We were back in Edinburgh on Tuesday which was another gloriously sunny day - although the temperature is distinctly cooler since the rain at the weekend. Our first stop was at the Book Festival in where we saw archaeologist Neil Oliver. What an excellent speaker he is! He is very enthusiastic about his subject and communicated it really well to the audience through stories about different places. For example he described the Storegga slide in such vivid detail that I could just picture the resulting tsunami sweeping across the sea from Norway towards the north-East coast of Scotland eight thousand years ago. Then the next minute he was quoting Pericles on war. I was extremely impressed. James enjoyed the talk very much too.
After a pleasant urban stroll we arrived at our next venue - George Heriots School to watch the BBC Front Row Edinburgh Fringe Special. Chaired ably by Kirsty Lang, there were five very different Fringe performers including the German comedian Henning Wehn. The beauty of this format is that it gives you a real variety and it was fascinating. We were joined by Janet and Peter for drinks beforehand in the attractive outdoor bar and after the show we had a very tasty tapas dinner. Anne joined us and the five of us chatted for ages before it was time for James and I to catch our train. It was festive festival day.
Friday, 16 August 2019
Sunday, 11 August 2019
Edinburgh Book Festival 2019
James and I went through to the Edinburgh Book Festival yesterday, gleefully exulting in the excellently priced train tickets that James had booked using our new “two together” railcard. The weather was absolutely beautiful; if anything a bit too humid, which accounted for what came later.
We didn’t get off to a good start. My Australian writer hero and affable surfer dude Tim Winton proved to be an interesting but quietly thoughtful speaker. This was all very well for those of us who were his superfans but James has only listened to part of one of his books on a car journey (and had described it as “drear”) and I could see that he was trying not to doze off. Our second author, acclaimed cooking celebrity and author Prue Leith, was much more lively and as well as being entertaining she gave us a few excellent cooking tips.
We then wandered a short distance along to Browns Bistro for dinner. The whole glass front of the restaurant was attractively opened up to the pavement with tables outside too, and the food was great; tasty and beautifully presented.
Our third and final writer of the day was Professor Robert Crawford, who has edited a collection of poems and short stories about Iona. He is also Cambuslang’s greatest living poet and in the words of Buddy in Elf when he thinks he sees the real Santa, “I know him!” Actually it’s James who knows him best; Robert tutored him in Latin when they were at school. We both enjoyed his talk and then introduced ourselves to him at the book signing afterwards. After we had explained who we were he became quite enthusiastic to meet us and the three of us went for a coffee and a chat. We were telling him that we have some of his early poetry books and had liked one of his poems which mentioned Cambuslang. He happened to have a copy of his latest book of poetry with him, which had another poem about Cambuslang! He insisted on inscribing it and giving it to us; we were thrilled.
By this time thunder and lightning had been followed by torrential rain, through which we had to run back to Waverley Station. We read Robert’s poem on the train home and I thought that it was very good; it was strange to read about his childhood memories of our own neighbourhood.
We didn’t get off to a good start. My Australian writer hero and affable surfer dude Tim Winton proved to be an interesting but quietly thoughtful speaker. This was all very well for those of us who were his superfans but James has only listened to part of one of his books on a car journey (and had described it as “drear”) and I could see that he was trying not to doze off. Our second author, acclaimed cooking celebrity and author Prue Leith, was much more lively and as well as being entertaining she gave us a few excellent cooking tips.
We then wandered a short distance along to Browns Bistro for dinner. The whole glass front of the restaurant was attractively opened up to the pavement with tables outside too, and the food was great; tasty and beautifully presented.
Our third and final writer of the day was Professor Robert Crawford, who has edited a collection of poems and short stories about Iona. He is also Cambuslang’s greatest living poet and in the words of Buddy in Elf when he thinks he sees the real Santa, “I know him!” Actually it’s James who knows him best; Robert tutored him in Latin when they were at school. We both enjoyed his talk and then introduced ourselves to him at the book signing afterwards. After we had explained who we were he became quite enthusiastic to meet us and the three of us went for a coffee and a chat. We were telling him that we have some of his early poetry books and had liked one of his poems which mentioned Cambuslang. He happened to have a copy of his latest book of poetry with him, which had another poem about Cambuslang! He insisted on inscribing it and giving it to us; we were thrilled.
By this time thunder and lightning had been followed by torrential rain, through which we had to run back to Waverley Station. We read Robert’s poem on the train home and I thought that it was very good; it was strange to read about his childhood memories of our own neighbourhood.
Friday, 9 August 2019
Cinema and power cuts
James and I haven’t been to the cinema for a while, not since the Apollo 11 documentary at the GFT in June I think. So when James noticed this afternoon that a wee film called “Yesterday” is still showing at the Fort we quickly booked tickets. I had quite fancied it when I saw it being touted by Danny Boyle on The One Show on BBC1 a few weeks ago but I thought that we must have missed it by now.
