Bonfire at Bonaly

Back to Bonaly this evening with the Duke of Edinburgh group. I was the last to arrive because I wanted to be at school on my DHT day (which is every Friday.) I waited until after the rush hour was over and had a pleasant journey through on the motorway while listening to Radio 2. For the past few days a song has been going through my head called "Railway Hotel", it's about thirty years old. To my amazement it was played on the radio during my journey. I know - coincidence - but I was amazed all the same. Another tune was the overture to Die Fledermaus and it was tremendous - I would love to go and see that again. When I arrived at the camp site everyone was chatting around the bonfire and toasting marshmallows. A pleasant evening ensued and Keir and John very kindly pumped up my luxurious mattress for me! I also have a sleeping bag, two pillows and a duvet! On my return from the toilet block I switched off the light and lay down on my mattress only to find a mouse there! Not a real mouse but a rubber mouse placed there by my colleagues who were much amused by my cries of alarm! 

Return to the Science Centre

Today I went with a class to the Science Centre where they will be doing a ten week science module. I haven't been there for a couple of years and they have updated it quite a bit. We used to be regulars there when the boys were younger and we had season tickets which were very well used. So it was really nice to be back and the pupils loved it. The staff there were really friendly and helpful. One of the highlights for me was that I got the chance to use a Theramin which is a wacky musical instrument that coincidentally I recently saw used at the Edinburgh Fringe by the New Rope String Band at the Spiegel tent. It was fun to use but the sounds I made were terrible! We also had great fun using the computer to alter our faces in a variety of ways, such as a chimp, or in Manga style, or in the style of Modigliani! 

Working late

After a rainy day it turned into a fine evening so when I discovered that I had left my phone at school James and I went for a run in the car to get it and then went for a walk at the Heritage Park on the way home. When we arrived one of the janitors let us in and while we were chatting he said (pleasantly) "I usually lock your classroom last because you're always hanging about here late at night!" I thought this was very amusing. I see my main strengths at work as being hard-working and very reliable (rather than gifted and inspiring as well as hard-working like Jackie!) so I reckon that if I always do that bit extra, then I know that I am doing a good job. We enjoyed our walk in the twilight; it was nearly dark by nine o'clock. We were looking at the signs that say "Beware of ice" and reflecting that the summer is ending soon. It's amazing to think of the extremes of Scottish weather - freezing ice and snow compared to occasional sweltering sunshine! 

A quiet evening at home

I managed to tame my fringe into some semblance of normality this morning and it caused quite a lot of comment at school among both pupils and staff, mostly good. In the evening James and I watched the last episode of Series Five of Mad Men, so we are right up to date. On the down side that means that we have no more to watch although I'm sure that a new series will be made eventually. It was a good ending, with lots of possibilities for the next series. At the moment James and David are watching a science programme together; I think it's called "How Big is the Universe?", which is right up their street. David is in a good mood because he is enjoying using his new weights, to build up those muscles! Ally is playing the saxophone rather beautifully in the lounge and I am running a bath, where I will relax and read some more of "The Cone Gatherers". A pleasant evening. I am feeling tired and contented. 

Edinburgh Book Festival

The day started with a fringe disaster. After my shower I tried to dry my hair into the same shape as yesterday, and no matter what I did, the front of my hair sprang back into its pre-fringe shape; parted slightly to the side and springing upwards! I headed into Queen Street station to meet Heather and I kept my fringe curled round my finger the whole way but it made little difference! We jumped on the train to Edinburgh and had a good chat on the way. It was a lovely sunny day and I had to buy sunglasses which I had neglected to bring. We had time for a coffee outside in the sunshine at the tented Edinburgh book festival in Charlotte Square; it was nice to be back, there is something very pleasant about its setting with its grassy area surrounded by tents, including the venues where the authors give their talks and book shops and coffee shops. I first took Heather and all of our five children to the book festival more than ten years ago; I had already visited it several times with my school so I thought they would all enjoy it too - and we all did, it has a great atmosphere. By coincidence we met Catherine who was going to the same event so the three of us sat together. The event was the author Pat Barker speaking about her new book set during the First World War "Toby's Room". She was a good speaker, prompted by the intelligent questions of a BBC journalist whose name I can't remember. She gave a good long reading from the book which left me wanting to read more. She also talked about how "the glorious dead" are easier for the British public to cope with than disfigured survivors, both then and now. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Heather was going on holiday later in the day so after a browse in the book shop - I'm a Kindle girl now but I still love browsing - we had lunch and then headed back home on the train. We lunched at a place that Heather knows on George Street called "The Dome". The lunch was very nice and in a gorgeous setting beneath the high domed glass roof, the spacious room was full of potted palms and opulently decorated. I must add that the toilets were magnificent too! We chatted all the way home about Pat Barker's talk, books and life in general. It was a lovely day. 

