Al fresco

Warm summer weather continues and it’s rather lovely to be able to sit outside. We had dinner with Gordon and Morag at the Partick Duck Club on Sunday and beforehand we had drinks sitting at one of the tables outside. Then on Monday Jenn F and I went swimming at David Lloyd and enjoyed using the outdoor jacuzzi. These last few days have been my swan song at David Lloyd, for now at least. I just can’t justify the hefty monthly fee when we spend so much time in Ullapool or on holiday - a very nice problem to have! I am going to consider other options in the autumn, possibly a return to the perfectly acceptable South Lanarkshire facilities. I will miss the David Lloyd outdoor pool though! 

Last week I bought myself a new wee foldable table and two chairs, and James and I have been eating breakfast sitting just inside the open French windows. Today I had coffee at Vin18 with Alison T; sitting guess where? Out in the garden of course! And then a trip to Stevenston in Ayrshire to talk Shakespeare with Caroline and Jamie, such a lovely afternoon. I got home to find James relaxing in the garden with Tom and Floof. 

Farewell to Sherlock

I have finally finished reading the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Some are bettter than others of course but they are well written with a light, witty touch. The warm weather has followed us from England to Scotland and it’s properly hot today. I went for a swim at David Lloyd this morning and since then we have been relaxing in the garden with the cats. Both cats because I’m glad to say that Tom’s eye and butt are much improved and he is allowed outside again. To say that he is happy about this is an understatement; he is absolutely overjoyed to have had his hated cone removed and the first thing that he did on its removal was to give himself a thorough bath. Flora is stretched out in her favourite spot; the stones outside the French windows, and James and I are reading the Sunday papers on the patio. 

Yesterday evening we had a very tasty dinner with Heather and Ewan at their local, The Grove. We have been there before with them, but this time I fulfilled a long held ambition; to have drinks on the roof top terrace, which always looks so inviting from the car park. However it’s of course seasonal, and 99% of the time that we have been in the vicinity it has been too cold or rainy to venture up there. Well I’m delighted to say that it lived up to expectations and the four of us had a summery drink in the roof terrace before dinner. 

Let the Paris Olympics 2024 commence

Today we took wee cone-head Tom to the vet to get his injured eye looked at by confident and pleasant vet Kate. The news is good; Tom’s eye is nearly healed and Kate removed his stitches (they would have dissolved eventually but might have been itchy for him.) His butt is healing well too. Tom was so brave throughout. However he still has to keep his cone on for a couple more days. The cost of all this has been horrendous. 
On Friday evening we watched the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 2024. The BBC coverage opened with Tom Hiddleston speaking French, so I was immediately won over! The opening ceremony took place on the river rather than in a stadium, with the athletes transported by boats. Meanwhile various musical and historical events took place along the banks of the river, some of which were pretty amazing, with lots of “son et lumière” and lots of music old and new. I adored the literary scene where French classic books about love were brandished about while acrobats swayed about on long poles and an opera singer sang the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen. Juliette Armanet sang Imagine while drifting along the river on a raft with a piano which was on fire. It was all so very French. Unfortunately for the organisers and volunteers, the rain lashed down relentlessly the whole time, everyone was clearly drenched, and you could see that the dancers were performing on dangerously slippy ground! After an effective and rather lengthy light display at the Eiffel Tower we thought that the ceremony was just about over but no! Rafael Nadal set off by speed boat with the Olympic torch, back down the river to the Louvre where a succession of former top French athletes carried it onwards to the Tuileries where the Olympic flame was finally lit in a cauldron topped by a hot air balloon. This then rose into the air while Piaf’s Hymne à l’Amour was sung by Celine Dion who was half way up the Eiffel Tower.  What a great finale, and I found it very moving in light of Celine Dion’s recent health problems; she was fantastic. Reviews from UK have been mixed; some people just don’t “get” France I think! 

