Eight of us in Ullapool

We were in Ullapool from Tuesday 26th until Saturday 30th, and when Chanel arrived on Thursday evening there were eight of us in the cottage. It was so great to see her. With the new sofa bed in the small bedroom / study as well as the other sofa bed in the living room, and the two bedrooms, everyone had a proper place to sleep. And we had enough chairs to seat everyone around the table comfortably, so it all worked very well. 

We had a lovely time. It was Jamie and Kerry’s first visit to the cottage, and Kerry’s first visit to Ullapool, so it was great to have everyone together. Chanel’s arrival at the end of her school term was delayed by car trouble, and we all appreciated that she managed to make the journey and join us for the last couple of days. 

We had a delicious lunch at the Sea Food Shack on Wednesday and some of the young ones went to Knockan Crag. On Thursday James, Jamie, Ally, Davie, Cat and Kerry climbed Conival and Ben More Assynt, which was quite a big day for them. We spent Friday at Achnahaird Beach, swimming and relaxing, and the boys played with the football and the frisbee. Then we had dinner at Delilah’s, a new restaurant in Lochinver which I have been wanting to try. The food was good but as the bar filled up, the service got a bit slow: it was still a good evening. We all returned to Cambuslang on Saturday where we had a relaxing afternoon in the sunshine followed by a lovely curry. And then on Sunday our young people left two by two; by car to Cornwall (Davie and Chanel), by train to London (Ally and Cat), and finally by plane to Paris before their return to New Zealand (Jamie and Kerry). When we dropped Jamie and Kerry off at Glasgow Airport I felt quite emotional because we won’t see them until next year, but I didn’t feel too bad because it has been so great to see Jamie after all this time.

Jacuzzi and Whisky

It was a long drive to Skye on Monday morning, especially because James had forgotten to pack his trail shoes so we had to go back to Cambuslang to fetch them. This added 45 minutes onto the journey, which took us up Loch Lomond-side and via Fort William towards Skye. We both felt a bit tired and out of sorts, and all credit to James for doing the majority of the driving. We had a couple of stops and the journey took us about six and a half hours - we realised that it took about the same amount of time as it took us to get to High Wycombe a couple of weeks ago! 

It was good to arrive at the excellent house in Portree which Jamie had booked for us, and the young ones had given us the best room with the en-suite which was very heart-warming. Portree was very busy so we didn’t manage to get into any of the pubs for a meal, however a delegation of us went to Tesco’s and got us a tasty meal. Then we jumped into the hot tub in the conservatory and chatted - it was great to be cosy in there while it was all dark outside. 

The next day we went to the Fairy Pools, which I first visited with Chanel last year. We found a good-sized couple of linked pools with a deep channel leading to a waterfall and plunged in. This was bravely led by me (if I say so myself!) and I’m not sure if the others would have gone in if I hadn’t, because there were not many other people in the somewhat chilly water on quite a cloudy morning. Most people were just walking up the hill path past the pools, and as a result the hardy Andersons got a great deal of attention from the passing tourists; whether admiring or just appalled I’m not sure! 

From there we drove (in our two cars) to the ferry for Raasay, and crossed to the island to see the boys’ barrel of whisky. We made the same trip last year but a) the whisky barrel had not been brought down for sampling and b) Jamie wasn’t there, so we were looking forward to the return trip. This time the boys were able to sample their whisky, after a rather frantic search for it by our tour guide, who hadn’t been informed that we wanted to taste it. But he found the barrel right at the front of the warehouse so someone must have known the purpose of our trip. Jamie, Ally and Davie were all very happy and signed their barrel as well as tasting their whisky. 

Back on Skye, we all set off on the two-and-a-half hour trip to Ullapool, arriving just in time for the Tesco delivery which I had organised. Jamie and Kerry loved the cottage and after dinner they went for a walk into the village. 

Wedding!

Back in Cambuslang the Anderson clan gathered again. I collected Ally and Cat from Motherwell train station on Thursday evening and then Davie on Friday afternoon. Jamie and Kerry arrived back from Liverpool on Friday too. On Friday evening we all went out, but to different places. James, Davie and I went to Cineworld in Renfrew Street to watch Thor: Love and Thunder. It was good fun and very jokey, as is the style of its director Taika Waititi, but perhaps a bit too jokey - Marvel movies need a bit of substance as well. 

