Salty blueberries

I had such a lovely long lie in bed this morning, which felt even sweeter because of my reduced amount of sleep during the residential trip the night before. My colleagues and I sat up until 11.30 until all was quiet from our pupils, and I read my book in my room until 1.30 a.m. while listening for noises from the corridor, occasionally popping out to check that all was well. At about a quarter past one I heard stealthy footsteps outside my door, so I leaped into the corridor only to find that it was the lovely course leader who was doing a final night time patrol! However when I did get to sleep I slept very well, probably due to the sea air! Although they had had a longer sleep than me, my colleagues looked a bit tired, as did some of the pupils! The kitchen staff at the centre very kindly made me some porridge for breakfast and I sprinkled it liberally with the blueberries I had brought with me (this is what I have for breakfast every morning). However I didn't realise until it was too late that the porridge was made with salt, and the salt and blueberries made a strange and unpleasant taste combination! I ate it anyway.
I did feel a bit tired as I drove back to school in the morning; my sat nav directed me on a very countrified way on B roads past farms and through small villages so it was quite a pleasant drive.
In the evening I was hosting book club. There were five of us and we discussed "The Marrying of Chani Kaufman" which we had all thoroughly enjoyed. It led on to a wider discussion about Jewish traditions and the Glasgow Jewish community, it was a really interesting evening. And as usual I got lots of great recommendations from my friends about films and plays to see as well as books to read. How I do enjoy book club.
This morning the news was full of the tragic news about the helicopter crash last night at the Clutha Vaults, at time of writing eight people have died; the three in the helicopter and five in the pub. The helicopter crashed right onto the roof, part of which then collapsed. James was on a night out in Glasgow at the time fairly nearby but he heard no emergency vehicles and didn't find out about it until he got home. Very sad news.
HMS Discovery had an open day today at King George V dock so David, James and I went along. It was a fascinating tour and the crew were very friendly, letting me handle their machine guns and dress up in army clothes. With hindsight this may have been more intended for the children who were visiting but I had a great time! 

A room with a view

I am having a great (although rather lively) time at Inverclyde on a residential trip. It's always so well organised and enjoyable for all concerned. I always find it strange to be in Largs midweek because I associate it with weekend trips. Of course we are up the hill so not actually in the town, but we drove along the front on our way here.  I am delighted that from the window of my bedroom I can see the sea! I'm sure that I'm in the same room that I was in on my first trip here five years ago, because all of the other years I have been treated instead to views of the dustbins! 

Lots to do

An excellent day during which I felt I got a lot done and I was pleased with the way I tackled something tricky. I have to say that this week is very busy both socially and at work. I have a residential trip, I'm hosting book club, a Christmas night out and tonight a concert with James (Bare Naked Ladies). Now I dare say that I shall enjoy each and every one of these events, but four nights in a row is a bit much for me these days. Oh and I forgot that last night we went swimming and the night before I was at Fit Steps so it's almost like six nights in a row. Oh well, I will just have to relax and go with the flow! 

Early to bed

I'm very excited that I am in bed by 10 p.m. I am very tired because I slept very badly last night after my curry. (Why oh why do I persist in eating curries? Probably the delicious smell and taste I suppose) I had a dreadful nightmare about being on a cruise ship where I had to sleep in a dormitory that was like 3rd class in the Titanic, it was even open to the air and my bed was covered in snow. I woke with a headache that stayed all morning until Davie and I went for a walk to Rutherglen to Tesco where we had bacon rolls for lunch. I then reorganised all of my clothes drawers, an activity that gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Later James, Ally and Cat arrived home from their hill-walking weekend tired and happy and we all had dinner with Grandma. So here I am in bed - I need to get better sleep habits so this is a start. 

