A blog in my wee tent

Just a short post as I lie in my tent in the aptly named "Slums" area of Auchengillan with the rain battering relentlessly down outside. It's been a long day but everyone is in their tents and I'm going to have a read of Proust before I go to sleep. There are frogs everywhere here and when Shona picked one up it leaped out of her hands and hit me on my face, nearly going into my mouth! Despite the horrible weather I feel very cosy and we had a laugh and a sing song this evening, the staff also had a very nice curry which we ate in the minibus. I'm hoping that the weather is a bit better tomorrow but unfortunately the forecast isn't very good. Night night, I hope that I get a good sleep! 

I get my Diploma

Nice news in the post today; I got a letter from Strathclyde University to tell me that I have passed my final assignment and so I have been awarded my Diploma in Autism! It has taken me three years of evening courses at Jordanhill and many essays. I celebrated by reading Proust in my hammock in the garden while Ally made the tea. This was possible because the weather is rather fine today, although it is a lot hotter in England than here; Jennifer told me that it is almost a heatwave in Oxfordshire. Ally came outside and crept up behind me to give me a fright and then rocked my hammock alarmingly. I am loving Proust! I didn't remember how good his writing is, and his observations of people are excellent and can even be hilarious, like when he describes the snobbishness of his neighbour Legrandin; I was laughing out loud.

A walk from A to B (Ayr to Barassie)

It was a beautiful sunny day today, and James and I decided to complete another section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, an ongoing project of ours. We left the car at Ayr Station and walked through the quite attractive centre and then the industrial harbour areas of Ayr to the coast. Then we set off northwards following the marked trail. Just to be on the safe side we had with us printed maps from Memory map, the Ayr Coastal Path Guide Book and James had his GPS!  It was easy walking; seaside promenades and sandy beaches. All the way we had lovely views across the Firth of Clyde, and we passed several golf courses, of which there are many in this area. When we reached Prestwick we stopped to have a cup of coffee from the flask that James had prepared and some digestive biscuits; this gave me a new lease of life and we walked briskly onwards to Troon, pausing from time to time to look at planes taking off from Prestwick airport including two Hawks, which James thought were there to refuel. We saw lots of seagulls and shiny sea coal on the beach. When we reached the river just south of Royal Troon golf club, we realised that we should have turned off the path earlier to use a bridge to cross it. But rather than retrace our steps I decided to lead the way in wading across. Oh dear! Despite taking off my climbing boots and socks and hanging them round my neck, and rolling up my trousers, the middle of the river was deeper than I thought and I was soon soaked - to the waist! And so we had to set off back to the bridge after all! Luckily the gentle breeze mostly dried my trousers while we walked, although my underwear remained distinctly damp for the rest of the outing.

We had a light lunch at our old favourite, the Venice Cafe in Troon, which was very nice, then we walked on a couple of kilometres to Barassie train station, where we didn't have long to wait for a train back to Ayr. In total we had walked about 15 km. I was amazed at how long it seemed by train from Barassie back to Ayr, I could hardly believe that we had walked all that distance. I was pleased by this walk, it added an element of virtuous but pleasant exercise into a very enjoyable holiday weekend. 

I then had a lovely bath, put on dry clothing, and James has promised me a curry later! 

