Happy Christmas to Everyone!

This week was our Christmas dinner!  It's been a busy week but we still managed to cook our produce and enjoy a full sit-down dinner with pumpkin cake take to take away at the end!  We also welcomed Mr Macfarlane (always relied upon to turn up when food is on offer lol!)

 On Wednesday, we sang Happy Birthday to Sophia - who brought in lovely little chocolate and banana mini macaroons made by her mother - our message to go back home is "Thank you for your wonderful cooking!"

 We then decorated the shed for our Christmas dinner on Thursday...

 ...and set the table.

Notice Sophia sweeping the floor whilst Sara and Danielle put up baubles!

Meanwhile, Connorhan and Kyle finished the job they started last week...

 ...and planted up the flowers into our trough.  This should make a welcoming sight for visitors at the entrance to the garden in spring.

 On Thursday unfortunately, Sara and Carrie were off - we missed you guys!!   That meant just Danielle and Miss Swallow were there to cook the Christmas Dinner during period 5!  Here, Danielle chops some sprouts...

 ...and then crushes the cashews and walnuts.  We had our now "traditional" dinner of mash (containing parsnips and carrots too) along with a dish of onions, garlic, bacon and sprouts with nuts all fried in a giant pan.

 We all gathered in the shed and enjoyed Christmas crackers too.  Joke: What do you call an elephant that flies?  A Jumbo Jet of course!!!  Another one: What's Andy Murray's favourite dish?  Bangers and smash of course!!  (Bet he'd like our smash though!!)

Can't resist one more: What's E.T short for?...

...Because he's only got little legs!!!!!  LOL get it?

We also had a special guest this year...Mrs Cormack, our Head Teacher.  She wanted to see what our Christmas Dinner was all about and enjoyed the hospitality.  She pulled a cracker with Danielle and Sophia made sure she got a plateful of food too.  She was surprised how tasty it was! 

The time flew and before we knew it, the bell went for school to start again.  Here you can see the "after" picture of our table!  Lots to clear up, with empty pans, plates and cups!  We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  We hope you all stay safe and healthy and have a happy time over the holidays.  We will be back in the New Year, and may well have some new first year members, so "watch this space!"

Cantray bridge College and Christmas preparations

This week, Danielle enjoyed a "taster day" at Cantray bridge College on the outskirts of Inverness.

 She joined the Horticultural department and helped them with jobs in the greenhouse.  Here, sowing sweet pea seeds...

 ...and here she potted on some californian poppies.  She also had the chance to illustrate her art skills by writing plant labels for the group and decorating them with mini pictures!  The instructor Gillian was friendly and welcoming; we hope to build stronger ties in future with already a planned "plant swap" and garden visits.

Meanwhile in the garden this week, we had to cancel our activities on Wednesday as the wind was howling!!  Tree branches above our shed can present a risk in gale force winds so we erred on the side of caution.  On Thursday, we welcomed a new member - Kyle who has been checking out the blog and is keen to join us.  He and Connorhan filled this trough with soil and planted bulbs...

...it is now waiting for the flowers at the top of the picture to be planted.

 Also, we started a major "shed clean-up".  We postponed our Christmas dinner until next week as Danielle and Sara were keen to join in with the canteen Christmas dinner this week!  The shed still looks messy, but it is a "work in progress".  Watch this space...this time next week the table will be laid for dinner and our decorations will be up!