Flowerdale Waterfall

Today we went for a wee jaunt to Gairloch for no particular reason. It looked as if it was going to rain all day, and in fact we could see that it was raining across on Skye, but it remained dry, although very warm and humid. And it certainly felt rather tropical as we walked up to the Flowerdale Waterfall, which is in a little valley just outside the village. The valley was abundant with vegetation including lots of trees and ferns. The path was lined with daisies, buttercups and forget-me-nots. It was an easy 5 km round trip to a little bridge at the top of the waterfall. Then we decided to visit Big Sand, a beach that lived up to its name. It is surrounded by a large caravan and camping site, but wasn’t at all busy today and I paddled along its length, the sea water cooled my hot feet. Mind you, I had to watch my step; jellyfish season has arrived and there were many small translucent moon jelly fish in the shallows, with little blue circles inside them. Their sting isn’t meant to be very painful but I didn’t fancy finding out. I didn’t see any lion’s mane jellyfish, whose sting is much more painful, and who also frequent this coast. 

Paul McCartney at Glastonbury

I can hardly believe how long this good spell of weather is lasting here in Ullapool. When we came here last week I’m sure that the forecast was mixed, but it has remained warm and sunny with no rain at all. We have spent so much time outdoors, especially James, who has been very busy in the garden. 

This evening we decided to watch Paul McCartney’s highly praised Glastonbury set from Saturday evening. He is pretty amazing for 80 years old, and although his voice sounds older he can still sing well. He had a couple of guests join him on stage; Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen. It sounded to both of us as if the crowd was booing Springsteen, but thanks to a quick Google search it turns out that his fans like to shout “Bruuuuce! Bruuuuce!” which sounds a bit like booing! I was impressed, given his advanced years, that Paul’s set went on for three hours! During this time James had two short naps but Paul managed to stay awake for the whole time! 

Welcome to Ullapool

Today was the grand opening of the new sign at the entrance to Ullapool. When we found out that there was to be a pipe band and that the sign was to be unveiled by the world‘s strongest man, we decided to go along. So after lunch we strolled up the hill to the layby at the entrance to Ullapool from the south where a crowd was already gathering for the event. We were gratified to be offered Prosecco and flavoured water when we arrived, and soon after 2 pm the sound of bagpipes was heard as four young pipers entered the lay-by, followed by the sculptor of the sign, the chair of the Community Council, and the world’s strongest man, Tom Stoltman. He is a big guy and towered over the others. The dignitaries ascended some steps onto a small podium, speeches were made and there was much applause. Although, people being people, I heard one lady in the crowd near us remark to her friend, “I wonder where all of the money went?” Finally Tom Stoltman cut the ribbon that was tied around the sculpture (with some difficulty because he appeared to be left handed and was using right handed scissors), and the cloth covering was removed. The sign is very attractive; a shoal of fish swirl around hoops set on top of a stone plinth, where “Ullapool” is spelled out in metal letters. 

That wasn’t the only community event that we attended today. In the evening we went to see the Routes Quartet (a string quartet) play at the Ceilidh Place venue. I thought they were absolutely excellent. They are a quartet of young folk musicians but their music combines traditional folk music with classical music and they have written a lot of their own compositions.

I liked that they explained the sources and ideas behind their music before they played each set, and their music was beautiful. We wandered home along West Street just after the sun had set. The sky was still blue and the clouds were lit up pink underneath. 

Late Sunset

We are back in Ullapool for a week with Tom and Floof. They seemed more relaxed, or perhaps resigned, about the journey and lay down in the cat carrier for most of the time. It’s definitely the more winding roads between Inverness and Ullapool that are Floof’s nemesis. She was a wee bit sick and did a poo about half an hour before the end of the journey, but it was easily cleaned up and she sat on my knee quite happily for the rest of the time. And when we got to Ullapool she seemed much less appalled than usual as if she recognises it as a “home away from home” and even ventured outside without prompting. As for Tom, he cried a little at the very start of the journey but was then fine, and seemed delighted to arrive at Ullapool, quickly reacquainting himself with the cottage and the garden. 

