Sunday, October 30, 2011

Something wicked this way comes...

Tis all Hallow's tonight in the colonies even though it really is Beltaine if we respect the turning of the wheel in the southern hemisphere. So part of the community celebrates death while the other part celebrate life! A little confusing and quite irritating for some.
Of course Halloween is very different to ALL HALLOWS EVE... and it has just become over commercialised and a gawdy shadow of what is meant to be which is a very respectful time of the year when we are supposed to focus on our dead and those that have walked this path before us.
I am being totally fair with this - so I wish all of those celebrating Halloween a great night of trick or treating. I also wish those that choose to follow the movement of the sourthern stars a very happy Beltaine as we move into a time of new life and abundance.
All prayer is good and all focus on the positive is good - so let us all respect that and if it is the ONLY time when the commoners actually focus on the fact that they are all going to DIE one day, and if that thought makes them  better people during their lives then so be it.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Some golden Scottish oldies....


  • I'll gie ye a skelpit lug! - I'll give you a slap on the ear.

  • Whit's fur ye'll no go by ye! - What's meant to happen will happen.

  • Skinny Malinky Longlegs! - A tall thin person.

  • Lang may yer lum reek! - May you live long and stay well.

  • Speak o' the Devil! - Usually said when you have been talking about someone - they usually appear.

  • Black as the Earl of Hell's Waistcoat! - Pitch black.

  • Failing means yer playin! - When you fail at something at least you're trying.

  • Mony a mickle maks a muckle! - Saving a small amount soon builds up to a large amount.

  • Keep the heid! - Stay calm, don't get upset.

  • We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns! - We're all God's children, nobody is better than anybody else - we're all equal.

  • Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs! - Don't try to teach someone something they already know.

  • Dinnae marry fur money! - Don't marry for money - you can borrow it cheaper.

  • Haud yer wheesht! - Be quiet.

  • Noo jist haud on! - Now just hold it, slow down, take your time.

  • Hell slap it intae ye! - Means it's your own fault.

  • I'm fair puckled! - I'm short of breath.

  • Ah dinnae ken. - I don't know.

  • It's a dreich day! - Said in reference to the weather, when it's cold, damp and miserable.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Ah! Again the colder weather has returned!

For a brief moment we had a some very warm weather..hot in fact! A bit of a shock to the system really.
Just a reminder of what is to come as we enter the summer months.I dont really like summer - I can actually feel myself shrivelling up with the heat and can only bear to sit in air conditioning as the thermometer rises. Especially when the heat can literally take your breath away!
The colonies are not kind and I wish that I could spend the summer months in a cooler climate.
Just like the "well to do" of a different generation ...ah... how times have changed!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Life of Riley!

Tis very hard to accept that myself and my Lord need to engage in working for monetary compensation.Unfortuntely my family left me with little fortune and most of that has been invested back into the Manor so that the sheriff does not knock on our front door claiming repossession.
Therefore I wait in aniticipation for the day that I win lotto or unearth the "key to success"' which so many new age "life coaches" seem to say is JUST SO EASY.
Yes you can do it - just a positive affirmation and a collage stuck on your fridge with what you want will get it to you poste haste...even tomorrow.Remember to pay them a packet load of money and they will show you the rainbow and the pot of gold at the end...see...its just over there.
Well if it was that easy we would all be stinking rich and living the life of Riley - whoever the hell he was!
I can say that the colonies are a bastard of a place - we do not want for food or shelter, yes that is true, and we do have our feedom here and if we are good of heart we canhelp others that are worse off than ourselves.
But I would love to, in my 'golden years" ease up, and feel that I have an estate and financial security rather than knowing that I may have to keep plugging away as a 70 year old.
Pffhutt!!
Hand me another cider..


Monday, October 17, 2011

What's that in the Sky?

We are becoming a nation of facebook addicts....stuck to a screen for our entertainment. I know that the sun was out this weekend past - I saw it shining through the window. But I did not go outside to actually stand in it I was too busy on the computer.
A bit sad really.
On one hand so much knowledge at the tip of my fingers..on the other, so much fat now collecting on the base of my bottom ...from sitting on a chair and not moving for hours at a time.

So I feel that in a few years my head and arse will be HUGE and the rest of me wont even exist!!!!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Some days the Colony just sucks!

So much for land of endless opportunities!Obviously I missed some brochures before I boarded the boat and signed my life away to live in the colonies! Some days I just do not feel that I belong in this God forsaken country and that the Manor is just not far enough away from the commoners that surround me.