The Ubiquitous Indelible Marker Pen

I am writing my blog in the back room, feeling cosy as the rain patters on the glass roof. Dinner is all organised for Grandma later, so I have a bit of time to myself. I can hear Ally and Davie arguing upstairs, but I will not intervene unless violence ensues. I suspect that James has gone for a little nap, as he sometimes does after a substantial lunch. This lunch took place at that well-known Glasgow eatery, The Ubiquitous Chip in Ashton Lane, and our companions were Ewan and Heather. It was my idea to go there because I spotted on its website a £19.99 deal for 3 courses, which seemed a bargain. And it was good value I think, although of course the final bill added up to more because we had drinks with the meal and coffee afterwards, and also they charged us a bit for side vegetables which I thought was a bit sneaky. Ewan wisely chose the house white wine, even though the waitress despatched the wine waiter to discuss our options with us! After all, as Ewan pointed out, if it's a good restaurant they are going to care about the wine they serve. The house wine is like the signature wine of a restaurant, so they are not likely to serve something that doesn't taste good. I remember a couple of years ago that the house white at Mitchell's in Carmunnock was so delicious, I asked the waitress where I could find it! The food was really good, smallish portions beautifully cooked; what I think you would call modern Scottish cuisine. The company was also excellent, we all had a good chat as usual. When we see Heather and Ewan we all just resume the conversation as if we had seen each other five minutes ago instead of a couple of weeks! Andrew has had a good first week at University and is enjoying the lectures, which is a great start, and Ewan will be getting his leg frame removed on Thursday so that is a big day for him. Heather and Jennifer will be going to their London ballet weekend next Saturday, which sounds fun.
Before the meal James and I did a wee bit of browsing in the shops on Byres Road, and James took the opportunity to replace his indelible marker pen which he discovered was missing yesterday. For an organised person like James, it is very hard to accept that someone has borrowed something of his and not returned it, and he was in an absolute rage yesterday. Needless to say, I had nothing to do with it, clearly one of the boys had taken it; however I felt that James was casting aspersions in my direction too, which I did not appreciate, by saying things like "People in this house borrow things and never put them back!" He obviously blames everybody including me. He says he's going to hide this marker pen so that no-one can steal it. We also had a wee walk in the Botanic gardens before lunch, which is just as well because by the time we came out of The Ubiquitous Chip it was raining and it has not stopped since, in fact it is heavier than ever. I will take a cup of tea up to James in a wee while. 

I like both the Sublime and the Ridiculous

First the sublime. I have started reading Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, starting of course with the first volume, Du Cote de Chez Swann. By coincidence the character of Swann is supposed to be partly based on Charles Ephrussi, one of the family in the last book I read, The Hare with Amber Eyes. I have read excerpts from A la Recherche du Temps Perdu before in French, but I decided to read it from start to finish in the latest 2002 Penguin translation edited by Christopher Pendergast. I assume that the most modern translation will be the most readable and I am enjoying it so far. When I downloaded my "summer reading" to my e-reader I tried to choose a variety of books and I included a couple of classics as well as lots of contemporary fiction.
Then the ridiculous; tonight James and I went to see a film that Jamie, Ally and Davie have all seen and recommended - The Inbetweeners. We have always enjoyed the television series and the film did not disappoint! It had some very funny moments and a feel good ending, I really enjoyed it. It mainly took place in Malia in Crete, and Ally has told us that due to the success of the film the prices have gone up in Malia so he and his friends are going to have to look elsewhere for their post 6th year holiday. James and I exchanged a wry look when one of the characters was seen texting his Dad "Send more money"! All good fun! 

September Weekend ahead

I'm relaxing on the couch, blogging while James watches Spooks, feeling very contented that the four day September weekend stretches ahead of me. It has been a very busy and eventful week at work but all has gone well. I am very lucky that I enjoy my job; life would be difficult if I didn't because it can be very intense. Last night Elaine and Jennifer came round for supper and we had a great evening, chatting and laughing the whole time. It's always fun with them and although we no longer work together we still have so much in common. I felt rather tired this morning after our late night so I want to go to bed early tonight. I have finished my latest book "The Hare with Amber Eyes" and I have enjoyed it more as it went on. I wasn't sure if the author Edmund de Waal was telling the story of the netsuke through his family or vice versa, and I suspect that de Waal wasn't sure either because it kept switching about. Interesting book. I will be downloading some more books to my e-reader this weekend that will take me through to the October holiday and beyond! James and I have also watched six out of the eight episodes of the first series of Engrenages (Spiral) recommended to us by Heather and Ewan. I am loving it, the French police officers in the series use dodgy methods and some of them take drugs but it doesn't matter because they are always so stylish! My favourite characters so far are the very handsome prosecutor Pierre Clement, played by Gregory Fitoussi, and the less handsome but very charismatic Gilou played byThierry Godard. Time for a cup of tea before bed time. 

