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Breast Cancer

Posted in Health, Interesting articles, tagged breast cancer, National Academy of Sciences, stress hormone, University of Chicago on January 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Interesting article I read in one of the daily newspapers a few weeks back:

as read:

Health Editor Sam Lister

Loneliness and stress ‘raise the chances of breast cancer’.

Loneliness and stress may play an important role in triggering breast cancer, a study suggests.

Scientists studying cancer-prone rats found that isolation ad stress increased their risk of developing breast tumours more than three-fold.

Animals kept on their own grew 84 times more tumours than those which suffered cancer while living in groups.

They were also afflicted with more aggressive and deadly forms of the disease.

Scientists believe the findings are relevant to humans. Both rats and humans are naturally sociable and suffer stress when isolated. The biological mechanisms leading to breast cancer are also similar in both species.

Researchers at the University of Chicago compared outcomes of female brown rats which were either kept alone, or in small groups. The rats were genetically engineered to be susceptible to breast cancer, and tended to grow tumours in middle age.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that rats that lived alone produced higher levels of stress hormones and became more sensitive to stressful situations.

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7 Religion vs Spirituality

Posted in Historical, Interesting articles, Personal Development, spirituality, tagged Baptist, buddhism, cat lover, Catholic, Chinese, christian, Church of England, Cindy Eve, Date with Desting, Genisis, Hinduism, http://www.notjustagranny.com/page11.htm, Methodist, religion, Revelations, spirituality, sunday scool, Taoism, traditions, wikipedia on January 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Today being Sunday, I am of course blogging about religion and spirituality (just because I like to be orderly). 🙂

As a child my mother used to send us to Church (Sunday school) every week. There we got to learn about Christ and Christian principles and about God. We also had a load of fun colouring in pictures and listening to stories, and one of my most vivid memories of Christ was of him dressed in a long pure-white robe, a long vibrant sapphire blue cloak over that, brown sandals long brown hair and a beautiful smile. That image was portrayed in a large book my Mother had given us of Bible Stories.

As we got older and started going to grown-up Church, sometimes my Mother (or Father – depending on whom we were living with at the time) would come with us, most times not), I recall that the preacher – of whichever church was nearest at the time (we moved a lot), would stand on his pulpit and either preach about how God would punish us for various sins etc and banish us to hell, or would preach about a loving God who forgave all sins. This confused the heck out of me and I could not relate that to the pictures I had seen in the book or the stories I had read. (I do confess I have never read the bible through, only got as far as Genesis and touched on Revelations, as well as briefly on others in between).

In the fullness of time church went out the window and religion took a back-seat to real life, and we practised what my Mother called a ‘shot-gun’ religion – church for weddings, christenings, funerals and the occasional seasonal catch up. Although I then considered myself to be a Christian the reality was that I did not lead a Christian lifestyle. Neither I, nor my siblings were either; Baptised, Christened or whatever. We had conflicting experiences of how life should be lived and how life was lived – leading to total confusion. Although I pretty much gave up on ‘religion’ per se, I was still curious and over the years I investigated, albeit briefly, different religions; touching on Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, I went to different churches: Methodist; Church of England; Catholic; and Baptist and even ventured into the world of Seventh Day Adventists.

When my daughter went to school, I sent her to a Catholic School for most of her junior years, the result of which that she has sworn off religion for life (so far). (Actually, the Toasim venture, was unwittingly mitigated by her; through a Chinese school friend she was helping to learn English and who was teaching her Mandarin in return.) We were totally taken with the whole experience and faithfully attended services every Friday, which lasted till they told us that cats don’t have souls! Bearing in mind: I am a cat lover of note, had five cats at the time, one of whom had just been killed by a car that very day – bad timing). Taosim went out the window.

On the rare occasion I have attended church since my childhood, it is usually to pray for someone else (I do believe in an Almighty God/Entity), to attend Easter Service or Christmas Eve Mass (I enjoy the carols) and for weddings, funerals, christenings and very occasionally just because I want to enjoy the spiritual environment. Other than that I am totally taken with old churches and cathedrals and love wandering about whether they be whole or in ruins. It is more for the aesthetic beauty than religious, and I also love the traditions.

Which brings me to spirituality. I would consider myself to be a spiritual person; I had an amazing experience at Date With Destiny (see my book). And I have been thinking; what is religion as opposed to spirituality and how does spirituality fit into our daily lives? Doing some research, of course my first stop was Wikipedia and this is what I found.

Traditionally, religions have regarded spirituality as an integral aspect of religious experience and have long claimed that secular (non-religious) people cannot experience “true” spirituality. Many do still equate spirituality with religion, but declining membership of organised religions and the growth of secularism in the western world has given rise to a broader view of spirituality.

Secular spirituality carries connotations of an individual having a spiritual outlook, which is more personalized, less structured, more open to new ideas/influences, and more pluralistic than that of the doctrinal faiths of organized religions. At one end of the spectrum, even some atheists are spiritual. While atheism tends to lean towards scepticism regarding supernatural claims and the existence of an actual “spirit”, some atheists define “spiritual” as nurturing thoughts, emotions, words and actions that are in harmony with a belief that the entire universe is, in some way, connected; even if only by the mysterious flow of cause and effect at every scale.

Some modern religions also see spirituality in everything: see pantheism and neo-Pantheism. In a similar vein, Religious Naturalism has a spiritual attitude towards the awe, majesty and mystery it sees in the natural world.

For a Christian, to refer to him or herself as “more spiritual than religious” may (but not always) imply relative deprecation of rules, rituals, and tradition while preferring an intimate relationship with God. The basis for this belief is that Jesus Christ came to free humankind from those rules, rituals, and traditions, giving humankind the ability to “walk in the spirit” thus maintaining a “Christian” lifestyle through that one-to-one relationship with God.

