There is something quite nice about going away by yourself for the weekend. It's not something that I do very often, in fact hardly ever, but when I do I find the whole experience very enjoyable indeed. The very fact that you can completely do what you want to, when you want to, without having to stop for a minute to consider the needs of others is quite wonderful! Of course I did miss my little family very much ~ but I made up for that with lots of cuddles when I returned back to the fold on Sunday morning.
My friend and I had arranged a little bit of retail therapy for ourselves, and as we were in the Borders we headed off to the Gretna Green Outlet Village. Before we went shopping we decided to stop and have a look at the Blacksmith's Shop at Gretna Green, which is famous for marriages and for the place where Scotland and England meet.
We had a stroll around the sculpture garden and stopped to admire this lovely sculpture of two hands clasping. The sculpture was designed and created by County Durham artist Ray Lonsdale. It only took two months to create and is made from weathering steel and standing at 13 feet tall it is rather impressive to look at.
It can be interpreted in lots of different ways ~ are the hands coming together? Parting? Meeting up or saying Goodbye? Is it a happy or sad embrace? Are the hands joining in friendship or is it an embrace of love? Personally I like to think that it is an embrace of love.
There was also a wedding taking place at the Blacksmith's shop whilst we were there and as is often the tradition at Scottish weddings there was a lone piper playing his bagpipes. There is nothing quite like the sound of the music which comes out of the pipes. I really do love it!
Which is quite fortunate really ~ because for the last few months my little boy has been learning to play. He started out learning on an instrument called a chanter and he has now progressed rather quickly onto his first set of bagpipes ~ he is aiming to get his full set of pipes complete with drones, which are the really noisy part sometime very soon. I think the reason he loves his music so much is the very fact that he is allowed to do something noisy without getting told off for making a noise!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend too :O)xx
6 comments:
Its great getting away isn't it? Looks like you had a fab time. X
I really enjoy the odd trip away. And well done to your son with the bagpipes - they are fantastic when they're played well. Juliex
Ooooh! Time away just being you again, how lovely! In the last 12 years I've only been away for one short weekend! When I got back, there was a new appreciation for Mum, lots of cuddles, flowers and a card saying how much I had been missed! It was lovely, lasted until they came home from school on Monday! You know something, wouldn't have it any other way! Ada :)
P.s be in contact soon!
Hi there - thanks for popping over to my blog and following too :-)
There is nothing quite like the swirl of the pipes - be it massed band or lone piper! My family are all in Scotland and a stop at the Gretna outlet village is de rigeur whenever we're driving up or down :-)
Looking forward to following you too,
Happy Wednesday
xx
Aah, I see I'm not the only one who has been awol from Blogland!! It's tricky once you get out of the habit isn't it?
How lovely to have a weekend away. I love that statue - it looks like a tender touch to me.
Have a super weekend.
Heather x
Ahhh that photo of your little boy is class! He looks so cute and grown up playing the pipes. I bet he's looking forward to getting the full set to play as loudly as he can!
Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog. I'm chuffed that people like my little bits of crafting. And thanks for your lovely words of congratulations, we are really excited!
Helen xx
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