Goodbye London!

Here we are waiting to take off on our flight from Gatwick to Glasgow. It should have taken off a couple of minutes ago but it came in late (from Basel) and people are still boarding. This gives me time to write a quick blog post. Our last day in London has been very pleasant. We went for a tour of the Royal Courts of Justice with Cat; unfortunately Ally was too busy at work to join us, he had hoped to take a half day of holiday. The tour was very interesting although it was interrupted by one of the tour members fainting - luckily one of the duty police officers outside one of the court rooms caught her before she hit the floor. We had lunch in a wee Pret A Manger then Cat went off to view a flat and we headed to Piccadilly where we bought tea and chocolates in Fortnum and Masons and browsed in Waterstones before taking the tube back to St Paul’s. We had time for a last quick drink in Madison. Ally’s new office is right beside St Paul’s so we had a quick look over there from the roof terrace but we couldn’t see him at any of the windows! Soon it was time to retrieve our case from the Premier Inn and to take the train from Farringdon Station to Gatwick Airport. 

Diagon Alley

I’m back at the Farringdon Premier Inn for a rest before we go out for dinner with Ally and Cat. My feet are really tired (and in fact my right foot is blistered) after another day of walking.

We walked to Euston Station in the morning and caught a very quick (15 minutes) direct train to Watford Junction, then a shuttle bus to the Harry Potter Studios in nearby Leavesden. It was much quicker and easier to get to than I had thought it would be. These studios are where the films were actually made, apart from a few outside scenes, so there were lots of sets to see, as well as lots of the artefacts like wands and brooms and books and costumes. It was very interesting to see the process by which the books had been translated into films, from initial concept drawings to more detailed plans and then all the skills required to bring it all to life. 

It was amazing to see Gringott’s bank, both before and after its destruction, the huge and extremely detailed model of Hogwarts, the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive, and of course the famous Diagon Alley. 

It was quite busy but very well organised; there was a subtle one way system but we didn’t feel rushed or overcrowded and it took us about three hours to see everything. There were a lot of dedicated fans there, as you would expect; many children dressed as Harry Potter or other characters from the films, and a fair sprinkling of adults who were in wizards robes. One Dad was even dressed as Mad-Eye Moody complete with terrifying protruding eye which was very impressive. I admired a wee girl’s Gryffindor Scarf and she told me that her Granny had knitted it for her. 

Abbey and Palace and Globe oh my!

Another busy day in London - perhaps too busy although we enjoyed every bit of it. I’m already planning our next trip in March and wondering about having some quiet time as well as all the dashing about that we tend to do in a city. 

In the morning we went on our much delayed Westminster Abbey trip, originally booked for spring of 2020. On the way there were a lot of police around Parliament Square and we saw Boris Johnson’s car being whisked into the grounds of the House of Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions. We started by going up to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries which are in the triforium of the abbey, at the top of the walls in the structural part of the roof space where there are lots of beams. Like that of St Paul’s this had long been used as a storage area, but unlike that of St Paul’s it was converted into a smart display area which opened in 2018. (Although when we visited St Paul’s Triforium in August 2018 I rather liked its dusty charm, which was rather like a secret treasure trove) It has an eclectic mix of objects on display; funeral effigies of various monarchs including that of Henry VII, a copy of the Magna Carta, beautifully illustrated medieval books, bits of stained glass, even William and Kate’s marriage certificate! And it has lovely views down into the abbey itself 52 feet below.

We then had a wander around the floor level of the abbey and I particularly enjoyed looking around the flagstones at Poets’ Corner, there are lots of actors too. 

Our next destination was Kensington Palace where we had booked tour tickets to see the Royal Style in the Making Exhibition about couturiers who have worked with the royal family. We had plenty of time to have lunch in the café first, and to visit the new statue of Princess Diana which has been placed in the garden this year to marked what would have been her 60th birthday in July. It’s quite good from a distance but dare I say the face is just a tad too “manly” in my opinion - Diana had strong facial features but she wasn’t at all masculine. 

