Nearly peaceful!

Well my wish did not quite come true! I was woken up during the night when my presence was required for a minor medical matter! However I was only woken once so that's not too bad. I also woke a few times feeling cold due to having a tiny and thin duvet; I must remember to bring my own next time. After a slap up breakfast I headed north to school along roads that were slightly icy so I took it easy. There were beautiful views of the Clyde estuary as I drove up the coast; the hills and buildings were lit up by a low winter sun, and the pale blue sky looked as if someone had layered on the thin white clouds with the sweep of a paintbrush.
A very busy day ensued and I was so tired that by the end of the day my eyes could barely focus so I took home some work, which is unusual for me because I prefer to work late rather than bring work home.
So now I'm in a warm bath and I can hardly wait to get under my huge cosy winter duvet! 

Hoping for a peaceful night

Here I am in my little room at Inverclyde where I am on a residential trip. My room is small but comfortable, although it is "bin view" this time rather than the sea view I had the first time I came here. I have great memories of coming here; the first time was 2008 and the pupils always love it. The facilities are very good and the food is hearty and plentiful. I didn't arrive until mid-afternoon because I am doing the overnight shift to fill in for a colleague who has a young baby, and I will be heading back to school after breakfast. However I have enjoyed watching some sports, and of course the disco, where we all joined in with a spirited rendition of "Gangnam Style". Jackie came down with her gorgeous boys for a visit, who absolutely loved the dancing. When they left, Noah turned round when I was waving goodbye to them, and signalled a hug by putting his arms round himself and giving me a big smile. And now I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will have an undisturbed night, which has not always been the case during trips here! 

Not taking exercise

It has been a busy week so far and I have been a bit pre-occupied with some work decisions I will have to make soon. I have also been quite tired and I'm about to head for an early bath and bed. Needless to say I have taken no exercise since my big walk at the weekend, which makes me annoyed with myself. I see colleagues going to the gym after work (we are very lucky to have a gym on the premises) but I never join them because I am always busy. I am undoubtedly busy but am I also using it as an excuse? After all I still find time for reading and doing things that I enjoy. I have to make some time for exercise. It won't be tomorrow because I am going on a residential trip. But I will try at the weekend. 

A good weekend

Saturday was a busy day for me; I went to the hairdressers (not my favourite experience but bearable thanks to my current very pleasant hairdresser). From there I collected Jackie and the boys and we went bag packing at Sainsburys to raise money for our school radio station. I really hate bag packing and only went along to support Chris, the person who was organising it. I feel as if I am forcing the customer to accept a service that they probably don't want, and I stress out that I will be rubbish at packing the bags. However I found myself on child care duty for Finn and Noah instead which I found much more pleasant, and I still felt that I was doing my bit! Then in the evening we went over to Heather and Ewan's for dinner; what a treat after a busy day. Dinner was absolutely delicious (the lovely spicy Italian stew was just right and like Goldilocks I ate it all up!) and we had a great, relaxing evening; it was the highlight of our weekend.
Today James and I walked from Drymen to Milngavie with a school group, not a D of E expedition, a general fitness walk. It was a long walk for me, given my current lack of fitness; 19 km. I woke up absolutely dreading it, and it was grey and rainy in the morning. However the terrain was easy, the weather improved during the day, the company was pleasant and I ended up enjoying myself. On the other hand my dodgy knee is very, very sore right now. One of the best things about today though, is that I have now walked the first section of the West Highland Way. I am pleased about this because I want to complete the sections I haven't done over the next year or so, the way that we ticked off the Ayrshire Coastal path, bit by bit. I have already walked various sections of the West Highland Way, some of them many times, so I will make a note of what I have done so far, and start adding new sections as I do them. After our walk we collected Ally from Auchengillan where he had been helping at a Disabled Scouts residential weekend. I was very tired on the way home and revived myself with a bath before Grandma came round for tea. And that is the story of my weekend! 

