Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2014!

Hooray Scotland, you resisted the urge to rain on our parade (literally).  As me and my family shuffled through the crowds up the cobbled roads towards Edinburgh castle for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, we held our plastic ponchos close at hand. Kitted out in wellies and anoraks, we were primed and ready for the heavy showers forecast which we have experienced all too memorably on a previous venture to the Tattoo a few years back. To our pleasant surprise however, the weather stayed fine and we were able to enjoy the show for the first time without soggy bottoms.

The show was, as expected, beautifully diverse and inspiring. With captivating choreography and music performed before changing backdrops projected onto the castles walls, you couldn't help but feel transported to the various countries being represented. And as the crowd joined hands with strangers and friends alike for the classic rendition of Auld Lang Syne, I felt moved by the wonderful atmosphere of acceptance and unity.

These were themes which I enjoyed throughout the show.  As for my favourite performances, they would have to include Singapore for its fabulous vibrancy in colour, music and dance and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra were also incredible and sprinkled a little bit of Caribbean sunshine into the stadium.

And as the lone piper's solemn tune played through the silent stadium and the fireworks whirled and whistled above the stunning historic landmark which is Edinburgh Castle, all I could think was: I cannot wait to be a part of this beautiful city.

A Day-Trip to Tarbert

Hello everyone.

Today I thought I'd upload an extra lifestyle post seeing as it's been such a lovely day. Some friends of ours are visiting Arran this week and seeing as we were all off work and it was my two sisters' last day of the school summer holidays, me and my family went away for the day with our friends to Tarbert and Skipness.

After hearing the pitter-patter of rain this morning I didn't get my hopes up for the weather today however, I have been pleasantly surprised. Although there were a few showers here and there, they were only light and short and we all managed to find shelter whenever they passed through.We actually got some warm sunshine aswell.
Our day began on the little ferry from our Island which was a nice smooth journey and then we drove through the incredibly picturesque country-side to arrive at Tarbert. Whilst there, we did some shopping - where I bought a beautiful big journal which I am in love with - and then we strolled down the front to what we thought was a park but turned out to be an outdoor public exercise park...thing. It was lots of fun. Then we all squeezed onto a picnic bench and began to enjoy our lunch and each others company just in time for the clouds to gift us with some soggy sandwiches (a typical Scottish picnic). We then all headed back to our cars and after a 20 pence pee (pretty expensive public restrooms if you ask me) we drove over to Skipness where we had afternoon tea by the castle with the most beautiful view before exploring the castle itself. This was an adventure because the norm, as we all know, when visiting castles and historical buildings is that all the interesting looking places are always blocked off with red rope or signs saying "Restricted Area" however, at this castle there were none of the latter meaning we got to roam free right up to the roof. The view up there was breath-taking. Not quite as breath-taking as when I took a look over the edge of the balcony  to see how high we were; I soon swiftly made my way back to ground level.
After a little more admiring of the view, we then headed home on the ferry and had fish and chips. Bliss.

 After a few weeks of lots of wrk and various stresses within and outwith the family, I think this day trip was a necessity for us and to share it with our friends made it all the more special. I am feeling very much more relaxed and ready and blessed to have such lovely family and friends.
I hope you've had a lovely day too!

Mollie

♥

How do you like to unwind? Where do you like to escape to?

Present Purchasing and Shoe Blues

Hello everyone.

I know, I know. I'm a little late with my post but I have at least two reasons why! One being that I have been working so much that as soon as I get home I'm already beginning to fall asleep so my blog would consist mostly of "zzzzzzz"s and two, because I've been working so much I hadn't really done anything to interest you for more than two lines. That's why I waited until today because I actually had time/energy to do something yesterday which was quite fun. I'll still fill you in with the more interesting parts of my week though.