We had tea at Chiquitos beforehand, which was perfectly pleasant.
“Yesterday” is a feel-good film about a young unsuccessful songwriter who discovers that after some sort of global power outage (this turned out to be very topical *) various things have been wiped from history, including The Beatles. Only he can remember them due to being involved in a bicycle accident at the very moment that the electricity went off. (The plot does not bear too much scrutiny!) He starts playing Beatles songs to his friends and everyone loves them and he soon finds himself dealing with sudden (and largely undeserved) fame. It’s funny and has some good jokes about the music industry. The main actors, Himesh Patel and Lily James, were great, and Ed Sheeran was very good and self-deprecating in his supporting role. And of course the music is excellent. Apparently it has had mixed reviews but James and I both really enjoyed it.
* When we came out of the cinema we saw a message from Jennifer about two faulty generators causing power cuts across England early this evening, affecting about a million people. We watched the news about it when we got home. James of course is very knowledgeable about what has gone wrong. Jennifer kindly suggested that James retiring and the National Grid failing was no coincidence and that he must have been holding it all together!
We had tea at Chiquitos beforehand, which was perfectly pleasant.
“Yesterday” is a feel-good film about a young unsuccessful songwriter who discovers that after some sort of global power outage (this turned out to be very topical *) various things have been wiped from history, including The Beatles. Only he can remember them due to being involved in a bicycle accident at the very moment that the electricity went off. (The plot does not bear too much scrutiny!) He starts playing Beatles songs to his friends and everyone loves them and he soon finds himself dealing with sudden (and largely undeserved) fame. It’s funny and has some good jokes about the music industry. The main actors, Himesh Patel and Lily James, were great, and Ed Sheeran was very good and self-deprecating in his supporting role. And of course the music is excellent. Apparently it has had mixed reviews but James and I both really enjoyed it.
* When we came out of the cinema we saw a message from Jennifer about two faulty generators causing power cuts across England early this evening, affecting about a million people. We watched the news about it when we got home. James of course is very knowledgeable about what has gone wrong. Jennifer kindly suggested that James retiring and the National Grid failing was no coincidence and that he must have been holding it all together!
Thursday, 8 August 2019
Stones
It’s still very warm in between occasional downpours. I was at my Cambuslang book club last night and we had a lively evening; the book was Emilie Pine’s “Notes to Self” which generated a lot of discussion.
Earlier yesterday I had invited Susan T and her children round for lunch and crafts because we had all enjoyed our craft day in July. I decided against repeating our paper marbling activity and instead decided that we would paint designs on stones with acrylic paint and then make them permanent with sealant. I had obtained the paint and the sealant but about an hour before my guests were due to arrive I realised that I had not collected any stones! And to think that I could easily have got some at Prestwick last week.
A quick look around the garden revealed only rough, jaggy stones instead of the smooth type suitable for painting. Oh dear. So I looked over the fence and saw numerous excellent, round smooth stones in our lovely next-door neighbours’ garden. Armed with a plastic bag I nipped round and rang their doorbell, and unfortunately woke their teenage daughter Tina (who is our fabulous cat sitter when we’re away for a weekend). She sleepily but good-naturedly gave me the go ahead and I hurriedly gathered some large pebbles from their front garden.
Susan and her beautiful children arrived shortly afterwards and we were eating lunch when the doorbell rang. It was Christine from next door with a bag of perfect large stones from her back garden, much better than the pebbles I had gathered. She had arrived home from a class to hear my tale of woe from Tina. She is such a great neighbour!
We invited her in for a coffee and had a chat before we got down to painting our stones. Susan and her children are all extremely artistic and produced some amazing designs. I painted a wee penguin and a ladybird, of which I was inordinately proud. It was quite rainy on and off but the children were able to have a few runs around the garden and a go on the swings between showers. It was a really fun afternoon.
Earlier yesterday I had invited Susan T and her children round for lunch and crafts because we had all enjoyed our craft day in July. I decided against repeating our paper marbling activity and instead decided that we would paint designs on stones with acrylic paint and then make them permanent with sealant. I had obtained the paint and the sealant but about an hour before my guests were due to arrive I realised that I had not collected any stones! And to think that I could easily have got some at Prestwick last week.
A quick look around the garden revealed only rough, jaggy stones instead of the smooth type suitable for painting. Oh dear. So I looked over the fence and saw numerous excellent, round smooth stones in our lovely next-door neighbours’ garden. Armed with a plastic bag I nipped round and rang their doorbell, and unfortunately woke their teenage daughter Tina (who is our fabulous cat sitter when we’re away for a weekend). She sleepily but good-naturedly gave me the go ahead and I hurriedly gathered some large pebbles from their front garden.
Susan and her beautiful children arrived shortly afterwards and we were eating lunch when the doorbell rang. It was Christine from next door with a bag of perfect large stones from her back garden, much better than the pebbles I had gathered. She had arrived home from a class to hear my tale of woe from Tina. She is such a great neighbour!
