S is for…
Scotland.
How could it not be?
The country flows through every tiny part of my system. It’s in my blood!
Everything’s better when it’s Scottish!!
Review - Falling for a Bentley - Adriana Law "The basement is where I make my birds." Victoria was a completely normal, overlooked teenage girl until she begun to date Colton Bentley, the most popular boy in school. Apart from her accident. "A scar, a limp, a bad hand, inept social skills, the list goes on.." Whilst he seems happy, she seems more interested in keeping her demanding mother happy. Colton seems to want different things than she does, and he wants her to be something she isn't. "Every little detail has to be right." Just as she makes the decision to put an end to their charade of a relationship, Colton's parents die. How can she break up with him just when he needs her most? Encouraged by her mum to stay at his and help in any way she can, Victoria soon discovers her Bentley isn't everything she'd hoped. Nor is his uncle or cousins. Sometimes she just wants to be herself, not to have to hide behind the carefully cultivated facade she has erected. "I'm okay. I lied." Everything was moving sedatley along until the death of Colton's family shows up. An uncle who clearly disapproves of her, one cousin who is a friendly, flirty type of character and the other cousin... Sterling Bentley is everything mother's warn their good girls away from, so why cant she turn away? Sexual tension radiates within every encounter between them. "I might combust in my seat if he doesn't stop staring as if he can see through to my soul." Running away to his LA apartment with him she takes on the role of friend. Surprised by the ever increasing depravity of Sterling's life she is desperate to help him. Not just because she's falling for the brief glimpses of the real Sterling she occasionally sees, but because she really does want to be his friend. She really does care. "And even though I know I shouldn't, I do. I do want him." We flick between Sterling and Victoria's viewpoint. Sterling calls Victoria, Phoenix. "But Phoenix isn't just any other girl." We also meet Starr, who could have been something important to Sterling romantically if they hadn't both been drug addicts. Starr is now clean and getting on with her life. Victoria and Starr become friends as they hunt out Sterling who has been missing for four days. Then we get to go through home rehab with him. And experience everything from his and Victoria's viewpoint. "Never in life have I seen someone's body drive them to intentionally destroy it." Just when it seems the worst is over, just when Victoria and Sterling's relationship moves onto the next level, it all becomes too much. "'Tu es mon feu' I whispered. You are my fire." Victoria's world crashes. When you can't save the guy you love from himself, how long do you fight the facts? Then she suffers a family bereavement. "I'm on autopilot with only one thought, and that is to get home." Back at home, with her mother's support, Victoria makes the decision that any relationship between her and Sterling is over. Finished. "He walks away thinking time will change things. He's wrong." Life moves on. About a year or so later Victoria has her own woodcarving store. Volunteering at a meeting for recovering addicts she is surprised by the reappearance of Sawyer, then Starr. And who is in the parking lot? "I take off running, throwing myself into his arms." Sterling Bentley has come to share his story with other recovering addicts. "Addiction doesn't discriminate."
R is for…
Growing up I was always interested in the Ruthven history.
It’s fascinating!
Bloody, tragic…..
But it’s more than that. It’s every aspect.
The tartan, the historical documents. Paintings and facts and things to see and study..



Did you know that before there was Dracula, there was Lord Ruthven?
Did you know it was a Ruthven who married the famous artist Van Dyck, who was famed for royal portraits?
Or that Huntingtower Castle, the Ruthven seat, has some of the finest and oldest wall and ceiling decor ever?
P is for…..
Pandora.
Or Persephone, or Poseidon…
The point for me is the ancient greeks.
All the mythology, and the stories and lessons.
I love them, always have.
And it all stems to a point that I can actually name..
Mr street, primary 6, back in the 90’s. And one term of studying the ancient greeks and I was hooked.




I am so fascinated by the various tales.
From the Odyseus, to Troy. From Medusa and sirens, the minotaur and Herecules…….
Review – Glynnis Campbell – The Shipwreck
Outcast by her brothers and stripped of her home and lands for birthing her “‘bastard viking spawn'”, Avril lives on the coast with her four year old daughter, Kimbery. They live on what they can scavenge from the sea. Theirs is a hard, lonely existence but Avril is coping well and is proud of providing a life for her beloved daughter.
The morning after a violent storm the pair comb the shoreline. Avril hopes to discover part of a broken boat, or useful kelp. Kimbery on the other hand is certain she’ll find mermaids treasure.
Neither expected their find..
“Mama! It’s my da!”
The half dead, wealthy looking, blonde man was undeniable in his viking origins. He was not Kimbery’s father but that mattered not to Avril. All viking men were cut from the same cloth. They all raped and pillaged and invaded.
All she could think of was protecting her daughter from this man and any shipmates who came searching for him.
That’s how Brandr came to return to consciousness tied up in the small home on the shore.
This tale shows that you can’t always judge one man by his countrymen. How Viking and Pict can come together. How they can discover love in the most unlikely of places and put past hurts behind them to create s stronger future.
“As improbable as it seemed, the two of them – captive and captor, mortal enemies – had somehow done much more than find common ground and an uneasy peace. They’d fallen in love.”
Dirleton Castle has graced the heart of Dirleton since the 13th century. For the first 400 years, it served as the residence of three noble families – the de Vauxes, Haliburtons and Ruthvens. The subsequent downfall of the Ruthvens saw the castle abandoned as a noble residence.
Opening arrangements & costs
Admission Prices: Adult £5.50, Child £3.30, Concession £4.40
1 April – 30 September: Mon -Sun, 9.30am to 5.30pm (last entry 5pm)
1 October – 31 March: Mon – Sun, 10am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm)
Location
Region – Edinburgh and the Lothians
Postcode: EH39 5ER
(The castle is located 3m west of North Berwick on the A198.)
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyoverview.htm?PropID=PL_089&PropName=Dirleton Castle And Garden