Sorry for the delay in updating my blog, but I’ve been living life to the full…..5000kms away from the Empty Quarter.
It was time to go and say hello to the family back in Scotland, originally planned for July, then postponed to November, and finally brought forward to September. And boy did I score with the weather – out of my 10 days there, we had sunshine for most of the day on 9 of them, and one day Aberdeen’s recorded its highest ever temp for September – 25C! It has to be said that when you get a dreadful summer in Scotland, often you are lucky with a week or so’s sunshine in September, and this summer was one of the worst ever!
It started off well, as we approached Aberdeen the pilot took us on a tour over Aberdeenshire and with the harvest well under way the vista was a beautiful patchwork of greens, browns and golds. Once landed he also did the usual announcement wishing us all a safe onward journey and added “and if you reside in Aberdeen, Welcome Home”. That did bring a tear to my eye!Spent a great weekend with my family and managed to grab some quality time with a few friends. It was also great to catch up with Jill who writes an amazing blog that keeps me in touch with NE Scotland – you can read it here. She showed us round her lovely new house, introduced us to her craft/opera/wine drinking den (you’ll have to read her blog to find out more) and then fed us the most delicious chocolate and chilli cake. Mum loaned me her car so I was mobile, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed nipping about in a 1.4L Astra.
Here’s the best of the photos
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| New Aberdour Beach… my favourite “haunt” |
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| to look for cowry shells… found 7 (much easier to find the giant ones on the Omani beaches! |
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| You might have noticed the UK hosted the Olympic Games this summer. This postbox in Westhill was painted gold in honour of gold medal winner Tim Baillie who hails from here |
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| Iconic Scottish Shot – Heilan Coos grazing |
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| It was warm enough to have morning coffee outside! |
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| Heading to Strichen, always going to be “home” to me |
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| Strichen Lake – a wonderful community resource |
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| Nothing beats a walk in the Strichen woods – the times I have walked our (and friends) dogs along this path – though not usually in sunshine! |
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| Bonny granite bridge in ….. Strichen of course |
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| Clever ducks in Strichen – they can stand on water! |
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| First but hopefully not last shot at quad biking! |
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| Autumn wasn’t far away |
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| Enjoyed a fair few spectacular sunsets |
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| Despite only one day of rain we were never far away from water. On the banks of the river Dee here. |
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| Time to head home before the weather turns wintry! This was the temp on the way to the airport. |
Someone asked me a while ago if I would miss the adventure/outdoor life if I had to move back to Scotland – my answer has to be no, I’m exactly the same there as in the UAE, I just wear a thick jacket and boots most of the time!
The Desert Diva 