We had a meal in Ask Italian before heading home where we watched an episode of James’ new favourite show; Big Timber. It about, well, timber. What’s not to love?

On Saturday Jamie had a barbecue in the garden for his old Cambuslang gang, which Ally, Davie and Cat also attended. James and I decided to leave the young ones to their party and spent the afternoon at David Lloyd, swimming and hot tubbing. In the evening the socialising continued when Marjory, Forest and Lucy arrived round for a Chinese meal. A convivial evening ensued. 

This morning the young folk set off in the Audi to Skye. We will be joining them on Monday, but first we had an important event to attend; Hugh and Lucy’s wedding in Alloa. Hugh and Lucy’s wedding was originally planned for July 2020, but like many young couples they had to postpone it due to Covid. They actually got married in a tiny ceremony at Gretna Green in December 2020, which I thought was very romantic, and have since had their beautiful daughter Erin. However today they had their postponed wedding celebration with friends and family, to which we felt honoured to be invited. It was such a happy day. Alison looked beautiful in her gorgeous dress and Hugh was very smart in his kilt, an article of clothing we have never seen him wear before, it really suited him. The ceremony was very moving especially with wee Erin involved, and Hugh and Lucy looked extremely happy. The wedding meal was absolutely delicious. We were sitting with neighbours Lorna and Peter, and a lovely young couple called Sam and Florence and we all had a good chat. It was great to see Craig and Ross too, and we met some of Lucy’s relatives; everyone was very friendly. Then the dancing began and we were all up on the floor enjoying ourselves. Craig’s dancing was particularly energetic and I will never forget the heartfelt and hilarious rendition of “Nothing compares to you” by the Birkmyre cousins, Ian and Stefan. It was a fantastic and celebratory day. 

Source of the Thames

The heatwave slowly subsided on Wednesday. There had been a short burst of heavy rain in the evening on our drive back from Bath to Cirencester, so I was expecting all sorts of thunderstorms, but they didn’t happen and we woke to dry but overcast skies. At James’ suggestion we went for a nearby walk to the source of the Thames. It was an easy and pleasant walk but we could feel the heat rising from the fields, stored up from the past week. The source of the Thames is very, very dry just now! There’s a little monument so we knew that we were in the right place, but there is no water at all - I presume that under normal circumstances there might be a little spring bubbling up among the stones. We had to walk quite a few yards before we noticed the ground becoming a little bit wet and then turning into a trickle and then a stream. We then revisited one of our favourite villages, Lechlade, and then went back to the cottage to pack. I can hardly believe that our week in Cirencester is over and that we have been on holiday for a fortnight! It has flown by and we have had a lot of fun. We have visited new places and old, we have over-heated and chilled, we have braved crowds at the air show and had quiet times in the countryside. We have spent some fantastic times with family. We have even seen two Shakespeare plays and done some outdoor swimming. It has been a really good holiday. 

We are now on our big drive northwards to home and the kitties. 

What to do in Cirencester in a heatwave

By yesterday morning James felt much better although still with cold symptoms. He felt well enough to come with me to Cirencester Swimming Pool in the morning. Luckily I had booked this a week ago, because it’s a very popular facility in the summer even when it’s not a heatwave, and last summer we found that it was fully booked when we tried to use it. It’s a very attractive outdoor pool, set against the backdrop of the castle, with a little tuck shop serving coffees and snacks. It was perfect for Tuesday, because this was the hottest day of the heatwave all over Britain. Scotland was hot by now too, but the south of England was the centre of the furnace.

Here in Cirencester the temperature reached 36 deg C, and it was about the same in Manchester where Davie and Chanel are. But almost the hottest place in the UK was London, where the temperature reached a sweltering 39 deg. Luckily both Ally’s and Cat’s offices are air-conditioned * The hottest temperature yesterday (and the hottest ever recorded at the UK) was 40.3 degrees at Coningsby in Lincolnshire, easily hotter than the previous record from July 2019. I have no doubts that this is due to the effects of global warming on our planet. 