Interesting! This is just a small sample of what I found. What are your thoughts? Of course there is much, much more on the internet and the subject could be beaten to death, however, please bear in mind that I am not decrying, deriding or slating any religion, belief or way of life, in any way – I am just voicing what is my belief and how I have experienced life. I do not wish to be ‘converted’ and if you leave any comments kindly do so at a constructive level, respecting the fact that everyone has a different set of beliefs, values and their own model of the world and that in my opinion we are all correct in our thinking and that we all have the right to our own beliefs. I also do not feel that any one religion or religious sect, or way of thinking or set of beliefs, is either right or wrong; it just is. How I do wish that we could all accept that.

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9 Ways to reduce stress

Posted in Health, Interesting articles, tagged 2010, anger, Brad Paul, Cindy Eve, habits, how to reduce stress, http://www.guruhabits.com, http://www.notjustagranny.com, Law of Attraction, simplify your life, stress on January 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hello, lovely to see you here; thanks for visiting!

I was working on some articles today, on health and wellbeing for the forum, and whilst taking a break I was reading through some articles on one of my favourite websites:

http://www.guruhabits.com by Brad Paul

I came across this article and felt it was perfect for the health section as stress is one of the greatest killers of our times. His suggestions make a lot of sense so I thought I would share them with you and wish you a stress-less life!

I have edited the article a wee bit to make it shorter, but if you want to read the full article, go to – http://guruhabits.com

“The desire to reduce stress is a common goal for most people. We are so entrenched in our routines, habits, and ways of doing things we rarely stop and consider new ways of dealing with the stresses of daily living.

By simplifying your style, you are setting up how you are going to respond to stress creating events in advance. In other words, you are making a decision based on your desire to reduce stress in your life.
Your goal is to set up new ways of handling issues that bring about stress because of the negative emotions that they create. Here are 9 areas where you can simplify your style and in doing so reduce stress.

1. Stop Arguing
Arguing is a waste of time. No one ever wins. If you win an argument, the other person feels slighted and annoyed by you. If you lose, you feel this way about them.

Simplify your style into being a person who does not argue.

2. Stop Giving Your Unsolicited Opinion
Closely related to arguing is the compulsion to give your opinion when you haven’t been asked for it. People instantly become resistant and defensive when someone gives their unsolicited opinion.

Simplify your style into being a person who doesn’t give your opinion unless you’re asked for it emphatically
3. Stop Reacting When Others Speak Angrily
When people talk angrily about something, our tenancy is to react to their anger by getting tight, defensive, and stressed. Unless the anger is directed at us, there is no logical reason to react this way.

Modify your style into being a person who does not react to another person’s anger.

4. Stop Requiring Perfection of Yourself & Others
Perfection is an impossible objective. In reality, the drive for perfection gets in the way of creativity.

Simplify your style into being a person who doesn’t require perfection by knowing that it’s a fool’s quest.

5. Stop Trying to Please Everyone
Trying to please everyone is insanity. If you consider all the variations of personalities and likes and dislikes of people, it should be obvious that trying to please everyone is impossible and a waste of time.

Modify your style into being a person who does not try to please everyone.
6. Stop Trying to Make Everyone Like You
Do you like everyone you meet? No one does. Knowing this, why should you expect everyone to like you?

Simplify your style into being a person who does not try to make everyone like you, but rather a person who relies on just being yourself.

7. Stop Grieving About Past Mistakes
Grieving about mistakes you’ve made in the past is a clear waste of time. The only possible outcome is that you’ll feel depressed in the present! And when you feel depressed, you greatly reduce your ability to take constructive action today that will improve your future.

Adjust your style into being a person who doesn’t grieve about mistakes in the past but rather rejoices in what you have today and what you intend to manifest in the future.

8. Stop Worrying About What Might Happen in the Future
By worrying about what might happen in the future, we actually create the conditions for manifesting it. Most things we worry about never come true. According to the Law of Attraction, it takes a lot more negative thoughts to bring about bad results than it does to manifest positive outcomes. This explains for me why most of what we worry about never comes true. Worry is a waste of time. It’s also very damaging to your physical and mental health.

Simplify your style into being a person who doesn’t worry about what might happen in the future, but rather a person who imagines living the future that they desire in the present.

9. Stop Researching & Analyzing So Much and Start Doing
Researching and analyzing things in order to make the best possible decision is a good practice if it leads to a timely decision to act! If the research and analysis goes too far and decisions are postponed, this is a stress-producing problem.

Modify your style in being a person who does a predetermined amount of research and analysis and then makes a timely decision based on the information gathered, gut feelings, and courage!
***
If you think about the people in your life you admire, many of them probably have the style that I am encouraging. This style will reduce stress, enhance your health, and earn respect from others.” end of article.

I am going to add these suggestions to my plan for the future! Thanks for visiting this site. As mentioned before, for the full article and to gain more wisdom go to:

http://www.guruhabits.com (p.s. I am not an affiliate – I just like his site)

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Once in a Blue Moon 31.12.09

Posted in Historical, Interesting articles, tagged 2010, angles, blue moon, blue moon lunar eclipse, creations, divine spirit, flash forward, God, Julian calendar, light, new years eve, super nova, Ton Pascal, wish big on December 31, 2009| 5 Comments »

For those that aren’t aware tonight is a Blue Moon and a special one too. It’s very rare for a Blue Moon to happen on New Year’s Eve. Below is some info from email —-

BLUE MOON MAGIC
on New Year’s Eve 2009
by Ton Pascal

New Years Eve on December 31, 2009 will be more powerful than a super nova.
This vibration will surpass space and time and will be in the seeds of
ALL LIFE CREATIONS

Be mindful of thoughts, they carry GREAT POWER.
Take action, it has power & magic…
Those into wishing, WISH BIG ~~~~
Know we are at the seat of our creations!!!
This super novas give us an energetic boost in whatever direction we are pointed…

Only once in every 20 years, the blue moon appears on New Year’s Eve, as it will this year. On a plain physical level what is happening is that the moon is out of phase with the days. For it to make its complete cycle it’s about 29.5 days. It doesn’t coincide with our month, and that’s why it is out of sync with our Julian calendar. It’s the occurrence of two full moons in one month, which happens every two years, hence the popular quotation “once in a Blue Moon” which means ‘not very often.’ On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and-a-half years.