The tour was better and worse than I had expected. I had somehow formed the impression that I would be seeing quite a few Royal wedding dresses in the exhibition, but in fact there was only one! Mind you, that was Princess Diana’s wedding dress; it was amazing to be so close to it and to see all the 1980s ruffles and sequins, even through glass. There were a couple of Princess Margaret’s and the Queen Mother’s evening dresses, and lots of information on dress designers. It was interesting but I would have liked to see more dresses! On the other hand, the part of the tour about Queen Victoria’s childhood was absolutely fascinating; with her toys and schoolbooks on display, lots of pictures, and we even saw the room where she was born. So all in all it was a good experience. 

But our day was not over! Back in the tube we went to St Paul’s and across the river, where Cat had booked us a Greek restaurant just along from the Globe and she and Ally joined us for dinner and theatre. I do enjoy Greek food and we were soon tucking into a tasty array of hot and cold meze. We then strolled along to the Globe to see Twelfth Night. It was a really good production, very musical and funny. The actors were great. The October evening air was pretty cool compared to my previous summertime visits, but it was ok - by the end I was beginning to get very slightly cold, but I soon warmed up on the walk back across the Millenium Bridge to St Paul’s and a nightcap in The Happenstance in Paternoster Square. A very busy but excellent day. 

Hokusai at the British Museum

Today, Ally and Cat being at work, we had our traditional breakfast in Prêt à Manger in lovely Paternoster Square, then walked to the British Museum, which we have rejoined in the anticipation of a few visits to London over the next year. 
We went to the Hokusai exhibition and were gratified that, as members, we were allowed just to swan in even though it was fully booked. I enjoyed the exhibition very much; it consisted of 103 very intricate and beautiful brush drawings, so detailed and amazing. The drawings were intended for an encyclopaedia to be called “The Great Picture Book of Everything” which was never published (if it had been, these drawings would have been destroyed as part of the print-making process) and covered many subjects such as animals, birds, Japanese legends, stories of Buddha and more. He was such a great artist. His famous work “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” was also on display, of which the British museum has three versions - I didn’t realise (until today!) that it was a woodblock print and that the versions differ according to how worn the woodblocks were by the time each print was made. There were originally about 5000 but many have been lost or damaged over the years. 
We also revisited the Sutton Hoo room (after seeing the film “The Dig” recently) and admired the silverware, the gold buckle and jewellery, and the carefully reconstructed helmet. 
By this time we were ready for a refreshing cup of tea in the Members’ Room. 
Then I had the genius idea of going to a 4 p.m. showing of the new film “Dune” which James has been looking forward to seeing. We booked the Odeon in Leicester Square (much used for film premieres) and were very impressed by its big roomy cinema, with comfy reclining seats. I love going to a film in the late afternoon sometimes, because afterwards you can have a leisurely dinner, rather than rushing dinner before the film. I found that “Dune” was rather long and difficult to follow probably because I haven’t read the books (needless to say James and his sons have read them all!) James thought it was excellent. 
And after a bit more walking, our day ended with a very nice and relaxed dinner in The Happenstance near our hotel. 

Much walking in London

So here we are in mild, autumnal London, seeing the sights and doing a lot of walking! Today we walked in a big loop from our Premier Inn in Farringdon, through the city to St Katherine’s Dock, over Tower Bridge, and then back along the south side of the river and across the Millenium Bridge to St Paul’s. It was sunny and it was great to be back in London. We had lunch sitting outside Café Rouge at St Katherine’s Dock, which is very attractive with lots of bars, restaurants, and of course boats. We went back to the hotel to check in and have a brief rest, and then we walked (yes, more walking!) to meet Ally and Cat at Balthazars Restaurant in Russell Street for a tasty pre-theatre meal. It was lovely to see them both (even though we saw Ally the day before in Glasgow!) and Ally was telling us all about his first day in his new London office. We then all went to the Harold Pinter Theatre to see “Blithe Spirit” starting Jennifer Saunders. This was a favourite play of my Mum’s and I think that I have seen the black and white film a long time ago. I seem to remember that it was very funny and witty. 

However last night I thought that it was really quite dated and not as funny as I remembered. It wasn’t for lack of effort by the actors, who capered around enthusiastically. I wonder if the appearance of the first wife’s ghost was quite shocking and indeed risqué to audiences in the mid twentieth century, whereas nowadays we have seen many films which have a similar premise. The play was a huge success for Noel Coward in 1941 and has been revived many times since in theatres around the world to great acclaim, so maybe I’m the odd one out. Not quite the only one though, because James didn’t like it either, although Ally and cat seemed to like it.