Clarkson’s Farm

On Wednesday morning we decided to make a detour on our long drive home. We visited Clarkson’s Farm aka Diddly Squat Farm, which is near Chipping Norton and has a farm shop. James and I have watched and enjoyed all three seasons of Clarkson’s farm, and I think that Jeremy Clarkson has done very well to highlight the problems faced by farmers in the UK. He often points out that his farm wouldn’t be profitable without the large amount of money he is able to invest from his lucrative television career. He has tried to diversify into various areas such as opening a restaurant, and has run into problems constantly with the local council. It’s very interesting and he seems much more likeable than he does in Top Gear. He also has a good supporting ensemble of workers on the farm. When we arrived at opening time the queue was already forming but we got a space in the car park with no problem. It was so weird to be in the place we have seen so often on television. We bought some honey, and some blackberry jam, and we got coffees and James had a roll with sausage. We sat at a picnic bench looking over the fields and it was rather blissful. 

Then we resumed our journey home. I drove for a bit, but I hadn’t slept well the night before and I soon became very tired. I usually do half of the driving on our longer journeys which I think is only fair. James therefore ended up doing the vast majority of the drive home, he was an absolute hero. We got home at teatime, and were joyfully reunited with Tom and Flora. Tom was a sorry sight, wearing his cone, with his eye half closed and his butt raw from the burst abscess. Flora kept hissing at him; she is horrified by the cone. 

Solsbury Hill and great news from Chanel

On Tuesday we decided to go for a walk up the iconic Solsbury Hill, something that we have been meaning to do for years. Its name is actually Little Solsbury Hill and it overlooks Bath. The reason that it’s iconic to James (and me) is because of Peter Gabriel’s song, in which he climbs up Solsbury Hill and reflects on his life. We set off on a 6 km circuitous route recommended by the local tourist board, which took us on a path from the centre of Batheaston along the River Avon, then gradually ascending past houses and along country lanes to the slopes of the hill. The issue for me was that it was very warm and humid so at one point I tried to persuade James to go on without me, however he waited patiently for me to cool down a bit, and we pressed on to the top together. It’s an attractive wee hill with a flat grassy top, which once had an Iron Age fort. There were a few dog walkers around but apart from that it was very quiet, so we sat down at a nice spot overlooking the City of Bath and I played the song Solsbury Hill for us on my phone. It was so good. Going back down the hill was much easier and we had a reviving cup of tea in the airy and pleasant Gather Café in Batheaston. 
Onwards we drove to Tetbury, yet another pretty and in fact a very posh looking village, and had a stroll around and visited the “Highgrove Shop” - King Charles’ home Highgrove House is nearby and is open sometimes for garden tours, although not this week (I checked!) We had a drink at the delightfully named “The Snooty Fox” before heading back to Poulton. Dinner was once again at the Falcon Inn which is such a gorgeous family run pub. Its cheese soufflé is perfection. 
Back at home Tom has been well looked after  by Angela, Davie and Chanel, however we have of course been worrying about him. We decided to set off home a day early to see our boy. We heard fantastic news from Chanel. She got her Maths exam result yesterday and has passed with an amazing 96% and is now fully qualified to teach Maths in Scotland as well as in England. I am so proud of her. 

RIAT 2024 Day Four

Our final day at RIAT 2024 and it was leaving day, attended by a much smaller crowd of hardcore aircraft aficionados. First of all we went into the village of Fairford and had toasted teacakes for breakfast in the cute Post Office Café. We heard a local lady opining that she was glad to see the back of all the airshow tourists! We soon arrived at the air base where we were all in one area beside the main entrance, with a couple of food vans and a row of toilets. We brought both deckchairs from the car and enjoyed watching the aircraft leaving in ones and twos. The weather continued warm with sun and clouds; very pleasant, and there was a rather wistful atmosphere as the planes left us. Later I went for a swim at the open air pool in Cirencester, how lovely to be back! James read his book in the sunshine while I swam. We walked around the familiar streets and the pretty park and had dinner at Cote. I’m so fond of Cirencester. 

RIAT 2024 Day Three

Our 3rd day at RIAT and it was still very warm and sunnier than yesterday which was a bit cloudy. We set off even earlier just after 7.30 a.m. and it only took fifteen minutes to arrive and get parked at the airfield. After breakfast rolls at the picnic table in the FRIAT enclosure, I set up my deckchair in the shade, and James went off to take photos of the static display. The air show was sold out all three days and it was incredibly busy outside the peaceful wee world of the FRIAT enclosure; when I went out to the main concourse for a walk myself the grass was covered in families enjoying the sunshine and the flying displays. It was a great atmosphere. 
News reports about Tom from Angela, Chanel and Davie are reassuring. He is eating well, and being given lots of attention. Flora continues to hiss and growl at him; surely she must realise by now that it’s Tom wearing a cone and not some monster? Sometimes I suspect that Flora likes a bit of drama! 
Meanwhile out in the big world Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race in the USA. I’m a bit torn about this; on one hand I do think that 81 is a bit old to be president but on the other hand the media have been hunting him down over the past few weeks and it has felt a bit like ageism and bullying. I can’t imagine why he wants to be president at the age of 81 anyway. We had dinner in an excellent and very pretty pub a couple of miles down the road called the Crown at Ampney Brook. 