On December 31, 2009, we have a Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse.

On a spiritual level it is as if it asks us to ‘flash forward’ into the next two years to see what we can see. This is the most important New Years Eve we have ever been gifted in a long time. No matter how much you do not believe prophecy from time and earth, it will still affect your energy field and your choices.

Someone suggested this exercise to me and I am glad to pass it forward. This New Years Eve 2009 create an I AM TEMPLATE, an energetic road map into the next two years.

Command the energies into a direction that serves the better good on all levels of your life.

Ask the Light/Angels/Divine Spirit/God/ to release what still pushes your buttons and pulls your strings.

Release the pettiness between you and others, the green-eyed energy that sucks your light.

Release the anger that drains you of your strength, just keeping it alive.

Release the expectations you have of others, as they ride their own horse of a different color.

The I AM TEMPLATE consists of an eternal circle

First, draw the large circle repeating the words I LIVE IN A PLACE OF PLENTY.

Second, on the inside of the circle place everything you plan on creating
in the next two years.

Put down all of your dreams, aspirations, wants, needs, as well what you want for the planet.

On the outside of the Circle write everything you are choosing to release.

Release all that does not serve your highest good any longer.

Be specific in those releases.

On New Years Eve bless the ‘I AM Template’ and then burn it,
releasing its ashes like a sacred prayer on smoke.

This December 31, 2009, Partial Lunar Eclipse is numerically a 7/11 (#9) vibration
Cosmic and personal completion! Entering the next level of love of heart, of soul and service to the planetary evolution through healing self. Free-falling from the height of the nine into the next level of Light. Entry and exits all in the same breath. A quantum leap into unknown gifts comes through the nine. Are you ready to see and be more than you are at this minute of time? Nine is the photo finish on the heavenly line of multiple choices. If you believe you have won, you have. Your New Years resolutions on 12/31/2009 will be more powerful than a super nova. Their vibration will surpass space and time and land at the feet of God.

Be careful what you pray for, as it will come to past.

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Leadership

Posted in Interesting articles, Personal Development, tagged actions, business, Cindy Eve, courage, http://www.notjustagranny.com, http://www.thesmallbusinessangel.com, http://www.twitter.com/notjustagranny/, integrity, leadership, The Small Business Angel, work ethic on December 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

As a subscriber to The Small Business Angel newsletters and blogposts, I found this one to be particularly interesting. Leadership:

by: Michele Milligan, Source Unknown

The following was written by a high school student writing an essay for her final exam:

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles… they don’t flock, you find them one at a time.” Hard work, profound dedication, and encouragement toward others are what entitle an individual to be a leader.

A strong work ethic is one important quality of an adroit leader. As the saying goes: “There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it’s easy.” Hard work and intense dedication can only make you better, both mentally and skillfully. If others see one person working as hard as they can 100% of the time, they will work harder for that one person. No matter how unmotivated people are, if just one person steps up and takes the lead, everybody else will follow. Leaders motivate others.

Many people find themselves working harder when they know that they get something out of it. Just by hearing a few pushing words that motivate and encourage, people force themselves to work harder. Leaders are usually the ones who ignore their own accomplishments to commend others for theirs. The leader keeps everybody’s head up at all times, as they work harder and harder, and more diligently toward their goals. The number one thing that a leader tries to avoid is making people feel guilty or to look down on them because leaders bring others higher in the world, usually with the result being success. As a noble person once said, “There are high spots in all of our lives, and most of them come through encouragement from someone else.”

Hard work from one person makes other work harder. Vehement dedication shows others the success that comes through it. Encouragement and support for others make others feel good about themselves and give them something else to work for. These are all very significant traits that a leader must possess. Don’t wait around for things to happen, make this world what you really want it to be, be a leader.

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The Law of Attraction says: That which is like unto itself, is drawn.

Posted in Health, Inspiration, Interesting articles, Personal Development, tagged Bill Gates, Cindy Eve, David Riklan, entrepreneur, gratitude, http://www.notjustagranny.com, Jeremy Gislason, Law of Attraction, mindmap, online business, Oprah Winfrey, philantropy, self growth, Winston Chruchill on December 11, 2009| 1 Comment »

Great article.

Giving Back to the World, by Jeremy Gislason

Are you grateful for everything you have?

Consider this, whether you have a million dollars in the bank or a hundred — if you have a roof over your head, food on your table and the comfort of friends and family, you’re rich.

Millions around the world live a bare bones existence and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness takes a backseat to survival. If you have a roof over your head, you have food in your stomach, and you probably have at least one car, a bank account, and an abundance of creature comforts then by global standards, you’re rich.

Take a minute to look around you, wherever you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this from the comfort of your couch, if you’re sitting at a table in a coffee shop, if you’re sitting in your car, on your treadmill or exercise bike, or if you’re enjoying the sunshine and reading this outside. Take a look around you and make a mental note of all you have. We’re not just talking about the material items either. Friends, family, mentors, and pets are all blessings.

What about you? You have a wealth of strengths, skills, knowledge, and experience too.

What Are You Doing With All Of Your Wealth?

Gratitude has the power to bring more abundance into our lives. We know this to be true and by simply expressing gratitude daily, in every moment of your life, you will understand it to be true too.

