A juicy pear

We had a lovely walk in Dumfriesshire today of about 12 km in the countryside around Drumlanrig Castle. We were in the area to checkpoint a D of E Gold Group and we planned our own walk so that we could meet them during the day and then later at the camp site. 

First we went to Thornhill to buy some meths (for the camp stoves), and we noticed that there was a film crew in the main street and I wondered if there might be some film stars about! However I was disappointed to learn (when we asked a lady in the hardware shop) that it was just an advertisement for Spar that was being filmed! It was very amusing though; the shop had displays of gorgeous shiny fruit outside it, the likes of which I have never seen either inside or outside our local Spar. Also standing outside the shop were an enthusiastic crowd of extras who were much younger, more attractive and more multi-cultural than the real residents of any Scottish town! 

We parked the car at Drumlanrig and noticed that there were lots of people there including police, various yellow-jacketed officials and some classy and healthy food stalls (for example home made soup, steak baguettes, hog roasts etc). We found out that the Tour of Britain cycle race will be coming through there tomorrow and that today there was an amateur cycling event.

We had a very pleasant walk through woods and rolling countryside. There were LOTS of pheasants running around in the fields; they ran away when they saw us but foolishly ran in the same direction as us instead of veering away! This meant that they got more and more agitated until they would launch themselves upwards, noisily and awkwardly with a great fluttering. We also saw lots of sheep, some donkeys and some Belted Galloway cows. The weather was beautiful and after our walk James and I had an idyllic coffee sitting on the grass outside Drumlanrig Castle looking at the views across the parkland with its ancient sycamore trees to the Lowther Hills beyond. I also ate a delicious and very juicy pear which I purchased from one of the healthy food stalls. The pupils did really well; it was a long walk for them of about 24 km but they were very good natured about it. We left them with their tents all set up at their campsite in Penpont and headed back to Glasgow for a curry. 

Fitness class

I have taken a fair amount of exercise over the summer although much less since I started back to work at the beginning of August. We have had brilliant weather this summer so most of this exercise has involved walking outdoors, which has been great. However I have been planning to go to some fitness classes this autumn as the nights "draw in" and when my lovely fitness instructor neighbour Christine told me yesterday about the new class she is teaching, I decided that the time was right.
This class is called FitStep and it's a bit like Zumba but with traditional dance steps such as the waltz, cha cha, paso doble, and the charleston among others. Apparently it was started by some dancers who have been on Strictly Come Dancing until recently. I found it to be great fun, I really enjoyed the dance steps and felt that I got the hang of it quite quickly. I was soon sweating buckets but I loved it and I will be back!
I am enjoying my weight loss and have now reached 9 stone 10 oz. James thinks I have lost enough weight (that's two and a half stones now because I was 12 stone 5 oz at the beginning of May!) I would like to lose just a little more but mainly tone up and get fitter. 

Reunions

Jamie and Ally are back from their travels!
The first to arrive was Jamie on Sunday afternoon. It was so great to see him all handsome and happy! He is such a positive person to be around. We had a steak dinner to celebrate his homecoming and Grandma was there too. He was telling us all about his adventures in Peru and showed us some of his photos, although we will have to see the rest at a later date because he headed back to Dundee in the evening to get ready for university which was to start on Monday. He gave us lovely presents from Peru - a brightly coloured scarf for me, gorgeous alpaca wool jumpers for Ally and Davie, and chocolates for James which he had made himself with strange ingredients, one of which is a herb nicknamed "The Chilean viagra!"
And Alasdair and Cat arrived back from South East Asia this evening. They flew in from Dubai where Cat's cousins had treated them to an amazing last night of their holiday at a boutique hotel. They looked really well, tanned and happy after their three and a half months of travel. Christine and Gerry were of course there too and instead of going straight home we all had an extended coffee at the airport while we all chatted and Ally and Cat told us more of their travels. Ally and Cat had also got us some great presents - a pair of slippers for me from Laos with elephants embroidered on them, and rice wine and a Vietnam t-shirt for James. For Davie they had got a pressed penny from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a pack of United Emirates playing cards, a pen from the Marina Bay Sands hotel, and best of all a collection of rocks from volcanoes they visited including Krakatoa! David was thrilled. They had also got a very interesting and bizarre present for Jamie; coffee beans that had been pooped by a civet! 

Relaxing at the Rainbow Room

Well we had a lovely time at the airshow! It stayed dry the whole day which was great although there was a chilly breeze in the afternoon. Jackie, her Dad, Finn, Noah and I waited for ages to get a tour of a big grey military plane but it was worth it and very interesting; it was a 10 squadron Voyager A330 aircraft which has only made 42 landings so far, it was very smart and new. It can refuel other planes mid air and is based at Brize Norton. I gave Jackie and the boys a lift back to Dundee late afternoon then collected James and David from Leuchars station because they had stayed to see the sunset ceremony at the very end. It was kind of sad driving away from Leuchars for the last time but such is life, and I'm sure we will find an airshow to go to next year - perhaps back to Fairford for the first time since our pre-children 1980s! 

