20th Dec - Snowed In on Our Last Day!

Bec & I had planned to travel for two weeks prior to her leaving to head home to Perth. We were due to fly out of Inverness on Sunday 20th Dec. But when we woke up on Sunday morning, everything was covered in a thick layer of snow – almost unheard of in northern Scotland at this time of year.
Then I checked the flight details & found out that Inverness Airport was closed for the rest of the day. After a last minute scramble, Bec & I jumped in Ann’s car quickly, missing a great lunch Sara was cooking for us, & sped to Inverness to try & catch the train on time. We got there & got tickets with only a minute to spare, literally. The train was completely packed. No drinks or food was served for the whole trip into Glasgow (about 5 hours), but we were lucky that one passenger gave us her bottle of water.
We transferred to another train at Glasgow & were happy to find it did serve food & drinks. Then got the Gatwick Express to the airport. So, instead of a 2 hour trip into London, it ended up being a 13 hour trip to our Gatwick hotel. We were grumpy, exhausted, & over tired.

19th Dec - Farewell Cooking Adventure

As most meals at Shambala were cooked by community staff, Bec & I volunteered to cook a final meal for the community as a farewell thanks to all. So the day before we left, we planned to cook up a storm, with the help of Stuart. Spinach & ricotta lasagne, chocolate bread & butter pudding. A few ingredients were missing – hadn’t been bought on shopping day - & after a last minute scramble for missing ingredients by big David, we managed to serve an edible & even partly delicious meal.

Snow Falling for the First Time

The week before I left Shambala, I witnessed snow falling for the first time in my life. Real snowflakes!!! How magical! Bec & I ran outside & were both in wonder at how magnificent this simple pleasure was.
The next day we were in Forres & really big snow fell & the locals looked at me as if I were crazy as they watched me catching snowflakes in my mouth. I didn’t care – I was having a ball!!

Abba Farewell Night

An unheard of event at Shambala! An Abba dance night planned in the ballroom for Bec’s farewell on the Wednesday before she left. All the songs were carefully prepared by Bec (who insisted she do the music arrangements cause no one else would). A few people dressed up for the momentous occasion, in 1970’s gear of course. Lots of great music – Abba & some others – lots of dancing & singing. Someone even found a disco ball in the attic – who’d of thought? Great night in getting down!!!

Road Trip Around Loch Ness

Another chance to escape Shambala for the day & Bec & I took the opportunity without hesitation. We planned a trip circumnavigating (is that just a nautical word?) Loch Ness. But Ann’s little red car wasn’t so excited & when we filled up in Forres, she got a bit antsy & started making strange loud noises from the axle area. We drove around Forres a bit, & after Bec did some Reiki on the car (just one of her unique talents), we decided we’d chance it & head to Loch Ness.
We stopped at a cute inn in wee town called Dores on the top of Loch Ness. Had an incredibly rich chocolate cake & hot chocolate. We left the inn stuffed to the brim & drove south along the eastern shore. The car made a few noises here & there, but there were no major dramas.
We arrived at another inn in Drumnadrochit & had a great mid-afternoon feast. Then drove all the way back up the western shore, in the dark by now, to Inverness & then back to Shambala.
Lots of driving, but just a wonderful day out!

Blessed Car Loan

Ann (from Shambala) went away for 10 days & I was blessed that she lent me her fabulous (may be an excessive overstatement) car for the time. Having a car at Shambala is pure heaven. Imagine living in a community where you hardly ever get personal space. And not much is within walking distance. Getting the picture?
I occasionally got some free time to get out & about. But it was a bit icy on the roads & I was a wee bit nervous about taking the car too far. Went for a drive one day by myself around the Cairngorms – think I needed to blow off some steam.
Another day, Bec & I went for a drive to Inverness. Nice chill out day & a wonderful opportunity to buy some Scotland souvenirs before I finally departed. A relaxing day, even if we didn’t get to go to the movies.

21st Nov - Back to Shambala

I arrived back at Shambala & was welcomed back with open arms. By most anyway. It was great to catch up with Bec & the old crowd again. I settled in to room 4 & then had an update on what had happened & what needed to be done. I was meant to be there for 10-14 days to finish off what I’d started. That soon changed as there was still so much to do. We all went out to the pub for a meal & a Guinness (or two) that eve. An appropriate welcome back catch up.

20th Nov - Overnight Bus Trip To Scotland

I’d booked a bus from London to Inverness for 15 pounds online – remarkable! But it was an overnight trip...a long overnight trip. Luckily, I got to sit by myself for most of the journey. Didn’t get much sleep at all. I remembered why buses are so cheap.
Ann from Shambala collected me, thankfully, from Inverness & we chatted all the way back to the ranch.

Mini Road Trip - Ballater, Braemar & Cairngorms

The second mini road trip Bec & I took was a day trip south. We drove through the Cairngorm mountains first off. High & desolate with windswept grasses, the mountains were spellbinding. We came to an exquisite little river with an old bridge across & stopped to be mesmerised by the river's stirring. Beautiful!

Later, we thought we might just pop in & visit good ole Liz for a cuppa. But the Queen wasn't home in her country castle in Braemar. There were, however, lots of bobbies about, so we did a quick u-turn in the driveway & got outta there pretty fast.

We found a little castle just near Ballater, which was really cute & very closed. So we just got to take pics from the outside. There was no one else around & the surroundings were gorgeous. The sun soon set & I realised that we had nearly run out of petrol & hadn't spotted a petrol station that was open. We drove & drove till finally we came across a station that was opened only for the next 15 mins - lucky!

We then headed back to Shambala, quite a bit later than expected, another great road trip under our belts. Exhausted but thankful we had the opportunity to get out & about.