Strange boiler experience

James had a strange experience yesterday when the new boiler was installed and the old one was lying in the garden waiting to be collected along with bits of packaging and rubbish from the installation. A man rang the doorbell and asked if he could take the boiler. He had a van parked down at the street. James said "Are you from Scottish Hydro?" and the man replied "No I am Romanian!" James said politely that he had better leave it because there was a pick up already arranged by Scottish Hydro.
Anyway half an hour later there was another ring at the doorbell. A different man with a different coloured van. "I have come to pick up the boiler he said, in a thick Romanian accent, "I am from Scottish Hydro!" James of course realised that this must be a friend of the first man with van, however he let him take the boiler because he felt they deserved it for trying! He did however make sure that they took the packaging and rubbish too! Sure enough the real pick up van arrived later and James pleaded ignorance - they didn't seem too bothered.
So the new boiler is up and running. The house is warm - but it's not exactly pulsating with heat the way I had hoped! After all we still have the same old pipes and radiators. But it may be an improvement; the winter months ahead will be a good test! 

Balloon

This evening as David and I left school we saw a solitary balloon ascending past us into the darkening sky. This led David to tell me some interesting facts about helium - I didn't realise that helium is a non-renewable resource and the world's reserves of the gas will run out in the near future. David knows so many things about science. As we drove home I switched on the radio and guess what song started? "Ninety-nine red balloons" by the 1980s German rock band Nena. David and I were both amazed as we had both been thinking of the song! Serendipity!

Cold house

Well actually it doesn't feel that cold right now; there is no heating in our house because our new boiler is not yet completely installed, however James has lit the fire in the lounge and we are all sitting in there warm and cosy. Ally is doing some Law work, James is reading the final volume of Game of Thrones, Davie is doing his Physics homework, and I am reading a book called "Cross Stitch" (the jury is still out on this one!)
But cosiest of all is Jack the Cat, who is lying in his basket right in front of the fire, curled into a comma shape with all four of his paws crossed gently over each other. From time to time he gives a big stretch and changes position, reaching a paw over the edge of the basket or turning over to get an even heat. He really knows how to make himself comfy!
He has had an exciting day. The electricians turned up at 8 a.m. and James says that when he saw them peering under the floor in the hall he was so nosy that his face was pressed against the glass of the door from the extension! He then appeared upstairs and told me that we had intruders by catching my eye then staring wide eyed towards the door. James took the day off to discuss and agree to what they were doing, (just as well he did because there were various difficulties) and later he heard the electricians shouting "Hey, there's a cat under the floor!", no prizes for guessing who! What with supervising the electricians and entertaining James all day, no wonder Jack is exhausted!
Let's hope that the house is not too cold in the morning and that the new boiler is churning out heat by the time I get home from work tomorrow. 

May I ask why?

I went to see "The Ladykillers" with Heather this evening. I had heard of it as an old Ealing black comedy film, and I was aware of the 2004 remake starring Tom Hanks, but I have never seen it before. First of all we had dinner in the Piper's Tryst restaurant, so handy for the Theatre Royal and nice food. The service was a bit on the slow side, but it didn't spoil our enjoyment of the meal and we had a good chat. The play starred Michelle Dotrice (who will always be "Betty" from "Some Mothers do 'ave em" to me!) as an old lady, Mrs Wilberforce. Her dilapidated house is rented by a gang of criminals posing as musicians to cover up that they are planning a robbery. They even use her to help them unwittingly but she finally realises that they are villains and as she threatens to go to the police they decide that they will have to kill her. That is where their troubles really begin! It was all good fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our view was a little bit restricted at the beginning and as there were a few spare seats we slipped along to much better seats along the row. In the process I found myself sitting beside someone who I knew from years ago and we said hello; she was also there with a friend. At the interval they said that they were not enjoying it at all and had spent the first half asleep or eating sweets! When I confessed that I was liking it my friend's friend said "I don't mean to offend you in any way, but may I ask why?" Far from being offended I found her frank question rather charming! (I think I replied something about enjoying old-fashioned plays). At the end of the play I asked her if the second half had been better for her. "No!" came the cheerful reply! Fair enough, the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things. However I found the play to be very enjoyable and an excellent treat in the middle of a busy week. 

