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Newsletter - August 2006

The big news on the estate at the moment is that we are going to continue hosting functions in the Castle for the foreseeable future. So, any of you thinking of family get-togethers, conferences, parties, weddings, Burns’ suppers or a location for filming your next blockbuster, think about Blairquhan being the place to do it.

We have had a busy first half of the year with a diverse range of nationalities using the Castle for a diverse range of events. We have had Danes, Russians, Swedes, New Zealanders, Americans even people from Aberdeen and Ayrshire visiting. Our Baltic friends very much entering in to the spirit of Blairquhan – slightly late for dinner having spent too long in a distillery and all changing into kilts before dinner.

We were delighted and not a little bemused when the Independent newspaper listed us as number 14 in their list of the 50 best places to get married in the world. We were sandwiched between the Intercontinental in Hong Kong and the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa. The Castle also looked well on the pages of the July edition of Scottish Homes and Interiors.

We are in the middle of the summer wedding season.

We have had our annual visit from Mercury Motor Cycle club, golfers, fishers and walkers staying. We must mention the 36 members of the McIlvean family from Texas with their roots in Maybole who came for lunch, the Californian scion of the McWhirters who were very excited by their visit. As I write this we are about to host another visit from the Clan Blair Society – based in California.

Helen McDowall's birthday

Our housekeeper, Helen McDowall, celebrated a significant birthday with a little party in the Flower Garden, and she planted a new rose to mark the occasion. Helen and her husband Kenny together with Jim Cuthbertson and his wife Jean were honoured to be invited to the Royal Garden Party at Holyrood House this year. Blairquhan was exceedingly well represented because our part-time Head Archivist John Jackson was there with his wife Eileen, and Sarah Clapton our number one chef was there with her husband Peter.

Business at the estate is going well. The shooting has just been let to a friendly pheasant syndicate, the deer stalking let to an award winning Lancashire sweet pea grower, we have high hopes for the fishing picking up the river is fishing well since we have had some very welcome rain, and a new woodchipping enterprise is up and running.

Murphy at Blairquhan

Finally a handsome new addition to the family has been installed in the Pony Field. Murphy is a Connemara/Highland cross and many thanks to Arthur Logan for making the necessary preparations for his arrival.

~ Pat and Marguerite Hunter Blair ~

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Previous newsletters: [ Aug 2006 ] [ Feb 2006 ] [ Oct 2005 ] [ Jul 2005 ] [ Apr 2005 ] [ Jan 2005 ] [ Oct 2004 ] [ Jul 2004 ] [ Apr 2004 ] [ Jan 2004 ] [ Oct 2003 ]