I hold on to my dream that I may have the opportunity to return to more quieter days where I can take time to seea round me a deep forest that I can walk in and all that I can hear is the whistling of the wind through the trees. I want to feel the splash of cold water on my face as I dip my hands into a clear stream and then to lay on a patch of glen and look up to see no one else around me.

But in reality I wake to the searing brightness of the Australian sun buring my retinas as I decide to make my way outside in to the world to enter the chaotic world of shopping. I leave the sanctuary of my residence to traverse the turbulance and stupidity of most of those I am forced to share the roadways with, just to safely  make it to a huge establishment where angry people congergate to part with their hard earned dollars handing them over to even grumpier shop assistants that are much more angrier than their customers. All of this blistering energy of ambivilance saturating one spot is commonly called a " Shopping Centre" a place of dread and woe that leaves one drained and needing a Bex and a good lie down to recover.
This mass of humanity leaves me feeling cold and is not what I feel is a Sunday spent in an enjoyable surroundings.I do what I have to do and get out of there and hurry back to the Manor - my haven in this tropical gaol.
Now I can safely go back to dreaming of the time when, maybe hopefully one day I can walk the glens again - a much more perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Thinking what I could do with my slice of land in Scotland?

Pitch a tent?
Grow some potatoes?
Sit on it and contemplate my navel?
Dig it up and bring it back to Australia?
Let the dogs run free?
Put a picket fence around it?
Put a wind turbine on it?
Put in a cellar for my whusky!
Plant a forest?

The Commoners have no manners!

When dining out avoid a place where commoners may meet - thay have no manners and will make the whole experience very unsavory.
Such was our experience last night as we ventured out into the world from the safety of the Manor House to have an A LA CARTE meal ( as titled people are want to do ) at "C RESTAURANT"  at Caves Beach.
Now, we were one of two tables occupied at the restaurant. The other table was obviously made up of the common folk, as they talked excessively loudly, laughed and cackled like people whom God did not endow with the full allocation of DNA and then proceeded to spend the whole meal talking on their mobile phones and discussing the menu and showcasing their lack of understanding of the terminology used therein.
Please.....manners!!!
One was not amused!
Kindly keep your children on a leash and attached to your table! Do not allow them to run recklessly about the premises.Do not pick your teeth at table and share your intimate thoughts with other diners across the room.I am not interested in your grooming habits or that you are going for coffee with someone called Charlene in the morning down at the Square. Leave quietly and in fact do not come back...ever.

You spoilt the whole evening - well the parts that were not spoilt already by a sub standard meal for which we had to wait over an hour to be served. I remind you that there were only six people in the entire restaurant all night long. I do not eat brains and do not require them to be breaded and dipped in garlic so that they can be made more desirable for me to try....I do not want to be convinced that by adding a fancy name to something such as a potato makes it something more than....a potato.
and dont get me started on dessert.
Ah....it is so hard to find an  establishment  for Lords and Ladies to be suitably entertained in this dreaded backwater of a township.!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Lady of the Manor is having a Birthday!

Tis my birthday today - but being a Lady it is not very nice to talk about ones age especially when one is 'getting on a bit". I am sure that if I was in the rarified air of the homeland I would be wrinkle free, but the arid, humid and scorching climate of the colonies has dried me out like a prune. Of course I avoid any exercise like the plague as it causes one to sweat profusely and that is totally unladylike!
So how is life in general?
This Lady must admit that she is very happy - taking into consideration that, if given half a chance, she would be on the next flight out of town enjoying the high life of a true aristocrat and spend it frivolously travelling from country to country as only highly bred Lords and Ladies are want to do.
But, at the moment I am land locked and fettered to my business commitments and to paying taxes.

My darling Lord Arek has already gifted me a wonderful new electronic device that I can use in my business and the little Princess will be taken to task - for one day this Lady will refuse to wash one dish or pan in the Manor nor put them away nor take out the garbage.The little Princess will take off her tiara for one day and stoop to a new level of " lowness" and do these menial tasks as a testament of her love for her dearest mother.
I can already hear her heavy sighs!!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Little Princess heads off to School

Today our little princess returns for her final year of schooling before venturing out into the big bad world.It seems that the ruling parties of this country have decided that Year 12 begins in term four of Year 11 so today is her first offical day of the last year of school.
Our little princess wishes to travel upon completion of her studies - very admirable.
Maybe we will be able to show her our ancestoral lands at Glencoe and in doing so teach and encourage her to also do her bit in conserving that most beautiful part of the world.
Our plan is to also gift her another little plot upon her successful completion.
 Our little princess - Miss Aleksandra

MiLord has left early this morning to continue in his position as Public Transport Operator and rub shoulders with the commoners - that wiped the grin off his face at 6am thats for sure.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Weekend and Watching Cars go round a track!

