In the event we got away no bother and the crossing was really quite calm. The same can't be said of the return trip which was unexpectedly choppy. More like a rollercoaster than a ferry. On the upside it was dark so as I couldn't see the ship rolling up and down against the horizon I wasn't really affected. Which was a good thing as I had just eaten a Kit Kat.
I had a good time away. Rather than foregather at someone's home (the group in general feel that they are mainly too old to cater a 3 course lunch for 6-8 people, especially after falling out of practice during the various Covid lockdowns) we stayed overnight at a small hotel near to where one of us lives.
As the only couple the OH and I had a double room; in fact the de-luxe double as it turned out. I wasn't keen on the colour scheme, far too much lilac, but it was large and comfortable and warm and the en-suite was fab.
No I don't have a photo of the en-suite, but that's the view from the window and the seating area. These came from my phone so they're a different shape to normal! It wasn't the poshest hotel I have ever stayed in but the food was good and plentiful, and the staff couldn't do enough for us, so all in all it was a successful stay. We didn't do much but eat and talk; the others had been out to a local place of interest in the afternoon we arrived, but too early for us to join them since we were travelling from Glasgow. It was a fun time, although sadly one of us couldn't come in the end as she was suffering with what sounded like the cold to end all colds. Fingers crossed she will be fine for next time though, which is scheduled to be in Glasgow at the end of Feb/beginning of March.
Sunday was the Glasgow School of Yarn, which really didn't disappoint. It occurred to me to wonder afterwards why I had been looking forward to it so much, as I have only been to two previous yarn festivals (Edinburgh in 2017 which I wrote about here ) and the first Yarndale. Both of these had been mixed experiences which might just edge over the 5 on the infamous 'On a scale of 1 -10 how much did you enjoy your day? question. I suppose the excited anticipation was just the triumph of hope over experience.
Anyway it was fabulous. I had such an enjoyable time. It probably helped that numbers of both vendors and attendees were restricted due to Covid, which kept crowds and noise down. I'm sure it also helped that I have already interacted with several of the vendors who were there; buying from them, watching their vlogs on You Tube, attending the occasional virtual knit night, and so on. So that meant I had a point of connection with several of them and we were able to chat about things. Also, having learned from previous experience I had thought about what I might like to buy before I went so I had a shopping list and a budget. I came away with everything on my list bar one thing which I had to order, and under budget. I didn't regret anything that I bought and I didn't regret not buying the things I looked at and left on the shelves. Which I think is the right way to be.
Here's a couple of pictures. Most of this stuff was gifts for other people.
The two skyline hat kits wouldn't fit in the other photo, hence the separate pic. The Glasgow one on the left in the colours of the Saltire is naturally for me and the other is a gift. On the lower picture the scissors and stitch markers. the mini skein set top left and the full skein at the front and the item on order are all for other people, The other things are for me and were all bought with a specific purpose in mind except for the brown/red/orange sock set which was a bit of an impulse buy as in, it wasn't on the list but I know what I'll do with it so it's allowed.
And I would definitely go again, which is more than I ever said about Yarndale. Or EYF either.
No comments:
Post a Comment