Days 10 - 12 The wedding at St. Andrews - 6th - 8th September 2023

The next day, guess what we had for Breaky? Give up? Pret.

We then drove to a wee seaside town on the south of the fife peninsula called Crail. We parked up and walked along a beautiful coastal path behind some grand old houses and then arrived at the Crail harbour. The purpose of this trip was that Jen could get a lobster roll - which she did, and it was pretty good. The weather has been absolutely amazing the entire time that we’ve been in Scotland and today was no exception. blue skies, low 20s and a slight breeze. Magic… let’s hope it stays that way for the wedding, we thought.

We then messaged Daz and drove out to meet him and the mysterious Sophie at the venue - Kinkell Byre. A byre is an archaic Scots term for a farm or barn and this joint, right on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea was one of the best complexes that we’d ever seen. A huge old stone barn had been converted into a multi-roomed venue and it was absolutely stunning. People were running about everywhere getting stuff ready and we quickly said hello to wee Sophie before we got out of the way and checked into Cairnsmill Caravan Park - about 5 miles down the road. This caravan park was very basic, but that’s all we needed. That afternoon was spent having Doris flashbacks as I emptied black and grey waste, refilled water, got fuel, packed suitcases, etc.… as we had to return the old girl to the Burgh at 10 am - the day after the wedding… crazy I know. Anyway, a 25 quid delivered pizza (WTF) and we crashed early.

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and… drizzly. Yep, thanks Scotland, thanks for being reliable again.

We chilled in the morning, last minute van things, had some lunch, and then made it to the venue at 1:30 p.m. for a 2 p.m. Wednesday wedding. Yeah, Baby,

What better way to spend a windy, wet Wednesday in Fife than hunkered down with 60 Campbells, 9 Pikes, and 70 friends for a banger of a wedding? I wore my Blackwatch kilt with flashers and scarf - complete with docs and my suit jacket, while Jen-Jen rocked a red tartan mini dress, with tights and black boots. Rock, chic, tartan, sex bombs, is what most people called us - I imagine…

The dazzling array of kilts, sporrans, jackets, dresses, hats, and fascinators, was a visual spectacle. The flowers and bridesmaid dresses were autumnal colours with a burnt orange predominant, and this was topped off by thousands of twinkling fairy lights set against the brown and grey of brick and stone. Magic

It was a great wedding.

I even caught up with Lizzy, C.J., and Badger (again) from the old Belushi’s crew and we had a cracker of a day. The fare was Italian Scran - pizza, antipasto, and salads, plus later in the night dessert and a Scottish treat that I’d heard about but never tasted - Stovies. This is basically a big tray of mash - beef, spuds, and root vegetables - and you eat it like dip spread over crackers. A winner to be sure.

The only downer was that you had to pay for most of your drinks - apart from the table wine. I tried a few nice whiskies including two from a wee town that we passed through called Kingsbarn. nae bad.

The band was rockin - they did a ceilidh and a rock set and after dancing with Darren’s mum, Jen-Jen, and most of the bridesmaids, this little kilt-wearing, rock-dog was tuckered out and snoring next to Jen-Jen in the van by midnight.

Oh, the ceremony - Very cool. Very funny celebrant and so much love between the couple. It’s so good to see Daz all grown up, in love, and ready to be part of a big, new family.

The next day wasn’t much fun. Rushed back to the 'Burgh after nearly having two accidents, spilling diesel all over myself, and making it back with 10 minutes to spare. They were chilled at the depo, nae bother pal, enjoy yir trip. Phew. We then walked to the bus stop, got the bus back into the Burgh, and dropped our bags at the Guards Hotel in Haymarket. Bummed around all day, and had Indian next door for dinner - pappadums, sindhi biryani, lamb tikka masala, and naan - before crashing early.

Up at 3.30 - bus to Edinburgh airport. Fly to Stansted. Wait - then Stansted to Reykjavik. More on that later… Once again, we loved the UK.

Jen drove the huge RV like a boss!! Ongoing coughs and colds put a dampener on my maximum enjoyment of things, and I found out that my body doesn’t really like Heineken beer.

We’ve discovered a few new Pret treats to make when we get home and a renewed vigour for the odd G&T. Stovies were a revelation as was Anna's salmon. The one really big, massive, life-changing thing that Jen found out was that Sainsbury’s sells her wine!!! Yep, Double Barrel Shiraz - 11 quid. Brilliant.

Thanks, Scotland - we’ll be back - that’s an absolute given!!