Lucky

As I blog here in the front room, on Boxing Day, with Floof asleep on my lap, I feel very lucky.
It has been a good Christmas. Chanel stayed with us for a few days until Christmas Eve and has been great company, and on the 21st Cat arrived from London a day early and surprised us just after we had watched James' favourite Christmas film, "Elf"! On the 22nd we went to see "It's a Wonderful Life" at the GFT. There were eight of us; it was lovely that Christine and Gerry were able to join us as well as Cat and Chanel. We had dinner at Red Onion beforehand and we continued our convivial evening with a cup of tea and some mince pies back at our house. Then on the 23rd we had our annual pre-Christmas lunch with Heather and Ewan; we had a gorgeous lunch at Guys. Then we made our way to Metropolitan in the Old Fruitmarket where we met up for drinks with a lively crowd of our combined progeny and their partners. Only our Kiwi young ones were missing. We had a truly lovely afternoon chatting and ended up back at Heather and Ewan's for a cup of tea.
On Christmas Eve morning I went over to Jackie's to celebrate Noah's 9th Birthday, and then we spent a pleasant afternoon preparing for Christmas. We FaceTimed Jamie and Aisling in the evening; they were about to enjoy a Christmas breakfast with friends because of course it was already Christmas morning in New Zealand.
However there was a shock in store. I was woken by my phone ringing at 4.30 a.m. on Christmas morning - it was Jamie FaceTiming me from Dunedin Hospital. He and Aisling had been involved in a car crash on their way to a friend's house for Christmas dinner. Another car had jumped a red light and crashed right into the side of the car in which they were passengers, which then span into a traffic light pole. They were both knocked unconscious and Jamie can't remember anything of the accident until he woke up in the ambulance. Jamie has cuts to his face and concussion, and was allowed home a few hours later. Aisling also has concussion, she needed a number of stitches inside her mouth and has broken a bone in her face, and she was kept in hospital overnight. The others in the car were shocked but ok, and the people in the car that ran into them were fine. Jamie was very reassuring but James and I were very shocked and so were Ally and Davie. Considering the nature of the accident, it could all have been much worse - and in addition to all the good times we have had, that's also why I feel so lucky today.
Jamie and Aisling have kept in touch since they got home and it was good to speak to both of them by FaceTime later on Christmas Day (their Boxing Day). And Grandma was well enough to come across the road for Christmas dinner, and seemed to have a genuinely lovely time with us. In the evening Alasdair organised a game of Monopoly which was tremendous fun, and when James and I went to bed, Ally and Davie were poring over the World Atlas and telling each other all about their travels. A good Christmas indeed.

Festive

We have been very lucky to have enjoyed many festive occasions in the lead up to Christmas. One of the first was my School Show, which was absolutely amazing and a very happy evening, I was so impressed by the pupils' many talents. Then a couple of days later we went to a Christmas concert at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, featuring the Paisley Abbey Choir, which includes Kenneth - he looked very smart in his red cassock. The acoustics were tremendous and the music was really good.
We also had a pre-Christmas spa break with Alison and Hugh in Fonab Castle Hotel, which is a lovely hotel with delicious food, and it also happens to be almost exactly half way between our two homes; about an hour and a quarter travel for each of us. We had a very relaxing time in the spa, which is quite small but has everything you need; it has a decent length of pool as well as sauna, steam room, aromatherapy room and jacuzzi. Our bedroom in one of the lodges was splendidly decorated and, despite the rather dreich weather, had a fine view over the Pitlochry Dam on the River Tummel. In fact, as James quipped, it was a "dam fine view", which I thought was very funny.
Unfortunately Grandma ended up back in hospital recently with another UTI. We had suspected that she wasn't doing too well for a few days and then, just over a week before Christmas, she took a turn for the worse and had to go up to Hairmyres by ambulance. She was understandably very unhappy about this, but the IV antibiotics did the trick and she recovered quickly, getting back home after four days. This meant that she could settle back in at home in time for Christmas.

