Kafkaesque

Our weekend in Prague started on Saturday morning with a train and a bus. Long term readers of this blog will recall that I have serious doubts about public transport, due to many disturbing and sometimes unpleasant experiences in the past. As we sauntered from Glasgow Central to Buchanan Street bus station with our little wheeled cases in tow, a seagull shat upon BOTH of us from a great height. It splattered right down the front of James’ jacket, and also hit me right on the forehead and down my nose. I believe that this can be regarded as good luck! We nipped into a wee city supermarket and bought a packet of baby wipes to clean ourselves up a bit. So there we were, standing in the middle of Buchanan Street, wiping each other down with the wipes!

The  bus station was bustling but James bought me a wee coffee and we found the bus to Edinburgh Airport with no difficulty. The passengers were a strange looking bunch. Some had backpacks, some were scarily elderly, one poor lady was just sitting there crying her eyes out as she waved goodbye to a very cheerful looking man. The bus driver engaged in a loud and lively argument through the window with his supervisor about when he was supposed to set off, and used some distinctly non politically correct language. Ah, public transport! It’s never dull. 

As we walked across the tarmac at Edinburgh airport to our aeroplane we were assailed by a heady odour of manure from the nearby field mixed with the smell of kerosene. James suggested that we market it as a perfume for “the rural aviation enthusiast” which I thought was very funny.

During our flight I listened to the ninety minute BBC Radio Scotland Outdoors podcast about John Muir. Originally recorded in 2016, it has been put back onto the website since the recent 180th anniversary of his birth. It was both fascinating and informative and has inspired me (even more!) for our visit to Yosemite. What a great person John Muir was. 

When we arrived in Prague our taxi driver took us into the old town through picturesque and twisty streets until he finally stopped and pointed us towards a narrow passageway. Within it we found the tiny office for our apartment which is situated in a large old building. We followed the receptionist’s directions as best we could, but found ourselves searching up and down sinister staircases and labyrinthine corridors with strangely numbered doors for what felt like ages. As James pointed out, the situation was positively Kafkaesque - which I suppose is appropriate for Prague. 

We did thankfully find our apartment which was surprisingly airy and spacious compared to its surroundings, and soon it was time to negotiate the metro to our concert. It was such a warm evening - no need for jackets - and we joined the crowds at the O2 arena to see Roger Waters. The tickets were my Christmas present to James, and Roger Waters is his taste rather than mine. However I enjoyed the concert too; I knew most of the music and I was impressed by the truly gigantic model of Battersea Power Station which descended from the roof during the second set and on which were projected some amazing images. The light show was great and ended with a Pink Floyd prism made out of beams of white light, with rainbow colours added in.

April showers

The weather was pretty amazing today. Although it was warm and sunny, the sky above looked wild. Against the bright blue sky there were big solid grey-white clouds and also wispy wind-blown clouds that looked like torn hankies. It was beautiful but also incongruous; it looked more like an extravagant painting of an imaginary sky than a real sky! When I got home from work I walked down to the doctor’s to pick up a prescription and the temperature was most pleasant, warm with a slight breeze. However when I was on the way back home, the sky to the west had turned into one big black cloud, all the more ominous because I was still strolling along in sunshine. About an hour later there was torrential rain followed by a sudden hailstorm. Flora was intrigued by the sound of the hail hitting the garden path and she jumped into the window sill and stared at the hailstones bouncing on the slabs. 

It has all been fascinating but we will miss the next exciting instalment of Scottish spring weather because tomorrow we are setting off to Prague for a wee break.

Royal Baby

On Monday morning, while I was having a swim before yoga, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her third baby, a little boy. I have been teased by various friends for being a bit of a monarchist, and I suppose I am. I think that Britain would be duller without the royal family, and I also like the idea of their own history being linked so directly with the history of the country, going back for many centuries. The Duchess of Cambridge appeared with the baby on the hospital steps only about seven hours later, looking absolutely fantastic and with no sign of the swollen ankles that I used to sport at the end of my pregnancies. Although to be fair, my ankles are not my best feature at any time!
Having three babies changes your life. You and your husband are outnumbered by your progeny. It’s really hard work and you worry about giving them all enough attention. And then somehow they grow up to be funny, strong, amazing young people. And it’s all worth it!

Happy Birthday John Muir!

