Visiting

We visited Chris and Stacey last week in their beautiful home near Ochiltree in Ayrshire. As well as seeing this lovely young couple we were keen to meet their two wee boys, Rory and Jamie. Rory is three now and was at our house last summer when Jamie and Kerry were in Scotland, but we were out and missed seeing him. So now that Jamie has been born (he’s three months old) we decided that it was high time to meet them both. And what a beautiful family they are. It reminded me a bit of ourselves with little boys and our lives in front of us. They made us very welcome and we had a good chat. 

Jennifer came to visit us on Wednesday for a few days and we had such a lovely time. She arrived on the day that I was hosting my EK Book Club and she helped me with the teas and coffees and joined in with all the chat. It was a convivial evening and the book club girls loved Jennifer. I felt very proud of her! 

We visited Janet McDougall, the first time that Jennifer has met her. We had lunch at the Chapterhouse café and Janet told us lots of stories about the family. We walked Vinnie the dog twice and I found it very reassuring to have an experienced dog person with me. It built my confidence let him off the lead a bit more in the park. Despite a poor weather forecast we had lovely weather both times although our feet got muddy in the field which was quite waterlogged. We also had the opportunity for some good chat while we were walking. We went over to David Lloyd for a swim and a spa too.
Then on the Friday a group of Jennifer’s friends came round for supper, and what a nice group they were! I knew Alison and Elspeth already and I enjoyed getting to know Julie. It was another lovely evening, the culmination of a great visit. 

We love Lucy!

Lucy Worsley had the whole audience eating out of her hand during her talk on Agatha Christie at the Pavilion. We have a joke that James has a crush on her, in fact it’s not just a joke; he really does have a big crush on her! So I got tickets for the event ages ago and we had excellent tickets in the front row! Lucy came out onto the stage wearing a gorgeous long green tulle dress with flowers embroidered onto it, and proceed to hold us spellbound for the next couple of hours. Her talk was technically a PowerPoint presentation because she illustrated her speech with lots of photos but her skill as a speaker elevated it to another level. She was funny and witty and very knowledgeable. In the second half (now wearing a lovely golden dress) she took questions and again it was a pleasure to hear her talking about her career and her interests in history. She kept hinting that she would like to act as Miss Marple in a film! And when an audience member asked her which era of history she would like to live in, she said “I will tell you about a time I was told I should live in” and told us that she had been using a parasol to protect her fair skin on the way to buy her lunch one day, when a passing van halted and the driver wound down his window to shout “Oi you from the telly! Why don’t you f*** off back to 1905?” Lucy said that far from being offended, she was amazed and impressed that he had correctly identified the age of her Edwardian parasol! She finished the talk by complimenting us all on being historians, which made our hearts swell with pride and with love for Lucy! 

Shania

I have loved Shania Twain since I first heard of her, around the time that her third album came out in the 1990s. So did a lot of my pupils in Coatbridge. During a hilarious end of class chat one boy said “She’s beautiful, she’s a great singer, and she’s minted!” I saw his point; what’s not to like? However last night at the Hydro it was the first time that I have ever seen her live, and she certainly didn’t disappoint! What a fantastic voice she has! And an amazing stage presence, and she is still very beautiful. It was a very joyful experience. I was at the concert on my own because I had gone ahead and booked my ticket under the impression that James didn’t want to go. It turned out that although he had said that he wasn’t keen, he would have been willing to come with me, but by that time it was too late and any remaining available seats would have been miles away from me, which defeated the purpose. Heather and Ewan were at the concert and I paid them a brief visit at their seats before the concert began. 
I had noticed that the exit behind me was right beside the bridge to Exhibition Centre Station, so I left sharp and successfully beat the majority  of the crowds heading for the station, and got on to the first train that arrived. An excellent evening. 

Wild weather

I’m tucked up in bed in Ullapool listening to the rain and wind buffeting the cottage. It’s rather cosy, especially with Flora snuggling in at my side (on top of the duvet, she refuses to go under it) and Tom curled up at my ankles. However the reason that the wild weather is noteworthy is that James and I spent the whole afternoon outdoors in the garden, accompanied by our feline chums. The sun was shining and although there were clouds it was quite warm; certainly warm enough for me to sit on the bench with Flora and do some admin and emails. James was working hard in the garden, assisted by Tom keeping an eye on him, preparing the ground for the next batch of heathers that he will be planting soon. We went indoors at about 5 p.m. and I was about to start making tea while James had a shower, when I noticed that I couldn’t see across the loch because of the sheets of rain and that the wind was whipping the branches of the trees so hard that twigs and leaves were breaking off them. And thus it has continued all evening. In fact when we were watching yet another episode of Black Mirror we had to turn up the sound on the television because the wind was howling down the chimney so loudly! 