It was really warm when we arrived and James got the hammock out; we read our books and enjoyed the sunshine. It was so warm that I had to push the hammock into the shade! 

Later we were watching Season 4 of Stranger Things (I have never quite made up my mind whether I like it or not) when I realised that it was after 10 p.m. and still broad daylight outside. Of course this was because we are further north than Cambuslang, so the nights are even shorter here in the summer. A quick Google search informed us that sunset was not until 10.27 p.m. (even later than the solstice two days ago in Glasgow) so we grabbed the camera and walked to the end of West Street to take some sunset photos. The photos weren’t that great because at this time of year the sun sets behind the headland toward Ardmair, rather than behind the summer isles, but how amazing to be here in Ullapool at this time of year when the night is so short! In fact when I awoke during the night at about 1 a.m. I could still see streaks of light across the sky; I don’t think that it got fully dark all night. 

Solstice

Happy summer solstice! Today in Glasgow the sun rose at 04.31 a.m. and will set at 10.06 p.m. That’s about twenty-five minutes away; it’s still broad daylight and the sky is bright blue. This afternoon James’ Uncle William and Aunt Merle came round for coffee, in fact due to the warm weather we had cool drinks instead. They were on good form and told us lots of stories about the coal yard, many of which James had not heard before. It certainly wasn’t an easy life for them in the post war years, working long hours often under conditions so cold that when William picked up a spanner one freezing morning it stuck to his hand! They told us about the cabin that their grandfather built in the field of a farm in Ayrshire before the 2nd World War, where the whole family had gone on holiday for many years. William also identified his mother, grandfather (her Dad), and possibly his great-grandmother in one of our hitherto unidentified photos in our never ending family photo project, so we were very pleased with that. Merle was very interested in some of Grandma’s wool and knitting patterns for babies, a few of which we gave to her; she already has a little great-granddaughter and has a great-grandson due in the autumn, and she is a skilled knitter, so they should come in handy. It really was a very pleasant afternoon.  

Flora in the garden

The weather continues to be sunny and warm here, although markedly cooler than the heatwave being experienced in England. It’s plenty warm enough for me! When I went over to David Lloyd for my morning swim, there were quite a few people relaxing on the sun loungers around the pool. And after I finished swimming my 1000 metres I got myself a coffee and joined them, drying off in the fresh air. When I got home I was pleased to find James lying in the hammock reading his newspaper. He works so hard in the garden; it was nice to see him taking a break. I got a blanket and a couple of cushions and read my book in the shade of the tree. Tom and Flora were strolling around the garden and rolling around in the flowerbeds; they’re always happy to see us outside. After a short while Flora came and lay down really close beside me on the blanket, it was really sweet. She lay quietly but kept her eyes open to check what was going on around us. I watched her ears moving about to take in all the sounds of the garden; bird song, a car going past in the road, the breeze gently rustling the leaves in the tree. She stayed with me for ages until I gathered up my stuff to return inside; it was lovely to be with her. 

Water lilies on the canal

Yesterday we needed to get the cooling gas in our car’s air conditioning topped up. This mundane but necessary task took us over to Kwik Fit at Anniesland and meant that we had an hour to kill. At James’ suggestion we crossed over Crow Road and walked up to the Forth and Clyde Canal. I haven’t visited this part of the canal before and I thought that it was very attractive; lined with trees which made it feel much further from busy Anniesland than it really is. The surface of the impressively clear water had large areas of water lilies, which had yellow flowers. It even had a pleasant little pub beside it with lots of outdoor seating. 

We walked along as far as the Kelvin Aqueduct, where the canal crosses over the River Kelvin, a magnificent feat of late 18th century engineering. When we looked down onto the Kelvin we could see a heron standing proudly on the buttress of an old bridge. 

