Wellies on the School Run

Picture of bunting on wall at Lyth Arts Centre

Thoughts on Four Years of Writing and Blogging – And a Summer Break

By: welliesontheschoolrun June 28, 2020June 28, 2020

Opinion, Social Media, Uncategorized, Writing, Writing and BloggingBlogging Tips, Lifestyle, Scottish Writers, Writing Plans, Writing Tips10 Comments

In amongst this period of lockdown, it almost escaped my notice that Wellies on the School Run had reached its four-year anniversary on the blogosphere. Four years of writing, two hundred and twenty five articles, somewhere in the region of two hundred thousand words. I’m not sure what I expected when I started my own…

Social Media, The Solstice and The Sea

By: welliesontheschoolrun June 21, 2020June 21, 2020

Caithness, Opinion, Reflections, Social Media, Uncategorized, Writing and BloggingIntroversion, Isolation, Life, Lifestyle, Lockdown, Sea Swimming, Self Discovery14 Comments

These weeks in lockdown have seemed to slip away so quickly, each day passing to the next with a speed strangely at odds with the stretching hours of sunlight. Before we knew it, the summer solstice was upon us, a tipping point in the balance of light and dark, where the world gives the night a…

Mallaig, Memories and My Nana

By: welliesontheschoolrun June 14, 2020

Family, Love, Reflections, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, UncategorizedMallaig, Memories, People and Place, Place, Scottish Writer19 Comments

Growing up, two places dominated my experience of childhood. Caithness, because it was where we lived, and Mallaig, because it was where we took all our holidays. The latter also had a special attraction: it was where Nana and Iain lived (Nana being my paternal Grandmother and Iain my uncle, who lived with Nana due…

We’re Not Aloof, We’re Introverts

By: welliesontheschoolrun June 7, 2020July 16, 2020

Health & Lifestyle, Opinion, Reflections, UncategorizedBooks, Caithness, Introversion, Introvert, Isolation, Life, Quiet, Scottish Writers4 Comments

Years ago, when I had a ‘proper’ job, I was a participant in a set of development centre activities for graduates. It was standard development centre stuff, including participation in group activities and receiving feedback on performance by an assigned observer who monitored the tasks. In one such exercise, I was observed in a team…

Hibernation Diaries – Small Steps Back Into The World

By: welliesontheschoolrun May 31, 2020May 31, 2020

Caithness, Covid-19, Opinion, Reflections, Scotland, UncategorizedCoronavirus, Inspiring quotes, Isolation, Life, Lockdown, Scottish Highlands4 Comments

In a crisis, we find out who we are. I heard these words on TV the other day as we completed our tenth week of ‘hibernation,’ a milestone that saw Scotland ease lockdown rules to enable people to meet with others outside their household. The new rules have a distinctly outdoor focus, enabling family reunions…

Hibernation Diaries – Storms and Sunshine, Projects and Plans

By: welliesontheschoolrun May 24, 2020May 24, 2020

Caithness, Covid-19, Home, Lifestyle, Reflections, UncategorizedCoronavirus, Isolation, Lockdown, Scottish Blogs, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Spring13 Comments

Leo Tolstoy once wrote ‘Spring is the time of plans and projects.’ Yet here at home in Caithness, the ninth week of lockdown meant plans and projects put on hold. Keeping up with the daily cycles of homeschool, home work and domesticity leaves us feeling that boredom might be a luxury. Half-weeded patches of garden…

The Last Daffodils, Caithness, Spring 2020

Hibernation Diaries – Big Emotions, Doorstep Gifts and Lost Teddies

By: welliesontheschoolrun May 17, 2020May 17, 2020

Caithness, Covid-19, Family, Lifestyle, Reflections, UncategorizedCoronavirus, Dyslexia, Homeschooling, Inspiration, Isolation, Life, Lockdown, Positive Outlook, Scottish Blogs10 Comments

Week eight of lockdown was a challenging one in our household. With my husband working long hours from the spare bedroom, it fell to me to become chief teacher, cook, cleaner, dog walker and all-round operative of essential domestic tasks. On the school front, we had a day of big emotions as I tried to…

Hibernation Diaries – Learning New Skills in Lockdown, Quiet and Cianalas

By: welliesontheschoolrun May 10, 2020May 10, 2020

Caithness, Covid-19, Reflections, UncategorizedBooks, Coronavirus, Introversion, Introvert, Lockdown, Positive Outlook, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Spring12 Comments

And so another week passes in lockdown. Seven weeks of homeschool, thirty-five sessions of P.E. with Joe Wicks. Our children at home for the longest period of time since starting nursery. Homeworking, Facetime calls, daily exercise, a seemingly insatiable familial hunger. Dirty dishes piling up like small, obstinate mountains where they lie. A new dishwasher…

Hibernation Diaries – Sleeplessness, Outlander, The Province of the Cat and the Coming of the Blossom

By: welliesontheschoolrun May 3, 2020

Books, Caithness, Inspired Living, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, UncategorizedCoronavirus, Covid-19, Lockdown, Positive Thinking, Spring10 Comments

This week marked my first foray into gloominess in this era of lockdown, Covid-19 and social distancing. I started the week with a pain in my back and a new bout of insomnia (something I attribute less to worries about Coronavirus, than the hormonal see-saw that seems to characterise my early forties). Added to the…

Pink Sunset looking from Caithness to Orkney April 2020

Hibernation Diaries – Homeschool, Helping, Lost Shoes and Hopeful Sunsets

By: welliesontheschoolrun April 26, 2020April 26, 2020

Caithness, Family, Inspired Living, Lifestyle, Reflections, UncategorizedCoronavirus, Covid-19, Life, Positive Outlook, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Scottish Writers, Self Discovery, Writing7 Comments

We are now entering week five of lockdown here in the UK (at least I think it’s week five – it could actually be week four, or six, and I’d currently be none the wiser). The days and weeks are melting into one somewhat, and a sense of routine is becoming ever more important –…

Lighting Candles and Other Notes on Happiness

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A Sunday Well Spent

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Ten Things to do on a Family Holiday to the Outer Hebrides

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Saying No to Perfect

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12 Reasons to Plan a Scottish Road Trip

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Mallaig, Memories and My Nana

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We’re Not Aloof, We’re Introverts

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Hibernation Diaries – Small Steps Back Into The World

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Hibernation Diaries – Storms and Sunshine, Projects and Plans

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Hibernation Diaries – Big Emotions, Doorstep Gifts and Lost Teddies

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Hibernation Diaries – Learning New Skills in Lockdown, Quiet and Cianalas

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Hibernation Diaries – Sleeplessness, Outlander, The Province of the Cat and the Coming of the Blossom

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Hibernation Diaries – Homeschool, Helping, Lost Shoes and Hopeful Sunsets

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