Fringe again

I went to the hairdresser today and got my fringe cut back in. I quite liked my fringe-less bob for a while but I got fed up with it. I also thought that it unflatteringly showed up a frown line on my forehead which has been developing in recent years. I considered getting Botox - one of my pupils' parents is a beautician and she offered me a good price for what she described as "the good stuff." I was tempted although James was horrified at the idea. However, as my hairdresser pointed out, getting a fringe is cheaper than Botox! So I'm now back to my traditional fringe look which I have had on and off for most of my life. It's like a pelmet and two curtains! I hate going to the hairdresser. I feel trapped when I am there, and I particularly hate it when they take a long time to cut my hair. My hair has endured various disastrous cuts over the years, and some cruel perms in the 1980s. Despite past experience I always have strangely high expectations that a new haircut will make me look great so I am invariably disappointed in how it turns out. However I do like Fiona at the Rainbow Room, who I have been going to for the last year or so. She is very pleasant and she knows that I don't like being there so she cuts my hair nice and fast. It makes the whole experience less awful.
So I was in fairly good spirits when it was all over painlessly and I met James and Davie for a slap up lunch in TGI Friday followed by some boring but necessary shopping including new hill-walking boots for David's next Duke of Edinburgh expedition. It has turned out to be a pleasant and mildly useful day. 

The Doomsday Machine

Yesterday evening James, Ally, Davie and I watched a very old film (1963 I think) - Dr Strangelove starring Peter Sellers. I had recorded it because I haven't seen it for at least 20 years and I wanted to see what the boys thought of it. As James pointed out, it has gone beyond being dated to being vintage! It captures the 1960s atmosphere of being on the brink of nuclear war, that has faded somewhat over the years, although the possibility has never totally gone away. Ally and Davie were riveted to it and James loved all the plane footage and declared it to be authentic. The whole film was good I thought, the only bit that annoyed me was the slightly hysterical acting by Peter Sellers at the very end as Dr Strangelove as he made nazi salutes - understated would have been better. Apparently the original ending was to have been a pie fight which would have been worse! After the film we had a really interesting chat about the Cold War and doomsday scenarios. 

Aqua Zumba

This evening I went to the very popular Aqua Zumba class at our local swimming pool. It took me two weeks to get booked into the class as you have to reserve it a week in advance and the class is booked up within a few hours. The clientele was rather different from the sporty looking types with whom I did aqua aerobics in Limnos - I know that I'm in no position to be judgemental but let's just say that I was not in the 5% fattest this time. In fact I was definitely in the 5% least fat. This did not make me feel good about myself, it made me feel appalled for the others. However the important thing was the class itself and that I did enjoy. The music was good and the workout was just what I was looking for, you could work as hard as you wanted and the instructor seemed to know what she was doing. So I enjoyed it and I will be back. I did feel nostalgic for Sally, my lovely fitness instructor in Limnos, and the beautiful fitness platform and outdoor pool though!
Jamie phoned when I got home and he was full of the joys. He is loving his placement at a GP practice and seems to be working with an excellent doctor who is teaching him lots. He was diagnosing patients and working at the baby clinic. It seems like no time since I was taking him to the baby clinic at our GP's. He makes lots of notes during the day and spends his evenings researching what he has seen. He has always said that he doesn't want to be a GP but he is really enjoying it so I wonder if he might change his mind. I think that he is also enjoying getting back into medicine after his year doing the BMSc. 

St Thérèse

I am loving my current book "The Story of a Soul" which is the autobiography of St Thérèse of Lisieux. She was such a remarkable woman; an inspiration. When I was a young girl I often dreamed of being a nun, especially after I saw the film "The Song of Bernadette". I have always liked religious buildings, especially those with cloisters, and I envisioned myself walking peacefully around there leading a life of devotion and contemplation. I was hampered in this ambition by not being Catholic, and also by being distracted by what the wider world has to offer, unlike Thérèse who knew her vocation from a young age. But there is a bit of me that would have loved that life, and I would certainly still like to be a better person.
On a contrasting note, James and I watched not one but two episodes of "Mad Men" this evening, and they were both great. We only have one more episode of Series 5 to watch. 

My wee happiness project

So I have started my happiness project. My first set of targets are "Energy" and "Marriage". I got up early and had time to sit down to eat my breakfast. I ordered in a healthy lunch from the deli instead of being tempted by the offer of a sausage supper from the chippy. I acted with the energy I wanted to feel and I think that worked! On the home front I am only just in bed - an hour later than I hoped for - but I have been extremely pleasant to James. My resolve was tested when he accused me in a deceptively casual voice of breaking his car's heating system by fiddling with the air conditioning (when I was so hot yesterday). I kept my temper and said mildly, "I don't think that I broke it, but it must be very frustrating for you that it has broken again." which actually worked because he said sorry for accusing me. To be fair to him, I have form for this sort of thing because I have damaged his car quite a bit but I honestly don't think the air conditioning fault was down to me! I also made James a cup of tea later. I didn't take any exercise today but I feel I have made quite a good start to my resolutions.
As for my lovely boys, Jamie has started his placement at a GP practice today; so far he has been getting some training and learning how to write prescriptions. Cat was round yesterday and today and she and Ally went over to M and D's at Strathclyde Park then persuaded me to come and collect them after work! We drove home from there in high spirits with the roof down on the car. And David has been working well in 5th year and is still enjoying it - I'm really enjoying his company on the journeys to and from school. Well I'd better get to sleep to keep up my energy levels! 