Back at the car we were delighted with our properly functioning air conditioning. However now that I come to think of it, the cars we have owned haven’t had air con until fairly recently. I realise that it’s not a new invention and dates, in various primitive forms, right back to the 1930s. But I’m pretty sure that the first car that I drove with air conditioning was our hired car in Tuscany in the mid 1990s, which struggled against the overpowering heat outside the car even when cranked up to its highest setting. It wasn’t until the 2000s that it began to be more standard in cars in the UK. So until then we had to wind down all of the windows on a hot day, and hope that the breeze would cool down the car as we drove along. I think I remember my bare legs sticking uncomfortably to the leather (plastic?) seats when I was a child in the 1960s and 70s, and when I eventually learned to drive the steering wheel could be unbearably hot to touch if the car had been parked in the sunshine in summer. I suppose that you don’t miss what you’ve never had, so we just took hot journeys for granted, but now James and I are so used to air conditioning that when the coolant gas runs out we are most dissatisfied! 

Six times Two

This week I have gone to the musical Six at the Theatre Royal, not once, but twice! I first went to see this short but fun musical in December with Chanel, and I enjoyed it so much that I couldn’t resist booking it when it came to Glasgow. It’s actually quite unusual for me to rush to book something again so soon. James and I have certainly been to see the same groups several times, with Madness, ELO, Jools Holland, Squeeze and OMD being favourites for both of us. However we tend to see them several years apart.

There’s just something very joyful about Six and I couldn’t wait to see it again. I invited Ally W to come with me on Thursday, but then I decided that I would really like to see it twice so I booked a single ticket for Tuesday evening and went along by myself! I do not regret my impulsive decision because I enjoyed both performances very much. Both times the seat(s) were near the front and I had an excellent view. I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it; the excellent actors got a standing ovation both nights and they fully deserved it. Ally W enjoyed it too, she hadn’t known what to expect and found it to be extremely entertaining. The musical is light-hearted, despite the grisly fates of some of the wives of Henry VIII, and manages this by having the six wives decide to compete about who was worst treated, by each singing a song about their marriage. And there is a really good message about why women were defined and controlled by the patriarchy - poor wee beheaded Katherine Howard says at the end of her song “Thank you to all the powerful men who got me where I am today!” 

Whifflet Girls

I had the best day today. I went for a tour of Whifflet with Suzy and her Gran. Eagle-eyed readers of this blog may remember that I found out by chance a couple of years ago that Suzy’s Gran is my Dad’s 1st cousin - their Dads were brothers. Which means that Suzy and her sister Rachel are 3rd cousins of my boys! We have exchanged letters and photos, but have not been able to meet up because of Covid. Well, today we finally met and it was epic!

Janet McDougall (née Russell) is 13 years younger than my Dad, so she is 87. She is the youngest of all of her siblings and cousins, and is the only one left in her generation of the Russell family. She is absolutely amazing. She is very pleasant and intelligent and extremely smartly turned out. She had even visited Coatbridge last weekend with her son Bob to plan the tour and to make sure that she knew the best places to park the car. 

Suzy very kindly was the chauffeur for the day, and we went first to Old Monklands Cemetery where we visited the graves of my great-grandfather James Russell and of Janet McD’s father Andrew Russell. I have never been there before and it was very moving. Then we had coffee before going for a really fascinating walk around the streets in Whifflet where the Russell family lived from the mid 19th century to the late 20th century. Janet showed us the house above the shops where my Grandpa William Russell had been brought up with his Mum, Dad and four brothers in only two rooms. We saw where my Grandpa’s beloved Bowling Club had been, where he had worked at the Coop Grocery in School Street, and the site of the tenement where he had lived with my Grandma and my Dad and Aunt Margaret. The tenement has been demolished and the site is now the grounds of a primary school, but I can clearly remember visiting it in the 1960s. I remember going out to play in the back green and seeing the children who lived there climbing up dangerously on the wash house. It’s strange to think that it has gone. Then we went back to Bothwell where Janet lives and she insisted on treating us to lunch in the lovely Chapterhouse Café near her house. The whole trip and especially the company of Janet and Suzy was wonderful. 