In preparation for our upcoming visit to Yosemite National Park, I have been reading John Muir’s book on The Yosemite. Born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1838, John Muir moved with his parents to America and spent his life exploring, recording and protecting the beautiful areas of wilderness that became, in part thanks to him, America’s National Parks. He was an amazing and adventurous man, and his love of nature shines through in his vivid descriptions of the mountains, waterfalls, flora and fauna of the Yosemite Valley.
How appropriate then, that on his 180th birthday (yesterday, 21st April) James and I should go on a beautiful walk along the Fife Coastal path and share in his love of the outdoors. We set off reasonably early and after the hour and a half’s journey we were just in time to catch the ten to ten bus from Crail to Boarhills. We then walked back to Crail which was 15 km along the coast. The weather was beautiful with a gentle breeze and it was an absolutely brilliant day. The sea was a gorgeous deep blue with tiny choppy waves, and we sauntered along sandy beaches and rocky coves, and past several golf courses. At one point a golf ball smacked into the sand just beside us and we threw it back to a grateful golfer. We spotted a memorial stone which marked the place where Mary Queen of Scots’ mother, Marie de Guise, had landed by boat in Scotland on her way to marry James V in 1538. We gathered wee smooth pieces of translucent sea glass from the tide line. We saw stone ripples in the rocks formed by ancient rivers. We lay down on the grass at Fife Ness to relax in the sunshine for a while. When we arrived in Crail we had tea and scones sitting outside the Crail Harbour Gallery in its small sunny garden overlooking the sea.
It was such a good day and it was great to be outside for so long.
To quote birthday boy John Muir,
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

Proper Spring

Spring time has arrived in all its glory, and that gladdens my heart. The difference is really the temperature, which has risen enough to remain fairly warm even when the sun disappears. I have dug out my summer tops and trews, and put away my winter jumpers. The cats are very happy too, spending even more time outside. They love it when we come outside to sit (or in James’ case work!) in the garden. It is Flora’s first Spring and when she is outside she quivers with excitement at all the sounds and smells. And Tom is joyful as the familiar warmer weather rolls rounds again, he is doing a lot of scampering in both the house and the garden.
Perhaps inspired by the change of season, I have had a burst of activity and booked all the accommodation for our holiday to Oregon and California in June and July. It’s nice to have it all sorted so that we can look forward to our road trip.

Cranachan

I visited the dentist this week to get a chipped tooth repaired. I explained to him that the damage was caused by a piece of caramelised oatmeal in a Cranachan that I made recently. My dentist objected that you don’t need to caramelise the oatmeal for Cranachan, merely to toast it. As I acknowledged this but countered that caramelising (and then reducing it to the size of sugar granules with a pestle and mortar) is my own adaptation because it makes it even more tasty, it occurred to me that we were having a very culinary conversation! 

Still Game

I’m still enjoying my twice or thrice weekly trips to the swimming pool. Last week I was gratified to hit 1500 metres in an hour, an increase by about 200 metres on my previous usual distance. It’s still not spectacular but I’m feeling a bit fitter. I’m getting to recognise many of the other swimmers; a few are much faster than me, many slower, and of course the usual suspects who don’t seem to swim at all. This group of mainly older men either stand around chatting at the shallow end or pile into the sauna. There were so many of them in there the other day that it looked ridiculous, I think they must have been sitting on each other’s knees. A lot of these elderly gentlemen bear more than a passing resemblance to various characters in the comedy tv series “Still Game” which James and I enjoy very much. As it happens a new series has recently started and, reflecting on this as I was getting changed after my swim, I found myself humming the catchy theme tune rather loudly. Let’s hope that I wasn’t overheard by any of the regulars!

Art - or is it?

I just saw a really amazing play with Heather at the Theatre Royal. It was called Art, and starred three very well known actors; Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson, and Steven Tompkinson. The first surprise was that we were in the front row of the dress circle instead of the balcony - I was so sure that we were going to be really high up that I had insisted that Heather go all the way back to her car to fetch her glasses (which she barely needs) for extra clarity due to the height that I thought we would be! In fact we were in a prime viewing area, which I had forgotten, it was ages ago that I booked it. Anyway, the play was about three friends, one of whom has spent a lot of money on a piece of modern art which is a completely white canvas. His friends react in different and complex ways to this, and during the play it becomes clear that it is just as much about friendship as art. I thought that it was really good. The content was original and compelling; and the sharp dialogue held my attention for the whole ninety minutes. Also the acting was fantastic; the three actors interacted so well with each other and the audience. It was originally written in French by Yasmina Reza, and it does have a vibe of Paris about it. It was very intense but also very amusing. I do enjoy my theatre outings with Heather!

