Springtime continues

This week has flown by. The weather has continued to be warm and pleasant. Ally set off with Andrew on a holiday to Spain, Portugal and Morocco very early on Wednesday morning. I had volunteered to take them to the airport at 5 a.m., which I have to say was extremely kind of me! However, to my delight, I found out that James was flying to London on the same morning only fifteen minutes before Ally and Andrew's flight to Malaga and he took them instead. Therefore I got full credit for my generous offer without actually having to get up early! 

This evening James and I went into town to go to the cinema, to see "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" It was very amusing and I agree with my friend Karen who has also seen it and said that while the first film was better, this sequel was still good fun. We then had a delicious South Indian curry at Dhakin. We had a window seat and had a good view of Friday night revellers in the street below and the elderly audience leaving the City Halls across the road after a concert. A good start to the weekend. 

Making the most of the weather

What a treat I got first thing this morning! Due to a change in their timetable I was with 2nd Year in P.E. instead of Music, and the teacher decided to take them for a walk up into the park and around the ponds. I was thrilled; the weather was glorious and we had a lovely 45 minute walk. It was a splendid way to start the day. 

Ally was also making the most of the beautiful weather. He went hill-walking near Crianlarich with his friend Fraser, and they had a great time with amazing views. He tells me that he has now done 131 Munros, only ten short of half way. In the morning when he was about to leave I reminded him that he had planned to take some left over roast chicken as his packed lunch - so I shouted "Ally! Chicken legs!" James heard me and said "Well, that's not very fair to call him that!" which I thought was very funny.

I dived back into my hammock as soon as I got in from work, but was a bit concerned that there was no sign of Tom. Dinner time came and went, and still no Tom. However about half an hour ago I was rewarded by a familiar "meep" sound and there was my furry boy coming in through the cat flap as casual as you like. Tom loves his freedom to come and go as he pleases. 

Hammock day

On Saturday evening we watched a strange wee film called Face of an Angel very loosely based on the Amanda Knox trial and it was rubbish! Hardly any of the film was about the trial; instead it centred on a dour, self-obsessed reporter who spent a lot of the film snorting cocaine. Quoting a John Lydon comment on The Word many years ago, James remarked that you would need to be on drugs to watch the film! He then went to bed half way through because he said that he didn't want to waste any more of his life on it! 

Today my hero James found the frame for my hammock in the shed and put it together for me so here I am on yet another beautiful day, swinging gently in my happy place! One of my lovely new colleagues lives diagonally behind our house on the next street, and this morning I sent her a picture of the view from my hammock. She then sent me a picture of the view from her decking and through the foliage there I was in my hammock, which I thought was very funny! James has worked hard in the garden most of the day and is now reading his book, and so is Ally. Tom has been everywhere; in and out of the house, up the trees, rolling around in the warm slabs - he loves it when we're in the garden. 

Blossom

So here I am blogging in the garden on a beautiful sunny afternoon. There is not a cloud in the sky and it's really warm, with a pleasant light breeze that has dried three loads of washing for me really quickly. I love the fresh smell of washing that has been blown dry by the wind outside. Our neighbours have an apple tree whose branches overhang the fence into our garden; the sprays of pink blossom and fresh green leaves against the blue sky look absolutely stunning, like a painting, except better because they are so alive.

James and Ally are hill-walking in Glencoe; I have spent a very pleasant day around the house doing useful things as well as relaxing. I do love to potter about and I love being at home. Tom cat has checked in with me from time to time to see what I am up to and to make sure that I have filled his bowl with chunks. As I lie here on a blanket on the grass (I can't find the frame for my beloved hammock!) he has just come by and sat beside me companionably for a few minutes before moving off to investigate something at the top of the garden. I have finished one book (Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris - it was mostly ok) and I have just started another (One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore) which seems good so far. In a while I will make the dinner for my hungry hill-walkers. What a good day! 

Decision

There have been beautiful sunsets the last two days, with the most amazing blazing red sun lighting up the sky with stripes of pink and blue. I have been feeling very excited, because I have finally gone public at work with the decision I made over the Easter holidays - I am retiring at the end of June! 

The main reason is that I feel that I am done. I started work at seventeen years old and have never stopped - so that's thirty-seven years. Not for me those long University holidays; I worked all summer, every summer. Twenty-seven of these years have been in teaching and it has been a great and interesting career; it has been a privilege to have a career teaching and helping people. I have been a teacher, a Principal teacher and a Depute Head (Head of a Communication Support Base). I have travelled with pupils to Europe and Africa, and led many Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. I have seen and done and taught and learned so much. I am truly grateful to James for supporting me in this decision and I look forward to the next chapter of my life. 

Superhospital

This evening (and also last Monday evening) James and I have watched a couple of episodes of a documentary series called "Scotland's Superhospital" about the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. This is Glasgow's newest hospital (it opened two years ago), the result of the merger of several other hospitals and built on the site of the old Southern General. Each episode looks at the experiences of several patients in different areas of this huge hospital. Despite its size and all the brand new equipment like the automated guided vehicles to transport supplies, the staff seem to have maintained the personal relationships with their patients. I have found both programmes to be very moving and I think that the staff there are doing a wonderful job. That includes my friend Heather. I won't go into any details about her job, however l am so impressed by the amazing and life-changing work that she does. 

Coastal Walk

On Saturday I was back out walking! I wasn't sure about going on a coastal walk in Fife with the walking club after two days of walking on the Duke of Edinburgh expedition. I thought that perhaps I would spend the morning in bed instead! However James persuaded me that a walk would "loosen off my legs." I felt that the full 15 km walk that the others were doing from Crail to Elie would be a bit too much for me, so I compromised by asking Andy and Gwen to drop me off in Anstruther to do a shorter walk of about 8 km. It was perfect! As soon as I arrived in Anstruther I headed for the excellent Waterfront Café where I had a lovely coffee at a window table overlooking the harbour. The weather was mild and really pleasant for walking, and after spending two days with twenty-six pupils I was very happy to be walking by myself! The views of the pretty villages of Anstruther, Pittenweem, St Monans and finally Elie were beautiful in the sunshine. The coastal path was lined with gorse bushes and was gentle and easy to walk. There were many benches on which I paused for a rest whenever I felt like it. The Fife Coastal path lacks the wild remoteness of my beloved north-west of Scotland, however it is very attractive - perhaps I could be converted? There were certainly many gorgeous houses with the sea views that I love. 

The others caught up with me in the outskirts of Elie and we all had a pleasant drink sitting outside the Ship Inn.