White and Green Summer

Cow parsley always tells me that summer has arrived in Scotland, because its distinctive white clusters of flowers are everywhere on the roadsides. White and bright green are the colours of summer for me. As well as cow parsley there are elderflowers and delicate bramble flowers. This week I have been swimming a couple of times in the estuary just down the path and I have enjoyed it very much. The sea pinks and grass at the water’s edge are half submerged in the loch at high tide, which looks really pretty under the rippling waves and provides a delightful springy cushion to walk on as I enter the water. I still like to wear my neoprene socks which provide a little protection from any sharp stones further in. After swimming about for a while I dried off on the grassy banks of the estuary in the sunshine before the short walk back to the cottage. 
Usually I have a cup of tea and a nice warm shower on my return, but a couple of days ago our heating and hot water suddenly stopped working. The heating doesn’t matter at this time of year because it’s a warm wee cottage and James lights the fire in the evenings. But having no hot water is a problem. James has manfully braved cold showers but my hair is quite long just now and I can’t face staying in a cold shower long enough to shampoo, condition, and rinse it. So I have been going swimming to the sports centre and showering there instead. The sports centre doesn’t seem as horribly hot as it usually is, so I have enjoyed my swims. 

A Gneiss place to sit

On Monday James and I decided that with temperatures predicted to reach the dizzying heights of 20 degrees C, it would be good to spend the day at Achmelvich Beach. We set up the deckchairs near the water beside one of the outcrops of Lewissian Gneiss that surround the beach. The expected blue skies didn’t arrive and there were only patches of blue amongst the clouds; however it was still very warm and I went into the sea for a swim. The water felt cold as I went in, but not as cold as I have experienced in the past at Achmelvich, and once I waded out of my depth and started swimming I felt great. I swam up and down for about 25 minutes and it was excellent. The water was a gorgeous green colour over the pale sand and I noticed that James had moved round to keep an eye on me. He often does this when I’m swimming outdoors which I appreciate. I quickly dried off in my dry-robe sitting in one of the deckchairs feeling very cosy, and read my book. My book is the Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and I have been reading it for ages because it comprises about four novels and many short stories. Davie has recommended it to me; he got me started with A Study in Scarlet which is the very first story featuring Holmes and Watson. I’m enjoying it; the writing is excellent and almost timeless. The stories are clever and humorous, the character of Sherlock Holmes is charismatic. I’m surprised that I have never read any of the Sherlock Holmes stories before, but better late than never! 

Tom is attacked by a Seagull

We are having a peaceful and pleasant time in Ullapool. I am in the process of changing some meds so this quiet time is very helpful. Last night we watched Scotland’s third match in the Euros; Hungary scored 10 minutes into extra time and definitively knocked Scotland out. At least it cut short the misery. 
The cats are enjoying the good weather and spending lots of time outdoors. Yesterday I happened to look out of the window and noticed Tom sitting on the top step in a relaxed pose, his tail resting on the paving slab straight out behind him. At that very moment a seagull appeared very fast from behind him and swooped right down to attack him, or at least to noise him up. I don’t know if it actually made contact with him but it gave Tom a huge surprise and he jumped into the air and twisted round; by that time the seagull was long gone! I wonder why the seagull did that? Tom had certainly not been provoking it, so it must have recognised him as being a cat, presumably sworn enemies of seagulls, and thought that it would have a go at him in passing. 
James cut the grass and we both sat outside on the bench with a cup of tea, enjoying the view of the loch and mountains. 

Lucy is 21!

William and Merle came round for coffee yesterday afternoon and we had a lovely chat. We haven’t seen them since a family funeral last year and William seems a little frailer at 88, and he has had some health problems, but they were both on good form and we talked about family stories and heard about their grandchildren, who are all grown up, some with children of their own. It was very interesting to hear how the business had finally come to be wound up and how different people in the family had reacted and behaved. James had made some of his excellent shortbread which went down very well with our cups of tea.
And today we also spent time with family, in Edinburgh for Lucy’s 21st birthday lunch. There were eleven of us; Marjory and Forrest and their three offspring, two boyfriends - James and Murray - and Lynn with Anna. Douglas was working today and unfortunately Sheena is still in hospital, hopefully improving and more mobile. Lunch was at the Dome in George Street, such a grand and attractive venue and the meal was superb. Marjory was a bit dismayed that we had been allocated two tables instead of one, but it all worked out and we started off with an “senior table” and a “young table” and then after our main courses we all swapped seats several times so that we could chat with everyone. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and nice to spend time with the young folk. We set off home late afternoon and decided that instead of setting off the next morning, we should pack quickly and set off to Ullapool this evening. We caught the cats without too much trouble; Floof didn’t suspect a thing and Tom was only just starting to be suspicious. We started our journey northwards at 8 p.m. on the dot and the journey went smoothly; there was hardly any traffic. North of Pitlochry a wee creature ran across the road, causing the car ahead of us to swerve; James thought that it was a mink. It managed to dash to the other side of the road unscathed. Between Contin and Ullapool we saw quite a few deer by the side of the road, always a concern in case they suddenly dash across in front of us. We arrived at the cottage just a few minutes before midnight and the cats both ran into the garden to stretch their legs and probably go to the toilet. Then they appeared in the cottage demanding food before we all went to bed.