Curry and Doctor

Replete with curry I am relaxing after watching Dr Who - it was the 50th Anniversary today so there was a special episode called The Day of the Doctor. I have been looking forward to it for weeks and it did not disappoint. The plot was ambitious but somehow held together, and John Hurt worked well with Matt Smith and David Tennant. The cameo by Tom Baker was quite moving. David loved it too but James, Ally and Cat will have to watch it tomorrow evening because they are on a hill walking weekend and are spending tonight in a bothy in Laggan. 

Weather, chest pains and Bridget

The weather was really wild and windy last night. I quite like hearing the rain battering on the roof of the conservatory because it makes me feel cosy. Jack however was not so impressed as he slunk out of the cat flap to go to the toilet after no doubt putting it off as long as possible! 

This morning I woke with severe chest pains and could hardly get out of bed. James paid scant attention to my groaning because he has faith in my robust good health. I was a bit worried, however I managed through the day and since I have survived until this evening I presume that I must have pulled a muscle by sleeping at some strange angle. One of my grandfathers died in his sleep of a heart attack when he was forty-six (and my Mum was just fifteen) so when I was that age I got a bit paranoid about the possibility for a while. 

Just a short post tonight because I am engrossed in the third Bridget Jones book - arrant nonsense of course (like the first two) but very readable and addictive (like the first two). 

Concert, Castle, Captain and Company

Once we arrived in Edinburgh on Friday evening we had dinner in a Filipino Restaurant near the Queens Hall. This was a first for all of us and the food was tasty, although not all that different from other Asian food that we have eaten - I had spring rolls followed by a sizzling chicken dish. Then it was time for the concert. They Might Be Giants are certainly a lively band! I started listening to them when Jamie was a baby in 1990 and it was great to hear them perform live. My favourite song was of course Birdhouse in your Soul, and I also loved New York City and The Guitar. When we got back to Glasgow it was after midnight and Jamie had arrived home from his epic Great Glen Walk from Fort William to Inverness, tired but happy. Despite the late hour we all had a cup of tea and a chat.
We all had a lie in on Saturday morning and I felt very lethargic, but James dragged me out for a walk from Blantyre to Bothwell Castle and back which perked me up no end. It was a fine autumn day and the riverside walk was very pretty as our footsteps rustled over a carpet of bright fallen leaves.
In the evening we went to the cinema to see Captain Phillips which turned out to be excellent. It's about the captain of a cargo ship which is boarded by Somalian pirates, and is based on true events. Tom Hanks was excellent as the lead character and the film was gripping from start to finish.
Today we had lunch with Heather and Ewan in Zizzi's and we invited Jamie along too since he had expressed a desire to see them. We had a pleasant lunch and chat, then after coffee we reluctantly set off to Ikea where we had some items to buy and to Braehead shopping centre which was busy on a dreich Sunday afternoon but luckily not quite as horrendously busy as we had feared.
Our Sunday night dinner with Grandma rounded off the weekend; with Cat and Jamie there too there were seven of us and we had a convivial meal followed by the Strictly Come Dancing dance off. And so ends a weekend that has been both fun and relaxing. Deep breath for the week ahead! 

Shattered

I am so tired but also happy as James drives us to Edinburgh to go to They Might Be Giants at the Queens Hall. It has been an exhausting and eventful week at school but I have made progress in some good ways. I had a hilarious moment on my way back from a meeting in another part of town yesterday when I was driving along and spotted a pupil who was patching school! I pulled over in surprise and the look on his face when he saw me looking out of the car window was priceless! 

James set off to a meeting yesterday in Warwick, leaving the house at 5 a.m. to fly to Birmingham. He then got stuck in a traffic jam on the M40 for more than three hours before finally giving up and going back to the airport! What a waste of his day.

I have now finished making my Christmas cake and I baked it at school last night while I was working late - that's what I call multi-tasking! 

On trend, proverb and cake

Three very pleasant things happened today. 

