We dropped the dogs off at the kennels on Tuesday morning. It's a relatively remote farm and is reached crossing a very steep hump bridge and I swear that Scamper knew where she was when we went over it. Since it was the day after the bank holiday it was packed with people waiting to collect their little darlings and it was like being a Heathrow again seeing the happy families reunited.
The last time we had to use kennels these were unavailable. They are small and very expensive but it is obvious just how much better they are than anything else we have seen. It was Billy's first time ever in kennels and I think he was a bit cowed by all the activity (the farm has plenty of large horses which were being moved into horse boxes as we arrived). He behaved beautifully and meekly and I heard one of the staff congratulate him as she led him off (little did she realise what a handful he would become once he had found his confidence and having just watched one of them being dragged across the yard by a small black lab bitch eager to be reunited I knew they didn't stand a chance).
Once I had said goodbye (waving to their backs as they waddled off all thoughts of me gone from their heads) I returned home and we set off for Scotland. It's a six hour drive and the days of just keeping going are over because we need to stop and feed Her Majesty so now it takes seven hours at least. But we made it in time for dinner and Harriet was as good as gold. As soon as word had got around that we arrived my sister Anne, Lynsay (my neice) and Ona (Lynsay's other Gran, Iain's mum) arrived. Also looking in was Karen who stays next door with John. Karen looked after Scamper and Pip a lot when they were with my parents (and loved Pip, not quite so keen on Scamper for some unfathomable reason...)
My uncle Stuart and his partner Rose were desperate to come and they arrived at 9.30pm after attending an auction. They brought Harriet tartan slippers, a teddy and a crystal dummy. Then they had to go off to their shop to unload the stuff but luckily we could could then go to bed.
The next day was the big day of visiting. My mother had arranged for everything to take place in her house which saved us an enormous amount of travelling and effort. The roll call was:
9am - George and Alison (my brother and sister-in law, who were working from 11am so had to get in early)
10am - Isobel and Wullie (my aunt and uncle)
12pm - Anne Nicholson, Julie-Anne, Betty L, Dee (the 'hospital girls', my mother's friends) and Dean, Dee's son
3pm - Mona, Julia and Margaret (my mother's cousins and their friend)
5pm - Maria, Elaine and Carys (Maria is Anne's twin and wife of Kenny my driving instructor..., Rachel is her daughter and Cary is her two year old daughter)
5.30pm Agnes (next door neighbour)
6pm - Dorothy and Betty S(my mother's friends, Dorothy is the prodigious knitter who made such wonderful things)
6.30pm - Anne Wilson, Caroline and Milly (Anne knows my mother through having had Caroline at almost the same time I was born and Milly is Caroline's daughter who had taken her first steps the day before)
xxxpm - Anne, Lynsay and Iain have arrived at some point and are blending in)
7pm - Ryan and Jaquie (my nephew and his girlfriend)
8pm - George and Morag McKenzie (ex-next door neighbours)
It was an incredible day and although it was a little bit packed at times it was such a pleasure to see everyone and for everyone to have the chance of a hold with Harriet. The presents continued to arrive so our thank-you list started expanding again despite us managing to clear some of the back-log. My mother had prepared a large buffet that kept everyone happy and Harriet behaved beautifully despite not having a decent sleep all day.
The next day was mercifully much quieter. In the afternoon Kathleen came (another of my mother's friends) and later on it was Eileen, Donna and Rebecca (Eileen my aunt, Donna her daughter and Rebecca Donna's daughter - Donna is due in five weeks and was looking great). We delivered one other thank you letter and had another photo opportunity with Nan and John (my sister's neighbours) and waved at a distance to more friends Rose and Willie (Rose had shingles so was out of bounds).
In the evening my parents took us for a meal out at Benny T's before hitting the sack at a respectable 9m.
We've just arrived back after another long but mercifully uneventful drive and are now looking forward to a weekend of rest (well, that and ordering a shipping container to keep some of Harriet's stuff in).
