Eriska, Scottish Island

First Grass growth

No sooner does the ice recede and the ground soften up just a little than spring is most definitely upon u. the first sign was the snowdrops peeking through the ground but we are certainly well on our way out of winter now as I met gerry on his grass cutter setting off to the golf course.

It already seems like months ago that we were winterizing the machines and preparing them for a hibernation of a few months and here we are not only preparing to cut the grass but having seen the box full of grass cuttings and been able to smell the fist signs of spring are definitely here. No sooner will we have started than we will be back in our schedule of cutting grass on an almost hourly basis. Once we are up and running it is nearly a full time job to keep on top of the list with greens 3 or 4 times a week, fairways twice a week, semi rough weekly and tees and approaches more than once a week.

Howeer before we become to frenetic we will have to remind our new inhabitants of the third fairway that they need to move on. they have to date down a fine job fertilizing the fairways , although we have had to advise players to clean their balls and not to lick them! before there second shot to the green but the grass is already glowing with nutrients and I am certain it will pay off in the long term. It does however act as a double edged sword firstly keeping the fairways shorter without machinery for few weeks longer and secondly because there is more grass on the fairways the birds tend to avoid the greens and there shorter grass. maybe next year they will return with more friends and do some more fairways for us- I have already asked Gerry to prepare signs to move them out to the new holes that would certainly benefit from more fertilizers!

End to the Oh ohs and start of the Terrible Teens!!

well we ended the last decade, the Oh Ohs in typical chaotic fashion here at Eriska. However the change in piper- Angus MacColl our regular New year piper had become  otherwise engaged however he arranged for his son, another Angus to help celebrate the new decade with us.  It has to be said that he was extremely efficient and indeed kept great time  for the piped eight some which finished dead on the time in line with his last note, leaving only a few minutes to charge glasses and prepare for the bells. Then after the traditional greetings and a round of Auld Lang Syne, played expertly on the piano by one of our guests it was time for Chays fireworks.

Another triumph at the pyrotechnics as the show began with some low level pieces and grew in a crushendo to the high rockets before returning to the floor to finish the show. The addition of an extra lighter, in the guise of David - obviously equipped with goggles and High Visibility jacket- not to mention the on the discreet if thorough on the job training provided by Chay helped speed the show on and insured that there were no late arrivals as we have had in previous years when we are walking back inside.

Anyway a all in all a good way to end a decade and a suitably subdued way to start the next , now fingers crossed that the frost will lift and the First Golf competition of 2010 will be able to commence!

Golf abandoned- creative thinking substitued!

I suppose any realist would have given up hope of running any kind of golf competition given the freezing conditions but ever the optimist i had hoped for a thaw overnight with the possibility of a few holes under competitive spirit if a bit altered rules but it was not to be so it was back to the drawing board!

luckily we are not short of ideas here at Eriska although whether they are good or usable is often a matter for discussion, so we launched a simple treasure hunt this afternoon with several criteria- firstly it must be equal to the lowest possible denominator, secondly it must finish before dark-the thought of wandering out at dusk seeking lost guests whilst feasible isa not ideal, thirdly given christmas exertion and over consumption probably a modest pace would also be more welcome. So armed with this and plenty advice we set and ran the Erisak Treasure hunt.

It was needless to say received well by the winners and misconceived by the loosers but I suppose the main point is that we all got out in the fresh air to enjoy what may be the last day of winter here at Eriska as the predicted thaw is not far away, at least for now!

Perfect Conditions for the Eriska Christmas triathalon

the first year we opened for Christmas, over 14 years ago, all our visitors arrived and the next day- boxing day- I went out for the papers on black roads and returned half an hour later to snow covered tracks and that immediately froze and stayed with us for the whole festive period. In fact it was so deep the freeze that the snow had a wonderful crust on it and you could walk over most areas of the island. For many of our visitors this was their first christmas in Scotland and obviously we did not draw their attention to the fact that this was abnormal weather for us but we have now been luck enough over the years to have had a couple of white Christmas's and really to date only one where it rained and rained consistently, but that is enough to remind us how lucky we are for good weatherer of this period and not to take anything for granted.

Anyway this year it has been a challenge for some of our guest to reach us but now we are full and everybody has arrived we can really breathe a sigh of relief and start planning how to keep busy! Today was supposed to be a golf tournament but the frost- not the snow- put paid to that and therefore we arranged a mini triathlon. However the temperature and icy conditions stopped us running cycling and swimming in the sea so it was down to garden darts, speed croquet and iced bowls. All far more  civilized and probably easier on the eye and most importantly no injuries. But the sun shone and with mince-pies and mulled wine in hand a good time was had by all!

Lights, Camera, Action!!

