So....... that was Summer

Well it's the end of another August and the last two days there has been that autumnal tinge in the air and the temperatures have dropped.  This summer has quite probably been the worst I have ever known for terrible weather.  A few odd nice days here and there but the general theme has been torrential rain at some point of the day, disastrous for outdoor events and farmers etc.  I shall stay positive for a good September and October! I am in the process of having all the paintwork on gutters etc on the outside of the house painted, let's just say progress is slow, so I have a multi- coloured house at present as it is being changed from the claret red to green.

Blairgowrie & Rattray Highland Games 2012

Sadly this years Blairgowrie and Rattray Highland Games have been cancelled due to a waterlogged field.  I often walk my dog over near Bogles Field and thought to myself last week that the ground was very wet, so it didn't really come as a surprise when they announced on Monday that it would not be going ahead as there would be no chance of the ground drying out by Sunday.  Shame for my weekend guests, but they are all here for a Rattray Clan Gathering that is held every 4 years so they have plenty of things organised for them to do.

A Day with the Bees

Perhaps you will remember me blogging about adopting a bee hive with Heather Hills Honey Farm at Bridge of Cally.  Part of the sponsorship was the opportunity to spend a day out on the farm and learn a bit about bee keeping and see honey being bottled etc.  It was a fascinating day and we went way up into the lush landscape near Kirkmichael and had the hands on opportunity to check the bee hives in that area, then a lovely lunch at the Strathardle Inn and back to the farm to taste different honey and see how it is all processed.

The Lairds House

On Monday evening I went to a Growbiz meeting for small business owners and it was held at The Lairds House in Blairgowrie at Lower Mill Street near the Riverside. The Lairds House is a fairly new venture in what used to be a big antique shop.  It is a restaurant and shop with a variety of independent retailers taking floorspace.  I can't make a comment on the food as haven't eaten there yet, however it is lovely and bright and spacious inside with nice fat sofas to sit on to enjoy a morning coffee and cake.  It is open 7 days a week Monday and Tuesday 10am-6pm and Wednesday - Sunday 10am -10pm for brunch, coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and Dinner on the later opening evenings.

Last Playout of the Year

Last week the pipe band played their final evening performance in the Wellmeadow for the season, but saying that I'm sure they will be playing in the town centre on Saturday for Braemar night.  Some of my guests also enjoyed the performance.

Quinns Picture House

In Blairgowrie there was an old Picture House called Quinns which closed it's doors in 1983.  The building had a lovely art deco frontage but had sadly been neglected and was bought over by developers a few years ago.  It was demolished a couple of weeks ago and now the area is flattened to make way for housing.  Shame they couldn't have kept the old frontage in some way.  Had a scramble around the debris and admired another interesting old building. Fortunately I had a picture of the frontage taken a couple of years ago.