Update just before midnight: I saw on Facebook that one of the lampposts just up the lane from us blew right down into a neighbour’s garden this evening due to the high winds! 

Rainy day

I woke at 5 a.m. with my tooth sore, and took ibuprofen which meant that when I woke again a couple of hours later it felt ok. My tooth is definitely getting better, however I really have been taken by surprise at the pain that follows root canal treatment. The other thing that I noticed at 5 a.m. was rain battering against the window, and it was still raining when we got up. It was a wet day, with the cloud hanging low over the loch. 
However we had some nice plans that were unaffected by the rain; brunch in Inverness with Alison and Hugh. We met in a lovely wee café in the town centre and had a very pleasant chat and catch up over coffee and French toast. It had even temporarily stopped raining by the time we left the café. We stopped at Tesco in the way back to Ullapool and James bought the ingredients for his special sweet potato curry. 
Then Anne popped round for a coffee in the afternoon and we caught up on news beside the fire over coffee and biscuits. And later James made his curry which was absolutely delicious and we watched another episode of Black Mirror. As rainy days go, it was a rather good one. Although I’m not sure that the cats would agree, they spent quite a lot of time mooching about in the porch looking sadly out at the rain. 

A bit of Mahler

Yesterday was quite a rubbish day. My tooth continued to be really sore. James gave me some cocodamol but it didn’t really help so I went back to ibuprofen which gives at least temporary relief. It’s amazing how one tooth being sore has taken over my whole existence, and it made me wonder how people cope with more serious or chronic pain.
I spent most of the afternoon in bed reading and sleeping, and my lovely Flora stayed right beside me most of the time. I know that she had a break while I was asleep because James was outside working in the garden, and he told me that she ventured outside for a little while and sat at the top of the steps, then returned indoors to take care of me. She is such a wee honey. Tom however is a man’s cat and he roamed around his territory, checking on James’ gardening progress from time to time. 
I got up for the evening, James made a delicious asparagus risotto which I ate with the right hand side of my mouth. We watched another episode of Black Mirror. When I was tucked up in bed I noticed that it had just turned midnight so I did my Wordle, which I do every day. I had just been reading an online article about the Righteous Brothers and the word “music” came to me. And amazingly, for the first time ever, I got the word on my first attempt! I was delighted! 
It’s weird that two lovely things have happened (Wordle on first attempt and picture published on BBC Scotland website) just when I’m suffering with this tooth. Life is strange. 
Today my tooth was a bit better, apart from once when I gnashed it together with my upper teeth by accident and it was very sore! We went to Strathpeffer in the afternoon to see a Mahler Players concert; Mahler Symphony no. 6 to be precise. It’s the first time that we’ve been to an event at Strathpeffer Pavilion and it was a nice venue. There was a good turnout and I enjoyed the concert - up to a point; I am not very familiar with Mahler and it kind of sounded like a film score to me. I think I would need to hear more to get more of an idea of it. We had a coffee afterwards in a wee coffee shop that was like an old fashioned American diner complete with a juke box. 
Back in Ullapool we had a relaxing evening and were much amused by Flora who watched a nature programme about birds very intently and then climbed up beside the television to try to catch the birds! 

Ullapool journey with sore tooth

Sadly my tooth has not yet improved and I have had a day of pain, ameliorated partly but not completely by painkillers every four hours. Our plan of packing the car yesterday so that the cats wouldn’t be alarmed when they saw us packing up this morning went well. We set off at about 9.45 a.m. after Flora and then Tom came in from their morning constitutionals. I drove for the first two hours and as the painkillers wore off I started to feel very sore and strangely sleepy. I had to sit up very straight and bite my lip to stay awake. We had a short stop half way around at Ralia and got coffees and then pressed on with James driving, with one more very quick stop at Aviemore where James visited the Cairngorm Brewery for supplies. 
When we got to Ullapool we quickly unloaded the car, the cats went out for some exercise, and I dived into bed for a nap, it was blissful. My caring little cat Flora came upstairs and sat on top of me on the bed, staring into my face. I’m sure that she knew that I wasn’t feeling great. 
In some nice news, I have finally had one of my photographs published in the BBC News website “Your pictures of Scotland” section. I have never been successful before despite several years of trying so I was delighted.
I got up for dinner and watched an episode of “Black Mirror” with James (we have watched a few in the past but decided to watch them all in order. But I was glad to get back to bed. The endodontist told me that my tooth would be sore for about 48 hours so I’m more than half way through that. 

