Exploring Inverness Town House

This weekend there were open days at Inverness Town House to allow the public to explore the inside of this beautiful building. The Town House has recently undergone renovations which cost £3.9million. 

It's a very grand looking building, with beautiful turrets, almost like a fairytale palace. We were intrigued to see if the inside matched the outside and I was pleased to see that lots of other people wanted to see it as well.

The Town House was built in the 1770's and has some very grand chandeliers throughout - I'm glad I don't have the job of cleaning them.

The entrance way has a lovely mosaic of tiles which lead to a grand double staircase.

At the landing of the stairs, where they part to form two flights, there are these beautiful windows with plants in front of them.

One of the council rooms.

More glittering chandeliers and decorative ceiling above the council chambers.

The town hall is a huge space with paintings of important people in the history of Inverness around the walls, along with artifacts from the history of the area. There is even a sword that was used at the battle of Culloden in 1746.

Board of remembrance for highlanders that gave their lives in the first world war.

The two most common names on the boards were the Frasers and the Macphersons, but on the left hand picture there are five Forbes, which are my Scottish ancestors. In the right hand picture there are two antipodeans - Private Macarthur from Australia and Private Macdonald from New Zealand.

The windows that line the hall have clan coats of arms on them and this one really drew our attention.

The motto is; Touch Not The Cat Bot (but) A Glove! When I asked Mr Google what this was all about, it seems it is the motto of Clan Macpherson and implies that the clan has claws and you must be careful how you approach them.

A few more shots of the hall to show you how grand it is, but also to show you how many people had come in to explore their local council's chambers. What was really wonderful is that there were children running around and no one told them to be quiet.

A painting of Duncan Forbes - I wonder if he's a distant relative?

This brutal emblem was on a wall plaque and unfortunately the writing has faded so much it's impossible to read. I'm presuming it is the minotaur, but beyond that I don't know what it's for.

This plaque was near the above and I'm guessing this one is something to do with the Arctic as it has the flags of the UK, USA, and Russia.

It was great to have a look in the Town House as it's a beautiful historic building. Of course we went for coffee and cake whilst we were in town and my beloved had this very romantic looking biscuit - the cafes and bakeries are making the most of the upcoming valentines day.

Our final task for the day was to call into the SSPCA to visit the furby that we're adopting. We got to spend some time with him and he's adorable, likes to give love bites to the hands, especially Ken's, and he's impossible to get a photo of as he never stops moving.

I hope that we'll soon be able to do a post where we welcome him home to join our slightly crazy family.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and have a really wonderful week.

Pamela & Ken

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Friday's Romantic Fill Ins

It's the end of another week and time for some fill ins that are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Joyce at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.

1. The Winter Olympics is underway and lets hope that the sport is what dominates the news and not the politics.                     .

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is Sleepless in Seattle. I love this film so much and every time I watch it I laugh and cry as much as the first time.

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 3. (Recently, I had an odd experience when) Actually I haven't had any odd experiences recently that I can think of. I had a very funny experience yesterday when two of us were trying to pose for a photo for our work facebook page (Click Here to visit) and over 25 photos were taken to get the one that we finally used. This is one of the bloopers when we couldn't stop laughing. I kept getting told off for doing a too fake smile and Seonaid kept talking when they were trying to take the photo. We're also very critical of our own pictures so there were several that we weren't happy with so they were dismissed as well.

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4. I believe that love is a precious gift that once given, by human or animal, should be cherished forever. We are very blessed with the love of these two brats, Princess Cookie Cat and Bramble Jelly Sassy Pants.

What's your favourite romantic film? Before you go, make sure you hop over to Annie's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and I hope wherever you are in the world you have special moments over the next week.

Pamela & Ken

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Top Ten Thursday - Train of Thought

This week for Top Ten Thursday we're sharing ten ways our train of thoughts works. You know, you had one thought that turned into three, then seven,....... I'm not sure it's such a good idea to share how wacky my thoughts can be but then again you probably already know this. Thanks to Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom for hosting this great challenge.

My train of thought starts with this muddy patch of field with dirty sheep in it and my thoughts do include a walk in shower - now you're thinking that I'm washing the sheep aren't you.

1. On the way to work we drive past this field with very dirty sheep in it, and predictable as I am, I always say "hello dirty sheep" and think how sad they look. 

• train of thought picks up on sad sheep.........

2. When I win the lottery I'm going to have a lovely animal sanctuary where these sheep could have a nice warm place to sleep when it's so cold and muddy.

• imagine winning the lottery, what could we do.........

3. Winning the lottery would mean we could buy or build our own house.

• imagine having our own house decorated how we want.......

4. One of the things I would love to have would be a bathroom that had a huge walk in shower as that would mean that I wasn't at risk of falling out of the shower like I have been know to do.

• what colour would the bathroom be.........

5. I'd love to have a bathroom with lots of blues in it and I'd somehow like to incorporate all the seaglass we've collected over the years into the design.

• glass........

6. I've always wanted to have those funky glass bricks in my dream home, mainly clear but I'd love some coloured ones, probably different shades of blue for the bathroom, colours that reflect the ocean.

• ocean........beach.......

7. I love living near a beach and being able to hear the waves on the sand at night, it's such a relaxing and therapeutic sound.

• night........

8. I hope I manage to get to sleep okay tonight, as sometimes it can take a while. It's very frustrating when the gorgeous man beside you falls asleep nearly as soon as his head hits the pillow.

• sleep.......

9. When I can't sleep I end up having even more thoughts that go off in all directions but one thing that can be helpful is trying to think of things that start with every letter of the alphabet. I've never found counting sheep very useful.

• sheep.......