In addition to attracting more of what we’re grateful for, like wealth, love, and good health, gratitude also invites compassion into our lives. There are so many people in this world who suffer, who struggle and who do not have the wealth and abundance you have right now, today. It’s important to point out that this is an opportunity for you. Giving back benefits you in a number of ways.

When you give back, you feel better about yourself, your accomplishments and your wealth — you feel grateful.

When you give back, you learn about yourself and about others — this is a valuable opportunity.

When you give back, you make valuable connections with people who have the power to change your life in any number of amazing ways.

When you give back, you gain both spiritually and monetarily. It’s the Law of Attraction — which states you attract what you focus on. The Law of Attraction says: That which is like unto itself, is drawn.

When you possess gratitude, compassion, and generosity of mind, money and spirit, you attract those things back to you — all which make you richer, smarter, and surrounded by life, love and happiness.

Consider for just a moment the amazing contributions of:

Bill Gates and his foundation which partners with companies around the world to improve health and education.

Oprah Winfrey and her angel network which works on global and local networks to improve the lives of others.

And Kelly a small business owner who regularly motivates her social networking followers to generate thousands of dollars to families in need by donating her time and services in exchange for monetary donations from others.

You, no matter what level you’re at or what goals you are striving for, have the mind-blowing opportunity to improve the lives of others, including your own, in a number of ways.

1. You have the power to change the world, to better the world.

2. By embracing and acting on your power, you will gain abundance both materially and spiritually.

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
-Winston Churchill

How Can You Give Back?

There are a number of ways you can give back to the world.

1.) Volunteer
Volunteer your time, skills and expertise. Volunteering offers a number of benefits:

-You Become Part of a Community
Volunteering has a meaningful, positive impact on your community. We depend on each other for personal and professional survival and when you’re part of a community, your personal and your professional life prosper. Volunteering helps, you build and sustain your community, which in turn will give back to you. It’s a win-win situation.

-Broaden Your Repertoire
People volunteer to contribute their skills and knowledge however it’s practically guaranteed that you’ll walk away with more knowledge and skills than you had beforehand. Volunteering is the perfect vehicle to discover something you are good at and develop a new skill.

-A Sense of Accomplishment
There’s little else in life that offers the same level of satisfaction like watching your hard earned efforts benefit someone in need.

Volunteering also offers you new interests, new experiences, new people, and authenticity and credibility in your industry.

2.) Donate funds
What’s your favorite cause or charity – something that’s important to you, your family or your friends? Perhaps it is the American Cancer Society, the Humane Society, or the Nature Conservancy. These organizations thrive on two things: Volunteers and Donations.

If you have causes, passions and charities which are near and dear to your heart, it’s important to do what you can to keep them in the black, financially solvent, and able to continue to provide their services.

3.) Use your business to tap into the needs of your prospects, community, customers, and associates
One of the truly wonderful aspects about being a business owner is the amazing power you have to give back. As a business owner, you have a rolodex jam-packed with contacts. This includes your lead list but it also includes your associates, vendors, partners, and always your friends, family and community members. You are a veritable Paul Revere — and one word from you has tremendous power, power to change the world and have a positive effect on the lives of others.

4.) Mentor
Mentoring is an exceptional way to share your knowledge and experience with others and give back to the world.

Mentoring is when you meet with someone one-on-one and help them learn and grow. A mentee can be a child or young adult struggling with choices, a professional who is interested in growing their career, or a person interested in starting a business similar to yours. A mentor/mentee relationship is essentially, however you define it.

The Next Step

If history and experience have taught us anything it’s that the more you give, the more you receive. When you take the time to give back to the world with the intention of improving the lives of others, the essential result is that you end up receiving so much more than you can possibly imagine. Give it a try. You’ll be amazed what happens in your life.

About the Author:

Jeremy Gislason is an entrepreneur, online business owner and marketer. He is also a philanthropist with over 12 years of offline and online business experience. Discover The Secret to Lasting Abundance in Mindmap to Riches Vol. 4 at http://www.MindmaptoRiches.com

Go here for even more free self improvement tips to make you healthier, wealthier and wiser.

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Florida’s Disney World finds a twin in Swindon

Posted in Holidays, Interesting articles, Travel, tagged Blackpool, Brighton, Cambridge, Honda, Honda car factory, http://www.twitter.com/junketadvisor, rail works, Swindon, The Times, tourism in the UK, travel in the UK, Walt Disney World, Wiltshire on December 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Swindon, the Wiltshire town famous for it’s old rail works and Honda car factory is to be the first twin town of the Florida-based Walt Disney World.

It has been chosen thanks to the efforts of Rebecca Warren, 20, who lives in Swindon. She produced a winning video slideshow extolling the virtues of the town, and will fly to Florida to unveil a “Walt Disney World Twinned with Swindon” plaque.

Miss Warren said: “I still cannot believe my entry has been selected. What a great opportunity for Swindon.”

The town beat off competition from Blackpool, Brighton (I’m staying in Hove at the moment, which is nearby) and Cambridge (as they say: it is a delight to visit).

as read in The Times, Tuesday Dec 8th.

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17.11.09 Eilean Donan Castle & Isle of Skye

Posted in Historical, Holidays, Interesting articles, Travel, tagged Castle Moil, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dornie, Eilean Donan Castle, Glen Quoich, http://www.flickr.com/photos/notjustagranny, http://www.notjustagranny.com, Invergarry, Invergarry Hotel, Isle of Skye, Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin, Laggan Swing Bridge, Loch Duich, Loch Garry, Macrae, Raasay, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Sean Connery, Sound of Sleat on November 27, 2009| 2 Comments »

Woke with much excitement this morning; off to the Isle of Skye today. Had breakfast and packed a picnic lunch 🙂 and set off real early. We wanted to make good progress as the island is over 50 miles away and would take about an hour or so to get there. Hahaha! Little did we know!