Frog spawn, a lamb and a bicycle

Well, our lovely holiday in Ardnamurchan came to an end on Friday. We went for a walk at Corran before getting the ferry, but it was a bit on the tame side compared to the amazing walks we had enjoyed earlier in the week. We had a good run home and were soon reunited with David, Chanel and the kitties. We still had a long weekend ahead of us because James had booked Monday off work, and so our holiday spirit continued with a delicious curry at Rasoi in the evening with Heather and Ewan.
After a pleasant Saturday of cooking and entertaining we decided to go for a walk on Sunday. David and Chanel came too and we headed over to our old favourite: the Greenock Cut. What fun we had. I saw my first lamb of spring time and it was extremely cute - it made the same little “baa” sound as Floof! Someone who shall remain nameless forgot their waterproof and had to carry an umbrella because it was raining on and off! Someone else who shall remain nameless slipped on some mud and fell right down on their bottom! We saw lots of frog spawn in the ditches and David and Chanel collected some in a water bottle to nurture! The most exciting event was finding an abandoned and rather rusty bicycle under some foliage beside the path. James and David managed to get its chain back on and Chanel and David cycled up and down the path, rather bravely because its brakes didn’t work. The park ranger was delighted that we had brought it back to the visitor centre because it had been reported to him so it saved him the trouble of fetching it himself. No one had reported it stolen so he encouraged us to take it home to restore it. Into the car it went, with some difficulty!
Today was lovely and sunny and we were all out in the garden. James assembled his rotating composter (he has admired Hugh’s for years!) and David repaired the brakes on the bicycle. He and Chanel took it out for a wee cycle up and down the road and reported that once they have sorted out the rust it will be as good as new. They also bought a fish tank for their tiny amphibian friends.

Beautiful Kingairloch

The good weather continues here in Ardnamurchan so we planned a bigger, hillier day in Kingairloch, a place that neither of us have visited before. I was immediately struck by the stunning beauty of this area. The deep blue of the sea and of Loch a Choire contrasted with the snow capped mountains around them. We parked at the start of Glen Galmadale and James set off on a massive six hour circuit to climb two Corbetts. I headed up the opposite side of the valley, to the ridge that leads up a series of smaller hills. The first obstacle for me was getting up to the ridge. It was very steep and, as I paused frequently, I could see James, easy to spot due to his blue jacket, ascending the much steeper hill opposite at an impressive rate. After a while he got too far away and I couldn’t see him any more. Things improved once I got to the ridge and I took my time ascending, taking in the amazing valley and sea views of either side of me. I had lunch on a sheltered slope of Druim na Maodalaich, facing out to sea. It was really warm in the sunshine.
I then pressed on up and along the ridge, which gradually rose in a series of little hills and plateaux. It was rough and steep in places and as I climbed higher there appeared increasingly large patches of snow which were slippery to walk on. I stopped for a rest on a rock which was 535 metres according to my Ordnance Survey App on my phone, and then started to retrace my route, which took ages because my right knee was getting sore. Meanwhile James was having his own adventures. He made good speed to his first Corbett, Fuar Bheinn, but had to contend with deep snow on the south facing sides of the hills. Also in the north facing slopes he found hard frozen snow which meant that he had to put his crampons on twice. After reaching the top of his second Corbett, Criach Bheinn he descended from the head of the valley and followed the stalkers’ path back to the car, where I had not long arrived. It was a great walking day which suited us both.

