Pleasant interlude in Ullapool

We set off to Ullapool on Tuesday after my morning Pickleball club which was outdoors at the tennis club in the good weather. We had a good run north and had a celebratory fish / veggie burger supper on our arrival. The cats jumped out of the car and ran off to reacquaint themselves with their northern territory. We carried the benches out of the garage in the morning and sat outside in the sunshine. The weather continued warm and sunny for the rest of the week and we had a great time going for walks and having cake and coffee outside Tea by the Sea. James worked in the garden and I got the cottage spruced up for our visitors, Ian and Iris. I also did some batch cooking, we watched the second season of the irritating but compelling The White Lotus on television, and read our books. A peaceful and pleasant week. 

The Sir Walter Scott

Today we went to Loch Katrine to go for a boat tour on the steamship Sir Walter Scott. This trip was gifted to James for his birthday by Heather and Ewan, and they decided that they would join us. The day got off to a shaky start when the road was closed at Loch Venachar which added forty minutes to our journey and unfortunately kept Heather and Ewan waiting for us at the Brig o’Turk tearoom. However it was great to see them and they put us at our ease and we even had time to go for a short walk at Brig o’Turk before our cruise. The Trossachs are so pretty in springtime, although we were too early to see many bluebells; only a few were beginning to appear. We drove the short distance to Loch Katrine and boarded the boat, welcomed by a man who was wearing a captain’s hat and a natty tartan waistcoat. Built in 1899, the Sir Walter Scott has been sailing on Loch Katrine since 1900, although the fine Scottish tradition of sailing on the loch dates back to the mid 19th century. Loch Katrine has also been the reservoir which supplies most of Glasgow with its water since the mid 19th century; although not Cambuslang, our water comes from Camps Reservoir near Crawford. The boat wasn’t too busy on this sunny Monday morning, and we really enjoyed the views of the loch with Beinn Narnain, Beinn Ime and Ben Vane visible beyond the far end. As we sailed westwards, snow capped Ben Lomond appeared from behind the hills to the south. Some members of our party found the breeze to be slightly chilly, but not me; there are some advantages to my intolerance of heat and near immunity to cold! The trip was an hour in total and then we had another fine tradition of Scottish high tea in the restaurant overlooking the loch; a tasty and generous amount of sandwiches, scones and cakes. 

Craig Ferguson

We were at the O2 Academy this evening with Gordon and Morag, to see Craig Ferguson. The show had been postponed from last year so we were excited to see him. We arrived early enough to have a very enjoyable drink and chat with Gordon and Morag before it started. I have never seen the O2 with seats installed downstairs before, it’s usually a standing area during concerts. James was wondering where they store such a substantial amount of seats when they are not in use. Craig Ferguson was very funny, he’s a clever man. I have seen him before in The Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Citz many years ago and he was brilliant. If anything I thought that he was slightly nervous about being back in front of a Glasgow audience after so many successful years in America, but he got a warm reception. He said that his agent had told him not to worry because if people didn’t like him they simply wouldn’t buy tickets for his show, but he said “You don’t know Glasgow people!” implying that they would buy tickets just to prove to themselves that they were right about him, which I thought was very funny. His humour was anecdotal about his childhood, family, and experiences and we all enjoyed it very much.  

Lots of wild garlic

My cheese and wild garlic scones turned out to be excellent if I do say so myself. The weather has turned very warm and sunny and we have been enjoying sitting in the background room with the French windows open. To our surprise who appeared on the patio this afternoon but my old chum Vinnie! James and I greeted him warmly and were about to give him some dog treats that I still have in the cupboard, but then I heard Suzy calling him; she is dog-sitting while Rachel and John are on holiday. Vinnie and I went up to the top of the garden to see her, her garden is securely dog-proof so clever Vinnie must have made a Houdini-like escape through the hedge! I wonder if he heard and recognised our voices? 
On Friday evening, after a very pleasant and sunny day walking along Troon Beach, we met Gordon and Morag to see the Bon Jovi Experience (the only “official” tribute band as they proudly announced!) Gordon had kindly invited us along, and I accepted with alacrity because I assumed that James had been a fan of them in the 90s. It turns out that he wasn’t actually a fan but the band and music were very good and we both enjoyed ourselves, as well as Gordon and Morag’s friendly company. 
Today was a cooking and garden day. I made potato and wild garlic soup with more wild garlic from the Clyde Walkway. It was fine but the delicate taste was perhaps just a little too delicate. Cornel and Heather came for dinner and in addition to the soup we made roast lamb with juniper berries and asparagus, followed by James’ excellent crème brûlée. It was a happy evening. 

