Follow the yellow brick road...

No, this is still not Speyside but it seems to me that I have followed the yellow brick road and arrived in the Highlands. Since I was a wee girrrl I've been coming to the area to visit and to holiday. My granny was a Grant and she lived with us in the Midlnads until I was 8 then she went to Ballater to live with her new husband/old flame. Ballater is the other side of the Cairngorms but it is a pretty town, worth visiting, ask the queen.

Then we emigrated for 7 years and on returning to Southampton, Dad drove us straight up to Carrbridge, back on the right side of the mountains where Granny and Andrew lived...having bought the old wooden but and ben that had been in my mother's family for years.

Granny and Andrew lived there until both died, Andrew dying when I was 24. I spent 3 months living at Woodside during the last of my college holidays. The cottage then passed to his daughter from his first marriage and out of our family. We all still went to the area regularly and Ralph and I went often as a couple until 20 years ago, my mum and dad went there to loive permanently.

You can see that my path was paved with many hours driving up and down the A9.

It seemed likely that Ralph and I would retire there one day but circumstances has lead us there prematurely, Mum dying suddenly, Dad having a stroke which resulted in Parkinson's Disease, Ralph being sick and tired of being treated aggressively and insolently by 90% of the A&E pateints presenting themselves, demanding their right to treatment etc...and Dad moving into sheltered housing.

It wasn't my idea, it was implicit that I would be happy to live here in the Spey Valley and it was entirely Ralph's idea that we buy the house from Dad and he could take early retirement.

So in a week, he will be here. The ache of leaving the farm is quietly diminshing as it is so nice to walk to see Dad, cycle to the Spey Art Group, buy my groceries from the Co-op...in fact everything is within walking distance. The weather has been good enough for me to get started on the garden and the land and crofting activities are on hold...but only on hold!