Think cool

I have been feeling very hot over the last couple of days. I'm finding the weather this late August to be very hot and humid. I'm breaking out in a sweat constantly and of course, as I have said before, once I get too hot I find it very hard to cool down. On Friday night both James and I kicked off the duvet, which is very unusual for me because I kind of like the security that a covering makes me feel. Yesterday we went up to the west end and had lunch in a new wee restaurant in Byres Road. It used to be called Antipasti but it closed a while ago and has reopened as Charlie Rocks, a gourmet burger joint. Burgers are not my favourite food so I had the steak sandwich which was very nice indeed. David had a burger of course; I keep telling him that he should write a book called "Burgers of the World what I have eaten"! He pronounced the presentation excellent, the burger good, but the roll slightly dry. He is a real connoisseur of burgers! James had fish and chips - he just can't resist fish and chips - and pronounced it satisfactory. On our west end trip we also got David's hair cut and went for a walk in the botanic gardens, always a favourite of ours. But the whole trip I felt hot and sticky, except when I was in Charlie Rocks which was pleasantly cool, another point in its favour. Yesterday evening James and I went to the cinema to watch "Ted", a film that Ally and Cat went to see last week. We invited Ally and Davie but Ally didn't want to see it again and Davie said that it wasn't appropriate for him to watch it with his parents! When we saw it I understood what he meant! I loved the film, it was so funny and quite outrageous, and while not a classic, it made James and me both laugh a lot and we left the cinema still smiling. We have decided that Jack is the "Ted" character in our lives! Another warm night, then James wanted to go for a walk this morning so we went over to Strathclyde Park and walked around it as we have done many times before. However, like yesterday I found it very hot and humid and I was really sweltering. I was a bit grumpy to James during the walk because I felt hot and bothered, and I apologised to him at lunch time. I have decided to start my Happiness Project. I made a spread sheet with my first set of resolutions, which mainly concern energy and marriage, and James tidied it up and printed it out for me. I will give it a try. I asked James if he wanted to make it a joint Happiness Project but he looked at me with rather a lack of enthusiasm so I will go it alone just now. My spirits have picked up after an afternoon in my hammock reading and planning my project, and I will try to take the advice that James proffered to me on our morning walk; "Think cool!"  

Guest Post by Ally

I have been asking Ally to write me a guest post about his experiences at the Edinburgh Fringe. At first he told me to get lost but I went on about it until he relented. Here is his post:

After booking our tickets at the Pleasance, we started the night by grabbing a drink at a pub just off the Royal mile. We then headed back to the Pleasance for the first show of the night, Late Night Gimp Fight. This was certainly a lively show, a mix of sketch and song, which had the audience bursting with laughter. The only man not enjoying himself was soon singled out to be serenaded to "We Know Your A Paedophile" by the cast. Andrew and I then headed for the bars at Udderbelly for another drink and a burger. 15 minutes after The Late Show was due to start we crept in at the back of a half-empty theatre only to find that it hadn't started yet. First up was Hannibal a comedian from America who amused us with drunken stories and his hatred for his cousin. Next was a mime artist with tape covering his mouth, not my type of comedy but was still enjoyable to watch. After yet another drink during the interval, we returned to a hilarious Canadian making fun of his "loud neighbours" and a right wing German who was only too willing to offend his own country and ours. Coming out just after two we decided to head back to Andrew's flat, unfortunately for us it had started to rain again. The next morning, after a sausage butty at the Babylon Cafe, we went to a play called Killing Time at the Bedlam Theatre. This EUTC production followed the conversation of two boys as Armageddon approached and was very well written and the constant referral to time and the disappearance of stars in the background all added to the sense of time running out. We then went to see Harry Hills art exhibit, My Hobby, which really opened a door into the mind of a mad man. We then headed back to Waverley and got a train home.

Sounds like they had a great time., I didn't realise that they went to a show the next morning as well. 

Relaxing Friday evening

I have had a lovely relaxing Friday evening after a busy week. I worked on a bit after school finished, well quite a bit actually - until 7 p.m. because there was lots of small but urgent tasks that I wanted to finish. I felt really guilty about keeping Davie waiting so late; he finished all of his homework and then watched BBC iPlayer and actually seemed quite happy. So to reward him we got a Deluxe Boneless Bucket from KFC on the way home and ate it up while watching rubbish Friday night television and chatting. Ally shared our Boneless Bucket and told us more about his trip to Edinburgh. He really admired the fantastic view from Andrew's flat and its central location. They had gone to the Harry Hill Art exhibition and he really liked it - we saw it reviewed the other night on tv and it looked seriously weird! He said that the very late show that they went to was mixed but had very funny and outrageous moments. I asked him if he would write a guest blog about it for me but he didn't seem keen on the idea. I then took myself upstairs for a lovely bath and read my book. I'm now in bed (James is out with friends in town) and I can hear the boys chatting away in Ally's room, and bizarrely talking to Jack in cat language. It always amused me when they were tiny that if you said "What does a cow say?" they would reply "Moo" or "What does a dog say?", "Woof", but if you said "What does a cat say?" they would make a variety of authentic and complex cat noises which they had learned from our first cat Tess, and then from Jack and Jill. 