10. I hope the dirty sheep are happy tonight.

There, a little glimpse into my crazy mind. Do you find yourself going off on all sorts of different thought trains throughout the day? Before you go, make sure you pop over to Tamara's blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Wherever you are in the world we hope you're having a great week.

Pamela & Ken
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A Competitive Hodgepodge

This week's hodgepodge has a slightly competitive feel to it. Make sure you visit Joyce's blog, From This Side of the Pond, to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their answers.

1. February can be a little bit tricky given the weather and the winter and the whatnot. I read a list (here) of things you can do to make your February brighter which included-start planning your next trip, take more baths, make your own chocolate covered strawberries, and exercise in preparation for swimsuit season. Anything on the list you might try? Which suggestion on the list appeals to you most? Tell us something not on the list that helps make your February brighter. 

February is one of my least favourite months because it always feels like winter is hanging around too long and that it's never going to be warm again. From the list I've already booked a four night break in Amsterdam for March which we're really looking forward to as I've never been there before and Ken was in the forces when he visited so it wasn't really a sightseeing trip. So the other thing I'm doing in February to get through the month is doing lots of research on Amsterdam so that we can make the most of the days that we are there.

2. Tell us about something you've seen or done recently that you'd say was 'super'?

I'm going to say my gorgeous man is the best thing I ever see (I know that's incredibly mushy but I can't help myself).

3. Best thing you ate in a 'bowl' last week?

Sweet potato and chilli soup.

4. Something you're 'cheering' for right now?

The women's Aussie Rules Football season has just started so I'm cheering from a distance for my team of Carlton. I've supported Carlton's men's team since I was little and the women's competition started last year so of course I support Carlton's girls.

5. The Winter Olympics begin Friday, February 9th in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being all in and 1 being no interest whatsoever) how interested are you in the games? Which event do you most want to see (you'll find a list here).

I love any sporting event (except for boxing) where Australia are competing and I get very excited about how we're doing. I'm most looking forward to the snowboarding and the figure skating. Unfortunately because I live in the UK it's difficult to see my fellow countrymen and women competing as the coverage for here tends to be of the British athletes.

Australia isn't the most successful winter olympic nation, but we still love getting behind our athletes, and the whole nation went wild when we won our first ever gold medal in 2002 at the Salt Lake City games. Steven Bradbury was coming last in the 1000m speed skating when all the other competitors fell on the last corner and he crossed the line in first place - it was fantastic.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

At the weekend when we were out for a drive we came across these very happy pigs who were thoroughly enjoying their muddy field. They really made me laugh as when I stood by the fence talking to them, the ones that were further away ran to join the group and started oinking in reply to my ramblings.

Hope you've enjoyed this post, and have a really wonderful week.

Pamela & Ken
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Self Care Sparks

Sparks is hosted by Annie at McGuffy's Reader (visit to see everyone else's sparks) and her words are the best to use to explain:

"I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!"

The aim is to post a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse. My contribution this week is about giving ourselves self care.

Have a really lovely day.

Pamela & Ken
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Friday's Friendly Fill Ins

It's the end of another week and time for some fill ins that are set by Annie at McGuffy's Reader and Joyce at 15andmeowing.com - why don't you come and join us. The words in purple are the prompts that are provided and then the rest is me.

1. Trust given by an animal is a beautiful gift that must never be betrayed. I think it's why I love cats so much, they are such independant creatures that when they give their love and trust you really know that you have earnt it. I'm grateful for our puppy dog's love as well, but I don't think she was quite as hard to convince that we are trustworthy.

Bramble on her first trip to the beach last year

2. I would protest lots of things and I regularly sign petitions and have been known to send letters in the past. The things that really upset me are discrimination (of any kind), animal cruelty, destroying the environment, oppression, and I could go on.

Protest signs in London

3. I have worn glasses since  I was 13 years old. There have been some very dodgy designs over the years, starting out quite small, growing to huge ones that took over my face, and now back to relatively small. I have had contact lenses a few times in my life, but I'm not allowed to wear them anymore, so it's glasses all the time for me. I have even been known to get in the shower and wonder why everything is fogging up, before I realise that I still have my glasses on.

4. Right now, I am keeping everything crossed that a lovely little black cat at the SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) shelter gets the all clear to come home with us. He's adorable and we'd really like to welcome him into our family. Hopefully we can convince Princess Cookie Cat that a brother is a good idea.

Cookie on our cat quilt that mum made

I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings - before you go hop over to Joyce's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their fill ins.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and we hope your week is filed with magical moments.

Pamela & Ken

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Top Ten Thursday - Happy Songs

This week for top ten Thursday, Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom has asked us to list songs that make us happy. All of these songs make me want to sing along, and several of them make me want to get up and dance. I wonder what you would have on your list.

1. David Bowie & Mick Jagger - Dancing in the Street

2. Travelling Wilburys - Last Night.
This one has a special place in my heart as when I did a Contiki tour of the states with three of my friends, this was the theme song of the tour which meant that it was played every morning on the bus for three weeks.

3. S Club 7 - Reach

4. Jimmy Barnes & INXS - Good Times

5. J. Geils Band - Centerfold

6. Bob Geldof - Great Song of Indifference. This used to be the song that the DJ would play to end the night at Bayrock, the nightclub in Burnie, Tasmania that my friends and I used to go to.

7. Aqua - Barbie Girl

8. 4 Non Blondes - What's Up

9. The B-52's  - Love Shack

10. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor ft Pitbull

I hope you've had the sound turned up whilst listening to these songs - are any of them in your happy songs list.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and listen to your favourite songs this week.

Pamela & Ken

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P.S: Today is Princess Cookie Cat's birthday - she is 14!!