An unfortunate accident

On Sunday we headed 2 km down the road from the Aultguish Inn and cycled up the Strathvaich valley. James cycled 18 km each way to climb Carn Ban which is an out of the way Corbett. This was a substantial six and a half hour day for him. Meanwhile I cycled at a more sedate pace, just 6 km up to the Vaich Dam and then back. I really enjoyed myself and sat up at the dam for a while taking in the scenery of loch, river and mountains. When I returned to the car I decided to drive back to lovely Ullapool where I walked about in the sunshine and a had a coffee.
When I got back to the pick up point I cycled around a bit more and then I spotted a tiny figure approaching from the distance. But the person was not riding their bike, they were pushing it. As they got closer I could see that it was James and that something wasn’t right. It turned out that he had taken a bad fall from his bike - it was actually lucky that he was quite near the car when it happened because he was in quite a state. He had been cycling along at a fast pace and had been looking ahead to see if he could spot the car, and he didn’t notice that the path had turned sharply to the left. He tried to turn but it was too late and the bike went over, and both James and the bike skidded along the gravelly path for a good few feet. Oh dear, what a mess he was in. He has scraped a good deal of skin off his left shoulder and arm in horrible long scratches, and there are particularly deep gouges in his left elbow and hand. He also has bad grazes on his side, and the handlebars of his bike stuck into his right thigh, cutting and bruising it. He made it back to the car but felt faint and had to lie down while I tended to the worst of his injuries using his very well equipped first aid kit.
I had to drive all the way home but I actually felt very alert, I think perhaps because of the adrenaline. We stopped briefly at Contin and I ran into the shop and got James a full sugar can of Irn Bru out of the chill cabinet, and a Mars Bar, which he consumed happily. When we got home he had a bath to try to soak some more of the gravel out of his wounds, and then proceeded to bleed on the bed sheet during the night!
He went up to hospital this morning and had his wounds properly cleaned and dressed under local anaesthetic which was a relief. He was also given antibiotics in case of infection. He is in quite a lot of pain, mainly his elbow and thigh; he says that he feels as if somebody has been kicking him! We are however both relieved that he is not worse injured.

Swimming and midges

We have had an eventful couple of days in Ullapool. The weather was so great on Monday that we sat outside the Arch Inn to have cool drinks and then I was able to go swimming in the sea at Ardmair. It was right proper swimming in deep water - the sea was about the warmest that I have ever experienced in Scotland. When I went in at first it did feel cold, but not that horribly unbearable way. So I took my time, slowly cooling myself down to the temperature of the water as I went in deeper. Soon I was swimming up and down parallel to the shore, looking at the mountains and the sky and the water. It was brilliant. Funnily enough, after I got dried and dressed, I felt warm at first but then kept getting colder as if I had chilled right down to my bones. Strange.
I didn’t really heat up properly until I had my dinner at the Aultguish Inn, where we were spending the night. The sign outside says “Dam good food” in jocular reference to the dam above the Inn, and indeed the food was hearty and delicious. We went out for a wee walk up to the dam after dinner and nearly got eaten alive by midges. Some midges were also lurking in our bedroom and homed in on midge magnet James, who sadly did not have a restful night.

The Eighties Reimagined

On Saturday night we headed to the Royal Concert Hall to see a show entitled “The Eighties Reimagined”, fronted by the famous record producer Trevor Horn. Trevor has also appeared in various bands much loved by James over the years such as The Buggles, Yes and Asia so I went with some trepidation.
However, to my pleasant surprise Trevor had selected a wide variety of music from various artists he has worked with in the studio together with some pieces to which he felt he could bring a new twist (hence “reimagine”)
Trevor was joined by Lol Creme formerly of 10CC and his later partnership with Kevin Godley which gave them the excuse to play a number of my old favourites by these bands. A highlight for me was 10CC’s “I’m not in love”, and a haunting ballad version of  Springsteen’s “Dancing in the the Dark” which in my opinion was much better than the original.
Contacts in the recording industry meant that the band was drawn from a cross section of musicians incuding some really talented vocalists such as Steve Hogarth (Marillion) and Russ Ballard (Argent).

