A book signing on Bloomsday

A very literary day for me because I accompanied Jennifer to two book signings. The first was at Waterstones in Sauchiehall Street; it was a rainy morning and the shop was quiet so she didn't sell many copies. However we did have a lovely coffee and chat. Then we rushed to East Kilbride; the Waterstones there was nice and busy and Jennifer did a brisk trade. Needless to say, given the location, I met quite a few people that I knew! One of these was Lee, who used to volunteer in my workplace and is now running the children's section of EK Waterstones, he is a pleasant chap. We were in the shop for several hours and had lunch there. It was an interesting experience for me and surprisingly tiring. When we got home Jenn went to a party in the west end and I gave Ally a lift to Dunlop to a party there, then picked up Jennifer who didn't want to stay late. This gave me the opportunity to listen to a bit of Radio 4's Bloomsday coverage as I drove along. Ewan and Heather had kindly alerted me to this a couple of weeks ago because they know that I read Ulysses last summer; as all aficionados will know, the events of the book take place on 16th June 1904 and it has become an annual day of celebration especially in Dublin. In honour of this the BBC were broadcasting excerpts from the book over the course of the day, each extract at about the time of day that it was supposed to happen. Each piece was introduced and explained. The bit I listened to was the beach scene in the evening and it sounded a lot ruder than when I read it! Later on Jenn, Davie and I relaxed on the couch eating pizza! 

I get to carry an Olympic Torch

Great excitement at school when our local Olympic torch carrier kindly brought in her torch to show the pupils. I got a photo of me holding it, I also had a wee run up and down the corridor with it - it was great fun! Jennifer is here to spend the weekend with us and it is very nice to see her. We had a nice chat last night and watched a chick flick called "Dear John" which was a bit irritating. Today I was at work and Jennifer had lunch with a friend. I had an unfeasibly busy day at work but actually I quite enjoy that. Then I discovered that I had a flat tyre when I set off home but luckily James has an electric pump so Chris and David pumped it up for me. Jennifer is out this evening with a friend and tomorrow we are going to be on the "literary circuit" of Glasgow and East Kilbride. I have had a curry with Ally, Davie and Cat - she has been doing her Duke of Edinburgh residential week for her Gold Award by repairing paths on Ben Lomond, and I am about to settle down to do a bit of paperwork. I am looking forward to a weekend with my sister! 

Advice from my son

I was really moved to receive this email from David who sent it to me when I was feeling a bit disgruntled about something. He is so thoughtful. I have always aimed to be a parent to my children rather than trying to be their friend, however it is very gratifying that they are beginning to become friends to me too!

Hi Mum
I found an interesting Psychology article and I think that this passage would explain why people can appear to be horrible towards other people:
"Ever wonder how an encounter goes so quickly awry? Doubt your own perceptions? Feel thrown totally off balance by another person? Manipulation comes in many forms: There are whiners. There are bullies. There are the short-fused. Not to forget the highly judgmental. Or the out-and-out sociopath. But they often have one thing in common: Their MO is to provoke, then make you feel you have no reason to react—and it's all your fault to begin with! Feeling deeply discounted, even totally powerless, while having to jettison the original aim of an interaction is a distressing double whammy of social life—and a cardinal sign you're dealing with a difficult person. No, it's not you. It's them. And it's the emotional equivalent of being mowed down by a hit-and-run driver."

Remember that its their goal to make you feel like you have done something wrong so don't take it to heart if people have goes at you.

David 

I become a Duke of Edinburgh Assessor!

Over the last two days of our Qualifying expedition in the Pentlands I have also been undergoing an assessment myself! This is in order to become a D of E assessor. I have already done the online modules and attended a training course, but you also have to do a supported assessment out on the hills. I did the pre-expedition checks, discussed the route with the pupils and leaders, discussed where the pupils would be check pointed, met up with the teams en route, and at the end I debriefed the teams and told them that they had passed the expedition section. I really enjoyed it. And when I had finished, Carolyn (my assessor) said to me "Congratulations Susan, you are now a Duke of Edinburgh Assessor!" I was delighted! The journey back to the west went well and I was home in time for tea. James was in Warwick today and he got in shortly after me. He has just pointed out to me that my face is sunburned, which I find unfair because although it was a fine day it was only sunny for the last hour of walking. It must have been fierce. So now the boys are yet again watching "The Euros" which is the European football championships. David tells me that it is the Eurovision of football! This gives me the opportunity to blog and bath. 

