The Winter Months

After 7 weeks the snow has finally gone, leaving the castle grounds in the more normal winter livery of greens and browns.
The castle is now closed for the winter, opening again to the public on the 2nd April, Mother’s Day weekend.
But the absence of the general public doesn’t mean that any of us are idle. Glamis is very much a hive of industry in the cold dark days of winter.
Our house manager directs operations within the castle interior; organising carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other services. When you consider the age of the castle itself, you can imagine the amount of maintenance it takes to keep the fabric of the building in good condition. Over the 630 year history of the buildings, there have been many additions, rooms added or demolished, change of use for much of the later buildings like the Victorian kitchens etc. All this makes for a constant battle with the effects of time. There is always a job to be done as in all old buildings as anybody who lives in an older property will tell you and no job is ever straight forward. All maintenance done here is in keeping with the history of the castle which means you can’t always use the quickest or most obvious method.
Our cleaning staff (a devoted team of 5 ladies) undertake the spring cleaning of the castle with a flurry of washing, polishing, oiling and dusting. There is a lovely smell of polish in the Dining and Drawing Rooms that makes both rooms seem even more comfortable, even more like a home you live in rather than a museum. The cleaners keep the castle interior up to a high standard for visitors, reflected in the much coveted “Visit Scotland Five Star Grading” that the castle has maintained since 2008.
Outside, our garden staff are busy with their own winter maintenance programme, “Putting the garden to bed for the winter” is a big job here anyway but with the lengthy period of sub zero weather we have experienced recently, staff have kept a watching brief on the tender plants in the plants in the garden. Some have been moved to the greenhouses in the walled garden with the larger ones covered by straw or wrapped up in situ against the penetrating frost. Edging, sweeping, gutter clearing and lots of bonfires keep them busy until the first bulbs of spring burst through the frozen ground.
For the office staff this is the busiest time of the year. The bookings begin to pile in and tour times become crowded with requests from the many companies, UK and abroad that visit us throughout the year. There are brochures to organise for distribution, translations of a dozen languages that have to be checked and reprinted, end of year statistics to compile, the yearly stocktaking in the Pavilion shop. We still have the odd private tour during the winter months and weekly pheasant shoots to host. And of course we also organise or administrate the many events that take place on and within the castle.
So despite the apparent calm, we are all like the swan in the old saying, working very hard underneath the surface.

Twitter is for us

I suppose when it comes to work we all have our favourite things. The same applies to the various applications on Web2 - social networking. There are some things we prefer to others.

In our case we've found a love for Twitter! It really is a great platform to spread the news about what's happening but it's also nice to be part of this great community.

Calling All Milkmen

We just love this excerpt from our 'Visitor Book'...

1.Where are you from? Scotland
Where did you hear about us? I delivered the milk here as a boy

2. Where are you from? England
Where did you hear about us? My Dad (milkman)

3. Where are your from? England
Where did you hear about us? I live with the old milkboy!

4. Where are you from? England
Where did you hear about us? From the MILKMAN!!

As well as delivering milk, milkmen can deliver visitors to your door.

Merry Christmas from all at Glamis Castle

Christmas Carol Concerts

Ten years ago, when disaster struck Nicaragua and a plea of help was sent around the world, we decided at Glamis to do a charity concert to raise funds for the cause. The event was a resounding success in many ways: money was sent to the disaster fund, lives were helped and a real sense of fraternity developed as a result.

A decade on, we continue to hold the carol concerts (now three) and part of the proceeds are still donated to selected charities.

This weekend we welcomed Chansons and the Strathmore Singers for the evening performances - both local based choirs who sung their hearts out much to the joy of the audience.

Were you there?

What visitors can do for you....

Our Maureen has been a guide at Glamis for almost 25 years and it's fair to say she's met some super people during that time and helped create wonderful memories for them.

It's nice, therefore, when visitors return the favour and that's exactly what happened today. As Maureen ended the tour she offered each of our Welsh guests a glass of mulled wine to get them into the spirit of Christmas.

Jokingly she asked that they sing 'Land of my Father'. Well, in true Welsh fashion (great singers!) they kindly obliged and the spirits of everyone, including Maureen, were well and truly lifted.

Thank you to Maureen for being a 'natural' at her job and thank you to our Welsh guests for making her day.

Technology

When Glamis Castle was given to the Lyon family in 1372 I'm sure Sir John had no idea of how the castle would develop and evolve over the years. All he could do was add a little bit to it and pass it on to the next generation.

Well, six hundred and thirty six years later we are still adding bits on and leaving a legacy for generations to come. In 2008, the Queen Mother Memorial Gates were installed thus 'connecting' the castle to Glamis Village for the first time in history. A further memorial was erected in memory of HRH The Princess Margaret and a new fountain was added to enhance the visual aspect of the castle grounds.

Perhaps the fastest changes have been on technology. The website is now a key promotional tool for us and we're enjoying getting to grips with the world of blogs, social networks etc.

We are, however, fairly new at this game so if anybody out there wants to give us a hand or wants to give us some things to discuss then we want to hear from you.

Off to learn more about technology!