When we left the swimming pool we were strolling back towards the cottage in the extreme heat when we noticed the Corinium Museum, which is all about Roman Cirencester. We went in for a look and noticed that not only is it a beautifully designed and very interesting museum, but it is air-conditioned! Oh joy! So we spent the next hour looking around the displays, which were fascinating. A lovely volunteer guide wandered around chatting to visitors and telling us extra information. Did you know that Roman Corinium was about the same size as Cirencester is now, and that it was the biggest town in the land, after Londinium? I didn’t. The original mosaic floors from excavated Roman villas were in amazingly good condition, and there were very many artefacts and displays, too many to see in only one visit. There was even a wee café adjoining it, but one of the ladies at the desk tipped us off that the Café #1 just down the street has air conditioning, so thence we trotted for lunch. 

Later in the afternoon we went to Bath, where we had tickets to see The Tempest at the Ustinov Studio. We had an early dinner in a mercifully air-conditioned restaurant (Las Iguanas) and then headed to the theatre, where they had the air-conditioning cranked up to the maximum. This was great at first, but I was wearing a thin sleeveless gingham dress with sandals and I started to cool down fast: in fact I became the coldest that I have been all holiday. And I didn’t even have my emergency cardigan with me; I discarded that many days ago after I realised that the evenings were still very warm. So at the interval we stepped outside the theatre with our drinks and it was like stepping into a warm bath. The play was excellent, as were all the actors. I have never seen The Tempest on stage before and I think that it’s one of Shakespeare’s finest plays, maybe the best of all. 

* I notice that I have mentioned air conditioning five times in this post! It’s not usually something that crosses my mind but needs must! 

Even hotter at the air show

Yesterday was our third and final day at RIAT. We set off even earlier and arrived by 8.30 a.m. and it was already very warm. During the day the temperature rise to over 30 deg C with almost no breeze - it wasn’t even cool in the shade! However we still had a good day and James took very many photos. By the time we left the air show James wasn’t feeling well at all. He had a sore throat, blocked up nose and a really bad headache, even though he had kept hydrated all day and worn his new camouflage hat which has a flap to cover the back of the neck. We had a quiet night in the cottage with James quaffing water and painkillers.

This morning I went out to get James a Covid test because he has so many of the current symptoms, especially the sore throat. However it was negative, and Cat has mentioned to me that there is a bad summer cold going about. So if you add to that the sheer length of time that James spent in the direct glare of the sun, I think that he has a bad cold plus a touch of heat exhaustion, despite his best efforts to stay hydrated. So today we spent most of the day in the cottage which is fairly cool thanks to its thick walls (it’s a very old building) and went out for a short walk during the day and another walk and a drink in a nearby pub in the evening.Today Cirencester’s temperature was about 32 degrees, going outside you ran into a wall of heat. It was still in the high twenties in the evening, very warm indeed, we could feel the residual heat rising from the road. I read that the temperature reached 38.1 deg in Suffolk today. The all time high temperature recorded in the UK was 25th July 2019, when it reached 38.7 deg in Cambridge. I wonder if tomorrow will surpass that? 

Hot at the Air Show

Today it was much busier at RIAT because it was one of the main weekend days. Even though we set off half an hour earlier than yesterday there was a queue of cars ahead of us. However we were soon installed in the FRIAT enclosure which I am liking very much, it’s just that bit more convenient and better equipped than the main viewing area. We have already applied for tickets in the enclosure next year. Following the same pattern as yesterday, James spent all day in the stand watching the flying display and taking hundreds of photos, while I spent most of the time in the shade beside the marquee, watching the display and reading my book. I did sit in the stand a few times until it got too hot for me, because as well as the air show being busier it was also hotter, about 30 deg C, and while the stand is great for watching the planes from comfy seats, it has no cover at all. I wasn’t the only person who made use of the shady area, quite a few people cooled down there, and in fact one little old man fell asleep beside me and snored loudly! The aircraft enthusiasts are a friendly lot, as are the staff of the air show. When we got back to the cottage the first thing that I did was jump into a cool shower and then eat an ice lolly. James had a headache, probably because of all the heat, and took himself off for an early night. The weather forecast is for the weather to get even hotter over the next few days, possibly up to a record-breaking 40 deg C by Tuesday. I expect that I will simply melt! 

