Sore bones

I woke up to a beautiful blue sky with a swathe of pink across it as if an artist had painted it with a broad brush. My wrist was very sore all day because I foolishly twisted it last night when chopping an onion; I asked James to do it but he said that he didn’t know how I wanted it chopped, and wondered if I meant sliced instead. So I just did it myself. The trouble is that I felt as if the bones pulled apart when I gripped the onion and I’m concerned that I have displaced them. I’m probably imagining that, but I’m not imagining the shooting pains in my arm. I heard some excellent news from Jackie about her recent scan; no new growth and tumours have reduced by 30% - huge relief. 

James has treated himself to a new Alexa which means that I have inherited his old one, which is now in pride of place in my office, currently a hub of Christmas secrets. However there’s something not quite right about the new Alexa. She refuses to play certain radio stations, and rather alarmingly refuses to switch herself off on command. Shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey! “Open the pod bay door Alexa!” “No James, I can’t do that!” Hopefully these issues are just temporary, and she won’t take over the house and hold us prisoner! 

World Cup football

James and I are watching the World Cup England vs Wales match this evening. I’m certain that Davie and Chanel are also watching it in Manchester, and probably Ally and Cat are watching it in London. Jamie however is almost definitely not watching it, partly because it’s early morning just now in New Xealand, and partly because he has never been quite as interested in football as his younger brothers. 

It’s noticeably colder here now, as you might expect since we are only two days away from December. The grass was frosty this morning and I was treading warily as I walked down the path on my way to the post office; it wasn’t actually icy but it looked as if it might be. I just feel so vulnerable after my recent fall and I’m terrified of breaking something else. On Heather and Ewan’s advice James has bought me Vitamin D and Calcium supplements to help my bones to heal, and I’m taking them conscientiously. 

James took Tom to the vet today to get his annual jags; he needs to get his teeth cleaned and polished according to the vet, which is the first time any of our cats has needed this. It will of course be expensive. 

James seems to be more annoyed than entertained by the football match, as he often is! He addresses the football players in a critical tone as if they can hear him: 

“Oh kick it back to your goalkeeper why don’t you?”

“Och you diddy! Keep it in!”

“Stop dithering!”

“You idiot Rashford!”

* update after the end of the match - the above mentioned Rashford managed to score two goals and Phil Foden scored one (excitingly moments after Marcus Rashford’s first goal!) and England won 3 - 0.

Sparkly!

We’re back in Cambuslang, and the World Cup in Qatar is in full swing, which means that James and Ally have been watching football all afternoon and now into the evening. I am sort of half watching it, while also footering about on the internet looking at the Black Friday sales. We are just finishing a curry and it’s a pleasant way to spend a rainy evening. 

Yesterday we went to the fracture clinic at Hairmyres. My cast from Raigmore Hospital had become very loose, probably because my arm was swollen when it was put on. James insisted on staying with me and was rewarded when the nurse produced an alarming looking but efficient machine, a cross between a circular saw and a vacuum cleaner, which removed my plaster with minimal dust. James (like our friend Hugh!) loves a useful machine so he was fascinated by its workings. The nurse asked me if I like glitter - I confirmed that I do indeed. So, with my permission, she efficiently re-plastered my arm with a Christmas themed cast, consisting of little Santas and snowflakes on a blue background. Then while it was still wet she sprinkled lots of glitter on it. I love it, although I suspect that she was keen to use up the Christmas stuff, which is sent to the hospital each year by their suppliers. An x ray then showed that my bones are in the correct place which was reassuring. The cast feels much more supportive than the previous one, and the nurse said that the pain is usually gone by about the four week mark. I’m only two weeks in, but I think it’s getting a bit better already. 

Home we went, doing a few errands on the way including dropping off Jamie’s Christmas parcel to an Evri drop off point. I just wish that I have faith that it will get there! I don’t feel very optimistic given Evri’s lack of reliability so far. 

Sunny outing to Lochinver

We decided to head to Lochinver today, even though our parcel pick up did not happen yesterday, much to our annoyance. The parcel is a few Christmas gifts that we want to send to New Zealand, and we had to take turns waiting in the cottage all day yesterday to no avail. Anyway today we left the parcel in the garage and a note on the door for the van driver, and set off northwards. I was glad that we did. My arm was very sore and I actually felt quite tearful when we set off. I hurt it while serving out the dinner last night, I think by accidentally twisting it a bit, and I didn’t sleep very well because of it. It also hurts a lot when I tie my shoelaces. 