We invited her in for a coffee and had a chat before we got down to painting our stones. Susan and her children are all extremely artistic and produced some amazing designs. I painted a wee penguin and a ladybird, of which I was inordinately proud. It was quite rainy on and off but the children were able to have a few runs around the garden and a go on the swings between showers. It was a really fun afternoon.
Tuesday, 6 August 2019
Get It On
Our boy Ally is back from Kyrgyzstan and it’s very nice to have him home again. When we were having dinner with him this evening we were all listening to one of James’ favourite radio programmes; “Get It On” which has a daily theme for which listeners phone or message with suggestions. Tonight the theme was Radio, and listeners suggested songs such as “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles, “The Spirit of Radio” by Rush and many more. I thought of a song that I enjoyed in the early 1980s called “Pilot of the Airwaves” sung by Charlie Dore. It was much played by Dave Marshall on a Radio Clyde’s breakfast show, which I listened to every week day for many years.
I requested the song and to my delight it was played, with my name mentioned, second from the end!
I requested the song and to my delight it was played, with my name mentioned, second from the end!
Sunday, 4 August 2019
A brief storm
It has been very close and humid for the last couple of days. We have been walking in the morning when it’s cooler and then spending the afternoons in the garden. The storm arrived as predicted last night at about tea time. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed and there was a very heavy downpour. However it lasted only about half an hour and by the time we walked up to Marjory and Forrest’s for dinner it was completely dry again.
And today it’s only slightly cooler - we are still besporting ourselves in our shorts and t shirts and bare feet in the garden this afternoon.
James’ wounds are healing slowly. He has to get his dressings changed by the district nurses every couple of days, and in order to keep his bandages dry in the shower I bought him a waterproof cover for them, for which I think I deserve some sort of “good wife” award. It’s really just a thick plastic sleeve which can be drawn in by elastic at either end but it does the job, and James can enjoy his morning showers.
Tom and Flora continue to enjoy having us at home more, or so I tell myself. When I woke up yesterday Tom was lying at the foot of the bed and when he saw me stirring he stretched out one of his front paws; I know that’s just what he does when he’s about to sit up, but it looked for all the world as if he was raising a hand in greeting! And wee Flora is so funny; she took me downstairs to feed her this morning and when we arrived in the utility room she plumped herself down and looked expectantly up at the cupboard where the cat food is kept. There are a lot of insects and butterflies in the garden just now and they flit in and out of the French windows in the back room; this is very entertaining to Tom and Flora who spent part of this morning intently watching a gorgeous peacock butterfly fluttering around the room until James caught it in our useful bug catcher and set it free.
And today it’s only slightly cooler - we are still besporting ourselves in our shorts and t shirts and bare feet in the garden this afternoon.
James’ wounds are healing slowly. He has to get his dressings changed by the district nurses every couple of days, and in order to keep his bandages dry in the shower I bought him a waterproof cover for them, for which I think I deserve some sort of “good wife” award. It’s really just a thick plastic sleeve which can be drawn in by elastic at either end but it does the job, and James can enjoy his morning showers.
Tom and Flora continue to enjoy having us at home more, or so I tell myself. When I woke up yesterday Tom was lying at the foot of the bed and when he saw me stirring he stretched out one of his front paws; I know that’s just what he does when he’s about to sit up, but it looked for all the world as if he was raising a hand in greeting! And wee Flora is so funny; she took me downstairs to feed her this morning and when we arrived in the utility room she plumped herself down and looked expectantly up at the cupboard where the cat food is kept. There are a lot of insects and butterflies in the garden just now and they flit in and out of the French windows in the back room; this is very entertaining to Tom and Flora who spent part of this morning intently watching a gorgeous peacock butterfly fluttering around the room until James caught it in our useful bug catcher and set it free.
Friday, 2 August 2019
A trip to Troon
On Thursday afternoon we headed to Prestwick, where I was planning to meet Jennifer G for a walk. The weather was balmy so James came with me and went for his own walk from Prestwick to Troon. Meanwhile Jennifer and I met up with Caroline for drinks in Buckley’s which is a lovely café. It was particularly suitable for me because it was pleasantly airy, which allowed me to cool down after becoming rather over-heated as we strolled along the prom. I have so many good memories of working with Jennifer and Caroline, and we have been though many happy, sad, funny and challenging experiences together that not many people outside our workplace could understand. It’s always great to meet up with them.
After our chat I drove along to meet James at Troon Beach; he felt that his sore leg had benefited from the exercise. Since it was by now after 5 p.m. we decided to wait until any commuter traffic quietened down. So we sat on the beach together for a very pleasant hour, chatting and enjoying the view. It was very relaxing.
After our chat I drove along to meet James at Troon Beach; he felt that his sore leg had benefited from the exercise. Since it was by now after 5 p.m. we decided to wait until any commuter traffic quietened down. So we sat on the beach together for a very pleasant hour, chatting and enjoying the view. It was very relaxing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)