I am exasperated

David wasn't sure whether he was expected at Disabled Riding today because it was the May Day holiday. After some discussion we decided that the horses would need mucking out anyway, so I gave him a lift to Maryhill and said to the supervisor that I would pick him up at lunch time. I did a bit of shopping then when I collected him we headed into town to David's favourite restaurant - TGI Fridays of course! We had to wait for twenty minutes so we went to Neal's Yard to pick up some Night Time Remedy for James, and scientific David was highly amused by all the homeopathic products. He said "Why go to a doctor when you can come here?" and other sarcastic comments! We had a good laugh over lunch and David tried out a new burger to see if he liked it better than the Monster Burger. He did like it but not quite as much, however he consoled himself with a large chocolate brownie and popcorn ice cream sundae. Alasdair was also dining out at lunch time because he was meeting Cat; he was then going to the cinema with friends and intended to come home later in the afternoon "to study". Needless to say, tea-time arrived with no sign of Alasdair and then I got a phone call from him to say that he was going to a concert at the O2 - some band called Train. The boy clearly is hardly studying for his A levels, I suppose that it must be hard for him to motivate himself since he has an unconditional offer for Law. Meanwhile Jamie has not arranged his MOT or paid his road tax and may now face a hefty fine. For once words fail me! 

Back to Proust

I really enjoyed reading the first volume of "In Search of Lost Time" last year, or "A la Recherche du Temps Perdu" as Proust would have put it! I have been meaning to download the next volume, "In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower", and yesterday I did so, and have just started reading it. I find myself quite excited to return to the world of Charles Swann as seen through the eyes of the young narrator; I find Swann to be an engaging and somewhat vulnerable character and I feel genuinely interested in what happens to him next. James and I popped into town today to sort out David's phone (lost, luckily insured, will be replaced) and we had a pleasant lunch for two in Zizzi's in Princes' Square. I must say that the food there is consistently very good, it is one of our favourite Italian restaurants. We had a great table in the open area overlooking the courtyard and we had a good chat about a short walking holiday that James has planned for us in July. Later Grandma came for dinner and we watched a new programme "Planet Earth Live" on BBC1. It was presented by a rather agitated Richard Hammond who claimed to be in Africa but since it was dark and raining it could have been anywhere! He linked up with Julia Bradbury who was in Minnesota watching black bears, and someone else was watching really cute wee monkeys which I think were in Sri Lanka. Richard Hammond helpfully span a globe to show us where the broadcast were coming from, but although it was all very watchable the broadcasts were all recorded so the "live" bit seemed a bit pointless; it was just the presenters talking to each other. If a lion had appeared out of the darkness and Hammond had fought it off I would have found it more exciting. 

A Springtime Walk

We went for a lovely walk today with Heather and Ewan; we took them on one of our favourite parts of the Ayr Coastal Path, from Maidens to Dunure. We parked the car at Dunure and took a taxi to Maidens to start the walk, which is what we did several years ago when we first walked this section. This time however we had to contend with an irascible man; we didn't mind being asked to move our car but he was very rude to James about it! I didn't like him having a go at James, who was already good-naturedly moving the car, so I spoke back to him, telling him that he had said enough, which he really didn't like! Our taxi arrived and we soon arrived at Maidens and started our walk. We were so lucky with the weather, it was a beautiful day with great views of Arran, Ailsa Craig and even Ireland in the distance. We walked along the beach from Maidens then walked up through a wood full of bluebells into the Culzean Castle Estate. The grounds of the castle were very pretty; there was a long-bow archery competition on the Fountain Court and we had coffee on a bench looking over the ramparts to the sea. Onwards we went across Culzean Bay then up to the clifftop path and around the fields to Dunure, chatting all the while. Just before we arrived at the Dunure Inn we paused at the picturesque ruin of Dunure Castle. Our walk was about seven miles and by the time we got to the Inn I was ready for my lunch. The last time we were there we just sat in the beer garden so I didn't know how nice the restaurant was. Fish is the speciality and we all had various seafood dishes which were good. After a last look at the gorgeous wee harbour we set off home. It was great walking with Heather and Ewan and after they went home James was already talking about where the four of us could walk next! James and I weren't very hungry after our late lunch but we ordered in a Chinese meal later and then we were invited to an impromptu and fun party at Brian and Christine's! A very good Saturday. 