Road trip to Dundee

Davie and I went through to Dundee for lunch today. We had a very pleasant lunch in a restaurant recommended by Jamie then we walked along the shopping street and bought crêpes from a stall; they were delicious. Then Jamie helped to choose a really nice Superdry winter jacket for Davie. Superdry is apparently a good quality brand or so Jamie tells me - I know nothing of these things. Davie hadn't been at all interested in getting a new jacket until Jamie convinced him that it was a good idea - big brothers can be useful! We all had a coffee in a friendly coffee shop called "Empire State Coffee" which had good coffee and comfy couches upstairs where we chatted until it was time for Davie and I to set off home. We picked up a Chinese meal on the way and arrived home just at the right time to have dinner with Grandma and our intrepid hill-walkers who had all enjoyed their weekend. 

Wigwam

Cat has been texting me from the wigwam of romance, and it sounds like she and Ally are having a great time. Today she climbed her first Munro and she said it was snowy and icy at the top. It's strange to think that she is going out with a young Anderson male the way I did all those years ago. The Anderson men have many qualities, both good (loyal, romantic, fun, hard-working) and less good (single-minded, high expectations, very active). I know that active sounds like an excellent quality but it has another side to it, which is losing the ability to relax. Cat has this all this ahead of her. Good luck to her!
I have been relaxing and reading; I strongly felt that I needed to catch up on some sleep this weekend so apart from a little housework and a brief spell at work this afternoon, I have been having a quiet time. I have started another book which is by a blogger I read regularly, about her life in France. It's quite intriguing because she seems very upbeat but reading between the lines there is a trace of wistfulness. I'm off to to some reading now; I feel as if I am re-charging my batteries! 

James' Banana Loaf

Today I fed some brandy to my Christmas cake then wrapped it up snugly in grease-proof paper and tin foil. My cake may have enjoyed the alcohol but I didn't keep it company - it's two years today since I stopped drinking alcohol!
When I set off to work I had the good idea of taking James' banana loaf in with me; I often bring in cakes on a Friday but I usually buy them, so I thought that this would be a nice change. Not everyone likes banana loaf so I thought I would have plenty to take home again but this did not turn out to be the case! I was out at a meeting before break and when I came back in the cake was already being much appreciated by my colleagues and soon it was all gone! They were very complimentary about it and particularly praised James' use of walnuts. It's true that James is very good at baking - his Madeira cake is also excellent. I texted James to confess to what I had done but he took it quite well!
James, Ally and Cat have now set off for their hill-walking weekend, leaving Davie, me and Jack at home. Cat thinks that she is going to a bothy in Kinlochleven with James' club but Ally has in fact booked a wigwam at Tyndrum for them to have a romantic weekend by themselves. James is kindly dropping them off on his way north. Ally and I bought all the food for them yesterday and he is taking firewood because each wigwam has a fire pit outside. I have been to these wigwams on a Duke of Edinburgh weekend and while they are fairly basic, they are a big step up from a tent because they are made of wood, and have a fridge and a light bulb as well as beds. Ally has a really thoughtful side and has the whole weekend planned.
So I am about to step into a rose scented bath to read my Ann Patchett book "State of Wonder" which I love - she is such a good writer. I have been very tired this week so I'm planning a restful weekend, my only excursion will be to visit Jamie and his new girlfriend in Dundee on Sunday. 

