Stac Pollaidh and Canisp

Jennifer and I climbed Stac Pollaidh today. We deliberately took our time, stopping to rest whenever we felt like it, and as a result we got to the summit in excellent spirits. We chatted to several friendly people on the way. The views were tremendous even though it was a grey day. The last wee scramble up to the cairn was rather exposed but it was worth it and we felt a real sense of achievement. We decided to descend by circumnavigating the hill, and as we carefully picked our way down the very steep first part of the path I was quite scared of falling, so sat down on rocks several times on my way down to keep myself steady. As a result the seat of my trousers became a bit muddy and damp. Soon the path became more defined and we were able to stride along. I bent over, displaying my backside to my dear sister, and said to Jennifer, “Just how bad is my arse?” (referring to my muddy trousers). Jennifer replied in the same ladylike fashion, “You look as if you’ve cacked yourself!” Just then, something made us turn our heads to the left and we saw two of the friendly people that we had met earlier sitting just above the path eating their sandwiches. They had heard every word! Well, the four of us just laughed and laughed, it was hilarious! 
Meanwhile James and Russ were climbing Canisp, a few miles north of us. They had a good climb although the last 200 metres were encased in cloud. We all felt that we deserved our massive dinner later, which consisted of Lochinver pies and mash followed by Jennifer’s famous and delicious bread and butter pudding. 

Golf by the sea

The rain stopped just in time for Jennifer and Russell’s arrival yesterday, I’m glad to say. It has been lovely to show them the cottage and around Ullapool. Jennifer and I visited this area as children, and so did Russell on a tour of Scotland with his brothers and parents, but it’s the first time that either of them have been here for a long time. I shamelessly copied Cat’s recent fajitas menu for our first dinner but although it was delicious I made far too much food so today we had lots of leftovers to consume. Jennifer is an excellent cook and really knows her way around Mexican food. We prepared the meal together and she gave me some top tips such as heating the tortillas in a dry frying pan to make them taste perfect, and an amazing way of keeping guacamole completely fresh until the next day. 

Russell has brought his golf clubs and played his first round this morning. The golf club is very near the cottage and is in a beautiful setting beside the sea loch, surrounded by mountains. He enjoyed himself and took a great photo of one of the golf tees with the Calmac ferry going past in the background. In the afternoon Jenn and Russ went for an impressively long cycle along the length of Loch Achall and beyond. Another hearty dinner and convivial evening ensued. 

Brambles and Forest Bathing

It has been another rainy day in Ullapool so we decided to go for a walk in Lael Forest, reasoning that the trees would protect us from the wind and the rain. As it turned out, through good luck rather than good judgement, we managed to choose the driest couple of hours of the day for our walk. I quickly became overheated and soon divested myself of my waterproof trousers and jacket and stuffed them into my backpack. We climbed a short but steep set of steps to the forestry commission road, and before turning down to the forest paths, James suggested a short diversion to explore a higher area. Experience should have made me wiser, but I followed him like a little lamb and soon found myself edging along a path above a steep precipice, wading through bracken that was up to my waist, and creeping warily beneath a fallen tree that was only just being held up by another tree, against which it was making alarming creaking sounds. However there were compensations. James picked lots of brambles for me, and they were absolutely delicious - a blend of tart and sweet. We ate handfuls of them as we made our way back down to the paths which wind through the forest. Lovely.
I read somewhere recently that walking through a forest, spending calm and quiet time under the canopy of trees, is a form of nature therapy known as “forest bathing.” It apparently originated in Japan in the 1980s and is called shinrin yoku. However I would contend (and my sister Jennifer will concur) that my Mum and Dad actually invented it in the 1970s when we used to wander along paths through the forest in the Trossachs, often completely lost! 

Wind and rain in the north west

We have been back in Ullapool since yesterday, and as I write, the wind is howling around the cottage, and rain is battering against the windows. It has been wild weather all day although we managed to go for a walk around the village during a rare dry spell. We have taken the opportunity to do some useful tasks around the cottage; James has put some of our photos up on the walls, and we slightly trimmed the ordnance survey map that Davie gave us so that it fit the pinboard perfectly - it looks fantastic. 

In the evening we started watching the second series of Succession - despite pressing on with the second series I’m still not quite sure of how much I like it. Brian Cox is the best actor in it; no wonder that he has had such a long and successful career. He was the Rector of Dundee University from 2010 to 2016 when Jamie and Davie studied there and he attended every graduation (although he had finished his 2nd term by the end of Davie’s first year and the subsequent Rector was cyclist Mark Beaumont, who I once met when he visited the school where I was teaching.) 

Fajita Time

Christine and Gerry came round on Monday evening and Cat made tea for us all. She made a delicious meal of fajitas with lots of fillings including chicken, roast peppers and onions, guacamole, grated cheese and soured cream. We assembled our fajitas while catching up on news and chatting. Flora was heard shouting during the meal and then startled us by emerging from the sideboard cupboard, into which she had sneaked earlier when I was getting a tablecloth! Then Cat and Ally showed us their recent climbing photos which looked fantastic on the television screen. Scotland really is beautiful.
This evening I went to the bathroom after tea and just as I sat down Flora came jumping (it seemed like levitating) out of the laundry basket with a loud cry; I was so surprised that I nearly fell off the toilet! Cat and I had a girls’ night and watched several episodes of “The Bold Type” which I am now completely hooked on; I like the fashion, the stories and the language of these young New York people. 

Unfortunate lawnmower incident

It has been a pleasant and sociable few days. We had a convivial lunch in Wetherspoons with Hilary and Steven on Thursday, then popped over to Milngavie for a coffee with Gordon and Sue on Friday. Last night Forrest, Marjory and Neil came round to ours for a Chinese meal. It was great to see them, however for some reason the meal did not agree with me and my tummy has been unhappy all day today. 
Yesterday James went across to cut Grandma’s grass and when he came home he couldn’t find his glasses. After searching for them all round the house, he remembered that at one point while he was cutting the grass he had been hit in the face by a tree branch. He didn’t remember his glasses falling off, but we both went across the road to check. We searched under the tree and sure enough there were a few small pieces of glass on the grass beneath it, and, the conclusive evidence, a piece of one of the legs of James’ glasses! So when the branch had hit his face, his glasses had fallen off and then James had mowed over them with the lawnmower. Oh dear. 
Heather and Ewan came round for a coffee this afternoon and it was warm enough that we could sit outside in the garden. It was lovely to see them. Later Ally and Cat arrived home from their weekend in Fort William where they had climbed five Munros over the two days. 

Flora attempts a girls’ night

The weather has been very strange today; one minute it is warm with an almost completely blue sky, the next it is lashing with heavy rain! This has been going on all day. As well as reconnecting with the cats, we have been busy clearing out Grandma’s house which is a necessary but sad task. We have also been catching up with a few people whom we have not seen since before lockdown, in fact since before going to New Zealand, so that’s nearly seven months. On Tuesday evening I found out that Cat has never seen “Mamma Mia, Here we go again” - the second Mamma Mia film - so we all watched it and we thoroughly enjoyed it, although James fell asleep towards the end. Cat and I were in tears during the christening scene. I had forgotten what a good film it is; possibly better than the original. And then last night I persuaded Ally and Cat to play Bohnanza with me so that was great fun. Tonight we played Linkee and then Cat and I watched an episode of “The Bold Type” together; it’s a series about young women working in a magazine and I thought it was very interesting as well as entertaining, showing their experiences in today’s world. Since it had turned into a girls’ evening, Flora came through to join Cat and me and sat on the back of the couch. However she didn’t quite get it right because she faced away from the television!