Firstly I went into work wearing a new teal fluffy jumper and a new patterned skirt that I bought yesterday in New Look. I also wore some gorgeous (and warm) black angora tights and my black ankle boots. My colleague Jennifer told me that my skirt is "Aztec pattern" and that I looked "on trend!" I was thrilled, this is probably the first time that I have been on trend in my life! I was in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Secondly, at school we heard Gabriel from Luwero talking about his work, he was a very impressive speaker - and singer. I loved his song "Make yourself known to me" and the bible verse that he quoted, "He who refreshes others shall himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25) which really spoke to me. 

And thirdly, it's Christmas Cake time again in the Home Economics Department! Today after school we lined our cake tins, weighed out our ingredients and soaked our fruit in brandy. The company was congenial and it was a pleasant occasion. 

Rouken Glen

Jamie and I went for a lovely walk in Rouken Glen Park today. James and David had gone to climb Tinto Hill, but Jamie is still shaking off a chest infection and I had some errands that I wanted to do in town, so we went for a stroll in the park instead. It was an absolutely beautiful day with a bold blue autumn sky and ice underfoot in the shade. We walked from the garden centre up to the boating pond and back. We both have so many memories of being at Rouken Glen together and I was telling Jamie about sitting with him on a picnic rug at the top of the grassy slope overlooking the pond, just him and me when he was about 15 months old. I have such a clear memory of that day, he was wearing little denim dungarees and a checked shirt. On another occasion he went boating with his Grandpa Russell there and begged him not to eat the ducks for his tea (my Dad shouldn't really have told a three year old that he was going to do that!). My Dad further alarmed him by saying that he was going to jump into the waterfall at the far end of the pond! 
This mischievous streak was no doubt inherited from my Dad's own Dad, Jamie's great-grandfather William Russell, whose idea of fun was to throw toffees to our dogs and then laugh uproariously as they tried to remove them from their teeth with their hind feet!
We have also visited the park with my Mum, and with Grandma and Grandpa, and of course many times with his wee brothers. So today it was nice to walk with my twenty-three year old son along the paths where he used to "skoosh" through the autumn leaves wearing his welly boots, and past the play park where he used to perform daring feats by climbing right to the top of the climbing frame. It was good to see lots of young families out enjoying this very pleasant south side park. 

Positive thinking can only take you so far

With hindsight, it was a mistake to take James to Whole Foods. It seemed like a nice idea after collecting David's kilt, waistcoat, jacket and sporran (his very generous 18th birthday present from Grandma), and then having a coffee at Rouken Glen Garden centre. Since it was raining, why not pop into Whole Foods in the way home? What could go wrong?
Well I suppose I should have thought back to James' previous bad behaviour in Waitrose. As we arrived at Whole Foods he already had an angry and disapproving expression. He didn't even pretend to be interested as I pointed out the unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables that are on display, and seemed bent on walking round as quickly as possible, without even looking at the products. The ONLY thing that I bought was some seeded bread, because Whole Foods are renowned for their nice bread, and I TOLD James that I was buying it especially for the toasted cheese which he was planning for his lunch.
Off we went to Morrison's where Grandma wanted to get some shopping. This did not help James' bad mood and he muttered to himself as we slowly went round the shelves. At one point I noticed him putting some potato scones into his basket, but I thought nothing of it. When we arrived home he started slicing up some cheese and I said pleasantly that he would enjoy the seeded bread. Oh no, he said, I will be toasting my cheese on these potato scones because it will be much tastier. This seems to me to be very thrawn, deliberately annoying behaviour and we are now on frosty terms. It reminds me of a story of my Dad's; he went round to my Aunt Margaret and Uncle David's house and noticed a tension in the atmosphere. When he asked why, Margaret replied "He has been defying me all day!" which my Dad thought was very funny because my Uncle David was the pleasantest, most mild-mannered man in the world! But now I think I see what my Aunt Margaret meant. 

