Nature is red in tooth and claw

No I'm not posting about the back stabbing and general chaos that is going on in both the Tory and Labour parties just now in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

The carnage to which I refer is closer to home. For the last couple of days, while pottering about the house, I have been glancing fondly at a pretty little robin that has been hopping around the garden, merrily flying between the bird table and the swing frame and the trees. I even pointed it out to Alasdair yesterday as we had lunch together in the back room. How horrified I was to find a pile of feathers in the hall this morning. Alasdair had already removed the sad little carcass, and confirmed that it was indeed the remains of our robin. I wonder if the cats overheard me talking to Ally about it and misconstrued my interest in it for an order to kill it? No, of course I don't really think that; they are dreadful bloodthirsty killers. When Ally was disposing of the tiny corpse he said that the kitties were in celebratory mood in the background, prancing around the house delightedly. 

Pottering

I am continuing to enjoy my holiday very much. It's the first time for a long time that I have felt able to relax properly and I'm still getting used to it. Oh I know that life will always have its issues but, to quote a dear ex-colleague, at least they will be different issues!

Here are some of the things I have done over the past two days:

• Watched Wimbledon on television.

• Made rhubarb syrup. 

• Made rhubarb crumble ice cream. 

• Gone to see my optician, Carol, for an overdue check up. 

• Made an overdue dentist's appointment.

• Arranged to get the shower fixed, again overdue. 

• Watched the last two episodes of series six of Game of Thrones - both brilliant!

• Attached a tiny video camera to Tom Cat's collar so that I can find out what he gets up to.

• Spent some very pleasant time chatting with Ally, Cat, Davie and Chanel. 

• Written lots of thank you letters for my leaving gifts from work.

• Pottered around the house.

Happy days! 

 

Cullen Skink in Kenmore

So after the excitement of Friday you might expect that I spent Saturday relaxing in my bed, on the couch or in my hammock. Not so! Cat and Alasdair had other plans for James and me. Keen to tick off his hundredth Munro, Alasdair persuaded us to drive up past Killin so that he could climb the Tanarchan Ridge, comprising five Munros. This was a big seven hour walk, made feasible by me dropping Ally, Cat and James off at what was once the Ben Lawers visitor centre car park, and later picking them up 15 km along the road. 

The visitor centre has long since been demolished, so I had to seek my morning cup of coffee elsewhere. Instead of driving back to the pretty but touristy Killin, I decided to press on another twenty minutes to the equally pretty but quieter Kenmore. I was so glad that I did - Kenmore is an absolutely lovely village beside Loch Tay with a pleasant beach, a couple of boating centres and a couple of cafés and shops. I parked went for a walk in the warm sunshine to explore. By this time it was almost lunch time and I chose the Tayview Marina. What a find! The people there were so friendly and I had delicious Cullen Skink for lunch. It was so warm that I had a coffee sitting outside on the terrace where I alternately read my Kindle and gazed at the beautiful view of the loch, with the Scottish Crannog Centre in the foreground and the village beyond. It was blissful and I felt myself beginning to unwind from work. After another walk along the shore it was time to collect the intrepid (and rather sun-burned) hill walkers and drive the hour and a half home. It was a great way to start my holidays. 

Goodbye to the Rig!

What a lot of changes have taken place over the last couple of days! I woke up on Friday morning to the news that Britain has voted to leave the EU by a narrow but clear margin. I was so surprised as I lay in bed listening to the news reports on the radio; I had been sure that it would go the other way. Interesting times no doubt lie ahead with all the implications for the country. The SNP will no doubt be keen to have another Independence Referendum because a majority of Scots (62%) voted to stay in Europe - but what about the 38% who voted to leave? The media are reporting it as if Scotland voted unanimously to stay which is by no means the case. And also only 67% of eligible people voted in Scotland, so in fact the Remain voters are only 62% of the total 67% - hardly an overwhelming majority. But I bet they make us have another "Neverendum" anyway!

As I was driving up to school I heard on the radio David Cameron's resignation speech. Please note that I am not mentioning which way I voted - there is a great deal of ill feeling about the result on social media so I'm keeping my head down - but I can't help feeling that the "Remain" camp are being very patronising about the "Leave" voters; they seem to view them as any or all of: old, racist, misguided, impulsive, and uneducated. But surely that is democracy! One person, one vote! Do they think that only a select few should be allowed to vote? It reminds me way too much of the angry and aggressive behaviour before and after the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014. 

