Our family genealogy started out as a small hobby and has taken on a life of its own.
For some time now, during my research I have vicariously drifted through the places my forbears inhabited, albeit dimly, in faded and scratched sepia tones. Always I return to where it all began, for me, at least! There, at Mile-End Cottage, off South Road, Peterhead, across from Peterhead Lido. Up a long rough gravel path, betwixt fields of waving corn and calm eyed cattle, and neat vegetable gardens planted by Grandpa, Dad and Uncle Bob. Ivy covered ancient walls of stone, and Gran's white roses and ramblers, with their unforgettable fragrance, mingling with the scent of honeysuckle.
Home of the sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted. and the best new potatoes - Golden Wonders and Kerr's Pinks, I think!
Gran and Grandpa were "transplants", she from the softly beautiful Borders area (Selkirk) and he from the glorious Ayrshire countryside. Gramps was born in Colmonell, and the family lived for generations in the area - Maybole, Kirkoswald, and the surreally beautiful coast area, with golden sun kissed views across to Arran in the summer, or perhaps through veils of mist in in the cooler weather. Could one ever forget the taste of wild brambles picked on a quiet Ayrshire lane in summer? I know I never will!