert in Crichton Church....yes, doors open at 10:15 p.m. and we were still awake!  How could we miss this magical experience?

We couldn’t!  Actually no problem with “staying up late”...as there were uke jams going on and open mics, and I guess we missed the Scottish dancing, but you can’t be everywhere at the same time!  Can you?

Astraluna did her magic by filling the air with bells, chimes, drums, song...and of course, ukulele.

There are three sets tonight, each with incredible performances.  The entire experience is incredible.

Sigh....









Goodnight.

Ever Thought of a Ukulele Jam...in a Castle...With a Moat?

Why no.  I actually had never thought about taking a bus out into the Scottish countryside, walking a path toward an ancient castle, crossing the moat and winding up in a courtyard with friends new and old, strumming away in the Scottish sunshine.  Ok then.  It happened!

Up the path we go...

Across the moat.  Nope, no alligators...or monsters...or...

Looking up in the courtyard it’s easy to see...yep...it’s a castle alright.  And we are in the center!

When we arrive, music stands are set up, people have already broken out the ukes and clearly, it’s time to play and sing!

Here’s Peter Moss and our good friend, Lynette.  Peter will be teaching and preforming during the festival.

Oh look, here’s Nan and Steve.  

We play for about 45 minutes from the festival songbooks.  The organizers have thought of everything...music stands, extra songbooks, clips to hold the pages in case of wind...and yes, extra reading glasses on loan!

This was SO much FUN!  Can you tell?

Have You Wondered....What’s in Dumfries, Scotland?

Answer:  THE UKULELE FESTIVAL OF SCOTLAND 2019!

And here’s the best news...we are here in Dumfries too!  “But how did you get here?”...you ask.  Well...

We catch the first train to Dumfries from Glasgow, but first a stop at the coffee shop next to the station.  The only breakfast item (other than sweet buns) was a “breakfast sausage sandwich.”  I chose a veggie one.  I chose poorly.  It happens.  Sometimes.  But the coffee was great!

Scotrail was waiting for us right on time.

We play our way to Dumfries...and some folks even thanked us??!!  Yikes!  What fun!

We’re not sure how we got all this incredible weather for the past two weeks...but no complaints here!

Time flies when you’re...on trains...and playing ukulele.  We arrive at the Dumfries Station, which is really really cute!

This station is a winner in the competition for “Best Station”....lots of beautiful flowers...and...a vegetable garden...all cared for by volunteers.

Best part yet...our hotel is ...yes, just across the street!

We arrive at 11:00 a.m. and head on up to the site of the festival to check in and get our wrist bands and find the bus that is going to....wait for it...The Castle Jam!  

Scotland is Calling Us!

Today we turn in our dandy little, automatic, unblemished car to the rental agency at Shannon Airport and head to Edinburgh by plane, and Glasgow by tram.  Should be easy enough, she says.

From tiny car to tiny airplane we go.

Arriving at Edinburgh Airport, the task is to find transportation to the Scotrail train station downtown in order to go to Glasgow for the night.  Steve, brilliantly, suggests “How about a coffee first and a snack.”  Perfect!  

Then a short wander out the door and what do we find but an information booth for the tram!  Hey, it looks just like a....tram!

We are off for the center of town and the train station for the train to Glasgow.

Ahhh, here we are...it’s all working....

Yes, Big Blue and Giant Grey cases are still with us.  And those great, but huge, back packs are tucked tidily inside.

Steve is Mr. Train Guy, if you didn’t know.  Ever since....well, forever...

We booked Motel One in Glasgow...because it said it was right across the street from Central Train Station, which is the station we depart from in the morning on our way to Dumfries for The Ukulele Festival of Scotland.  Early train...

Motel One turns out to be a German owned hotel franchise.  This company buys real estate that is established in old cities, adjacent to transportation hubs like...train stations...and remodels the inside to trendy, cool, small, functional overnight or probable short stay accommodations.  I did say “SMALL.”  But also, “Perfect!”

Our tv screen was programmed to wait for your choice in “aquarium mode.”  Very relaxing to watch fish...

Just in case one might forget why one is there...a little writing on the wall.

Lucky for us, we were in Glasgow a year ago and ate at a pub we enjoyed and remembered...Waxy O’Connells...

A few sheep in the lobby of Motel One Glasgow...keeping with the Scotland theme.

Even the elevator is trendy....for Europe, really really trendy!

All in all, a long travel day with many transfers and modes of transportation....and yet, amazingly, everything worked perfectly.  The Shannon Airport check in was quick, security line was quick, the plane was on time, we found the tram to take us to the station where we could easily use the ticket machine to buy tickets, got to our Scotrail train and hardly had to wait...umm, maybe five minutes...and bingo...we walked out of the station downtown central Glasgow and across the street to Motel One.  Done.

Woof! It’s Off to The Burren and Sheepdogs!

The Burren, meaning “rocky place”...it is.  Today we head for Catherconnell Fort and Sheepdog demonstrations.  I have checked the website and indeed, TODAY we can watch the sheepdogs at 11:15 a.m.!  So far we have missed the opportunities to enjoy the working dog demonstrations and it seems our luck has turned.  This farm is located in an area called The Burren near the tiny town of Kinvarra.

We are definitely in the right place!  Meet Lee!  He wants to meet you!

Seems both the dogs and the sheep are good at watching each other.

Herding the sheep into this circle of rocks in the center of the field is the goal.  Got it every time!  Good job Lin, Rose and Lee!

This young man gave the instructions to the dogs without a mic.  The mic was for us!  We watched as each dog got a turn to “Come by” or come to a stop with “Good Enough”....or, “SIT”....and that last one was a hard one.  Who would want to sit when you can circle and run?  And run in a circle?

The young sheep farmer gave us a little inside hint: “Not a good idea to name two dogs you are working together with names that sorta sound alike...like “Lin and Lee”....but, they seemed to have learned to differentiate their names.  Border Collies...expect no less!

I finally get a little bit of dog loving.  Missing my boys at home today.

The other part of this property is the Caherconnell Fort, one of the best preserved stone “ring” forts in the Burren.  It was built in the 10th century AD and remained in use through to the 17th century.  

We spent some time wandering through the remains of the fort and using the self guided pamphlet about each area.  There was a great little video as well.

We spent time being transported back in history, standing here in the rooms where people slept, ate, farmed....lived.

So it’s goodbye to the dogs...and the fort...time to head back to Bunratty for one more Irish pub dinner and get ready to turn in our car and fly out of Shannon Airport in the morning.  Scotland is calling us!