Mum would have been 80 today

Today would have been my Mum's 80th birthday, but she died just over a year ago aged seventy-eight so no celebrations today. Ten years ago Jennifer and I took her out for dinner for her 70th and she was so happy. I have some lovely photos from that day. Jenn and I clubbed together to buy her a fountain and planter that she had seen in a magazine and cut out the clipping, and she was so surprised and excited. Sadly not all of the following years were very happy for her. She really missed my Dad, and even though she loved her five grandchildren very much, no-one could really fill the gap that he left. I tend to avoid thinking of the most dark and despairing times. Maybe one day I will be able to sort it out in my head, but not yet, it's too sad and makes me very upset. I try to remember that there were lots of good times too, on holidays and with her grandchildren. However when Mum went into her lovely care home just up the road and I knew that she was being well cared for and had company during the day and was even going out on bus trips, I started to dare think that we could have some good times ahead. The staff there were brilliant and even managed to get her walking again using a zimmer. It was great to know that she was safe while I was at work and not lying on the floor after a fall. And when I visited her every day after work, I could chat and socialise with her instead of trying to make her eat some food or washing and dressing her. Not that I minded doing these things, but it was so nice that we could be Mum and daughter again instead of Mum as patient and me as nagging carer! And we did have some lovely chats, including the one where I told her about someone who had been horrible to me and she said "I always thought there was something slimy about her!" A loyal Mum to the end! But unfortunately the good times only lasted a few months before her final bout with pneumonia, the doctors had warned us that it would be pneumonia that got her in the end, however she was ill so many times that I thought she would pull through again. At least the end was very peaceful for her and Jennifer and I were there holding her hands. But I wish I could have made her life happier and I miss her every day. 

Home from the hills

Home from the hills and a quick blog before I head to my comfy bed. Part of the joy of camping is returning to the comforts of home afterwards, and I have already had a bath and a nice family meal with Grandma, James, Ally and Davie. However I did enjoy my weekend away. James put up our tent and he brought loads of sleeping mats, so it was warm and dry even though the rain during the night was very heavy. On Saturday evening the teachers had a very nice Chinese meal delivered directly to the camp site, and later we all sat and chatted round the camp fire and it was very pleasant. And I even did a bit of walking as I walked in to checkpoint groups of pupils. When we woke up this morning I felt fine because although the rain woke me a few times I got plenty of sleep. I nipped down to the shops to get bacon and sausage rolls for the teachers, yummy.
It was nice to see Ally and Davie when I got home mid-afternoon. Ally was in a schools sailing race yesterday and came 3rd out of 36 in one race, and 6th out of 36 in the other race. Excellent! His sailing lessons on holidays have come in handy at last! So now everyone is in bed except me and that's where I'm going right now. 

Rucksack and compasses

I am in the Pentland Hills having a coffee as I wait to meet a group of pupils who are on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition. After a rainy day yesterday I feel very lucky that it is dry and sunny and even a wee bit warm! It's a beautiful area. I have a habit at bedtime of writing on my bathroom mirror in eyeliner any items that I need to remember urgently first thing in the morning, so that I will see it when I am getting washed. On Thursday I had written "ruck sack, compasses" so that I would bring them into school for this expedition, but last night I saw that someone had carefully rubbed out the letters so that it said "suck ass"! I thought it was very funny and found out that it was Alasdair who did it!
Book club last night was at Catherine's, there were eight of us and we were talking about our summer reading, it was a lovely evening and I got some good ideas for future reading.
So today James is doing his own Pentlands walk and will be joining me and my colleagues for our traditional Chinese carry out later. 