Springtime Fun

On Sunday evening James and I went out for dinner to La Lanterna in Grest Western Road; Marjory and Forrest had very kindly given us a voucher for Christmas. We hadn’t been here before, and we really liked it. The food was of course Italian and plentiful. On the way home we saw a beautiful rainbow arching over Glasgow, with a faint second rainbow beside it. 
I wore a new swimsuit when I went for a swim on Monday morning, but I didn’t realise before I put it on how low cut it is. I felt a bit embarrassed although I’m sure that no one else noticed! Marjory came to Pickleball with me on Tuesday; it was the first time she has played it. Everyone made her very welcome and she picked it up very quickly, she has a real instinct and talent for it. We walked back home and had lunch with James and Forrest. Tom was so happy when we went out for a stroll around the garden and kept us company, then he sat purring on Marjory’s knee. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and Floof also joined us in the back room. 
This morning we went for a cycle to Cuningar Loop. James had very kindly serviced both of our bicycles so that they were ready to ride. It was only a 16 km round trip and very pleasant along the verdant Clyde Walkway. We picked some wild garlic so that I can make cheese and wild garlic scones. 
In the afternoon I visited Janet in hospital, she will be getting home tomorrow which is excellent news, and she was looking well. And in the evening we went to the pub quiz with Davie and Chanel. We didn’t win but we had a great time. 

The Baby and Toddler Show

Today was my last day of Children’s Panel Training. I felt excited that I had finally made it to Week 7; it has been a lot of work but so interesting and I have met some great people. I then met Chanel at the SEC and we went to the Baby and Toddler Show. It was absolutely fascinating. Pram technology has moved on a lot in the last thirty years and I was very impressed with how smoothly the new prams turn. Something new (to me anyway!) is a cot which can attach to the bed, called a bedside crib or "next to me" crib, with a mesh partition which can slide down. This means that baby can sleep in their own space while being within arm's reach for feeding and comforting. And the car seats are amazing, they can turn sideways to make it easier to lift baby in and out of the car. We had a lovely time wandering around looking at everything. Davie and Chanel had already chosen their pram system so after trying it out we went ahead and ordered it. Back at home James arrived home early from his hill-walking weekend due to bad weather. I was determined to complete and submit the decisions and reasons for this week’s Children’s Hearings and it took me most of the evening. But now it’s done, hooray, and my training course is truly complete. In due course I will (hopefully) receive an email to tell me that I have been approved and that I can sign up to hearings as a panel member. 

L’Étranger; Killing an Arab

Yesterday evening, James and I went to see L’Étranger with Heather and Ewan; the 2025 film version of Camus‘s novel. It was filmed in black-and-white which suited the downbeat atmosphere and Benjamin Voisin was excellent in the lead role. It’s a long time since I read the book but I reckon the film was pretty true to the story, and Camus’s bleak absurdist view of the world was well portrayed. I absolutely loved it. We went for dinner to red onion afterwards and chatted about the film. Ewan had correctly discerned that the song “Killing an Arab” during the closing credits was by the Cure; we looked it up during dinner and in fact it was written by them about the novel “L’Étranger” back in 1984 as their debut single. The title and lyrics have been condemned as racist by people who didn’t realise that it was about the book and this has given them a lot of grief over the years. Robert Smith has said that he wishes they had given it a different title! 
In laundry news, Ally and Cat brought me a beautiful merino wool jumper for Christmas in a cornflower blue colour. This week I have been doing a big clothes cleared out and when I was looking at the jumper, I noticed that there was a mark on the front of it which I hadn’t noticed when I put it away before. I decided to hand wash it, which I don’t do very often, but I really wanted to be careful so that the jumper would keep its softness. I managed this successfully but oh boy it took a long time to dry! This was because I dried it flat on a towel to keep its shape. It was worth it because it looks and feels brand new. 

Films, television and a camellia

I had a very relaxing day on Sunday; Ally arrived home from Sandy’s stag do early afternoon and James and I had a good chat with him before taking him to the airport for his flight back to London. We then drove the short distance to Braehead to see a film that Cornel recommended to James; Project Hail Mary. It’s a science fiction film starring Ryan Gosling about a space flight which is a last ditch attempt to save our sun from being destroyed by “astrophages.” It is very watchable with some great moments, but is a bit silly and schmaltzy in places. All in all I enjoyed it though, and afterwards we seamlessly headed straight to East Kilbride to collect a curry which we ate while watching last week’s episode of Race across the World. 
I had a lovely lunch with Chanel on Monday; we went to Homegrown Garden Centre in Gartcosh, and Chanel very generously bought a beautiful camellia for David, to put on their front doorstep. James and I are enjoying watching the third series of The Capture which is about AI and fake news. I am also enjoying my guilty pleasure; watching Below Decks, but I am practising delayed gratification by rationing it out at one episode a week. And a new season of Race across the World has just started, which is downright silly but has beautiful scenery and is extremely enjoyable to watch. 

