Morning at the gym

The weather has been quite rainy since our return from Switzerland yesterday morning, and compared with the 23 degrees heat it feels rather chilly, but it’s good to be home. One of the (many) good things about James being retired is the way that he likes to get going with some exercise in the morning, especially our thrice weekly gym sessions. It means that by about 10 a.m. we have done at least an hour of exercise which is quite a satisfying feeling. Today was a good example. When we got back from the gym we had a pleasant coffee then got on with various household tasks before having brunch with David and Chanel at Costa. Having very helpfully looked after Grandma and the cats while we were away for the weekend (along with Ally and Cat, whose visit I was sad to miss), David and Chanel headed back to Dundee this afternoon for a few days before they move on to Liverpool for Chanel’s work experience, and then back to Dundee for their graduation in June. I’m sure that they will both be sad to leave the city where they met and which has been their home for nearly four years.

Lake Lucerne

James and I decided where we would go today by scrutinising the train timetables from Basel. We found that Lucerne is only an hour away by train, with no changes. Neither of us have ever been there so we took a train at 9 a.m. and by 10.30 a.m. we were boarding a boat on Lake Lucerne, having purchased the “golden circle tour”. This meant that we were on the top deck of the boat along with two American couples, while the rest of the passengers were confined to the lower deck. To add insult to injury, one of the American men was smoking a cigar and he kep flicking his ash over what he thought was the back of the boat - in fact he was flicking it onto the lower deck passengers below, a fact which only came to light when they complained and one of the ships’ crew came rushing up with an ashtray for him. He then leaned over the balcony and proclaimed to the ash covered passengers below, “So sorry, I didn’t know you were there!” which I thought was very funny.
Anyway, the golden circle tour included a ninety minute boat trip on the lake, which was just idyllic, followed by an amazingly steep funicular train ride right up to the top of Mount Pilatus. It is a very beautiful mountain, with great views of the Alps in the distance. The top was swathed in cloud when we arrived at the top, but luckily it was swirling around, so gorgeous views of the lake and the town kept tantalisingly appearing and disappearing far below. What we hadn’t realised was that at 7000 feet, the top of the mountain was considerably chillier than Lucerne, and we were both only wearing t-shirts as tops, because we have grown accustomed to the warm weather this weekend. However I spotted a shop inside the hotel and restaurant building at the summit, and we bought two “hoodies” which kept us warm. We walked around at the summit to various viewpoints before setting off downhill by the next part of the route, which was by cable car. Half way down you have to change cable cars, and there is a little leisure area which has a toboggan run. We couldn’t resist giving it a try and we had great fun whizzing down the hill and being towed back up. At the foot of the hill, a bus completed the “golden circle” by depositing aback at the train station. By now it was mid afternoon and down in Lucerne it was still very warm, so before our return train journey we went for a leisurely walk across some of its picturesque bridges and through the old town with its painted buildings and we had drinks by the Reuss river. And now we are back at our hotel in Basel, all packed and ready for our early start homewards tomorrow morning.

On the Rhine

It wa very pleasant to wander through the streets of Basel on this quiet Sunday morning. The shops were all closed, but most restaurants and the museums were open. We had heard that there is a ninety minute boat trip on the Rhine, so we strolled along the banks of the river to find its departure point. Needless to say we set off in the wrong direction but luckily some kindly ladies pointed us the right way and we spotted the boat as it docked. What a pleasant trip we had! I don’t think that it quite counted as a “Rhine Cruise” (we saw several very smart cruise ships which travel far up the river) but it was a lovely taster. We set off downstream to the place where the three countries, Switzerland, France and Germany, all meet. I though that was very exciting. Then the boat turned and we made our way upriver against the current much more slowly, past the centre of Basel and onwards to a dam about twenty minutes upstream before wheeching back downstream to the town again. We sat outside on the upper deck in the sunshine, and we drank coffee and ate croissants while enjoying the scenery.
We walked up the Rhine walkway for a while and crossed the river on one of the wee tiny ferries on a rope before going to the Basel Paper Museum. James was more interested in visiting it than I was, but it turned out to be fascinating. We got the chance to make our own paper and, even better, to try paper marbling! Years ago, Heather and Ewan gave me a beautiful book when we were on holiday in Tuscany with a marbled cover and I have always treasured it. I loved marbling and would like to try it again.
Later on we went to the Kunstmuseum which is Basel’s main art gallery. It has lots of Holbeins including one of Erasmus who lived here and is buried in the Münster. It also has lots of Renaissance art, some of which to me looked strangely modern, in that the faces in the portraits seemed very lifelike. There were also plenty of famous 17th and 18th century artists such as Rubens and Rembrandt, and 19th century impressionists like Manet, Monet and Cézanne. There were even a few Van Goghs. It was well worth a visit and had a delightful courtyard café where I had a refreshing herbal tea and James had a beer, before dinner at the excellent Coccodrille restaurant.

