A blog in my wee tent

Just a short post as I lie in my tent in the aptly named "Slums" area of Auchengillan with the rain battering relentlessly down outside. It's been a long day but everyone is in their tents and I'm going to have a read of Proust before I go to sleep. There are frogs everywhere here and when Shona picked one up it leaped out of her hands and hit me on my face, nearly going into my mouth! Despite the horrible weather I feel very cosy and we had a laugh and a sing song this evening, the staff also had a very nice curry which we ate in the minibus. I'm hoping that the weather is a bit better tomorrow but unfortunately the forecast isn't very good. Night night, I hope that I get a good sleep! 

I get my Diploma

Nice news in the post today; I got a letter from Strathclyde University to tell me that I have passed my final assignment and so I have been awarded my Diploma in Autism! It has taken me three years of evening courses at Jordanhill and many essays. I celebrated by reading Proust in my hammock in the garden while Ally made the tea. This was possible because the weather is rather fine today, although it is a lot hotter in England than here; Jennifer told me that it is almost a heatwave in Oxfordshire. Ally came outside and crept up behind me to give me a fright and then rocked my hammock alarmingly. I am loving Proust! I didn't remember how good his writing is, and his observations of people are excellent and can even be hilarious, like when he describes the snobbishness of his neighbour Legrandin; I was laughing out loud.

A walk from A to B (Ayr to Barassie)

It was a beautiful sunny day today, and James and I decided to complete another section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, an ongoing project of ours. We left the car at Ayr Station and walked through the quite attractive centre and then the industrial harbour areas of Ayr to the coast. Then we set off northwards following the marked trail. Just to be on the safe side we had with us printed maps from Memory map, the Ayr Coastal Path Guide Book and James had his GPS!  It was easy walking; seaside promenades and sandy beaches. All the way we had lovely views across the Firth of Clyde, and we passed several golf courses, of which there are many in this area. When we reached Prestwick we stopped to have a cup of coffee from the flask that James had prepared and some digestive biscuits; this gave me a new lease of life and we walked briskly onwards to Troon, pausing from time to time to look at planes taking off from Prestwick airport including two Hawks, which James thought were there to refuel. We saw lots of seagulls and shiny sea coal on the beach. When we reached the river just south of Royal Troon golf club, we realised that we should have turned off the path earlier to use a bridge to cross it. But rather than retrace our steps I decided to lead the way in wading across. Oh dear! Despite taking off my climbing boots and socks and hanging them round my neck, and rolling up my trousers, the middle of the river was deeper than I thought and I was soon soaked - to the waist! And so we had to set off back to the bridge after all! Luckily the gentle breeze mostly dried my trousers while we walked, although my underwear remained distinctly damp for the rest of the outing.

We had a light lunch at our old favourite, the Venice Cafe in Troon, which was very nice, then we walked on a couple of kilometres to Barassie train station, where we didn't have long to wait for a train back to Ayr. In total we had walked about 15 km. I was amazed at how long it seemed by train from Barassie back to Ayr, I could hardly believe that we had walked all that distance. I was pleased by this walk, it added an element of virtuous but pleasant exercise into a very enjoyable holiday weekend. 

I then had a lovely bath, put on dry clothing, and James has promised me a curry later! 

The Ubiquitous Indelible Marker Pen

I am writing my blog in the back room, feeling cosy as the rain patters on the glass roof. Dinner is all organised for Grandma later, so I have a bit of time to myself. I can hear Ally and Davie arguing upstairs, but I will not intervene unless violence ensues. I suspect that James has gone for a little nap, as he sometimes does after a substantial lunch. This lunch took place at that well-known Glasgow eatery, The Ubiquitous Chip in Ashton Lane, and our companions were Ewan and Heather. It was my idea to go there because I spotted on its website a £19.99 deal for 3 courses, which seemed a bargain. And it was good value I think, although of course the final bill added up to more because we had drinks with the meal and coffee afterwards, and also they charged us a bit for side vegetables which I thought was a bit sneaky. Ewan wisely chose the house white wine, even though the waitress despatched the wine waiter to discuss our options with us! After all, as Ewan pointed out, if it's a good restaurant they are going to care about the wine they serve. The house wine is like the signature wine of a restaurant, so they are not likely to serve something that doesn't taste good. I remember a couple of years ago that the house white at Mitchell's in Carmunnock was so delicious, I asked the waitress where I could find it! The food was really good, smallish portions beautifully cooked; what I think you would call modern Scottish cuisine. The company was also excellent, we all had a good chat as usual. When we see Heather and Ewan we all just resume the conversation as if we had seen each other five minutes ago instead of a couple of weeks! Andrew has had a good first week at University and is enjoying the lectures, which is a great start, and Ewan will be getting his leg frame removed on Thursday so that is a big day for him. Heather and Jennifer will be going to their London ballet weekend next Saturday, which sounds fun.
Before the meal James and I did a wee bit of browsing in the shops on Byres Road, and James took the opportunity to replace his indelible marker pen which he discovered was missing yesterday. For an organised person like James, it is very hard to accept that someone has borrowed something of his and not returned it, and he was in an absolute rage yesterday. Needless to say, I had nothing to do with it, clearly one of the boys had taken it; however I felt that James was casting aspersions in my direction too, which I did not appreciate, by saying things like "People in this house borrow things and never put them back!" He obviously blames everybody including me. He says he's going to hide this marker pen so that no-one can steal it. We also had a wee walk in the Botanic gardens before lunch, which is just as well because by the time we came out of The Ubiquitous Chip it was raining and it has not stopped since, in fact it is heavier than ever. I will take a cup of tea up to James in a wee while. 