I make a Christmas cake

I'm very excited because I have just made a Christmas cake for the first time in a long time. I have been trying to think when I last made one, and I think it might have been the Christmas after we got married which was twenty-seven years ago!
Our home economics department is running a series of after school sessions for teachers to bake and decorate Christmas cakes so of course I rushed to sign up. However I had to miss the first session on Monday because I had a meeting after school, so one of my colleagues very kindly weighed out the ingredients for me and soaked the fruit. Today we had to mix the dry ingredients with butter and eggs and treacle, then add the fruit and mix it all together. We all had a good laugh while we were doing it!
We took the cakes home to bake them and I have just taken mine out of the oven after 1 hour 45 minutes. It looks good and the skewer comes out clean when I stab it. After several weeks of feeding it with booze I will take it back into school to decorate it in December.
Meanwhile James has also been baking. Sometimes when we have a backlog of bananas James makes a banana loaf which is absolutely gorgeous. So the house is full of very nice baking smells just now! 

Commedia dell'arte

I went to see a play at the Theatre Royal with Jackie this evening called "One Man, Two Guv'nors". I knew absolutely nothing about it before I went but I really enjoyed it. It's a slapstick comedy, and I quite like a certain amount of slapstick as long as it's quite witty. I didn't buy a programme so it wasn't until we were chatting to some old friends that we happened to meet at the interval, that they mentioned that it is based on a Commedia dell'arte play from the 18th century. Everything fell into place, and in fact at the beginning of the second half the buffoon main character referred to the genre and described himself as the Harlequin. And sure enough he had all the right characteristics; stupid and gluttonous but also very agile and a bit wily. The ridiculous plot translated well into 1960s seaside England and the skiffle music worked well during the scene changes. There were also some clever little twists and turns which I won't mention for fear of spoiling it for others. The slapstick was way over the top and it was all great fun. 

French Umbrellas

Jamie has sent me a link to a French music site that he came across, because he thought that I would like it. He was right. After spending a year in France as a teenager I will always be a francophile and I enjoy French films, music, food, language - everything, really. In return I sent Jamie a link to my favourite French tune ever, which is the haunting love song from Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. Guy has been told that he has to go to Algeria to do his military service, and says goodbye to his lover Geneviève. It is a heart-breaking scene; Catherine Deneuve is very young and lovely, and Nino Castelnuovo is probably the most beautiful man that I have ever seen. Both singing voices were dubbed but that doesn't detract from this wonderful music. I'm going to watch it again right now. 

Visiting Hugh, by Alasdair Anderson (2010)