Root Canal

I had a funny old morning. I was absolutely dreading my root canal treatment this afternoon so I busied myself around the house and got a heck of a lot done! Silver linings! 
However inevitably the time soon came for my treatment and the procedure took two whole hours, which to be fair I had been warned. It wasn’t painful because my mouth was well injected with local anaesthetic, but afterwards I felt a little bit confused and faint. Luckily James had insisted on driving me over to the west end where the clinic is, and had passed the time walking in to the centre of town for some shopping. When I emerged into the daylight I phoned James and he was only five minutes away. The pain began when the anaesthetic wore off about an hour later. My whole tooth and the gum under it became very sore, and painkillers barely took the edge off it. The dentist had warned me about this too, that all the root canal treatment would have temporarily irritated and inflamed all of the tissues. I hope that it gets better soon because at the moment it is murder polis! 

A boy and a cat

Suzy and Harris came round this morning for coffee. That boy Harris is extremely intelligent and quite a live wire! He kept asking me about when I had been angry! “When were you mad with your husband?” “When were you mad with your cat?” and then rather searchingly; “When were you mad with yourself?” He went on the swings in the garden, played with Tom cat, drew pictures and sorted stones. Tom was really nice with him, staying close by letting Harris pat him. There was no sign of Floof but I knew where she was; I got her a wee fleecy blanket yesterday for the upstairs bathroom, where she likes to spend time for some reason, and she has hardly been off it since! She was so happy when I sat her on it! 
Tom however was a sad boy later when I took him to the vet about his baldy patches. He didn’t suspect a thing until James brought the cat carrier into the back room where he had been resting on the couch. He ran for the cat flap but I had already locked it, and he was soon on his way to the vet, crying all the way in his tiny cracked voice. It turned out that he has allergies (like Flora) which were sorted, I hope, by a rather expensive injection. Tom was very glad to get home, and I noticed him staring at me from time to time during the afternoon as if to say “What was that all about?”
He was distracted when James built and lit a large fire in the garden, to get rid of some twigs and branches. Tom and Flora watched in fascination from the safety of the back room. James used the fire pit that we bought during lockdown, but despite being kept covered it has rusted so much that the bottom literally fell out of it, so it will need to go off to the dump. At least it ended its life in one last blaze of glory! 

A dog, two cats and a squirrel

James came with me on my Vinnie walk this afternoon; we followed the usual route through Holmhills and Cambuslang Parks, and all three of us had a fine time. Vinnie was impressed that James  can throw his ball much further than I can, and he was running about chasing the ball for ages. It was another beautiful sunny day, and we had a nice chat on our walk, and Vinnie met a few other doggies, he’s such a friendly dog. 

There was drama in the garden when we got home. Tom was full of beans after his dinner and chased Flora up the pear tree beside the fence, then he dashed up the other pear tree. There happened to be a squirrel already in that tree above Tom and it was absolutely furious; it was chattering at him loudly in its gruff voice. I think that it must have been angry because it felt trapped by him blocking its usual exit down the tree and across the grass to the other pear tree and the many trees in the Reids’ garden. So it climbed high up the tree and then gave an almighty leap to the other pear tree. This was no mean feat even for a squirrel, because it had to grab on to the very thin twigs high up, and we could see them bending way down like a springboard before it leaped again onto safer branches. But oh dear, our bushy tailed friend had not realised that Flora was already in that tree, and it did a huge double take when it realised that it was running towards her! Flora could hardly believe what was happening, it was so funny! The squirrel turned just in time and disappeared into the Reids’ conifers, what great entertainment, it was like a nature programme! 

