First cold of the season

We are having a pleasantly quiet few days in Ullapool where there is a mixture of warm sunshine and light showers. Unfortunately I have been afflicted with a horrid wee cold. My throat is on fire and I am sneezing and coughing as discreetly as I can. However my dear husband tells me that I sound disgusting. I spent the afternoon reading about Northern Renaissance Art as much as my poor thumping head would allow. In other news there seems to be a peace deal between Palestine and Israel; it’s very early stages so let’s hope that it lasts. And James and I, strongly influenced by Jenn and Russ, have started watching Celebrity Traitors. I’m loving it so far, and am surprised and gratified by the high calibre of the celebrities. Often in these celebrity versions of reality tv shows the so-called famous people are, to quote Billy Connolly, “Celebrities you’ve never heard of!” In this case though, I would say that at least fifteen of the nineteen are genuinely well known, for example top intellectual luvvie Sir Stephen Fry. Alan Carr is hilarious and it’s all very good-natured. James is markedly less enthusiastic but he is sportingly watching it with me which I appreciate. I’m now tucked up in bed waiting for my Night Nurse capsules to kick in. 

Tablet

I enjoyed my Northern Renaissance Art class yesterday; this week was about the symbolism and realism in the Netherlandish art. It actually raised more questions in my mind than answers. Is the mousetrap in Joseph’s workshop in the Mérode Altarpiece by Robert Campin really a symbol of the devil trapping Jesus? Or is it (as I instinctively feel) just a mousetrap? I walked to Partick Station on my way home because the earlier drizzle had stopped and it was a fine afternoon. 

James made tablet for the first time ever yesterday. Gran Jan asked me to deliver some of her tablet to Rachel last week for a charity sale, and I think this gave James the idea to try making some. Also we have discussed offering to make tablet as wedding favours for Jamie’s wedding in 2027. James worked and stirred away using his sugar thermometer and the results were fantastic. It tasted just as good as my Dad’s tablet and that is high praise indeed. 

Today Ally and Colin came for lunch and we made them a lamb and quince tagine. The quinces were picked from our own tree. It turned out very well if I say so myself, and we served it with couscous, a dollop of thick yoghurt and flatbreads. We made double quantities so there was plenty to freeze and I made a butternut squash version for myself. We had a lovely catch up with Ally and Colin, and after lunch we had coffee and baklavas sitting in the back room which was nice and warm. Colin also partook enthusiastically of James’ tablet; it really is excellent. 

Deceiving the Eye in the National Gallery

We went back to the National Gallery this morning for a members’ event called “Deceiving the Eye.” We walked from Bank Station to Trafalgar Square; it was the most beautiful sunny day. We took a small detour to walk through the narrowest lane in London, Brydges Place, which was only one paving slab wide at its narrowest point. First we had cool drinks in the members’ room then met our group in the Sainsbury’s Wing foyer. The art historian was very knowledgeable and presented a case that the Dutch artists of the 17th century used the recently developed optics technology to help make their paintings more accurate. He used Samuel van Hoogstraten, who experimented with various optical effects, as an example. We also looked at works by Carel Fabritius and Johannes Vermeer. All good fun. At James’ suggestion we then strolled through the sunny streets to my favourite outdoors café, Caffe Tropea, in Russell Square. It was absolutely delightful to sit outside in the warm afternoon, drinking coffee and eating mini cannoli. All too soon it was time to head to the airport for our flight home, but what a fantastic five days in London we have had. 

We have also had excellent news from Ally and Jamie, both of whom have new jobs. Ally has just been promoted to Senior Associate in his law firm and Jamie has just been offered a consultant paediatrician post at a hospital in Auckland. Following on from Davie’s excellent new job news earlier in the summer this is great news for all three of my sons. I am so proud of them all. 