Home again

We have spent a lot of the last week outside, walking or gardening (James) or reading in the hammock (me). It has been great. But all good things come to an end, and after all the fantastic weather, strong winds and rain arrived on Saturday morning. James and I took the opportunity to clean the cottage and James also fixed the extractor fan in the kitchen. Later we lit the fire and had a cosy evening watching television. 

We arrived back in Cambuslang this afternoon after a smooth journey home in less than four hours. The cats did not enjoy the journey but they settled down quite quickly so I hope that they are getting used to it. They were bemused to arrive home again and ran around the house and garden. Naturally a homecoming curry was required and we have just finished it. James is happily watching a documentary about the Falklands War and I’m relaxing with a cup of tea and Flora purring on my lap. 

Top Cats and Top Gun

We went to Nairn to visit Alison and Hugh on Wednesday and returned on Thursday. Before we set off we piled up lots of wet and dry food into the cats’ bowls and left them plenty of water. We had lunch with Alison and Hugh and then we went for a walk in the lovely little town of Forres. It really is very attractive with a centre that dates right back to medieval times, which amazes me since we are so far north. I must look further into the history of the area. We walked up a small hill in a park, on the top of which stands the rather magnificent Nelson’s Tower, erected in the early 19th century to honour Lord Nelson after he died at the Battle of Trafalgar. We climbed the narrow spiral staircase to the open-air top deck, from where we had an amazing 360 degree view of the town and surrounding area, including across the Findhorn River and the Moray Firth towards the Caithness Hills to the north. Later we had a tasty dinner at the Fig and Thistle in Inverness, where the service was very good, I would definitely go back. 

The next morning we asked Alison and Hugh for a garden update so we went for a stroll around their beautiful and massive garden, looking at how it’s growing and maturing thanks to all of their hard work. The kitchen garden in particular is amazing, abundant with gorgeous flowers and herbs. What was very funny was that we had two extra tour guides - Ash and Birch accompanied us every step of the way, sometimes running about and playing but always returning to us; they are such sociable cats, full of fun. 

We had a walk along the front at Nairn and then a pub lunch before Alison attended a committee meeting by Zoom and the other three of us went to see Top Gun: Maverick at the Vue cinema in Inverness. Hugh gave me a lift there in his Jaguar which was brilliant and very fast! 

It’s hard to believe that it’s 36 years since the first Top Gun film was released. James and I were not long married and went to see it at the cinema; we both loved it and of course James loved the flying sequences. So it was with some trepidation that we watched the sequel, how could it possibly live up to the iconic original? We needn’t have worried, it was great fun with many fitting tributes to the first film, and James declared himself satisfied that the aircraft and flying was both accurate and extremely well filmed. 

Lovely Lupins

As I write this blog post from my hammock, I can see the pink and purple lupins outside our Ullapool cottage. They are very tall and rather magnificent. It’s another beautiful day here in the north west and after our trip to Lochinver yesterday we are staying at home today. I meant to write about our trip into the Culag Woods at Lochinver so I’ll do that now. I was excited to explore them, because even though the area is right beside Lochinver I had never realised that it was there. It’s a lovely little forest, mainly coniferous, with paths to follow, and is between the edge of the village (at An Cala) and the sea. Needless to say I got a bit lost by following the wrong path at one point, but I soon found my way again. I met James on the little pebbly White Beach after his walk, and went into the sea for a swim. The water was so refreshing, like cool silk against my skin. We had a picnic but didn’t linger too long because every midge in the North West Highlands started to converge on midge-magnet James. I will definitely be back to this wee hidden woodland treasure. 

Oh deer!

We’re in Lochinver today. At least I am; James is walking here from Little Assynt via Suileag Bothy, about 12 km. It’s another hot sunny day and I have finally learned my lesson - I can’t hike in hot weather! Luckily we live in Scotland so there will be plenty of cool days ahead when I can do a bit of walking. So I am going to head for a small beach on the other side of Culag Woods, I have a leaflet that I picked up from the tourist office with a rudimentary map on it. 

