Up the Whangie

It's a holiday weekend and I have been having a lovely time. On Friday I went into town and had lunch with Jackie in Wagamama, I had a curry of vegetables fried in panko breadcrumbs and it was absolutely delicious. We had a really nice chat and a coffee, then I headed up to Great Western Road and went to a few shops and got some shopping in Waitrose - I felt as if I was out to play! In the evening we all went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - On Stranger Tides. It was at the Imax in 3D and we took Kyle with us. It was a decent enough film but as the fourth in the series it has lost its novelty and was very like the others, the 3D didn't make much difference. I thought the first one was absolutely brilliant when it came out because it was new and exciting. It was all good fun, it's nice to go to the cinema. On Saturday James and I collected Ewan (Heather is away on a walking weekend) and we went for a walk in the Botanic Gardens. I was impressed by Ewan's speed and skill on his crutches. As we walked along looking at the plants James put his hand in his pocket and found that there was a bee in it which promptly stung him! The weather was very mixed, as it has been all week, and sunshine alternated with sudden showers. We were lucky on our walk and it stayed dry until we arrived at Oran Mor for our lunch. The meal was very pleasant, nice pub food, and afterwards we crossed back over the road to have a look round the Kibble Palace before heading home. Today James persuaded me to go for a walk at Auchengillan and we walked the second half of my upcoming Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Just as well we did because there are new deer fences and tree plantations below the Whangie which mean that we will have to change the route a bit. It's good practice for a walking leader to walk the route shortly before the expedition and I'm glad I did! The strangest thing about the walk was that despite sixty-three mile an hour winds (I heard it on the news later), and driving rain (some of the time) I felt full of energy and thoroughly enjoyed myself. In fact I don't know when I last enjoyed a walk so much. The rocks at the Whangie were spectacular - when we eventually found them! They were a bit further along than we expected and James kept looking at small outcrops and saying "I'm sure it's bigger than this!" We had a good laugh and a chat - unusual on a walk since I am usually too stressed and exhausted to chat much! James asked me in deceptively innocent tones if I prefer the Douwe Egberts coffee that I buy to cheaper brands. I answered that I do prefer the flavour, at which James gleefully informed me that for the past two weeks I have been drinking Morrisons own brand coffee, with which he has refilled the Douwe Egberts jar! How crafty he is!