Grandma's Birthday

It has been a busy week so far, yesterday there was an open evening at school so by the time I set off for home I had been at work for fourteen hours! James however has even longer days when he flies up and down to London and Warwick. I worry about how tired he gets. James asked me to pick up him, Forrest and Grandma from Mitchell's restaurant, where they had been celebrating Grandma's 82nd birthday. When I arrived they were all in a happy mood after a good meal. Grandma was very cheery, I think she has enjoyed her birthday with her two boys, and she has also had lovely cards and presents. I joined them for a short while until they had finished their coffee. Home and had a good sleep and felt brand new in the morning. The weather has been beautiful over the last two days, a nice break from the rainy weather. Our television is working again so we watched another episode of Spiral which was very good. However the Internet is still down, and James was furious because the engineer had promised to come back and fix it today but had not turned up. An angry phone call from James to Virgin Media ensued, I left him to it and sloped off to phone Jamie and have a pleasant bath. Jamie is backtracking from his optimistic opinion that his intercalated degree will be much easier than a year of medical studies, and is now saying that his BMSc is the hardest out of all of them with the lowest pass rate. Worrying.

A girl whose accident I witnessed on a roundabout last week phoned me to ask if she can put my name and address as a witness on her insurance claim form, of course I said Yes. Considering where I work it's not surprising that the accident took place on a roundabout! How ironic that I have since had an accident of my own. I'm still waiting to find out when my car will be repaired, meanwhile my hired car is fine and getting me from A to B despite my initial annoyance with the hire company for their slow response. Now I am in bed with Jack on his rug beside me and I am about to continue reading The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. I am quite enjoying it so far, it's very whimsical and maybe just a wee tiny bit pretentious? It's not fair to decide so soon because I am only on page sixty. 

Windy weather and Wallander

The weather since yesterday is wild, wet and windy, because Scotland is being lashed by the tail end of Hurricane Katia. Of course it is no longer a hurricane after its journey across the Atlantic from America, but it has resulted in very high winds and rain. Jack was very suspicious of the wind and was staring out through the cat flap uneasily in the morning. Busy but good day at school; one class were doing their solo talks and the topic was "Things I want to do before I die". I was very impressed and also very moved by the excellent talks and the amazing dreams they have; it actually brought a tear to my eye, they were all so nervous and yet they did so well. Our Internet has been down for the last two days which means that the television doesn't work either; while waiting for the repair we have taken the opportunity to watch a couple of DVDs including the last episode of Wallander; James gave me the set last Christmas. It is so good and Kenneth Branagh is excellent as gloomy old Wallander, it was nice that the last episode had a (small) note of hope for the future! James has just been round to install an aerial for his Mum's new upstairs television so we are going to have a wee cup of tea, safe from the wild weather. 

