We arrived at Cadboll to be greeted by glorious sunshine as the sun was beginning the end of its daily arc across the sky. As the weather was so good, we decided to take a walk down to the beach before dinner. I was later to regret not taking the opportunity to get my head down for an hours kip. Anyway after a gentle stroll down to the beach and lively conversation getting to know Lindsay, Sam, Angela, Max and Frederick it was time to get changed and meet up for Dinner. Cadboll is so very civilised, they have no TVs and dinner is a communal effort around a huge oak table, a chance to converse and rejoin humanity for a while. As we sipped our Veuve Clicquot (well it is now part of LVMH) inevitably we all talked about that which we shared in common, work!!
We enjoyed a fabulous meal that night, a seafood ravioli with Langoustines and bisque reduction, I skipped the Haggis neaps and tatties, then a fabulous duck breast with berries, fondant potato and cabbage. And to finish one of the best souffles that I have ever had, a rich chocolate souffle with bits of chocolate and an Ardbeg ice-cream. The ice-cream was to die for, rich and smokey with a peaty finish with seemed to complement the chocolate perfectly. And having fed us so well, we moved into the Buffalo room for the torture to begin. Anyone who has ever been entertained at Cadboll will know the Bag game. You start off with one paper bag. The object of the game is to lift the bag with your mouth. The only rule is that the only part of your body that is allowed to touch the ground is the soles of your feet. No arms, hands, knees, elbows, foreheads, shoulder etc. Sounds simple? It is. At first anyway. Once everyone has acheived this, then they cut one inch off the top of the bag and everyone plays again. Until you are eliminated. Im quite proud to say that I got down to the last seven, and the bag was a mere two inches above the ground. (the last time I played I managed to make it to the end when all that was left was a piece of paper flat on the floor, but by god did I hurt the next day) I had anticipated that I would hurt something chronic the next day, but to my great relief there was very little pain, beyond a bit of mild stiffness the next morning. In the end it came down to Dr Bill (unfair advantage as we reckon he plays this at least once a week!), Kristelle from MHUK who used a unique side-dipping technique which was even more amazing considering she was wearing a skirt and she managed to preserve her dignity throughout!, and Max from ODG who also used an interesting technique that we thought for sure wouldnt manage it. Max took first prize when it came to the time-trial tiebreaker knocking a full second off Dr Bills time of 4.something seconds. We were all kind of gobsmacked to discover it was barely past midnight by now, so we set about a game of charades. A word of advice, if you ever find yourself at Glenmorangie House dont let the guys there do your cards for Charades unless you want to try and mime out obscure chick-flicks like Fried Green Tomatos at the Whistlestop Cafe. Mind you Graham was a bit gobsmacked when Pauline, his number 2, started her turn with Film, four words, and Lindsay shouted out Gone with the Wind, to take pole position in less than 5 second! Result!! (I was on Paulines team). We won the game, much to Grahams dispute and by now the clock had crept round to 3am. We all started drifting off to bed after a long and thoroughly enjoyable day. It was a shame to have to leave it the next morning, but I did get to enjoy a lovely hot cooked breakfast before being taken off to Inverness airport for my flight home. I was knackered when I eventually got home. I slept the whole flight home from takeoff to landing, waking with a start when the wheels hit the ground at Liverpool airport. Theres no better way to fly!
Id like to say thanks to all the team at Glenmorangie, Dr Bill, Graham, Pauline, Martin and his team at Glenmorangie House and the lovely ladies at LVMH who took us there, Kristelle and Angela. I had a wonderfull time, and I cant wait to take my wife back there for our anniversary later in the year.
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