RIAT 2024 Day Two

Back to RIAT today for Day 2 and although it’s cloudier it is still very warm. We set off just before 8 a.m. and the traffic was very busy, nose-to-tail in fact, but we still got parked at the air show in less than twenty-five minutes due to our close proximity to the airfield; Poulton is only four miles from Fairford. 
Back in Cambuslang, Davie and Chanel went round to check on how Tom was getting on; they found him hiding under our bed; probably that feels a safe place for him since the head cone prevents him from being able to see behind him. To add insult to injury, Flora is hissing at him and avoiding him, she doesn’t like the head cone at all and seems not to recognise him! 
We soon got established in the FRIAT enclosure and had coffee and breakfast wraps. I spent a bit more time sitting up in the stand to watch the aeroplanes today because it wasn’t quite so baking hot. I also read some more Sherlock Holmes; I’m getting towards the end of it. It was another very pleasant day and James took lots of photographs as usual. He showed me some of them over dinner at the Falcon Inn which is just across the road from our cottage in Poulton. Dinner was absolutely delicious. 

Shakespeare and RIAT 2024 Day One

Yesterday we drove all the way to Stratford-upon-Avon which took about six hours including an hour of stops. It didn’t feel too long at all. We arrived in Stratford in absolutely glorious weather; parked in our usual car park and went for a stroll through the town. James pointed out that it’s amazing how well we know our way around; I suppose we have been coming here for years. We had a drink in the beer garden of one of the many historic pubs which is called the Rose and Crown, it’s so English! We went for dinner in the Rooftop Restaurant above the Swan Theatre. It was just delightful. And thence downstairs to watch the Merry Wives of Windsor which was complete nonsense but still quite enjoyable thanks to the excellent cast, well executed slapstick humour, and very well designed set. The most well known actor was the fantastic Samantha Spiro, but they were all very good. We emerged into the warm evening very happy with our experience. An hour’s drive later we arrived at our little cottage in Poulton, where we will be spending the next week. 
We spent today at RIAT, the first day of our annual expedition to James’ favourite air show in the Cotswolds. It was very hot, and I spent quite a lot of time in the shade behind the grandstand. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t watch the aeroplanes though, I had quite a good view from my favourite shady spot and I could pop up to the grandstand when I felt like it. I took my kindle and there are plenty of stalls where I could get drinks and food. Back in Poulton we had a drink at the Falcon Inn across the road from the cottage before dinner. James has brought the fire stick so we logged on to Disney Plus and watched a couple more episodes of the Anne Frank dramatisation that we have been watching. 

Tom has eye and bottom trouble

Tom came in with a sore eye the other day, so I took him to the vet. There was a tiny thorn lodged in his eyeball, clearly visible, and she tried to flush it out with saline, but it wouldn’t budge. She didn’t want to use tweezers because it might rupture Tom’s eyeball. When we arrived home I got my own tweezers out and almost had a go at it, but James (and Tom!) were quite rightly terrified at the damage that I might accidentally do, and I lost my nerve. So Tom was referred to the “veterinary ophthalmologist” (I didn’t know that these existed until this week!) who removed the thorn today under general anaesthetic. The eye did indeed leak and he needed stitches so it’s just as well that I didn’t try to remove the thorn myself! Poor Tommy. 
Of course yesterday morning, before Tom’s operation was even decided on, it was time to set off on our holiday to the Cotswolds. Chanel and Angela have both been wonderful for taking him to his various and extremely expensive appointments. I have been on the phone to them and to both vets many times during our journey and from the air show today, worried about our boy. To add to Tom’s woes, Angela discovered an open wound on the side of Tom’s bottom yesterday, near the base of his tail. The veterinary ophthalmologist (who must have had previous experience with bottoms before she specialised in eyes) thinks that it’s a cat bite that has caused an abscess, which has then burst. * She rather insultingly mentioned several times that Tom must have been running away from the other cat. To look on the bright side, the antibiotics that Tom is already being given for his sore eye should stop his bottom wound from becoming infected. The ophthalmologist cleaned it all out and Tom is wearing a cone so that he doesn’t claw at either his eye or his bot. What a week he is having.

