A Christmas to remember – snow, storm, vomits, and drunks

We’re back in Aberdeen having spent an enjoyable yet dramatic week away in Aviemore over Christmas. We arrived last Friday night packed like sardines in a hire car with the largest boot I could possibly get. It was a scary drive because it was dark and there were blizzard-like conditions.

We had to take Rocket our hamster with us because I thought he’d be dead by now and left it too late to book him into a pet hotel. They were full by the time I rang in early December so he along with the cat, plus all our luggage and a partridge in a pear tree got packed into the car for Aviemore.

That first Friday night Ben spent communing with the toilet bowl while puking up the day’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On Saturday morning I pulled back the curtains in our room to see the view and there was a man crouched on all fours by the side of the road looking for something. His dog was sniffing around nearby. After staring at him quizzically for a bit I realised something was wrong as he began to crawl in a wobbly fashion into the middle of the road before collapsing. I sprinted outside and by the time I’d got there a passing motorist had also stopped and together we managed to drag him off the road. The man couldn’t get up and I could smell alcohol so we suspected he was probably drunk but not wanting to take any chances I phoned an ambulance. They told me to phone the police which I did but the police rightly said it’s not an offence to be drunk and to phone the ambulance which I did again but they were reluctant to offer any help. By now some of our party had come outside and we discovered the man lived nearby so after a short time he was able to get to his feet with some help and we supported him back to his house.

The next 24 hours were uneventful but then Christmas Eve arrived and this time it was Elizabeth’s turn to develop a close relationship with the toilet. Ben had recovered by this point and could enjoy the Christmas food on Christmas day but Elizabeth ate very little. We began joking about who the next victim would be, not seriously expecting there to be another victim, but that night my sister, Cara, decided it was her turn. It was like the murderer – in this case a virus – was picking us off one-by-one.

Boxing Day was glorious. There was so much snow everywhere and it was calm and sunny. The wifi was really bad so I’m only properly looking at the beautiful photos I took now we’re back at home. Here are some I didn’t upload previously.

We went tobogganing at The Hayfield in Glenmore.

It was my niece, Lily’s, first time playing in the snow and I think she enjoyed herself.

Boxing Day was the calm before the storm it turned out because on Wednesday Storm Gerrit struck with more ferocity than expected. Cara had recovered by this point so she and I tried to venture out but the wind was wild and you had to practically get onto the ground and crawl to get anywhere. Our power cut off around midday along with that of 18,500 or so more homes in Scotland. We had a log burner in the house so we stayed warm but it gets dark at 4pm at this time of year and we couldn’t cook so we started thinking about heading home a day early.

My sister Caroline is married to an American and his parents and brother had come over for the trip. They put some washing on before the power went out. Modern washing machine doors don’t open without power so their clothes got stuck inside the washing machine and we spent a great deal of time trying to find a way around the locked door. In the end we were defeated but thankfully the power came back on around 24 hours later, after we were all packed but hadn’t yet left so they got their clothes back.

We went for one last walk before leaving and were rewarded with a different landscape and lovely views. You can just make out Loch Morlich between the trees in this next photo.

My sister Cara and me next to the Green Loch.

Here’s a casualty of the storm along the path.

It’s a beautiful part of the world and it will be a holiday and a Christmas to remember.