RIAT 2022

Today was the first day (in fact the preview day) of the Royal International Air Tattoo 2022. It was especially exciting for all of the aircraft enthusiasts because it’s the first time that it has taken place since 2019 due to Covid. We arrived at about 9.30 a.m. with no hold ups at all and left the car in one of the big parking areas on the periphery of the airfield. We then took the shuttle bus to the entrance gate and walked to the “FRIAT” (friends of RIAT) enclosure. This is a bit of a step up from the perfectly acceptable public areas that we usually use, but we felt that it would be worth it for the raised seating in the stand and the extra facilities including a quieter food area, toilets, and a marquee with tables and chairs. This turned out to be a tremendous decision; it was all very civilised and there were plenty of shady areas for me when I felt that I needed respite from the sunshine. James required no such respite and didn’t want to miss any of the flying display so he stalwartly stayed in his seat in the stand all day and ended up with a very pink face! I do enjoy an air show as it is one of our traditions, and I do my own thing, which means that as well as watching (some of) the flying display I read my book and wander around the stalls and generally relax. So we both had a good day. Back in Cirencester we went to a gorgeous wee Spanish tapas restaurant for dinner called La Robina, it’s in an old building with wooden beams, down a wee cobbled lane, and as James pointed out, if you didn’t know that you were in the Cotswolds you would have thought that you were in a traditional restaurant in Spain. 

Temporary farewells

This morning we all went our separate ways. We had already said goodbye to Ally, Cat and Davie last night when they went back to the flat; Ally and Cat are still in London and Davie has returned to Manchester. Jamie and Kerry should have been heading to Liverpool today to visit her relatives, but unfortunately Jamie tested positive for Covid last night so they had to change their plans. It’s annoying for him and Kerry but not really surprising; he has probably caught it somewhere on his long journey from New Zealand (James almost certainly caught it at the airport on the way to Austria in January) or even at the busy pub in High Wycombe - there is a lot of Covid still about, but luckily in a much milder strain. So Jamie and Kerry decided to go straight to Glasgow for now, at least until he is symptom free. However they ended up having a nightmare journey of cancelled trains and then a cancelled replacement bus (because of a lorry fire on the M6). They finally arrived in Cambuslang by taxi (from Carlisle!) at about 1 a.m. where they were greeted by a very surprised duo of cats! Tom and Floof then attempted to get into their bedroom several times during the night. 

Meanwhile James and I travelled by train from Marylebone to Princes Risborough and had a lovely lunch in Jennifer’s garden with her and Russell. It was slightly strange to be there without all of the others who were there on Sunday! We retrieved our car from their driveway and travelled to Cirencester, to the same cute wee cottage as last year. We have been out for a sunny evening walk around the village and are now relaxing before the next exciting stage of our holiday - RIAT 2022! 

I come to bury Caesar

On Wednesday morning Jamie was feeling very unwell with a sore throat and a headache, so he sadly but sensibly decided to spend the day in bed. James, Davie, Kerry and I went to the British Museum which was very hot in the central area, and then cooler in some rooms than others, probably depending on when they were last renovated. We had cool drinks in the Members’ Room and then the others went for a stroll around the museum while I stayed put and enjoyed people watching (there are always plenty of elderly and eccentric folk in the Members’ Room who talk quite loudly!) Then we went to the wonderful Caffe Tropea in Russell Square where we had coffee and cannoli in the dappled light of the walnut trees; it was delightful. 