However the weather was absolutely beautiful with blue skies and all of the mountains lit up golden by the winter sun, which cheered me up. We bought pies from Lochinver Larder (of course!) and had a really delicious lunch in An Cala café, as well as walking along the front and back. At the river estuary we saw hundreds of seagulls and four seals diving for fish, it was quite the feeding frenzy. 

When we got home the parcel was, of course, still in the garage. I wish that I had just waited to post it until our return to Glasgow. 

Pain and funeral and lovely flowers

This last week can be summed up as sore, sore, sore. After my broken wrist was plastered we have had a nice quiet time in Ullapool, which is just as well because I had forgotten how painful a broken bone (or two) can be. I got a phone call from Raigmore Hospital on Monday morning to say that my radius looked ok in the second x ray so I am to go to the fracture clinic at Hairmyres when I get back to Glasgow. My main problem is that I keep using my left hand, for example to pick something up, and then pain shoots through my wrist. I’m trying my best only to use my right hand because I don’t want to slow down the healing process. 

It has still been a pleasant week in many ways. The weather has been mixed but we have been out walking around the village whenever it has been sunny, stopping for coffee in a new wee café called the Bothy which is very cosy. I have also done some useful admin and planning and James has been wonderful, hoovering the house and making meals as well as working in the garden. 

On Thursday we travelled down to Cambuslang because Jonathan’s funeral was the next morning. We met Jennifer at the house (she had travelled north by train) and had a nice catch-up evening with her. Then the next morning we got suited and booted and set off to South Lanarkshire Crematorium. It felt wrong to be attending the funeral of a cousin who was eight years younger than me, I can remember him as a wee boy. He was very close in age to another cousin, Brice, who died twenty years ago at the age of only 32. The funeral was a touching and positive tribute to Jonathan. The humanist celebrant told fond stories about him, and the music was great; as we went in Marillion’s Lavender was playing which reminded us of taking a young Jonathan to a Marillion concert with us many years ago. The other songs were Dougie Maclean’s Caledonia (which I adore) and Runrig’s Loch Lomond. I remember at Jonathan’s Mum Rosemary’s funeral (who was only 45 when she died) the celebrant mentioned “a short life lived well” and that could be said about Jonathan too. It’s still very sad though. 

James had to do all of the driving of course from Ullapool to Cambuslang and back, which made me feel guilty, especially when there was very heavy rain as we drove north on Friday evening. However we are now back in the cottage with the cats - and a lovely “Get Well” flower arrangement sent to me by Ally and Cat!

(Another) Broken Wrist

I had been meaning to clean out the cat basket all day yesterday; Flora had done a poo in it during the journey the evening before, but it was in the garage so I kept forgetting. Just before bedtime I decided to get it over with so I got cleaning materials and dealt with it. I noticed that there were a couple of Amazon parcels in the garage so I gathered them up, closed the garage door, and headed to the back door of the cottage. The outside night light was on so I could see quite well, but I completely forgot the step down on the short path along the side of the house and I came crashing down onto the slabs. There was that horrible moment of falling when you know that you are going to be hurt, and then I landed on my left hand and my face. Oh boy it was sore. My face was just a bit scraped on the chin but I knew that my wrist was badly damaged, the pain was just so intense. I shouted for James (and, bizarrely, for my long dead Mum!) but he was already in bed and couldn’t hear me. I had to wait for the pain to recede a bit before I was able to get up and make my way back inside. James kindly retrieved the scattered Amazon parcels and, when he saw that I couldn’t even open a blister pack of paracetamol, he made me a rather efficient splint using two rulers which he bound in place with a long bandage from his first aid kit. Without this I don’t think I would have been able to sleep at all. With it, I managed a good few hours of sleep punctuated with wakefulness and vivid nightmares.  

In the morning we set off to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. I was very impressed. There was a notice in the A&E waiting room warning us that waiting times after triage could be up to four hours, but in fact I was in and out in two hours. The receptionists and nurses were very friendly. James spent much of that time on a walk along the riverside, at my insistence; there was no point in both of us waiting around the hospital. As a result he had quite a good morning in the sunshine and even shopped for some treats for me - bath bombs and a shower cover for a plaster cast. Thank goodness he got one, my wrist is broken in two places; the radius and the ulna, and I will have to wear a plaster cast for about six weeks. The break in the ulna is straightforward but the radius isn’t sitting quite right and may need further attention. I’m so annoyed with myself for my clumsiness and inattention. 