* We don’t know whether the eye and bottom incidents took place during the same cat fight. This may forever remain a mystery. 

Assassination attempt

There have been lots of sports on the television recently; the Euros (football), Wimbledon, and at the end of July there will be the Olympics in Paris. This all provides a pleasant and entertaining backdrop for the summer. Since returning from Ullapool we have had a quiet but pleasant time starting with a delicious curry at Rasoi with Heather and Ewan. They gave us presents from their amazing holiday to the USA; a Nashville themed notebook and pen for me and some liqueur for James. Anyone who knows me will know that I am obsessed with stationery and I am going to use my fabby notebook and pen to make notes about country music. In world news, there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday when he was speaking at a campaign event. He turned his head and the bullet clipped his ear, he could easily have died. No matter what anyone thinks of Trump it was a terrible thing to do. The young shooter was quickly shot and killed, I wonder what were his reasons. 
I went to see “Van Gogh and Beyond” at the SEC with Ally W; it was really good, a continuation of the immersive exhibition that James and I saw in Paris in 2019. It was peaceful sitting in the big hall watching the beautiful images being built up layer upon layer. I met up with Sharon on Tuesday and we had a great chat at the Heritage Park Café which I haven’t visited for ages. And today James and I had a convivial brunch with Gerry and Janis. So it has been a pleasant interlude at home before we set off to the Cotswolds tomorrow. 

The boiler is fixed, hooray!

My hero James managed to find someone to fix the boiler in Ullapool so that’s a relief, no more cold showers. The previous person said that it couldn’t be fixed and that we would have to buy a new boiler, but our new person fixed it straight away with parts that he keeps in his van: so I know who we will be going to in future. 
We all got home yesterday; Tom and Flora were amazed as usual at being back in their other kingdom. Today James and I were in Glasgow for a business meeting; we rarely go into town during the day and it was quite nice going to a café together and having a chat. 
I am feeling a lot better in myself now that I’m up and running on my new meds. The transition wasn’t fun. 

Sad news

I’m still feeling a bit unwell so I’m having a quiet time. In very sad news, wee Ferne has died. This was expected and she was being cared for in a hospice, but still so very sad. She was only two. My heart goes out to her young parents and to the whole family. 

Pies in Lochinver

Well I was wrong - it was a complete landslide for Labour. The news on Friday was naturally full of the election results; Rishi Sunak left Downing Street and Keir Starmer arrived. Locally to us, Cambuslang remains Labour (Michael Shanks won it from the SNP in a by-election last October) and Ullapool has voted in the Lib Dems after nine years of the SNP. The weather was much improved so James and I decided to go on a wee pie run to Lochinver. We popped into An Cala for lunch and shortly afterwards Susan W and Sheila came walking in! They are on their annual holiday to Achmelvich, but it’s still quite a coincidence! They joined us and we all had a good chat.
James thinks that I have been taking too long to come off my meds before going on to the new ones and that I should stop tapering off slowly. So with some misgivings I stopped them yesterday and unfortunately I quickly started experiencing some bad side effects, so I’m not feeling very well. Hopefully this will pass soon. 

Genny Lek

Today is the General Election. I read that Gen Z (people born after 1996) call it the Genny Lek. How ghastly if that’s true. James and I applied for postal votes before the deadline because we knew that we would be in Ullapool on election day; however they arrived very late to Cambuslang and although Angela posted them on to us straight away, they only arrived here yesterday. We sent them off immediately but I doubt that they will arrive by the deadline of 10 p.m. today. The convention in the UK on election day is that there is a blackout on broadcast political news until voting closes, which is a blessed relief after the last few weeks of frantic campaigning. Instead we have been watching Wimbledon as the rain has lashed against the windows of the cottage. The second round match between Djokovic and wild card Jacob Fearnley was particularly exciting, as the young player managed to win the third set before Djokovic’s inevitable victory. The polls have now closed and a Labour landslide is predicted. I predict a Labour victory but perhaps not a landslide, people can be cagey about who they have voted for, as they have every right to be. The rain continues to be torrential, it hasn’t let up all day and the roads in Ullapool are like rivers. 

