Peebles. A town long-associated in my mind with treasured relatives and all that is good. Great-aunt Anne would write to me from here; long letters about her childhood in New Zealand, and the family history as she knew it. Photocopies of book pages, with her notes added alongside, newspaper cuttings, and photos.
Peebles was also associated with Robbie, a dedicated minister who taught me a valuable lesson when he came to visit. I was a collector of books, especially from box-lots at auctions, and couldn’t bear to throw any away, no matter how unsuitable. Gentle Robbie looked at my overfull shelves and made a life-changing (for me) observation… ‘the books one keeps reflect the owner, don’t you think?’
As soon as Robbie had gone, I went through my library, and oh how many books left the house! I suspect he saved me from being a hoarder! Certainly the quality improved.
Robbie was a son of Great-aunt Anne. I have had the good fortune to spend time with her other children on this journey, and they are all brushed with the same generosity of spirit.
Peebles, the home of the Tontine Hotel with it’s world famous sticky date pudding, turned out to be as lovely as promised.
Time and Tide may wait for no man, but in this case it can, and was, cut in half! Apparently the historic building was under threat of demolition as the road needed widening. There were protests at such savagery! The answer was to cut the building in half, demolishing the one and leaving the other.
By the way, the car pictured above is perfectly legally parked; if you have a Blue badge (disabled sticker in NZ lingo) then it’s fine to park this way, close to where you need to be.
On my Great-aunt Anne’s 100th birthday, the church bells rang out with ‘Happy birthday’ for her… what a sound that must have been.
And in a quiet corner of Peebles cemetery, dear Robbie and his wife Joan rest, together in peace.
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