It was a cold grey day in the Fins New British cemetery in the Somme Valley as I stood at Hugh Anderson’s grave. His headstone was a simple rectangle with a rounded top, made of pale Portland Stone. Its fine, even grain was engraved with Hugh’s name and rank, a cross, and a regimental emblem. The small flower bed around the headstone was planted with roses and perennials. I put a small bunch of flowers on the neatly cut grass in front of it and wondered how he had felt when the peaceful fields had been a horrendous, muddy battlefield.
I never met Hugh. He was my great-great-uncle and he died during the First World War, ninety-two years ago, on the 24th of October 1918, just a few weeks before the Armistice. He was only twenty three years old, seven years older than I am now. I visited his grave during a short trip to the battlefields of northern France and Belgium with my family last year.
As I stood at Hugh’s grave and looked around at the straight rows of other graves, the headstones neatly lined up like the soldiers they represent, I felt a mixture of pride and sadness. I felt pride because Hugh fought for our country. I felt deep sorrow because his life was cut short. And not just his life; the day before we had visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is near the site of the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium. There are 11,908 graves in Tyne Cot, of which three quarters are unknown. On the wall at the back of the cemetery are the names of another 34,927 soldiers who have no known grave. The sheer number of graves makes it difficult to take in; it’s really hard to think of them as people and not just rows and rows of white headstones. There is even a sort of deceptively peaceful beauty to the war cemeteries that almost makes you forget the tragedy and huge loss of young life that took place.
The Fins New British cemetery where Hugh is buried looked small compared to others I had visited. However when I read the plaque on the gate I was shocked that even such a relatively small cemetery had two thousand soldiers in it. As well as the huge cemeteries there are many smaller cemeteries scattered around the countryside in northern France and Belgium.
As the sun broke through the clouds I realised that every one of these many names belonged to a real person, a son, brother, perhaps husband or father. I had seen so many war graves during that week, but this small slab of stone belonged to someone who was once a part of my family. Suddenly my little bunch of flowers, already dying, seemed inadequate for all the suffering. I was moved and I decided that I wanted to find out more about Hugh, even though everyone who knew him is now dead.
I went to the Mitchell Library to look up war obituaries on the microfiche records of the newspapers. And sure enough, there he was, the only photo that still exists. He had a cheerful face and blond, wavy hair. But that only showed me what he looked like; I still wanted to know what he was like as a person.
I asked my grandmother if she had any more information about him. There were no more photos, but she found his service medals. She had heard that his mother “was never the same” after he died and died herself a few years later. How could this young man who was so loved have disappeared almost without a trace? My grandmother found one more thing; a short letter that he wrote home from the front lines a few weeks before he died.
It wasn’t easy to read the letter; the ink had faded and his writing was scratchy and old-fashioned. There were no great insights about war or danger; he thanked his mother for the socks she had sent him, asked how the family was, complained that he was short of cigarettes. He was just an ordinary young man, and although he must have had hopes and plans like all of us, we can never know what they were. So that’s all there is. Some medals, one short, everyday letter and a handed-down memory that his mother loved him very much.
And that’s what I found tragic; he was just an ordinary person like me, in an extraordinary situation, a war that cut his life short. Most of his life was in front of him; he would probably have worked in the family haulage business for the next forty years like his brothers and then enjoyed some years of retirement. It makes me feel sorry that he missed all the good things in life, like Christmas, birthdays and holidays at the seaside. Perhaps he had a girlfriend who missed him for the rest of her life. Or his life might not have been all that happy, he might have had health problems or hated his job; but he never got the chance to find out and that’s what I felt was so distressing.
Over the next months, as I reflected on his short life, I started to think that although he didn’t get the chance to live out his life and have children of his own, his bloodline goes on through me and my brothers, his brother’s descendants. He was one of nearly ten million soldiers on both sides who died during the First World War, but he was also part of our family and he was a unique human being.
As I thought about his life ending suddenly I started to think that we should all make the most of the precious gift of life while we have it. I decided that whatever I spend my life doing, I would like to live life to the full. I would like to do this in honour of Hugh Anderson and all the other soldiers who fell in combat in the First and Second World Wars. None of us knows how long we have got to live so we should try to live the best lives we can, helping others and trying to make the world a little better, and above all appreciating how lucky we are to be alive.
I would like to visit Hugh’s grave again soon and also return with the next generation of Andersons some day to pay our respects. Next time instead of cut flowers I will bring a heather plant for this Scottish soldier buried so far from home, as a symbol of life going on.
(Written by Alasdair Anderson, 2010) 

Remembrance Sunday

Ally and Cat went to the Remembrance Day service at the church and enjoyed the outdoor part at the war memorial. Ally asked recently when we will be going back to visit the grave of his great-great-uncle Hugh in France who died in the last weeks of the First World War (we visited in 2009 and vowed to return with a heather to plant on his grave)
James and I headed to a family lunch in Biggar to celebrate Abigail's 40th birthday. Abigail is a lovely girl who is the youngest of my many cousins (there are fifteen of us I think). Our oldest cousin has just turned sixty so that places me right in the middle of the age range. We had a very pleasant afternoon catching up on family news in Bill and Katy's gorgeous house. I did my own bit of remembering, about family members who are no longer with us, most recently May. When we got home I had a nap while James kindly made tea for all of us including Grandma. A relaxing Sunday evening ensued. 