More garden and a lovely curry

It was a bit cooler today than the furnace of yesterday, which was a relief. It was still more than warm enough - maybe about 23 C - to sit outside in the garden with a cool drink after we went to the gym in the morning. 
The aggressive blackbird that creates such a racket when the cats are in the garden was very noisy today. Floof is very intimidated by it and hides under a bush when it’s around. I felt very indignant on her behalf so I got the hose out and lay in wait under one of the trees to give it a scoosh of water. Not to hurt it of course, just to give it a message that we are not prepared to be harangued by it all the time. It was too wily for me though, and circled around the bushes and trees keeping well out of my way. Suddenly Floof broke cover in order to chase a squirrel across the grass and up the pear tree. She nearly caught it too - they were both running at full tilt - but once it got into the higher branches she knew that she had lost the race so she stopped with her arms (front legs I suppose) and legs wrapped around the trunk of the tree, looking for all the world like a koala bear. This was too much for the blackbird who swooped around in full voice to menace her. I fired off the hose at it but I don’t think it noticed or cared; it probably just thought that it was a shower of rain.
We had a delicious curry at Rasoi with Heather and Ewan this evening. The food was excellent and as ever the conversation was fun - the four of us can and do chat about anything and everything.

Hot hot hot

I spent nearly all day in the garden. This was partly because I enjoy being outside, but I also felt a certain sense of obligation. Today was the UK’s second hottest day ever * at 38.1 C (100.6 F) - that was in Cambridge; we peaked at 29 C here, which felt plenty hot to me. So I felt that I should be outside in the sunshine - or shade - while I can, because I know that it won’t last. This inner voice harks back to my parents in the 1970s who would, understandably, urge me to put down my book (there was always a book) in order to go outside and get some fresh air. Lurking inside when the weather is good still makes me feel guilty. I positioned my trusty hammock in the shade but it was still really too hot for me. Caroline came for lunch bearing gifts of lovely courgettes and beetroot from her garden, and we had an excellent chat. Meanwhile James had been for a three hour walk at Mugdock Country Park with a few members of the hill-walking club. Thank goodness that I didn’t go; I would have expired in the heat. On his return we took Grandma out in her wheelchair and she enjoyed looking at all the flowers in the neighbourhood gardens. Unlike me she thrives in the heat so we sat in her garden with her for a while after our walk so that she could soak up a few rays. We didn’t go inside until about 9 p.m. when we watched the last episode of Catch 22. Later I returned to my hammock for a wee while in the blessed cool of the darkness. I heard the ring of a tiny bell and saw the shadowy form of Tom keeping me company. When I finally walked back into the house I could feel that the paving slabs on the patio were still warm under my bare feet.

* Update - after the temperature from Cambridge Botanic Gardens was reviewed, it was announced a few days later that in fact the temperature had reached 38.7 C (101.7 F) so in fact Thursday 25th July 2019 was the hottest day on record in the UK.

More heatwave

It has been such a hot day. We brought Grandma round to our garden in the afternoon and she was of course loving the heat while I lurked in the shade. We heard on the radio that we should keep the windows closed until the outside temperature cooled down but we ignored this. My excuse is that although sometimes the temperature outside in summer exceeds that of inside the house, it is rarely of such a marked contrast as today. As a result our bedroom has retained a sultry tropical climate. James has thrown the windows wide open and the duvet has been consigned to the floor. We didn’t come in from the garden until late. I was still in the swing seat with Flora at 10.30 p.m. in the twilight; the blue sky above us dotted with little dark clouds.

