a great birthday present

last year yuka and I were given membership to the 'friends of portencross castle' as a birthday present from my family. it was a really nice gift as the castle has been part of my life for many years and yuka's when we lived in scotland. we would often visit the rugged place for a bracing walk: the views to kintyre and the islands of the clyde are wonderful (oddly - the view made famous by ewan macgregor when he guested in ER).

the friends of the castle is a group trying to keep the building and site, public. there have been many attempts to sell the building privately by it's previous owner BNFL (British Nuclear to you and me - there is a power station hidden a mile 'round the coast). the building made it to the bbc's restoration programme a few years back and has a rich history.

anyway - I got an email from the group yesterday to say that ownership will at last be granted to them tomorrow after a discussion lasting many years. so as yuka and I gain another year, we gain ownership of a castle as well. fantastic!