Woolwich to Eltham

Ally and Cat took us on another walk on the Capital Ring today, the first section from Woolwich to Eltham, and it was absolutely brilliant. The weather was beautiful with a wee breeze which kept me from overheating. First we took the DLR all the way to Woolwich. We had brunch in a gorgeous wee French bakery and then set off along the Thames where we could see the ferries that cross the water. The route then climbed gently away from the river through Woolwich Common, passing the impressive Georgian Royal Artillery Barracks. The path led through Charlton Park and into Oxleas Wood,  one of London’s ancient woodlands, which has oak, beech, and hornbeam trees. It was beautifully autumnal and there were so many acorns falling from the trees, James told us that it is a mast year for oak trees. This occurs every 5 to 10 years and means a bumper crop which is too large for all of the predators like squirrels to eat, thus ensuring that some will grow. We all gathered some acorns to plant in the spring. Emerging from the trees, we arrived at Severndroog Castle a striking 18th-century folly perched on Shooters Hill. It has a wee café and we sat at the tables outside to drink our coffees. Then we climbed to the top of the tower and were rewarded with views southwards to London City and Canary Wharf. In the foreground parakeets squawked in the trees below us. Windsor was just visible distantly to the west, using the binoculars provided by the friendly guide. This small hill is the highest point of the Capital Ring. The route then continued gently downhill through Eltham Park to Eltham Palace, a magnificent Art Deco mansion surrounded by elegant gardens. It is currently closed because scenes for a film are being shot there over the next few days, but the kindly security guard allowed us to walk across the bridge to have a closer look at the palace and grounds, which are very pretty. We walked onwards past fields of horses, it felt very rural considering its proximity to central London. Finally we walked down into Eltham itself and caught a train to Lewisham and thence to Canary Wharf on the DLR. We had drinks in the Munich Cricket Club, a pub with a great atmosphere of which we have lovely memories with Ally, Cat and Andrew. Then we had dinner in Mala and an excellent chat, before saying very fond farewells to Ally and Cat and heading back to the hotel. My feet were very tired after 20 km of walking but I felt good. 

Ally saves a pigeon

We walked along to Ally and Cat’s flat in the morning for a delicious breakfast of coffee and pastries. It was very sunny but also quite windy - perhaps the edge of the Storm Amy that was bringing down trees in Scotland last night. We decided to go for a boat trip at Canary Wharf, something that Ally and Cat have done before but they were happy to do again. So we booked a self drive boat, which was very comfy with a wee table in the centre where we could put the drinks and snacks that we brought. It was good fun navigating around the waterways and looking up at the buildings towering above us. There were a few swans swimming about, some cormorants, and one very unlucky pigeon who had somehow flown into the water and couldn’t get out. The poor wee thing was desperately swimming, using its wings to try to lift itself up. Our hero Ally directed James (who was driving the boat at the time) to turn and pursue it. Of course the pigeon became even more agitated trying to get away from us. The safety boat appeared and we managed to trap the pigeon in the space between the two boats, whereupon Ally lifted it out of the water using an oar, and deposited it into the safety boat. The man in the safety boat took it to the shore and put it into a quiet corner on the wharf to rest. When we finished our boat trip we went to see it and put some pieces of cookie beside it; it didn’t look in great shape but it was sitting up and watching us, so I hope it survived. I am very proud of Ally for giving that wee pigeon a chance. 
We made our way to Swiss Cottage where we had a pre-theatre meal in a delightful Lebanese Restaurant called Arabesque. Then we went just round the corner to Hampstead Theatre to see Titus Andronicus. This was of course part of my quest to see all of Shakespeare’s plays performed live; this was my 22nd out of a total of 38 plays. Ally and Cat had good-naturedly agreed to join us. I was a bit concerned about it; Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare’s least loved plays because of its huge amount of graphic violence, and I didn’t want Ally and Cat to feel that they had wasted their Saturday evening on a load of rubbish, even though I knew that they wouldn’t complain. I needn’t have worried; the play was much better than any of us expected. It was indeed very bloody but the plot was robust, the actors were excellent, and the director had cleverly played up the gory bits so that they seemed so over the top as to be almost surreal. We all enjoyed it and had a good chat about it on the way back to Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line. 