On the way out I stopped at reception to ask for a new kettle; ours had died 😦 and to take a photo of the reception area. This set the tone for the day! 🙂 Everything is so gorgeous and we didn’t stop once or twice, we stopped dozens of times!

We barely left the grounds of the park when we made or first stop! At Laggan Swing Bridge. The day was absolutely glorious and the water on the Loch such a beautiful blue, it just begged for a photo or two.

Laggan Swing Bridge

part of the bridge mechanisms

The valley we are in is just breathtakingly gorgeous and yet we had no idea of the splendour that waited ahead. The next stop was hardly a mile down the road and so it went. We eventually got to Invergarry where we were to turn left for the Kyle of Lochalsh and the Isle of Skye.

Invergarry Hotel

Of course we stopped once again in Invergarry to take photos of the wonderful hotel

the bridge with river running swiftly below

the beautiful stone bridge we had just driven over and the river that rushed by in the ravine below.

colours too gorgeous to imagine

The colours of the forest are just too gorgeous to imagine.

We did not linger too long and soon made our way towards Skye. Oh my word! The scenery was absolutely spectacular. We hardly got anywhere at all with the frequent stops along the way. Driving through hills of Glen Quoich was such a treat. We gasped with disbelief when we rounded a bend and there before our eyes was Loch Garry!

Loch Garry

Stupendous is just insufficient to describe the beauty. The Loch is huge and stretches for mile upon mile, a massive expanse of beautiful blue water snug amongst the steeply sloping tree covered hills.

wooded slopes leading down into glacial valley; Loch Garry

A left-over from the glaciers that formed these valleys 12,000 years ago, the water is a flat expanse of icy-blue.

mile upon mile of blue water

We spent ages just looking, reluctant to leave, but time was fleeting and we still had quite a way to go.

The road twists and winds, up and steeply down through towering hills and wooded glacial valleys,

gushing waterfalls everywhere you look

gushing waterfalls round every corner and rushing headlong down the mountain sides.

rushing, gurgling down the mountainsides

At one spot where we stopped, right at the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a really strange spectacle: a large flat expanse of ground with countless little cairns dotting the area. Really bizarre.

hundreds of little cairns dotted the hilltop

countless cairns, blue glacial waters of Loch Garry in the backround

We kept saying: ‘Ok, no more stops now till we get to Eilean Donan Castle’! Pointless words, every corner revealed another view, another waterfall,

another bridge, and we screamed to a stop so many times that it eventually became a joke.

welcome to Skye and Lochalsh

Welcome to Skye and Lochalsh

Nearing Kyle of Lochalsh we passed through a tiny village situated right on the edge of the Sound of Sleat, a massive stretch of water on the left and on the right a valley cut in the cleft of the mountains we had just driven through.

The village of Dornie in the background, the Sound of Sleat on the right

As we passed through the village I noticed a statue high on top of a hill and a ramshackle church in the middle of an ancient graveyard.

roofless church in graveyard

We screamed to a stop once again (I am sure I wore the brakes out!) and parking the car snug against the hedges, walked along a winding dirt path that took us up the steep sides of the hill and eventually to the top and behold: the statue. It was actually a memorial erected by the clan Macrae and friends in memory of Macrae’s home and abroad who fell at home and abroad in the Great War of 1914-1918.

Memorial inscription

the stone memorial and statue

The stone edifice of a man in uniform with the family crest carved into the stone; has a view second to none, as far as the eye can see,

a view as far as the eye can see

across the hills and along the valleys far, far away.

me on the hillside

There are a couple of benches atop the crest and even though the wind was attempting to blow us off our feet we sat and tarried for a while in the peace and quiet.

CJ sitting on the bench atop the hill

Then we clambered back down through slushy mud and peat, ever mindful of holes and uneven ground just waiting to twist an unwary ankle!

Thence to the graveyard; to explore the tumble down roofless church, with

tumble down church

new memorials alongside ancient gravestones and memorials; I love those old cemeteries, the stories they tell.

As we clambered about the sun broke through the clouds and shone down in a stream of silver light onto the loch and hills.

sun touching the mountains

What is quite amazing is that these two photos were taken within minutes of each other from slightly different angles!

Not long and just after we had said no more stopping till we get to the castle, we rounded a bend and there it was!

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle perched on its island at the head of Loch Duich.

Eilean Donan Castle

Only one of the most photographed castles in Scotland and on every calendar you get of castles of Scotland. Awesome.

an island fortress

When you see photos of the castle it always looks like it is in the middle of the Loch, but although on it’s own little island, in fact it is not in the middle of the Loch. Just a short walk over a beautiful stone bridge

the bridge leading up to the castle

and you are on the wee island that supports the structure. The castle per se is closed from October till March, but that did not stop us exploring the outer perimeters.

CJ exploring the outer walls of Eilean Donan Castle

the bridge leading to the castle Eilean Donan

At the entrance to the castle is a family memorial carrying the family crest or arms and listing all the names of fallen Macraes from the 1914-1918 war

Clan Macrae memorial to family members fallen during the Great War 1914-18

and alongside 2 fine cannons pointing across the Loch and along the bridge.

....down the barrel of a gun!

after exploring I then clambered down to the rocks below to look at the views from under the bridge.

view of the Loch from under the bridge at Eilean Donan Castle

Amazing views from under the bridge.

The castle is situated on a tidal Loch and the rocks were covered with seaweed, with that wonderful salty sea smell. With a long history dating back centuries, the castle is famous for many events, and more recently the film Highlander starring Sean Connery.

me and CJ at Eilean Donan Castle

The castle is a fabulous stone structure,

Eilean Donan Castle

imperious and imposing as castles are meant to be,

view across the Sound

and with an incredible view across the loch and mountains.

