Today’s guest picture is a follow up to Dropscone’s picture from Islay. My South African correspondent, Tom must also have visited the island because he has sent me a round church by way of counterbalance to Dropscone’s square lighthouse. Kilarrow Church is a Church of Scotland parish church, overlooking and serving Bowmore on the Isle of Islay. It was built in 1767
We had a very straightforward day today. We went to church and sang in the morning and we went to Carlisle and sang in the afternoon. There wasn’t much time for anything else as the church service was quite long with two baptisms and the Carlisle session lasted several hours because the community choir was auditioning four applicants for the post of musical director.
We were in the happy position in the community choir of having four excellent candidates, any one of whom seemed likely to be able to look after us well. We were asked to vote for the one we liked best as a guide to the committee who are making the choice and Mrs Tootlepedal and I chose differently but I would be very happy if her choice won.
We did manage to find enough time to make a beef stew for the slow cooker before we went to church and to visit a shop in Carlisle to buy a few necessities (dates, cheese, coffee beans) on our way to the choir.
It had rained heavily over night but the day was pleasant enough. It so windy though that I was not at all disappointed to be deprived of cycling.
Just to add a little colour to this post, I rushed out a took three pictures before we went to church…
…and then three more pictures in the fading light when we got back in the evening.
There was no time to watch the birds. I will try to do better tomorrow but more strong winds are forecast.
Some days are like that, that’s why I could never post every day.
That dahlia is perfect and very beautiful.
I am not afraid to be tedious and repetitive because that is what a retired person’s life can be sometimes. After all the blog is my diary.
I hope to find out what a retired person’s life is like in about 3 years.
It is good, I can assure you….as long as your health holds out to a reasonable extent.
I like to watch the cycle of the year go round in your posts. Enhanced by your photos and humour.
Interesting church.
The dahlia picture is particularly fine, is it lit from behind?
No, just as nature intended.
It’s very good.
Hurray for more and better views of the fuchsias, well done the gardener.
Oh my – that is a truly lovely dahlia. You still have quite a bit of colour in your garden this late in the year. Our colour is mostly from the trees now, but as per usual the yellow leaves of the ash trees, which seem to be lit from within, lost the battle with recent winds and rain. Glorious while it lasted though!
We are still waiting for autumn colour but we are getting the strong winds.
Very sensible of the committee to ask for the choir’s input. Sounds like a pleasant way to spend a Sunday. Hope you enjoyed some cheese, prunes and coffee to round it off nicely
I had the cheese and prunes but the coffee had to wait until today.
Enjoy😊
Catch up was impossible for me these last few weeks, but I am glad to see the Tootlepedal garden is still looking colorful!
Our butterfly bush is blooming again as the quick transition into autumn has refreshed it. Rain has finally come. Not a lot, but enough so that we don’t have to water the garden. So many things coming ripe now, including the grapes. We’ll be pressing grapes within the next couple of weeks.
I hope that you get a great vintage.
🙂
The church is round so that there are no corners for the Devil to hide.
I read that. He/she could always just hide round the back.
Interesting!!
Hope the new conductor is a success.
A pleasantly symmetrical day even the beautiful flowers have blended colours. ( I was going to write coordinated colours but it all sounded too Year 4 maths lesson!). A good idea of the choir committee to ask for choir’s opinion- common sense really.
I am not sure that I entirely approve of asking people’s opinions about tricky choices. I am am not convinced that I made the right choice myself but luckily the committee ignored me.
For someone in a rush you couldn’t prove it by your photos, Tom. These are lovely. And, I’m with you, that dahlia of the day is perfect. Was it backlit or is that just the coloring that makes it look aglow?
Just the natural dahlia. m They have had very good colour this year, perhaps thanks to the warm summer.
Ha, I interpreted your first para slightly wrong ‘serving Bowmore’ and churches don’t quite go together.
In Islay they may well go together. 🙂
The dahlia of the day is stunning!
Agreed.
For being rushed, you managed to shoot a stunning photo of the dahlia, and the others were very good as well. I hope that the new director of the choir works out once chosen.
The committee have made a good choice (Mrs Tootlepedal’s).
I do love the fuchsias. I’ve thought of them as tiny little ballerinas and our hummingbirds sure love them. We had some growing by the side of the road near the new house and I snipped a little cutting. They could surely use some rain, but seem to be hanging in there, though I’ve tried to keep them watered during this prolonged dry spell. Perhaps they’re slow to grow, putting more into growing roots at the moment. I DO hope they learn to thrive in their new spot.
Ours are a bit temperamental but they are coming strongly at the very back end of the growing season.
My grandma called her many fuchsias her “little dancing girls”.