Having now put of Christmas decorations for as long as possible it became a mad dash to get it all done first before Christmas guests start to arrive and secondly before it got dark as hanging tree lights is not so easy for the hanger although for those standing at the foot of the ladder and tree it seems to give them more opportunities to voice an opinion!!

So no sooner where the trees delivered than Chay and his team were hard at work first erecting them and then hanging the lights on. Being an organized Chap- sometimes- Chay had already had all the light sets checked and most importantly untangled form last year and it was then a simple matter of draping the trees in light. I however was conned , with feigned words of praise about last years effort, into climbing the weeping tree outside lilac cottage. Again the tree has been bathed in the light of 2000 bulbs and 500m of wire. The easiest was I have discovered to do this without disaster is to light the rope and then place it on the tree, firstly to see where I have been and secondly to insure that it is still all working as it is installed .

Anyway just as dusk arrived, it was the years shortest day, nothing like a challenge, we completed the task and simply had to cover up the evidence and tidy away any stray wires and then stand back and admire the handy-work. Next it will be the task of Dennis hardley to pop down and capture the scene on camera and then we will be ready for Christmas Action! So so far so good with no accidents in installation, clearly my risk analysis into tree climbing for Christmas lights has paid off- another reason I was volunteered for the task rather than one of my paid associates!!

Golf between Rock and a hard place!

When I leave the hotel for a couple of days I am always slightly concerned how much will be achieved in my absence and probably in truth I always imagine more will happen than actually does so I return to a disappointment however this week I was delighted to see the progress on the golf course. As I have mentioned in one of the earlier blogs, the work on the course hard to be postponed as with water pouring from above and even rising from below it became very difficult for Ronnie Macoll to see where the drains were most urgently needed and where the water was flowing so we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and agreed mutually to stop work.

I had seen the stop as a postponement and Ronnie had seen it as abandonment but after a moderate discussion and helped by the fact that we held some of his equipment for ransom, we persuaded him to return and probably in the back of his mind he imagined the weather would drive him off so he could get back to proper work and I had a feeling that would happen too but it was all worth a try. In reality the weather has been perfect with cold nights making soft ground stable and warm sunshine keeping operators hands warm.

So now we have broken down the rocky outcrops and used the material to refill the old drains making the fairways long and rolling rather than short and dangerous with cross drains every shot. It has killed two birds with one stone removing unnecessary hazards from the fairway and also giving good drainage material for the ditches which have now been piped. Although I accept they will take a bit of settlement and need a chance top let the grass grow back I also can now really see potential and the 6th hole especially is a real proper golf challenge with a narrow fairway- imposed by the nature restrictions not allowing semi-rough because of the wonderful butterfly collection in particular- but at least with three good shots the green is achievable and even for a short hitter such as me I have the chance of getting there with the same ball.

Now we need the same weather to hold till the middle of the week and the finishing touches can be made before the rain can return and wash the excess dirt from the surface.

At Last Rose out marks the end of the season

Having dithered at the start of the year about relaunching my mothers Boat- "The Rose of Argyll" we eventually made up our minds and quickly popped her in just after easter. She had sat a lonely figure in the big empty boat shed at Barcaldine as all her colleagues had been put out for the season long before her. However there were a couple of benefits, firstly we missed some early damp weather when we would not have used her anyway and secondly it meant when we started dithering in September about when she should be removed from the water and where she would be wintered the 6 month insurance leaked into November.

Eventually after much discussion we decided that we would bring her out at Eriska and winter her outside with the intention of moving her into Chays maintenance shed at the start of spring for any remedial work. Initially the idea had been to reuse the old metal trailer which my father had had remodeled to take her but it soon became clear that if we used this method she was only going to be moved seldom and short distances so we have invested in a new trailer for her. However it all seemed to be conspiring against us as the weather for taking her out has not been great and the final straw came when the agricultural engineers came calling to take our old Massey 135 away for its decade service and rebuild- leaving us only with Chays Landorver which we all thought too weak.

However fortune favors the brave and with 3 days left on the insurance we arranged to borrow a digger from the golf course work and planned to take the boat out with a chain of power. Amazingly having trhen set ourselves one afternoon of a window, the wind dropped the tide seemed to slow and the boat hit the trailer dead centre first time and within 30 seconds the boat, trailer and landrover were all up off the beach. As soon as it was out the water and on the road the trusty landrover could cope on its own and the digger could be dismissed an returned to Golf Course construction duty! So today Rose was washed and wintered and is back down next to the Clay Pigeon Shooting- lonely but safe for the winer ahead. the good news is that she will be inside in a couple of months for the annual paint and polish and then hopefully we will be able to reverse the process and get her back to sea ready for another year!!

Golf course progress-back on track!!