The longest day and Aperol Spritz

So here we are at the longest day of the year and the weather remains summery. Steven and Hilary came round for lunch today and we sat outside in the garden for coffee afterwards and it was delightful. We even watched a seagull attempting to chase a buzzard away, probably to protect its chicks in its nest. Both birds were very high up, circling around each other, and we could hear the seagull screeching at the buzzard. They rose higher and higher and finally the buzzard gave up and moved off. Seagulls are of course seaside birds, but they also build nests on rooftops in urban and suburban areas. 
In other news I was at EK book club last night; we went for dinner to Arigo’s in East Kilbride village and had a good laugh. While we were there Heather and Ewan sent a message on our “Aperol isn’t Dead” WhatsApp group, it was a photo of them drinking margaritas at a rooftop bar on their holiday in Chicago. This WhatsApp group has been going for years, I think that Cat set it up originally, and it consists of photos of ourselves drinking Aperol Spritzes in various locations around the world. The contributors are the Black and Anderson families. We are flexible about the nature of the drink as long as the photo is taken in the kind of exotic location where one might drink an Aperol Spritz, hence today’s margarita photos. 
Jenn F happened to be drinking an Aperol Spritz in the restaurant when the message arrived on my phone so I asked her if I could take a photo of it to post it on the Aperol WhatsApp group. She happily agreed and when I explained why, everyone in book group was very taken with the idea! 

Sir Ian plunges from stage

What a beautiful week we are having! Warm, sunny, big white clouds. I treated myself to a bunch of peonies a few days ago and put them in a vase in the back room. They have bloomed beautifully into huge white flowers, crinkly petals in the middle with big smooth petals surrounding each flower. They have a light, delicate scent which reminds me of jasmine, and I absolutely love them. I had coffee yesterday with Ally W at the Hidden Lane Tearoom and then we went for a walk around Kelvingrove Park which looked lush and leafy. And then I went to David Lloyd for an invigorating swim, which totally justified the large scone that I had consumed earlier. I had another lovely swim this morning with Alison T, followed by spa and lunch. 
I was concerned to hear that Sir Ian McKellen, our favourite neighbour of Ally and Cat’s, fell off the stage yesterday after tripping over something during a performance of Player Kings. As avid readers of this blog will know, we saw him in this play only a few weeks ago. Sir Ian is eighty-five years old and I must admit that I feared the worst; after all he is elderly and falling from the stage (or “plunging” as the Daily Mail put it!) is quite daunting not to mention painful. So I was very relieved this morning to hear on the news that he only has minor injuries and even hopes to return to the play soon. What a trouper! 

Father’s Day

Ally surprised James for Father’s Day by booking lunch at Hugh’s in Burnside for six of us; Davie and Chanel came back through from Stirling. It was an extremely lovely occasion and made James (and me) feel very happy. The food was very good and plentiful - almost too plentiful because we struggled to finished our huge portions. After the unexpectedly dry day yesterday, the forecast rain had arrived, so it was cosy to all be having lunch together. We bought cakes to enjoy at our leisure back at the house, which we did while watching amusing YouTube videos suggested by the young ones, and films of the Space Shuttle and Space X. It was a very happy Anderson afternoon. After Davie and Chanel left, Cat and I did some admin together and had a really nice chat, then we watched the England vs Serbia Euros game on television with James and Ally. England won 1 - 0. None of us were very hungry after our big lunch, so we made ourselves snacks. A great weekend. 

Pizza Party

Ally and Cat are still in Scotland and have been working from their Glasgow offices this past week. They have been able to catch up with friends and Cat spent a couple of days in Dunlop. Yesterday they went hill-walking to Cruachan with Davie. Cat and Davie were both able to increase their tally of Munros, and amazingly they had a completely dry day even though heavy rain was forecast in the afternoon. It only began raining when they got back into the car to head home! Davie collected Chanel from Stirling and we all had pizzas for dinner in Cambuslang. It was a jolly occasion, enlivened yet further by Mr. Fox who appeared in the garden and stared at us all. Ally and Davie tried to encourage Tommy and Floof to see it off, but they were too sensible to go anywhere near it!
James and I went to bed at about half ten and when I was brushing my teeth I could hear the young ones laughing and enjoying each others’ company downstairs, which gladdened my heart. 

