Geesteren with the boys

Last night we arrived rather late at Woodpeckers' brother Ruaraidh's house in the east of Holland and we were greeted not only by him but also their mother. Kirsty had been staying there for a week and was due to return to Oban on Monday, by plane from Amsterdam to Glasgow. It was lovely to see her again, but unfortunately we had little time today to be with her as she had to catch the train to the airport in the far west of the country. The problem for her was that this was the day the storm force winds were due to hit the country, and in the end her train was halted by trees falling on the track. Luckily she did make it in time for her afternoon flight.

We in the meantime had a quieter day, staying around Ruaraidh's massive house. His wife Sondra was away for three days attending a conference inVienna related to her work as a psychiatrist in a local hospital. Their three boys come back for lunch everyday from their school, as it is only two hundred yards away in the village. When the school day finished they came home again, and as the wind and rain had died down, two of the boys took Helena and I round the village, with them on their bikes and us on foot.

Callum, the oldest, and Cormac, the youngest, also took us to see their school which they are very happy to attend. The small farming community feel of the village and local area is very charming and feels very safe for them. I was impressed with their facilities and also by how much involvement the parents have in supporting the school both financially and practically.

The boys showed us how to jump the ditches, throw fallen branches, ride their bikes and do skidding turns before they got off to demonstrate the new climbing wall that has just been built. Woodpeckers couldn't resist the challenge and here they all are together.

Then we were taken to a local playground to check out the equipment, which Helena also tested. A great first day for us and later when the light had gone, we even managed to watch 'Pointless' with the kids who indulged our viewing habits. A great first day of the holiday.

Woodpeckers posted more about the day here.


I have put some more pictures of our trip round the village with the boys on this Flickr gallery.

NB:
There is a problem with this Flickr gallery, which I cannot resolve. Sometimes you see the images repeated several times in the gallery or photostream. I am not impressed !