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.