Inverie at last

At last I’m in Inverie on the Knoydart Peninsula! Hooray! This hill-walking club trip was originally planned for April 2020 and I was really looking forward to it. I had never been to Knoydart before and had heard that it’s very beautiful; also I really fancied the boat trip from Mallaig to Inverie. However “the best laid plans…” and horrible Covid intervened. However, here we are, two years later, and I’m very excited to be here! 

We travelled to Fort William yesterday afternoon and had a lovely dinner at the Crannog with Davie and Chanel, followed by drinks and chat in the Ben Nevis pub. Then today, after a delightfully inexpensive breakfast in Fort William Morrison’s, we made our way to Mallaig. The last time that I was in Mallaig was many years ago and I remember walking around deserted streets, looking in vain for somewhere to have lunch. To be fair, this may have been out of season, I can’t remember. Well, what a difference today! The little town was positively bustling, and after parking the car (in the long stay spaces, as advised by Cat and Ally who had caught an earlier ferry) we quickly found a very pleasant little restaurant where we sat outside in the warm sunshine for a light lunch with Davie and Chanel. We spotted the familiar faces of various hill-walking club members strolling around the town. We all met up at the pier and piled on to the busy 2.15 p.m. ferry. The luggage was loaded on first and then we were all called forward by name to board; it was lucky that we had booked. Of course most people heading to Inverie were self-catering so there were mountains of bags of food as well as rucksacks and suitcases.

The crossing was delightful; only about forty minutes as we journeyed towards the mountains of Knoydart which were spectacular. 

Soon James and I were installed in our comfy little studio apartment at River Cottage, only five minutes walk from the bunk-house where the others are staying. I feel a mixture of delight and guilt at arranging different accommodation from the others; I have stayed in my fair share of bunkhouses and bothies over the years but I do like my comforts. We had dinner in the bunkhouse with the rest of the group later, and it is perfectly acceptable, but I do not regret my choice! Meanwhile James was feeling very ill with a bad headache. He had woken with it this morning and despite taking pain medication it was still plaguing him. So he sensibly went for a nap for the rest of the afternoon. I went for a wander down to the bunkhouse where I met Davie and Chanel and we went for a walk to the beach. It was still warm but the sky was quite dark grey in the distance and we could see that it was raining over Skye. 

Later there was much heating of food and a convivial evening ensued. I was delighted with how my lasagne turned out; it was well up to standard. 

Lunch in Leith

At tea time today with Ally and Cat, James mentioned that he had recently heard a song that he thought had been written by Jim Steinman, and had looked it up to confirm it. I asked him what it is called and he said, 

“It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” to which I instantly and amusingly replied,

“So can you remember what it’s called?” 

We all laughed, but nobody louder or longer than me; I was very tickled by my merry quip!

Tuesday epitomised the circle of life (to quote The Lion King.) We were at a funeral in the morning, which was very personal and moving, a celebration of a long life well-lived. And then in the afternoon I met a brand new baby, Orla, Carmelle and Paul's daughter, who is very lovely. 

And today I had lunch in Leith with my nephew Josh, such a pleasant young man, a credit to his Mum and Dad. Leith was sunny if rather breezy and we went to a nice restaurant called the Granary. 

The Rhinns of Kells

Today I went with Ally, Cat and James on their hill-walking trip to the Rhinns of Kells in the Galloway Hills. It was a really big day’s walking, about ten hours over eight Donalds and one Corbett, with nearly 30 km distance. Needless to say I wasn’t fit enough for this but my presence was useful because it was a linear walk and after being dropped off near to Carsphairn our intrepid walkers need to be picked up at the other end of their route. This was at Forrest Estate, which is set in a beautiful valley. Once I had waved them off I set off to explore the nearest village; St Johns Town of Dalry. This didn’t take long because it’s very small, but it’s also very pretty so I had a nice walk around and a coffee sitting outside the Clachan Inn. 

I then drove to the pick up point at Forrest Lodge and after double checking that I was in the right place (using OS Maps on my phone) I went for a walk along one of several paths through the trees and up the side of the hill. I stopped for a rest and sat on the stump of a felled tree; the wood was lovely and warm from the sun! Back at the car I read my book for a while; the time flew by until James, Ally and Cat arrived back from their big day on the hills, tired but happy. 

We picked up a curry on the way home, ordered by Cat on the journey. Both Cat and James were determined to pay for it, but after their walk and the car journey their legs were very stiff, so Ally and I were treated to the sight of them both hobbling as fast as they could towards the door Spice restaurant - it was very funny! Cat won because James had forgotten his face mask and she very generously treated us to our curry. Davie and Chanel had arrived in Cambuslang late afternoon. They were spending the night with us before heading north on their holiday. A jolly evening of curry and chat ensued. 

Back in Action

I was much better today so I headed for a morning swim to David Lloyd’s. I was pleased to be back in the water and it was a lovely day for it; big white clouds in a blue sky. I had myself a wee spa too. Meanwhile James, Ally and Cat had headed to Cambuslang Rangers for their Trophy Day. They have already won their league, so their 2-1 win today against Thorniemuir was just a nice bonus. I arrived not long into the 2nd half to find the others basking in the sunshine on the terrace as they watched the match. 