I can see that once the tide comes in how the castle would be inaccessible from the road.

Very near to the Isle of Skye now and with the day waning, we decided to hotfoot it along and get there before the sun disappeared. There is a fantastic new bridge that crosses the Firth from Kyle of Lochalsh to the isle.

bridge across the sea to Skye 🙂 as seen from the car

The views are just incredible and we gasped at every turn. As we drove over the sea to Skye and onto the island we cheered, hooray! It had taken us 5 hours to get there!

Making a sharp turn to the left we stopped off in a wee town called Kyleakin, the gateway to Skye, with a long and proud history.

history of Kyleakin; gateway to Skye

Kyleakin is a harbour town with views to die for.

Kyleakin harbour

On a rocky outcrop near the edge of town are the remains of Castle Moil.

Castle Moil on the Isle of Skye (this is CJ's photo)

Looking across the Inner Sound we could see Scalpay Island across the water.

Scalpay Island across Inner Sound

The bridge looked magnificent against the blue sky and with the sun beginning to set, looked mystical in the soft misty air.

a soft misty look across the Sound to the bridge

We decided to explore further inland so set off along the road to Broadford.

a tiny croft, a stunning view

The views are just incredible and we saw tiny little crofts snug amongst the grass with a fabulous backdrop of sea and sky.

dusk falls on the Isle of Sky

Now it was starting to get darker so we stopped off at a hotel for tea and scones with cream. Thence homeward bound.

crossing the bridge from the Isle of Skye to Kyle of Lochalsh

Re-crossing the bridge we pledge to return at a later date and explore the whole island.

A quick stop at the castle for some sunset photos,

night falls on Eilean Donan Castle (one of CJ's photos)

Eilean Donan Castle as dusk falls (one of CJ's photos)

then with the rain starting up again we set off for home.

Driving along the winding roads we were once again enchanted by the waterfalls that plunge down the slopes of the mountains!

plunging waterfalls

Earlier on in the day before we reached Kyle of Lochalsh we had noticed a wonderful old-fashioned stone bridge (no longer in use) along the way, but as we had no-where to park decided to stop on the way back home. The rain was pouring down by now and we almost missed the stop when CJ happened to glance out the window and noticed it again. I slammed on brakes and did a quick turn to the left onto the hard-shoulder and pulled into a lay-bye nearby. Jumping out the car in the rain we splooshed and splashed along slipping and sliding in the mud and reached the crest of the road in one piece. So far, so good! Hahaha. Not wanting to get soaked to the skin we ran along to the centre of the main-road bridge to get a good viewpoint.

old stone bridge

As we ran CJ happened to glance up and noticed a huge puddle of water on the left of where we were heading and a great big truck heading our way. As she turned to shout a warning: “Puddle!” the truck roared by and all I had time to do was duck my head and turn my back as a huge arc of dirty, greasy, black water poured over my head. I was soaked to the skin. Thankfully I had, had just enough time to raise my camera into the air just out of reach of the torrent as the water poured over me. We were laughing so much that it wasn’t just the rain that was to blame for my trousers being wet :). By now we were absolutely soaked so with no further ado snapped away with the cameras (with very blurry results)

a very blurry photo 🙂 🙂

and then ran lickety-split for the car. With no time to spare we jumped off the road and down onto the lay-bye as another stream of cars whooshed by. What a scream.

one last photo for the day!

And so to home! One last stop along the way in the waning light to photograph one last river

icy rivers rush headlong down the valleys (Cj's photo)

by the time we got back to the cabin we were wet and cold and still hysterical with laughter. Next up; a hot steaming shower…of clean water accompanied by a towel. What a brilliant day.

Looking at a map of Scotland after our adventure, I was amazed to see just how many islands are off the west coast. There is of course Skye, then Rana, Raasay, Scalpay, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Muck, Coll, Tiree, Mull, Lismore, Colonsay, Jura, Islay, Kintyre, Arran, Bute, as well as farther northwest is Lewis, Harris, North Uist, South Uist, Barra (a tiny little island with it’s own airport), hundreds of little splotches of land with no names, and way north are the Orkney Islands (including the isle of Hoy), and even farther north are the Shetland Islands. Awesome!”

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15.11.09 Loch Oich

Posted in Holidays, Interesting articles, Travel, tagged Caledonian Way, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Great Glen Water Park, Great Glen Way, http://www.notjustagranny.com, Invergarry, Inverness, Laggan Swing Bridge, Loch Oich, West Highlands on November 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Sunday morning broke, quiet and still, barely a sound to be heard outside, the rain dripping from the skies. While CJ slept, I quietly opened my curtains and gasped out loud. OMG the view! What a surprise! We were situated right against a towering mountain, the slopes covered with a blanket of lovely fir trees, some green some orange, some yellow.

And yet, the best was still to come.

I decided to make myself a cup of tea, so pattering quietly down the passage into the living room area, I put the kettle on and made my way over to the front door of the cabin to open the curtains and peek outside. WOW!!!! I literally shrieked out loud and grabbed my mouth with delighted shock. The Loch was right on our doorstep! We were surrounded by heavily forested mountains with great swathes of lovely green grass and a massive stretch of water that was Loch Oich!

Stunningly beautiful, it took my breath away. It was so dark when we arrived the night before that I never had an idea of what was just beyond our cabin and the scene that met my eyes was incomparable. The trees were glorious in their autumn colours and I was itching to wake CJ. Pretty soon she was up and about, so I led her to the front door with her eyes closed and sweeping back the curtains I presented her with the sheer beauty of the day. We were stunned.

Loch Oich is part of the Caledonian Canal that runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the southwest of the Scottish Highlands. There are a number of Loch’s all joined by swing-bridges, the nearest to us being the Laggan Swing-Bridge.

