Hidden Lane Tearoom

Another beautiful day; even hotter than yesterday. I sat outside in the morning, and needless to say the cats both came and sat near me on the patio. I set off by train to meet Ally W for lunch; her house is only ten minutes walk from Exhibition Centre station. She took me to a café that I have never visited before called the Hidden Lane Tearoom. And it really is hidden - it’s down a wee lane behind Dumbarton Road where there are old mews cottages. I had no idea that it was there despite walking past the end of the lane many times. It was pretty hot both indoors and out, I heard later that it was 27 deg C, but the windows were all open and we fanned ourselves with our menus. The lunch was delicious and I’ll definitely be back. Ally had some serious news to discuss with me and we had a long catch up and chat. It was lovely to see her. 

When I headed back to the station after lunch I felt a drop of rain on my shoulder, which turned into a light shower. The raindrops were big and warm and evaporated instantly on the hot pavement. I wasn’t dressed for a shower, since I was wearing a very light sundress, but luckily it didn’t get any heavier by the time I got in to the shelter of the station. 

Back in Cambuslang (where there were no more raindrops!) I had a number of errands to do on my way home; I picked up a prescription, extracted a wad of money from the cash machine, and collected the car from the body shop (that’s what the money was for.) I had put the car in there yesterday for a repair after an embarrassment with a wall in Bibury in July. Since I did the damage it was only fair that I should pay for the repair, and the body shop manager gave me an excellent discount for cash. He had done an excellent job and I was very pleased. 

I couldn’t wait to jump into my hammock in the garden where I read my book to the pleasant sounds of children playing in the garden next door and birds singing in the trees. 

September sunshine

Wow! The weather is just absolutely gorgeous; what a bonus at the beginning of September. Today was very warm with a beautiful blue, cloudless sky. I sat outside in the garden in the afternoon; the birds were singing in the trees, and James was relaxing on one of the benches after his big daily walk. The weather has to be extremely good for James to sit still! Flora was lying sprawled on the slabs nearby, sunbathing. When James went to make a cup of tea she moved on to his seat (with its cushions!) so I brought out more cushions for James so that he wouldn’t disturb her. Tom preferred to lie on the table just inside the patio doors, where the sunlight made his shiny black fur extremely hot. It was all rather idyllic.
In the morning Marjory and I had walked along to Burnside for coffee and tried out the new café “Hugh’s” which has opened in the old Café Gelato premises. So far so good, the waiters were trying really hard so we were asked if we were enjoying our coffee about a dozen times! We had a good catch up, very pleasant.
Later I went over to Carolyn’s for an afternoon coffee and chat; former baby Harris has turned into a proper wee boy! He’s about two and a half now. What a cutie, he invited me to play with all his best toys and to repair his toy car and speak on his toy phone. Aw he’s so lovely.
I went straight from Carolyn’s into town to meet James for tea before “The Pink Floyd Experience” at the King's Theatre which was exactly what you would expect. The tribute band did a fine job of delivering two hours of Pink Floyd’s best known music. Even I was singing along to quite a lot of it. It was still warm and balmy when we travelled home by train. 

Three Chimneys and Raasay Distillery

On Sunday James and I set off on the remarkably long journey to Skye, to use the voucher for dinner, bed and breakfast for the Three Chimneys, which Jamie, Ally and Davie gave to James for his 60th birthday, the last of his 60th birthday vouchers I think. And oh boy was it worth waiting for! We were at the Three Chimneys for my 40th birthday (20 whole years ago, oh dear!) and we loved it then, so it was great to be back. The room, the service, and the food were all absolutely top notch. It just felt so luxurious, and yet friendly and personal. 
The next morning, after a large and tasty breakfast, we decided to visited Dunvegan Castle and its garden; I know that we have been there before but it must have been at least thirty years ago and I think it was raining. This time it was sunny and although Dunvegan is not the prettiest castle (it has a pleasing shape but the rough cast surface on its walls is not very becoming) it was very interesting. It is actually five different buildings ranging from the 13th to the 19th century that have been joined together over the years. It has a long history and framed on one of its halls is the famous Fairy Flag, given to the MacLeod Clan by, yes you’ve guessed it, the fairies, to be used in times of trouble. Apparently it was examined by an expert in the 19th century who suggested that it had been looted from one of the crusades (and it does look like a crusader flag!) The Clan Chief at the time assured him that the flag had been given to his family by the fairies, to which the expert responded diplomatically “I bow to your superior knowledge!” I liked this story.
The castle gardens looked lush and gorgeous at the end of summer and we strolled around them in the sunshine. 
Then we moved on to the island of Raasay, which we have visited twice before for distillery visits with our boys (and girls!) During our previous visits we had noticed that there are hotel rooms at the distillery, and we fancied giving them a try. We travelled the short journey across to Raasay as foot passengers on the Calmac ferry “Hallaig” and wheeled our cases up the hill to the distillery. Our room was small but smart, however in this lovely weather it was very, very hot, which concerned me. The staff must have noticed this because they had put a fan on the window ledge. However by bedtime I’m glad to say that the room had cooled right down and we got a good night’s sleep. 
We had drinks sitting at a wooden table outside the distillery and then a gorgeous meal awaited us in the restaurant. The young waiter, one of the owner’s sons I think, was very friendly and knowledgeable. 
We woke this morning to a thick mist coming in from the sea, which resulted in a most beautiful temperature inversion; the tops of the mountains  appearing spectacularly out of the mist, with the blue loch below. Unfortunately this meant that two sailings of the ferry were cancelled, so James was unable to get across to Skye to go hill-walking as he had planned. Nothing daunted, he joined the 11 a.m. distillery tour while I sat outside in the sunshine enjoying a coffee. The mountains looked so amazing as the cloud shifted around their flanks, that lots of people, including James, came out of the  distillery to take photos. We were sad to leave Raasay, but after a light lunch at Raasay House the ferries were running again and it was time to start our five hour journey homewards to see our cats. The mountains on Skye and then in Glencoe looked as lovely as could be as we travelled south. 