Later we met up with Ally and Cat in the Swan at the Globe restaurant and enjoyed a very tasty meal before going through to the adjoining Globe Theatre. I think that this had been Ally’s idea, and indeed it was a lovely London thing to do with Jamie and Kerry, neither of whom had been inside it before. We collected our cushions to make our bottoms more comfy on the wooden seats, and the play was Julius Caesar. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I was glad that Jamie had felt well enough to join us. I did think that the small cast struggled to portray the fighting scenes adequately; a bit more action would have been good. However the murder of Julius Caesar was very good, with blood spurting across the stage and even spattering on to some of the audience members at the front of the standing area. And the speech by Mark Anthony was brilliant “… but they are honourable men!” I remember that my Dad particularly enjoyed that speech. After the play finished we walked across the Millenium Bridge in the warm evening and went for a nightcap in a bar beside Paternoster Square, then up to our old favourite Madison to look at the amazing view of St Paul’s. 

London in a heatwave

We checked in to our mercifully air conditioned hotel in Kensington (The Other House) and were soon fast asleep. Unlike Jamie and Kerry who were soon out on the town! Ah to be young! On Monday morning we met up with Davie who had taken the train from Manchester to join us for the next few days (unfortunately it’s still term time for Chanel.) We set off through the heatwave to the London Eye Pier, where we went on a speed boat ride up the river. This was great; some fascinating fact about the river from the guide and a lot of speeding - the driver did big curves and donuts which took the boat almost onto its side. It was also quite a cooling experience as we sped through the water. We saw Tower Bridge opening too! We walked along the South Bank and had a late lunch, then the others went wandering though the hot streets while I went back to the hotel to cool off early. In the evening we met Ally and Cat for dinner and then had a brilliant cocktail evening at Gong on the 52nd floor of the Shard. Such views! And of course lovely company. 

Today we made our way to the Serpentine Lido where I went swimming and James, Davie, Jamie and Kerry relaxed and read on sun loungers. The water was a bit murky, which is to be expected when sharing it with ducks! But oh boy it was delightfully cool. The others all went on walks through the park and beyond but I stayed put; I know my heat limits now! After a quick shower back at the hotel, Jamie and Kerry went for dinner and to see Hamilton, and James, Davie and I went to see Minions at the Odeon in Leicester Square. This was James’ choice but I did find it mildly amusing. Then we were invited to Ally and Cat’s fabby flat for a curry, and afterwards we sat out on their 14th floor balcony in the cooler evening air for drinks. It really was idyllic. 

Hello again Jamie and Garden Party!

The Anderson clan all gathered two by two in High Wycombe. Davie and Chanel arrived on Saturday and in the evening the four of us went to meet Jamie and Kerry at Heathrow Airport. I was so over-excited and tense that I almost felt ill. It is more than two years since I have seen Jamie, in fact two years and four months, since Monday 9th March 2020, and it has broken my heart. Chanel and I held up the wee banner that I had ordered: “Welcome Jamie and Kerry” and soon they arrived. I was so emotional for the first few minutes but then Jamie was so unchanged and his usual happy self, that I completely relaxed. It is so absolutely great to see him again, and lovely to meet Kerry. So now we were six and we went out for drinks in High Wycombe, which was quite lively on a hot summer’s Saturday night!

And on Sunday morning six became eight when Ally and Cat arrived and we all had breakfast together before driving twenty minutes to Jenn and Russ in Princes Risborough.

Jenn and Russ have always known how to throw a great party, and they surpassed themselves on Sunday. It was another very hot day but they put up parasols around the table in their huge and gorgeous garden and we sat outside all afternoon chatting and laughing. Both Josh and Ben had come home for the party so all five cousins on the Russell side of the family, who are all of my Mum and Dad’s grandchildren, were together for the first time since before Covid. It was great that all three of my sons’ beautiful girlfriends were there and Allan and Jean Smith joined us for lunch; it was a very happy family party. Jennifer had made lots of delicious food and Russell cooked away cheerfully at the barbecue, which must have been unfeasibly hot for him but he didn’t complain! Jenn and Russ had put up their table tennis table in the garden as well as croquet hoops, and the young folk all joined in the games enthusiastically; it was as if the cousins had never been apart. 

It’s difficult to describe the afternoon adequately; it was sunny, relaxing, happy, and it passed all too quickly in a haze of heat and contentment. I don’t think that any of us wanted to leave when it was time to head into London, or back to Manchester in Davie and Chanel’s case, but eventually we said our goodbyes and headed for the train station. More heatwave awaited us! 

