Stirches House had previously been scouted last winter and could be seen to be a well fortified establishment despite having been built subsequent to the Union of the Crowns which ended the days of the Border Reivers. Stirches House was built in the early nineteenth century for the Chisholmes of that ilk.
This from Wiki:- John James Scott Chisholme (1 August 1851-21 October 1899) was a British cavalry officer who died heroically leading a charge that turned the Battle of Elandslaagte in the Second Anglo-Boer War. Chisholme was the son of John Chisholme and Margaret Walker and was born at Stirches in Scotland. His father succeeded to the estate of his maternal uncle, James Scott of Whitehaugh, and under the terms of the latter's will, assumed the surname of Scott in addition to his own.
After the death of John James Scott Chisholme, Stirches House became the home of a Hawick mill owner and his family and then it became St. Andrews Convent. It is now St. Andrews Nursing Home.
So today's escapade would call for some camouflage.
But before Jock Scot suggests I might be wearing my kilt back to front......
......it is an English designer's modern interpretation of the kilt, from Midasclothing.com with five wide box pleats at the front and five at the back.
The entrance door to Chisholme House was re-inforced with metal studs and wrought ironwork.....
............but I had memorised the access code and was soon inside.
Inside the house is sumptuously furnished and features oak panelling, stained glass windows and a grand staircase.
The maiden I had come for was waiting by the fireplace.
In the grounds in front of the stable block
Escaping out of the Grounds
Jean from my SCD class was out in her garden with her neighbour Anne and Anne's dog Bruno.
It had been two months since Ann had last visited my house and she enjoyed the outing.
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