Anyway, David Cameron was not the only person with a big career change on Friday! It was my last day at my current school after eight years. And what a strange feeling it was. I have had some really great times and opportunities there, and I have met and worked with some fantastic people. The whole day was a big goodbye culminating in my Leavers' Presentation in front of all the staff which was just lovely. I'm totally embarrassed by the generosity of my colleagues and also by lovely thank you notes and gifts from parents and pupils. I remained dry-eyed however, because I was mainly focused on ensuring that my last term as Principal Teacher and part-time Depute Head should end smoothly, and I let out a deep sigh of relief as the last pupil safely left the building!

Our Son the Lawyer!

Today was a proud day indeed in the Anderson family - Alasdair's graduation day! The whole day was an absolute pleasure. The Anderson men all looked very smart; Alasdair was resplendent in his kilt and when I saw him in his robes I was overcome by how handsome he looked. Chanel was gorgeous in a lovely black and white dress and Cat was beautiful in blue - her hair was absolutely stunning in long spiral curls like a princess. Grandma also looked very smart and she was delighted to be at her grandson's graduation. It was amazing to think that Ally was graduating in Bute Hall just like his Dad did thirty-three years ago - I remember it like it was yesterday! We sang Gaudeamus Igitur as the Principal and the Senate entered. I felt so proud of Ally as he went up to get his degree; for me the most moving part of the ceremony was when all of the families broke into applause as the new graduates filed out of the hall at the end. Their exit was accompanied by the organist rousingly playing the theme to Star Wars which somehow felt very appropriate and inspiring! 

After some photos in the quads and cloisters we made our way to the garden behind Professors' Square for the Law reception. It was warm and sunny and just such a happy occasion. Grandma did very well with the walk from there to Ashton Lane where we met Christine and Gerry, who were having a coffee sitting outside in the sunshine.

Lunch was at our old favourite the Ubiquitous Chip. The food was delicious and the service was first class. We stayed there laughing and chatting all afternoon. What can I say - I feel that I am over-enthusing but it was one of those happy days when everyone goes right!

Hadrian's Wall Weekend

James and I have just had another weekend away - this time to Hadrian's Wall with the hill-walking Club. Usually we stay in hostels or very basic hotels during club weekends, so imagine my delight and gratification on Friday evening to find that myself in a really lovely small hotel in Brampton; freshly decorated, pristine clean, with an en suite bathroom. We had a convivial pub meal with the rest of the group and then a fairly early night.

Saturday was our big walk; we got the bus to Greenhead and walked to Walton, much of it beside beautiful Hadrian's Wall. I have visited it and walked along parts of it many times before but I still find it amazing that it's still so visible at nearly 2000 years old. The weather was warm and dry; lovely for walking. We had such a great time, chatting away with whoever we happened to be walking beside at the time. Hilary and I finished our walk a little bit early (we had still walked over 25000 steps!) and went to a smart wee coffee shop back at Brampton.

I had a shower before dinner and it was tremendous; very powerful! Great day. 

Fit in Copenhagen

So we are home from our brilliant weekend in Copenhagen. This morning we went for a farewell walk around the neighbourhood before setting off for the airport.

Our hotel (First Hotel Mayfair - would recommend) has some rather endearing signs on each landing, presumably to encourage you on the way up the stairs. They commence as follows:

* Welcome to the 1st floor. 

* Hi you have reached the 2nd floor.

* Well done you have arrived at the 3rd floor.  

* Congratulations you have made it to the 4th floor!

As you can see, the notices become increasingly enthusiastic as you ascend, and each one then also encourages you to help yourself to some fruit from an adjacent bowl.  Only on your arrival at the dizzying heights of the 4th floor are you invited to have some sweets! 

Our journey home went smoothly; the plane wasn't full so we had an empty seat beside us, which is always pleasant. 

Soon we were home to catch up on news with Ally and Davie. To my dismay it seems that there is an awful lot of football in the television due to Euro 16; the boys tell me that it will go on for several weeks, which will no doubt result in domestic disputes between me and the male members of the household over control of the television. 

Encounter with the Prince of Denmark

This has been an adventurous and fun day involving three trains, two castles, and much walking. In fact the whole weekend has involved much walking, as city breaks often do, with more than 20,000 steps each day according to my Fitbit. Anyway, today we decided to leave Copenhagen to visit the towns of Helsingor and Hillerød. 

First we caught a train to Helsingør, a pretty little medieval town on the coast to the north of Copenhagen - it was about 40 minutes by train. Our main reason for going there was to see Kronborg Castle, which is famous for being Hamlet's Castle - Helsingør is known as Elsinore in the play. Its setting is beautiful, right beside the sea on the northeastern tip of Zealand where the Sound between Denmark and Sweden is only 4 km wide. This was lucrative for the Danes because they charged ships a tax to pass into the Baltic Sea which was a nice little earner for them until it stopped in the 19th century. 