Today I am at the hairdressers and then I will be collecting Jamie from the airport after his eight weeks in Peru so I'm very excited! After a coffee and a shiatsu head massage I feel nice and relaxed. I have always disliked going to the hairdressers but the Rainbow Room where I have been going for the last couple of years is very pleasant! 

The Last Leuchars air show

Well here we are at the last ever Leuchars air show. Despite a very mixed weather forecast, the sun is shining just now. It's the last air show here because RAF Leuchars will be closing next year and will become an army base. I feel surprisingly sentimental about this; despite being the least interested in planes in our family, I have many happy memories of coming to Leuchars with James and my tiny boys, who are now big tall boys. It has been a family tradition that we have all enjoyed. To me it has always been a pleasant and relaxing day out, especially as the toilet facilities have become more plentiful and civilised over the years. As well as the flying display there is a large static display and lots of stalls selling flying paraphernalia and also sunglasses, crafts and food. So after setting up camp beside the flight line we go for walks up and down the display. The boys of course take the plane aspect very seriously and pay attention to all the flying and technical details!! This year Jackie, her Dad, Finn and Noah, have joined us for the third time - I'm so glad that they enjoy it too! Last night we stayed over in Dundee and despite our late arrival (due to James' flight from London being delayed) Jackie and I were able to nip out to a nearby pub for a quick drink while David kindly babysat Finn and Noah.

Well I hope the final Leuchars air show is a good one - the flying display is about to start! 

Jack has a big face

James arrived home from his holiday in Austria very late on Sunday evening, and has had lots to tell us about his hill-walking. He keeps telling me how much I would enjoy going with him on a similar holiday, but then he mentions that he did 6000 metres of ascent over the week, which does not sound inviting to me! He has really enjoyed his holiday.
Although Jack has been fine in himself since his fight last week, we noticed over the last couple of days that the right hand side of his face has swollen up and under his fur there is a large lump. So I made an appointment at the vet's and I was glad that I had because by the time I got home from work the lump was so big that his right eye was half closed! James had arrived home just before me so he came with me to the vet's while David made the dinner.
Jack was not a happy cat when we got there and even less so when the vet stuck a large needle into the lump to try to draw out any liquid. This was unsuccessful so Jack had to get an anti-inflammatory injection and an antibiotic injection. During the second injection he went uncharacteristically berserk and lashed out with claws and teeth at the vet and at James, who was holding him. He scratched the back of James' hand really badly! He also yowled and lashed out when the vet put some ear drops in his ears - I suspect that he is getting a bit deaf so she was seeing if he has earwax. This was all too much for Jack, what a racket he made! James said fondly to him, "You were looking forward to a nice quiet evening weren't you?", however the vet thought that James was talking to her and said, "Yes I was!" which I thought was very funny. Jack gave the vet an absolutely filthy look.
When we got home we skyped Ally and Cat who are in Laos. Today they went tubing down a river; in the dry season it takes about four hours but in the rainy season (now) it only takes one hour. They stopped off at riverside bars on their way down river. Tomorrow they will go to Ventiane which is the capital of Laos. They are having such a wonderful holiday. 

Back to Guay

It has been a brilliant weekend. On Friday I had a lovely meal at Heather and Ewan's, and then, as I love Perthshire and I love Guay, I was delighted to be back there on Saturday for a D of E walk. I definitely feel fitter than I did six months ago and made good speed up to Loch Ordie. I had arrived before the rest of the group because I travelled straight from home, so I went up the hill by myself and it was very peaceful. I enjoyed looking at all the scenery (my favourite "The Shire" view!) and talking to the sheep. No matter how reassuring I tried to be they still ran off in a panic as I went up the path, and then stared at me reproachfully from a distance.
I relaxed at the Loch and then met up with Shona and Carolyn, and we check pointed the pupils. We had a fun chat, it was great to have time to sit down and catch up in the news because I have been so busy lately. John and Kenny had accidentally walked a much longer route than they intended and they were exhausted by the time we met them! When we got back to the lodge I had a refreshing shower and then we sat outside and chatted some more. Things got a bit too lively at the campsite and words had to be had with some of the pupils, but eventually everyone settled down and after a pleasant evening I had a great sleep. On the way south today I put on my music and sang all the way home!
David went to the new Cathkin Braes mountain bike track on Saturday with Stuart and his Dad and he loved it. It has been built for next year's Commonwealth Games and has recently opened to the public. He says that there are different grades of track and that the red routes are very tough. This evening we rounded off the weekend with dinner at - guess where? - yes of course it had to be TFI Fridays!