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| Bob enjoying a snooze in the tiny but cozy front yard at our cottage. |
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| This lovely photo hung in the dining area of our cottage. |
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| Bobby crashing on the sofa. Notice the teapot. You can't see it but the cozy little fireplace was offering its comfort as well. |
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| Lamlash! From my walk along the beach. Wouldn't you love to live here! |
Services started at 11:30, so we left a bit early to have time to walk around the village and drop by one of Shep's favorite spots–the playground. He never gets enough of playground fun!
We first walked down to the rocky beach. There was a man standing nearby throwing rocks into the water. I noticed my little man stood still, gazing at this man. Next, he bent down, picked up a rock and threw it into the water. Our friendly stranger not being aware of the silent instruction he had just given my grandson!
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| Shep watching the stranger! |
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| Showing Dad about rock throwing! |
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| The throws the rock! Fun idea that stranger had! |
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| Next, he picks up the rock, |
Following our beach adventure, we strolled up the bank to the playground nearby. This particular playground sported a metal skeleton of a plane. And as Shep is into planes at present, his imagination was in full gear as he climbed all over it.
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| Notice the minister is a lady. The church we visited in Edinburgh also had a lady minister the day we were there. |
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| The bell tower just above my right shoulder was peeling forth the beautiful hymn Amazing Grace! |
Shep lasted only for a short while as he needed his blanket to feel calm and quiet. Eventually, Bobby had to take him back to
the cottage while I remained for the rest of the service. We were guided through the service by a program which listed the songs that were to be sung. Similar to services back home, but with the addition of readings from the congregation. Most of the congregation was made up of older individuals. Seems to be the case in the traditional churches we attended. (Not so at Larkhall, however!)
The minister spoke on love and as Bobby & I were discussing the service at lunch after he had returned, it was concluded that it was a type of generic sermon. You could substitute Jesus's name for any other leader of another religion and make the same points. The one thing we both noticed was there was little, if any, talk of sacrifice or obedience to scriptural truths. Yet, when I looked at their website, I noticed there were plenty of activities for church members to reach out into their community and serve their neighbors.
We stopped by the small grocery store so Bobby could get the ingredients to make a seafood dish when he got back to the cottage. On the way back, I asked Bobby to let me off at the bridge near the driveway so I could check out the souvenir store nearby. I enjoyed looking around, but came away with only a couple of free magazines.
With my two free magazines, I strolled up the driveway (you stroll everywhere here, slow and deliberate so as to enjoy every precious moment) and was greeted upon entering the back door by a fishy aroma! From the remarks of the others, it was a delicious fish soup, but my tastes don't really prefer fishy flavors. However, the scones topped with cheese that were served with the main dish, I found to be quite tasty. So, everybody was happy!
We all spent the rest of the day relaxing. The chilly air coaxed us to turn on the furnace, but not too high. For our little fireplace offered the perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot tea, flavored with cream! (you know, I developed a taste for drinking my tea hot with cream! Now that's saying something for an American Southern girl who likes her tea brewed, made cold with ice, and sweetened with sugar), as we closed out our first full day here in Arran.
Until next time,