Relaxing at Nirvana

When I woke on Monday morning, Jennifer told me that my flight home in the evening was cancelled, no doubt as a knock on effect from all the confusion on Sunday. Oh dear. I couldn’t get through on the British Airways helpline, which was constantly busy, but decided not to let the uncertainty spoil our much anticipated spa day. It was great to be back at Nirvana (although the wimps had closed the outside area due to adverse weather!) and we had a tasty breakfast before installing ourselves at the poolside. I then sneakily tried a different British Airways phone number (Discretion forbids me from revealing my source!) and got through straight away. The friendly and helpful BA employee could not book me on a flight out of Heathrow until Tuesday morning - but he was able to get me a seat on the 8.30 p.m. flight from London City. Cheered by this good news I got down to some serious lounging around, reading, chatting with Jennifer and going to the spa pool, the jacuzzi and the steam room. It was a very enjoyable spa day, and very relaxing after my long journey yesterday.

Later on Jennifer very kindly dropped me at Heathrow airport where I caught the Heathrow Express. The journey across London was straightforward and took about an hour and a half  by train, tube and DLR. I will not dwell on the fact that my flight was 90 minutes late - this time the excuse was that there had been a fire alarm which had evacuated the airport earlier. But compared to Sunday it seemed a very brief delay. Alasdair collected me from the airport; how lovely to get a lift from my big grown-up son!

Epic Journey

Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic pales into insignificance beside the gruelling journey I had on Sunday! Although at least I didn't have to eat any sledge dogs.

On Sunday morning I was up early to fly down to Heathrow on the 8.55 a.m. plane to visit Jennifer, Russell, Josh and Ben, before going to a spa day with Jennifer on Monday. Cat was going to join us for lunch. James has a bad, chesty cold, but he very kindly gave me a lift to the airport before going back to bed. There was no snow in Glasgow so the first warning I got that something was amiss was when Jennifer texted me to ask if my flight was going due to the snow. Sure enough, there was heavy snow at Heathrow, and as I was queueing up to board the plane there was an announcement that it was to be delayed until at least 11.30 a.m. Undaunted, I found myself a comfy corner seat near the departure gate and amused myself by texting, reading and writing reviews of French films in my “French Films jotter.” We boarded the plane sooner than expected, at about 11, and it seemed that we were ready to go. 

More bad news followed. The runway lights suddenly failed, and as it was quite foggy we couldn’t take off. The new departure time was a disappointing half past two. At this point there was a very angry murmur some of the passengers became very restive. There was some sort of bad behaviour at the front of the plane. The captain made an announcement to say that there had been “an incident” and to remind everyone that the delay was down to the weather and not the fault of the airline, and he warned passengers not to use unacceptable language to staff or the police would be called! 

Quite a few passengers elected to leave the flight at this time, so their luggage had to be identified and removed as well. I was very lucky to have a spacious emergency exit seat with lots of leg room, so I could stretch my legs and relax. The runway lights were fixed quite quickly and our flight time was pulled forward, so we eventually left Glasgow at about 1 p.m. - four hours late. Still, at least I would be at Heathrow in time to meet Cat for a late lunch and then meet Jennifer at our hotel later. Or so I thought.

However once we landed at Heathrow the pilot informed us that the airport was littered with delayed flights so we would have to slowly weave our way through them in order to reach the terminal. Then came more bad news - there was at least three hour wait before we would be able to park at a stand! A camaraderie sprang up among the passengers and I was chatting with a very pleasant BA stewardess and a businessman who kindly lent me his charger. I heard that in addition to the air crew who were on duty, there were fifteen BA stewards and pilots travelling on our flight, which meant that they would not be able to reach the flights that they were due to work on. I also read my book and looked out of the window as night fell. 

