My cousin Jonathan

I’m blogging briefly from the plane just before we set off to London for a few days. We are looking forward to seeing Ally’s and Cat’s new flat and going to a couple of plays at the theatre, a couple of exhibitions, and generally strolling around London.

On Thursday evening Julie phoned me and I thought that it was about the arrangements for Bill’s funeral, but in fact it was to tell me that there has been another death in the family. My cousin Jonathan was found dead in his flat aged only fifty-two. I was so sad to hear this; Jonathan was always an extremely pleasant man who loved his rugby and his real ales, in which he was an expert and was on the board of CAMRA. He had been suffering from a chest infection for about ten days and had been prescribed antibiotics. He spoke to a friend on Thursday morning on the phone, saying that he felt a wee bit better, but by the time Kari tried to phone him at midday there was no answer, it must have been very sudden. It is a shock for the whole family, he was so young and it happened so soon after Bill’s death. 

I visited Katy in Biggar on Friday, she is very sad but comforted by many phone calls and visits from friends and family, especially Abigail. And today I went to visit Stuart and Anne, who are being supported by their family; Kirstie and Kari were both there along with Scott, Greg and Greg’s beautiful girlfriend Sabrina when I arrived. But it’s still so sad, even though the family are taking good care of each other, they (and we in the wider family) will miss Bill and Jonathan so much.

In other news, Ally has been home for the weekend; he had a work thing on Thursday and stayed in Scotland to do a bit of hill-walking with James. It has been very nice to see him. We had a lovely dinner at Heather and Ewan’s on Saturday evening, and then brunch in town with Gerry and Janis on Sunday. Ally came for brunch too, he did work experience at Janis’ firm years ago so was pleased to see her again. Then on Sunday evening we decided to make a fondue to celebrate Ally being at home. Ally did all the assembling while I cut up the bread and it was absolutely delicious. But oh dear oh dear I suffered dreadfully from indigestion afterwards to the extent that I was very sick during the night. As a result I’m completely exhausted, I will be glad to get to my bed in Canning Town Premier Inn later. 

Recovering

I had a sore stomach and headaches over the weekend from which I have thankfully now fully recovered. It wasn’t Covid because I did a test - I must be one of the few people in the country who hasn’t yet caught Covid. As a result it has been rather a quiet time at Casa Anderson. James has been very sympathetic towards me but I still felt dreadfully guilty that I was unwell. I don’t know where that guilt comes from; nobody likes being ill but I have always felt as if I have to soldier on no matter how I feel. In fact I even went down to Morrisons on Sunday for some groceries and felt very faint when I was there, which was silly because I’m sure that James would have done the shopping if I had asked him to. Luckily I was able to lean on the trolley until it passed. I am now feeling tip top again but four days of my life were wasted. 

While I was ill a new Prime Minister was appointed, Rishi Sunak. He is the first British Asian Prime Minister and the first Hindu Prime Minister.  He is having a honeymoon period just now which I expect will be very brief! Boris rushed home from his holidays when Liz Truss resigned but ended up not announcing his candidacy when it became very clear that the country is not ready for his triumphant return! I have been reading a rather turgid biography of Clarice Lispector; I am slightly embarrassed to say that I had never heard of her until “The Hour of the Star” caught my eye on a display at East Kilbride St Leonard’s Library during the Book Club library evening earlier this year. So I read it recently and it is absolutely brilliant. The style, the plot, the characters, and of course the country of Brazil; I have never read anything quite like it. The biography is dutiful but a bit plodding, however she was a very fascinating character. 

And that’s about it - I’m just glad that I am feeling in better fettle.

Vacancy for Prime Minister

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Our new Prime Minister of only 44 days resigned yesterday, after a mini-budget based on debt-funded tax cuts, which had a traumatic effect on the financial markets. Although the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng quickly resigned and was replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who reversed most of the policies, it was too late. Liz Truss became the shortest serving Prime Minister in British History. 

As usual when someone falls from power, I feel sorry for her; it can’t be an easy job. But it does seem that she really messed up.

Now we are going to get a new Prime Minister in a rushed process of only a week! Prospective candidates will have to get the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs (out of a total of 357) and then if necessary there will be some kind of vote - it could be that most people will swing behind one candidate. 

But who could it be? Well, word has it, previous recent applicants Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak and - wait for it - possibly Boris Johnson! Boris Johnson? The same Boris Johnson who was persona non grata only a few months ago and hounded out by his own party? Yes indeed, what short memories politicians have! Only Penny Mordaunt has so far declared her candidacy, so we shall see what happens next. 

My Uncle Bill Rennie

My dear Uncle Bill died on Tuesday afternoon. He had many health issues connected with old age, but his death was sudden, when he was in hospital but hoping to get home shortly. My cousin Julie phoned me with the news and I feel very sad. Bill was such a nice man and he didn’t have an easy life. His Dad died when he was only six years old, and as the son of the family he was the only one of his siblings to attend the funeral. His four sisters stayed at home, as was traditional at that time in the 1940s, and when Bill arrived back after the funeral he spoke of the beautiful tassels on the ropes used to lower the coffin into the ground and what a shame it was that they were buried in the earth. He had his troubles in life although he was lucky to meet and marry his lovely wife Katy, who was with him to the end. But almost exactly 20 years ago his son Brice took his own life, and that was so hard for Bill, Katy and Abigail. Bill was a very clever man and was loved by his friends and many relatives. I have many very happy memories of him and my Mum loved her wee brother very much. He was a good man. 