Asparagus Season

It seems to be peak asparagus season here in Switzerland and several restaurants that we have visited have had special asparagus supplements inserted into their menus. These list various options such as asparagus soup, risotto, pizza, and as many ways to serve asparagus with meat, fish etc. as one could imagine. James and I have availed ourself of these options several times and this evening we both had a delicious asparagus soup before our main course. Then we shared a fantastic Swiss fondue which is currently sitting rather heavily in my tummy. Never mind, I really enjoyed it!
Earlier today we walked to Basel train station to make the forty-five minute train journey to Colmar in Alsace. I once visited Colmar as a schoolgirl and remembered it as being very pretty. We set off in plenty of time but by the time we managed to buy our tickets and were bizarrely directed out of the station and in another entrance to our platform, we got onto our train with only five minutes to spare. Colmar is indeed very pretty and we had a lovely time doing a self-guided walking tour around the medieval centre. The half-timbered buildings are ancient and some of them looked a bit precarious! It was very warm so we stopped in a few cafés along the way for refreshing drinks. For lunch we had one of the local specialties; tarte flambée, which was delicious. One of the highlights of the day was a half hour canal trip with a very personable boatman who told us all about the history of the houses and restaurants that line the canal. The 17.23 train was pleasantly quiet on the way back to Switzerland and we read our books and chatted. I would love to come back to Colmar and also explore Alsace some more.

Apfelschorle in Switzerland

I discovered a new drink today on our trip to Basel in Switzerland. It’s called an Apfelschorle and is a mixture of apple juice and sparkling mineral water. In other words, a spritzer. It’s very popular here and has quite a nice crisp taste, and so it is my current drink of choice.
We were up very early this morning and Alasdair kindly drove us through to Edinburgh Airport before he went to work. It also means that he and Cat can use the car this weekend to go hill-walking. Our flight to Basel went quickly and it was strange to see that the airport had two exits; one to France and one to Switzerland. We checked into our hotel, which is right beside the Spalentor Gate of the old town, and then went exploring. The old town is very pretty and dates back to medieval times. We wandered through its winding streets until we found ourselves at the mighty Rhine which flows through the middle of the town. We crossed the Mittlere Brücke (middle bridge) and walked along the river promenade. It was really warm and there were lots of people sitting outside at cafés enjoying the sunshine. We caught one of the four wee ferries which cross the river. They are powered purely by the current of the river, which drives them along a wire using a rudder. This brought us to the steps up to the Münster, which we visited and climbed up one of its twin towers. We had amazing views all around the town and down the river. What a beautiful day. James had a notion of pizza for dinner which wasn’t hard to find as there are lots of restaurants including Swiss, German, French and Italian. And now we are back at our comfy hotel where we are tired but happy. By the way, it’s our 34th Wedding Anniversary today.

Shopping for shoes

Grandma has been wanting to get herself some new shoes suitable for the summer, so this morning James and I took her to Buchanan Galleries to go shopping. We went to Ecco, whose shoes are both smart and comfortable; I really like Ecco shoes myself. The house-wheelchair-car-wheelchair-shop routine went even more smoothly with James there to help. With the help of two lovely shop assistants Grandma chose two pairs of soft, pastel-coloured lace up flat shoes which fitted her perfectly and looked beautiful. Then at the last minute she also chose a pair of patent leather black court shoes with a very small heel. “This is my kind of shoe” she declared, and it’s true that she has always liked stylish shoes with a heel, and has only recently started to wear flat shoes. Not bad going for eighty-nine!
We had coffee and cake in John Lewis and a friendly elderly couple who were just leaving gave us their table so that we could sit at the window looking down Buchanan Street.
I would like to note that I was back in the garden this afternoon planting some French marigolds under James’ watchful eye - my gardening career continues!

Beethoven and Trivial Pursuit

Today James nd I went along to see Symphony, Soup and a Sandwich at the Royal Concert Hall. It was the first time that James has been available to come with me and it was really nice to be there with him. As usual the place was packed; today was Beethoven’s Symphony no. 4, and although we weren’t very familiar with the piece we found it very enjoyable; we both like a bit of Beethoven. Next year there will be a week when the RSNO will play all nine symphonies (as well as other stuff) on six nights in a row, for £40 per person which is an amazing price to hear all that music. It sounds very interesting but a bit intense! I will think about it.
When we got home I popped along to see Grandma and who should arrive but David and Chanel, who had been out for a walk and had also decided to visit her. I’m very proud of how Ally and Davie like to spend time with their Grandma, and she can’t wait to see Jamie when he comes home in June.
This evening I was looking forward to starting to watch the third series of Line of Duty, however I couldn’t resist Ally’s suggestion of a game of Trivial Pursuit. It’s very hard to resist Ally as he is kind of relentless. Oh my goodness, it went on for ages, although we did have a good laugh during it. Ally won. The cats were very interested in what we were up to and while they were watching us I took the opportunity to squirt their three monthly dose of worming solution on the back of their necks; they were both very indignant.