I’m not there yet though. I stopped in the centre of the village to pick up ingredients for a picnic, and immediately noticed that there were half a dozen deer (young stags) nibbling the grass in the childrens’ playground. There weren’t any children there at the time. I have never seen deer right in the centre of the village before, word among the few other passers-by was that the staff in Spar said that the deer tend to come down very early in the morning, but not late morning like today. Those of us who were privileged to see them so close up, with their cute fuzzy antlers and gangly legs, watched them respectfully from the road side of the playground fence. Of course someone had to spoil it. An extremely foolish man entered the playground by the gate and approached the deer, who got a bit restless. He was talking angrily to a couple of people across the fence; he pointed out that the deer had done some poos in the playground (true) and that they were probably covered in ticks (also true) and that they were dangerous wild animals (true again!) And he continued to creep towards the deer, who all lifted up their heads in alarm.

I just couldn’t help myself. I asked him why he was on the same side of the fence as the dangerous animals. His response was “to see what would happen” So I politely but firmly told him that he should exit the playground before he got hurt, or even possibly frighten the deer so much that they might jump into the road in front of a car or a camper-van. I could see that he was absolutely furious at me for telling him what to do, and he stood immobile, staring at me angrily like a sulky teenager. I ignored him and after a few minutes he sidled out of the playground. Not because I had told him to, of course! 

I presumed that the Lochinver locals would know how to move the deer onwards safely, as I can’t imagine that this is the first time it has happened. And sure enough, while I have been tucking into a delicious hot pear and chocolate pie here outside the pie shop, I have seen a police car arriving, presumably to sort out the errant deer. * 

So here I am, eating pie, drinking coffee, looking at the loch and relaxing. Meanwhile in London city far far away, Prime Minister Boris is facing a no confidence vote this evening. ** I’d rather be here in Lochinver.

* update - when I walked back to the car the deer were indeed gone.

** Boris won his vote by 211 to 148 (about 60%) although who knows how long he will be able to carry on. 

Pinks at the Estuary

I went swimming today at the estuary. The weather has continued to be glorious and it was lovely and warm. Even better, the water was noticeably warmer than the last time I went swimming in the sea in May. I had a really good swim, while James sat in a deckchair on the grass beside the water and read his paper. The grass was all covered in pinks, which have a delicate sweet smell. Oh the swim was so good! It’s quite shallow where you go in (depending on how high the tide is) but there’s a deeper channel along the side of the golf course where you can swim proper “lengths.” As well as the swim itself being enjoyable, the views all around of mountains and the loch are stunning. I felt restored.

This is the last day of the Jubilee weekend. Last night we watched the “Party at the Palace.” We had stayed outside in the garden until the evening so we watched the concert on catch-up which meant that we could fast-forward through the performances in which we were not interested. I enjoyed the concert, which was a seemingly random mixture of older and younger acts, with many old favourites such as Queen (well of course!) and Diana Ross, who looked very good at 78! There was even a section of songs from West End musicals, it was a real mix, but enjoyable. The Queen didn’t manage along because of her mobility problems but apparently she watched it on television in Windsor Castle. She had filmed a neat little introduction with Paddington Bear during which she produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag! It was surprisingly touching. 

This afternoon there was a Jubilee Pageant through the streets of London, but the weather was too good to stay inside to watch it. However we saw later on the news that the Queen had been able to appear on the balcony at its conclusion, while the huge crowds around the palace and in the Mall sang “God Save the Queen.” She looked so small and frail, but she waved and smiled. Among the crowd were Ally and Cat, just returned from a brief trip to Scotland to attend a wedding. I’m proud that they were there on such a historic day, which I’m sure that they will always remember. 

Jubilee Weekend in Ullapool

Davie and Chanel have just spent the last week in the cottage because it has been their May holiday. They have had good weather, getting even better towards the end of the week, and seem to have enjoyed themselves very much. 

