On a clear day

Outside
The Waterloo monument on the Penielheugh is visible for miles around - particularly the Jed - Kelso road. The tower is 150 feet high and sits on top of one of the highest hills in the area. The current monument isn't the original one apparently, That was a solid tower and fell down. Probably the same builders as did parts of our hotel:-( The current tower is hollow and has a rickety spiral staircase inside. There was a charity abseil in aid of the Anthony Nolan trust from it last weekend.

I drove to the Hairstanes visitor centre and followed the marked path to the monument. It's about 6Km and well worth it for the views. The monument itself looks better from a distance. Close up it looks like a big factory chimney with a pointy roof and wooden viewing platform.

Inside
Sorry, I'm rambling again. The work on the function room wall is due to start next Monday. The first stage involves putting up screens to prevent dust getting everywhere and then propping up the bedrooms using large cross braced steel supports. They have a special name but I can't remember offhand. Once that's done and the structural engineer has okayed the propping, they can start taking the wall down. Steelwork won't be ready until after the Easter break, but hopefully a lot of the demolition can be done next week.