So this week began with a bit of a panic when my ipod beeped an alert at me telling me to "Make sure you've bought Kirsty's present!" - this is not the "chummy" Kirsty who I mentioned in my last lifestyle post but my other friend called Kirsty. Confused? Me too.
I'd been wondering what I should get her for ages and after trawling through pages of gift sites I still wasn't sure but, with Kirsty's birthday on the 11th, I knew I had to get my act together to make sure that whatever I ordered would be here in time - a downside of living on an island is that things take longer to arrive. It's strange that despite spending almost everyday both in and out of work with Kirsty, I couldn't for the life of me think of a suitable gift for ages! Thank goodness I pulled myself together though and it's all sorted now.
(I know she'll be reading this post so don't panic Kirst, your pressie's sorted now!)

Wednesday was my day off and with plans to go out for lunch with some friends I was ready for some chill-out time away from work. That was until I found out we were having lunch at the cafe where I work... This was chummy's idea (my other friend who's also called Kirsty) even though she too works there. However it worked out quite well because we were able to sit in the up-stairs area of the cafe where there were no other people therefore no cafe chaos so I could almost forget we were at work on our day off. Almost.

On Thursday it was back to work and there certainly was a lot of work. It was a very very busy day with hardly a moment to catch your breath. We were so full in fact that when staff went for lunch, rather than sitting at the always free tables that we usually do in the upstairs part of the cafe, we needed to sit either in the back kitchen or on the table used for stacking dirty dishes before they're taken to be washed because everywhere else was in use! Madness. What was also mad was the lack of some people's manners and understanding when we were so busy. I can't count the times when I had drinks to make, orders to take and dishes to collect all in the same moment and a customer decided to come and pay at that very moment in the slowest possible way and with all the change they had whilst I just had to stand there with my (now slightly forced) polite "thankyou" and smile.
I did have something to keep me going however and that was the thought of the lovely roast dinner we were having at the apartment my grandparents are staying in whilst visiting later that evening. Not to mention just the idea of being able to sit down. Both of these I enjoyed so much when I'd finally finished work.

On Friday I was working the morning shift and the idea resting my feet was already on my mind at that time but not because I was tired. The reason I needed to sit down then was because my shoes were killing me. Really badly. It was 100% my own fault though. The day before I had worn my black dolly shoes because the pumps I usually wear to work were wet and gross from the rain - lovely - and because our shoes need to be black for work, the dolly shoes were my only other choice (I don't enjoy black shoe items it seems). I failed to realise that I hadn't worn these shoes in a while so by the end of the day my feet were a little sore from them rubbing but the next day, with my usual shoes still gross, I thought "Oh, they'll be fine today I'm sure!". No. No they were not fine. Within two hours the idea of walking another two meters in them made me want to weep so after 5 hours you can imagine how badly I wanted to sit down and get them off. So when I finished work and got to the bus stop I was thrilled to be getting on the bus to rest until I saw how full the bus was when it turned up. I was basically sitting on the bus drivers knee because it was so full! Like a tin of sardines and I was right at the front so I also had the joys of getting off the bus every time it was someone's stop. Not the best ending to my afternoon. It didn't matter though because I had another lovely dinner with our grandparents- this time at our house- waiting for me when I finally got home and some fluffy cosy uggs calling my poor feet.

The evening was much better because my new camera had arrived (yay!) and I was off out with my friends to Kirsty's house for a sleepover where we got to drive her dad's Kubota (like a farming version of a golf buggy) which was hilarious (and a little scary if you were sat in the back and Iona was driving) before we went in to watch some good films with lots of yummy chocolate goodies. A lovely ending to a not-so-great day!

This is a Kubota

Me and Chummy.

 Iona saying "I'm going to kill you." after I drove a little speedy when she was in the back. Oops.*mwahaha*

So that was my week, how was yours? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Until my next post, have a lovely few days with lots of smiles and comfy footwear.

Mollie

♥

A Lovely Day

Hello everyone.

I know I usually try to post on a Wednesday but I feel there can be a cheeky bonus post today.