The power of positive thinking

I heard some really sad news about a friend today which made me reflect on how I need to stop being so stressed. I need to concentrate on the positive things in my life. I have been feeling quite relaxed since our lovely Spa day on Sunday and I want to hold onto that feeling. I can't have a two hour massage every day so I need to achieve the feeling of well being it gave me by other methods. One of these has to be exercise, and my friend Heather is a very good example of someone who exercises regularly. Not only does she look great, she tells me that it makes her feel great too. I am already eating sensibly and I am certainly feeling better for carrying less weight (I dropped below nine stones today for the first time in a decade!).
I need to go to bed earlier (not a good start tonight as I am blogging not long before before midnight). This will take some determination because late evenings are about the only time I get to myself so I tend to footer around reading or organising things. Above all I need to think positively and not worry so much, because I think it has become a bit of a habit! 

Jack's least favourite night of the year

Jack is not a happy cat. He is so deaf these days that we thought he might not hear the fireworks but it became apparent at tea time that he can definitely still both hear and see them. He is now hunched miserably in the upstairs hall, flinching whenever a particularly loud bang goes off nearby. Ally has gone with friends to the fireworks display at Glasgow Green and David went round to Kyle's fireworks party. James is in town meeting up with his walking friends. However I feel a bit chilled; I was cold all day at work today. So I have turned down invitations to all three events in order to have a warming bath and read my latest book; a thriller called The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy, and I am as happy as larry. I'm enjoying the book even though the plot went veering off in a direction that I neither expected nor welcomed. However I am finding it fascinating. 

Four go on a relaxing adventure

Yesterday we gave Heather her birthday present from James and me - a Spa day at the One Spa in Edinburgh. When I booked it about three months ago it seemed very far off, but the time has flown by. Around the time of booking it, Ewan had expressed interest in getting a Swedish massage, and James was up for it too, so all four of us went along.
I really enjoy a Spa day and I wanted us to try somewhere that none of us had been before, so the spa at the Sheraton in Edinburgh sounded good especially as I know a few people who have enjoyed it. It was a lovely day and we all enjoyed exploring the facilities. It has a rather complicated layout or so it seemed on a first visit; we started by having a coffee while we registered at reception and then we headed to the gym for the first hour. James and I took it easy (he hasn't been to the gym since he was ill and I haven't been for ages) and we were both impressed by Heather and Ewan's vigorous use of the equipment, they are a fit pair. Then we made our way to the swimming pool - a decent size - and the outdoor jacuzzi which was on the roof. I do love an outdoor jacuzzi and I found it very pleasant but (and I am being a bit demanding here!) I had expected an amazing view over the rooftops of Edinburgh and instead there was a view of the neighbouring office blocks! I did like being in the warm jacuzzi pool while the chilly wind nipped my face, that's part of the fun for me. I remember loving being in the outdoor hot tub at Gleneagles in the rain. We also visited the "thermal suite" which consisted of a selection of spa rooms of different temperatures reminiscent of the spa at Center Parcs but smaller. Luckily it was not crowded and we could wander at will from room to room.
Soon it was time for lunch, which we had pre-ordered in the café earlier. Heather and I followed Ewan's suggestion to dry off our swimsuits before lunch by using the mini drier in the changing room, but we couldn't find it at first so we briefly tried to insert our cossies into a heater which was very funny. Luckily someone directed us the the drier! We had all ordered boxes of "superfoods". These were subdivided into small compartments each with a mini portion of various healthy treats e.g. Salmon with oatmeal, quinoa salad, crowdie and beetroot, granola with fruit and yoghurt, chocolate and beetroot cake. It was all rather self-conscious designer food and I felt as if it was "the emperor's new clothes!" type of lunch! However I did actually find it quite novel and tasty and we all entered into the spirit of the day and ate it up.
Back upstairs to the thermal suite we went until it was time for our treatments at three o'clock. We sat in a waiting area until a little procession of therapists trooped in and spirited us away to our separate treatment rooms. James and Ewan both got their Swedish massages. Heather had chosen a body wrap and a hot stone treatment, and I chose a massage and a facial. The treatment took nearly two hours and I felt so relaxed that I'm sure I nodded off from time to time, what with the warmth and the relaxing music. The first time I ever got a massage many years ago I remember feeling very self conscious, but now I really enjoy it. When I met up with the others in the "relaxation" area afterwards they all seemed to have enjoyed their experiences. And so we headed home after a day of serious chilling out and good company. I felt very relaxed and twenty four hours later I still do! 

