A Day in the Life of Eriska

For a week the forecasters have been warning us of a great divide in the Uk with cold weather and snow on the East and mild weather and warmth on the west. last night driving home form the Rugby at Murrayfield, this became clear as temperatures below freezing all the way to Lochearnhead and as we came over the hill and drove down towards lix toll the temperature increased by 10 to a mild night. It is quite ironic as we sit and watch images of snow and freezing in the south and here we can hear grass cutters and birds enjoying the start of spring. However I am not so foolish as to start planting out seeds yet as you never know what really is ahead except uncertainty! So what will this week bring to Eriska? Today : A dry start will remain bright but scattered showers will push in mid afternoon Monday:Bright with sunny intervals and a few light showers these mainly towards the west coast. Cloud increasing later, with more persistent rain reaching us during the night Tuesday: Cloudy with some mostly light...

This time last year disaster struck in a stormy evening and the original flagpole from 1887 came tumbling down form the top of the house. The pole had stood for over one hundred years and it must have been a tremendous gust which broke it in half. In truth I expected to find a rotten core but the inside was a fresh as the day it was first painted and even had the smell of fresh timber. Interestingly the pole also had numerous coats of paint which had built up over the years. in truth I had once considered sanding it down but when I was standing 4 flights of stairs above the  ground I decided that it would be not only simpler but safer just to apply another coat of paint! Anyway last year after the disaster we looked into a new pole and Duaine suggested that we try using one of the old sailing masts we had in the shed from Chays departure, it was about the right legnth, had a ring on the top to hold the lead and should be strong enough to with stand the wind as it was used to withstanding wind and rain when out...

It is always interesting keeping a diary of events here at Eriska, firstly its important as my brain forgets quickly and it proves very hand to be able to look back and check what I have achieved and completed before writing my next list and secondly it is always interesting to look back and see how the seasons compare with previous years.   Today saw the first cut on the golf course, not surprisingly it removed a great green growth and several boxes of grass from the greens, but slightly more surprising was the amount of growth on the fairways which despite the heavy rain and strong winds seem to date to have weathered well. The diary however tells a very different tale as if we compare the same day last year we were still under a heavy frost and there was not only no need to be on the course but simply no way we could have cut the grass. today we have daffodils up and out and the the gardens are starting to show growth. I do however suspect that w e are in for a bit of a surprise as the temperatures down south...

As I look out of my office this morning it is difficult to remember it is still January and winter as the daffodils are peaking out of the ground and it is pretty mild and  promises to be a dry day. However as I am continually reminded we must not be lulled into a false sense of security and given some of the low temperatures across Britain last week it is probably not yet safe to put away the gritting machine and snow shovels - just yet! So what's  ahead for the first week of February? Today: Cloudy with outbreaks of rain later in the evening. Monday: Rain turning to snow over the highest hills but we should stay snow free at lower levels with frost over night. Tuesday:  Generally dry with clear spells and a widespread frost. A few freezing fog patches likely. Wednesday: Remaining cloudy with rain in the morning but clearing up to become  mainly dry and bright. Thursday: The slow-moving band of rain will move across Scotland and be replaced again by brighter conditions with isolated wintry showers...

It is hard to believe that our closed time is over and we are now back to work. The time has flown by and whilst we have achieved a great deal there is still so much more to do. To start with we had to stop our news from Eriska earlier in January than expected. A large lightening storm affected a number of telecommunications hubs on the west coast and we had to go into "stealth" mode ( A term I learnt from the US) for 10 days. Its amazing how you do not really appreciate anything until it is not there. For some it has been the loss of a car for others a lost mobile phone but for us it was the loss of the internet. Not only could our friends and guests not communicate with us- unless they used the old fashioned telephone or fax but for us we had no access to information or help. I have to at this point out how ridiculous it was of BT -one of our providers- to ask for my email address so they could send me an email to acknowledge the fault which I was asked to respond to to confirm that we had no internet! When...