As I mentioned in my previous post, today was the day of Fiona Doubleday’s Studio Opening/tea party in aid of The Butterfly Tree Charity which I was asked to attend and film. (You can read her post about the day HERE.) And what a wonderful day it has been!

It began with painting a butterfly for the tea party’s raffle before me and my mum headed up to Fiona’s at one o’clock so that I could begin filming before everyone arrived.  As we entered her house the hard-work put into the event became evident as we looked around the beautiful arrangements of butterfly goodies, gifts from local shops and crafters that were attractively organised in Fiona’s living room, an array of cakes and scones and of course the wonderfully decorated studio.

 My painting for the raffle

                                                       Fiona's display of butterfly products

Products from crafters and local shops

As Fiona, her husband and two of her sons finished preparations I began by filming some scenes in and around the studio before the ribbon was tied across the doors to be later cut.

Two o’clock arrived and people soon began to flutter in and were all very impressed with the studio and transformed living room. Around 31 people arrived and with tea and cakes in our tummies, pennies spent on butterfly merchandise (all proceeds going to The Butterfly Tree Charity) and crafters’ products, we settled down for Fiona’s inspiring introduction to the event as she talked about all the work put into the day and her exciting future plans to help The Butterfly Tree. We all then went out to the studio for the grand opening where Fiona’s husband Peter read a touching story of the origin of their studio followed by a speech and cutting of the studio’s ribbon by a friend of Fiona and her family, Lynn Ross.

Yummy cakes made by Fiona's son

People beginning to arrive

 The studio with its ribbon

With the sun beginning to shine on the much loved studio everyone had a peek inside before returning to the living room for a raffle and another look around some of the merchandise.

Before long, Fiona’s hand-made butterflies had all found new loving homes along with many of the other items available and the profit of these sales combined with the selling of the raffle tickets totaled up to an amazing £200 meaning that this one day will provide the money for 40 mosquito nets for the people in Zambia meaning 40 lives have potentially been saved in a few hours of fun, laughter and donation. 40 mosquito nets. 40 lives. This is truly amazing.

 Fiona's mum sorting raffle tickets

Fiona's handmade butterflies

As people began home with high spirits and some lovely purchases, I recorded 

some of the final footage for the film of the day. I can’t wait to begin editing and hope it captures the enthusiasm and joy of all who attended this lovely day. It will be featured on Fiona's blog once it is finished and I'll upload a link when it's there.

A child dies every 40 seconds from malaria. But today, thanks to Fiona, her family and everyone who attended her event, 40 lives have been potentially saved by the money raised for mosquito nets.

If you have been as inspired as I have by Fiona’s event please visit The Butterfly Tree website and if you can please make a donation.

I hope you too had a lovely day.

Mollie

♥

Finding Home

Hello again!

Firstly, thank you all for your support and lovely comments on my last post. It was so encouraging! And a big thank you to Fiona from Scottish Island Mum who encouraged me to start a blog in the first place.

I mentioned on my last update that I live on the lovely Isle of Arran and thought I’d share the story of how me and my family came to live here as I like to think it’s quite amazing.

I’ve lived on Arran since I was 7 years old; we were destined to live here as my parents have always loved Scotland and even eloped to get married here. They said that when they had a family, Scotland would be the place they’d like to live.

Fast-forward a few years and there are my two younger sisters (aged about 3 and 5) and me (about 6). Now that my parents had a family they began to think seriously about moving to Scotland.

Now around this time they decided to buy a new car for my mum (this is relevant I promise) and amazingly after buying the car they realised that the license plate included “ARR4N”. No. Really! They had been thinking about Arran as a place to live around that time so this was truly amazing.

A few months later and my parents, sisters and me all embarked on the long drive to Arran and loved it from the moment we stepped off the ferry-even my little 3 year old sister. I remember on this visit that we found a go-cart track and went cycling through Brodick-me and my dad on a tandem (with me just sitting on the back, my legs dangling above the pedals) and my mum cycling with my two sisters attached to her bike on a little cart. I was sold. I would have moved right there and then!