Ally leaves Cambuslang

Yesterday James and I took Ally and his luggage to Glasgow Central so that he could catch the train to London. He is making the move that was originally planned for June 2020 but which has been much postponed because of Covid. We had a really nice chat yesterday morning, when he expressed appreciation for the extra time he has spent with us. He said that it had gone very well and I agree; few groups of five adults (including Davie) and then four (after Davie got his job in Dundee) could have got on so well over 18 months. I’m certain that we all annoyed each other from time to time but mostly we genuinely enjoyed each other’s company and I’m very glad that we were together during such uncertain times.

So yesterday Ally followed in the footsteps of many clever and enterprising young Scottish men over the centuries and headed to London with his possessions and a bag of oatmeal to sustain him. Well, not the oatmeal but some sandwiches and snacks for the journey.

I was quite tearful when it came time to say goodbye to him but Ally drily pointed out that we will be having dinner with him in London the next day (today)! We hadn’t planned to visit him so soon but his updated journey to London has been delayed from the beginning of September. Since we have booked flights, accommodation and theatre tickets we couldn’t postpone so here we are waiting to take off on the 08.30 flight to London. 

We will miss Ally and Davie but it’s great that they are starting on this new exciting chapter of their lives and we will enjoyed visiting them in London and Manchester. 

Davie leaves Dundee

It has been a pleasant autumnal week, fairly sunny towards the end, and all of the red and gold leaves on the trees look splendid. Our quinces were ready and we made quince jelly using the same recipe as last year; again it turned out very well and is a beautiful rose colour. It’s all labelled and in the cupboard. 

On Thursday I went through to Dundee to meet David. He had taken the train up from Manchester a couple of days before, and had been packing up the last of his stuff and giving the flat a deep clean before handing in his keys to the landlord. Chanel and he had already taken the majority of his belongings to Manchester a couple of weeks ago, so there wasn’t too much to load into our car, and by the time I arrived at lunchtime on Thursday David was just finishing the clean, he has left the flat in excellent condition and I jolly well hope that the landlord doesn’t take a cleaning charge from his deposit (as landlords are wont to do) because it would in no way be justified. We then went for a stroll in the autumn sunshine and saw a Ferris wheel near the V&A so of course we jumped onto it and were treated to some lovely views of Dundee and the River Tay and the bridges. Then we went for lunch to The Bach; the same New Zealand restaurant that Chanel took me to in September. Again the food was delicious and we had a lovely chat there and on the journey back to Glasgow.

After a quick tea Ally, Davie and James went to Ibrox to the Rangers game. They asked me to give them a lift via Kings Park and Crossmyloof, and when the traffic came to a standstill above the M77 because all the football traffic was converging, they got out of the car to walk the rest of the way, and got to their seats in good time. When I managed to get back down onto the motorway to head home, the road was completely clear, unlike the traffic coming in the other direction, which was jammed solid. I decided to watch a Nigerian film (Nollywood) that had caught my eye while browsing Netflix a few nights ago, called “God Calling” I thought that it was a lovely film; in some ways very simple and naive, but ultimately thoughtful and positive. 

The boys arrived home later in a great mood because Rangers had won their match.

The next morning Davie and I went for brunch in Vin18 (yummy) and then I gave him a lift to Motherwell train station for his journey south. Unfortunately I overshot the station so we had to hurry a couple of hundred yards on foot back along the road to reach it, and David had three bags of his belongings with him, one of which was extremely heavy. Luckily he is a strong young man and we got to the platform with a few minutes to spare. He was able to stash his luggage in the rack and find a seat before the train departed. The good news was that it was a direct train and Chanel was going to pick him up by car at Manchester, so he didn’t have to carry the bags too far at the end of his journey. 

Davie’s Football Birthday

To celebrate Davie’s birthday, he and Chanel decided to go to two football matches this weekend. On Saturday Rangers (Davie’s team of course) were playing Hearts at Ibrox, and on Sunday Everton (Chanel’s team) were playing West Ham at Goodison Park in Liverpool. 

