All posts by Melanie

Bram Stoker, Cruden Bay, Deer Abbey, Dracula, Scotland

#Scotland 2015 Day 7 – Abbeys, Castles and Vampires?

October 8, 2015 Melanie 3 Comments

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 17, 2015

Our first stop on our “abbeys and castles” tour was the nearby railway station at Insch. If I recall correctly, it was mentioned in A Shadow in the Past and if not in it, definitely in the sequel – Shadows from Her Past – in the village of Duninsch. So, rather than need a photo for a book trailer after returning home, we stopped for a few photos.

Historic Scotland has created sat nav maps and driving directions to their properties. We used this to get to the cathedral in Fortrose and Fort George. Now, it was to get us to Deer Abbey (sounds like an advice column).

The porticoed entrance to the abbey is impressive. Most of the abbey was destroyed in 1854 when the land was owned by Admiral Ferguson. He used the stone to build a mausoleum for himself. But in 1926 the Roman Catholic Diocese came into possession of the property and they destroyed the mausoleum. Can we say karma?

I’d wanted to go to Slains Castle for a long time and this year we finally made it. There is a small car park by the main A975 road and you can either walk or drive the rest of the way from there. We opted to leave the car and walk in.

At first glance, you think the road is gravel but it’s really crushed shells.

The place is massive! The picture below really doesn’t do the size of it justice.

Even from this angle out on the cliffs, you don’t see all of the castle. It goes on and on through archways and doors. Rooms and still more rooms.

You can see why this location inspired Bram Stoker. He penned the story while staying in a hotel in Cruden Bay.

Vampires or no vampires, something bit me on the back of my wrist – not once, but twice. The bites were the perfect distance apart to be from the fangs of a vampire. Missing my neck by that much, I would have to say a very near-sighted vampire. Perhaps it was revenge for getting my wee piece of the castle to bring home?

On our way back to the car park, we stopped at an entrance to the field and got some shells that were still 95-99% intact.

We drove to nearby Newburgh for a couple of pictures for book trailers then to Trinity Cemetery in Aberdeen… yup more book trailer photos. Then across the A944 (aka Westburn Road) to get photos of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary then a wee bit of a backtrack to Queens Road for a photo of one of the villas there and I had all my book trailer photos. I wanted to get these last two locations (hospital and villa) when we came in to Aberdeen on the train but we ran out of time.

Then it was back ‘home’ and an evening of convivial company with our friends… and consumed a few bevvies as we talked about our day.

Aberdeen, Scotland

#Scotland 2015 Day 6 – Day trip to Aberdeen

October 7, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 16, 2015

We decided last night that today would be the day we went to Aberdeen. And for a change, we would get the train from Huntly. We’d never travelled the railway from Huntly to Insch so thought it would make for an interesting journey.

Our friend Fiona offered to drive us into Huntly to catch the train and pick us up at the station when we returned. The off-peak day return tickets cost £27.20. We decided to take 10:24 from Huntly (putting us in Aberdeen at 11:25) and return on the 15:27 from Aberdeen (and back in Huntly at 16:18).

Shopping wasn’t on the agenda (unless you count the Aberdeen map) what we picked up at WH Smith in the Union Square Shopping Centre.

This trip was to get photos for book trailers for the sequel to A Shadow in the Past and another book I’m working on (sort of – still in the plotting stage but the locations known). To make a long story short, I didn’t print my google map of our walking tour before we left Canada so had to resort to buying a small street atlas. At least I knew the street names and could visualize my google map so knew where all we had to go.

As always, we found our way into the Castlegate. But in addition to there, we were at the harbour, on Shiprow, Exchequer Row, Castlehill, Union Street, Rosemount Viaduct and beyond.

And unlike our day trip to Aberdeen in 2013 when I only took the picture of the sign for “Donald’s Way” – this time I got “the Donald” pointing to his sign.

We started for Queens Road (I needed a photo of one of the huge villas out there) but with the time of day and distance to walk there, we were afraid of missing our train and leaving Fiona sitting at the station waiting for us.

We made a stop at a different WH Smith when we returned to the station and picked up a couple of computer magazines and the book Scottish Murders.

I noticed when the train passed through Kennethmont that the B9002 (where there had been roadworks the previous day and this morning) was now open.

Friends, Kennethmont, Nairn, Scotland, vacation

#Scotland 2015 Day 5 – Nairn to Kennethmont

October 6, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 15, 2015

We woke to another day of sunshine. Since we were close to the sea, I thought it would be nice to drive along the coast of the Moray Firth for at least part of our journey.