Goodbye Game of Thrones

On Monday evening James, Ally, Davie, Chanel and I had a curry to mark the ending of Game of Thrones. This epic television series, based on the books by George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire, has run for eight seasons, all of which we have watched with great enjoyment. It has been full of sex, violence, treachery and battles, but the main attraction is that it has told an excellent tale about the history of the seven great houses of Westeros, threatened by the Night Walkers from the north and the Targaryen army from the south. During our dinner we all predicted what we thought would happen in the last episode, and who would ultimately sit on the Iron Throne. We all got it wrong.
I did enjoy the final episode, but found the last part of it rather muted as it had to tidy up the last few loose ends. This last series, a victim of its own success, has attracted a disproportionate and ridiculous amount of criticism as its avid fans all feel that they could have concluded it better themselves. However I felt that the series was good and that the ending was appropriate.
I didn’t realise until Tuesday that the meal I was going to have that evening with my Duke of Edinburgh friends was also a curry. Needless to say this made me feel a bit apprehensive because although I love curries they don’t always love me back. I’m glad to say that all was well, maybe my body was so surprised to be fed two curries in a row that it was too shocked to protest. I had a lovely evening with Carolyn, Shona, John and Kenny, reminiscing about our many adventures on the hills, and we all vowed to meet more often.

Gardening Lesson

Today I began my gardening lessons, taught by James. I was really excited to get started, and it went well although I realise that I have so much to learn. James was very patient and directed me what to do, step by step. We needed to plant, in large pots, the marguerites and olive tree that we purchased in Yorkshire. This involved scrubbing a rather mossy terracotta pot for the olive tree before putting stones at the bottom for drainage and then filling it with a mix of soil and compost. The smaller ceramic pots for the marguerites were prepared in a similar way, and then there was much tamping down of the soft earth and watering. Then I did a bit of weeding so that I could plant the nepeta beside the lavender plants. Flora loved watching me and kept me company which was very sweet. I found the weeding to be very hard going and I was very slow compared to the swift and efficient James. However I did enjoy the experience much more than I thought I would, and I was very grubby so I had a bath before dinner. My grubbiness was not helped by the fact that my trousers had ridden rather low as I crouched over the weeds so James thought that it was amusing to drop leaves and small twigs down the back of my trousers as I worked!

South Yorkshire fun

Our visit to the Vulcan Bomber wasn’t the only thing that we got up to in the Doncaster area. Our hotel was the Ramada at the airport, and after we checked in on Friday evening we decided to go to the nearby cinema which is at the Lakeside, a smart retail, restaurant and residential area. We saw Avengers: Endgame, which we have been looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint! Even though it was very long, at about three hours, it was well paced and exciting, and paid appropriate tribute to its many superheroes. It felt strange being in a cinema far from home on a Friday evening. 
And on the Sunday we went to the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, which was near the Doncaster Lakeside area, tucked down a wee lane. It was crammed full of all sorts of aircraft and James was in his element; there was lots of hands on stuff and he called me over at one point to demonstrate to me how a helicopter’s rotor blades can be moved in all directions by tilting the joystick. It was warm and sunny so after a while I left him to it and sat at a picnic bench in the sunshine and read my book. We also visited an excellent garden centre where we bought a variety of plants for the garden including a very aromatic lilac tree; I have always fancied getting one. James’ flight suit (he wasn’t still wearing it; it was in the boot of the car) was also rather aromatic after working on the Vulcan Bomber on Saturday so on our journey home the car was scented with a heady mix of lilac and aviation fuel. 