Sleeping on the Baronial floor

I am just settling down for the night on a sleeping mat on the floor of a small hall at Bonaly campsite. Its grand title of "The Baronial Hall" is certainly not appropriate but it does have a sink and an electric socket where we can plug in a kettle. I am not alone; four of my colleagues are scattered around the floor in their sleeping bags, and I know that one of them is reading because I can see her head torch moving about. It has been a long day, but the expedition has gone well. I cannot go into details for reasons of confidentiality but suffice it to say that some pupils walk much slower than others and I can only praise the patience and endurance of my colleagues! We had a good laugh over the pizza that we ordered in for tea. As we walked along on the north side of the Pentland Hills today I had plenty of time to appreciate the beauty of the countryside. There are lots of small reservoirs and hedgerows with lots of flowers beside them. After we rounded the end of the Torduff reservoir we went up a small hill from which we had tremendous views over Edinburgh; the pupils were impressed to be able to see Edinburgh Castle, Arthur's Seat and the Firth of Forth. And so to bed; the floor feels rather hard through my sleeping mat! 

Sociable Sunday

Well we have had a social day! In the morning we did some cooking for lunch time; I made the starter (poached salmon and avocado) and the main course (Basque chicken) and James made white chocolate ice cream. It's a long time - at least two years - since we have used the ice cream maker, so he had to find the instructions and work out how to use it again. Let's just say that there was a bit of shouting! Heather and Ewan came for lunch with Andrew; it was great to see him and to hear all about his first year of studying Law at university. He clearly enjoys it and is making the most of his time there; he even said that it has been the best year of his life so far. After lunch Cat popped round bearing a welcome tray of cupcakes and we had coffee and chatted about various subjects, it was very relaxing and friendly. Unfortunately my lovely god-daughter Jennifer couldn't be there because she has a bad cold. It was a good afternoon to sit around chatting because the weather was very rainy. 

Later on Grandma came round for tea and Jamie arrived home from watching the boat racing at Strathclyde Park. Needless to say James and I weren't very hungry after our big lunch but the boys are always hungry so they ate up the remainder of the Basque chicken and Grandma ate some too. James thought it actually tasted better reheated! Grandma was in good spirits and her eye looks almost back to normal after her second cataract operation. So it has been a pleasant and sociable day. Now I should be heading to bed but in fact I am watching a spooky film with Sandra Bullock in it called "Premonition"! It is really quite scary! 

The easiest guests ever

I was slightly apprehensive when Jamie asked me if he could bring five of his boat club friends to stay with us this weekend. However I need not have worried; not only are they very pleasant and polite young people (who even brought us wine and flowers to say thank you), but they are very self-entertaining and need no attention. They brought in food for their dinner and cooked and ate it with much laughter and chat, then settled down to watch a film. When we woke up this morning they were already gone to their rowing competition at Strathclyde Park. Jamie was there only to cheer them on, because his injured toe prevents him from taking part just now. It looks gruesome. James and Davie went hill-walking today to Lochearnhead while Ally was supposed to be studying; I went into town to meet Wendy, Maggie, Libby and Helen for lunch at Amarone. These girls are such great company and I look forward to our twice yearly lunches very much. The food was very good and our lunch ended up lasting four and a half hours of chat and laughter! In the evening James and I decided to go to the cinema to see "The Angel's Share" so we set off to Springfield Quay, only to find that it was sold out. We recovered the situation by going to the GFT instead where there were plenty of seats. What a lovely film! Set in Glasgow it is very funny but also thought provoking, with a feel good ending that somewhat defies belief! When we got home our pleasant young guests were all happily watching a film in the extension - or so I thought. When I went into the computer room to find a recipe book I was surprised to find a handsome young man already in his camp bed through there. He was surprised to see me too. And I couldn't help noticing that he was not wearing pyjamas.