I like both the Sublime and the Ridiculous

First the sublime. I have started reading Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, starting of course with the first volume, Du Cote de Chez Swann. By coincidence the character of Swann is supposed to be partly based on Charles Ephrussi, one of the family in the last book I read, The Hare with Amber Eyes. I have read excerpts from A la Recherche du Temps Perdu before in French, but I decided to read it from start to finish in the latest 2002 Penguin translation edited by Christopher Pendergast. I assume that the most modern translation will be the most readable and I am enjoying it so far. When I downloaded my "summer reading" to my e-reader I tried to choose a variety of books and I included a couple of classics as well as lots of contemporary fiction.
Then the ridiculous; tonight James and I went to see a film that Jamie, Ally and Davie have all seen and recommended - The Inbetweeners. We have always enjoyed the television series and the film did not disappoint! It had some very funny moments and a feel good ending, I really enjoyed it. It mainly took place in Malia in Crete, and Ally has told us that due to the success of the film the prices have gone up in Malia so he and his friends are going to have to look elsewhere for their post 6th year holiday. James and I exchanged a wry look when one of the characters was seen texting his Dad "Send more money"! All good fun! 

September Weekend ahead

I'm relaxing on the couch, blogging while James watches Spooks, feeling very contented that the four day September weekend stretches ahead of me. It has been a very busy and eventful week at work but all has gone well. I am very lucky that I enjoy my job; life would be difficult if I didn't because it can be very intense. Last night Elaine and Jennifer came round for supper and we had a great evening, chatting and laughing the whole time. It's always fun with them and although we no longer work together we still have so much in common. I felt rather tired this morning after our late night so I want to go to bed early tonight. I have finished my latest book "The Hare with Amber Eyes" and I have enjoyed it more as it went on. I wasn't sure if the author Edmund de Waal was telling the story of the netsuke through his family or vice versa, and I suspect that de Waal wasn't sure either because it kept switching about. Interesting book. I will be downloading some more books to my e-reader this weekend that will take me through to the October holiday and beyond! James and I have also watched six out of the eight episodes of the first series of Engrenages (Spiral) recommended to us by Heather and Ewan. I am loving it, the French police officers in the series use dodgy methods and some of them take drugs but it doesn't matter because they are always so stylish! My favourite characters so far are the very handsome prosecutor Pierre Clement, played by Gregory Fitoussi, and the less handsome but very charismatic Gilou played byThierry Godard. Time for a cup of tea before bed time. 

Mum would have been 80 today

Today would have been my Mum's 80th birthday, but she died just over a year ago aged seventy-eight so no celebrations today. Ten years ago Jennifer and I took her out for dinner for her 70th and she was so happy. I have some lovely photos from that day. Jenn and I clubbed together to buy her a fountain and planter that she had seen in a magazine and cut out the clipping, and she was so surprised and excited. Sadly not all of the following years were very happy for her. She really missed my Dad, and even though she loved her five grandchildren very much, no-one could really fill the gap that he left. I tend to avoid thinking of the most dark and despairing times. Maybe one day I will be able to sort it out in my head, but not yet, it's too sad and makes me very upset. I try to remember that there were lots of good times too, on holidays and with her grandchildren. However when Mum went into her lovely care home just up the road and I knew that she was being well cared for and had company during the day and was even going out on bus trips, I started to dare think that we could have some good times ahead. The staff there were brilliant and even managed to get her walking again using a zimmer. It was great to know that she was safe while I was at work and not lying on the floor after a fall. And when I visited her every day after work, I could chat and socialise with her instead of trying to make her eat some food or washing and dressing her. Not that I minded doing these things, but it was so nice that we could be Mum and daughter again instead of Mum as patient and me as nagging carer! And we did have some lovely chats, including the one where I told her about someone who had been horrible to me and she said "I always thought there was something slimy about her!" A loyal Mum to the end! But unfortunately the good times only lasted a few months before her final bout with pneumonia, the doctors had warned us that it would probably be pneumonia that got her in the end, however she was ill so many times that I thought she would pull through again. At least the end was very peaceful for her and Jennifer and I were there holding her hands. But I wish I could have made her life happier and I miss her every day.