Happy Birthday Jennifer

It is my sister Jennifer's birthday today, just one day after our Dad's. He always said that she was a late birthday present for him! When Mum was in the hospital after giving birth to Jennifer one of the nurses said that she was a "Fair Baby", because she was born nine months after the Glasgow Fair holiday (2nd fortnight in July). Needless to say our rather posh Mum was mortified to be associated with a holiday baby boom! I remember very clearly the day that we brought Jennifer home from hospital; she was very beautiful and small, all wrapped up in a shawl. My Mum sat in the back seat of the car with me and gave me a new doll (Lily), and my Aunt Hilary sat in the front seat holding baby Jennifer (no baby seat in those reckless 1960s!) while my Dad drove us all home. It must be one of my earliest memories because I was 2 years and 4 months old. I sent Jennifer some Elemis Spa gifts in anticipation of the spa break we have promised ourselves in the autumn, and she texted to thank me. She also got a Kindle from Russell, which I'm sure she will enjoy as she is an extreme reader just like Mum and me. I hope she has had a lovely day and that her boys have all pampered her. 

The sun is back

It's a gorgeous day and I'm in a hammock about to read my current book while the dinner is cooking. It's not my usual hammock, this one is strung between one of the pear trees and the plum tree and I have a great view of tree branches and blue sky. Ally had got the hammock out before I came home and when I was going to get into it he asked me to wait while he "tied it to a stronger branch" no doubt nervous that my huge bulk would bring the whole thing down! Jennifer texted earlier to remind me that today would have been our Dad's 90th birthday, it would have been nice for him to see the boys all grown up, he would have loved that. Jamie has just phoned from Dundee, he is excited that he will be coming to Greece with us this summer. And Ally and Davie are playing table tennis on the patio. I think he would have been very proud of all three of them. I just heard a bird flapping its wings together as it flew past the hammock. I can't believe that I have never heard this before; I didn't realise that the wings actually hit together with a clapping sound. There is a pigeon in the tree above me and Jack has been lying in the flowerbed enjoying the sunshine. However this suburban idyll has just been disturbed by Ally and Davie approaching stealthily and swinging me in my hammock rather vigorously! Update at 9 p.m:- Today being the local government elections we walked up to the local primary school to exercise our democratic right to vote. The difference this year was that now that Alasdair is eighteen he was voting for the very first time so the three of us walked up together. Lots of memories of many voting days; as usual we met a few neighbours and chatted to them. Alasdair said that he enjoyed voting but it was over very quickly! Then I popped back into my hammock for a little while until James came and swung me alarmingly in it. Why do people feel the need to swing me when they see me in a hammock? 

That sinking feeling

After a very busy day including an enjoyable trip to a park with a P.E. class, this evening I hosted my EK book club and we had a pleasant evening discussing "Every Last One" by Anna Quindlen. We had a good chat about it and everyone had thought it was very good although horrifying; several people felt that it had made them think of their own or friends' experiences. I mean the feelings you get rather than the actual events of the book! For example, how awful it is when you are recently bereaved and in the mornings you wake up feeling fine for a moment and then the realisation comes crashing down on you that someone you love has just died. It's like it has just happened again and your stomach sinks. You have a similar feeling in the mornings when suffering from anxiety / depression which is why I hated waking up during those times and strangely I also used to hate our perfectly innocent wardrobes because they were the first things I saw when I woke up! We spent some time wondering whether the main character could have changed what would happen, and concluded that she could not possibly have anticipated how things would turn out. Ally and Cat were very helpful in offering drinks to my guests and setting out the supper. I made chicken lasagne which turned out well, and Susan brought delicious passion fruit cakes. It's always great to see these girls and I think we have all supported each other through different situations as well as having a good laugh. 

The Merry Month of May

I think Jack could tell that it's the merry month of May because he was in a delightful mood this morning and spent ages walking up and down on my recumbent form purring loudly before I got up. He kept making me pat him by putting his head under my hand and flicking it upwards so that it landed back on his head, and when I had my shower he sat on the other side of the shower screen companionably cleaning himself with his tongue. His next task was to wake up David which he did by loudly chewing a crisp packet that he found in David's bin, and then running out of the room with the crisp packet in his mouth. When we got downstairs Jack took me to inspect his bowl and watched me fill it with fresh chunks. After his breakfast he scratched the cat post and ran about a bit before sitting on top of the radiator in the back room. No wonder he has to spend so much of the day sleeping after all this morning activity! 

This evening Ally and I went round to Grandma's to put her eye drops in; she is looking great and you couldn't tell that she has had an eye operation so recently. She said her vision is still hazy and I hope that this is just because her eye hasn't settled down yet. She was in good spirits and is going with a friend to vote on Thursday. Jamie phoned to say that he has now printed and handed in his dissertation; it has more than 17000 words and he is so pleased that he has completed it. He has been making bread using our bread maker which he borrowed at the weekend and was very excited about that; he is so full of enthusiasm about everything he does, which reminds me of my Dad.