Troilus and Cressida

We awoke refreshed and ready for another fun day in London. Our first stop was the new members’ room at the National Gallery, which is called “The House.” It has its own private doorway on Trafalgar Square and it is very lovely and smart, with a dining room, café bar, lounge / event space, and an interior door which takes you right into the National Gallery. I love everything about it. We had brunch in the café before heading into the Gallery to revisit our favourite Northern Renaissance paintings. After a pleasant wander around, we walked down to and across the river to the south bank, and strolled along to the Globe Theatre. We had plenty of time for a coffee before seeing Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. James bought us a programme so that we could check up on the plot, which seemed complicated at first, but made sense once it got started. It was the story of the love affair of Troilus and Cressida during the part of the Trojan War leading up to Hector’s death. It was well acted and I enjoyed it. The best known actor in the play was Samantha Spiro, whom we saw in Troilus and Cressida in Stratford last year, she is very talented. We had seats which meant that we were protected from the rain that came on lightly but steadily just at the start of the performance. Unfortunately this meant that the people in the standing area got rather wet but they were well clad in waterproof jackets. We decided to walk back to Limehouse; continuing along the south bank of the Thames through Rotherhithe and then under the river on the Windrush line to Wapping. We have walked this route before but in the other direction. The rain stopped within about ten minutes so we felt very pleased that we didn’t have to put up the hoods of our jackets. We had a tasty curry at the Holy Cow in Limehouse before the last short stroll back to the hotel.  

My Neighbour Totoro

James and I were up early to catch the 8.50 p.m. plane to London City. All went smoothly although not for the man behind me in the queue for boarding who was told that he was in the wrong queue because his ticket was for Heathrow! We left our luggage at the Premier Inn, Westferry, and set off along the Thames walkway towards Tower Bridge. The weather was fine and soon we had to take our jackets off because it was so warm. We jumped onto the underground from Tower Hill to Temple and had a really good wee lunch at Delauney’s. We were only a short walk from the Gillian Lynne Theatre where we saw the matinée of My Neighbour Totoro. This musical theatre production, based on a popular Japanese Animé, was recommended to us by both Ally and Gordon, so we were intrigued. And we were so glad we went because it was unusual, joyful, and downright surreal! A good example is the twelve legged orange cat-bus! The puppetry was so skilful, the music was alluring, and the actors were very energetic. When Totoro himself appeared for the first time there were gasps from the audience at his sheer immensity and presence. There were quite a lot of Japanese families there; apparently Totoro is a very popular figure in Japan. There were also quite a few school groups, who were lively but well-behaved. The man to James’ left was told off for getting his phone camera out, and from then on the usher watched him like a hawk. I took a surreptitious photo myself at the end when the usher wasn’t looking, just out of a feeling of rebellion. 
After the show we walked some more (12 km in total during the day) and later had a decent if not outstanding meal in Gordon Ramsay’s Limehouse restaurant, which we have passed many times as we have walked to and from Ally and Cat’s flat over the last few years. It has been a long but satisfying day. 

A coffee on Mum and Dad’s bench

James and I were very wily this morning before Tom’s vet appointment. I assembled the cat carrier last night and hid it in the front room. James did not feed Tom when he got up, and we both acted very casually. As a result, when we went downstairs, Tom was frisking about our ankles, wanting his breakfast. Before he could suspect a thing I picked him up and popped him in the cat carrier. Flora was in the vicinity, but disappeared when she saw what was happening, probably under our bed. Ten minutes later we were at the vets with Tom with no fuss at all. The enthusiastic young vet had a good look at Tom’s itchy bits, and decided that they were probably allergies. He has a short course of steroids and some cream. The idea is if the patches stop itching, they will heal up and the cycle of scratching will be broken.
I then went up to East Kilbride Shopping Centre to boots for a Scottish NHS health check, where they found out that I had low blood pressure. It’s 82/59 which apparently is quite low. So I’m to talk to the doctor; apart from that, I am a good weight for my height so that’s good news. As I walked through East Kilbride Shopping Centre I felt a bit sad at how it has deteriorated from the fairly smart place it used to be when the boys were younger, and even from when I took pupils there in later years. A lot of the shops have closed which makes it look a bit bleak. However, the girls in the health check clinic told me that part of it is going to close and the rest will be consolidated, which hopefully will give it a new lease of life. Walking through there was similar for me to Proust dipping his Madeleine in his cup of tea; it brought back a lot of memories and I could picture it in its past incarnations very clearly. 
Elspeth came round in the afternoon and we visited my Mum and Dad’s memorial bench in Douglas Park together. We brought a flask of coffee and some cakes. It was really special and we had a good talk about our parents, who were great friends, and about family and life in general.