Heatwave and a new Prime Minister

So we are having a heatwave! It’s not too sweltering here in Glasgow (I presume that it’s a lot hotter in England) and the temperature is truly delightful. The sky is blue, there is the lightest of gentle breezes, and I am in my hammock in the garden, feeling very contented. We decided to go to the gym early this morning to get some exercise so that we could relax for the rest of the day with a clear conscience. Flora has cleverly positioned herself on the floor in our bedroom between the two windows so that she can benefit from the current of air passing between them. David and Chanel have arrived home for a few days and are also relaxing around the house and garden.
At midday we gathered in the back room to watch the announcement of the winner of the Tory leadership contest and therefore our new prime minister. The winner was, as widely predicted, Boris Johnson. Now, Boris is a bit of an eccentric character to say the least, well known for his gaffes and chaotic private life. However I would like to see him get a chance to fulfil the promises that he has made. It seems terribly negative that some MPs were resigning even before he got the job because they “can’t work with him”,  others are already planning a vote of no confidence, and that the press is already gleefully anticipating his downfall. Can’t we be a bit optimistic at least for a short while that he just might bring new ideas to a very complex political situation? I realise that I’m not at all knowledgable about politics but I’d like to see less poison and more positivity.

Bring me Sunshine

On our way home from our latest Premier Inn at Oldbury, Birmingham, we decided to break our journey at Morecambe because a) it’s about half way between Birmingham and home, and b) it has a seaside promenade where we could go for a walk. All went according to plan and we had a light lunch and a 5 km walk along the prom. The weather was quite breezy but warm, and there were lots of people on the beach and the prom and the pier, all enjoying this fine Sunday in July.
We walked along to the Eric Morecambe statue which portrayed the much loved entertainer in the middle of the dance that he and Ernie Wise performed as they exited at the end of their show, after singing “Bring me Sunshine”. I surprised myself by feeling quite moved to see it, and the quotations and facts engraved on the paving slabs below it. One of them stated that on 25th December 1977 their Christmas show attracted 28 million viewers - about half of the total UK population at the time. I remember watching it that day and so does James.
The remainder of our journey home went by quickly. We were greeted warmly by the cats, who immediately took us to the utility room to inspect their feeding bowls. These did not need filled because Tina from next door has been taking excellent care of them as usual. We visited Grandma then had some rather tasty roast chicken pies for tea and watched a couple of programmes that we had recorded about the 1969 moon landing. We have had a great weekend but it’s delightful to be home.

Remembering the first moon landing 50 years on

What a difference a day makes! Today we were back at RAF Fairford for our second day at the RIAT airshow, and instead of rain we were greeted by blue skies (with a few clouds) and a warm breeze. We had risen bright and early and we got to the airfield by 9 am and set up camp on the flight line. We had brought our trusty deckchairs and enjoyed coffee and doughnuts as we waited for the flying display to start. How very pleasant it was to be at the airshow in warm weather instead of the driving rain of yesterday. James went for a big walk along the static display while I relaxed while reading my kindle and watching the aeroplanes. The flight line was very pretty with meadow flowers growing among the grass; delicate, very pale pink bindweed, and yellow meadow pea, which was much loved by a few bumble bees buzzing around.
During the airshow commentary,  it was mentioned several times that today is the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, which was on 20 July 1969. Over the last few weeks James and I have been listening to an excellent podcast called 13 minutes to the moon, which is a detailed and fascinating account of the events leading up to the moon landing.  I remember seeing the grainy images of the astronauts on the lunar surface on our black and white television and it being discussed extensively at home and school. I can hardly believe that it’s 50 years ago.
The flying display was intense; planes and display teams swiftly followed each other all day. James took a huge amount of photos and was discussing zoom lenses with the people next to us. It was so much busier than yesterday, there must have been thousands of people there. At the end of the day we packed up but instead of leaving straight away we avoided the rush by having a last coffee at one of the food stations.
As we left the airfield at 8 pm we switched on Radio 4 to find that an hour long radio programme about the 1969 moon landing had just started. It was presented by James Burke, who I well remember as a science television presenter in my youth; he talked about presenting the BBC coverage of the moon landing 50 years ago. It was interesting and witty, and the timing was perfect because it was just over an hour to our hotel near Birmingham.