Assessment

Today was my assessment in chairing a Children’s Hearing. I have been preparing for it all week, which I realise is ridiculous because in real life you have to prepare for three hearings at a time with only a few days notice. I was determined that I would be well-prepared but in the event I was over-prepared because I tried to place some detailed actions on Social Work that are not in the Panel’s remit! Apart from that I think it went well but I would like to attend a lot of hearings before I feel ready to chair a real Children’s Hearing. I’m so tired because I have been sitting up late making notes for the hearing all week, and then last night we were up late chatting to Ally, who is in Scotland to attend Sandy’s stag do. It was lovely to see him. This morning I got up super early to go over my notes one more time. I felt more relaxed once I arrived at the Leonardo Hotel; my new group are a friendly bunch and we were all supporting each other. And so Day Six of my training is finished! Next Saturday will be my final day of training. 

Spring has indeed sprung

We drove up to Ullapool on Sunday, passing through every sort of weather imaginable including snow. The mountains in the highlands are snow capped but thankfully the roads were clear. When we arrived, the heating was not working at the cottage. We will need to get it fixed properly again, but James came up with the ingenious solution of switching off the hot water in order for the heating to work. And when required, he can switch the hot water back on again. So we had rather a chilly first evening at the cottage which James improved by lighting a nice big fire. It’s great to be back in the cottage, but having been abroad for most of March it was quite strange to think that we are already in April, especially when it was chilly on Sunday. 

What a change today! I am sitting outside the cottage on the love seat and it’s almost too hot! A cruise ship arrived into the loch this morning and the water is sparkling in the sunshine. Birds are singing, the cats have been rolling around on the warm slabs, and it really feels like proper Springtime! I met baby Duncan today, who was all smiles out in the garden with Natasha. He is gorgeous! 

A Social week

After going on holiday, especially a long one, there is much social catching up to do, and that’s what this week was like! I had a lovely dinner with several cousins at Janie’s house on Monday; Janie, Julie, Rona and me. It was really nice to catch up on news, and we had a good laugh. 
James and I went for a walk around Chatelherault Country Park on Tuesday; this seemed easy peasy compared to the more challenging terrain of the Torres del Paine National Park! We spotted a clump of bright yellow coltsfoot, which is an early season flowering plant, but didn’t see any spring lambs yet. The weather was sunny and quite mild. 
Heather and I finally got to see “Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts” exactly a year after our first attempt! This was because I booked the tickets about fifteen months ago, assuming that the show was in April 2025! When we arrived that evening War Horse was showing instead; in our cool and adaptable way we got tickets for that instead and it turned out to be very good! But on 1st April 2026 we arrived to see Inspector Morse at last, starring the dishy Tom Chambers, and it was excellent. The plot was convoluted and a little unlikely, but the cast were great and we both enjoyed it. 
On Thursday I visited Gran Jan in Monklands Hospital. She was taken into hospital because of a haemorrhage in her bladder, but unfortunately she then developed clots in her lung. The clots have now been dealt with and the bladder is still under investigation, but she’s looking great and was due to go home the next day. The physiotherapist arrived to assess her, with a step for her to practice on because she has a couple of steps at her front door. She was pretty amazed at how nimble Gran Jan is, considering that she’s 91 years old! Later Davie and Chanel came round for a curry; Chanel is now 15 weeks pregnant and looking good. 
We attended a celebration for Sue on Friday. Sue died about five years ago, during Covid, so her funeral was very small and due to Covid rules there could be no gathering after it. Her daughters, Cora and Eilidh, decided that it would be a good idea to have a party for her friends on what would have been her 70th birthday. It was a lovely informal occasion and Sue’s walking club friends, neighbours and other friends all chatted about her fondly. I also met Gordon and Sue’s granddaughter Susie, who lives in Canada. What a cutie. 
Finally on Saturday, after my fifth Children’s Hearing training session (I’m now with a new group) we went for a delicious dinner at Heather and Ewan’s, when we showed them our photo book of our Chile holiday and heard about their ski holiday and had a good chat.