My twa Janets

Today was a day of two Janets, and I felt quite proud of myself for bringing them together. The first Janet is my Dad’s cousin, Janet McDougall née Russell, aka Gran Jan and the second is my lovely cousin Janet. 

Janet had not been in touch with Gran Jan since my Aunt Margaret died in 2013, within a week of Gran Jan’s sister Anne, who was born a couple of weeks before Aunt Margaret and was her close friend. They must both have been ninety-four years old, and who could have guessed that their lives would start and finish at almost exactly the same time? So Janet had spoken to Gran Jan around that time, but not since, and she was very interested that I had met her (through her granddaughter and my neighbour Suzy) and was keen to meet up with her again too.

Janet drove to my house and then I drove us over to Bothwell to Gran Jan’s house. What a blether we had, and it turned out that both Janets were named after my grandma Janet Russell née Hamilton (auntie and grandma to Gran Jan and Janet.) I found this to be rather moving and I was almost in tears when I saw that both Janets were wearing identical signet rings given to them by the Janet whom they were named after *

After lunch at the Chapterhouse we went back to Gran Jan’s house to look at lots of photos of mutual ancestors, most of which I hadn’t seen before. It was amazing. Janet was very confused that one of Gran Jan’s middle names was Lindsay, a family name from our Grandma’s side of the family (i.e. not Gran Jan’s side of the family) indeed Janet was quite vehement about it! But it was all good-natured and we had a fine afternoon of family reminiscence. 

 * In my cousin Janet’s case her Mum actually bought the ring but her Grandmother Janet was there to help to choose it - the two rings were exactly the same with engraved initials. 

Seaplane Again!

Today we returned to the shores of Loch Lomond at Cameron House Hotel. Marjory and Forrest gave James a trip for two on Loch Lomond Seaplanes for his 60th birthday last year and it has taken several attempts to book it. We were delighted to go on our flight today. 
Eagle eyed blog readers may notice that we have already been on a similar flight last year in December. By coincidence, Heather and Ewan very kindly gave James the same 60th birthday present as Forrest and Marjory. This was not a problem at all to us, because two flights are naturally even better than one. 
It was nice that we already knew the routine, and where to turn up. While we were waiting for the plane to come in, I was chatting to a man who was varnishing a memorial bench. I asked him if it was for a member of his family, and he replied that, in fact, it was for the two young men who died in a fire at the hotel six years ago. He was from the local church in Luss, who keep in close touch with their families. I thought that this was very kind of him, and I was also shocked that it has been six years since the tragedy; it seems much more recent.
After our safety briefing, we were soon scudding across the loch and ready to ascend into the sky. The weather was different this time. Instead of crisp, wintry sunshine, we had a mixture of clouds and sun, and the shadows of the plane and the clouds on the lochs and the trees below looked beautiful.
As with last time, I was amazed at how gorgeous is the Firth of Clyde. There are so many sea lochs, with so many little sailing boats either moored in bays or sailing about, it looked idyllic. We flew over Helensburgh and over Rothesay and saw Millport and Arran. The pilot pointed out Kilbride Beach which he thinks is one of the most lovely beaches in Scotland. We must pay it a visit, although it’s a long drive from Glasgow. 
The pilot also told us that the name Tarbert (which we also flew over) is used for low isthmuses that divide lochs from the sea. It literally means “boat-carrying.” This explains why there are several places called Tarbert in Scotland. The flight was over all too soon, and I don’t think I would ever get tired of it. I would love to go again soon.  

The cats try to avoid the car journey

The cats led us a merry dance this morning when it was time to leave Ullapool and set off for Glasgow. We tried to be discreet as we packed the car, but it was no use; Floof hid in a wardrobe and Tom disappeared outside. This delayed us about two hours in setting off, which was quite annoying because the traffic was busy around Perth and might have been less so if we had set off earlier. Finally Tom came strolling back into the cottage, no doubt hoping that we would have changed our minds about going on a journey. Twenty seconds later he was in the cat carrier and we were on our way. Flora, as is necessary, spent the first part of the journey sitting on my lap. She is fine to go in the cat carrier from Inverness southwards, but on the long and winding road between Ullapool and Inverness she is usually sick in the cat carrier and sometimes she does a poo as well! Sitting on my knee she was fairly relaxed, but when we got to Inverness and I tried to pop her into the cat carrier with Tom, she wriggled free and ran around inside the car. James managed to catch her by opening the boot, which surprised her, and soon she was in the carrier and we were on our way! 

Covid for the second time

Jenn and Russ left on the 16th to head for a few days at the Edinburgh Fringe, and the next day we took the car to Inverness for a software update and a couple of minor repairs under warranty. We met Alison and Hugh for lunch while we were there, and enjoyed catching up on each others’ news. 