Car trouble and coffee

Well it was cooler today after the rain yesterday, but I’m glad to say that it still felt warm and summery - there may be a few leaves on the ground but we’re not quite into autumn yet. I spent quite a lot of the morning arranging a car repair because one of the wheel bearings seems to be faulty again. Also an annoying rattle beneath the passenger door and a glitch with the display screen. I tried to hasten the repair over to Land-rover south side to throw myself on their mercy but they were unmoved and sent me home to follow the correct procedure by phoning Land-rover assistance, who have to diagnose the car before it can be booked in for repair. This duly took place and the repair will not take place until October. Words fail me.

James had a guitar lesson after lunch, which he said that he enjoyed. I picked him up and on the way home we stopped for coffee and strawberry tarts at Hugo’s in Burnside. It was doing a roaring trade, the staff were really friendly and helpful. I’m aware that it is nearly the end of hammock season so when we got home I headed outside. It was so pretty in the garden; so green and lush, with a welcome little breeze after the hot, still weather of the last few days. 

In other news, Ally and Cat are safe home from Morocco, thank goodness. It’s now being reported that three thousand people died during the earthquake, many in remote mountain villages which were completely destroyed. It’s so sad. 

Flu jab

I went down for my flu jab at 8.30 a.m. this morning. It still felt quite warm and muggy despite last night’s rain. I reckon that the health services are trying to get all of us oldies jabbed as quickly as possible, because who knows what dreadful flu and Covid variants await us this winter. I won’t be getting a Covid jab though, because those are being given only to those over 65 (unless you have an underlying health condition.) I rewarded myself for my bravery with a good cup of coffee and pain aux raisins at Costa on the Main Street. 
Back home I dedicated a chunk of my day to some quite serious sorting and clearing out. I think that my ex colleagues would probably agree that one of my good points was being super efficient and organised and tidy. Well it’s a different story at home, and that’s a shame because home is of course the most important. In the past the house was full of boy stuff and I was always fighting a semi successful battle to keep the house in good order. But now I need to do that for myself, and somehow that seems more difficult, maybe because I don’t really have deadlines, or uniform to get ready or homework to check. It’s not that the house is in a terrible state; however there are little piles of messiness here and there, and I tend to shove things into my beloved study to get them out of the way. And that is also a shame because it’s the first time that I have had my own room since 1985, and I feel that the disorder makes me value it less. 
Anyway I worked very hard for about three hours, mainly in my study, and I think that I can really see a difference. I became extremely sweaty during this time, partly because of running up and down the stairs to fetch things or put them away, and partly because the muggy morning had turned into an extremely hot and humid afternoon. So I used my trusty method (first used on a hot day in Tuscany) of running myself a completely cold bath and immersing myself in it, in order to bring down my temperature. This worked beautifully and I felt very refreshed.
Meanwhile the clouds rolled in and it actually got very dark at about 3.30 p.m. Suddenly there was an almighty downpour, followed by the predicted thunder. However Jennifer told me on the phone that they had thunder and lightning this morning in Buckinghamshire and now it’s back to being very hot! But that’s the south of England for you; the weather forecast predicts that it will stay cooler here. And indeed it did feel cooler after several more bursts of heavy rain. 
James arrived home from his very sunny hill-walking weekend to Galloway with some hilarious tales to tell me, and we had dinner and a pleasant evening together with Tom and Flora. 

