Booked at last

It's finally done - read your e-mails. We travel Friday-Friday. Now get your holidays booked. Kelly and Craig still to sort out their travel plans and, of course, likewise Lesinas with their transatlantic trip - they will be coming to Banchory some time round about 20th March (Jo's birthday), I think - then fly out from Aberdeen to Tenerife with us, return from there, then head back to USA again.

Of course, it could be that Kelly and Craig might also come to Scotland for all or part of that first week? One way flights to Tenerife from Aberdeen are £139.99 on 27th March.

Well, that's one lot sorted out - believe it or not, you lot are a lot easier to deal with than our golf group! We're looking at next year's spring and summer trips, which, ironically, could both also be to Tenerife. We had our 10th anniversary of our Iberian Cup (on tour) trip recently - to Florida of all places - but it will most likely be back to known pastures next year - Tenerife is the favourite, but Marrakech is favoured by quite a few. This is on a line of latitude with Tenerife and also, believe it or not, Orlando! Perhaps the terrible events overnight in Mumbai will deter a few from travelling to Muslim Morocco however. Incidentally, Michael Clark was due to fly out to India tomorrow with our sales manager on a Food For Britain exploratory trip - naturally, they've cancelled now - they also need to go to Thailand soon, but Bangkok airport isn't exactly a place to head to either just now!

The early spring golf outing, which was in Cape Town this year, will also be the 10th anniversary of our "Desert Classic" - and it looks like being Tenerife as well. We usually go late February, but there are some logistical problems for the rest of the group and they're trying to put it off until 13th March now - this would mean me going out, coming back for a week, then going out again on 27th March! I'm trying to get them to change their minds and we're hoping to have another chat about it this evening.

I'm supposed to be attending a meeting of the KGV development group tonight - they're keen on building squash courts there too, but their time scale is even longer than the Laird's Hill of Banchory project. Don't know if it's worth my while or not. Besides which, I feel tired and sore after playing 5-a-side at the school last night. I've been nursing a lower abdomen pain for a few weeks - Jo thinks it may be a hernia - and it's tender again today.

Tomorrow night, we're going to Woodend Barn to see Beth Nielsen Chapman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Nielsen_Chapman). By coincidence, Francis Clark walked in to the office on Monday and said to me "where exactly is this Woodend Barn?". I asked him why, and he said there this was this girl staying with them this weekend and they were going to see her sing. It transpires that Fiona ("Kennedy") knows her quite well and they've even written a song together - maybe Fiona will make a cameo appearance herself on stage tomorrow?

Come on - songs with Scottish place names!