By the weekend, James started to feel under the weather. He had cold symptoms and nausea; he felt quite ill. We happened to have one Covid test left in the cottage from last year; it was still well within its sell by date so James tested and indeed he did have Covid for his second time. We wondered if Russell might possibly have had Covid because the current strain seems to include gastric symptoms, and James felt a bit sick at the start. We will never know. Unusually, James spent the next day in bed, and even after he started to feel better he was very tired. A couple of days later I started to develop the same symptoms and felt suitably sorry for myself. We didn’t have another test but I assumed that I had Covid too and isolated myself accordingly. 

So our last week has been very quiet, we have stayed close to the cottage with our kitties and because of the Covid we unfortunately had to cancel planned visits by Christine and Gerry and by Maud and David. 

To look on the bright side, the weather continued to be delightful, in defiance of the weather forecast, and we were able to sit outside and go for walks, and we had some interesting chats about the future. 

Evenings in Wester Ross

Jenn, Russ and I also went to the Ceilidh Place for dinner one night, and thence to the Argyll Hotel where we hoped to hear some live music. On the way along the road the midges were pretty bad and Russell found out that he is one of those people who are particularly attractive to midges! (This is a real thing!) They bothered me and Jennifer too, but not to the same horrifying extent. We then discovered that the Loveland Frogmen were in fact performing at the Calley (my mistake!) so we had to brave the midges again, but were rewarded with some really excellent Scottish folk music. There was a Spanish guy watching and he asked to borrow a guitar and started playing and singing Quant a la Mera. The musicians soon joined in and so did all the punters in the bar, singing along. As Russ pointed out, it was one of those amazing moments which can be remembered but can never be recreated. 

Flora got up to some mischief; she pushed the open window in our bedroom even further, walked along the roof and then into Jennifer and Russell’s bedroom, where she woke Russ up by miaowing! He had to get up and open the door to let her out. 

When James returned we all went for a pie run to Lochinver, where we went for a sunny walk and then had dinner in Delilah’s. The meal was great and the restaurant was very busy; the owner, who is also the head chef, had to run tables because they were so short -staffed and was briskly slapping down the dishes on the tables in a good-natured but quite funny way. Unfortunately the evening took a swift downturn for Russ, who was very sick all night. James was also in a bad way with a very sore back (incurred by pulling out tent pegs on his camping trip.) At one point during the night I could hear Russ rushing to the bathroom with Jennifer concernedly following him; at the same time I was assisting James who had found himself stuck at the edge of the bed, afraid of falling to the floor! 

Russ was better the next day, but we were all a bit tired due to lack of sleep so we took things easy. Russ was very suspicious that his sickness had been caused by the Cullen Skink at the restaurant the night before, but I had consumed it without any ill effects so it remained a mystery. 

In the evening we had the pies that we had chosen for tea, then we all went to the Arch Inn where we listened to Ru Mac, who was excellent and very funny. 

We’re going to need a bigger boat

Jennifer and Russell came to visit us for six days mid August and we had plenty of fun. The weather forecast was poor, but every day the weather turned out to be much better than predicted. So Russ was able to play golf twice and Jenn and I strolled around the village and had several cups of coffee sitting outside Tea by the Sea. 
James went away overnight on the Saturday to complete his last Munro top, quite an achievement, which he has been working towards for a while. 
While he was away, Jenn, Russ and I went on a whale and dolphin watching trip on the rib, the Seascape. Jennifer and I were concerned that we might need to go to the bathroom during the three hour trip, and Jennifer seriously suggested buying some incontinence pads from Boots! At least I think that she was serious! What we actually did was sneak into the Seaforth restaurant’s toilets just before we set off, and all was well. We got kitted up in flotation suits, which I initially found to be far too hot, but when we were travelling fast over the sea they kept us nice and cosy. We zig-zagged out to the Summer Isles, saw a sea eagle and nosed our way into a couple of sea caves at Priest Island, where there were lots of colourful jellyfish bobbing about. We saw three pods of dolphins who were full of the joys, leaping out of the water and racing alongside the boat. Then we headed out into the Minch and after a bit of searching we were rewarded by the sight of a “blow” in the distance. The skipper slowed down the boat and we approached the whale, which was not at all perturbed by our presence. It was a big humpback whale and it rose and dived near us, at one point it went right under the boat and rose up in front of us which was amazing. It was a fantastic boat trip. 

The Ceilidh Place

Yesterday James and I sat at one of the tables outside our old favourite, the Ceilidh Place, and had coffee and shared a scone and chatted about all sorts. And I just thought how very nice it was to be together at this restaurant that we have visited so many times over the last thirty five years or so. 

