The season takes off

There is nowhere as lovely as Great Britain in May and June. The fresh green leaves of the trees mixed with the buds of those still to burst into life make an enticing view from my office window. The bright red leaves of the copper beech are beautiful when the sunshine hits them. Earlier this morning I could see the Highland cattle lying in the grass under the canopy of the oak tree across the way and though how very pastoral the whole scene looked.

The dry spell we had earlier has broken and we now have the April showers that should have fallen a few weeks ago. It means the grass has surged into growth. I would imagine that the gardeners would say they could stand and watch it grow-if they had the time. They have been very busy cleaning up after the high winds of last week and have done a sterling job. We were very lucky that we kept all the trees, the walk down the drive is still a beautiful sight. Of course a dry, warm April meant that the daffodil display finished earlier than normal. A great shame as it was magnificent to behold. Walking down the drive was an absolute pleasure.

The 2011 season is now in full swing and we are looking forward to a good year. Our Wedding Exhibition is generating a huge amount of interest and in early May we took delivery of the Queen Mother’s Wedding dress, our centre piece. I must say that any photographs you may have seen do not do the dress the justice it deserves and it really is a beautiful object. The simple but chic design is very much in line with the styles of the 1920’s but it is the detail of the stitching and beading, much of it done by hand, that I find so fascinating. And just last week we took the loan of the dress that Her Majesty the Queen wore to HRH Prince Edward’s wedding. A really lovely piece I have to say and we are grateful to Her Majesty for allowing us to have the dress on display at Glamis. All the people who worked have on the exhibition deserve congratulations and thanks for all their hard work in creating a superb showcase of Strathmore history.

Also in June we look forward to the Strathmore Highland Games on the 12^th June. Always a popular event, it showcases all the traditional highland competitions and is a celebration of Scottish culture and music. It is a very Scottish event, like no other so come along and enjoy the day.

Tickets for the Grand Scottish Prom are selling fast so if you haven’t got yours don’t miss out. The ticket price is now £29.00 plus £1.50 handling charge per ticket. It promises to be a fantastic event and one that all of us here at the castle look forward to.