If "There is no rest for the wicked" then sometimes I wonder how much trouble I must have caused but in reality we all create our own timetables and we would not be busy here at Eriska if we did not set our minds in such a direction at the start of the day. Our New Years guests all arrived on Thursday and a combination of their endless energy, the weather and an action packed program has certainly insured their is little time for rest. Yesterday it was a chance to us e the new indoor leisure facility with a mini highland games and once again we found that skill and ability has nothing to do with success when it comes to the Eriska Scoring method but all in all we had a successful afternoon and certainly a lot of fun and much drier and warmer than last year! However one of the delights of this time of year is that we are forced- endless media reminders help- to look back over the last 365 days and reflect and look forward to the next year and hope and dream what it might bring. In reality although I confidently...

Well they confidently predicted that it would not be a white Christmas this year but I think any of us looking outside over the last week would have been able to tell them that. Anyway if there is one thing that can be true about the current weather is that it is a mile away from last year- in fact we are almost about as many degrees positive as last year was negative. The wind is blowing and the rain falling and certainly there is no risk of ice for Father Christmas heading home but what is ahead this week to finish the year? Christmas Day:  Cloudy with rain across the whole area but promises to be heaviest over the local hills . Boxing Day: A mild but windy day with gale force southwesterly. Tuesday:A mostly cloudy day with outbreaks of rain, these becoming more persistent during the afternoon. Strong to gale southwest winds. Wednesday: Further period of heavy rain starting the day but then becoming mainly dry and bright but cooler Thursday: . Cloudy wet and very windy all day- not ideal for our New Years Guests arriving but at least it can only get better!...

Our guests all arrived yesterday - venturing through some heavy rain to reach us but luckily the worst held off here and most arrived at Eriska in dry conditions. Last night saw a champagne reception- any excuse- and then a selection of activities allowed those who had been in training to exercise their prowess ---at the roulette wheel. Today we have been forced to postpone the Eriska Golf Championship due to pretty strong winds and instead will head indoors for our very own version of the highland games! Our plan therefore is to compete for the Robin Buchanan-Smith Trophy- we are lucky enough to have the current holder of the title staying with us- on Monday. Those who played with my father may be aware of his lack of direction on the course but the immense enjoyment he gained from being out with others so it will be of no surprise that these are the prinicpals behind the trophy award and hopefully the game on Monday. But for now it is over to our Mistress of the Highland Games- Seona- and her indoor dry but...

So after a couple of weeks we are all back to normal, although i would like to think that visitors to Eriska were either not inconvenienced or simply unaware of what was going on behind the scenes. The new conservatory in front of the library had the greatest impact when a slate was thrown off the roof and through one of the largest panes. It has taken a week to source a replacement and then a few days to find a weather window but today the replacement was installed and already the heating has been turned down as the double glazing kicks in. I am also assured that the new unit will be even more efficient as it has some new technology which stops heat escaping and helps heat gain although I am not convinced that this change alone will pay for the glass! The internet connection- hit by lightening has also been replaced and this now allows full wireless connectivity throughout the house and the environs, again it is something which we have all lived without up until a few years go and as soon as we start to rely...

With most of our thoughts turning towards Christmas we all expect snow on the ground and cold nights but in reality here at Eriska this has definitely been the most rare weather pattern as normally it is dry and sunny but mild. Before we opened the house form Christmas we were always kicked out by our mother around noon and forced on a route march round the estate to check on the buildings and the animals and only on rare occasions can I remember being wrapped up and treading through snow or blown away by wind and rain. maybe this is just selective memory but it is borne out by photographs. I think in reality the darker mornings and early dusk makes us think it is colder than it actually is as we hamper down in front of roaring log fires with the curtains firmly closed. Anyway what will the weather bring us in this run up to Christmas. Today:  After a stunning sunrise we are clearly due for sunny spells although I suspect wintry showers on higher ground. Monday: It will be another cold day with sunny spells...