Dark skies

David, James and I were watching a programme about Northumberland presented by Robson Green, where he visited the Kielder Observatory. The astronomer mentioned that 85% of people in the UK never see a truly dark sky because of light pollution. We were discussing that we have been lucky enough to see many dark skies in the north of Scotland and in Orkney and Shetland. David then mentioned that when he as in the Lake District doing his Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition he left his tent one night to go for a pee. Afterwards he happened to glance up at the sky and was amazed by the fantastic display of stars - he said that even though it was cold he stood there gazing heavenwards for at least ten minutes. I love that story. 

Oh Philomena

Last night we went to see a film with Grandma called Philomena. She had read about it in the newspaper this week and fancied going to see it, so I booked us tickets at the Grosvenor and I met James, David and Grandma in Ashton Lane after my shopping trip. It was a grim and rainy evening and I was pretty sure the film would be a bit grim too so I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I knew that it was about an elderly lady (Philomena) who searches for her long lost son with the help of the journalist Martin Sixsmith. The two main characters are played by Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. I have read about babies being taken away from their mothers by Catholic nuns, and the young mothers being treated very badly and made to work as servants in the nunneries, and of course I sympathise - but not much fun to watch on a Saturday evening I thought.
Well you may guess what I am leading up to - the film was absolutely brilliant. It told the story SO well. Steve Coogan was excellent as the jaded journalist whose career was on the rocks, and Judi Dench was fantastic as Philomena, just fantastic. I think that they both deserve Oscars. It was so sad and yet the lovely personality of Philomena shone through - she never lost her faith. Near the end there was a revelation so shocking that I gasped aloud and so did the rest of the audience. I will not say any more about the story because I would like anyone who reads this to see the film for themselves. 

A new month

So here we are in November and Autumn is in full swing. Dreich but still fairly mild weather contrasting with the bright yellow leaves covering the ground. I am very excited about our Spa day tomorrow and today's plans are very pleasant too - hairdresser, lunch with friends, shopping, cinema with Grandma. Who would have ever thought that I would enjoy going to the hairdresser? But I like the Rainbow Room and I trust Fiona, and I am feeling very relaxed. On the way in to town I was looking at all the people on the train and so many of them look really worn down and damaged. Life is hard but I suppose you have to keep going, I'm lucky compared to many. I bought a nice poppy badge at a stall in Argyle Street, one of the volunteers was our school bus driver! The pavements were shiny with rain and I quite liked that - a good day for being in town. 

Jury duty

It has been a long week and I'm so glad to be home and that it's the weekend. My week was further complicated by the fact that I had potential jury service from Wednesday onwards. On Wednesday we were sent away immediately, and on Thursday I didn't have to go in at all (you phone the night before to find out). So by Thursday evening I had kind of got it into my mind that I wouldn't be required. James and I went over to Hillington to collect my new car after work, it took ages to complete all the paperwork so we were starving and picked up a curry on the way home. I like my little silver car with its black roof, particularly the voice controls for music and phone etc. which I kept practising on the way home, such fun! James asked me to stop though; he said that he would prefer if I concentrated on driving! When we got in I phoned the jury hotline almost as an afterthought and found that I had to go in this morning! So of course I then had to text and email to change several arrangements I had blithely made for today. I totally over indulged on curry and as a result I had dreadful indigestion. 
This morning I turned up at the High Court and as soon as I got the chance I spoke to the clerk of court and explained that the timing was really bad for me. She was very nice and understanding, however I still had to wait until nearly lunchtime before I was allowed to leave. However the good news is that I don't need to phone on Monday; my duty is done.