When we entered the castle we found out that as part of the commemorations for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, a troupe of actors were performing scenes from Hamlet all around the castle. What luck! It was great fun; the actors were really good and we watched several scenes. Hamlet was very handsome and suitably sulky; Uncle Claudius was very handsome too. It was an amazing experience to listen to the beautiful language of Shakespeare in the castle courtyard. Apparently there is a tradition going back 200 years of Hamlet being staged in Kronborg Castle - as well as various Danish actors, Hamlet has been played there by Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh, and recently Jude Law. 

We had lunch sitting bathed in warm sunshine outside a picturesque restaurant just beside the castle walls. Again we had delicious Danish open sandwiches.

Then we headed back to the station but instead of going straight back to Copenhagen we jumped on a train to Hillerød which is half an hour inland. Hillerød is famous for its large and lovely castle, Frederiksborg, which now houses the National Museum. But the weather was too good to spend time indoors, so instead we walked around the lake to the castle and then spent time exploring the extensive gardens, both formal and informal. It was so pleasant, and when we arrived back at our starting point we had a coffee outside a very friendly café overlooking the lake, with views of the castle beyond. Back at the station we only had ten minutes to wait for the train back to Copenhagen (I must say that I'm very impressed with the Danish train system!)

What to do on our last evening in Copenhagen? Back to the Tivoli Gardens of course! A gentle stroll took us to Faergekroen Bryghus which was beside a little lake all lit with fairy lights. 

 

Wonderful Copenhagen

We woke to a beautiful day in Copenhagen with not a cloud in the sky, and had a breakfast of pancakes and coffee sitting outside at the Europa Restaurant in Hojbro Platz. And then we walked around this lovely city, out to the Little Mermaid Statue and then to the Kastellet. The Mermaid is very pretty and I can see why she is so popular with crowds of tourists; we also paid our respects before walking further out towards the outer harbour where the cruise ships dock. At this point we heard a 21 gun salute coming from the naval base across the water, we found out later that it was in honour of the 82nd birthday of Prince Henrik, the husband of Queen Margrethe of Denmark. We went into the grounds of the Kastellet, which is a star shaped fortress with buildings inside it including barracks and a church - it reminded me a lot of Fort George in Scotland. A wedding was about to take place in the church and the wedding guests all filed in but there was no sign of the bride. Suddenly she appeared, all by herself, running across the courtyard towards the church with the train of her wedding dress slung over her arm! I wonder if the bride arriving alone is a Danish tradition. We went for a walk around the ramparts which had stunning views of the moat and the city, then had lunch in a small restaurant called Borgerkroen Kokken, which had a very Royal theme, with lots of pictures of the Danish Royal family on the walls. It was in the Nyboder district which has narrow streets of old terraced houses built to house officers of the Danish navy. The houses are painted a distinctive warm yellow colour which looked very attractive in the sunshine. There was a very lively crowd of elderly revellers in the restaurant who were consuming many large jugs of beer - the waitress told us "This is going to be a long afternoon!"

Then we walked on to Kongens Have park which was full of families having picnics and playing with frisbees. Within the park is Rosenberg Slot, a tiny Renaissance castle which was built as a summerhouse for the King in 1606. We popped in for a look round and went to the see the Crown Jewels in the basement. 

After a wee rest at the hotel and dinner, we spent the evening back at the Tivoli Gardens. This was partly because we can get in free with our Copenhagen cards, partly because the Gardens are very near our hotel, and partly because they have a genuinely friendly and pleasant atmosphere with plenty to see in the strangely small but cleverly laid out grounds. Allegedly Walt Disney visited the Tivoli Gardens in the early 1950s and said "Aha this is what a theme park should look like!" We strolled around, had a coffee, and ended up watching the excellent Late Night Tivoli Orchestra at the open air theatre, who performed a series of well known songs from Bowie (Life on Mars) to Happy (Pharrell Williams). What a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

I should mention that our Copenhagen cards have turned out to be tremendous value for money - all transport is included in the greater Copenhagen area, as is entry to many attractions, and even the canal tour. They were about £20 per day and have been well worth it.

 

 

Excellent News from Ally

This has been quite a day! We got up at 4.30 to set off for Edinburgh, where we got our flight to Copenhagen. I managed to catch an extra hour of sleep in the plane which stood me in good stead for the rest of the day. By mid morning we had checked into our hotel (very nice) and were exploring the centre of Copenhagen. The city looked beautiful in the sunny summer weather. We made our way through pleasant shopping streets to Nyhavn which is the old harbour area with its picturesque painted houses. Hans Christian Andersen lived here and there are many references to him in the names of the restaurants - we had lunch in Fyrtøiet (The Tinderbox) where we had traditional Danish open sandwiches on nutty brown bread, yum. Then off we set on an interesting and relaxing boat tour all around the extensive canal system. By now it was about 3 o'clock and I was feeling very tense. This was because I knew that today Alasdair was due to hear the result of his Law finals. When my phone rang I was terrified to answer it but it was very good news - the boy has got a First Class Honours degree and we are absolutely delighted. I really wished that I was with him but he was out celebrating with friends anyway! In the evening we went to the Tivoli Gardens and had a celebratory dinner and wandered around. I enjoyed the atmosphere; fairground rides, shops, restaurants and an open air rock concert - it was buzzing. 