In fact it took four hours for us to reach a stand, and another half an hour for a member of ground staff to be found to unlock the door to domestic arrivals. The pilot wanted to open it with his own security pass to let us through but Airport Security wouldn’t let him! Before we left the plane two police officers boarded to arrest and remove the obstreperous passenger from earlier. He was very meek as he was marched through the plane while the rest of us looked on disapprovingly.

Jennifer was waiting for me at arrivals when I finally got there at 6.30 p.m. - she had been waiting for three hours! It was so kind of her. She drove me to Cat’s flat nearby, where Cat had made us a delicious meal, which was great as we hadn't been offered any food during our wait on the plane, so I hadn't eaten since breakfast. It was all lovely and cosy and they were both so nice to me that I nearly cried. We ate and chatted and I was just so relieved and glad to be there! 

Jennifer and I then went on to the Moat House Hotel near the Nirvana Spa, and had a drink in the bar before bed time. Oh it was good to be off that plane! 

Christmas Tree

On Saturday James, Ally, Grandma and I went to buy our Christmas tree. It was a cold, sunny day, perfect for visiting the Trossachs. Grandma loves going out for a run in the car so she had a great time and commented on the beautiful scenery with snow-capped Ben Lomond in the background. James drove right up to the David Marshall Lodge so that Grandma could walk in easily with her triangular walker; and by the time we visited the ladies’ toilet James and Ally had narrowed down the choice of trees to two beautiful Norman firs. We made our choice and the tree was encased in netting before being lashed firmly to the roof bars in the car. Then it was time for our traditional lunch in the café before heading home. Grandma and I did well for ourselves at the Mountain Rescue tombola and we were chatting to the volunteers, who know my first aid trainer George. We had one scary moment when Grandma bumped her walker into an uneven paving stone and fell off it - she slipped right down! Needless to say I started screaming a bit, which earned me a row from Alasdair for “making a fuss as usual” however, Grandma was mostly fine thank goodness. She had a big bruise on her hip but I got the doctor to come round to check it out a couple of days later and he confirmed that there was no serious damage. It didn't seem to spoil her day and she said how much she had enjoyed herself.

Back home, James and Ally made a fine job of decorating the tree while I finished writing the Christmas cards, then James and I went out for a brisk hour long walk and delivered all the local cards. It really was a most pleasant and satisfactory day.

The Festivities have commenced

The Christmas season is upon us at school, starting with the annual Christmas Craft Fair this week. Catherine came in to run the craft club stall with me; I had classes so she ended up running it by herself and she did a fantastic job, selling nearly all of our wares before I came back to have a quick coffee with her!
Then today all of the 1st to 3rd Years went to see the Pantomime "Cinderella" at the Citz, and I was one of the staff that escorted them. It was great fun. It was only twenty minutes walk to the theatre and the weather was cold but sunny, so it was a pleasant journey. I have so many good memories of productions at the Citizens Theatre; it's always a bit edgy and interesting. Their take on Cinderella was excellent. It had all the traditional elements of a pantomime (Oh yes it did!) and was very amusing. When the Prince was looking for someone to dance with, the King pointed out various teachers in the audience, who the Prince then insulted e.g. "She looks as if she lives under a bridge!", which I thought was very funny. However Cinderella herself was very feisty and in the end she didn't choose the Prince, but instead followed her heart. Although I noticed that the kitchen boy that she fell in love with also turned out to be a prince (from a neighbouring country) so she was both politically correct and lucky! We all absolutely loved it.

Jools & Mince Pies

We had a very pleasant time at the weekend. On Saturday evening we went to see Jools Holland. We have been to see him a couple of times before and as usual he did not disappoint. He had an array of guest singers, most of whom we have seen before, and his big name guest was José Feliciano. He is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and guitarist who has had a long and distinguished musical career, working with many different musicians. He is best known for the Christmas song Feliz Navidad, which I didn't realise that he had written. He is over seventy now, small and seemed quite frail. He has been blind since birth and had to be helped to his chair and handed his guitar. However he still has a tremendous voice and was very skilled with the guitar. The concert ended with all the musicians and audience giving a rousing rendition of  "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think..."