O Fortuna

James and I went to the Royal Concert Hall to listen to one of our favourite pieces of music tonight - Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. We have seen it twice before and we both love the music and the words. It is based on twenty-four of the poems from a medieval collection also known as Carmina Burana (Latin for "Songs from Beuern"). Discovered in a monastery in Bavaria at the beginning of the 19th century, the texts were about life and love and fortune and fate, and were written in a mixture of Latin and German. Orff put them to music in the 1930s and they have been popular ever since, with orchestra, choirs and soloists making the music very vibrant and striking. My personal favourite is the rollicking drinking song in the tavern which lists all the revellers, but it's all good. One song is even sung in a high falsetto by an understandably miserable roasting swan - what's not to love! 

Lunch at the Rogano

What a lovely day I have had! The lunch I was going to have with my school friends has been postponed until January so I had lunch with Alasdair instead, and it was great fun. We were in town doing some research on the Christmas present that he is planning for Cat. I must say he has put a great deal of thought into it, she's a lucky girl. We also got Ally a pair of climbing trousers that he needed. It was a dreich day so I decided that for a treat we would go for lunch to the Rogano. Alasdair loves the finer things in life so he enjoyed it very much! I had a scallop risotto which was yummy and Alasdair had the lobster Thermidor which he said was delicious. We had a great chat about all sorts of things and I was proud to be out with my tall handsome son. Just as we finished our desserts the fire alarm went off! We were all evacuated (a bit too slowly for safety I think) and there was much jollity on the pavement as the fire brigade arrived. It turned out just to be a fault in the alarm system of the offices upstairs. When we went back in to pay, the manager was very pleased to see us and said that not everyone who had finished their meal would have bothered to go back. But as Alasdair pointed out "We're not like that." 
Ally and I then parted ways; I set off for Marks and Spencer at Sauchiehall Street and Ally was going to look at shoes. I gave him money but did not accompany him; we had such a nice time together today and I didn't want to spoil it by the inevitable falling out that we would have had in a shoe shop. So here I am, as happy as larry, having a coffee in the GFT cafe. How relaxing. 

Books and music

Book club this evening was at my house and we were discussing "The Man who forgot his wife" by John O'Farrell. For a fairly light-hearted book it stimulated a good amount of discussion because the themes were very interesting. It had a lot of parallels with a book that I read earlier this year called "Before I go to Sleep" which also dealt with memory loss. One of the best discussions we ever had at book club was about a book I chose called "Under the Skin" by Michel Faber, and I was gratified to hear people still talking about what an impression it made on them, at a recent book club meeting. But most often I prefer to let others choose the book because I already have confidence in this area (one of the few areas I do feel confident in!), probably just because of the sheer amount of reading that I do and have done. I think it's a shame if someone is nervous about their choice or crestfallen if people don't unanimously like it, and I always point out that the fun of book club is trying out different books, and that includes light hearted ones as well as serious tomes. We had a pleasant evening.
When everyone had left I heard a very unusual, in fact almost unprecedented sound coming from upstairs. It was David practising his cello, and it actually sounded quite good! I think he is practising because he is wanting to join one of the school ensembles, and I am delighted! 

An Italian Meal

This evening I met up with Sharon for a meal at Zucca in the village, an Italian restaurant. It was a lovely evening; we haven't met up for ages so we had a lot of catching up to do. I was struck by how similar our views and attitudes are in a lot of areas especially to do with family and work life. I have never been to Zucca before although I have heard good things about it, and it certainly lived up to its good reputation. I had pasta and I chose pollo pesto sauce which was absolutely delicious. It was a great way to relax with a very good friend after a busy day at work and we both vowed to meet up more often!
When I got home David was embroiled in his Persuasive Essay which is about wind farms. James and I sat down with him to help him organise it a bit; David has well thought out and strong opinions but setting them out in writing can be a problem. James is very knowledgable in the energy field and was throwing out lots of facts interspersed with his own often controversial views and David and I were trying to keep up. Finally David was satisfied with his first draft and was a tired but relieved boy. 

