A Wee Trip To Scotland . . .

We've just had a long weekend in Scotland - Dunoon to be precise.

It's our third time up to Dunoon. We have friends there, but this time we went with another couple who had never been. I absolutely love Scotland. For our honeymoon 10 years ago we could have gone anywhere in the world, but I insisted on Scotland as I'd never been before. We rented a cottage just outside Inverness and I've never tired of going back there since. To say the landscape is stunning is an understatement, and its so rich in history that you're reminded of it practically everywhere you look. I'm so inspired by it, so I thought I'd share a few snapshot moments and share some inspiration...

Puks Glen is a national park where you can walk up the side of a woodland hill, following a waterfall

The view once you reach the top of Puks Glen

Some Scenic views...

 

Kilmun Church situated alongside another waterfall and with a historic graveyard and mausoleum

 

Inverury Castle

The tower of Inverury church

We also spotted some local wildlife, including birds, seals, and an animal that is extremely rare to see during the day and in this area. The genuine Wild Hairy Haggis. I was also lucky enough to bag one and sneak it home. Look at it!!!

Yep, I Love Scotland!

Pic of the Week . . . Phantom of the Opera

It's all about the Phantom of the Opera this week it seems, so what better theme for this week's Pic of the Week.

Apart from the sentimental value, what is it that I like about the Phantom? Well, it's a gothic romance, isn't it? What's not to like about that? Young, naive Christine Daae, dreams of becoming an opera singer having grown up listening to her father's tales about the Angel of Music. Then when she hears the voice in her dressing room, she believes it to be this celestial being and accepts singing lessons from him. His own voice is powerful and seductive and she finds herself enslaved by it, giving herself over to him. Then as her fame begins to spark, along comes Raoul, the future Count of Changny and childhood sweetheart, to sweep her off her feet. So what's a girl to do?

As you sink into the story line, you can't help but give yourself to the Phantom. His mysteriousness, his voice, his power. It's enchanting. It makes you think Raoul-Schmaoul. But then when you sit back and think about it, this disfigured person - Erik - is a master of seduction and deceit. He's allowed Christine to believe he is her Angel of Music. He haunts the Opera house and sparks fear in everyone who works there. He demands payment and keep from the owners lest terrible things should happen to the people. He kills for what he wants. He kills for Christine. And kidnapping and demanding marriage? Is that really how to win fair maiden?

Yet, you still want him, you still lust over him. So is Erik a monster or a victim of a cruel society who forced him to hide away, a society that would never accept him and his disfigurement for who he is?

Anyway, showcasing Anne Bachelier and her wonderful oil illustrations for said book. Joining with CFM Galleries, she has produced a collection of some wonderful pieces, some of which are for sale, and are well worth heading over there for just to see. The piece below is from the Masked Ball and I think it's absolutely stunning.

Have a good weekend and enjoy...

It definitely left its mark . . .

Have you ever seen something that was so good it stayed with you, maybe even left its mark on you somehow? Well, I did, and it definitely left its mark on me - with added colour.


Ta da! My new artistic wrist addition.

I've always loved Phantom of the Opera. It's something that has been a part of me since childhood. My nan used to love it and owned the vinyl, and every Sunday my sisters and I would walk round to see her and listen to it and sing along (I dread to think what we actually sounded like...). Because of this, it's always held a little place in my heart.

So when my friend said she had tickets to see the show in London and asked if I wanted to join them I literally jumped at the chance. I'd obviously heard the soundtrack, I've watched the film with Gerard Butler, but I'd never seen it live.

Oh my God!!! It was amazing. I've been to numerous shows and nothing has touched me as much as this one. I don't know what it was, whether it was the emotional story line, the power in the songs, or even nostalgia, bringing back memories of my nan, but I loved it so much I decided I needed something to commemorate the occasion. And what better way to honor it than with a tattoo.

I'm not sure what my nan's views on tattoos were but I hope she would approve...lol (I know my dad won't 😬 )...


So have any of you felt the need to commemorate an event in such a permanent way?  

Quick Tunnel Update . . .

It's been a busy week. Out every evening - and that's exhausting when your an introvert and a hermit like me. I like my time, with evenings for just me, the cats and the freedom to do what ever I want, be it writing, reading, drawing or lounging in front the TV. But I also know it's not exactly healthy so I make allowances and some evenings I do go out and be sociabe - believe it or not.

This week felt full on though. Monday I usually meet friends. Tuesday I was dragged to see the meatloaf show 'Bat out of Hell' - which was good but not being a real meatloaf fan, I didn't really know many words to the songs, unlike my mother-in-law who was merrily blasting in my ear the entire way through. Wednesday evening I put myself under the needle of a tattoo gun (that wasn't fun) and then on Thursday I went and saw the huge Blue Whale display at the Natural History Museum in London. That was good - although I was very paranoid over my sore arm and felt the need to protect it againt the London crowds. Friday and the weekends are always reserved for family and the hubby.

The Blue Whale at the Natural History Museum

Anyway, imagine my delight after a busy week, to check my book, Tunnel, on Amazon and to find reviews on .com - GOOD reviews! two 4 stars and two 5 stars. I'm over the moon with these and there's nothing like a good review to boost your confidence enough to put fingers back to keyboard.

So here's to many more hours of hopeful productivity... :)

Pic of the Week . . . The Boys

It's been a sad few days here. My parents had to say goodbye to one of their K9 best friends, Molly. She was a 12 year old yorkshire terrier. Even though she wasn't my dog, she was still very much part of the family, and I remember watching her grow from an adorable little puppy to the lovely lady that she became. She had three beautiful litters of puppies that flew the nest, all but one who remained with my sister, and another K9 companion and father of those litters, Toby, who will sorely miss her.

She was such a sweet girl. She did have a tumor which lead to other complications, but in the end it was heart failure that got her. My old cat, Daisy, had heart failure, and watching her go was heart breaking. But no matter how hard it is, we move on and find new companions, and when something like this happens, it just makes you feel blessed and grateful for the time you get to spend together.

So, raise a glass in honour to our pets, past and present. Below is a picture of my boys, Bodie and Doyle. I'd like to say they are writing companions, but to be honest they're more of a distraction...but we wouldn't have it any other way...

Fun at London Film and Comic Con . . .

A couple of friends and I toddled off to the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia in London on Saturday. It was so much fun. I love going to these events and seriously getting my geek on. There were so many stalls and I spent far too much money. Plus there was a huge line up of celebrities there that you could see, including Benedict Cumberbatch. You can imagine my excitement! Except, it was to expensive too meet him, and tickets for his talk were sold out.

So I settled for spending neigh on seven hours wandering around and taking pictures - as you can see below. The cosplay that was going on was phenomenal...

 

  This was just half of Olympia.

To the left was a second hall just as big, filled with more geeky surprises.

Below: I think it's obvious...

 

 Saw DC's Bane wandering around a few times...

Assassins' Creed and some tall thing...

To the Bat Mobile...

Deadpool and Loki and a few more...

 

Some prosthetic heads...

 

Mr and Mrs Wonder Woman...

Cosplay competition: Look carefully and you'll see Mary Poppins...

Wash and Jane from Firefly...

 This was as close to Benedict Cumberbatch as we could get. 

They kept him imprisoned behind those walls...

 

Although I did see a few Doctor Stranges floating around...

 

But the most satifying part of the day? I found Wally...

Roll on Winter London Film and Comic Con...