One Amazing Life

This evening we watched a film called “One Life” starring the excellent Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham-Carter, about Sir Nicholas Winton, who helped to organise the evacuation of Jewish child refugees from Prague to Britain in 1939. He and his fellow volunteers saved 669 children, which is amazing, although unfortunately the Nazis intercepted the last trainload of 250 children and prevented them from leaving, and they nearly all died. There are an estimated 6000 people alive because those 669 children were saved. Winton’s work faded into history until it was highlighted in 1988 in an episode of Esther Rantzen’s That’s Life, in very moving scenes. He lived until he was 106 and kept in touch with the families of the survivors. It was a good film. 
Coincidentally Hilary and Steven were in London a couple of weeks ago at a series of events to commemorate the kinder transports to Canada just before WW2, and who did they meet but Nicholas Winton’s son, Nicholas jr. When Hilary found out who he was she asked if she could give him a hug, to which he consented. What an amazing impact good people can have on others’ lives. 

A visit from Skye the dog

James’ cousin Andrew Eadie and his wife Caroline came round for coffee on Thursday. We haven’t seen them since one of the Covid lockdowns when we met in their garden to hand them photos of the Eadie family which they helped us to identify. This was part of our ongoing and endless attempt to sort and label the old family photos. In fact we have only ever really met them very briefly over the years; we knew Andrew’s Mum and Dad, Margaret and Bobby, much better because they used to visit James’ parents. Bobby died years ago but Margaret is still alive, although with severe dementia, sadly. It was very interesting to chat with Andrew and Caroline because Andrew knew all sorts of snippets about the family that James didn’t know, and since he is nine years older than James he can remember more of family events. For example he can remember James’ maternal grandfather, who died in 1958. And he knew quite a few of the Andersons because the two families were friends. He and Caroline are very pleasant and we had a great afternoon. They brought their cocker spaniel Skye with them, to the outrage of Tom and Flora, who fled upstairs and hid under our bed. We kept Skye in the back room with us, so they were not under direct threat, but they remained under the bed for hours and didn’t emerge until the evening. 

Six the Musical in Edinburgh

I have been to see Six the Musical yet again this week - twice! My sixth and seventh times. It’s on at the Edinburgh Playhouse so this also entailed two trips to Edinburgh. On Tuesday evening I went with Heather and we had dinner first in the St James’ Centre in the “Scottish Marketplace” an area with lots of small food outlets which reminded me a little bit of the food mall that we went to in Dubai near the Burj Khalifa. I had tofu with a chilli and honey sauce which was delicious. The show was sold out and the audience was very enthusiastic. The little girl next to me was eating a large bucket of popcorn very loudly but it didn’t matter because the show itself is quite loud. It was also nice to chat with Heather at dinner and on the train journeys. 
The next day James and I also went by train to Edinburgh but we went earlier in the afternoon because the show started earlier at 5 p.m. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so we got off the train at Haymarket and walked to Stockbridge along leafy streets and crescents. We went to Sheila Fleet and bought a silver enamelled necklace for Lucy’s 21st. I thought that it was very pretty with summery colours, however it may not be to Lucy’s young taste, so we made sure to get a gift receipt. Then we continued to the Playhouse where we had a drink in the airy upstairs bar where Heather and I also went yesterday. I loved seeing Six again; James was not so excited but said that it was “ok” which is fair enough, at least he came along and tried it. We went to a Pizza restaurant after the show, which was very nice, and then home by train, changing at Bellshill which meant that we didn’t have to go all the way into town. 

Dunure and Curry

Chanel persuaded me to join today’s Hill-Walking Club’s day walk from Dunure to Turnberry, and despite me not completing the walk, I was very glad that she did because it was a lovely day. We arrived at the Harbourside café at Dunure at 10 where we all (ten of us) had coffee before setting off. Cars had to be relocated so that there were some at the end of the route, but eventually we set off in warm sunshine. Unfortunately it was a bit too warm for me, and the route diverged from the sea into woodland, so I quickly overheated and decided to retrace my steps to Dunure after about 3 km. With hindsight I might have been better to press on; the weather quite quickly became cooler and breezier and I might have been fine. However, no regrets, I had a very pleasant 6 km walk and when I was on my way back to Dunure I enjoyed listening to birdsong and looking at the views, as well as exploring the castle and village. I was amazed that while the village got quite busy by mid afternoon, there was hardly anyone on the Ayr Coastal path after it left the village, which seemed a shame on such a beautiful day. 

After their much longer walk, James, Davie and Chanel collected me from Dunure and the lifts that James had arranged to people’s cars all worked smoothly. 