Ally goes to the Fringe

Ally's good friend Andrew, who is of course also the son of our friends Heather and Ewan, has invited Ally through to spend the night in his Edinburgh flat and they have decided to go to the Fringe. This may have been inspired by our enthusiastic reports of the fun that we had on our Fringe weekend. I got a phone call from them this evening to ask where they should go, because understandably they were amazed by the sheer amount of venues and shows. I passed Ally on to my resident Fringe expert - James - who has become a regular over the last few years! He advised them to go to the Pleasance Courtyard and look through a brochure. I further advised them to ask advice at the box office there, because I remember a few years ago they were very helpful at recommending something to fill a gap in our evening. Ally texted back to say that they had booked a couple of shows and that the first one was The Late Night Gimp Fight, which we saw on Saturday! This show had seemed to affect some of the audience very strongly when we were there (for good or bad - some people were shouting "genius" and at least one person walked out!) So I think Ally and Andrew were interested to see it for themselves! Ally has just texted me to say that they generally enjoyed it and thought some bits were good, some not so good - very much the same way I felt about it. That's the fun of the Fringe I think, trying different things. As my favourite comedian of all time, Bill Hicks, said about life, "It's just a ride!" I wish I had seen Bill Hicks perform - he died way too young. Ally and Andrew's next show starts at 12.15 - ah the stamina of the young! 

Zombies with the boys

James is back at the Edinburgh Fringe tonight with his colleagues so it was just Ally and Davie and me at home. The boys persuaded me, against my better judgement, to watch a film with them called "Zombie Apocalypse". It was so awful and predictable that it was absolutely hilarious. Two hours of my life that I won't get back but what a laugh we had! We then had a cup of tea and a really good chat. It was David's first day back at school today and it seemed to have gone well although all his teachers have changed due to his option changes. Ally was talking about all his plans for his gap year. I do enjoy their company. 

The nature of happiness

I'm reading a book just now called "The Happiness Project" and I'm finding it to be very interesting. I'm not usually into these "self help" books and when I have occasionally dipped into them I have found them boring and predictable. However this one was recommended on one of the blogs that I read, and it appeals to me because it's quite chatty and thoughtful. The author spends a year trying to improve her happiness in different areas of her life. Her justification of this possibly selfish sounding objective is that happy people make the people around them happy too. Not that I think of myself as an unhappy person, but the author has an answer to that too - if you improve your happiness levels you are sort of banking happiness for the future. Now I'm not at all sure it works like that! It's all very plausible though and I'm enjoying reading it.
This evening Ally has finally completed his CV to apply for jobs during his gap year. For an intelligent boy he has taken an unfeasible amount of time to do this, however he has now been able to use it to apply for three jobs online and he is exhausted. 

James and I both feel tired

Back to school today; today all of the staff were back but the pupils won't be in until Wednesday. Meetings and the timetable took up much of the day. I drank a great deal of coffee and was soon bouncing around over-stimulated by caffeine and with a slight headache. At the end of the day Jackie and I worked on a bit, then we both went home very tired. James was at a funeral today with Grandma; his Dad's cousin Nan, who worked as a land girl during the war in Dumfriesshire and then married a local farmer and lived there for the next sixty-five years. It seems like she had a good life. So I'm tired, James is tired after his long drive, and we are going to chill out by watching an episode of Mad Men and then getting an early night! 

Sunny day in Edinburgh

Another fantastic day! After a slap up breakfast at Chancellor's Court we set off to climb Arthur's Seat. Heather and Ewan suggested this because they have never climbed it before and this weekend was the perfect opportunity because of the beautiful weather. I was a bit nervous about holding up the group but I went up at my own slower pace with a couple of rests and was very glad that I did, because the views over Edinburgh were amazing; it's years and years since I've been up there. James, Heather and Ewan waited for me patiently and we set off back down the hill to Holyroodhouse where we had a welcome drink in the courtyard café. Then we strolled up the Royal Mile where we were soon in the middle of the street artists and crowds of the Fringe. I'm not usually a fan of crowds but this one had a great atmosphere and everyone was watching the keen young performers who were improvising, juggling, and doing bits of drama. They were also enthusiastically giving out flyers for their shows, but as Heather quite rightly pointed out, we had lots of culture yesterday - I was happy that today was a day for enjoying the sunshine! We then walked down to the Meadows and crossed them to see the outside of Andrew's new flat, which is in a marvellous location looking onto the park. And from there we headed back to Chancellor's Court via the Salisbury Arms Hotel where we had a cooling drink before driving home. It was a lovely Edinburgh weekend with great fun and great company. I was so tired from all the excitement (and the heat - it was a very warm day!) that I jumped straight into bed when I got home and slept for two hours! But the day was not over yet; in the evening I went over to Jackie and we time tabled for two and a half hours (it's looking good), then I got home in time to catch the last hour of the Olympics closing ceremony. I didn't see enough of it to form a coherent opinion but I liked the ending with the torch coming down and the fireworks. "My Generation" by The Who seemed like a fitting last song. What a day! What a weekend! 