On Sunday it was the traditional hill-walking club Mince Pies outing. David, Chanel and Ally all came along although Cat was not able to be there the time because her Mum was visiting her in London. It's always a happy occasion and this year was no exception. We were picked up by bus at Tollcross Road and travelled to Callander, passing the journey by filling in a fiendish quiz on different types of sweeties. After a fortifying breakfast at Callander we walked for about three hours to Strathyre where the bus took us on to the Mhor 84 hotel at Balquhidder. Some stalwarts walked from Strathyre right to the hotel, but David told me that the last bit was quite steep so I was glad that Chanel and I had hopped back onto the bus. Soon Santa made his appearance and it appeared that we had all been nice rather than naughty this year, because we all got presents! I fell fast asleep on the bus on the way back, so I was unaware that the bus driver took two wrong turnings and therefore we arrived home on,y ten minutes before Grandma was due to join us for a fish supper! We all swung into action; James and Ally went to get the fish suppers and Chanel and I collected Grandma by car, and soon we were all enjoying our meals and watching the Strictly results show!

Compliments

I got my hair cut and painted at the weekend, and on the way home I stopped at a wee shop to see if I could get my favourite old red shoes repaired one more time (I couldn't - they were beyond help!) While I was chatting to the shoe repairer (cobbler?) he suddenly interjected "Your hair looks very nice." I was somewhat taken aback, and thanked him. As I turned to leave the shop, there was a customer standing behind me and he said, "He's right, your hair looks lovely!" I was overwhelmed!

Also, when I was at Snow Factor at Braehead the other day, I getting my ski boots fitted to some hired skis, the man there unhesitatingly ticked "30 - 49" as my age range. This thrilled me because I am 54! All of these compliments will give me a big heid!

Meet ups

Last week I drove down to Biggar on a fine and sunny morning to visit my Uncle Bill and Aunt Katy. The drive was very pleasant through the rural Southern Uplands and I listened to some of my favourite music on the way. It was absolutely wonderful to see them both and we went out for a tasty lunch at the Elphinstone Hotel which is only a few steps from their home. Biggar is such a beautiful and traditional village, and Bill and Katy were telling me all about the New Year bonfire which the locals build at this time of year ready for the festivities in a few weeks. I am very fond of Bill and Katy and I love their wicked sense of humour; we had a great afternoon.

I also caught up with my friend Ally for lunch one day. She is always very positive; as well as enjoying her company I came away with lots of ideas such as a weekly newspaper that she subscribes to, and a French news podcast which I have started to listen to in the car on the way to work. It was via this French podcast that I learned of the death this week of French rock and roll star Johnny Hallyday. When I lived in France his love story with Sylvie Vartan was just ending, and the French magazines were not complete without yet another story about Johnny's lifestyle and amorous exploits! He was such a big star and had triumphed through so many crises and health struggles that I was quite surprised to hear of his demise. 

I have been catching up with quite a few people recently, and this is very much thanks to my new part time hours; I have the opportunity, and more importantly the energy to arrange meet ups. I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it; I am lucky to know so many nice people so it's lovely to have the time to see them.

Dedication

Last week I was at work for a brief meeting on one of my days off. It was a lovely sunny morning so I decided to go for a walk around the area before heading home. As Was strolling along I heard someone calling my name. It was my friend and retired ex colleague, Midge, on her way to work at a food bank. What were the chances of us bumping into each other in the middle of the morning like that? She invited me to visit the food bank and it was really interesting. The premises are very small, and every inch of space is well organised. The basics were already bagged and ready, with other food stacked on the shelves to be added later. I was so moved by the dedication of the volunteers who give so much of their time to keep the place going.