A lovely lunch and an unfortunate accident

Sunday turned out to be a day of highs and lows. After the air show on Saturday James, David and I stayed overnight in the Premier Inn at Broughty Ferry. Ally took the train home in the evening because he was going sailing the next day. We were exhausted and had an early night. On Sunday morning we went for a pleasant walk along the beach before going to Jamie's flat. After his long day in the VIP tent Jamie had also had an early night because he fell asleep and didn't wake up for the night out that he had planned! So he was wide awake and showed us his new room in the flat. I was delighted; it's bright and roomy and much nicer tham the poky room he had for the last three years. He and his flatmates had drawn lots for the rooms and although Jamie was happy that it was done fairly I was always highly suspicious that the only boy happened to get the smallest room....I made sure that Jamie staked his claim on first choice of room if someone moved out, and this summer one of the girls moved in with her boyfriend, so Jamie now has this lovely room. Anyway after a chat we set off for St Andrews where we had lunch with my godmother May, her husband Raymond, and his sister Anne. It was so great to see May and Raymond again! They live in Canada so we only see them every couple of years when they visit friends and family in Scotland. In 2008 we visited them in Mississauga when we visited Toronto, and they were so kind to us. They took us for a run in their car to the Niagara Canal and to the picturesque village of Niagara on the Lake. Then they took us back to their house and made us a delicious barbecue in the garden. We all chatted and laughed the whole time, they got on really well with Ally and Davie, and I will never forget their generous hospitality. On this visit they were staying with Anne in St Andrews so James asked his colleague Alec to recommend a restaurant in the town; he suggested The Dolls House and it turned out to be really nice, very relaxed and good food. It was also very nice to get to know Anne who is very pleasant and friendly, and we all had a convivial lunch. May and Raymond are always very interested in the progress of Jamie's medical career so there was a bit of medical chat and they were telling us about their future daughter-in-law Priscilla, the wedding will be in Brazil in April, and about all their travels, they are a great example of making the most of retirement.
All too soon we had to set off back to Glasgow, in separate cars because we had brought both through to Dundee. David came with me and we had a safe and uneventful hour and a half drive back through to Glasgow until two minutes drive from the house I drove into a lamp post while turning right from Clydeford Road into the Main Street. I don't know how it happened and I got an awful shock. I have driven round that corner thousands of times and I have never come close to hitting the lamp post. I can't remember anything that I did differently from normal between the lights changing and the terrible bang as I hit it. The airbags deployed and the car filled with smoke, I was worried that it was about to explode so David and I got out of the car quickly. But it was just the airbags going up that caused the smoke. The front of the car is a terrible mess. One tyre completely destroyed and the wing all bashed in. Later the recovery van driver told me that he thinks the front axle is broken and the engine is pushed back out of place. But thank goodness that no one was hurt. James walked down to the scene and after an initial stress reaction was quite supportive and said that he was glad we weren't hurt. I sent him and Davie back home to make the dinner because Grandma was coming round. Two very friendly police officers happened to be passing and they stayed with me until the car was recovered, this was arranged by the insurance company. At one point they had to run up the road to help arrest two drunk people who were shouting and fighting outside a pub, they were taken away in a police van. When the police officers came back we all sat in the police car to keep warm and chatted, they were so nice. The recovery vehicle driver was also very pleasant. I got back home in time for a late tea and later had a comforting bath. 

Leuchars Air Show 2011

James and I have been going to Leuchars air show since long before the children were born. Then we have taken the boys with us since before they can remember and it has become a family tradition. James and the boys love aircraft and I love relaxing days out, so it suits us all very well. Over the years we have perfected our air show technique. Long gone are the days of early starts from Glasgow and waiting in long queues as we approach the air field. Now we spend the night before in a Premier Inn in Dundee, have a leisurely breakfast, and arrive at Leuchars early enough to beat the queues and set up camp in a prime spot on the flight line. Our camp consists of a little tent, a picnic rug, and four deck chairs. This means that as long as one person stays with our belongings the rest of us can roam freely along the static display and visit the many stalls, returning to our well positioned tent to watch the air display. I am happy to spend most of my day at the tent, reading my book in between watching the planes, and it is always a pleasant day for us all. Sadly RAF Leuchars is going to close in a couple of years so this may be one of the last Leuchars Air Shows. Ally and Davie came along as usual, but Jamie has spent the last couple of air shows working as a waiter in the VIP tent, so he gets to see the planes and also get paid! Last year he saw Prince Andrew, and yesterday he was texting us with pictures of the planes that he could see. It's a long couple of days for him though, starting at 6.30 a.m. and working for twelve hours. This year Jackie came with us, along with her two gorgeous little boys., Finn and Noah. The wee boys were so delighted when they saw their room at the Premier Inn, they are such a sweet age. They also were very excited by the air show; we walked along the static display and they got to sit in some planes and a fire engine, then they were very interested in the flying display, watching it through their little binoculars (which they called binocleears!). Even sheltering in our tent - which is not waterproof! - during a brief but heavy burst of rain was an adventure to them. Ally and Davie are of course old hands and went exploring on their own, buying posters and chatting knowledgeably about aircraft with James. It was nice to see the Red Arrows display still going only three weeks after their tragic accident. It was a really good day and now I'm quite exhausted by all the fresh air! 