Dr Foster went to Gloucester

... in a shower of rain. And there was certainly a shower of rain this morning when we woke up in our Premier Inn close to Gloucester. More than a shower of rain in fact; by the time we arrived at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford there was a veritable torrent of rain. We weren’t too bothered by this. We have been to many air shows over the years in every type of weather so although we of course prefer sunshine, we just put on our waterproofs today and got on with it. We walked up and down the flight line looking at all the planes in the static display and even went onto the A330 Voyager and had a look in the cockpit. We had lunch sitting in the grandstand with our big umbrella balanced between us which kept us quite cosy. There were very few planes able to fly because the cloud was so low, and the rain kept coming down “like stair rods” as my Dad used to say. Once or twice it seemed to be brightening up but not for long.
By the time we got back to our hotel late afternoon I was ready for a hot bath and James was ready for a nap. We had dinner back in Gloucester at the appropriately named “Dr Foster’s” down at the docks, which is an excellent gastro-pub.

Pleasant Gloucester interlude

I’m blogging from Gloucester today - well, from a very nice Premier Inn in nearby Gloucester Business Park. As an added bonus the hotel has just been refurbished and reopened today so everything in our room, from carpet to bathroom to bed, is absolutely brand new. Our drive from home to here took almost exactly five hours, plus a couple of stops at service stations, and we split the driving so it has flown past. We listened to the last couple of hours of the Thomas Keneally book on Audible, so James is all ready to ask Keneally some incisive questions at the Edinburgh Book Festival next month. Or perhaps not.
Instead of going straight to our hotel we drove into the centre of Gloucester so that we could go for a walk. And what a lovely walk we had, around the historic docks area then along the banks of the River Severn, which was lined with beautiful trees and flowering plants. We also went to Gloucester Cathedral, which is magnificent; some of it dates back to the 11th century. The stonework carving on its vaulted ceiling is very fine, and there are covered cloisters surrounding a garden with a fountain in the centre. Edward II is entombed in a shrine in the centre of the cathedral. We then enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea sitting outside a café round the corner.

Enjoying being outdoors

The glorious weather continues. We have a mix of clouds and blue sky but it’s so warm that we have the French windows open to the garden all day and just wander in and out; it’s like the garden is an extra room. A room full of birds and squirrels. And a hammock. And two very companionable cats. When Gerry and Janis were here on Saturday evening, we sat outside to have a drink and Tom and Floof joined us, sitting side by side and licking each other’s faces! James has been working in the garden and also weeding and pruning in Grandma’s front garden. She sat outside and enjoyed supervising him. I’m afraid that my own gardening career hasn’t progressed much although I am conscientious about watering my hanging basket which is looking magnificent, and today I sat on the front steps and deadheaded my two tubs of marguerite daisies.