Breakfast was forgotten as we hurriedly dressed and layered, then out the door armed with our cameras, we set forth to capture the magnificence. As we were standing on the Loch edge, above the clouds we heard the roar of fighter jets zooming overhead! The sound came as a heck of a shock and as the jets zoomed off into the distance the boom of the aftershock hit our eardrums. Exciting!

A very happy couple of hours later after taking hundreds of photos we finally headed back to our cabin for food.

Oh my gosh, the scenery is fabulous. Scotland so lends itself to autumn and the colours are amazing. After a hurried meal we donned trainers and wellies, hats and jackets and set off to explore the grounds and forest behind us. The park is set right on the edge of the towering Monadhliath mountain range; covered with wonderful coniferous forest behind, the Loch in front and another towering mountain also covered with coniferous forest that reaches right down to the water’s edge on the opposite side. With paths meandering alongside a stream and gushing waterfalls, the forest begged to be explored.

Looking up into the forests was spine tingling and I decided to explore the inner reaches. Setting off I clambered up the slopes through bracken and fallen moss-covered branches, slipping and sliding all the way. Needless to say I did not get very far and eventually had to halt just within the trees and meters from the path.

I urged CJ to join me but she was more sensible than that.

I spent a few minutes just enjoying the sighing of the wind in the branches and the hushed quiet of a deeply carpeted forest, then made my way back down, slip sliding away, I eventually reached terra-flat after sliding most of the way on my bum. It is a lot easier going up than down and I nearly lost my balance a few times then decided to take the inelegant way down, which my daughter very kindly captured on video for all the world to see. Nice one pet! Miraculously I was not soaked and my trousers were unmarked by the moss covered slopes.

CJ was hysterical with laughter and can be heard snorting away in the background of the video. Cheeky brat. We then meandered along what was a very wet and slushy pathway, dotted with puddles of water and slippery with wet moulding leaves. The forest was ever so quiet and I am sure we frightened the animals away with the noise we made. Stopping every few feet to gasp and ooohh and ahhh at all the lovely sights, we saw waterfalls, and streams, trees dressed in their autumn finery of yellows and reds and gold.

The forest carpeted with a myriad of colours; dark green to psychedelic green, yellow, gold, maroon, brown, beige and red is a sight to behold. Rotting logs, left over from fallen trees lend a wonderful aroma to the air and are home to a profusion of new growth, with little pine trees sprouting out the top. Never believe for one second that autumn and winter signal death. There is a teeming burst of life and new growth everywhere you look. We chanced upon a tree covered in black seedpods and bursting out the seams were tiny little shoots of green leaf and spiral stems. Every where you look there is growth of moss and lichen, fungus and mushrooms, new trees sturdily finding their feet and deep in the bracken the first tendrils of leaf waiting for spring.

After first exploring one way along the path we retraced our steps then explored the other end. Chancing upon what looked like a railway platform right on the edge of the forest we were amazed to read that in 1903 someone had decided to build a railway line from Fort Augustus to Inverness.

Where we were standing were the remains of what was indeed the platform for a railway station. It was really bizarre since there were a couple of really massive trees growing right in the middle of the concrete edifice and the whole area is covered in green moss and grasses and bracken with younger trees vying for attention.

There is an information board with the full story on display and a map of the whole area showing how they intended to build. Bizarre.

The board says: “It may be hard to believe but this used to be Invergarry Railway Station, part of the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway. Reporting on the line’s opening in 1903, the Inverness Courier says: “The buildings are of wood on concrete foundations, the outer surface of Swiss shingle after the pretty pattern first used on the West Highland Railway and giving a very pretty effect.” The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Line, was intended to be the first stretch of a railway, which would eventually connect Fort William and Inverness. Unfortunately competition between the different highland companies meant that the second stretch of the line to Inverness was never built. This meant financial disaster for the Fort Augustus and Invergarry railway. It finally closed in 1946. Today you can still find evidence of the station and it’s tracks. Nature is, however, reclaiming the site rapidly as can be shown by the large Douglas fir trees growing on the tracks and platform. The developers so sure of its success invested £350,000 the equivalent of £20million today in the building of tunnels, roads and stations.

Hard to believe indeed! And far more attractive now than it would have been had they succeeded. I shudder to think.

By now it was beginning to rain again so we headed back to our warm cosy haven and had a yummy lunch. CJ then retired for an afternoon snooze and the rain having eased off, I went off adventuring. The Loch is so photogenic and with barely a breath of air to disturb the surface, the water lay like a sheet of glass, still and dark, the trees across the Loch perfectly reflected. Eventually CJ joined me and we happily snapped away and admired the views. By now it was beginning to darken and the light turned a wonderful blueish grey, tinged with pink across the Loch.

We were joined by an armada of ducks

and a pair of swans that came right up to the edge of the jetty and posed beautifully for some photos.

Suddenly the clouds cleared and with a splash of pink and silver the sun set, spectacular against the dark clouds reflected in the water.

We headed on back to the cabin for supper. Since it is now officially winter and we are so far north, the suns starts to sink behind the horizon at about 3pm and disappears from view about 4pm, and as the light dims rapidly we are soon plunged into darkness.

The cabins are really cosy and we are quite happy to just snuggle and drink tea whilst watching TV or reading or enjoying the photos we had both taken.

An earlyish night for an early start on the morrow! Time to explore Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.

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14.11.09 57.4717N and 4.2254W

Posted in Fun Stuff, Holidays, Interesting articles, Travel, tagged 18th Century, adventure, Avis car hire, Battle of Culloden, Cindy Eve, Easyjet, England, gatwick express, Great Glen, highlands, Inbhir Nis, Inverness, Loch Oich, London, McDonalds, Moray Firth, Pictish, pizza, River Ness, Scotland, Scottish Gaelic, St Columba, Strictly Come Dancing, Tesco, Travel, United Kingdon, Victoria Station, wikipedia, www.notjustagranny.com, X-Factor on November 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Facts about Inverness (courtesy of wikipedia):

The name Inverness is Gaelic and translates as ‘mouth of the river Ness’.

