Rudland family on-line

On Friday, 12 June we got the caravan hitched up and headed north and east. Our first destination was Broughty Ferry and the van was run into the Johnstone driveway where we were welcomed by Betty and Sandy, as heartily as always. We ate in the house but had arranged to sleep in the van. The remainder of the day passed quickly as we caught up on all the news. After school daughter Anne with son Andrew arrived - my, how he has grown since we last saw him.

Saturday, Margaret and I took ourselves down to Dundee in the bus to visit the ‘Discovery’, the boat that took Captain Scott to the Antartic. The centre tells the story in great detail and the ship itself has undergone a full-scale restoration project bringing the whole thing to life.

On Sunday Betty took us to Arbroath Abbey where we discovered all about its foundation and about the ‘Declaration of Abroath’. We took lots of pictures including one with Betty hamming it with kid’s toys as Brunhilde which she said proved her Norse ancestry.

Monday was to be our lunch day out and, again, Betty took us to one of her favourite farm shop / restaurant places. A great meal. After this we went in search of the Mackay jam and preserve factory, coming away with loads of jars of pickles, honey, marmalade etc. from their shop.

Tuesday was moving day. We had booked a space in a little CL inland from Stonehaven
which proved to be a lovely place with views over the fertile valley of the Luther Water.

Wednesday was a bit rainy so we went down the road to Brechin and the Pictavia centre, telling the story of our Pictish ancesters - it was really well done and here we learned things about their way of life and the relics they left behind.

Thursday we went to visit the birthplace of the author Lewis Grassic Gibbon which was only a few miles away. Very interesting and gave us a new insight into his work, all accomplished in a very short life ( only 33 when he died ) From there we took ourselves down to Inverbervie and then on to Stonehaven. We had a walk into the town and back along the shore to the harbour where the car was parked.

Friday was a beautiful morning so we made for Fettercairn, stopped at Rattling Bridge for morning coffee and over the Cairn o’ Mount road to Banchory. Only a wee bit further took us to Crathes Castle, a National Trust property with walled gardens and woodland walks.

Saturday was to be the visit to Aberdeeen. Car to Stonehaven and then Bus Pass to the Granite city ( much easier than trying to find a parking place ). Wandered up and down Union Street and visited M & S for one of their ‘Dine in for £10′. So back to the car and the van. BBQ at night with the goodies. Got everything ready for the moring.

Sunday, up early and on the road for home. A trouble free run and into the house before three o’clock. Altogether, a great holiday.

Saturday 9 May and Rowan and I are off to Wester Ross to visit Inverewe Gardens and stay for 2 nights in a lighthouse. The weather was just as we’d hoped for, glorious sunshine. We spent about 6 hours in these wonderful gardens which were at their colourful best with hundreds of rhododendrons and azaleas, most in full bloom, also sub-tropical plants which thrive on this part of the coast due to the presence of the Gulf Stream.
Staying in Rubha Reidh Lighthouse was quite an adventure as it is almost 8 miles up a single track road and in the calm weather a place of tranquillity. The rooms are basic but comfortable and the food was excellent, all made on the premises mostly from local produce.
So many lovely memories of the people we met, the plants in bloom and the beautiful Highland scenery. Thank you Rowan for taking me and looking after me while ”heather louping” and sharing in the memories Mum

Reading the paper this week came up with the intriguing ( at least to me ) reference to Occam. I had heard of it before and did a wee bit checking and came up with the folowing:
Occam’s razor is a logical principle attributed to the mediaeval philosopher William of Occam (or Ockham). The principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This principle is often called the principle of parsimony. It underlies all scientific modelling and theory building. It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one. In any given model, Occam’s razor helps us to “shave off” those concepts, variables or constructs that are not really needed to explain the phenomenon. By doing that, developing the model will become much easier, and there is less chance of introducing inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies.

There - apply that to your thinking from now on.