Bottoms Up And Reflections On Families

Cheers!

We had a very interesting late lunch with ”Big Dug" yesterday who being an Engineer arrived precisely on time.

Of course, driving he could not partake of any alcoholic beverage. Pat, my mixologist and chef, is very good at creating non-alcoholic drinks. A great time was had by all.

This morning I was casting around looking for possible Blipfoto  opportunities.

I have probably taken about a dozen possible candidates.

I settled on a view of the bottoms of six crystal (cheap crystal) sitting on a crystal tray (bought in a local charity shop some years ago). 

Very shiny and reflective.

Mrs Dog had been asking more questions about my elusive and mysterious forebears and this morning I typed a few lines of some of the more intriguing characters with the surname Millar. Mrs Dog’s married name is Millar and it is one of my middle names.

Well, there was Miss Bell Millar who was the Housekeeper at Lennoxlove and there was Jim Millar who ranched in Alberta, Canada.

I could go on about immoral acts and a mysterious death in Toronto. It actually comes to quite a list when noted down.

Does any Julian Fellowes contact details?

Joking apart, I suspect that my family history in many ways is very similar to many other families living through the 20th century with lives disrupted by war and economic woes.

We watched Downton Abbey, the film which has to be one of the most entertaining movies I have seen this year. It is extremely funny.

Over the last few months we have just watched the whole Downton Abbey series on ITV 3. We found it very enjoyable.

The NTS like to compare Hill of Tarvit to Downton Abbey, which is something of a stretch. HOT is a much smaller house occupied by a very wealthy Industrialist. The family suffered much tragedy in the 41 years they occupied the house.

However, Robert Lorimer’s Architecture and Landscape was much more successful than Charles Barry at Highclere.

Just my humble professional opinion.

It is unlikely that Hill of Tarvit will open for visitors until 2022.