And this evening we were back at the Ceilidh Place, this time for dinner with Lesley and Chris. It was a delicious meal and rounded off a day that was all the more enjoyable due to the better than expected weather. We had started off by meeting them at the harbour for a trip on the Shearwater. It was sunny, much warmer than I had thought it would be, and we saw a sea eagle as well as lots of gannets and cormorants. We also saw a large pod of dolphins riding the waves and leaping in and out of the water, there must have been at least thirty of them. We walked round to the cottage for lunch and then sat out in the garden on the benches to have coffee. It was very hot, and after walking Lesley and Chris to Highland Stoneware where they had vouchers to use, we strolled back to the house and read our books in the sunshine. 

Our dinner at the Ceilidh Place was delicious and afterwards James and Chris tasted a couple of whiskies back at the cottage as the sun set.  

Ullapool Hill in August

This morning James went off to climb a Corbett that he hasn’t yet climbed, near Scourie; called Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhughaill. What a long name! Apparently it means “the small grey rounded hill of MacDougall’s corrie.” He went with the Ullapool Hill-walking club, his first outing with them.
It really was a very beautiful day and I decided that I would walk up Ullapool Hill. I made myself a wee flask of coffee and headed for the hill. The first thing that I noticed was how lush and leafy it was; the paths were narrowed and almost overgrown with flourishing grasses and ferns. The bright red berries are out on the rowan trees. August is such a voluptuous month. I took my time on the way up, enjoying the unfolding scenery of mountains and lochs. There was a lot of bird and insect activity going on; little birds were swooping low over the heather, I think that they might have been pied wagtails. The heather, vibrant purple in the sunshine, was buzzing with insects, I saw bees and huge blue dragonflies. There were lots of Mountain Ringlet butterflies; they looked dark as they flitted about but when one landed on a bush next to me and spread its wings in the sunshine, it had beautiful reddish orange markings like delicate embroidery on the outer edges of its dark brown wings. Gorgeous. 
Less welcome were the aggressive flies and millions of midges; the hill was alive with them, even right up at the summit where there was a slight breeze, and they were horribly persistent, no matter how much I waved madly and brushed them away. 
Eventually I arrived at the top of the hill where I had a chat with a very pleasant couple from New Zealand, and I drank my coffee while admiring the view of the village and the loch spread out below me. The sky was bright summer blue with wisps of cloud to the west, but when I looked north, I could see big grey rain clouds approaching. This didn’t surprise me because I had just received a message from James to say that it was raining on his mountain! I was on my way down the hill and was just taking a photo of some bog cotton that looked breathtakingly bright white in the sunshine, when the first large drops of rain started falling. It was so refreshing that I didn’t even bother putting on my waterproof jacket. As the path turned towards Loch Achall I suddenly caught sight of an amazing rainbow arching behind a rowan tree with dark cloud above it, what a stunning sight it was, and so ephemeral - it was gone a minute later. I was so lucky to see it. The rain only lasted about 20 minutes and a while later, after spotting a deer running from the north road up towards the quarry, I arrived back at the cottage rather grubby and midge infested, I couldn’t wait to jump into the shower. 

Barbenheimer

After rather a whirlwind of laundry, packing and social activity on Monday we drove to Ullapool on Tuesday, where we are spending most of the month of August. Since we arrived we have had a peaceful and pleasant time, enjoying mostly sunny weather, despite hearing of very rainy weather further south in Scotland and in England. It has even been warm enough for us regularly to sit outside on our bench for coffee. The cats love this and roam around near us when we’re outdoors. 
However Thursday was correctly forecast to be rainy so we decided to go to the cinema in Inverness in the afternoon. And not just to see one film, oh no! We joined a current trend called Barbenheimer, which is watching both of this summer’s biggest films, Oppenheimer and Barbie back to back! We watched Barbie first, due to the times that the films were showing that suited us best. I really enjoyed it; I hadn’t been sure what to expect but it was fun and clever and had a strong feminist agenda. Margot Robbie was flawless as Barbie and Ryan Gosling was very funny as Ken, who wanted to embrace the patriarchy. And of course there were many other Barbies (as indeed there are) such as Dr Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, President Barbie etc - my favourite was the mention of “Proustian Barbie” (that one was made up!) which had not sold well! And of course there was “Weird Barbie” with felt pen marking her face and her legs permanently in the splits position, who had been “played with too much.” 
We had a short break before going to see Oppenheimer. At three hours long I thought that it might drag a bit, but I needn’t have worried, it was captivating from start to finish. Cillian Murphy was excellent as the complex genius, and the whole cast were brilliant. The timeline jumped about a bit but I soon got the hang of it; and the music swelled so much at crucial moments that the dialogue was almost drowned out - but somehow it all worked. And even though I knew how things would turn out, I was on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded. I predict that Oppenheimer will win Oscars for Best Film, Cillian Murphy as Best Actor, Christopher Nolan as Best Director and a difficult choice between Matt Damon as the irascible General Leslie Groves or Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss as Best Supporting Actor. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh were also very good but they had much less screen time. We discussed the films all the way home to Ullapool.