TRNSMT 2019

James and I went to the TRNSMT festival on Sunday. This was notable because we have not been to a music festival since 1981, in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, and that was by accident. So I was interested to find out whether I would enjoy the experience. The seeds for our attendance were planted in the early hours of 1st January this year when David and Chanel played some George Ezra music for me. I had never heard of him and was immediately impressed. So when James suggested that we go to TRNSMT, which has been held on Glasgow Green since 2017, I was especially keen to go when I found out that George Ezra was headlining on the last day, Sunday (it’s a three day festival). James was excited by the fact that Snow Patrol were also scheduled for Sunday so we went ahead and booked. Unfortunately Snow Patrol had to cancel because of a health issue, but they were replaced at short notice by the extremely popular newcomer Lewis Capaldi.
The day dawned warm and sunny and we set off by train after lunch and a visit to Grandma. The train was jam packed with people also going to TRNSMT who were in a party mood and singing loudly. Very loudly.
Soon we were at Glasgow Green where we had prudently booked the VIP area in order to have luxuries such as seated food areas and flushing toilets. But when we went to the stages to watch bands - we went to the main stage and the King Tut’s stage - we left that area and joined in with everyone else. The atmosphere was buzzing. It was so hot and crowded. At first I wasn’t sure that I liked it because it was very busy and people were throwing drinks around and generally being very boisterous. And I felt really hot and clammy. But I gradually relaxed into the day and I enjoyed bands like the Wombats and the Kooks and the Mystery Jets. And the day just got better and better. Lewis Capaldi was excellent and he was very funny and self-deprecating. He seemed overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response of the huge audience. Recently he has had a spat on social media with Noel Gallagher where Gallagher has made fun of him for being new and young and singing sad songs. Lewis Capaldi has taken it in good part and during his set he referred to Noel Gallagher as “Dad” and sang “Don’t look back in anger” as a tribute to him. The audience loved him.
And last of all came George Ezra. It was just beginning to get dark when he came on at 9.30 pm and he was absolutely brilliant. I can’t believe that he is only twenty-six, he has an amazing voice and great songs. He seemed genuinely to enjoy the beautiful evening and his interaction with the audience. The last song of the set was of course “Shotgun” and as it finished, pink and gold fireworks lit up the darkening blue sky. It was amazing.
Ally and Cat very kindly picked us up by car on their way back from a day out with Cat’s family at Loch Katrine so we got home nice and quickly, in time to see the end of the highlights from today at Wimbledon. I had been a bit disappointed that TRNSMT had clashed with the Men’s Singles Final, but I had resisted the temptation to check the result online. So even though I only saw the last fifteen minutes of the marathon nearly five hour match I was on the edge of my seat. Such a close match between these two great tennis players and it went to a tie break in the fifth set, but in the end Djokovic beat Federer to win the championship.
When I headed upstairs to bed, exhausted by our lovely festival day, I couldn’t wait to remove all my grubby and sweaty clothes and have a quick shower. Would I go back to TRNSMT? Actually, yes, I definitely would.

Summer tennis

It’s so warm and summery. When I looked out of the window of my study upstairs this morning I was struck by the sheer abundance of greenery in our back garden and our neighbours’ gardens. Every tree and shrub has its full summer foliage and therefore looks twice its normal size. It looks delightfully lush. Needless to say I leaped straight into my hammock after our morning walk, and I persuaded Flora to join me. However we were both disturbed by a very strident blackbird who flitted about the high branches of the pear tree. It was definitely shouting in shrill beeps rather than singing, and James thinks that it was threatening Flora. He said that it only makes that noise when Flora is in the garden and that he has seen it jumping down behind her on the grass in a mocking and aggressive manner.
After lunch I trotted along the road to watch the Wimbledon Ladies final with Grandma. The tennis was great but, unlike the mighty battle of the mens’ semi-final between Nadal and Federer yesterday, Simona Halep dominated from the start and Serena Williams didn’t really stand a chance. Grandma and I both enjoyed it.
I have been dividing the rest of the afternoon between relaxing in the garden and doing some leisurely cooking for our guests this evening. And of course blogging!

Surely not everyone was Kung Fu fighting?

Jennifer sent me a few excellent photos of her holiday in Iceland last week with Russell, Josh and Ben. It looks fantastic and I would love to spend time there. We had a one night stopover there in July 2015 on our way to America, when we went to the Blue Lagoon and strolled around Reykjavik, but I would love to return for a longer holiday. There seems to be lots of walking and activities and Jennifer mentioned the “Golden Circle tour” which she says is spectacular.
I noticed that in one of the photos Russell was wearing a t shirt with a slogan on it; “Surely not everyone was Kung Fu fighting?” Clearly this was in reference to the very well known 1974 song by one-hit wonder Carl Douglas, which famously claimed “Everybody is Kung Fu fighting” amidst many chopping sounds and martial arts style grunts. I hadn’t seen the t shirt slogan before and for some reason it really tickled my funny bone, I was chuckling about it for the rest of the day. It made me think how strange a sense of humour is, that it can be set off by something unexpected.
Today the weather is absolutely glorious and I have once again spent a goodly amount of time in my hammock. I was glad that we went for our circuitous walk to Burnside and back in the morning, when it was a bit cooler. We met by chance our next door neighbour’s daughter, and we had a coffee with her sitting outside Café Gelato in the sunshine. She is an absolutely lovely girl whose Mum is going through similar experiences as Grandma, and it was great to have a chat with her.