Being the stinker that I can be (I know I hear you saying – “You? Never”) I really wanted to go through Cullen. Travelling from west to east, the 90 degree corner at the bottom of the hill isn’t so intimidating. When we were over in 1997, we came through Cullen from the opposite direction, my husband behind the wheel. After the sharp corner at the bottom of the hill after passing under the railway viaduct, he swore off driving in Scotland for good.

Kennethmont — Moray Firth at Cullen and a section of the viaduct for the dismantled railway

Can you imagine how loud the noise from the train would have been in these houses? How about the shaking every time a train went through? The little white one has a small gate separating it from the viaduct but the one across the street is attached.

Since we were so close to Ladysbridge (the site of the former asylum that I used in my novel, A Shadow in the Past) we drove by it to see if the two boarded up, almost derelict houses had been refurbished. Nothing had been done to either one of them, but two brand new houses now stood in between them. And the old school building on the opposite side of the street to the main asylum (now luxury flats) was in the process of being pulled down.

After seeing Ladysbridge, we headed off to Orbs Bookshop in Huntly. The lady who used to run the shop contacted me in Sept 2013 about getting copies of A Shadow in the Past after I’d returned home (timing is everything, eh?) so I reached out before this trip and arranged to drop copies my novel off and the possibility of a signing. Anyway, the two books the shop could definitely purchase were signed and the transaction completed. We also volunteered our friends who lived nearby to keep the remaining books and take them to Huntly as and when required.

While there, another woman came in. She was involved with the MacMillan Cancer Support organization so I signed and donated a copy to the cause.

Before we left Huntly, we went over to the castle – another Historic Scotland property. We’re members of Historic Scotland so we get in to their properties free of charge and manned properties have toilets… except they were out of order this day.

While we were at the castle at the top of the tower on the left side of the photo above, we met a couple from Belgium. She immediately noticed that she and my husband both wore the same trainers. Obviously, that brand is known world-wide. Anyway, we had a great conversation with them before going our separate ways.

Since we couldn’t bring home our bottle of 18-year old Cardhu on our last trip, we went back to Knockando where the distillery is located. The plan was to cut across the A920. There was a diversion sign on the A96 just before the intersection but the grass was long enough that we couldn’t see exactly where it was on the road we planned on taking. We got most of the way across when the road was totally closed. Mind you we’d met a fair amount of traffic so didn’t give it much thought… until we came to the construction site and the hole in the road. A slight backtrack and across a single track road, and into familiar territory thanks to the diversion because we drove by Fernbank House B&B where we had stayed in 2013.

Our bottle of Cardhu safely in hand and toilets used at the distillery we were ready to drive to Kennethmont. In addition to the diversion due to the closure on the A920, there was also roadworks at Dufftown. To avoid this, we took the A95 to Keith where we hooked up with the A96 which would take us to Huntly.

We made a quick stop at Tesco for supplies – champagne (to toast our friends’ 30th wedding anniversary and our 40th), wine, something for supper, and a pay as you go sim card with top-up card for my unlocked iPhone.

It must have been roadworks season because when we got the B9002 that would take us to Kennethmont, it was closed at the end where it joined the A97. Luckily, there was another road that would take us past the closure without having to go way our of our way.

We spent an enjoyable evening with our friends, drank one of the two bottles of champagne (deciding to keep the second one for our last night with them).

A Shadow in the Past, Books, chapter books, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

Face Painting isn’t just for Kids

October 5, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

On October 4th I took part in the Friends of the Sanctuary‘s Nature and Wildlife Day at the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary located between Morrisburg and Ingleside. It was my first time as this event and was pleased with my results.

face painting — Me wearing my warm, fur vest I bought on my recent trip to Scotland and my tartan boots from Sinister Soles

By the end of the day, I sold 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past, 2 copies of The Consequences Collection and 1 copy of Tim’s Magic Christmas. I also donated a copy of Tim to the silent auction which was to raise money for the sanctuary.

For $3.00 you could get your face painted and the money raised went to the sanctuary. It was mostly children having it done, but my husband is an overgrown kid at heart so he had it done, too. He was forewarned that if he did, he would be getting his picture taken and it would be posted on my blog… well guess what? Yup, he did.

What do you think? Would you get your face painted?

Glenmorangie, Inverness, Nairn, Scotland

#Scotland 2015 Day 4 – Inverness to Nairn

October 5, 2015 Melanie 4 Comments

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 14, 2015

Inverness to Nairn isn’t much distance wise, if you were to go straight there and back but we rarely do anything in a direct route when we’re on vacation.

Our first stop this morning was to see the sixteen men of Tain at the Glenmorangie Distillery after a few photo ops along the way.

Unfortunately, they were fully booked for tours because of two cruise ships. But we were each given a free dram of the amber nectar (not that I could drink mine because I was driving but I did let it touch my lips and had a wee sip).

