Lost weekend with Brand New Friends

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IncaMeesh is an old school friend of mine.

She and I used to catch the bus together every day, her mum and dad live just around the corner from mine. While we were mates at school, we were never best friends, despite our shared love of Lloyd Cole! Since leaving school we've never lived near each other again, but have kept in touch, meeting up most years, always picking up right where we left off. Our friendship has grown, fuelled by a series of freakily coincidental life events, experiences, interests and attitudes, to the extent that now, after a fantastic weekend I feel a profound sense of loss, grieving for something that could be so much more if we weren't so very far apart.

So if IncaMeesh is my very dear old friend, the brand new friends in question are her lovely partner, R, and gorgeous daughter A.

They flew in on a perfect Lossie day - fresh, clear, cool. Fat white clouds scudding across deep blue skies. I can't tell you how happy I am when weather like this greets our visitors! On their way here there were lambs in the fields, ducks on the pond, a classic Scottish castle and views right across the Firth to the snow capped mountains of Sutherland. A great start which the impending change in weather couldn't dampen.

A & G, just two months apart in age, bonded instantly through their shared love of dressing up as pink fairy princesses. Life is very straightforward when you're three! I had had plans to get everyone off to the beach as soon as possible, do the full tour, but the kids were all very busy in the garden and so us adults cracked open the wine, and there we stayed for the rest of the afternoon. At least until Daddy got home, then the beer came out, of course!

Lucky they had glorious views on the way in, as the harr (sea mist) rolled in the next day, meaning that the view stretched to the end of our drive and not much further! We did head to the East Beach, from where we could barely see the town across the estuary, really quite eerie. Sliding on the dunes, then ice cream all round. I say all round, I definitely saw R holding an ice cream as we left the shop, but by the time I looked again there were just crumbs flecking his jacket... good skills!

By late afternoon the harr had lifted, revealing the coastline stretching off into the distance, always impressive, but we moved on to the West Beach for rockpooling until it was time for tea. Lots more chat, more wine, more tired and happy children.

A flying visit, yet bittersweet. Hopefully just another in a long line of catch ups, here's to next time!

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Photos

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Photo by IncaMeesh