Up close with the Delta Lady

As our bus approached the Vulcan Bomber at Doncaster Airport on Saturday, one of the enthusiasts burst into tears. The Vulcan certainly engenders great loyalty and emotion in its fans. My final retirement present to James has been a visit to the Vulcan Bomber XH558. Thirty enthusiastic people were on the tour, which sells out every month, but only one person per tour gets the chance to be upgraded to the full “cockpit experience” and I had booked that for James.
As soon as we arrived at the welcome desk in the reception area of the Ramada Hotel (conveniently for us because we had spent the night there), James was sent off to get changed into his own flight suit, which had his name and the Vulcan logo embroidered onto it. I have to admit that he looked very handsome. We all climbed onto a bus which took us the short distance to airport security, where we all climbed off again and filed through security with excruciating slowness. Back on the bus we went and finally (and in some cases very emotionally!) arrived at the Vulcan Bomber. At this point James was whisked off to spend the afternoon with the flight crew. The rest of us took turns climbing up to the tiny, cramped cockpit, and photographed the plane from every angle while watching it going through its paces e.g. switching on its engines and moving its wing flaps up and down, during which we were provided with ear protectors because it was extremely loud. The time passed quite quickly; I chatted to a few friendly people and took photos of James as he worked alongside the air crew. 
He helped to prepare the aircraft, including climbing into the engine intakes to check for debris. He was in the cockpit when the four engines were started, and was allowed to stand underneath the aircraft while one engine was brought up to full power for the famous Vulcan howl. He felt the vibrations going down from his head to his feet. After the aircraft taxied back to its stand James was allowed to marshal it back to its stop position. 
At this point the rest of us were sent back on the bus to the hotel for drinks, but James’ afternoon was not yet over. He was invited into the cockpit while the aircraft was manoeuvred into its parking position and sat beside the pilot and chatted to him. The final part of his day was to help the crew to tidy away the aircraft ready for next month’s ground run. Back at the hotel, he had a drink with the crew before coming to find me; I was by this time back at our room having a little nap after all the fresh air and standing around that I had done. He was said that he had really enjoyed this unique experience. We went out for a celebratory meal to the nearby Miller and Carter, where the staff were outstandingly friendly and pleasant, and got back to our hotel in time to watch the second half of the Eurovision Song Contest! However, for James the day was over. He was too tired to stay awake so he sensibly got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. However I did not feel alone because I was busy messaging about all the songs and singers with Heather, Chanel, David, Cat and Ally who were watching Eurovision too from Lenzie, Dundee, Cambuslang and London!

Summer socialising

Well the great weather is continuing. The heating is switched off, the windows are open, and it was even a wee bit warm when I arrived home from book club about half an hour ago, almost reminiscent of a Mediterranean evening. Yesterday James and I took Grandma out and around Cambuslang in her wheelchair. After a warm welcome at the butcher’s where she is very well known after being a regular customer for fifty years, we went along to Dino’s where we got ice cream cones. Grandma’s was vanilla and I chose “Scottish tablet” which was delicious; tablet (which I love) crumbled through the ice cream. We all had a cup of tea in the garden but after the sticky ice cream and the heat of the day, I was too hot to sit with James and Grandma on the patio at the back of the house, which felt like a furnace, and I had to lie on the grass in the shade.
Today turned out to be a delightful round of socialising for me. My lunch time meet up with my school friends happened to fall on the same day as my EK book club. James and I had errands in town first so we went in together, and then went our separate ways. It was so nice to see Helen, Wendy and Maggie and we had a lovely chat. We noticed that there was a group of schoolgirls at the next table to us and we chatted briefly with them as we were leaving the restaurant, and told them that we had been friends since our own school days. The school girls were on exam leave; the exams always seem cruelly to fall during gorgeous weather. Talking of exams, it was David’s last exam today and he sent us a photo of himself relaxing on the beach in the sunshine this afternoon, probably at Broughty Ferry.
This evening book club at Jenn’s was particularly convivial and everyone was on good form; we had such a laugh, and talked about school and life, past and present.

Hammock time

Yes, my hammock is out for the first time this year! After a gruelling  session at the gym this morning, James has constructed the frame for my hammock and now I am in it. When I say gruelling, I exaggerate. I did a 3 km walk on the treadmill and then a 15 minute cycle, while James pounded away doing a big run on his machine. I was listening to my podcast but I felt quite bored today; I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Anyway here I am in my lovely hammock in the dappled shade of the pear trees whole James is sunning himself nearby on the garden bench. The weather has turned warm again and the birds are singing loudly in the trees. Flora is sitting beside me on the grass but she refuses to come into the hammock with me; she doesn’t like the way it moves. 

James is planning to paint the wee shed at the top of the garden and furnish it as a “writing shed” for me. It’s a very kind thought but, unlike our dear friend Ewan, I have not as yet found a subject for a novel. I love the idea of being a writer but I’m not sure if it will ever happen. However I do like the idea of having my own wee shed all smart and cosy; it will be like the “Wendy house” that I had when I was a child! 