High Wycombe

We are in High Wycombe at the beginning of a fortnight’s holiday which will mainly be in London and the Cotswolds. The London days will be with Jamie, Kerry and Davie, and in the evenings Ally & Cat too. Unfortunately it’s still Chanel’s school term so she can’t join us mid-week but she will be able to come to Jennifer’s family party tomorrow. The Cotswolds part will include the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), delayed since 2020 because of you-know-what. 

And guess what? We have arrived at the beginning of a heatwave, not the best weather for me! When we stopped at a couple of service stations on our way south yesterday, I was reminded of many service stations past, always with a frisson of holiday excitement even though they tend to be shabby and dated. As we parked at Killington Lake a lorry just in front of us had a tyre explode with a bang like an explosion. The tyre just disintegrated to nothing, I have never seen that before.

Yesterday evening we went for a stroll around High Wycombe, which has an old sign at the market place; “London 29 miles” which rather reminded me of Dick Whittington. It’s a pleasant town, maybe a wee bit down-at-heel in places but historic and cared for in the centre. We found a big grassy open park which I think has probably been the town’s common for centuries, with the River Wye running alongside it. 

We returned there this morning to visit the Lido, a large open air swimming pool. And that’s where we are now, reclining on beach towels on the grass near the pool. We have both been swimming, and James is now reading his newspaper while I blog. 

Harvesting my gooseberries

Yesterday I picked, topped and tailed 6 pounds of gooseberries from the three bushes in the garden - quite a good haul I think! Two bushes have green gooseberries and the third has red ones. I have frozen most of them and kept enough for a nice gooseberry crumble tomorrow.

We had a very pleasant and sociable few days. We had dinner at Steven and Hilary’s on Saturday and had drinks in their new “dacha” which is very smart. On Sunday we had lunch in town with Heather, Ewan, and my beautiful god-daughter Jennifer. In the morning us girls had met up for a shopping trip, an occasional and fun activity which I consider to be part of my godmotherly duties! We visited Zara and Urban Outfitters where I noted that outfits featuring bare midriffs are currently in fashion - not something I will ever be able to wear again! How I wish that I had appreciated my flat stomach when I had one.

Yesterday I met up with two of my lovely ex colleagues, Jennifer and Caroline, for a walk and lunch in Prestwick and today James and I had lunch in Edinburgh with Janet and Peter. It was great to see them and have a good chat. 

Oh and I should mention that today has been a very turbulent day in British politics! The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has resigned and so has the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid. Boris Johnson has recently survived a vote of no confidence, but this is another blow for him. I can remember Margaret Thatcher’s resignation in 1990 as if it was yesterday; I was doing teaching practice at Cathkin High School and everyone was shocked. It seems that when a political party has been in power for too long it starts to rip itself apart. 

Primal Scream

I was going to give this post the title “Get your Rocks Off” after the name of Primal Scream’s best known (to me) song, but decided that it was a bit too vulgar. We went to see them on Friday evening in a large marquee in Queen’s Park. The venue worked well because it was spacious and airy so we didn’t overheat despite the dancing crowd. And dance they did, or should I say we all did; with no seats it was easier to dance than just to stand there. It wasn’t really my favourite type of music but I enjoyed some of the songs; for example I like that when the band sang “Loaded” the audience wouldn’t let them finish and kept singing the song until the band gave in and played it again. And the aforementioned “Get your Rocks Off” was very singable and sent everyone homewards in a tremendously good mood; it was a very happy crowd all evening. 

I’m not sure what was the demographic of the audience; they seemed to be all ages although there were probably a majority of people of about our age, including the band. A bit of music trivia: the lead singer Bobby Gillespie used to play drums for the Jesus and Mary Chain, which job he took over from Murray Dalglish, a very pleasant former collaborator of mine. And finally a quote from comic Susie McCabe on Saturday, when they were playing their second gig, which I thought was very funny especially since (sadly) it is marching season again,

“Today in Glasgow

If you are under 40 you have Calvin Harris at Hampden

If you are 40 or over you have Primal Scream at Queen’s Park

If you like the 17th Century you have the Orange Walk”