Wednesday, October 18, 2017

A Scottish Family Gathering…

On their father’s side of the family, sisters Laurie and Bonnie enjoy a strong Scottish heritage.  Laurie has been communicating via Facebook with a number of Scottish family members for several years but up until now, they’d never met any of them.  Consequently, our first goal upon arrival in Scotland was to meet with their Scottish family!


The venue that the Scottish relatives chose for our gathering was Loch Leven’s Larder near Kinross in Fife.  I borrowed this photo from the Larder’s Facebook page.

Officially, this complex is called Loch Leven’s Larder/Channel Farm.  The family that owns this operation moved to Channel of Pittendriech Farm overlooking Loch Leven in 2002.  They are the 3rd generation of the family to farm the land since 1934.   Then became frustrated at the lack of locally grown produce available in nearby shops and they felt that family-friendly venues serving healthy food were lacking in the area.  Loch Leven’s Larder first opened in 2005 and the field to fork concept remains central to everything they do…  

Note: For those unfamiliar with Scottish terms, a “Loch” is a lake.


The views from Loch Leven’s Larder are quite beautiful.  As an aside, I learned that my stepfather, Hugh Thomson, was born just over those big hills on the other side of Loch Leven.  He immigrated to Nova Scotia Canada from Lochore, a village that was known for coal mining.    



These 2 photos were also borrowed from the Loch Leven’s Larder Facebook page.  On the afternoon before the reunion, we drove over to Loch Leven just to make sure that we knew where we were going the next day. 

Loch Leven’s Larder is a great place to shop for gifts and especially for great food items!  We bought some candies, bakery goods and some terrific aged cheddar cheese as well as a couple of gifts to take back with us.  The Larder is also home to a very popular restaurant. 

Loch Leven’s Larder is open 7 days a week from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.  Phone: 01592 841000.  For more information about this great shop, restaurant and gathering spot, go to http://lochlevenslarder.com/.


This building at the rear of the main Loch Leven’s Larder facility was reserved by Laurie and Bonnie’s Scottish family for our ‘clan gathering’.  It was the perfect size and it provided easy access to the play area for the family’s children…   



At the beginning, everyone came to greet us at the door, introducing themselves, getting organized and giving us a warm Scottish welcome!


On the left is Moir Innes, who recently had his 5th birthday.  He is a bundle of energy in motion!  Sitting next to him is his cousin Cameron Duncan. 


We spent a lot of time chatting and becoming acquainted… Unfortunately, because we were so excited about meeting everyone and exchanging family information, we didn’t do a great job of taking photos of everyone and most importantly we failed to get a group photo.  Such is life!


From the left, Willie Duncan, Alison Innes who is Willie’s partner, Michelle Wood and her daughter Amy.


This photo shows Amy Wood, Christopher Duncan and Marion (Rae) Simpson.  Rae is the niece of Laurie and Bonnie’s grandfather John Templeton.


Again from the left…Alison Innes, Isobel Simpson, Amy Wood, Christopher Duncan and Rae Simpson.  In the background Hazel Simpson Innes is talking with the server. 


Michelle Wood is talking to Willie Duncan and his partner Alison Innes is seated at the table… Alison and Michelle are cousins.


In this photo, Rae Simpson is talking with Bonnie and Laurie about the family. 


Here are sister and brother Maura and Moir Innes… Maura is 6 years old.  Cute, aren’t they!  They are 2 of Hazel and Scott Innes’s 3 children. 


This is the play area at the rear of Loch Leven’s Larder.  This is definitely a family friendly facility!  The children loved playing outside while the adults and older boys chatted indoors…


I thought that this little ‘bubble’ shelter was a terrific idea for a private family meal or picnic.  Given the vagaries of Scottish weather, I’m sure it sees quite a bit of use…


The room was arranged so that Bill, Bonnie, Laurie and I were at the head of the table…


This is a view of the table as the food was being served.  From the left: Alison, Cameron, Willie, Maura, Moir, Hazel (standing), Isobel, Della, Amy, Christopher and Rae.


Ewan Duncan, who is 18, is standing at the right of this photo. 


Again…from the left: Alison, Cameron, Willie, Maura, Moir, Isobel, Della, Christopher and Rae with Hazel standing at the right.


Michelle was sitting right next to me and we spent quite a bit of time visiting… 


  
Another photo of the table with of Laurie and Bonnie’s Scottish relatives…


…and the gathering continued with food and the exchange of family information.  Stored cell phone photos certainly came in handy!


Although the primary goal at Loch Leven’s Larder was a family reunion, we did partake in the Larder’s largess… The above collage shows a sampling of the offerings from the facility’s restaurant.  To view the menu at Loch Leven’s Larder, just go to http://lochlevenslarder.com/eat/.  The food was very nice as was the service…
  


Amy, Rae, Ewan and Maura…


In this photo, Bonnie’s husband Bill is showing Maura his badge.  He’s a retired police officer from the St. Louis Missouri area.


Isn’t this photo of Hazel and her daughter Della cute!  She’s 8 years old and she’s mastered an American accent!  She even demonstrated her ability to switch back and forth for us.  Laurie did a video showing Della’s skill!


This is a photo of Scott Innes and Hazel Simpson Innes.  Scott couldn’t join us as he works overseas in the oil business and he couldn’t change his work schedule to match our trip… 


Bonnie’s husband Bill bought the kids some ice cream.  This is Moir with Della’s baby set aside for the ice cream cone...


Moir and Maura certainly enjoyed their ice cream!


So did Della!


Laurie had everyone’s attention as she related our ghost stories to Ewan, Christopher, Alison and Willie.  Willie told them a great ghost story first!


We loved this sweet photo of Cameron and his cousin Maura…


Moir is the life of the party! 


Maura enjoyed playing with her cousins and she’s as cute as can be!


Ewan is a handsome young man… He has a beautiful girlfriend named Chloe.


It runs in the family…all the boys are handsome!  These are Ewan’s brothers Cameron (16) and Christopher (12)!  Love this photo…

We all had a great time at this family/clan reunion!  Bonnie and Laurie were thrilled to meet their Scottish family… Everyone was so nice and it felt like we’d known them all along.  They’ve all been invited to visit us in the USA!  Many thanks for everyone’s efforts in putting this gathering together…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for coming by to help us celebrate Laurie and Bonnie’s Scottish heritage!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

4 comments:

  1. I appreciate your blog so much, friend David ... different culture, different understanding, yes? ... Love always, cat.

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  2. It looks like everyone had a great time, Bill! Wonderful photos, lovely smiles and the food looks great! Thank you so much for sharing, I really enjoy your posts.

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  3. Looks like a good gathering. I knew what a loch was but still not sure what a larder is.

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  4. Great post with all the Scots! Food looks good and landscape is lovely and the larder must be a hit. Thanks!

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