Ally and I get unexpected treats

Yesterday we took Grandma for a run in the car up the Clyde Valley, with the idea of going for a walk round Lanark Loch and then perhaps lunch in a garden centre; James and I have been going on variations of this time-honoured Lanarkshire outing for thirty years! The only hitch to our plans was that Friday's glorious weather had been replaced by rain, not heavy but a steady drizzle. So we went to New Lanark instead and went to the visitors' centre. This turned out well, it has been updated in recent years so there were new things for us to see including a roof top garden, and Grandma seemed to enjoy the day. It was not an unpleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon, and we also went to a garden centre and got some herbs for my herb barrels to replace the ones which died in the cold winter. Davie came with us and he was cheery company, meanwhile Alasdair was at home doing Latin. In the evening James surpassed himself, he wanted go to the cinema and when he looked up the listings he suggested a French film called Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec directed by Luc Besson. I love French cinema, both when it's very good and even when it's very bad, and I always try to get to the French Film Festival. James has watched his fair share of French films over the years (to support me) but isn't usually very impressed by them and says so! So I was amazed and delighted that he actually suggested it. There were only a select dozen in the cinema to see it, even though it was Saturday night, and as soon as it started two people got up and left hurriedly. I wonder if they had come into the wrong cinema by mistake or whether they were put off by the fact that it was in French! Anyway Adèle Blanc-Sec was a lovely film. It was a film adaptation based on a French cartoon by Jacques Tardi and it was really well done; funny, fast-paced and so French. The actress who played the title role was excellent; Louise Bourgoin. I loved it! When I asked James what he thought of it he said it was quite good but gave a quizzical look. It was really nice of him to take me to it. Today James and Davie went walking at Lochgoilhead, while Ally and I stayed at home for him to study and me to write my multi-disciplinary essay. However a pleasant surprise was in store for him when Dougie came to the door to offer Ally his ticket for the Old Firm game. Ally was so excited that he was literally dancing in the hall. I drove him over there and picked him up later, and he had a fine old time, the score was 0-0 but Celtic had missed a penalty near the end which pleased him. James and David arrived home at tea-time tired but happy, and I had made a good start on my essay. So a good day was had by all.