My day at work went by as most of the previous days had. I hopped on my bike, literally hopped, I've been working on my cross skills on my commutes. For the final time I pedalled through the snow down Dell road, took the short cut to the icy bridge, made it over that, and continued on to the Lazy Duck. Aside from January 1st, when I failed to make it to work, I've commuted every day on that little bike. Blizzards, squalls, monsoons, ice, I've seen and survived it all. I'm a bit proud of this as you may be able to tell. After seeing to my dear friends the hens and sheep I'd tick off a few to-dos on my list. Before I knew it we were putting away the ducks and I was hopping back on my bike.
But my day doesn't end there. Around 7:00 pm I'd receive a text from Valery letting me know that my "car had arrived". Paul and I were off to dinner with the Deans at the Cairn. After rushing about throwing on shoes and realizing we had to pee we finally made it out the door. Getting into the car we were greeted by David and Valery and soon on our way. The drive was nice, I find that I do often now enjoy sitting in a car. It's a real novelty. The roads up here are nice too, twisting in and out of trees and by fields, there's not much traffic. I'd love to be here in the summer with a road bike. At the end of our journey we'd pull into the Cairn's parking lot.
The Cairn is an absolutely lovely English style pub. You walk in looking directly at the bar, with a pool table on your right and seating on the left. David is greeted by who I assume to be the manager and we snag the perfect table right by the fireplace. Paul and I opt for the bench seating while Valery quickly claims the seat closest to the fire. Soon though it's back on our feet as we head to the bar with David, returning with pints in hand. Of course I'd get a beer with "cat" in the name, a Scottish beer, the Wildcat. Back in our seats we settled down and started the long process of deciding what to eat.
It wasn't long at all really. As soon as I read "Fish & Chips" I was sold. Back at the cottage I had told Paul about my hopes of a fish and chip dinner. If I was going to have any last meal out in the UK, that's what it had to be. Three out of the four of us went with it. David, to our horror, picked duck. Valery exclaimed, quite rightly, "How could you!". But I think we both knew how he justified it. I at least thought about our odd duck, a Mandarin, when I looked at the menu. This duck in particular had given us a late afternoon in the cold as we tried to coax him into the enclosed area for his tea. Eventually we were defeated and he was left out for the night. Afterwards we came to the conclusion it may have been Valery's orange jacket, a display color of this kind of Mandarin. He may have looked right at her and thought "Well then, that's the biggest damn duck I've ever seen, I'm going to go hide".
With appetizers on the table, pints in hand, and food on the way, we chatted about all sorts of things. The Deans really are the perfect couple of folks to have a meal with. Any topic can be covered and they have an exciting background that contributes all manner of experiences meaning they always have an interesting story. David at one point teased me about being too laid back. Claiming he often heard the wood talking amongst itself about getting into the woodpile, certain that it'd have to move on its own before I got to it. My favorite bit is when he directed a review left for the Lazy Duck at me. Someone claimed that the "Lazy ducks are so laid back they're almost horizontal", he thought that fit me well. Really, so horizontal that he often wondered if I was laying on the ground somewhere. But just when he thought I was, I'd show up, plodding along like a diesel engine that just doesn't want to stop yet.
Before our pudding arrived I was handed a scroll. But, first, a word. While many call their dessert pudding, some may even say "pud", I've never seen anyone eat pudding for their... pudding. David and I elected to try the "Affy-guid-o", which I believe caught us both off guard when it came with a shot of some liquor. When Valery asked what kind David's response was, "Strong". He was right. Alongside our liquor was a shot of espresso and a scoop of ice cream. While it's not pudding, it is a dessert! Anyway, back to this scroll. To my horror David claimed I must read it aloud in front of everyone in the establishment. Thankfully, I was spared this. I read it aloud to my group of friends, and below I'll transcribe what it says.
"This award to our esteemed friend is made in recognition of his highly valued winter helper services - Courageous & copious wood carter & stacker, super special snow clearer, everlasting laundry laddie, hopeful hens' egg collector, dandy duck manager, happy hostel host and preparer, whole hearted hot tub cleaner and igniter, special trail tramper & treat Django walker, fast, fun & furious projectile on two wheels, peaceful ponderer of life & good all around ambassador for his country."
I left the states before I ever saw my college diploma, it arrived in the mail so late. I'm not even sure what it looks like. And to be honest, I'm not too worried about that. My award for "courage and service in a foreign land" presented at the Cairn Hotel in Carr-Bridge will hang right next to, maybe even above, my diploma. Certainly not in the loo as David suggested, it will be displayed proudly (not saying a bathroom isn't a place of pride). I had been thinking of some way to commemorate my time spent here and this is just the thing to do it.
Unfortunately time did not stand still and soon we were finishing our pudding and traversing the icy lane back to the car. We made the trip back, this time with Valery driving. She wasn't sure if she'd make it to the dinner but then David had suggested we may need a chauffeur. Not only for her lovely driving, but also her conversation, I'm incredibly glad she made it. Paul and I got dropped off at the Dell and waved goodbye before heading up to the fire pit. It was later than we expected but luckily Ross was still up and soon joined us, whiskey in hand. The fire roared and engulfed the entire pit, at one point we even stood up on the bank above the seating. A bit of snow fell as we stood around and talked about life while enjoying the warmth of the fire and the whiskey. There was also the sampling of Paul's "fine" wine. Sponsored by a £20 Tesco card sent to him for his birthday which was turned into 5 bottles of £4 wine (all red, from various countries). I couldn't have asked for a better end to the day.
Today I have the day off. Mostly in anticipation of what happened the last time I drank with Ross. But also so I can pack my things and do a bit of cleaning here in the cottage. I'll also be doing a bit of reflecting on my long journey. Six months ago I was in Iceland working with a kennel of 46 dogs. How exactly did I get here to the Highlands of Scotland? And of course thinking about home and the long journey ahead. While right now I may not feel much like leaving behind "Bonnie Scotland" I am looking forward to seeing everyone back home. And I know that my leaving isn't "The End" but "To Be Continued..." At some point in my trip I've stopped looking at this as intimidating or daunting. It's not a once in a lifetime type of experience, and it's not abnormal. I can, if I want to, get up and go. When I say one day I'll be back, it isn't wishful thinking. It's no longer the subject of a dream. One day I will be back. I know I have it in me.
Sincerely,
Zeb
P.S.
I do hope, absolutely, that the volunteer coming to replace me will give it her all. If my stay overlapped with her arrival I'd encourage her to do her best in taking care of David and Valery. They are lovely people that work very hard, maybe too hard. It's important for them to get a bit of rest and I think working alongside them is great for doing that, helping ease their load.