That was the holiday that was

Just returned from Scotland. We spent a couple of days in Glasgow, where I have relatives, before moving on to Crieff Hydro ("Scotland's leading leisure resort") where we ate (and drank) far more than was good for us.

Crieff Hydro is a Scottish institution (and I use that word advisedly). When I was a child, friends used to come here on holiday, even though it was less than an hour's drive from where we lived. Famously, one boy's father drove home on the second day of their holiday because he had forgotten to pack his favourite jumper. When he returned, two hours later, no-one had noticed his absence.

In those days the "institution" was an alcohol-free zone and, I must confess, I panicked a bit when my wife told me - the day before we arrived - that the policy was still rigorously enforced. Thankfully, she was joking.

Today, with its range of indoor and outdoor activities, Crieff Hydro reminds me of a cruise ship. It's a very similar environment - with the same obliging staff and a multi-national cast of characters.

On Monday I tried my hand at quad biking, but for much of the time - while the children were swimming or pony-trekking or firing air rifles into the Scottish mist - I was either reading or working. That's the trouble with the modern office. A combination of mobile phone, laptop computer and wireless broadband makes it very difficult to switch off, especially when you (stupidly) launch a series of PR/marketing initiatives the week before going away.

PS. We drove home via St Andrews and Anstruther. I have written about Anstruther before. As some of you know, it's a fishing village just down the coast from St Andrews (where I went to school). A picturesque harbour and the best fish and chip shop in Britain draw us back again and again. Mysteriously, I don't remember it ever raining in Anstruther. If you ever find yourself in Fife, it's definitely worth a detour - at any time of the year.

Comments

[timbone]

Hello Simon. I like your comment "That's the trouble with the modern office. A combination of mobile phone, laptop computer and wireless broadband makes it very difficult to switch off,". It reminds me of my distributor, who has emailed or phoned me with an order, starting with, "I am on holiday but....." I am off to Benidorm for a few days next week for a little break. I only take my mobile phone, which I keep switched off!! oh, and use as an alarm clock. I have to say though, that on more than one occasion, when I have switched it on occasionally to phone a colleague over there, I have a message which starts......you guessed it, 'can you send me........

[David Redfern]

Simon,
apparently the best fish and chip shop in the UK is in Biggar, near Lanark.