So they arrived in Glasgow on Friday just as we arrived home from Ullapool and we all had a convivial evening, then on Saturday they went to the first match with Ally and James. Meanwhile I was in Ardrossan having lunch with Helen and Libby, which was lovely. The only problem with the game at Ibrox had been the lack of tickets for sale; they had already nearly all been snapped up by season ticket holders and the few that appeared for sale were singles, nowhere near each other. In desperation I phoned Ibrox and was told that there would be more tickets released on Friday, which seemed strangely close to the match day, however sure enough at about 10.30 on Friday morning there appeared quite a few tickets, and this time a few of them in adjoining seats. I quickly bagged four (two plus two in separate areas) and after a short drama with trying to log in to the website, I managed to secure them. Davie phoned at that very moment to say that he and Chanel would be coming to Glasgow even if they couldn’t go to the football game and he was absolutely delighted when I announced that I had got tickets. They all enjoyed the game with Rangers leading 1 - 0 until the 90th minute when Hearts equalised which was very disappointing! In the evening we had a very pleasant dinner at Ibrox overlooking the pitch and the waitress brought out Davie’s birthday cake and we all sang Happy Birthday. 

Today Davie and Chanel left bright and early to go to their Everton match which started at 2 p.m. in Liverpool, with Chanel’s Dad and brothers. Sadly Everton lost 1 - 0 but they all looked very happy in the photo that Chanel’s Dad sent me of them having another birthday meal in Liverpool! What a great birthday weekend Davie has had! 

Bond, James Bond

Our first couple of days in Ullapool were a bit drizzly but that didn’t stop James from planting his new set of heathers in the garden and also preparing the ground for grass seed. The grass seed and heathers certainly have had a good watering! Today the heavens opened and it was rainy and windy all day. I went for my swim in the morning and then after lunch we set off to Inverness to see the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die”. It was originally scheduled for release in April 2020 so has been on hold for eighteen months, and its release last week feels symbolic of the new “living with Covid rather than quarantining” phase. James Bond films are an Anderson family tradition, we all enjoy them, and this one was excellent. It was Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond, and he gave a great performance. 

It had all the ingredients of a good Bond film; action, daring stunts, beautiful locations, humour, sadness, romance, gadgets, heroes and villains. There was a teenager with additional support needs sitting in front of us with his grandparents, and he was loving the film. He just couldn’t help making a few comments, for example when the female lead (Lea Seydoux) reappeared unexpectedly he said loudly “Hello!” and he made other remarks such as “oh no!” “watch out!” and at one point “Oh my god they’re sleeping together!” It was very sweet to see his enthusiasm and his comments didn’t disturb anybody, in fact for me they enhanced the film! 

When we left the cinema we found out that all the eateries around the cinema were about to close at 8 p.m. due to staff shortages; perhaps they are keeping the staff that they have available for the weekend. So we had to get a takeaway from Burger King and ate it in the car! James had a burger and I had some halloumi chips. We were back in Ullapool in time for a cup of tea before bed time. 

October visit to Ullapool

We have arrived in Ullapool this evening after a very smooth journey of 3 hours and 40 minutes, due to no roadworks and hardly any traffic. We had celebratory fish suppers (a veggie burger supper for me) and finished watching the currently extremely popular and strangely compelling South Korean series Squid Game. 

Sadly we attended two funerals over the past week, both at the Linn. The first was Iris, mum of Gordon King. She had reached the grand age of 94, and had a full and active life. She used to come on some of the hill-walking weekends with the club and was good company. I think that the saddest thing about the funerals of very elderly people is seeing the grief of their family; it’s still very sad to lose a parent no matter how old you are, although as Gordon’s brother said, “I’m crying today but Mum had such a great life.”

The other funeral, this afternoon, was of someone who died too young, my friend Doreen. She would have been so proud of her much-loved son Charlie, who made a very moving speech about her, as did her brother and her husband Jim. Doreen had such an interesting life and although I knew about a lot of it, I didn’t know about the teaching work she did in Lesotho in her twenties. As well as being a beekeeper, Doreen was a keen gardener, and Charlie gave us all boxes of wildflower seeds to plant in her memory. 

Two concerts

We were at two concerts this week, and apart from needing to wear masks it really felt as if normal life had resumed. 