(From left: Me, Emily, Megan and Mum behind us)

(Us with dad)

On returning from our first visit we had already grown attached to this beautiful little island and going back to England didn’t feel like we were going “home”; it felt as though we were driving away from it.

A few more visits by my parents and they grew more and more in love with the island and more determined to move here and overcome any obstacles that might arise.

After visiting one of the island’s attractions my mum thought long and hard about our potential move and prayed about it asking "Is it the right thing to do?" as they pulled out of the car park. To her amazement when they began down the road a car drove past with the license plate including the word “YES”. Once again, not kidding! We seem to have a thing with taking advice from license plates.

After this miraculous happening things just fell into place. My dad who works as an IT Consultant managed to get permission to home-work from the island (after going through almost all the levels of management), my parents found our first house and despite the housing market at that time forcing properties to be sold up to 40% over the asking price, they managed to buy the one we wanted for less than the asking price. Another cool coincidence (or as we like to think, a nudge from God) was that as me and my sisters were only just beginning school we’d need to find a suitable one on the island and even though my parents visited one during the Easter holidays, the moment they arrived the Head Teacher walked out and so she could answer their questions there and then. This is the primary me and my sisters ended up attending and led us to find some really amazing friends who we’re still close to.

We like to think that us moving to Arran wasn’t just a coincidence or good timing, but that God intended for us to live here. And I’m so glad He did! 10 years on and I love the Island just as much as when I first saw that go-kart track. It’s strange to think that I’m now in my last year of high school and will soon be leaving here. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to live. One thing is for sure though, when birthdays and Christmas’ arrive I will have no hesitations in returning to this humble little beautiful island.

Mollie

♥

Nice To Meet You.

Hello all.

My name is Mollie and I am definitely new here.

Blogging is foreign territory to me but has always been something I've been desperate to try. I always feel that I’ll never have enough to say. Anyway, I have decided enough is enough and I must give it a go, after all that is going to be the motto for my gap year which I am about to begin.

 As a newbie to the blogging world I feel I should properly introduce myself so I shall do my best to fill you in with the essentials.

I am 17 years old, I have very red hair, a positive outlook on life and am in my last year of highschool (only two weeks left-eek). I live on the beautiful Isle of Arran on the west coast of Scotland and have done since I was 7 years old. As a teenager on an often quiet island it can be challenging finding things to fill your weekend with. Starved of Primark and MacDonald’s it can leave me thinking it would be great to live on the mainland sometimes, but really there is nowhere else I would rather be. As a budding film-maker it’s the perfect place to live. With its breath-taking views and changing landscape around every corner Arran certainly lives up to its name of “Scotland in miniature”.

I’m sure many of you will have heard of the Isle of Arran on the news recently due to our terrible power cuts. It has been quite a unique experience to put it one way and has inspired me to make a video about my experience of it for my YouTube channel to allow people to see the situation from and Arran-er’s point of view.

Film-production being a keen interest of mine and something I hope to pursue as a career I jumped at the chance to start my own YouTube channel and after a few first-video attempts Normollieee was born. I have loved filming since I was little and used to make sketches with my family and friends on the family camera and would pretend I was a professional by the age of 6. I've loved it ever since.

In the nine videos I have uploaded so far on my channel I have tried to experiment with different techniques and concepts including stopmotion, video in time with music, fast-cut reversed footage and a basic sit-down vlog. I’ve become very fond of my humble little channel and I hope it will grow and blossom as I learn more about editing and film. I have so many ideas and hopes for it’s future and cannot wait to make these ideas a reality in my coming gap year. I appreciate every single view and “thumbs up” I receive and can’t help but give a little squeak of joy when I see I have a new subscriber. It’s really exciting for me to know that I can dedicate my time and effort towards it this year and I would love if you joined me along the way!

I think this will do for a short introduction so far as I hope you will learn the rest through my future blogs. See you soon.

Mollie♥

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6920149/?claim=f8c866drwvd">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>