Since we were quite near Nairn I messaged Alison and Hugh on the off chance that they were available for coffee and they were able to meet us at the pleasant Househill Café. Although my wrist was sore I was very glad that we met up because our get together “fair cheered me up” as my Dad would say! When we got back to the cottage I collapsed into bed for a couple of hours for a nap, although I got up for a while later for some tea and toast. I hope that I sleep better tonight. 

Warm November in Ullapool

We have arrived back in Ullapool after a pleasant week in Cambuslang. On Monday we went to Play, Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor, which was quite good with a neat plot about someone who thinks that he can predict the future. I had lunch on Tuesday with my Dad’s cousin Janet, who has just turned 88. She is an amazing lady, and is so well-informed and interesting and has a great sense of humour. I met up with Jackie at a new restaurant that she knows and it was brilliant to see her. She has been going through some difficult times with her health recently and has stepped back from work, but as usual she was so positive and strong. And I also went to my East Kilbride book club which was lively as usual and we made some fun plans for Christmas celebrations. It was all very social!

We were delayed by one day in our departure to Ullapool because the car was in a garage for repairs after its scrape in the summer, and they were in no hurry to get it back to us. However as soon as we retrieved it we set off northwards with the cats and arrived in the cottage by tea-time last night. It’s lovely to be back; the weather is cloudy but warm, and we are having a relaxing time. 

* Update in the evening - we went out for dinner to the Ceilidh Place where the food was absolutely delicious, and noticed that it’s very quiet now that it’s the off season. It wasn’t just the restaurant that was quiet, it was the streets and the front as well. James said it was as if the whole place was holding its breath. It was dark and warm and hardly a breath of wind.

Lunch at The Grapes

Our last day in London was the sunniest yet. I can hardly believe how warm it is for November. We decided that we should take advantage of the weather and go for a riverside walk, so we dropped off our luggage at Ally & Cat’s new flat first (they had both taken Friday off work so that they could work in the flat) and set off down the Thames walk way towards London City. We had a great time and the views of the river were beautiful. We have walked that route before, with Cat in the summer, so it was pleasingly familiar. We had a reviving coffee at St Katharine’s Dock and then crossed the river to the South Bank. At London Bridge we decided to jump on a boat back down the river; we passed Ally and Cat’s flat again and phoned them - they came out onto their balcony and waved to us! We got off the ferry at Canary Wharf, which is less than 20 minutes walk from the flat, and will be a great place for them to access many restaurants and pubs. We met Ally and Cat for lunch at their “local” The Grapes, an old and historic pub in Narrow Street, Limehouse. There has been a pub on the site for five hundred years although the current building dates from the 1720s, which is still pretty old! It’s currently owned by top luvvie Sir Ian McKellen and Gandalf’s staff is displayed behind the bar! I liked the atmosphere, it’s not fancy at all but the staff are very friendly and it feels well used and loved. After lunch we walked to the flat to retrieve our luggage, picking up a coffee on the way, and James helped Ally to remove an archway in their hall. We are now back at Gatwick Airport in good time for our flight, and rather sad to be leaving London after such a great week.

How do you like them apples?

Back in London we started our day at Borough Market and had a nice breakfast before continuing along the South Bank to the Tate Modern. We wanted to see the Cézanne exhibition, but it was a pricey £25 per person and was also fully booked for the day. So we just purchased an annual membership of the Tate (£114 for 1 person plus guest) which allows you into all exhibitions and you don’t need to book. If we go to another exhibition over the next twelve months either there or at the Tate Britain it will justify the cost. Upstairs we went and into the exhibition. Well, Cézanne can certainly paint apples extremely well. Mainly red, some green, sometimes with a few oranges and lemons too, usually spilling out of a dish onto a cloth, his apples stand out very attractively. I would however comment that it was his best skill by a long chalk; his landscapes were very good, his bathing figures were just ok, but his apples pop out of each still life, they are definitely his speciality. I wonder if he enjoyed eating them as much as he enjoyed painting them? 

Later we had a pre-theatre dinner at Bill’s (very pleasant with excellent service) before strolling round the corner to the Apollo Theatre to see The Upstart Crow, starting David Mitchell and Gemma Whelan. It’s based on the tv series and was cancelled right at the beginning of lockdown in 2920, so we were very pleased to book it on its return. It’s written by Ben Elton and the dialogue is very funny. It’s all about Shakespeare so of course I loved it, and it is cleverly written so that it’s funny even if you only know a bit about Shakespeare, but also appeals to people who know a lot about Shakespeare’s works because it’s stuffed with references to various plays and plots. James really enjoyed it too, and my only slight criticism is that it’s a bit “shouty” especially if you’re sitting near the front of the stalls, as we were. It was an excellent evening. 