We picked up a curry in East Kilbride on the way home and arrived just as Ally and Cat returned from their last wedding event at Shauna’s parents’ house. The four young folk have all been very busy and haven’t seen each other for a while, it was heart-warming to see them all chatting away together over the curry. Ally and Cat regaled us with tales of the wedding; Ally’s speech had gone down very well and was much complimented. They had enjoyed it all very much.

It was a really good evening, after which Davie and Chanel headed back to Stirling and Ally and Cat headed to bed happy but rather tired after all the wedding festivities. James and I weren’t too late to bed either. 

Wedding and Baby

Ally asked me to collect him and Cat from Motherwell Station at 11.30 p.m. on Thursday. They are in Scotland to attend their friend Matthew’s wedding to a Cambuslang girl, Shauna. Ally is one of the two best men, and he rehearsed his speech to us, it’s very good; funny and affectionate and not offensive to any elderly relatives who may be present. 
After working in their Glasgow offices on Friday, Ally and Cat went to a pre-wedding dinner on Friday evening, and then the main event was on Saturday. There will also be a post wedding lunch on Sunday, so it is a full on wedding weekend for them! 
So on Saturday morning I gave Ally a lift to Crossbasket Hotel because he was expected to arrive early for his Best Man duties. He looked very smart and handsome in his kilt. The hotel is on a back road near Blantyre and I have never been there before. It looks fabulous, like a wee castle. It has a reputation for good (but pricey) meals, so I must try it out some time with James. And then I went back there a couple of hours later to drop off Cat in time for the 1.30 p.m. wedding; she looked absolutely gorgeous in a pale blue dress with very high and very sparkly heels. After I dropped her off I drove straight to Carolyn’s baby shower in Jackton. It seems no time since her first baby shower a few weeks before Harris was born; in fact it has been three years and her new little one is due at the beginning of July. It was a relaxing and fun afternoon in great company; such a nice group of Carolyn’s friends and her Mum and mother-in-law. We played baby-related games (e.g. pin the dummy on the baby, guess the size of the bump) and quizzes, and ate a huge and delicious buffet. A great afternoon. 

Useful and pleasant

It has been a satisfyingly useful as well as a social week. Monday was a great day; lovely weather for my swim and then scones with Hilary at the Hidden Lane Tearoom. 
On Tuesday James and I went to see the Pet Shop Boys (again - we went last year with Marjory and Forrest.) They were very good, Neil Tennant still has a great voice and they seemed genuinely to be enjoying themselves, as did the audience. I met up with Suzy for a coffee, she was looking after Ferne that morning, so I got some cuddles and played with her a little; she’s such a lovely wee girl and Harris is a very fond and kindly big cousin to her. Unfortunately the news about her health is not good, which is so sad. 
I had a coffee with Alison T this week and we made plans to go swimming, an activity that we both enjoy. And I heard some nice baby news from Anne in Ullapool; she has a new wee granddaughter. On the useful side I did some much needed clearing out in the house and James repaired the decking up at the shed as well as fixing up the love seat and oiling it. 
On Thursday Davie & Chanel came round to set beer traps for the many slugs who would like to eat Davie’s vegetables, and we chatted about their house-hunting, which is very exciting.  

Definitely Summer!

So here we are in June, and although the sunshine is alternating with rain, it really is quite summery. It just doesn’t get all that cold, even when the weather is mixed. I have been spending a lot of time at the Sports Centre swimming outdoors, and James came with me for a spa on Friday. Nature has exploded into life; every bush and tree is burgeoning with lush green foliage. 

On Saturday morning I went to Susan T’s Coffee morning to raise funds for her Africa trip. I went along just to support her but ended up having some pleasant chats with lots of old acquaintances. I had a lovely chat with Susan’s niece Mollie, who was selling home made bracelets. We were swapping stories about embarrassing situations and I told her about holding on to what I thought was my Dad’s trouser leg when I was a small child, only to look across and see my Dad standing a short distance away. Mollie loved this story. I bought a bracelet for Heather with the slogan “bestie.”

Later Heather & Ewan came for dinner and I gave Heather her bracelet. I was gratified that she put it on straight away. Dinner was ok but somehow not as special as I had planned. My tapas starters were a bit ho hum. The main course and dessert turned out well though. We had a lovely evening chatting about all sorts. 

On Sunday Davie and Chanel came over because Davie has been propagating some vegetables to grow in the garden; pumpkins, butternut squash and green beans. He worked away to plant them and tied them to stakes for them to grow up. Meanwhile Chanel and I relaxed in the hammock and the stripey swing seat and chatted. Her Maths exam was on Tuesday and she thinks that it went well. The cats enjoyed their visit and paid them lots of attention; Tom even came trotting out of the house like a little dog when Davie called him! Then we all had dinner before they set off back to Stirling.