Earthquake in Marrakesh

I was reading my book in bed late last night when a message came through on the family chat from Ally; he was letting us know that there has been an earthquake in Marrakesh (where he and Cat are on holiday.) He wanted us to know before we saw it on the news so that we wouldn’t worry too much, which was very thoughtful. He and Cat are fine but their hotel has large cracks on its walls, so they were going to sleep under the stars on a double sun lounger. They sheltered in a doorway when they felt the earthquake, which was 7.2 magnitude, then went outside with the other hotel guests. When I looked on the news websites it said that there were no casualties, however when I checked again in the morning there were sadly 600 casualties, which rose during the day to more than 2000 deaths. How terrible.
Ally and Cat FaceTimed me in the morning which was reassuring; their hotel is just outside  Marrakesh and is still operating, so they are going to stay put and follow instructions from their airline; they are due to fly home on Monday.
Meanwhile at Casa Anderson today was meant to be the peak of the heatwave, and it was very hot. Hot and muggy; the washing was hung out for hours but still felt a little bit damp when I brought it in. Even the interior of the house, with its thick sandstone walls, has heated up significantly. The cats were mostly just lounging around the back room and the garden, as was I. But there was a unique occurrence just after lunch, when I was spending some time in my hammock. Flora approached me and spoke loudly to me, and I patted my knee to encourage her to jump up - which she never does, because she hates the unstable feeling of the hammock moving. But this time she did! And after a bit of shifting about she settled down on my legs, relaxed but not sleeping as she listened to the sounds of birds and various rustling and creaking noises in the trees. At one point we both watched in fascination as a squirrel descended from one of the trees and scurrying up another. The only problem was that Flora’s weight on my knee joints eventually made them feel as if they were bent backwards; I didn’t move because it was so nice to have here there, but when she eventually jumped down to the ground I couldn’t bend my knees at all for a painful few minutes! 
After dinner I heard the pattering noise of rain on the window which quickly turned into a heavy but brief downpour. I was surprised because rain was not forecast until tomorrow afternoon. I heard the cat flap clicking and in came Flora, with her fur absolutely soaked! She was miaowing very loudly, I think that she had been very much caught by surprise! I gave her a rub down, for which she was not at all grateful. I went outside later to check on the weather and the darkening sky was clear, but it did feel a little fresher, so I’m hoping for a cooler night’s sleep. 

Ice lollies in the garden

James set off early for a hill-walking weekend in Galloway and I headed up the hill at 8.30 to take Vinnie for a walk because Ferne has a hospital appointment this morning. The weather was a little bit misty so I wore a light rain jacket over my t shirt. What a mistake! The mist burned off after about 5 minutes and the sun began to beat down upon me. I knotted my jacket around my waist but I wished that I hadn’t brought it. It was such a beautiful morning. There was dew on the grass at Holmhills Park and when I threw the ball for Vinnie it bounced in the wet grass sending up a silver spray of droplets. Vinnie was such a good boy; he made me laugh by sussing out another dog walker’s treat bag and asking her very charmingly (and successfully!) for treats by offering her his paw. He had already had treats from me! We wended our way through Cambuslang Park which provided some much needed shade for me, and back along Grenville Drive. Vinnie seemed quite tired after an hour and a half’s walk; he had a drink of water then went to lie on his blankie. On the way home I went to sit on Mum and Dad’s bench at Douglas Drive and had a brief (and necessarily one-sided!) chat with them. I love that there is a specific place where I can go to remember them, although of course I think about them every day wherever I am. 

I had planned to visit Davie in Stirling today, but I asked him to come to Cambuslang instead so that we could sit outside in the garden in this hot weather, and he good-naturedly agreed. We had a lovely chat about everything in the world, and he was planning what to grow in the vegetable patch. Flora came out to see him; she was purring so loudly at him and sat between us in the bench so as to be part of the conversation. Tom also spent some quality head-rubbing time with Davie! We had avocado on toast for lunch followed by ice lollies (Davie and me, not the cats!)
After Davie set off for home I of course headed straight for the hammock which I placed in the shade under the big pear tree. A good day! 

Hidden Café

Another beautiful day; even hotter than yesterday. I sat outside in the morning, and needless to say the cats both came and sat near me on the patio. I set off by train to meet Ally W for lunch; her house is only ten minutes walk from Exhibition Centre station. She took me to a café that I have never visited before called the Hidden Café. And it really is hidden - it’s down a wee lane behind Dumbarton Road where there are old mews cottages. I had no idea that it was there despite walking past the end of the lane many times. It was pretty hot both indoors and out, I heard later that it was 27 deg C, but the windows were all open and we fanned ourselves with our menus. The lunch was delicious and I’ll definitely be back. Ally had some serious news to discuss with me and we had a long catch up and chat. It was lovely to see her. 

When I headed back to the station after lunch I felt a drop of rain on my shoulder, which turned into a light shower. The raindrops were big and warm and evaporated instantly on the hot pavement. I wasn’t dressed for a shower, since I was wearing a very light sundress, but luckily it didn’t get any heavier by the time I got in to the shelter of the station. 

Back in Cambuslang (where there were no more raindrops!) I had a number of errands to do on my way home; I picked up a prescription, extracted a wad of money from the cash machine, and collected the car from the body shop (that’s what the money was for.) I had put the car in there yesterday for a repair after an embarrassment with a wall in Bibury in July. Since I did the damage it was only fair that I should pay for the repair, and the body shop manager gave me an excellent discount for cash. He had done an excellent job and I was very pleased. 