Curry and sunshine

It has been a really lovely weekend, with weather that has just got better and better. On Friday evening we had a delicious curry at Rasoi with Heather & Ewan. We had a convivial evening; it’s so relaxing to be able to chat about anything and everything with our friends who know us so well and yet still seem to like us! 
Then today Davie and Chanel popped in for lunch. This is great because now that they have moved to Stirling they can visit us, and we can visit them, much more conveniently and with much less planning than when they lived in Manchester! Not that I object to my boys flying the nest and exploring the world; that is what I have always encouraged them to do. On the other hand, I do miss them, so I can’t help feeling rather thrilled that one of them is currently back in Scotland!
We had a pleasant lunch and James and Davie went into the garage where they constructed a new back panel for Davie's desk, with much sawing and sanding. Chanel was excited to be reunited with Tom and Floof, and it was warm enough to sit out in the garden, which we continued to do after our visitors left. 

Ferne and Vinnie

September began with a dog walk. Suzy’s gorgeous wee niece Ferne, who is also related to me (she’s my second cousin twice removed) has a brain tumour. It’s just awful, she won’t even be two years old until October. Her doctors have a treatment plan of chemotherapy over the next six to nine months. My heart goes out to her young parents, Rachel and John, and her grandparents and uncles and aunties. She is a very loved little girl, and I couldn’t think of any way that I could lend my support to the family, until Gran Jan (who of course is Ferne’s great-grandma) mentioned to me that Vinnie the dog needs taken for walks when Ferne and her Mum and Dad are in hospital. This can be at quite short notice, so Rachel and John have set up a WhatsApp group where people can volunteer. I got myself added to the WhatsApp group, and was ready for action.
Ruth, already a stalwart of the Vinnie WhatsApp group, very kindly offered to accompany me for my first Vinnie walk. We took Vinnie up to Holmhills Park and then to Cambuslang Park, and Ruth talked me through his habits and preferences and we threw his ball for him. It was all good fun, although I was taken aback by the really huge poo which Vinnie produced, much mightier than any cat poo I have seen. Ruth nobly scooped it up, but I will have to do it next time! 

Six the Musical again and again!

The end of August continued to be pleasantly warm if not always sunny. In yet another, no doubt doomed, attempt to get fitter, I have been swimming just about every day at David Lloyd. One day after we had lunch with Diane and John in the Boathouse Café up at the pond in Rouken Glen Park, James came with me to David Lloyd and we had a swim and then besported ourselves in the outdoor jacuzzi. It must have been Thursday 31st, because I was meeting Heather later for an early dinner before going to see Six the Musical. So after our swim, James dropped me off at Pollokshaws West Station on his way home, so that I could get a train into town. All went smoothly, apart from the fact that my sandal caught on one of the steps up to the platform and down I went, rather painfully onto my hands and knees. Oh boy it was sore! My right kneecap swelled up and made my leggings feel very tight. It was sore for the rest of the evening and I imagined that I had damaged my kneecap, but luckily it was nothing but bruising and it was much better the next day. I am too clumsy.
I actually went to Six the Musical on Wednesday 30th (with Gordon) as well as on the 31st with Heather! These were my 4th and 5th times! I saw it first in December ‘21 with Chanel in Manchester, and then twice in June 22, once with Ally W and once by myself. I invited Jackie - she would have loved it - but she had school Prize-giving so couldn’t come. I wish that we could still go to fun outings together. 
Anyway, on Wednesday, Gordon and I had dinner in Il Pieno, just across the road from the Theatre Royal. At the end of the evening I popped back in there to see if I had left my phone, it turned out that it was safely at home. The next night I was back in Il Pieno with Heather and the waiter recognised me and asked if I had found my phone, which I thought was very sweet. I LOVED seeing Six the Musical again both times. I don’t even know why I like this wee daft musical so much; I like the music very much and it makes me feel so happy. 

My twa Janets

Today was a day of two Janets, and I felt quite proud of myself for bringing them together. The first Janet is my Dad’s cousin, Janet McDougall née Russell, aka Gran Jan and the second is my lovely cousin Janet. 

Janet had not been in touch with Gran Jan since my Aunt Margaret died in 2013, within a week of Gran Jan’s sister Anne, who was born a couple of weeks before Aunt Margaret and was her close friend. They must both have been ninety-four years old, and who could have guessed that their lives would start and finish at almost exactly the same time? So Janet had spoken to Gran Jan around that time, but not since, and she was very interested that I had met her (through her granddaughter and my neighbour Suzy) and was keen to meet up with her again too.

Janet drove to my house and then I drove us over to Bothwell to Gran Jan’s house. What a blether we had, and it turned out that both Janets were named after my grandma Janet Russell née Hamilton (auntie and grandma to Gran Jan and Janet.) I found this to be rather moving and I was almost in tears when I saw that both Janets were wearing identical signet rings given to them by Janet whom they were named after *

After lunch at the Chapterhouse we went back to Gran Jan’s house to look at lots of photos of mutual ancestors, most of which I hadn’t seen before. It was amazing. Janet was very confused that one of Gran Jan’s middle names was Lindsay, a family name from our Grandma’s side of the family (i.e. not Gran Jan’s side of the family) indeed Janet was quite vehement about it! But it was all good-natured and we had a fine afternoon of family reminiscence. 

 * In my cousin Janet’s case her Mum actually bought the ring but her Grandmother Janet was there to help to choose it - the two rings were exactly the same with engraved initials.