Gaun Yersel Shania!

We bought tickets to the Summer Sessions in Stirling ages ago, to see Shania Twain, without giving much thought to where we would be based at the time of the concert. We turned out to be in Ullapool so we commuted from here, with an overnight stay in a Travelodge in Perth. Something strange happened before we set off. Tom went outside, as is his wont, but did not return for ages. He clearly suspected that something was going on, and was concerned that it would involve him in a four hour car journey. But why did he think that? We were careful to follow our normal morning routine; James went out for his walk, we didn’t pack anything, we didn’t go near the car. Finally Tom returned and we locked the doors, and only then did we pack our overnight bags. We also loaded up the cats’ bowls with a prodigious amount of food so that they wouldn’t starve during our absence. By the time we set off Flora was hiding under the bed and Tom was hiding behind the couch. I presume that they emerged after we left, but I still can’t understand how Tom suspected that something was up so very early. 
Our journey went well until the last part when we approached Stirling. It was very busy with concert traffic and by the time we arrived at the car park beside City Park we were running behind time. We had to walk up to Stirling Castle and over the hill to Brea in Baker Street, where Davie and Chanel were waiting for us. We actually walked separately because, as the slower walker, I got out of the car before James parked it so as to get started on my walk. James walked a slightly different route than me which meant that we approached the restaurant from different directions a few minutes apart, which Davie and Chanel found to be quite amusing! 
It was lovely to see them and we had a tasty meal before heading back up and over the hill to see Shania Twain. I saw her last September at the Hydro, but it was the first time for the others. She didn’t disappoint, although the sound system wasn’t as good as at the Hydro. The backdrop of Stirling Castle on the hill was stunning. She was also very personable and friendly; she was wearing a mini kilt made by a Scottish designer, and at one point she told us that she had never enjoyed herself on stage so much, which I suspected was a triumph of diplomacy over truth! Shania sang us an excellent two hour set including all the old favourites, which went down very well with the enthusiastic, stetson-wearing crowd, many of whom seemed to be extremely drunk. I heard someone shout “Gaun yersel Shania!” which I loved! We were even lucky with the weather; it was cloudy but fairly warm, and the threatened rain never came to anything more than a wee smirr. Much respect to Chanel, who was exhausted after being at her school sports day in Aberdeen all day, but still came along to the concert. At the end of the concert James and I sprinted to the car park intending to make a quick getaway, but at first couldn’t find the car! After locating it we made good speed to Perth, and by midnight we were tucked up in our Travelodge. 

On the cold side of the Jet Stream

It has not been all sunshine and sitting outside since the last week or so of June. There have been plenty of showers too, sometimes heavy enough that we couldn’t even see the other side of the loch! Apparently the jet stream is currently westerly oriented across the Atlantic, instead of north of us. This is bringing low pressure and changeable, often wet, weather to Scotland. I remember how hot it was in Essex and London - and quite warm in Glasgow too - in May, and it seems so long ago! And according to the weather forecast this unsettled weather is probably going to continue - perhaps our summery weather is behind us? I hope not. 

On one of these recent rainy days Alison & Hugh came through from Nairn for lunch of locally hot smoked trout with new potatoes and broccoli. This was followed by a very convivial afternoon in the living room in front of the log fire. Sometimes you just have to embrace wet weather and make the most of it.

Other wet weather activities have included making soup. I made a red pepper and red onion soup for Hilary and Steven’s lunch on 20th June and I thought that it was a little too fiery, although our guests didn’t complain and James said that he liked it. So I made it again the other day with a little less chilli pepper and it turned out very well. Alison and Hugh brought us some beetroot from their polytunnel and I made it into borscht, which not only tastes nice but is a vibrant purply red colour. 

James and I have both been enjoying reading on Ewan’s blog about Heather & Ewan’s holiday to Nashville, and looking at photos they have sent us. What a wonderful time they have had visiting Chicago, driving through Kentucky, hiking in the Smoky Mountains and even having a close encounter with a black bear! They spent the last part of their holiday visiting the bars of Nashville to listen to Country Music, a long held dream which more than fulfilled their expectations. The holiday of a lifetime.