American President

America has voted Barack Obama in for another four years. I find myself rather embarrassingly unable to comment further on this, because apart from seeming like a really nice guy, I know very little about Obama or how good a president he is. He has only been voted in by just over half of the voters so that means that nearly half of voting Americans didn't want him.
The reason for my ignorance about politics can be traced back to the 1970s. Many of my contemporaries were starting to take an active interest in how our country was run by their early teens, but I found it all very boring and almost wilfully ignored political newspaper articles and programmes. I am not proud of this. I read in one of Stephen Fry's autobiographies that he does not sympathise with people who say that they have missed out on education, because knowledge is everywhere, like streets paved with gold, and can be easily accessed. I agree with him and am always intending to remedy my earlier lack of interest by reading up properly on politics, both domestic and world. The trouble is, life is busy and I never quite get round to it. So I honestly don't know where my own politics lie. That's not to say that I don't have any opinions; I just haven't worked out where these opinions place me in the spectrum of political opinion. It doesn't help that my opinions can bend in the wind a lot, depending on what knowledgable person I am talking too. I remind myself of a character I remember in the comedy programme "The Fast Show" who became increasingly uncomfortable during arguments in pubs because he found himself agreeing with the points both sides were making and then both sides would be angry with him! I have always said that I am cursed by seeing both sides of an argument. An example of this was a few years when I was very admiring of someone who really made a stand about something. But when I told James about it he pointed out that the way they had gone about it prevented someone else's free speech. And of course I agree with free speech too so I was thrown into confusion!

A much better day

Well I pulled myself together and had an excellent day today! James is still in London and he texted me first thing to remind me to put the bins out. I was very relaxed about this until two minutes later when I heard the familiar sound of the bin lorry arriving! My hero David hurried outside to put the bin on the pavement just in time. And after this good start the day just kept getting better; I was back to my usual self again! When I got home from work Ally, Davie and I ordered in a curry (which is now sitting rather uneasily in my tummy and making ominous noises) and then we watched a film "28 Weeks Later" which started well but turned into a rather boring bloodbath. Meanwhile the results are coming in for today's American election - it is apparently a close run between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. The winner will be known in the next few hours, but I won't be waiting up to find out because bath and bed awaits me. 

Not such a good day

I have just had a really "off" day. I know how it started - something very trivial - but I'm surprised at how much it overshadowed the rest of my day. My eyes actually felt hot and heavy all day as if I was about to burst into tears, even though I wasn't. I felt tired, out of sorts, and fed up. This is really not the normal me! However I ploughed on and got a quite a lot done, and this helped a bit because it's always nice to feel that I've achieved something.
Ally had a good weekend at Disabled Scouts which turned out to be in a different location than he expected so he got a surprise when he got off the bus! And Jamie enjoyed his visit to Aberdeen; he texted me that the flowers and chocolates had gone down well with his girlfriend's parents. And James and David enjoyed their walk on Saturday in the Trossachs - where there is snow already! James is now in London for a couple of days so he flew down early this morning. So I am about to get into my bath and read my new book which is called "The Man who forgot his Wife" by John O'Farrell. I am enjoying it - it is a contrast to Proust, being a pleasantly easy read! I hope that tomorrow goes better, perhaps I was just feeling a bit sensitive today. After all, as Scarlett O'Hara said, tomorrow is another day! 