We were alarmingly close to the pitch and the ball narrowly missed us on more than one occasion. If the ball shot over the spectators and down the slope behind them, a loyal troupe of little boys dashed after it to retrieve it. The same half dozen little boys sang supporters’ songs, ran about and shouted encouragement to the team. The adult supporters were also enthusiastic and shouted encouragements (and reproaches) in rather colourful language. The spectator areas were far from full but those who were there were a lively crowd. When the whistle finally blew there was much jubilation and the winners’ trophy, a silver plate, was brought out and placed on a table. It blew away in the wind briefly but a match official managed to catch it quickly. The team lined up to receive their medals and then the captain held up the winners’ trophy amidst rejoicing which was led by the loyal little boy supporters. 

Back home we decided to go out for dinner and after a bit of research (we wanted to stay local and most of our choices were already booked up at such short notice) we settled on Padano’s in Rutherglen. It was ok, perfectly pleasant although not outstanding. The company however was extremely pleasant and we had a lovely evening. 

A Sudden Cold

I had a lovely lunch with Philippa at Kember and Jones in Byres Road today. We had a good chat and afterwards I did a bit of shopping in Waitrose. The strangest thing happened. As I walked back to the car I started to feel very out of sorts indeed. My throat became very sore, I developed a headache, my eyes felt heavy - all between Waitrose and the car! By the time I got home my nose was running and I took myself off to bed where I have remained ever since, apart from a brief visit downstairs for a cup of tea in the evening. I have done a lateral flow test which was negative, so I must have caught my first cold in more than two years. I had forgotten how unpleasant a cold feels. All I can hope is that this sudden cold will depart as quickly as it arrived. 

* Health bulletin (like the Queen, as my Mum used to say): well I’m still full of the cold on Wednesday evening. Coughing, sneezing and sweating. I mean glowing (horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies merely glow, as my Mum also used to say) I’m glowing a lot! I have had a very quiet day and hope that the rest has done me good. Meanwhile I’m trying to communicate with Flora telepathically, having read an article about this online. There has been no discernible response so far, although she looks uneasy when I stare at her during my attempts. I’m hoping to feel much better tomorrow. 

Thoughts on London

“Tired of London, tired of Life” to quote in shortened form the late Samuel Johnson, and I will certainly never be tired of London. What a city, so teeming with life. New buildings are rising at speed all around the dockland area and I’m reminded of Virginia Woolf writing about new houses rising in waves as old ones fell, in 1920s London. From our bedroom on the 9th floor of the Ibis at Canning Town we could see each morning orange-suited builders working busily on a new building next to us. 

I keep a list in my planner of places that I would like to visit and things that I would like to do in London, and as soon as I tick off an experience I add more things of which I have heard or read. This evening our friend Alison came to visit us in Cambuslang; we have not seen her for many years. She lives in Twickenham (where coincidentally we were last week) and added several interesting ideas for visits in her area of London so my London list continues to grow. That’s not all that we talked about of course, we had much to catch up on and the time flew by as we chatted.

We were chatting last night too, with Heather and Ewan, over a delicious curry at Rasoi. They have recently had a wonderful ski holiday in Ischgl with perfect weather and plenty of snow, so we had lots of adventures to discuss.

This morning James and I went for a walk along the beach at Troon. It was cool but not windy, excellent weather for a brisk beach walk. I will never tire of London, however it is also very nice to stride along the sand in Scotland with the water sparkling and the oystercatchers standing at the water’s edge. 

Prog Rock Art

We woke to brilliant sunshine although the chilly wind was still in evidence. After a tasty breakfast in the Griffin Inn, the owner James very kindly offered to drive us to Trading Boundaries, two miles away. He was well disposed to us because James had helped him to light the fire in the pub in the morning! 

Trading Boundaries is an interesting place; a shop for antique and unusual items, a café and a music venue. But the main reason that we were there was to visit the Roger Dean art work that is on permanent display in the upstairs gallery. I bought a painting from there for James’ 60th; I used the online catalogue to choose it as well as many phone calls with the owner, Michael. We were both interested to visit the gallery. 

There were many large original Roger Dean paintings and James was mesmerised. We met up with Michael and he was very pleasant and genuinely enthusiastic about the artwork. He is a longtime friend and business partner of Roger Dean. In due course Roger himself arrived and we all went back to the Griffin Inn for lunch. We had a good chat; James was asking Roger about how he had started working with Yes, and Roger told us some great stories about his life. He once shared a flat with Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd and told us a very funny story about him. The postman once arrived at their flat and Syd answered the door naked. This made the postman retreat and Roger then saw the postman running away, pursued by naked Sid who was trying to reassure him that all was well. Roger then took us to see his architectural project which is a unique structure that he hopes to build in California. What an amazing afternoon. We had to leave at 4 to go to Gatwick Airport, and I’m currently blogging as we wait for our plane to depart for Glasgow.