A Literary Evening

I love books and I go to two book clubs, one near where I live and one near where I work. The girls who go to the first one used to be my toddler group chums, and one day, and when most of the children had moved on to nursery or school, someone suggested an evening book club instead. It was a tremendous and very long-lasting idea; the book club has now been meeting for about seventeen years! It's always very enjoyable and is the only chance I get to see most of the girls. The erstwhile "toddlers" are now mostly in their twenties and it's nice to hear how they are getting on. We're all very relaxed with each other and meet in each others' houses around the neighbourhood. The book club I was at last night started out as a bunch of colleagues about six years ago, however they are now my ex-colleagues and there are other people in the club so it's not too "schooly". Again it's my main opportunity to see the group and always great fun. It's a little bit more outrageous than the first one! Last night the book was "So much for that" by Lionel Shriver and it generated a very interesting discussion. Some people loved it and others thought it was awful, and that always makes for good chat. I thought it was very good although the subject was grim, it certainly held my interest and I liked the ending - although it was a bit too neat. We had a great evening and a delicious supper. 

My lovely slow cooker

I ordered a slow cooker at the weekend, inspired by the Australian Women's Weekly Slow Cooker recipe book that I bought on holiday. I got my first slow cooker as a wedding present twenty-six years ago, and we did use it quite a lot at the time, but eventually the inner pot broke and we never replaced it. I would like to make some casseroles for week days during the autumn and winter, and according to various websites, using the oven on a low heat is not as effective as using a slow cooker because the temperature is not as low or steady and also a slow cooker is cheaper to heat. Yesterday my new slow cooker arrived - it was a really good price and looks smart. James cynically suggested that I should throw it straight into the bin to save shelf space, since he thinks I won't use it! However today we ate our first meal cooked in it; creamy turkey stew with mustard. It turned out very well and James, Ally and Davie all complimented it, it was nice to have it all ready when I came in and only to have to cook the rice.
I am having a pleasant relaxing evening, James is out with his hill-walking chums in Glasgow and I am about to watch the first episode of Spiral, a French crime series recommended to me by Ewan and Heather. As I sit here in the back room I can see the rain against the windows and the trees in the garden are waving in the wind. It makes me feel very snug and warm. I think I'm going to enjoy watching the different seasons through the French windows. 

Seasons in the Sun

I was driving over to collect Alasdair from Disabled Scouts this evening (he is one of the leaders) and on the way I was listening to music on my iphone. I put it on shuffle so a variety of songs were played. By the way Ally was lucky that I gave him a lift tonight because he was very rude to me at tea-time and I felt like telling him to get the train. However I decided that this would be petty because he is doing a good thing by volunteering at Disabled Scouts and so I did give him a lift, but I made him listen to The Archers on the way over, which he hated, and to my music on the way back. Heh, heh. Anyway an old song started playing which I had forgotten I had in my collection - Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks. This brings back memories for me from the 1970s, I always liked it and it was also a favourite of my Dad's; I remember listening to it with him in the car. It made me think of all the time that I spent with my Dad and Mum when I was younger that I totally took for granted. Not in a bad way, it's only right and natural to take family life for granted, and I'm sure that our boys do too. In fact it would be downright odd if we were all excited to see each other every time we came into the room! I suppose what I mean is that when I was younger I thought that everything would go on the same forever. And now they are both gone; Mum died more than a year ago and Dad died more than fourteen years ago, which seems an awfully long time. I don't mean to sound sorry for myself; I am actually very lucky that I had both of my parents well into my adulthood. I just find it strange to think that those "seasons in the sun" are long gone, and I do miss them. On a lighter note, Ally and I are now reconciled after listening to Bohemian Rhapsody and singing along in the car, appropriately since today would have been Freddy Mercury's 65th birthday! 