We bought a bottle to take to Kennethmont for our stay there along with a couple of other things from the gift shop before heading off to see Hilton of Cadboll stone.

Before making our way back to the main road, we found ourselves on another single track road and at the Shandwick Stone which is under glass to protect it from the elements.

We headed back towards the Dornoch Firth for a stop at the Tarbat Discovery Centre at Portmahomack.

Now that our thirst for sculptured Pictish stones had been temporarily quenched, we got back on the road. We weren’t the only ones who had a thirst needing quenched. Our car wanted petrol (not to the point we were on fumes or anything) so we drove into Invergordon to fill up. The two cruise ships that we had been told about at the distillery were docked here and the passengers were being shuttled by bus to Glenmorangie. Those who weren’t wandered about aimlessly like cattle.

Another reason we stopped here was on our way up, we had seen lots of rigs in the water and this put us right along the Cromarty Firth where we could get a good look.

Next stop was Fortrose Cathedral. Not as impressive as some of the ones we’ve visited over the years but filled with history and interesting artefacts.

Fort George is almost directly across the Moray Firth from Fortrose but because there is no bridge, you have to double back to the main A9 road bridge. The fort is also a working military base so there are places where you can’t go. It reminds me a lot of The Citadelle in Quebec City.

It was late when we arrived here so we didn’t have a lot of time to explore but we did see the highlights (as suggested by Historic Scotland).

Cawdor House B&B was our destination for the night. Aside from street parking only, it was a lovely place. Our room was enormous! 4-poster bed, daybed and leather sofa and a spacious en-suite bathroom.

Our hosts suggested a restaurant where we could have our evening meal that was within walking distance. That meant I could have a drink, too.

During our meal, I had been eyeing the cocktail menu so afterwards, I had not just one, but two Porn Star Martinis!

Whilst drinking Porn Star #2, a devilish thought came to me… Remember the movie Around the World in 80 Days? Well, I came up with with a twist on it. Around Scotland in 80 DLays. I know, I’m bad and stay out of the Porn Stars. LOL!

Grammarly, infographic, teachers, World Teachers' Day

World Teachers’ Day

October 5, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

Today is World Teachers’ Day

Throughout our time in school – primary, secondary, post secondary – we’ve all likely had a teacher who had a huge impact on who we are and the paths we’ve taken in life since.

The nice folks at https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker have put together this infographic.

Glenfinnan, Inverness, Oban, Scotland, vacation

#Scotland 2015 Day 3 – Oban to Inverness

October 4, 2015 Melanie 4 Comments

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 13, 2015

This morning we were greeted with blue sky and a rainbow – a vast improvement over yesterday’s pouring rain.

Inverness — view from our room at High Cliff

The first leg of our journey was from Oban to Glenfinnan – the monument and the viaduct.

At one time we were members of the National Trust for Scotland which gave us free entry to their properties but we let it lapse when my mum got sick and it looked like we wouldn’t be travelling abroad for quite some time. We could have climbed to the top of the monument for a fee but seeing it and Loch Shiel were more than enough.

The other thing we wanted to do in the area was walk under the Glenfinnan Viaduct. In 2013, we took the Jacobite Steam Train from Fort William to Mallaig over this amazing structure so it only seemed fitting that we saw it from a different perspective.

As impressive as the viaduct is when you ride the train over it, it’s even more so from below. The stone masons who built this huge structure were skilled to the “nth” degree.

However, as much as we were captivated by this area, we had to carry on to Inverness.

Our next stop en-route was the Commando Monument near Spean Bridge. This has been erected adjacent to the main A82 road to Inverness.

At this point, we knew we weren’t going to make our anticipated check-in time at Acorn House in Inverness so we called there and pushed our arrival time back to 17:00 and passed on the side trip out to the Witch’s Cauldron.

We made it to Acorn House well in advance of our revised time and were given a warm welcome.

Once settled in our lovely room, we set out in search of supper. I had seen Indian food on google maps and we found a wonderful place in the city, well withing walking distance of the Guest House.

The atmosphere at Rajah was excellent as was the food, service and price. Highly recommended place to go for an authentic meal.

Well fed and content, we made our way back to the guest house and settled in for the night.

Oban, Scotland, vacation

#Scotland 2015 Day 2 – Glasgow Airport to Oban

October 3, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 12, 2015

The misadventures of yesterday continued…

After our late departure from Toronto last night, we landed half an hour ahead of schedule in Glasgow. The landing wasn’t super rough or anything but the oxygen masks a few rows up on the other side of the plane dropped when we touched the ground. According to the flight attendants, that was normal.