Late Night Gym Fight

We have had a really lovely day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Heather and Ewan. The weather was warm and dry all day and we saw four events, which I think was plenty. One of James' colleagues goes to six events per day but I preferred our more leisurely approach, which started with a delicious lunch in The Holyrood 9A which is a favourite of Ewan's. Our four events were as follows:-
1. Eric's Tales of the Sea - A storyteller and thoroughly nice guy. He told his stories well but didn't have the "wow" factor for me. It didn't help that I was feeling a bit sleepy after my lunch!
2. The New Rope String Band - Three musicians hamming it up and having a laugh. It was quirky and quite old-fashioned with a lot of slapstick humour but remarkably good fun in the "Famous Spiegel Tent" which was a great venue.
3. The Return of the Lumberjacks - Three Canadian comedians, all very accomplished at their craft and a pleasure to watch. Craig Campbell was a likeable chap who was very funny with his observations about Scotland. His sewing machine needle image will stay in my mind for a long time! Glenn Wool was my favourite because I thought that he was the most unusual - quite edgy and subversive which I like. And Stewart Francis delivered hilarious one-liners - not my favourite format usually but he did it so extremely well that my face was sore from laughing!
4. The Late Night Gimp Fight - The young comedians were nowhere near as polished and experienced as the older Canadian comedians that we saw earlier. However it had some funny moments and I liked their raw enthusiasm. James' favourite sketch was the pantomime one which challenged our pantomime stereotypes and ended with the chilling "We all did it!"
We had a light tea at The Dome Garden near The Assembly Rooms - it was so good that it was warm enough to sit outside to eat.
We were very tight for time between our last two shows so we jumped into a taxi to take us from The Assembly Rooms to the Pleasance Courtyard. The pleasant taxi driver did a great job of getting us there on time and asked us what we were going to see. I told him, feeling rather embarrassed, "The Late Night Gimp Fight" but he misheard and said "Late Night Gym Fight?" to which I just said, "Yes" to the relief of James, Heather and Ewan - hence the title of this post! The taxi driver then went on to say that if we wanted to see fighting we should be in his cab later on when all the people who had been over-indulging would be fighting! After the last show we had drinks at the Pleasance Courtyard and chatted about our day and the shows we have seem before heading back to our accommodation which was at Edinburgh University's Pollock Halls of Residence. I had better go to sleep now because it's 2 a.m! 

A good Ghost Story

Back to work officially for me today; it was the 5th and 6th years options day. This meant that David also had a meeting because he has decided to change his options - he wants to take Physics instead of Business Admin which means that he will be taking three sciences. David loves Physics but three sciences is a lot. He has promised to work hard on it. It was a lovely sunny day and it was nice to get home. Jamie has now gone back to Dundee, I will miss him but it has been really great to spend so much time with him over the last few weeks. Ally and Cat went out this evening to the west end to spend the babysitting money that Jackie generously gave them. They are going to have a meal and go to see a film at the Grosvenor. So it was just James, Davie and I at home to watch Tom Daley scraping though to qualify for the next round in the Olympic diving. We couldn't face watching hours of it though so we also watched one of my very favourite films of all time, "The Ghost and Mrs Muir", starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. James has seen it before and I was keen for David to see it. It's such a classic. David correctly noticed that the ending is the same as that of the very last ever episode of the television series "Medium" which I also loved. I presume that this ending was a deliberate tribute to the film. Gene Tierney was incredibly beautiful and Rex Harrison was very good as the sea captain, with a twinkle in his eye. And of course it featured a very young Natalie Wood playing Mrs Muir's little daughter. Excellent! 

Back to Exercise

Jackie and I spent nearly the whole day timetabling while Ally and Cat babysat her lovely boys. It was a sunny day so they could go to the park, and we all had lunch in Jackie's garden. I was tired when we got home so I ordered Domino's pizza for everyone. I was soon to regret eating eight slices of it because after tea I went to Zumba Sentao. This is a class run by my fit and gorgeous neighbour Christine which involves Zumba with chairs. I thought that we would be sitting on the chairs moving our legs about a bit, but this did not turn out to be the case! It was just as strenuous as a regular Zumba class; the chairs were just used as a sort of prop to dance around, do press-ups on, and lift our legs up on. I was absolutely exhausted and overheated despite drinking a whole bottle of water, which meant that I had to nip out to the toilet during the class. When I got home I had to run a bath with cold water to help me cool down. I was pleased that I went to the class though, because I felt quite inspired by the exercise I took in Greece and I would like to continue it. 

