A week in Scotland

For many years Andrew has had a timeshare week in N. Wales. This year he was able to swap it for a week at Dalfaber in Aviemore. We went up there 9-17 April.

The Trip Advisor reviews were dire. We were apprehensive.









In the event, the accommodation was fine, the resort had good facilities and the location was superb. We had an excellent week.
We did family things for 3 days. We visited Andrew's uncle and aunt and we brought my Dad to Aviemore for one night. He didn't want to come but in fact he enjoyed it. It was a stimulating break from the boredom of his life in his sheltered home.
We visited the Ospreys at Loch Garten. They had just arrived back from West Africa and were mating before the female laid her eggs. The whole RSPB centre at Loch Garten is fascinating and the volunteers are full of enthusiasm for the birds and other wildlife in the area.









I played three rounds of golf at Dafaber 9-hole course and went swimming three times in the indoor pool. One day we went up in the train and then to the top of Cairngorm. The weather that day was amazing and the views were breathtaking. And on another day we went snowboarding - the first time for either of us. An interesting experience. But we had aches in places we had never ached before!
And we went for walks and drives in the area notable round Loch an Eilan and to Loch Insch.








It was a wonderfully relaxing week. I loved it.

It's not the critic who counts ....

I often find that if I really work hard and conscientiously at something difficult, particularly if I put my head above the parapet and have the temerity to express an opinion, then at best I get silence and usually I get some degree of criticism. This applies to all aspects of life. In these circumstances, I get comfort from the words of Theodore Roosevelt which I reproduce below without further comment. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”