We drove up to Ullapool yesterday to join them for their last evening, and we had an excellent time. They helped us to put up our Jubilee decorations (mainly bunting and balloons) and enticed Flora from her default position when she arrives in Ullapool, which is underneath our bed. She was clearly pleased to see them and ventured downstairs to socialise with us. However she wasn’t too happy when I donned a cardboard Corgi face mask; she hissed and arched her back! I felt guilty for scaring her, but I genuinely hadn’t thought that the mask (another Jubilee accoutrement) would fool her into thinking that I really was a dog. Davie and Chanel had tried it out on Tom earlier and he had been only mildly perturbed. We also had a cardboard mask of the Queen; this did not bother the cats at all. They are such monarchist cats!

We went for dinner at the Arch Inn where the service was much more efficient than last year, and the food was very good. James and I had intended to treat Davie and Chanel to dinner but when we went to pay we found out that they had already settled the bill! It was so kind of them. 

Back at the cottage we stayed up late chatting and some of us had some whisky, and it was a fun and convivial evening. 

This morning before Davie and Chanel set off for their eight hour drive back to Manchester, the four of us strolled down to Tea by the Sea and sat outside in the glorious sunshine drinking coffee and eating cakes. It was idyllic. 

Would Jubilee’ve It?

I couldn’t resist this blog title! I saw it on a news website. It’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee; 70 years on the throne, and the weather has turned appropriately sunny and warm for the occasion. Supporting the Royal family nowadays can be a bit controversial, especially given recent scandals such as Prince Andrew’s sleazy behaviour and Prince Harry’s childish and entitled treatment of his family. 

My position is straightforward; while I don’t think that the Royals are better than anyone else, I enjoy the history and pageantry that the Royal family represents. They also bring in a huge amount of tourist revenue for the country, much more than they are paid by the public purse, so they are certainly not a drain on the economy. However I have many friends (the majority in fact!) who do not like the monarchy at all and would rather see it abolished in these modern times. I totally respect that point of view, and what’s more I’m pretty sure that lots of people have always felt this way about the Royal family, as history shows with European and British royals variously being executed, assassinated, exiled, criticised and booed in the streets. And of course I think that it’s good that our monarch is now almost completely a ceremonial leader, with the government (for good or bad!) being the real decision makers. 

And I think that our Queen Elizabeth II has made a very good job of being a monarch, dedicating her life to serving the country, through 70 years of huge social change. She didn’t get to choose to be the Queen, but has spent her whole adult life doing head-of-state duties around the world, hosting visits from world leaders, and travelling around our country visiting schools, hospitals, factories etc. 

Despite being aware of plenty of people’s dislike for the monarchy, I was still taken aback when, at a social occasion earlier this week, I heard an outpouring of pure vitriol directed at the Queen. It came out of nowhere, from someone that I can’t imagine speaking like that about any other 96 year old. 

Apparently the Queen “has never done a day’s work in her life” and it’s outrageous that apparently some people dared to express regret that Prince Philip didn’t quite live to be 100 “because he had lived long because of his privilege.” The Jubilee shouldn’t be celebrated “because the Royal family are bad people” and when someone pointed out that she would be getting an extra day of holiday for the Jubilee this was poo-pooed “it’s the employers that are paying.” 

There was much more, but it wasn’t so much the content as the tone of absolute hatred that shook me a bit. 

Now I do realise that there are wars going on (for example Ukraine) and that many people are in need in our own country. Sadly though, this is likely always to be the case. I honestly think that celebrating the Jubilee is a good and uplifting tribute to a lady who I do think has worked very hard for 70 years. 

Ally and Cat were lucky enough to be in the Mall in London this morning to see the Jubilee parade and then fly past of 70 military planes, including fifteen Typhoons, whose formation spelled out “70” in the sky. Finally the Red Arrows flew past, discharging red, white and blue smoke. Britain does do pomp and ceremony very well!