Luton Airport

I am standing in the queue to board my Easyjet flight back to Glasgow after a really lovely weekend with Jennifer. Last night we arrived at the Ardencote Manor Hotel at about 5 and checked into our room prior to dinner. We arrived in the dark so it was hard to get a feel for the place, which consisted of several buildings. However the receptionists were very welcoming and soon we were in our very nice ground floor twin room overlooking the golf course (which we didn't find out until the morning when I opened the curtains to see two golfers right outside - lucky that I was wearing my jammies!) Anyway we had a drink before dinner which was across the courtyard in the restaurant called "The Lodge". We were both very impressed by the service, quality and presentation of the delicious dinner, and we had a fantastic time eating and chatting. We then had a fairly early night because we were both tired - I read for a bit and finished Proust vol. 3 (The Guermantes Way). I have enjoyed it but the descriptions are so lengthy! Definitely no more Proust until 2013!
We woke refreshed and had a tasty breakfast in The Lodge before going for a little walk to see the grounds if the hotel. It was raining but we went down to the little lake and we could see the layout of the hotel more clearly than last night - there is an old part with a modern wing including the leisure centre, a modern building which includes a conference centre, and The Lodge restaurant, all set in beautiful grounds. The modern parts are attractively built in the same red brick style as the older building.
Next stop was the leisure centre where we had great fun for the rest of the day. Being hardy Scottish girls we asked for the outdoors pool to be uncovered - I love swimming outdoors and so does Jennifer - and the staff obliged straight away. The pool was quite warm and clouds of steam were rising from its surface which provided a surreal dream-like setting for our swim. Then we went to the hot outdoor jacuzzi where two pleasant girls tipped us off about the adjacent coffee longe so Jennifer nipped along there and brought back coffees for us to quaff in the jacuzzi! How luxurious it felt! We had lunch in the leisure centre bar while wearing our spa robes and slippers, then back to the spa for the afternoon. It was so relaxing. We set off at 5 for the drive to Luton airport which should have taken an hour and a half but in fact took two hours because the roads were so busy. It was really kind of Jennifer to drive me about like this and I have so enjoyed seeing her, and Russell, Joshua and Ben too of course! Now I am seated on the plane so I will finish here, but one funny story first. As all the passengers were standing waiting to go on the flight there was a last call for passengers over the tannoy system saying "Can all remaining passengers for Glasgow please go to gate 14 where your flight is already fully boarded!" so of course we were all laughing! 

Ridgeway Walk

I am in Princes Risborough at Jennifer's new house. It is really gorgeous, it's huge with a beautiful kitchen looking onto the large garden. The garden stretches way back to a games hut which is great for the boys. The location is great too; as short walk from the pretty centre of Princes Risborough and near a park, leisure centre and supermarket. They are right on the edge of the countryside too; from the house it is just a few minutes to a path leading to the Ridgeway Walk. This is an 87 mile national trail through southern central England, which has been used by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers since prehistoric times because the high dry ground made travel easy and let travellers see any potential attackers.
We had lunch at the Plough at Cadston (mildly well known for being the pub near Chequers where the Camerons famously and accidentally left their daughter behind after a family lunch.) After a delicious lunch in lovely surroundings - it was originally an old staging post on a road to London - we walked up to the ridge of the Ridgeway. The views from the top were magnificent on this fine autumn afternoon. Right in front of us was Princes Risborough and beyond that countryside stretching into the distance. We are now setting off for our hotel near Warwick. 

Fun weekend ahead

I am cosy in my bath having a quick blog before bed as the rain batters down outside. I'm very excited about heading to England after work tomorrow to visit Jenn, Russ and the boys in their new house before Jenn and I go for dinner, bed and breakfast and girly spa day in a nice hotel. I'm really looking forward to it. The rest of the family will be having a fun weekend too. James and David will be walking in the Trossachs with the club on Saturday, and Alasdair will be at a Disabled Scouts Residential weekend. This will count towards the residential section of his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. And Jamie is going to a charity ball in Aberdeen this weekend with his new girlfriend and her parents. He has been texting us about what wine he should take for her Dad - he has organised flowers for her Mum. However before all the fun begins I have a very busy day at work tomorrow, so I had better get myself to bed.