Neidpath Castle

Our visit to Neidpath Castle was one of those serendipitous moments you read about but are positive never happen, at least to you. We were on our way from Peebles to Melrose where we intended to stay the night, when we rounded the turn on some small road we were travelling and espied this (I presumed) Peel tower. We stopped. I took photos; lots of photos. Neidpath Castle was originally built by the Fraser family in or around the 14th century. At some point it passed into the hands of the Earl of Tweeddale who owned it until the end of the 17th century. Currently, it is owned & cared for by the Earl of Wemyss & March and in the process of being slowly restored. It is a typically shaped L-Tower (not a Peel tower) overlooking the river Tweed. This was an astonishing discovery that we explored & enjoyed thoroughly. Unfortunately, we were running a bit short of time, so we didn't prowl the grounds as we might otherwise have done, but we'll be back. It's family after all. Well Ashley Cole is well & truly buggered, I fear. The boy's been out of action since October when he broke his foot in a match. He's played portions of games but not started since that time. Thus, he has only played a total of 7 games since the start of the season. Last night in a Reserve game against the shite-heads up on Whitehart Lane, he fell victim to an overly reckless tackle and is out again after playing only 7 minutes of that game. His World Cup hopes (and England's) are looking slimmer by the day. No official word yet from the Arsenal, but I'm not holding out hope. The Black Death caused the Little Ice Age. Who knew? And just in case you need it, here's a list of the cleanest restrooms in America according to the Cincinnati Enquirer: All Seasons Bistro in East Lansing, Michigan Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey Hemenways in Providence, Rhode Island Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois Wendell's Restaurant in Westerville, Ohio Wastrel On! (Listening to: Eyes of a Stranger by Queensrÿche)