Madeleines and a cup of tea

What a restless night I had after my curry! I kept waking up and coughing because of indigestion and I had strange dreams. In one of them I had cooked a meal for my Mum and Dad and I was trying to take it to their house, but I couldn't get there because I couldn't see properly to find my way. I have had blindness dreams since I was a small child, not darkness but blinding light. Another of my recurring dreams which I also had last night is of falling backwards from a great height, and when I dream that I hit the ground I actually wake up! Eventually I woke to find a huge furry face staring at me an inch from my own. This was not another dream, it was Jack who wanted me to give him his breakfast! Today was a gloriously sunny day and I had my morning coffee in the garden. I had various errands to do, one of which was a trip to the Apple shop because I broke my iPad screen and damaged the casing on holiday when I dropped it on tiles at the poolside. That moment of carelessness cost me £199, because it could not be repaired so they replaced it and gave me a discount. At least I won't keep cutting my fingers on the broken screen now! Jamie was in the market for a new laptop because his old Dell has died. James and I gave him what we thought was a reasonable amount for a laptop that was adequate for his purposes. Jamie chose to add to this to get himself a kick-ass MacBook Pro. I suspect - well actually I know - that he has put himself deeply into his overdraft to fund it, but he is twenty-two and it's his decision. He was very pleased with his purchase and couldn't wait to get home and play with it! This evening Cat gave me a master class in baking! She brought a recipe for madeleines (very appropriate for me as a Proust fan!) and we made them using my Kitchenaid mixer. I have just eaten two of them with a cup of tea and they were absolutely delicious! I even dipped one in my tea for the authentic Proust experience. Yummy! 

Cycling medal and curry

This morning Jamie made me a mug of coffee and we had a lovely chat. The weather was quite nice compared to the last couple of rainy days. I went up to school and Jackie and I looked at the results for our pupils (mostly good; we are pleased with them) and spent a large part of the day time-tabling - it's very complex because we have to map it onto the main timetable and there are a huge amount of factors that we have to take into account. We made some good progress. When I got home I was in time to watch Chris Hoy winning Gold in the Olympic cycling. He was so overwhelmed at the medal ceremony; it was very moving. I loved the film of his Mum watching him compete from the stand; she could hardly bear to watch and kept covering her eyes and then looking again! I decided that after this emotion we deserved a curry so Jamie went and collected it. Not for James though because he is down in Warwick overnight nor Ally who is at a party. Jamie, Davie and I watched a film called "Chronicle" which was quite good and thought-provoking. Not a classic but I enjoyed it. I'm beginning to regret it now (the curry, not the film) because my tummy is feeling a bit burny. However it has been a very pleasant day. 

Jack has a trying morning

Jack excitedly escorted me downstairs to feed him this morning, little suspecting that I had other plans for him. His furry face fell when I hauled the cat box in from the garage and loaded him into it, with some difficulty because he splayed all four legs out as I tried to put him in! On the car journey he stared at me sadly through the bars of his box. Soon we were at the vet's and I left him there to get his check up and scan. I then went into school for a useful few hours before I got the call to collect him. When I picked him up at lunch time there was good news; his lymph nodes are back to normal, his blood tests were fine and his kidneys have not deteriorated any further so he is to continue with the Fortecor. Also the vet told me that this time Jack behaved extremely well and didn't require sedation. He was so delighted to get home and have his belated breakfast! 

A Long Day and a Dark Knight

Our journey home yesterday was extended by two hours courtesy of British Airways, several of whose planes were running late including ours. This meant hanging about Gatwick airport and Grandma and the boys were very tired. Grandma was understandably tired due to her age and the boys were tired because they had been out partying until the wee small hours that morning. They had all walked into Myrina with a large group of friends and while Ally and Davie apparently returned to the hotel at about 3 a.m. Jamie stayed out until the incredibly foolish hour of 8 a.m. So when I knocked on his door when we were on our way downstairs for breakfast at 8.30 he had only just got into bed! He was absolutely shattered with alcohol reeking from every pore. I wasn't annoyed because he was the one who was suffering and I just said mildly to him (in my Dad's words), "Hell mend you!" which he took in good part. The journey home was quite straightforward until our delay. Grandma's bedtime anti-seizure medication was in her suitcase. We were't sure just how important the timing was but decided to err on the safe side so we insisted that we retrieve her case from the baggage area so that she could take it before the flight. The British Airways staff weren't very pleased but they complied with our request. Then when we got to Glasgow and James went to get the car from the long stay car park, Grandma and I jumped into a taxi so that we could get her home a bit quicker. So we eventually arrived home at about one in the morning and were greeted by Jack who meowed loudly with excitement to see us and also drooled lovingly and purred like a wee engine. Soon we leaped into our beds!
Today consisted of a long lie for me and the boys, although James (who had not been feeling well on the journey home) was up bright and breezy processing lots of clothes washing! After a relaxing day of watching Ben Ainslie win Gold in the Olympic sailing (the boys particularly loved it because they now know a bit about it), and watching Andy Murray win Gold in the tennis final, Cat arrived round and we all had a convivial tea. Then at Jamie's suggestion, we went to see The Dark Knight Rises at the Braehead IMAX. It was very impressive on the big screen with great special effects but I found it a bit over-long, although to be fair this may have been a reflection of my own tiredness. I thought that Anne Hathaway was a good cat-woman but James still feels that Michelle Pfeiffer was the best in the role! 