Audiobook and Ullapool

Despite a forecast of heavy rain it has turned out to be very sunny and warm and rather humid in the garden, so I am in my hammock. Flora let me lift her in beside me for a while but she saw a bee and scampered off to chase it. We have had a busy couple of days. James and I decided to pop up to Ullapool to look at properties, so we booked a bed and breakfast for Tuesday night and set off in the morning. It felt strange because I’m still getting used to being able to go places at short notice. Recently I booked tickets to see Thomas Keneally at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August, and his latest book is “The Book of Science and Antiquities” so I downloaded it onto my phone using Audible so that we could listen to it together on the journey. My ulterior motive was that James would be a captive audience because he usually prefers to read his own favourite genres of science fiction fantasy and war history. The audio book is nine hours long and very atmospheric, describing the parallel lives of two Australians, one who lives in the present day and one who lived 42000 years ago. I’m enjoying it but it doesn’t seem to be James’ cup of tea - he has begun groaning at the start of each new chapter and he says that at the Book Festival he is going to ask Thomas Keneally “Why on earth didn’t you make it shorter?” By the time we got home yesterday we had listened to just over seven of the nine hours so we’re nearly done!
We met up with Alison and Hugh at the Route 7 Café in Aviemore. It was great to see them and we had a tasty lunch. Their new house is nearly ready and it will be so exciting to see it when it’s finished. 
When we arrived in Ullapool we went for a walk all around our favourite places and totally by chance happened to meet the local estate agent with whom we had a very interesting chat. Later we had a lovely dinner at the Ceilidh Place. 
Yesterday we went for a 6 km walk to and from Loch Achall and I paddled in the river while the energetic James extended his walk by going up the nearby hill. It was so hot and clammy that I took off my t shirt (there was no one else about) and soaked it in the river and put it back on. This worked a treat and I felt much cooler but then I realised that the water running down from my T-shirt had soaked my trousers and underwear which were now also very wet. My t shirt quickly dried in the warm breeze but my underwear didn’t and remained uncomfortably damp until I was able to get changed back at the car.

Wimbledon, ice cream and bent coppers

Grandma and I have been enjoying watching Wimbledon on the television over the past week. I always think that the tournament has a summery feel. This year the new star is fifteen year old Coco Gauff, who stormed though to the last 16 with a combination of talent and determination. Inevitably she was knocked out in the fourth round today by the excellent Simona Halep, who is much more experienced. However I’m sure that Coco Gauff has a great future ahead of her. It was indeed a very busy Wimbledon “manic Monday” with lots of great singles matches - big names like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams got through to the quarter finals.
James and I made coconut ice cream this afternoon which turned out very well. I had attempted to make it on Saturday night with creamed coconut instead of coconut milk powder and it was a disaster with a strange after-taste. Luckily we tasted it before serving it to our guests so we changed the dessert at the last minute. But I had made some lovely lime syrup to go with it and we didn’t want it to go to waste. So this time we made it with coconut milk powder as specified (it’s the recipe from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection) and it tasted lovely. We ate it while watching the last episode of Series 5 of Line of Duty, which brings us right up to date with this popular police detective programme based in an anti-corruption unit. We came late to the party so have watched all of it over the last few months. The plots don’t bear too much scrutiny but it’s very entertaining, especially the anguished head of the unit, Ted “I still love my wife” Hastings. He is played by Adrian Dunbar whom I well remember as the young hero of the delightful 1991 film “Hear My Song”.

Scottish seaside

When Linda and Alistair were round on Saturday evening we were chatting about childhood memories of Troon, that seaside town so beloved by Glaswegians. So on Sunday, even though we were there as recently as last Monday, we felt the need to pay a visit to Troon with David and Chanel.  It was a lovely warm day, and much busier than last Monday; it was nice to see lots of families out enjoying summer at the seaside. I saw a wee boy determinedly carrying a bucket of sea water up the beach to pour it into the moat of his sandcastle, only to stand in puzzlement as the water all disappeared into the sand. Young children were wearing swimsuits although only a few brave souls had ventured out beyond paddling depth. Dogs were excitedly fetching sticks back to their humans. Stripey wind breaks had been erected all along the back of the beach for a bit of extra shelter. In other words, Troon looked exactly as I remember it from fifty years ago!
I paddled all the way from the town beach, round the point and to the river. The water was noticeably warmer than last week, I really think it’s just about warm enough to swim in. Maybe next time.