Situated at 57.4717N and 4.2254W.

Inverness (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Nis) is a city in northern Scotland and it is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland.

The city lies near the site of the eighteenth century Battle of Culloden and at the beginning of the Great Glen, where the River Ness enters the Inverness/Moray Firth making it a natural hub for various transport links. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom. A settlement was established by the sixth century AD with the first royal charter being granted by King David I in the twelfth century.

Inverness was one of the chief strongholds of the Picts, and in AD 565 was visited by St Columba with the intention of converting the Pictish king Brude, who is supposed to have resided in the vitrified fort on Craig Phadrig,on the western edge of the city. A 93 oz (2.6 kg) silver chain dating to 500-800 was found just to the south at Torvean.

click here and scroll down for a map of Inverness/Scotland

The 14.11.09 approached both rapidly and slowly and it was with excitement and anticipation that we woke on Saturday and set off on our journey up north. This is the farthest north we, my offspring and I have ever been – 57.4717N and 4.2254W!!! Brilliant.

CJ reached Victoria station before I did and very naughtily filmed me walking across the concourse! We took the Gatwick Express since it was almost £2 cheaper than by regular train. Go figure.

Check in at Easyjet was chop-chop and with time to spare we went to MacDonald’s for a Happy Meal for a happy CJ 🙂

and a chocolate milkshake for me.

This is the first time wev’e travelled with Easyjet and although the flight is the same as any other cheap airline, I was totally unimpressed with the fact that they left our luggage out in the rain and when we arrived at our destination our clothes were wet. Even more so since CJ was forced to check her bag at a cost of £18 because the bag was literally a zip width to wide for the onboard luggage sizer.

However, excitement reigned supreme as we boarded and finally took off, 25 minutes late. We were off to the Highlands of Scotland, Inverness and final destination was the Great Glen Water Park, situated on Loch Oich (which we did not know beforehand).

The flight was bumpy but uneventful and flying over England was a treat as always. The countryside is so beautiful and I never tire of seeing it from the air. A great expanse of blue sky and great big tumbles of wonderful white clouds accompanied our flight, providing fantastic photo opportunities.

With no idea what to expect we suddenly flew over the highlands!

and practically climbed out the window with excitement. The view was stupendous. Great open stretches of mountain and wilderness, huge lakes that spread for miles. The sun shone down and touched on a mountaintop providing a glimpse of the splendour to come.

Scotland; land of legends, castles, humble crofts, high mountains and tranquil lochs, battlefields echoing to the cries of long ago and remote glens home to towering firs and magnificent golden eagles.

Touchdown was uneventful, no rain but threatening. Collected our luggage, which was soaked! A complaint coming up here! Then over to Avis to collect our hire car. I have decided to write up a checklist of things to look out for and questions to ask for future reference.

It was starting to drizzle again, so in the rain I checked the car over thoroughly, remembering the lesson from Ireland. By the time I had checked for little bumps and scratches my hands were frozen and my sleeves soaked.

By now the light was fading and losing no time we set off, first stop Tesco, just 2 miles down the road for supplies. We had fun whizzing round the store (which was massive and jam-packed with goodies) picking and choosing yummy things to eat and drink, mindful of our budgets. By the time we emerged it was dark!!! Now for the fun bit – finding our way through a foreign town in the dark. Fortunately CJ had printed a fairly detailed map of the area and we made good progress to the A82 (I think) and then on to our destination.

At that time I had no idea how far the Great Glen Park was from Inverness and had considered taking a cab there! Fortunately I had hired a car! It was 54miles from the airport! I had no idea. We drove and drove, the rain falling steadily and with absolutely no idea where the place was, we anxiously scanned the map for landmarks.

1.5 hours later we finally arrived, just before 7pm and we had made the check-in deadline with 10 minutes to spare. By now pitch-dark we had not an inkling of the beauty and magnificence awaiting us. The A-frame cabins are darling and we made ourselves right at home. The first thing that went on was the heating, as it was quite freezing cold.

Hunting around the cabin it took ages for us to find all the switches to activate the various appliances, and the only one we could not find was the switch for the hot water! The following day we enquired at the office and the handyman came along to show us where it was – right behind the box of oats I had placed on the counter!!! Go figure.

Then a toss-up on who would get the double bed! CJ won for the first 4 nights since she was only staying till Wednesday, so that was fair enough. Then time to unpack, hang clothes up to dry and have supper! We had bought a pizza for convenience and popped it into the oven. Hahahaha, we ended up with – a burnt pizza for supper! The oven settings were unfamiliar and we set it too high. It tasted just fine actually and nicely crunchy round the edges 🙂

Relaxing and watching TV, Strictly Come Dancing was on and not to be missed, followed by X-Factor, we settled in for the week, cosy and comfortable. Later that evening just after getting into bed, I had a summons from CJ to quickly get my jacket and shoes on and come outside. I duly complied and stepping out back behind the cabin I lifted my eyes to the heavens and gasped. A blanket of stars covered the night sky, brightly twinkling and sparkling in the night sky. I am reminded once again of the fact that because we are creatures of the daytime, we miss out on this glorious spectacle every night.

We shivered and giggled, somewhat nervous that we were so close to the forest, literally feet away, it was dark and eerie and every rustle had us squeaking with fright. With wolves and ghosts in mind, and things that go bump in the night, I did not last long when finally my nerve broke and we skedaddled back inside, laughing and giggling fit to bust.

We had no idea what was awaiting our eyes on the morrow. And so to bed, I slept like the proverbial baby. Utter peace and quiet. Bliss.

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