Last sunset on Limnos

In all the excitement of my medal triumph last night I forgot to mention the gorgeous sunset that we saw at dinner time. I think it was the best one of the fortnight - and we had no cameras to hand! Never mind, we will just have to remember it. Some nights the horizon has been quite hazy as the sun set, but last night it was really clear and the sun was large and blood red as it sank behind the shoulder of Mount Athos. Meanwhile in the foreground a group of tiny kittens were playing on the ruins of the the temple of Artemis that is within the grounds of the hotel. It was all so beautiful. I am looking forward in some ways to going home but I will miss this place and its amazing colours.
Update from Gatwick Airport at 6 p.m.
While waiting for the last leg of our journey home we have set up camp in Caffé Nero for a while. So many memories of our holiday - all of the boys' funny sailing stories, like when James fell out of the boat and was dragged along behind it as Jamie and Ally tried to pull him back in or when James fell on the tiller and broke it! The boys were constantly capsizing but they learned a lot and had great fun! Grandma also very much enjoyed her holiday, she said that she felt part of everything. Another thing that I'll remember will be the self-styled "VIP" taxi in Myrina, whose driver had set it apart from the other taxis by sticking large amounts of fake snakeskin and diamanté around the inside and charged an extra euro! It has been tremendous. 

I win a Gold Medal!

This afternoon Grandma and I watched James, Jamie and Ally taking part in the weekly regatta. The sight of all the boats with their sails up was very beautiful. They all did well despite not having enough wind, and finished the course in good time. Unfortunately Davie could not take part because his excema has flared up today - in fact it's the worst I have ever seen it. He has been taking cold baths and using anti histamine tablets and cream, sudacrem and E45 excema cream, all with no effect. Sue very kindly gave him a bottle of calamine lotion so he is trying that too. Tonight was the end of week awards ceremony and general celebration, where each team (beach, tennis, cycling etc.) gives out awards to their most "deserving" participants. My lovely fitness instructor, Sally, has been flown off to another resort today but she left her list of awards with Sarah. Bronze and Silver were announced, to very fit ladies who had taken part in lots of running and circuits and body combat classes. Then Sarah announced "And the Gold fitness award goes to someone who has improved a lot over the fortnight, who has attended all the aqua and yoga classes and tried very hard even though she had problems with balance - Susan!" I was shocked but delighted, I had to go up and stand on a podium and was even given a medal! What fun! I certainly didn't expect that! And it has made me think that this is a really good reason to continue my efforts at fitness when I get home. I wasn't the only person to get an award in the family. James, Jamie, Alasdair and Davie were awarded a prize for being the most regular attendees at Advanced Sailing, and to reward them for turning up every morning even with hangovers they each were given a shot of vodka which they downed amidst wild applause! The ceremony finished with some Zumba that we all joined in, and now the youngsters have headed into town while Grandma, James and I have headed to bed! 

Dining in The Cave

Last night we decided to have a change of scene and instead of heading into Myrina we took a taxi about ten minutes north up the coast to a restaurant called "The Cave". In fact we took three taxis because Zoe and her parents Sue and Ian came too. It was certainly a very picturesque location; right by the water's edge with views of the setting sun across the sea. Its name comes from the fact that the tables are set in and around a cave with a little waterfall and pool. Very pretty. The food was much the same as everywhere else, with an emphasis on seafood. David is so brave with eating octopus! He happily munched the tentacled creature that was served up to him, with every appearance of enjoyment. Jamie and James had huge swordfish kebabs and Grandma had grilled chicken which she said was lovely. Alasdair boldly chose the "goat in the oven" option which seemed to have been cooked in a paper bag. We had a pleasant chat and set off back to the hotel in another fleet of taxis in time for "open mic" night at the pool bar. Again the offerings were mixed - although all of them were much, much better that I could have done - and Zoe excelled again; she has a fantastic voice. Today is our last day at the hotel and this morning the boys have been practising hard for their regatta this afternoon. I popped into Myrina for a last wee walk about the shops and then floated about in the pool. It has been great. 

Swimming and thinking about my Dad

This morning was my last yoga class of the holiday; I have really loved it and I intend to sign up to a yoga class when I get home. My balance is terrible but I feel that I have improved over the two weeks at all the positions. I then made my way down to the sea and swam about watching the sailing boats and windsurfers, the bay looks so lovely with all the white sails against the dark blue sea and cloudless blue sky. I was thinking about my friend Ewan's blog post about his dislike of swimming and wondering why in contrast I love it so much. I think it can be traced back to my Dad and the way I learned to swim.