Marbling in the garden

My lovely ex colleague Susan came round for lunch on Wednesday and brought two of her children, Erin and Ruairidh, who are both at primary school. I thought that this would be an ideal opportunity to try out the paper marbling materials that I rushed to buy when we were in Basel. As it happened I didn’t really need to provide extra entertainment because the children were both well behaved and self entertaining; they played on the swings, played table tennis and Ruairidh fell in love with Tom cat. Tom got on very well with the children and was very happy to be patted and have his tummy rubbed, he socialised with them the whole time. (Flora on the other hand was sleeping upstairs and didn’t bother putting in an appearance during their visit). 

However I had already prepared the primer and laid out the materials on the old yellow table which I had put on the patio, so after our pizza lunch I attempted, with a feigned confidence that I certainly did not feel, to replicate the process I had seen in the Paper Museum in Basel. So I dripped my marbling inks onto the tray of primer, swirled them around with a cocktail stick, laid on the paper, and then used a squeegee and the outside tap to finish the pattern. Triumph! It worked perfectly! The children and Susan were very enthusiastic and made their own designs, and we laid them out to dry on the grass. Thank goodness that the weather was warm and dry - the table and patio quickly became covered in gluey residue which James hosed away later. If we had been indoors it would have been carnage! I was very impressed by the good manners and creativity of Erin and Ruairidh, they are gorgeous children. 

When they left, clutching their artwork and bidding a fond farewell to Tom, there was still some primer left in the tray, so I sat happily in the garden and created several more patterns. What fun! I was so happy! Meanwhile James also was doing something creative - he was painting the upstairs bathroom! 

Kitten update

Our cats love the summer. They love the French windows being open to the garden so that they can stroll in and out at their leisure instead of going through the cat flap. They love lying on the couches in the warm back room. Tom stretches his back legs on the cushions and flexes all of his toes, and when he’s asleep he snores gently. Flora prefers lying along the top of the couch so that she can open her eyes from time to time, to keep an eye on the squirrels and birds in the garden. Other favourite napping spots include the sheepskin rug, the table (where they know they are not allowed to be!), the slabs or strangely the gravel outside, and on a very hot day the flowerbeds. They also enjoy James and I being around the house more. Often when we are having lunch or sitting in the garden we notice that one or other cat just happens to be walking or having a wash nearby.
They are both extremely cute, which of course is nature’s way of getting us to overlook their bloodthirsty tendencies. Tom adores Grandma and frequently accompanies us along to her house where he greets her joyously and then curls up near her. Flora is very loud and has many different noises with which she greets us, complains to us, asks for food or just chats. Tom is almost completely quiet but moves his mouth in a silent miaow when he is asking us for something. They enjoy play fighting and grooming each other; Tom especially seems to have a maternal attitude towards Flora. I am extremely fond of them both.

Barefoot on the beach

James and I went for a beach walk at Troon this morning. It was sunny and breezy and I took off my sandals and paddled along in the shallow water. It felt great to have the sea lapping at my feet as I splashed through the small waves.
Our upstairs bathroom is finished now and looks very smart. I have moved all my stuff back in and I have to admit that it’s much more convenient than the previous design. The narrow shelves in the mirror cabinet make it much easier to find everything and I love the roomy drawer under the sink.
In other news, Ally bought and collected his first car today. It’s a second hand black Fiesta and it looks brand new. He was in an excellent mood when he brought it home. Jamie sent us his drone footage of the boys’ and Cat’s recent trip to the Cairngorms and it looks amazing. The mountains are so beautiful and the scenery is dramatic, with lochs and steep slopes suddenly falling away beneath the drone’s camera.