Sunshine and rain

Heather and Ewan came round for dinner last night with Andrew, it was lovely to see them. I am beginning to get the hang of serving dinner to guests in the new kitchen, although it still feels strange to serve out the meal in full view of everyone. I made chicken cacciatore and it was nice but falling off the bone almost too much! Ally made Normandy tart with summer fruits for dessert and it was very nice. Andrew is about to start at Edinburgh University next week to study Law, which is a tremendous achievement. I have seen Andrew grow up from a cute baby to a very pleasant and intelligent boy and now into a fine young man. He and Alasdair have always been great friends. I am so pleased for him as he starts this exciting stage in his life.
This morning James and I went for a walk round Strathclyde Park, it was a fine day and quite warm, and we had a good chat on the way round. When we got home I read in my hammock in the garden for a while. It was Jamie's last day at home before starting his BMSc tomorrow at Dundee so he was pottering about, packing a huge amount of stuff into his wee car. Hazel and her sister popped round and they went cycling with Davie to the bike park. Meanwhile Ally was lunching with a young lady in town; we haven't met her yet, it's someone from  his class at school. I think that her name is Catriona. In my effort to do some more home cooking I made a new recipe from my Avoca Cafe cookbook for dinner; chicken with soy, ginger and plums (from the garden). I enjoyed cooking it while listening to my music in the kitchen. It turned out rather well and we all enjoyed it including Grandma who was round for Sunday night dinner. We had a pleasant evening, we were all talking about our favourite film stars and Grandma said that she liked Gregory Peck. It is now lashing with rain, what a contrast to the warm day. 

Friday night curry

I'm enjoying my current book "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry, which is set in India during the 1970s and portrays the caste system and the changes in society through its different characters. It's really interesting so far and I was reading it in bed last night until I was very sleepy. James was in London overnight but Jack woke me up in plenty of time for work and took me downstairs to feed him. After a long day at work, which involved a scary trip to hospital with one of my staff, I felt the need for a comforting curry so I stopped off at our local Indian takeaway. Having a curry (chicken pista pasanda) is something I associate with relaxing on a Friday night. As soon as I got out of the car I smelled the lovely aromas that are almost better than the taste of the food! James arrived home from London and we have settled down to watch an episode of Torchwood, feeling cosy with the rain pattering on the glass roof of the back room. This is the life! 

It's just a ride

A new month and there is an autumnal freshness in the air; the leaves are just beginning to change colour. Spring is my favourite season but I find that I am looking forward a little to this autumn. I feel a flicker of something I used to feel (and still sometimes do) which may be hope, or optimism. Hard to tell because since Mum's illness and death I don't feel much of anything any more - "I have almost forgot the taste of fears". One thing that I do feel and always will is love for the boys and James. And Jack. Davie and I enjoyed our breakfast after waving Antoine goodbye this morning, one of his school friends and her Dad must have had the same idea because they turned up at McDonalds at 7 a.m. too, and we had a pleasant breakfast with them, although I had been looking forward to it just being me and Davie. James is in London today and tomorrow, he says that the weather is lovely down there  Jamie made tea tonight; a delicious Thai green curry which we all enjoyed. Then we watched Bill Hicks "Revelations"; I think he had a touch of genius. The first time I saw him on television was just after he died in 1994; I watched one of his stand-up shows and really enjoyed it, then at the end there was a dedication to his memory - I discovered him and lost him in the space of an hour. The boys haven't seen him before, they particularly liked the "Pick up the gun" and "prankster God" routines. He ended the show with his "It's just a ride" speech and Jamie, Ally and Davie thought it was excellent, which shows that his material has not dated. The house has now filled up with Jamie's friends so after chatting to them briefly I have retreated upstairs to give them peace.