Loving Vincent

Last night we were telling Ally and Jennifer about the immersive Van Gogh exhibition at the Atelier de Lumiere, and All mentioned a film that he had heard about, using the art of Van Gogh, called Loving Vincent. We found it on Netflix and had a look at it, and ended up being so fascinated that we watched the whole thing. It was released in 2017, and is an animated film about the last months in the life of Van Gogh. What is unusual about it is the way it has been animated. The directors commissioned a team of more that 100 artists to paint oil paintings on canvas in the style of Van Gogh, and based on many of his paintings. The actors were filmed performing in front of a green screen, and then the artists would paint over them. As a result the actors (some of whom were very well known, like Helen McCrory or Aiden Turner) were very recognisable, and the animations also had a distinct look of the real people that Van Gogh had painted. The real paintings were displayed at the end as the credits rolled. The overall result was like a moving Van Gogh painting, and it was very effective. Apparently it took four years to complete which does seem a bit over the top! However it is a beautiful film to watch.

Fast boat on the Tay

We woke to a beautiful morning in Dundee with not a cloud in the sky, and set off to Broughty Ferry where we had breakfast in Caffè Nero before strolling to the harbour, where Jennifer had booked us on a speedboat trip. We were very excited but Jennifer had conscientiously scrutinised the trip information and was rather concerned about a warning contained therein; “trips are not suitable for anybody with a medical condition or injury whom shock loads may present a problem. If in doubt please ask.” So, very sensibly, she did ask, and the skipper was very reassuring. However throughout the trip he kept referring to Jennifer in front of everyone as “our nervous passenger” and consulting her on whether the speed was suitable, which was very funny and which Jennifer was very good-natured about. The boat took us over towards Tentsmuir Beach and then along to Dundee and under the road bridge to the V&A where we got an excellent close up view from the water. We also got up close to two oil rigs that were being serviced and then cruised back to Broughty Ferry past the many attractive buildings with balconies. It was great fun.
We met up with David and Chanel at the Bridgeview Station Restaurant for a tasty lunch and a chat, then we all walked back along the promenade for a coffee outside in the sunshine. David’s last exam is on Thursday, he will be very glad to get them finished. All too soon it was time for Jennifer and I to jump onto our delightfully quiet train back to Glasgow. James and Alasdair arrived back from their Fife coastal walk shortly after us and the four of us had a drink together sitting outside in the garden before dinner.

Bonnie Dundee

Jennifer is in Scotland for the weekend and we have travelled up to Dundee to visit the V&A, and tomorrow to take David and Chanel out for lunch. Before we set off we went across the road to visit Grandma and she was delighted to see Jennifer. We travelled by train, wheeling our little cases behind us down to the station and then across from Central Station to Queen Street Station. It was a lovely sunny morning and we chatted and enjoyed watching the fields and towns as we travelled north to Perth and then east to Dundee.
After checking in to our hotel we went straight to the V&A and had a coffee sitting out on the balcony of the café. The reflections of the Tay and the blue sky in the glass wall of the building looked splendid. We went to the video games exhibition which was unexpectedly (for me!) fascinating; I felt that I really understood more about the ideas and designs of gaming which have always been a bit of a mystery to me. After a hilarious dinner, during which Jennifer ordered the “award-winning” vegetarian burger, which reminded us of the “world’s best coffee” scene from Elf, we went to see a romantic comedy at the cinema, which was called “The Long Shot.” The plot was so unlikely and unbelievable and indeed crude at times that it isn’t even worth going into, but it did have some valid role reversal ideas, and some parts were quite funny. We took a taxi back to the hotel and we were chatting to our very pleasant driver about how Dundee has been benefiting from the regeneration of the waterfront area which has brought many visitors from around the world.

Back home and a concert

Here we are, back in good old blighty, on a warm and sunny Friday afternoon. It was raining less than an hour ago but now it’s so warm that I’m sitting outside on the garden bench to blog. Yesterday I awoke feeling distinctly out of sorts. I can’t put my finger on it but I was headachy all day. I had a hair appointment in the morning and suffered through it in near silence (having explained to my lovely hairdresser why I was not my usual chatty self). As soon as I got home I took myself to bed for two hours and awoke feeling much better. This left James to pay our cat sitter Tina, and meet with our plumber and tiler, as well as making the dinner. By the way the cats were thrilled to see us come home, and celebrated by fighting each other playfully all around the house, leaving tufts of cat hair everywhere. They also killed a mouse and captured two birds, which James managed to set free.
It was just as well that I recovered, because in the evening we went to see Stravinsky’s The Firebird at the City Halls. We hadn’t looked at our tickets properly so we went to the GRCH first only to find it suspiciously locked up. Luckily we were still in good time so we trotted down the hill to the City Halls where we had excellent seats in the front row of the balcony.
James and I both love Stravinsky’s The Firebird and indeed it was glorious. We also enjoyed the first half of the programme, which comprised George Butterworth’s gentle and poignant “On the Banks of Green Willow” and Vaughn William’s “On Wenlock Edge” which set to music six of of A.E. Housman’s poems. What all three pieces of music have in common is that they were written in the years preceding the First World War, just before the world was about to change so much. In fact Butterworth was killed in August 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and his name is on the Thiepval Memorial, which we visited last weekend.