The Silver Path to Castle Tioram

We had a brilliant day today. The sun came out and we were treated to blue skies and a spring-like vibe. We walked from our cottage, which is at Mingarry, just outside Acharacle, up and over the peninsula to Loch Moidart. The views were amazing and we passed several lochans on the way. After we arrived at the shore of the loch we turned along the Silver Road (I love that name!) and walked along to the castle. The path was really pretty, edged with rocks and trees, and it twisted and turned as it climbed up and down beside the loch. The colours of the loch ranged from dark blue to a green turquoise colour. Eventually we turned a corner and were rewarded with a stunning view of Castle Tioram on its tiny tied island, connected to the mainland by a sandy tombola. Behind it the South Channel of the loch led out to the sea. We climbed up the steep grassy slope beside the castle and had lunch in the sunshine beneath its ancient walls. How delighted I was that James had brought a flask of coffee in his rucksack.
When we got back to the cottage we relaxed after our 12 km walk, and finished watching the DVD box set of “Masada” that I brought with me. Why a 1981 television series I hear you ask? Well, when I watched it all those years ago, I was ten minutes from the end when someone came to visit and I missed the ending! I was so frustrated, and in those days my parents didn’t have a video recorder to capture it for later viewing (although I’m sure that they bought one just a couple of years later, because I remember that they used to keep a notebook with a carefully written catalogue of what they had recorded on each video cassette!)  I have never had the chance to see it again until I noticed it on the Amazon website at a bargain price a few months ago. So this evening (after watching the full six hours over the last three evenings) I finally got to see the end. I was genuinely impressed by the high quality and sensitivity of the production, and Peter O’Toole was excellent as the good guy Roman general who only ever wanted peace.

A trip to Tobermory

On Tuesday we had planned some hill-walking near Kingairloch, but there was a bit of snow overnight and the clouds were low over the hills. We had expected this due to the weather forecast, so, nothing daunted, we changed our plans and headed right down the peninsula to Kilchoan, with the intention of crossing over to Mull. As we arrived at the ferry terminal we noticed that the ferry was just pulling away. Resigned to an hour and a half’s wait, we parked the car only to see the ferry coming back for us and the crew calling for us to come on board.  I thought that this was tremendously kind of them. I was excited to have caught the ferry, and also excited to arrive in good old Tobermory, one of our favourite places with its brightly painted houses and attractive shops and cafés.  And indeed we immediately went into one of those cafes for a roll and sausage and a coffee.
We walked along the front of the town and along the coastal path, south towards the Aros Park area, which strangely we have never visited before on our numerous trips to Tobermory. It has a waterfall, a lochan which we circumnavigated, forest paths and lovely views back to the town. It drizzled on and off all day but we were well waterproofed!
On our way back to the ferry we popped into various little shops to purchase:
1. A packet of James’ favourite Isle of Mull Bakery lemon melt biscuits.
2. Some camomile teabags for me.
3. A birthday present for Cat which shall remain a secret.
4. A useful shovel (!) which is exactly the right kind of shovel that James has been looking for.
It was a very good day.

Off to Ardnamurchan

It’s Easter and James and I have ten days holiday together. We have booked a cottage in Ardnamurchan for five of these days; Monday to Friday this week. James has some hills that he would like to climb in the area and we both want to go for lots of walks and spend time together. The weather forecast for the week is not good, but we’re not going to be put off by a bit of rain!
David and Chanel are very kindly cat-sitting during our holiday.
We set off early on Monday and by midday we had arrived at Glenfinnan. James went to climb one of his chosen hills, and after a cup of coffee and a scone at the National Trust Visitor Centre I walked up to the viewpoint to look at the viaduct, famed for its appearance in the Harry Potter films. I had noticed in the Visitor Centre that as well as Harry Potter memorabilia, there is also a range of Outlander mugs and jewellery. Anyway, as soon as I reached the viewpoint, a gust of wind blew my map away, but luckily a gallant young man ran after it for me. I then started my walk along Glenfinnan, passing under said viaduct and containing up the valley. Although the visitor centre was busy, and so was the path towards the viaduct, after that point there were no more walkers at all and I didn’t see a soul for the rest of my 10 km walk.  I had such a lovely peaceful time. The weather was dry and even sunny at times, and as I walked along a high forest path,  I could see beautiful views of mountains dusted with snow and the river below. When the path turned downwards towards picturesque Corryhully Bothy, I couldn’t see a bridge across the river.  It wasn’t a particularly wide river, but it was fast flowing and I couldn’t see a safe place to cross. I was determined to reach the pleasant riverside path across the water, so I started picking my way downstream along the riverbank.  My patience was rewarded when, as if by magic, I spotted a wire bridge, which although rather swingy, took me right across to the path.  I continued my walk in fine spirits.  James had also enjoyed his own walk, although for some reason he had managed to climb the wrong hill.
We arrived at our cute cottage for two near Acharacle after another forty-five minutes of driving, and were delighted to discover that it is both immaculate and cosy, with a real fire in the living room.