I couldn’t wait to jump into my hammock in the garden where I read my book to the pleasant sounds of children playing in the garden next door and birds singing in the trees. 

September sunshine

 Wow! The weather is just absolutely gorgeous; what a bonus at the beginning of September. Today was very warm with a beautiful blue, cloudless sky. I sat outside in the garden in the afternoon; the birds were singing in the trees, and James was relaxing on one of the benches after his big daily walk. The weather has to be extremely good for James to sit still! Flora was lying sprawled on the slabs nearby, sunbathing. When James went to make a cup of tea she moved on to his seat (with its cushions!) so I brought out more cushions for James so that he wouldn’t disturb her. Tom preferred to lie on the table just inside the patio doors, where the sunlight made his shiny black fur extremely hot. It was all rather idyllic.
In the morning Marjory and I had walked along to Burnside for coffee and tried out the new café “Hugh’s” which has opened in the old Café Gelato premises. So far so good, the waiters were trying really hard so we were asked if we were enjoying our coffee about a dozen times! We had a good catch up, very pleasant.
Later I went over to Carolyn’s for an afternoon coffee and chat; former baby Harris has turned into a proper wee boy! He’s about two and a half now. What a cutie, he invited me to play with all his best toys and to repair his toy car and speak on his toy phone. Aw he’s so lovely.
I went straight from Carolyn’s into town to meet James for tea before “The Pink Floyd Experience” which was exactly what you would expect. The tribute band did a fine job of delivering two hours of Pink Floyd’s best known music. Even I was singing along to quite a lot of it. It was still warm and balmy when we travelled home by train. 

Three Chimneys and Raasay Distillery

On Sunday James and I set off on the remarkably long journey to Skye, to use the voucher for dinner bed and breakfast for the Three Chimneys, which Jamie, Ally and Davie gave to James for his 60th birthday, the last of his 60th birthday vouchers I think. And oh boy was it worth waiting for! We were at the Three Chimneys for my 40th birthday (20 whole years ago, oh dear!) and we loved it then, so it was great to be back. The room, the service, and the food were all absolutely top notch. It just felt so luxurious, and yet friendly and personal. 
The next morning, after a large and tasty breakfast, we decided to visited Dunvegan Castle and its garden; I know that we have been there before but it must have been at least thirty years ago and I think it was raining. This time it was sunny and although Dunvegan is not the prettiest castle (it has a pleasing shape but the rough cast surface on its walls is not very becoming) it was very interesting. It is actually five different buildings ranging from the 13th to the 19th century that have been joined together over the years.  It has a long history and framed on one of its halls is the famous Fairy Flag, given to the MacLeod Clan by, yes you’ve guessed it, the fairies, to be used in times of trouble. Apparently it was examined by an expert in the 19th century who suggested that it had been looted from one of the crusades (and it does look like a crusader flag!) The Clan Chief at the time assured him that the flag had been given to his family by the fairies, to which the expert responded diplomatically “I bow to your superior knowledge!” I liked this story.
The castle gardens looked lush and gorgeous at the end of summer and we strolled around them in the sunshine. 
Then we moved on to the island of Raasay, which we have visited twice before for distillery visits with our boys (and girls!) During our previous visits we had noticed that there are hotel rooms at the distillery, and we fancied giving them a try. We travelled the short journey across to Raasay as foot passengers on the Calmac ferry “Hallaig” and wheeled our cases up the hill to the distillery. Our room was small but smart, however in this lovely weather it was very, very hot, which concerned me. The staff must have noticed this because they had put a fan on the window ledge. However by bedtime I’m glad to say that the room had cooled right down and we got a good night’s sleep. 
We had drinks sitting at a wooden table outside the distillery and then a gorgeous meal awaited us in the restaurant. The young waiter, one of the owner’s sons I think, was very friendly and knowledgeable. 
We woke this morning to a thick mist coming in from the sea, which resulted in a most beautiful temperature inversion; the tops of the mountains  appearing spectacularly out of the mist, with the blue loch below. Unfortunately this meant that two sailings of the ferry were cancelled, so James was unable to get across to Skye to go hill-walking as he had planned. Nothing daunted, he joined the 11 a.m. distillery tour while I sat outside in the sunshine enjoying a coffee. The mountains looked so amazing as the cloud shifted around their flanks, that lots of people, including James, came out of the  distillery to take photos. We were sad to leave Raasay, but after a light lunch at Raasay House the ferries were running again and it was time to start our five hour journey homewards to see our cats. The mountains on Skye and then in Glencoe looked as lovely as could be as we travelled south. 