The first one was Erasure, at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. In the 1980s James and I went to see Erasure and they were absolutely brilliant, really cool and edgy, and absolutely full of energy. It was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to. So I was excited to see them again. I will qualify what I’m about to say by emphasising that I did thoroughly enjoy the concert. However things had changed. Lead singer Andy Bell is two years younger than me but seemed like an older man, struggling to change tops during the concert and ending up displaying a large white belly to the audience while trying to put on his t-shirt. Now I’m not criticising anyone for getting older and developing a bit of a spare tyre. Indeed, I currently have a bit of a spare tyre myself. But getting it out in front of the audience wasn’t very rock and roll! He has had both hips replaced so he can’t jig about the way he used to, but more importantly, his voice isn’t what it used to be and it was obvious that the two excellent backing singers were supporting him expertly on the high notes. Anyway, we sang along with all of the old tunes, and it was a still a good evening.

By contrast, the Genesis concert on Thursday evening was excellent - really memorable. It’s James who is the stalwart Genesis fan rather than me, but I enjoyed the evening and the music very much. Phil Collins is of course older and has had health problems due to various back and neck surgeries. He walked onto stage with a stick and had to perform sitting down, but his voice is still good and he was well supported by Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, and his own son Nic Collins played the drums extremely well. He was relaxed and humorous with the audience and the whole performance was flawless, a really wonderful evening.

We saw on the news the next day that one of the band and their entourage had tested positive for Covid, so the Friday concert in Glasgow and their four London concerts were all cancelled; they hope to reschedule. We felt very lucky to have been there on the Thursday. 

A Robin and Ferne

I was swimming outdoors this afternoon at the David Lloyd Club. Pleasant though it was, it didn’t really compare with the stunning beauty of our hotel pool last week. And it was markedly colder too, unsurprisingly, since we are now in October and there is no longer any denying that it is autumn.

I also had a coffee there and was having a chat with Jennifer on the phone. I was talking to her about Doreen, whom she has met a few years ago, and what a lovely person she was, and how I will miss our chats. Suddenly there was a loud burst of birdsong right beside me; I looked up and saw a beautiful robin standing on the fence looking down at me, very bright against the blue sky. I tried to snap a photo of it but I was too late, it flew off. 

Jennifer, who was still on the phone as I exclaimed about my encounter, told me that many people believe that seeing a robin close by means that a deceased loved one is near you. Could it have been my lovely friend? I don’t know. I hope so. 

When I got home I looked up the symbolism of robins and apparently a visit from one means hope, renewal and rebirth. It symbolises new beginnings, new projects, and good things to come. And talking of new beginnings, Rachel had her baby, a little girl called Ferne, on Saturday morning. 

Tortino Caprese con gelato alla vaniglia

Today was our last day in Italy, but luckily we weren’t getting picked up from our hotel for our evening flight until 5.45 p.m. so we made the most of the warm weather by swimming in the sea (of course!) one last time. The hotel and the town are so quiet now, even quieter than last week. We were the only people on the sea terrace this morning. I think that this is partly because it’s nearly the end of the season and partly because Sorrento has had fewer foreign visitors this summer than hoped for. People are still understandably nervous about travelling abroad with uncertainty about Covid, and all the paperwork and testing is off putting. James and I have felt like holiday pioneers this past fortnight!

Vesuvius decided to reappear out of the heat haze for our last day, and looked very beautiful across the gulf of Naples. 

We had a last swim in the pool in the afternoon and I nipped along to the centre of town to do a last wee bit of shopping. 

Everything went very smoothly on our journey to Naples airport. Our very friendly driver, Americo, told us all about Sorrentine naming traditions and his family and the different hotels in Sorrento. However when we got to the airport it was chaos in the Manchester check in queue. Despite the plane being less than half full, it took us over an hour to check in, because a number of people had turned up at the airport without the required certification. This made the queue really slow as flustered tourists started trying to log in to the government website. James and I on the other hand were paragons of virtue and had everything ready, thanks to James organising us to do our tests and fill out the online forms yesterday morning. By the time we got through security it was time to walk straight onto the plane!

This morning I got a message from Doreen’s son Charlie to tell me that she died peacefully at 7 a.m. I will miss her very much.