Immersive Experience

I’m blogging from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport. We are about to board our flight in good time, however we have had rather a hair-raising trip to the airport, of which more later. Anyway, we woke up this morning to the rain that had been forecast for today. This did not dishearten us because we had planned accordingly. We had a relaxing and leisurely breakfast at the delightful Café de Flore and then James indulged me by not objecting to a visit to the stationery and book shop next door. The rain obligingly stopped long enough for us to go for a pleasant walk by the river and then we made our way by metro to the 11ième arrondissement where we had booked tickets for the Van Gogh exhibition at the Atelier de Lumière. This was no ordinary exhibition. Inside a large exhibition space which used to be a foundry, a constantly shifting display of Van Gogh’s paintings was projected onto all of the walls. It was accompanied by music and had been digitised so that, for example, the birds seemed to fly over the fields. It was stunning.
When we emerged into the daylight we found that it was raining again. It seemed appropriately dismal enough for us to pay our respects to Nôtre Dame, recently gutted by fire. So we headed there by metro and saw the scaffolding and cranes; it was a sad sight. We noticed workers moving around on ne of he towers so restoration work is beginning - President Macron has pledged to restore it completely within five years. We then paid a visit to the quirky Shakespeare and Company - yes, two bookshops in a day! We strolled the short distance back to St Germain and had beer (James) and hot chocolate (me) in the Café de Paris.
Our journey should have been straightforward; the RER directly from St Michel to the airport. But when we got to the platform we found that all of the trains to the airport had been cancelled. We made our way to the Gare du Nord where we had been told that we could catch a bus directly to the airport, but then we couldn’t find the bus, and then it turned out to be two buses. We realised that we were out of time, so we jumped in a taxi. The driver had to struggle through the rush hour traffic, and then drove like a maniac once he got onto the motorway! Anyway, we got here safely and it’s time to get onto the plane!

St Germain-des-Prés

I was so excited to wake up in St Germain-des-Prés, my favourite area of Paris. It’s so central, very near the Seine, and so very Parisian, with its wee shops and restaurants and winding streets. The Hotel Artus is in the Rue de Buci, and we had coffee and croissants in the Café de Paris, one of the many cafés on the bustling street before taking the metro to Anvers and walking up the hill to Montmartre. It was a warm, sunny day and we strolled around the Place du Tertre and had coffee sitting outside a café while watching the world go by. It was delightful.
James expressed an interest in revisiting the Musée d’Orsay, the railway station-turned-Art museum. So we took the metro to the other end of the Jardin de Tuileries and walked along, admiring the spring flowers. We wandered around the museum happily, and I spent a bit of time looking at one of my favourite paintings ever, Renoir’s “Bal Au Moulin de la Galette”. I love its colour and movement and dappled light. Other highlights that caught my eye today included Monet’s Water Lily Pond, Green Harmony, Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles, and Manet’s The Fifer, and there were loads more that I loved.
Back in St Germain-Des-Prés we had dinner in an excellent wee Italian restaurant called L’Oliveto, right beside our hotel. We went for a romantic evening walk down by the Seine and over the Pont Neuf to aid our digestion. Paris looked beautiful.

Au revoir Ally and Cat, Bonjour Paris!

After a delicious breakfast at Le Macassar, Deborah recommended that we visit the nearby Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux so that’s where we started our day. It has an amazing brand new museum beneath it, with effective video presentations which were a mix of original film from the 1st World War and clips featuring modern actors. You can use an app on your phone to watch these at your own pace. We ended up spending quite a bit of time there because it was so interesting. Then we visited Lochnagar Crater, Thiepval, and Beaumont-Hamel, which we have visited before but it was the first time for Cat. It was good to see them again though; we still had new things to learn about them. For example a guide at Thiepval told us that a boy of only twelve years old had managed to sign up to fight in the Somme (I think he has turned thirteen by he time he got to France) and it was only when his mother found out his whereabouts and sent his birth certificate to the army, that he was sent home in disgrace! Thank goodness he was caught!  And Ally used the tour leaflet to guide us expertly around Beaumont-Hamel, where we could see the trenches and nearly every grave was dated 1st July 2016 - the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Our last stop was the town of Albert where we had a late lunch before returning our hire car and saying our goodbyes to Ally and Cat at Charles de Gaulle airport. I was really sad that our weekend with them was over, it has been really good. Ally and Cat were of course going on separate flights, to Edinburgh and London respectively, but they were only five minutes apart which meant that they had each other’s company at the airport. However James and I were going in a different direction; we jumped on a train into Paris where we checked into our old favourite hotel, the Artus in St Germain.