Curry and sunshine

It has been a really lovely weekend, with weather that has just got better and better. On Friday evening we had a delicious curry at Rasoi with Heather & Ewan. We had a convivial evening; it’s so relaxing to be able to chat about anything and everything with our friends who know us so well and yet still seem to like us! 
Then today Davie and Chanel popped in for lunch. This is great because now that they have moved to Stirling they can visit us, and we can visit them, much more conveniently and with much less planning than when they lived in Manchester! Not that I object to my boys flying the nest and exploring the world; that is what I have always encouraged them to do. On the other hand, I do miss them, so I can’t help feeling rather thrilled that one of them is currently back in Scotland!
We had a pleasant lunch and James and Davie went into the garage where they constructed a new back panel for his desk, with much sawing and sanding. Chanel was excited to be reunited with Tom and Floof, and it was warm enough to sit out in the garden, which we continued to do after our visitors left. 

Vinnie

September began with a dog walk. Suzy’s gorgeous wee niece Ferne, who is also related to me (she’s my second cousin twice removed) has a brain tumour. It’s just awful, she won’t even be two years old until October. Her doctors have a treatment plan of chemotherapy over the next six to nine months. My heart goes out to her young parents, Rachel and John, and her grandparents and uncles and aunties. She is a very loved little girl, and I couldn’t think of any way that I could lend my support to the family, until Gran Jan (who of course is Ferne’s great-grandma) mentioned to me that Vinnie the dog needs taken for walks when Ferne and her Mum and Dad are in hospital. This can be at quite short notice, so Rachel and John have set up a WhatsApp group where people can volunteer. I got myself added to the WhatsApp group, and was ready for action.
Ruth, already a stalwart of the Vinnie WhatsApp group, very kindly offered to accompany me for my first Vinnie walk. We took Vinnie up to Holmhills Park and then to Cambuslang Park, and Ruth talked me through his habits and preferences and we threw his ball for him. It was all good fun, although I was taken aback by the really huge poo which Vinnie produced, much mightier than any cat poo I have seen. Ruth nobly scooped it up, but I will have to do it next time! 

Six the Musical again and again!

The end of August continued to be pleasantly warm if not always sunny. In yet another, no doubt doomed, attempt to get fitter, I have been swimming just about every day at David Lloyd. One day after we had lunch with Diane and John in the Boathouse Café up at the pond in Rouken Glen Park, James came with me to David Lloyd and we had a swim and then besported ourselves in the outdoor jacuzzi. It must have been Thursday 31st, because I was meeting Heather later for an early dinner before going to see Six the Musical. So after our swim, James dropped me off at Pollokshaws West Station on his way home, so that I could get a train into town. All went smoothly, apart from the fact that my sandal caught on one of the steps up to the platform and down I went, rather painfully onto my hands and knees. Oh boy it was sore! My right kneecap swelled up and made my leggings feel very tight. It was sore for the rest of the evening and I imagined that I had damaged my kneecap, but luckily it was nothing but bruising and it was much better the next day. I am too clumsy.
I actually went to Six the Musical on Wednesday 30th (with Gordon) as well as on the 31st with Heather! These were my 4th and 5th times! I saw it first in December ‘21 with Chanel in Manchester, and then twice in June 22, once with Ally W and once by myself. I invited Jackie - she would have loved it - but she had school Prize-giving so couldn’t come. I wish that we could still go to fun outings together. 
Anyway, on Wednesday, Gordon and I had dinner in Il Pieno, just across the road from the Theatre Royal. At the end of the evening I popped back in there to see if I had left my phone, it turned out that it was safely at home. The next night I was back in Il Pieno with Heather and the waiter recognised me and asked if I had found my phone, which I thought was very sweet. I LOVED seeing Six the Musical again both times. I don’t even know why I like this wee daft musical so much; I like the music very much and it makes me feel so happy.