Davie’s Birthday

Today is Davie’s birthday and we enjoyed spending the morning with him. By happy coincidence I had booked the Proclaimers at the Lowry yesterday evening for the four of us, which meant that we were still in Manchester today. The concert was great. I don’t think that the Proclaimers have toured for at least four years, so when I saw the tickets come on sale I hurried to book them. I also booked tickets for their Carlisle concert (Glasgow sold out very quickly) but then we booked the cruise so couldn’t go - luckily Suzy and Brian were keen to go in our stead and sent us photos of their evening which Suzy said that they enjoyed very much. And I have booked tickets for their Motherwell concert too at the end of November (maybe I have gone a bit overboard with this!) but there is a question mark about that date too. Hopefully I will be able to make it. 

Anyway, yesterday afternoon we drove to Manchester and had a long hold up on the M6 yet again. We went straight to Davie and Chanel’s flat and had a cup of tea before having pre-concert dinner at Salford Quays. The concert was sold out and the audience was very enthusiastic. Craig and Charlie were still excellent and sang lots of songs old and new. Of course all of the big hitters like “500 miles” and “Letter from America” got the most response from the audience; it must be a bit annoying for bands who want to showcase their new album but the audience just want to hear their old favourites! 

This morning we picked up Davie from the flat and had brunch with him at the Trafford Centre before going shopping for his birthday presents. After coffee we dropped Davie back home and said our farewells (with extra birthday kisses!) and James and I set off homewards. The drive went very well at first but guess what there were roadworks on the M74 which delayed us by about an hour. At least we couldn’t blame the M6 this time! 

Three churches in Rome

This morning we left the ship and were impressed with the efficiency of our transport to the airport. It was about an hour’s journey from Civitavecchia to Fiumcino Airport. We had about eight hours before our flight would depart so we checked our suitcases into the left luggage office and caught a train into Rome. 

Unlike yesterday, the weather was glorious. We decided to revisit a few of our old favourites, and started with coffee and pastries at Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona. It was delightful. We then popped into Sant’Agnese in Agone, just because it was right there. It was beautifully decorated and the cupola had a gorgeous fresco of Saint Agnes ascending to heaven, after her brutal murder at such a young age. Back outside in the sunshine we started strolling in the general direction of the Trevi Fountain. 

As we passed the church of San Luigi dei Francesi we noticed that it seemed very popular, with lots of people going in and out, so we looked at the information board outside which mentioned that it contained three paintings by Caravaggio. We needed no further persuasion to go inside; Caravaggio is one of our friend Ewan’s favourite artists and due to his enthusiasm we have also become admirers of this turbulent genius who died in 1610 aged only 38. We soon found the three paintings, about the life of St Matthew; the Calling, the Inspiration and the Martyrdom. The most striking was the Martyrdom; the expressions on the faces during the attack on St Matthew were so vivid, and the shafts of light contrasted with dark shadows. 

Back out on our walk, we didn’t intend to visit yet another church but we again noticed large numbers of tourists going into the Chiesa di Sant'lgnazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio. It’s another sumptuously decorated church, notable for its trompe l’oeil fresco by Andrea Pozzo on the ceiling, of St Ignatius (and lots of angels) floating upwards into the blue sky towards heaven, it’s very effective. 

We resumed our walk through an increasingly busy Rome, and we didn’t linger at the Trevi Fountain because it was hooching, but I did manage to throw a coin in the fountain as I always do, to ensure my return! We had a late lunch in a wee restaurant near the Spanish Steps, before taking a taxi back to the station and heading for the airport. What a pleasant end to a great holiday. 

Torrential in Naples

The weather forecast for today was very wet, and sure enough when we woke up in Naples the rain was battering down. We were not down-hearted though; after breakfast we put on our waterproof jackets for the first time on the holiday, and sallied forth through the port into Naples. This was only our second day ever in Naples so there was plenty that we hadn’t visited. We decided to start off with Castel Nuovo, the castle just across from the port. What a palaver it was to get tickets! It took ages for the staff to process us onto an English speaking tour. Luckily there was no queue at all at that point, I dread to think how long it would have taken in that case. The tour was just starting when we arrived, and it turned out to be very interesting indeed. Originally medieval, it was re-built by King Alphonso of Aragon in the 15th century after he conquered Naples. Our friendly guide had lots of good stories to tell us, although her English was a bit rudimentary - she referred to a skeleton which was in poor condition as “badly keep-èd” which phrase James and I used to insult each other for the rest of the day.

We then took a taxi to see the Underground Tunnels of Naples, as recommended by Mitchell and Gosia. They are fascinating; there are hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath the city, built and extended over the centuries by Greeks, Romans, and medieval Italians, and were used to extract stone to build the city, then as aqueducts, to invade, to flee the city, and even as bomb shelters in the 2nd World War. As a result Naples has a labyrinthine city beneath it. There are still underground pools, water channels, wells, and although there are wide parts there are also many very narrow tunnels, some of which we went along as part of the tour, they were only just passable. It’s just as well that neither of us is claustrophobic! 

We walked from there back to the ship and had not ce showers and a wee rest. We had dinner with Mitchell and Gosia in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant and then went along to our last Quiz Night, which we lost, although I did win a game of “this or that” and my prize was a small Celebrity Cruise-line notebook, which I shall treasure! Back at the cabin later we sadly packed our cases and left them outside our door for collection. It has been a really great holiday.