Mini Road Trip - Dornoch & Ullapool

Bec & I were itching to get away from Shambala - its energy can get to be very repressive at times. So we planned two one-day road trips. The road to Dornoch & Ullapool was our first trip. And what a trip it was. We stopped off at Dornoch & had the closest thing to real croissants. A cute little town, we had a wee wander about before deciding to jump back in the hire car & head across to the west coast.

The road to Ullapool was sensational. Almost surreal in some places. Barely a car passed us by, & the country was wild & felt forgotten. We stopped here and there many a time. Mostly, we just took in the glorious surrounds, did some singing & had more than a few laughs.

At Ullapool we stopped off & had some fish & chips before heading back to Shambala. It was a very good day indeed!

Kath's Farewell Eve at the CC

One of the women who worked, but didn't live, at Shambala is Kath. For her farewell, a bunch of us headed over the road to the Community Centre in Findhorn Park on a friday night. After a huge yummy meal - all vegetarian, of course - we had a few wines. And, next thing that happened was that Bec & I burst into song with 'Dancing Queen'. The whole centre joined us singing - it was great to hear.

Then William, this guy from the CC, started dancing with Kath. As Bec & I sand 'Hey, Big Spender', Kath was getting down & dirty with this guy - go Kath!!

A great night was had by all! Several of us even went back to Shambala & danced for a while longer.

Shambala - Fav Pastime #2 - Reading Cards

Shambala attracts a great many people interested in the spiritual path, like me. So, of course, there are a few people keen to read cards - tarot, Zen, gypsy,etc. And we did it every once in a while. Some very interesting insights came to light. And one particular reading was so profoundly accurate for me as the next few months unfolded - uncanny!!

Shambala - Fav Pastime #1 - Dancing

Yes, it is a Buddhist Centre, but that doesn't mean we couldn't get down & boogie some nights. And we did, in the staff kitchen, mostly to the tunes of ABBA & other remarkable musicians.

Findhorn Sunsets

One of the most wonderful things about living at Shambala were the sunsets that would occasionally bless us at the end of the day. And sometimes, I even had my camera on hand to take a few photos! They are really breathtaking!!

Life at Shambala

On the whole, life at Shambala was pretty easy. Yes, I often worked my arse off, but there was also lots of time to enjoy the tranquility of the surrounding environment. This meant lots of walks in Nature (on my own or with Bec or other friends), & regular visits to the local watering hole - pub. Much Guinness was consumed by me in my time at Shambala, but never to the point of intoxication. Midn you, I did notice (eventually) the kilos stacking on.
Living in a community was not my cup of tea. Every day, you woke up, went downstairs to find the same people greeting you for breakfast. There was minimal privacy. And if you didn't like someone, tough! You just had to get along with them. But most of the people were okay or really nice. And when I needed space, I'd escape to the Blue Angel Cafe across the road in 'The Park'. So, community living was (just) bearable. But I wouldn't do it again.

Offer to Stay at Shambala

Well, it happened. On the 2nd day of me being at Shambala, I overheard a conversation between Thomas (the Director) & Rebecca (the Operations Manager) about developing a vision for the centre. I offered to help them do that. We set up a meeting for the next afternoon to brainstorm the concept. It lasted two hours & was a great session.
The result of the session was that I offered to stay at Shambala & help them work on core business foundations & marketing, in return for getting free accommodation & board. Done deal! I was meant to stay for another week. I didn't end up leaving until the 26th Oct - mearly 3 months later. I worked 5 days per week & got heaps done for the business.
And I also developed a really lovely friendship with Rebecca.

1st Sep 09 - The Living Machine

I wanted to explore the Findhorn Foundation a bit, so the day after arriving in the Findhorn area, I booked in for a tour of the 'Living Machine'. It's a process the Foundation uses for cleansing their sewerage. It was actually pretty amazing, cause the result at the other end after coursing through all these bio processes was really pure water.

But because of the rigorous UK standards, they were only allowed to pump all the water back into Findhorn Bay - not allowed to use it in the village. Bummer!

Arrived at Findhorn - 31st Aug 2009

I arrived at Findhorn after a lovely drive up over the other side of Nessie. Saw the Culoden Battlefields along the way too, which were scattered with makeshift tombstones of fallen clans.
When I arrived at Findhorn, I asked at the Info Office where I could stay. The guy gave me a list of all the B&Bs in the village. So I wander about for well over an hour, knocking on doors, & trying to find somewhere to stay. But it was all filled to the brim, & no vacancies. I went back to the info office & he suggested I try Shambala, a Buddhist retreat centre across the road.
So I did. I booked in for 2 nights in to room 4 & settled in. I would never know I'd end up staying for a long time, but some people did warn me that tends to happen here.

Road Trip - Drumnadrochit to Findhorn

A gorgeous breakfast at the 4-star B&B prepped me sufficiently for the drive to Findhorn.

I decided to head back south to the end of Loch Ness (a town called Fort Augustus), then around to drive up the other side - far fewer tourists here & a couple of tiny little roads that took you through gorgoeus countryside.

At Fort Augustus, I stopped to take a few snaps of the Caledonian Canal which links four lochs together. But then it was back into Betty, & heading off on the B862 along the eastern shore of Loch Ness. I pulled up at to look over Loch Knockie & the surrounding hillsides - beautiful! Then on to a stunning waterfall stop.

After that, it was on up to check out the Culloden battelfields that was the stage for the battle between the British troops & the Jacobites back in 1746. A good, but very expensive museum was attached which I decided to save money & not go in.

Then on the the Clava Cairns, one of the best preserved Bronze Age (about 2000BC) burial sites in the UK. Quite eerie really.

Finally, I found my way to Findhorn. And there I planned to stay for two nights...