From Ypres to the Somme

In the morning we went for a little stroll around the centre of Ypres and of course visited the Leonidas Chocolate shop. Then we were back in the car and on our way south towards the Somme battlefields. Again we visited some places that were new to us as well as places that we have visited before. I have been looking forward to visiting Fromelles ever since we went with Heather and Ewan to a talk about it in November last year. A mass grave of bodies has been exhumed, many identified, and each man given his own grave and headstone. The talk was very moving and it was amazing to be able to visit it. The gravestones were exactly like all of the other simple Commonwealth gravestones, and there were some beautiful messages on them from their families (descendants really, because their immediate families were all dead by the time of the reburials in 2010).
Ally suggested visiting the Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial which was designed in the style of an Indian temple, and we also briefly visited the Portuguese cemetery which is nearby. Cat suggested that we go to the largest French military cemetery at Nôtre-Dame de Lorette. It was huge, full of the French style crosses rather than the Commonwealth rectangular markers, and it also had a church and an ossuary. We spotted a restaurant right beside it and nipped in, but kind of regretted it because the staff were really off hand with us at first. They were very busy but they were also distinctly unfriendly; we had sat in the wrong area and instead of explaining that to us in a friendly way they were obviously exasperated with us. However once we had been hustled through to the correct area our waitress gradually thawed towards us, worn down but our good manners and pleasant demeanour, and the food was quite good.
The afternoon was dedicated to Uncle Hugh. We visited the canal at Honnecourt sur Escaut, and then his grave at the Fins New British cemetery. We wanted to check if the little Heather that we planted is still growing and I’m delighted to report that it’s still there and has even been growing some new shoots!
When we arrived at our guest house in Corrie, an amazing experience awaited us. Our friendly hosts, Deborah and Gordon, welcomed us into their beautiful home and made us a delicious five course dinner. Their house, parts of which date back to the 16th century, is unique with a Turkish tiled room and the rest of the rooms were designed in the 1920s in Art Deco style. They told us all about the fascinating history of the house and we had a convivial evening.

Around Ypres

I’d like to say that I woke bright and early this morning but actually I still felt quite tired after our long day yesterday! A refreshing shower soon perked me up though. We had all contributed to a list of places that we wanted to visit around Ypres and at breakfast we got the maps out and planned our route. We revisited some memorials and also went to a few that we haven’t been to before such as the Harry Patch memorial and the Canadian gas attack statue of a sorrowful soldier. In addition to these, for future reference, here is where we went: Essex Farm Cemetery, Yorkshire Trenches, Langemark Cemetery, Flanders Fields memorial park (in Zonnebeke beside the delightful Koklikoo café), Tynecot memorial, Sanctuary Wood and Hill 62 memorial. The wee museum at Sanctuary Wood became very busy with about a hundred “Blue Angel” motorcyclists - Flanders branch - just as we were leaving. They were very pleasant but we were glad that we had already been able to wander around the trenches in peace before they arrived. Today was colder than yesterday and we were startled by a heavy shower of hailstones when we were at Tynecot; we had to rush for cover underneath one of the archways. Luckily the sun came back out quickly although the day continued to be showery.
We went to the Menin Gate ceremony in the evening and Ally and Cat laid a wreath. They both looked very smart, and there was also a pipe band playing. The whole day was very intense and made us think again of all the young soldiers who died in World War 1, but the thing that I found most moving was a very small note that had been left at the foot of one of the curved memorial walls at Tynecot. These are where the names are inscribed of the soldiers whose bodies could not be found or identified (including Heather’s great uncle Neil Chisholm whose name we found again today), and there are thousands of them. The note read, “To our great-grandfather William James Tosh. We never met you but we still love you dearly.” and it was followed by a short list of names. I looked up at the wall and saw “W. Tosh” inscribed high up. For some reason, out of all the many names on memorials and gravestones that we saw today, this was what brought tears to my eyes.

Offal Sausage

Wow what a day! I have been awake since 3.30 a.m. and now I am tucked up in bed in our hotel in Ypres at 11.15 p.m. local time (which is only 10.15 p.m. at home in Scotland, but it’s still nearly twenty hours since I got up!) We met Cat as arranged at Paris CDG and collected our hire car. I was very suspicious that we were about to be scammed because we were told that our car was at another airport terminal but that we could hire a bigger better car for only €40 per day more. But James is made of sterner stuff and he just said politely that we would wait for the car that we had booked, and lo and behold it turned up almost immediately.