The time we gained in the air, we lost waiting to clear customs. The only good thing about that was we didn’t have to wait for our bags – they were waiting for us.

Off to the car rental desk. We’d already been upgraded to a larger car (Ford Focus) because we had booked so early but one look at the amount/size of our luggage, we were upgraded again but this time not free. £10/day for the upgrade. Then there was roadside assistance and the pay in advance for fuel so we could bring the car back on fumes or as close to as we could and it still be running… LOL! We ended up with a Vauxhall Astra Estate. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t a 6-speed diesel like we got on our last trip.

The weather gods were against us. It was only 12C in Glasgow and teeming down with rain.

We did take the A83 to the A816 and into Oban this year and the road was far superior to the A82 which we used the last time.

We booked in again at High Cliff Guest House.

Unable to check in until 4:00 pm, we left the car there (as per their sign) and headed in the direction of the Oban Distillery. The tours were fully booked but we were invited to go upstairs to their tasting bar where we could sample as many single malts for £3/dram.

Tomorrow we’re off to Inverness with a few side trips along the way. But for today it will be an early night and get ourselves onto Scottish time.

Authors, Book Promo, Book Tour, Georgina Troy, Novels, Writing

A Jersey Dreamboat by Georgina Troy ~ BOOK PROMO

October 2, 2015 Melanie 3 Comments

A Jersey Dreamboat

by

Georgina Troy

The third instalment of the captivating Jersey Scene series. Izzy and her best friend Jess are badly let down when a Jersey socialite, who has agreed to hire their entire vintage party stock for her upcoming wedding, decides to elope instead – leaving the girls with no bookings and no money. Feeling despondent, the girls try a night out to cheer themselves up, and meet the captivating and aristocratic Ed, who invites the girls on a cruise to Nice on his yacht, together with his two brothers. Romance builds on the luxury trip, but when a last-minute wedding booking is offered, the girls must return to Jersey, and real life has to begin again …or has it?

Buy Links

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

ACCENT PRESS

ABOUT GEORGINA TROY

Georgina Troy lives on the island of Jersey and when it’s dark she can see the lights in France from her bedroom window. This isn’t surprising as Jersey is only fifteen miles off the French coast. She’s an impossible romantic and likes nothing more than creating gorgeous heroes. Her books are published by Accent Press.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeorginaTroy

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/GeorginaTroyAuthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Georgina+Troy

Blog: http://georginatroy.blogspot.com/

GIVEAWAY

AMAZON GIFT VOUCHER – £20 / $25

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Family, Friends, Scotland, Toronto, vacation, Vacations

#Scotland 2015 Day 1 – Toronto to Glasgow

October 2, 2015 Melanie 7 Comments

#Scotland 2015 – Sept 11, 2015

Things didn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts for our trip. First thing in the morning, we tried to do the ‘pre-board’ from home. Well, our flight wasn’t even listed! Suffice it to say, panic ensued.

A call to the airline confirmed that our flight really was scheduled – the website wasn’t refreshing properly and the flights listed on it were for the previous day. Being booked on Option Plus, gave us priority handling and boarding at the airport anyway, so not being able to pre-board from home wasn’t a huge problem.

We made it to Toronto without incident and whizzed through security and out to our departure lounge. There was a plane at the gate with the outer and inner engine cowling open and hubby found out that it was our plane. Doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy. Apparently, it had been in the hanger for about 4 weeks and almost forgotten about.

It was well after dark by the time the engine cowling was closed and the baggage went on. We were to start boarding at 9:15 but that was delayed by 15-20 minutes.

While we were waiting at the gate while the crew did the pre-flight checks, the power on the plane went off. By now, we were beginning to wonder about our decision to fly on 9-11. They always talk about the emergency lighting on the floor – well, it showed up really well. So now we know if we ever need it, we’ll be able to see it.

We were finally on the plane. Not the first row with only two seats near the back but the second. Actually, these were better seats because the tray tables were attached to the backs of our seats.

Despite being behind schedule in the beginning, we were in the air and on our way… with an anticipated landing half an hour earlier.

Option Plus doesn’t have all the perks of Club Class but it’s still worth the money. We had booked this last year when we flew to Paris but were upgraded to Club by the airline (possibly because of my gimpy leg) so we had no idea what Option Plus was like.

Once we got to cruising altitude, we each received a 200 ml bottle of Bottega Gold Prosecco. With our meals, we got a bottle of wine – our choice of red or white. I chose the red (what else is new) Whistling Thorn Shiraz and hubby the Whistling Thorn Sauvignon Blanc. Best of all, the extra 10 kilos on our baggage allowance so we won’t have to worry (quite so much) about overweight bags when it comes time to come back to reality.