Na rathaidean fada, lùbach tro Chuimrigh agus Alba

Today’s trivia is specifically on the Scottish weather:

• The UK’s coldest ever temperature of -27.2°C was recorded three times, 11 February 1895 in Braemar, 10 January 1982 in Braemar, and 30 December 1995 in Altnaharra. .
• The highest official temperature, 34.8°C recorded in Scotland was in Charterhall, Scottish Borders, on July 19, 2022.
• The highest gust recorded at low level was

  in Fraserburgh in 1989 at 227km/hr, while the high-level record is at Cairngorm weather station in 1986 at 275km/hr.

• Scots have 421 distinct words and expressions for snow, including feefle (swirling snow) and flindrikin (a slight snow shower).
• Dreich is frequently used to describe miserable, overcast, or damp weather.
• Haar is a cold, thick sea fog that rolls in from the North Sea onto the east coast.
• Smirr is a very fine, persistent drizzle.
  Regional Patterns
• The western coast is generally warmer and milder due to the Gulf Stream, while the east coast is colder, often influenced by the North Sea.
• The “Coo-ometer”: A humorous, unofficial local tool uses Highland Cows to judge weather: If the cow is “soggy,” it is raining, and if it is “white,” it is snowing.

So today we are in for a driech smirr latha, or according to google translate a dry day smile🤔

I asked for the Full Scottish breakfast without the sausage, black pudding, bacon and haggis. The lovely Scottish lass looked at me blankly and walked off! When she came back recomposed, I asked for cheese & salmon and smashed avo with hard poached egg. She again wasn’t impressed, but got what I wanted.

I thought Scotland is a religious country. I am so grateful that we’re not in Fátima (look it up) now. We would have had the wailing going all night and into the wee hours of the morning and not a minutes sleep as we did two years ago! Instead, we had the howling wind, rattling windows and rats in the walls.

Along the way . . .

We were going to the McCaig’s Tower & Battery Hill but the wind picked up and it started to rain. So we did tartan window shopping and . . .

I wanted a coffee and meringue but 2IC said, look Italian cafe across the road, the Kaina, they must have good coffee!

The coffee was OK but luke warm.

More tartan window shopping . . .

We passed the Argyll Sea Tours boat about to set off and jumped on for a 1 hour tour. Unfortunately, that rain and wind we had also brought snow to the hills all of which the seals don’t like, so no seals seen.

We had all the seasons today. A cold chilly wind to start the day, then cold wet wind, then sun but still cold, then rain, then sun again, then wind and so on. And ditto to end the evening.

Dinner was at the hotel, again.

I think my Mum (and Dad) are looking down on me and Annette ensuring the weather clears and we are in the right place, at the right time so far these holidays. How good is that? My mum always enjoyed hearing about our travels, especially when it turns out we’d been to places she and dad had been or better still during her war time spent in England.

Today’s travels . . .