Hammock

I was back in my hammock today after work. It was even warmer than yesterday but the sky was a bit hazy and cloudy - I think that the weather is about to change. I don't know whether it was to do with the overcast sky, but the grass was the most vibrant shade of green, and studded with buttercups it was quite mesmerising. 

Ally and Davie are both at home now and had spent the day playing table tennis, tidying the garage and relaxing in the garden. However they showed no inclination to make the dinner, which I thought would have been a nice gesture, given that I had been at work for eleven hours. So I reluctantly cooked us all a delicious (if I say so myself) steak dinner. A woman's work is indeed never done in Casa Anderson. 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

James and I set off to Dundee yesterday morning to retrieve Davie and all of his worldly possessions from his University hall of residence. He will not get the keys to move into the flat that he has arranged for next session with friends until 1st August, which is why the worldly possessions had to accompany him home for the summer. 

We made a short diversion on the way to drop off my sat nav to Heather and Ewan for their forthcoming holiday in America, James forgot to bring it with him when we met up with them for a very enjoyable dinner on Thursday. We didn't want to disturb them so we arranged to place it in their recycling bin and then I texted Heather to double check that they had found it. James was very pleased to accomplish this errand because he was annoyed with himself for forgetting.

When we arrived in Dundee we found that Davie had made a good start at packing up, and we brought cardboard boxes and a suitcase with us. Soon the car was jam packed - how on earth has he accumulated so much stuff? But that wasn't the main problem - that was the disgusting state of the flat. Davie's room was quite clean - the floor still needed hoovered and Chanel very kindly cleaned his bathroom for him which I think was above and beyond the call of duty! (He must never let her go!) But every surface in the living / kitchen area was sticky and dirty. The oven, hob and fridges were filthy. The flat was full of rubbish which no one had taken down to the bins, and the cupboards were full of unwashed dishes (not Davie's dishes - the other occupants have all left the flat before him and just abandoned them.) Why would anyone put dirty dishes into a cupboard? The walls were grimy and the carpet was stained. The worst damage was to a radiator. One of Davie's flat mates had thrown a knife at it and it is leaking. Apparently it was an accident but why was he throwing a knife at all? James and I were furious at the state of the place. David is a clean boy and he would never treat a flat like this, but his flat mates must live like animals. I got juice from some rotten bananas all down my leg. We cleared all the rubbish out out and cleaned the surfaces but the flat's cleanliness was still far from satisfactory. When we left, a team of cleaners (students employed for the summer) were waiting to go in. I couldn't even look them in the eye; I bet we will get a hefty cleaning bill * and it will be deserved. 

Anyway, we then took Davie and Chanel for lunch at the Dundee Arts centre which was very convivial. Unfortunately Chanel's Mum's car had broken down on the way north and she had to get it towed back to Warrington by the AA and then hire a car. So Davie stayed with Chanel for the afternoon while James and I set off home. By mid afternoon I was in my hammock in the garden - bliss!

* We didn't.

Doubly delicious

The warm weather continues - hooray! In fact I dare to say HOT weather as today has soared to a balmy 23 degrees! It's so  great; there is not a cloud in the sky and I am in my hammock in the warm shade at the top of the garden. The plants are all in bloom, birds are singing, and Tom is lying on the grass batting at insects with his paws. Far away in Paris, Andy Murray is playing Djokovic in the final of the Patis Open. This is the life. 

Speaking of Tom, we have had an issue with cat food recently. Tom and Ruby like nothing better that a packet of Whiskas Double Delicious cat food in jelly. It is neither the cheapest not the most expensive cat food, and they both like it. They have their own etiquette when they eat. Whoever arrives first at the cat bowl gets precedence; it's bad form if the other one interrupts and a bit of hissing and scratching can ensue. However if they are both fed at once they are happy to eat simultaneously.

Anyway, Ally was at Tesco's with me recently and spotted a "bargain" - a large box of slightly cheaper Felix chunks in jelly. Foolishly I allowed myself to be persuaded by my thrifty son and the purchase was made.

Unfortunately the kitties soon made it clear that they disliked this inferior offering. Ruby wouldn't eat it at all, and Tom ate it with obvious distaste and several times vomited it back up in the upstairs hall. After a week I gave in and Tom and Ruby's dinners are "doubly delicious" once more.