Another great Australian tradition is played out this weekend - Bathurst.
Lord Daniel has made it known that he is "not in the Manor" as he wishes to indulge all of his priviledged senses in watching this event.
So I have to find my own entertainment.I'll just have to find more pics of GLENCOE and continue to dream...

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Hounds of the Manor ( Part two )

This is Fred ( after Freddy Mercury we hope - he was named before we got him ) and he is a totally useless ball of fluff and has been so for many years now. As you can see even when food is placed right under his nose he will have a solid think about it before expending the energy of actually chewing.
Freddy is now about 11 which is a ripe old age for a Manor hound and we love him dearly although no one warned us about the mountain of hair that floats through the manor and in every nook and cranny while he loses his winter coat each year. Anyone have any ideas on what to do with husky hair?
I am sure that if he were back romping in the glens of Glencoe he would not have the problem of ever shedding hair......he would totally love it.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Manor Hounds (part one)

This is Loki - one of the manor hounds.
He is a six month old black Pug with a face that only a mother could love.
He takes his title very seriously and will not step outdoors unless he really has to - its just so uncultured to be outside!
Obivously he is a very talented hound, but at what we are not quite sure - he has mastered the art of sleeping and of being very cute.
That should suffice.

Monday, October 3, 2011

This is what happens when you give the staff a day off!

So its now Tuesday and the long weekend is over and as the staff had the day off yesterday ( being the lovely Lady of the Glen that I am ) I had to do all the work myself!
Cleaning the larder, washing the clothes against rocks down by the river bank and other such unladylike activities!
Now my hands are red and sore and thus I decided to go back to my own work today and rest.
I am gainfully employed in this new land and have my own small business, which is a fate worse than death in a failing economy.
It is a good thing MiLord also works as we would being having to sell the Manor and move to some ramshackle  "lean to" in the country to survive.
Indeed he is employed by the government in the transportation industry as a driver of buses.
It is highly below his standing but what can one do?
Sometimes one must just suck it up and do what has to be done...
We are desperately trying to get back to our beloved GLENCOE - to at least spend a moment walking once more through the hills that call to us home.......
Someday we will return..I just know it.
Here I am.
The Lady of the Manor.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Just a little something to make you tingle...

Just a little something to help us remember what we are helping to conserve...Click here Glencoe

Today is a colonial holiday

Today is a holiday in the colonies - apparently its the Queen's birthday or something such ...anyway, it means that we can enjoy relaxing in grand style with all the pomp and pagentry that entitled people can enjoy.
MiLord is busy on the computer looking to upgrade our mode of transport which is looking tired and out of date and I am tending the rose bushes as all Ladies do.
The fact that I dont have any roses is of little consequence..I can always bring up a picture on my laptop.


The whole country seemed to be collectively enjoying a very traditional game of football yesterday with something called a Grand Final - not a body to be seen anywhere unless you were at the local watering hole, Inn or disorderly house..not a soul..eveyone was totally mesmerised by a battle between two groups of very huge men called the Warriors and the Sea Eagles out in a local muddy field.
I am not really sure what all of that is about...something that the colonialists have developed as a type of relaxation.
This morning, over my breakfast tea and crumpets, I again checked out
 www.highlandtitles.com and allowed myself to languish at the beauty of the area and remind myself that I AM a Scottish landowner.
Now back to tending the roses....

Falicitations from the Colonies!

Finally an opportunity to be the aristocrats that we always believed we were entitled to be!
Life in the colonies can be so draining - but my husband, Lord Daniel,  and I continue the struggle to keep up appearances and do Highland Titles proud.
We were fortunate enough to visit www.highlandtitles.com in January of this year and discovered a most amazing way to commemorate the life of my beloved mother, mamma Pietras, and to also secure a gift that would last for our girls, Duchess Aleksandra and Princess Monika and forever mark the world with the name of DANIEL.
Read about our adventures in the remote colonies of Australasia in the state of New South Wales - a hot, arrid and inhospitable place overrun by a plethora of quaint custom and peoples from all the corners of the world.
We hope to one day touch the soil of our grand property at Glencoe Wood and every day our thoughts wander through the valley down to the loch.
One day soon.....
Join us!