The big excitement of 2008 so far has been our invitation to attend a reception at Buckingham Palace on the 6th of May.   This was the first ever receotion for the British Hospitality industry and was hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip.  Along with about 380 other guests we were entertained in the throne room and several other receptin rooms on a wonderfully warm summers evening.   We stood in line with the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Terence Conran and Egon Ronay to shake hands with the Queen and Prince Philip.

The rooms were very grand, furnished with wonderful art and we were served as you would hope excellent champagne and canapes.  The sweets were particularly good!    There were several interesting exhibits around the rooms with menus and examples of dinner services from  Royal entertaining in the past.

Altogether a right royal occasion and one we will not forget in a hurry!

Another thing to look out for this year is an exhibition in Aberdeen, Hand Heart and Soul, on the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland.  It will feature work by Phoebe Anna Traquair who was of course a frequent guest of the Carmichaels at Skirling House.     There will also be a film showing highlights of three Scottish Arts and Crafts Houses, and one of the houses featured is to be Skirling House.

2007 was a very good year for Skirling House, starting in February at the Scottish Hotels of The Year Awards Dinner where we were awarded the title of Scottish Guest House of the Year 2007.    Jennifer and Frances our housekeepers came with us to the dinner and dance at the Glasgow Excelsior and a good evening was enjoyed by all.

Then in April we were told that we had been given Silver Status in the Eat Scotland awards.   This is a new venture by Visit Scotland to categorise Eating venues as well as accommodation in Scotland.  There are only some 50 to 60 establishments in Scotland who have been given Silver status so we are thrilled.

Finally in May and just to prove that good things come in three's, Bob has been the recipient of an Individual Excellence Award under the Eat Scotland Scheme for his use of local produce.   This recognition of the wonderful produce we can source from the South of Scotland is very welcome.   Burnside Farmfoods do great work with local farmers developing reliable supplies of lamb, beef, pork and chicken.     We have Humphrey Errington at Walston with his marvellous cow's milk and ewe's milk cheeses and Forsyth's of Peebles home cured bacon and sausages and black pudding   Within a 5 mile radius we are lucky enough to be able to source Broughton's wide range of beers and Inverarity's excellent whiskies and wines, and of course we continue to use our own eggs and as much home grown produce as possible.

So we are all glowing with pride at all of these awards but also realise that now the hard work comes of living up to the expectations that our guests will have of us!