Back in August we had a council of war on the golf course and in particular the new holes out towards my mothers house. The discussion centered on the improvement of the drainage and what was required in both the short term and the long term. I was then sent away to see what funds we could release and it was decided that given both the cost and the time implications, not to mention the disruption we would have a big effort on the course in September.

Knowing the west highlands as I do I knew as September passed and promises were broken we were not being ignored or forgotten just waiting in line for our turn, so this week when the lorry finally appeared with its load of mechanical equipment it was no surprise that so the heavens opened and the rain started. In reality it has meant that we have put drains where the water is most prevalent, if more than budgeted for and at least we jknow they are all running in the right direction and well!

This time in a change to previous visits we have also engaged a rock breaker in order to remove some of the outcrops and open up the fairways and whilst in the short term it may look a bit chaotic I know that in the long run, firstly it will be easier to land the ball in an area of ease abut most importantly some of the casual water features will now drain away off the fairway! So now having broken out the rock and prepared the ditches it is time to start refilling them with gravel and pipes and then let god do his best to recover it over the winter. Fortunately the grass is still growing- in our gulf stream climate- and hopefully by Easter it will all be unseen just improved- or so Chay keeps promising!

laughing not crying sailing!

This weekend I had some friends up to stay and normally we take the opportunity to get out on the hills for one last walk before winter clothing is required but this year it was suggested that we should take advantage of the latest addition to the Eriska fleet and spend the day on the water. I checked the tides and weather forecast and even inspected the racing schedule for Oban Sailing Club just in case we decided to be competitive! So on saturday morning we set off in near ideal conditions and headed for Mulll.

We made excellent time and therefore decided to detour into Oban Bay and see if the proposed race- a simple description of- round The Gregg Isles- was happening and then with the possibility of joining in. As we arrived off the clubhouse for the 2.00pm start there was little activity so we headed up the sound of Kerrera but by the time we returned there was a bit more action so we decided to tag along an try and stay out of trouble but thought this would give us a good benchmark for our ability, without being a member of the club nor officially entering the race- What could possibly go wrong.

Clearly it would not take a genius to realize this was a mistaken impression but it soon became obvious that our enthusiasm clouded our ability to see the logic. the first snag was that we were not sure of te start line, the second and more pressing concern was our lack of understanding as to te direction of the race- but being men we chose not to ask anyone and simply pressed on- We all agreed tat it would become clear- it did as we set off in the wrong direction as mistake we all agreed was wise as it allowed us to follow the fleet rather than lead it in the wrong direction so we set off and slowly caught them up- not through skill but through luck and good fortune. We set off up oban bay, round a mark and then out of the bay. When the sailing description said "Round the Gregg Isles we thought that was self explanatory but clearly there as several different routes to this outcome and had we ever manged to lead we would have taken the  completely wrong route so our false start and continual hesitation allowed us to follow those in the know.

That was until due to a a slight diversion, where we picked up a fresher breeze than everybody else and found ourselves coming to the front of the fleet, so there then ensued a discussion on the etiquette of asking other boats directions in a race and the decision that we could do so if we first appeared humble and secondly choose a boat with someone we knew on board- maybe not the one that commented on our start line antics with words like "interesting" and "brave". So just as we reached the point of question our humiliation was saved as regrettably we had a technical issue- in that our Rudder fell off- and we had to retire.

 The main consolation after retiring was had in the fact that we were saved the embarrassment of asking directions then retiring or the comfort that we - probably falsely, believed that had we been able to continue success would have been ours and we would of then had to register our participation. Anyway a great day was had, plenty of fresh air and only ego's damaged- along with one rudderless boat!

Tennis Ball Treasure Trove

I had been harassing the stables team as to the high usage of tennis balls and no one had ever managed to give me an exact answer. We seemed to have the sam enumbers of users and there seemed to be no rreal difference in the style of tennis being played but for some reason this year we have gone through nearly twice the number of balls as normal and it is still only September. So sometiome sit is eaier to simply stop asking and the answer will become clear.

And so it did yeatsterfday as I was walking past the court where Chay and Thomas were cutting bthe hedge I noticed a huge number of balls lying on the court- not ideal given the rain but as I stood puzzling another ball came from teh sky and a voice shouted "27" What was happemning was that as they trimmed back the hedge- a combination of easy cutting with a ghedge trimmer and violent hacking with a pair of clippers they were also uncovering hiding paces for balls, especially on the top of the hedge.

Whislt I have trimmed the hedge myself many times I do not recall it being soproductive but as Chay reminded me we had neglected last year to trim the top as we were letting it grow to camoflague the new sports buildingwhihc we have now postponed till next year. So this could be the last time we trim the top of the hedge, and therefore the last great find of tennis balls. quietly when no one was lookig i took 4 balls home and hope that dibley- my dog- enjoys his special "Birthday Gift"!!- If a wee bit late.