Bill’s funeral

Today we said farewell to my Uncle Bill, one of the best natured men that I have ever met. We had planned to spend from Monday to Friday this week in London, and had booked hotel and theatres so when we found out that the funeral was going to be on the Wednesday we decided to use the last of James’ British Airways Avios points to fly to Glasgow and back on the same day. This entailed a very early start to travel on the 06.45 plane to Glasgow from London City Airport, which meant that we were in plenty of time for the funeral at 12. It was a good and personal service and Robin gave a touching eulogy. Then we went to Strathaven Hotel for soup and sandwiches. As is usual at a family funeral we met relatives who are very nice people, and as usual we all agreed that we really should meet up when it’s not for a funeral. Unfortunately time goes by and we never seem to get round to that. It’s a pity. And it’s sad that the reason that many of us will be meeting again in a couple of weeks will be for Jonathan’s funeral. 

We said our goodbyes to Katy and Abigail and went back home with Jenn and Russ for a very pleasant couple of hours where more tea was drunk and we chatted until it was time to set off to catch our flights back to London (Jennifer and Russell were flying from Edinburgh to Heathrow.) As we went through security at Glasgow Airport I spotted celebrity Fred Sirieux (from First Dates) who was looking very handsome. Our flight was an hour late but apart from that everything had gone like clockwork. We were very glad to arrive back at our hotel by 11 p.m. What a long day. 

Tuesday in London

On Monday morning we set off from Canning Town to Limehouse for a very important visit - to see Ally’s and Cat’s new flat. Ally was at work in the city, however Cat was working from home so that she could take delivery of some flooring, and she gave us the tour. The flat is absolutely amazing; I love it! It is very spacious with two good-sized bedrooms, two bathrooms and a very large living room. Ally and Cat are going to knock the wall down between the living room and the kitchen to make it into an even bigger room. The living room and the master bedroom both have balconies which overlook the River Thames, and their outlook is very open across the water, with Canary Wharf in one direction and London City in the other direction. I had thought that I would miss the fabulous view from their 14th floor flat in Goodluck Hope, but the view they have now from their third floor flat is even better - being closer to the water means that they can see all the ripples and reflections of sunlight as it moves, and they can see all the boats that pass by, for example Thames ferries, tourist boats, police launches. If I lived there I think I would spend all of my time staring out of the window at the river! The flat needs work; it is like a blank canvas and Ally and Cat have lots of plans for refurbishing and decorating it, I can’t wait to see the results, which I think will be fabulous. 

From Limehouse we walked to the nearby Prospect of Whitby pub, a lovely old-fashioned riverside pub which used to be a haunt for pirates and other criminals, but now does a very nice pub lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Lucien Freud exhibition at the National Gallery. My opinion (which James actually agrees with) is that Freud was a very talented painter except for the faces of his subjects - rather unfortunate in a portrait painter! You could see from the backgrounds, clothes, hands and even dogs in his paintings that he was very accomplished, so I don’t understand why so many of his subjects’ faces are painted so grotesquely. Lumpy, florid, cartoonish - I presume he did this on purpose but I can’t see how it benefitted his paintings. I don’t mean that he should have painted them as if they were photographs but they are so crude. Anyway I’m no art expert but that’s what I thought, for what it’s worth. 

When we exited the exhibition we suddenly felt very tired. James suggested that we go back to the hotel for a nap; I had checked film times and fancied going to the cinema in nearby Leicester Square. We amicably parted ways and while James headed back to Canning Town, I went to the Odeon. The timing was perfect; a romcom starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney was just about to begin. It was a very easy and pleasant watch, and some of it had me laughing out loud. It ended ten minutes before we were due to meet Ally and Cat at Aquavit Restaurant which was exactly ten minutes walk away! Perfect! We had main courses which we all found to be delicious, however the service was very slow, which meant that we didn’t have time for dessert. My meal was chocolate gnocchi with puréed pear and puréed celeriac - I couldn’t resist trying it and can report that dark chocolate and gnocchi work beautifully together! We were only a few minutes walk from the Harold Pinter Theatre, where we saw Good, starring David Tennant. Wow, it was intense. It’s a play about whether a person can still be “good” in an evil regime when they don’t want to rock the boat for their own safety and that of their family. It really made me think about what I would have done in that situation. I’m glad that I saw it. Back at Canning Town station we said our farewells to Ally and Cat and dived into bed at the Premier Inn to get as much sleep as possible before our early start on Tuesday.