Our journey was made very exciting by a phone call that Ally received with fantastic career news, but more of that in another post since he hasn’t yet had the chance to share his news with family and friends.

We saw a sign to Compiegnes and spontaneously headed there, only a small diversion from our planned route, to see the place where the armistice was signed at the end of the First World War. It turned out to have a very interesting wee museum containing a replica of the train used for the negotiating and signing of the documents (the Nazis vengefully took the original away to Berlin during the 2nd World War where it “accidentally” went on fire at the end of the war).
Next we went to Arras where we went on a fascinating tour of the Wellington tunnels, old quarries which were expanded and linked before the Battle of Arras, and where thousands of allied soldiers were hidden before the battle started. However I was feeling a bit under the weather. The headphones for the tour were tight on my temples and I quickly developed a sharp headache, and my stomach began to churn which I blame on the “andouillette d’Arras” which I had eaten for lunch in a small cafeteria in Arras. I knew that it was a sausage but I didn’t know that it is made of chopped up pig’s intestines and possibly tripe too. It’s all lumpy, has a strong smell and an indescribably rank taste. I only ate a wee bit (Ally kindly ate most of it for me) but the taste lingered with me all afternoon. I mentioned it to the guides at the Wellington tunnels museum and one of them said that he loves andouillettes and the other one said that he thinks they’re disgusting! James suggested my blog title based on my unfortunate sausage experience. The good news is that I felt a lot better once I got outside into the fresh air.
It wasn’t far from Arras to Vimy Ridge, which we had visited in the autumn. It was just as beautiful as I remembered, this time with the greenery and birdsong of spring time, with the scars of war, shell holes and trenches, still clearly visible beneath the grass and amongst the trees. We walked up to the Vimy Ridge monument and quietly surveyed the countryside around us.
By this time we were all exhausted so we pressed on to Ypres and were glad to check into our hotel, have a very pleasant dinner and chat in one of the restaurants in the main square, and then totter off to bed. What bliss to have nine hours sleep ahead of me!

Early start

Here I am at Edinburgh Airport, writing a very quick blog post before James, Ally and I fly to Paris CDG for our weekend in Belgium and France. We will meet Cat in Paris, who is flying there from Heathrow. Ally has just purchased some sort of broth with duck gyozas in it for his breakfast, while James is in the queue at Caffè Nero to get us coffee and pastries. I’m excited and not particularly tired; I was early to bed last night but unfortunately didn’t get straight to sleep because I was thinking about our journey. We got up at 3.30 a.m. and drove to Edinburgh Airport on quiet roads.
Yesterday was very busy. We visited Grandma and stocked up her fridge with tasty treats, I had various other errands as well as packing, James did a lot of gardening, I had coffee with Doreen and even managed to Cambuslang book club for an hour last night!
After my coffee with Doreen, we walked along to Westcoats Road to have a look at a considerable number of bees which have set up home in the sunny sandstone wall of the bowling club. There has been much talk of these bees over the last week or two because they are on one of the main routes to the station, and buzz around people alarmingly although they don’t sting. Most people think they are wasps but Ally realised that they were bees, and Doreen (who is a bee expert) told me that they are mining bees. They are in fact a protected species and don’t do any harm, and as they are solitary bees Doreen was surprised to see so many in one place.

Revisiting Cats

Until tonight I have only seen the musical “Cats” once, with James many years ago in London. So long ago that it was before we had children. I remember that the costumes were beautiful but the musical itself didn’t make a huge impression on me, it didn’t really have a proper plot and just wasn’t one of my favourites.

Recently one of my former colleagues, Karen, invited me and James to come along with her and her husband George to watch the Pantheon Club perform Cats at the King’s Theatre this evening. The Pantheon Club is an amateur dramatic society but their productions are of a very high standard, almost to professional level. Our main motivation was to cheer on another former colleague who is a keen actor and dancer - Colin whom we watched in Footloose in the Autumn. I was up for dinner and a fun evening, so we booked a table at the Steak and Cherry in Sauchiehall Street which was very handy for the theatre. The meal was decent but the service was a bit slow so we ended up hurrying up the stairs in the theatre with only three minutes to go. The musical was much as I remembered. Based on the cat poems of T. S. Eliot, it’s a series of musical sketches over the course of a night in the lives of a bunch of cats. The music was ok; not Lloyd Webber’s best I think. However the choreography was excellent and the enthusiastic cast brought it all to life. I enjoyed it, especially the second half. Colin was fantastic and had several main parts including those of Mungojerrie and Mr Mistoffelees. We gave him a special cheer at the end. I stand by my opinion about Cats, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and it was a lovely evening.