My Dad was the manager of the swimming pools in Glasgow as well as the laundries (previously the old steamies) and my sister and I learned to swim at Calder Street pool. I think I must have been taught well because I found it very pleasant. I remember being taught the breaststroke while lying on a float at the side of the pool, and then using a rubber ring to swim up and down while the instructor held it using a piece of rope attached to a stick, as if I was on the end of a fishing line. Soon I didn't need the rope and unbeknown to me the instructor let a little bit of air out of the rubber ring each time until he pointed out to me that there was no air in the ring at all - and there I was, swimming! (On reflection I must have been a very unobservant child not to have noticed him doing that!). On the way hime we used to stop for a "chittering bite" which was a bag of chips. So it was a good start, helped by the fact that every Sunday Jennifer and I went swimming by ourselves in a pool while our parents did the week's laundry next door - in those days the swimming pools were closed on a Sunday morning but of course my Dad had the keys! This was the truly excellent perk of my Dad's job. I remember when I was at my silly school some of the other girls sneering when they found out that my Dad was a swimming pool manager, which I suppose didn't sound as impressive as whatever their Dads were, probably lawyers or doctors, but I was very proud of him. It was actually a very big job, managing more than 500 staff in about thirty pools and laundries. He once told me that in his first couple of years as manager he saved Glasgow Corporation enough money to pay his salary and pension for more than his lifetime. On the other hand he had to work extremely hard to turn things around and in later life he often told me that he regretted not spending more time with Jennifer and me when we were small children. I always told him it was fine, that he had been a great Dad, but he was still sad about it. He used to refer to an incident when Jennifer and I were very young; we decided to make our own slide by putting a bit of wood against a fence and got an unfeasible amount of skelfs in our legs and bottoms. It took Mum days to remove them using bread poultices to draw them out, and a sterilised needle to remove the deepest ones. Dad said that he wished that he had built us a slide. I know how hard it is to get the balance right between work and home life but I respect how hard he worked to support us and he was a wonderful father. When I was a child I assumed that his job was hereditary and that one day I would work in my Dad's office in the City Chambers at his big polished desk! Not that he was always at his desk; he spent a lot of time out at the swimming pools and one of his favourite ways to check up on things was to slip quietly in to the establishment and go for a swim - the poolside staff had to be on their toes because they never knew when my Dad would come swimming up to them! Once he caught a group of staff pilfering and was reprimanding them when one of them made the mistake of saying, "Well, you can't sack all of us!" So he did sack all of them! He used to tell us all sorts of stories about his staff, such as the young man who was arrested for bigamy. When my Dad asked him why he did it he explained that his new girlfriend was pregnant so he wanted to do the right thing by her - which is kind of logical! Once a thief grabbed someone's purse in one of the laundries but he was caught quickly and all the women turned on him. They were a tough lot and he had to be rescued by the staff before the women actually killed him - they had already ripped all of his hair out.

On our Sunday morning trips to the swimming pool my Dad paid scant regard to health and safety rules - we were very young and completely unsupervised in the water! But the result was that we both ended up being very confident swimmers. I have never been a very fast swimmer but I am a strong one. However swimming in an indoors pool has never been my favourite venue; what I really love is swimming outdoors, whether in a pool or the sea. So I'm making the most of my swimming time this holiday, and this morning it was very pleasant to float around in the sea thinking about my lovely Dad, who also loved swimming in the sea. 

Sea Safari and Pool Olympics

Wow! What a day! After some pleasant morning activities of swimming and sailing - and a massive cycle for Jamie up the hill with the radio mast - we went on Nico's Sea Safari in the afternoon. We set off from the beach in a fleet of five power boats, past the (slightly famous, slightly crocodile shaped rock), and past a yellow volcanic cliff that shows that Limnos was joined to volcanic Mount Athos 6 million years ago before it split off and drifted south. The power boats bounced across the waves and it was great fun, especially since ours had the most powerful engine and we went faster than everybody else! We arrived in Baby Bay, so called (according to Nico) because it is a) small and b) it is a romantic meeting place for young Limnos couples! We all went snorkelling around the bay and Nico showed us sponges under the water, fed sea urchins to the fishes and annoyed a small octopus by pulling it out from under its rock to show us. No harm came to said octopus but it must have been fed up, especially if Nico makes a habit of this on his twice weekly visits. However harm did come to quite a few sea urchins which Nico chopped in half when we got back to the shore, sprinkled with lemon and oil and shared around the group. I didn't taste any because I am too squeamish to eat creatures so recently dead that they were squirming when the lemon juice went on them! However James, Jamie, Ally and Davie had no such qualms and they all ate some and declared them to be tasty. We then had drinks and meze on the beach before setting off back to our hotel. Our ride was particularly lively because our driver allowed Jamie to drive back and he kept going very fast, hitting waves and sending huge amounts of spray over us! The excitement was not over yet however! in the evening the reps put on a "Pool Olympics" to raise money for charity, which was hilarious, especially the witty and amusing commentary. The teams sailed small boats down the pool, dived for spoons, jousted on surfboards etc. and it culminated with very entertaining synchronised swimming. We all supported our favourite staff noisily and had a really good laugh. Meanwhile in the real Olympics, Bradley Wiggins and the women paired rowers have won Gold medals for Britain! The Olympics has been a nice backdrop for our holiday; the reps have put up a list at the information centre of what events are on each day, and there are big screens in the lounge and pool bar where you can watch the competitions if you wish. We have been too busy at the pool and sea to watch it much but we have been keeping an eye on and it's nice to see some Golds beginning to trickle in.