Craig Ferguson

We were at the O2 Academy this evening with Gordon and Morag, to see Craig Ferguson. The show had been postponed from last year so we were excited to see him. We arrived early enough to have a very enjoyable drink and chat with Gordon and Morag before it started. I have never seen the O2 with seats installed downstairs before, it’s usually a standing area during concerts. James was wondering where they store such a substantial amount of seats when they are not in use. Craig Ferguson was very funny, he’s a clever man. I have seen him before in The Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Citz many years ago and he was brilliant. If anything I thought that he was slightly nervous about being back in front of a Glasgow audience after so many successful years in America, but he got a warm reception. He said that his agent had told him not to worry because if people didn’t like him they simply wouldn’t buy tickets for his show, but he said “You don’t know Glasgow people!” implying that they would buy tickets just to prove to themselves that they were right about him, which I thought was very funny. His humour was anecdotal about his childhood, family, and experiences and we all enjoyed it very much.  

Lots of wild garlic

My cheese and wild garlic scones turned out to be excellent if I do say so myself. The weather has turned very warm and sunny and we have been enjoying sitting in the background room with the French windows open. To our surprise who appeared on the patio this afternoon but my old chum Vinnie! James and I greeted him warmly and were about to give him some dog treats that I still have in the cupboard, but then I heard Suzy calling him; she is dog-sitting while Rachel and John are on holiday. Vinnie and I went up to the top of the garden to see her, her garden is securely dog-proof so clever Vinnie must have made a Houdini-like escape through the hedge! I wonder if he heard and recognised our voices? 
On Friday evening, after a very pleasant and sunny day walking along Troon Beach, we met Gordon and Morag to see the Bon Jovi Experience (the only “official” tribute band as they proudly announced!) Gordon had kindly invited us along, and I accepted with alacrity because I assumed that James had been a fan of them in the 90s. It turns out that he wasn’t actually a fan but the band and music were very good and we both enjoyed ourselves, as well as Gordon and Morag’s friendly company. 
Today was a cooking and garden day. I made potato and wild garlic soup with more wild garlic from the Clyde Walkway. It was fine but the delicate taste was perhaps just a little too delicate. Cornel and Heather came for dinner and in addition to the soup we made roast lamb with juniper berries and asparagus, followed by James’ excellent crème brûlée. It was a happy evening. 

Springtime Fun

On Sunday evening James and I went out for dinner to La Lanterna in Grest Western Road; Marjory and Forrest had very kindly given us a voucher for Christmas. We hadn’t been here before, and we really liked it. The food was of course Italian and plentiful. On the way home we saw a beautiful rainbow arching over Glasgow, with a faint second rainbow beside it. 
I wore a new swimsuit when I went for a swim on Monday morning, but I didn’t realise before I put it on how low cut it is. I felt a bit embarrassed although I’m sure that no one else noticed! Marjory came to Pickleball with me on Tuesday; it was the first time she has played it. Everyone made her very welcome and she picked it up very quickly, she has a real instinct and talent for it. We walked back home and had lunch with James and Forrest. Tom was so happy when we went out for a stroll around the garden and kept us company, then he sat purring on Marjory’s knee. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and Floof also joined us in the back room. 
This morning we went for a cycle to Cuningar Loop. James had very kindly serviced both of our bicycles so that they were ready to ride. It was only a 16 km round trip and very pleasant along the verdant Clyde Walkway. We picked some wild garlic so that I can make cheese and wild garlic scones. 
In the afternoon I visited Janet in hospital, she will be getting home tomorrow which is excellent news, and she was looking well. And in the evening we went to the pub quiz with Davie and Chanel. We didn’t win but we had a great time. 

The Baby and Toddler Show

Today was my last day of Children’s Panel Training. I felt excited that I had finally made it to Week 7; it has been a lot of work but so interesting and I have met some great people. I then met Chanel at the SEC and we went to the Baby and Toddler Show. It was absolutely fascinating. Pram technology has moved on a lot in the last thirty years and I was very impressed with how smoothly the new prams turn. Something new (to me anyway!) is a cot which can attach to the bed, called a bedside crib or "next to me" crib, with a mesh partition which can slide down. This means that baby can sleep in their own space while being within arm's reach for feeding and comforting. And the car seats are amazing, they can turn sideways to make it easier to lift baby in and out of the car. We had a lovely time wandering around looking at everything. Davie and Chanel had already chosen their pram system so after trying it out we went ahead and ordered it. Back at home James arrived home early from his hill-walking weekend due to bad weather. I was determined to complete and submit the decisions and reasons for this week’s Children’s Hearings and it took me most of the evening. But now it’s done, hooray, and my training course is truly complete. In due course I will (hopefully) receive an email to tell me that I have been approved and that I can sign up to hearings as a panel member. 

L’Étranger; Killing an Arab

Yesterday evening, James and I went to see L’Étranger with Heather and Ewan; the 2025 film version of Camus‘s novel. It was filmed in black-and-white which suited the downbeat atmosphere and Benjamin Voisin was excellent in the lead role. It’s a long time since I read the book but I reckon the film was pretty true to the story, and Camus’s bleak absurdist view of the world was well portrayed. I absolutely loved it. We went for dinner to red onion afterwards and chatted about the film. Ewan had correctly discerned that the song “Killing an Arab” during the closing credits was by the Cure; we looked it up during dinner and in fact it was written by them about the novel “L’Étranger” back in 1984 as their debut single. The title and lyrics have been condemned as racist by people who didn’t realise that it was about the book and this has given them a lot of grief over the years. Robert Smith has said that he wishes they had given it a different title! 
In laundry news, Ally and Cat brought me a beautiful merino wool jumper for Christmas in a cornflower blue colour. This week I have been doing a big clothes cleared out and when I was looking at the jumper, I noticed that there was a mark on the front of it which I hadn’t noticed when I put it away before. I decided to hand wash it, which I don’t do very often, but I really wanted to be careful so that the jumper would keep its softness. I managed this successfully but oh boy it took a long time to dry! This was because I dried it flat on a towel to keep its shape. It was worth it because it looks and feels brand new. 

Films, television and a camellia

I had a very relaxing day on Sunday; Ally arrived home from Sandy’s stag do early afternoon and James and I had a good chat with him before taking him to the airport for his flight back to London. We then drove the short distance to Braehead to see a film that Cornel recommended to James; Project Hail Mary. It’s a science fiction film starring Ryan Gosling about a space flight which is a last ditch attempt to save our sun from being destroyed by “astrophages.” It is very watchable with some great moments, but is a bit silly and schmaltzy in places. All in all I enjoyed it though, and afterwards we seamlessly headed straight to East Kilbride to collect a curry which we ate while watching last week’s episode of Race across the World. 
I had a lovely lunch with Chanel on Monday; we went to Homegrown Garden Centre in Gartcosh, and Chanel very generously bought a beautiful camellia for David, to put on their front doorstep. James and I are enjoying watching the third series of The Capture which is about AI and fake news. I am also enjoying my guilty pleasure; watching Below Decks, but I am practising delayed gratification by rationing it out at one episode a week. And a new season of Race across the World has just started, which is downright silly but has beautiful scenery and is extremely enjoyable to watch. 

Assessment

Today was my assessment in chairing a Children’s Hearing. I have been preparing for it all week, which I realise is ridiculous because in real life you have to prepare for three hearings at a time with only a few days notice. I was determined that I would be well-prepared but in the event I was over-prepared because I tried to place some detailed actions on Social Work that are not in the Panel’s remit! Apart from that I think it went well but I would like to attend a lot of hearings before I feel ready to chair a real Children’s Hearing. I’m so tired because I have been sitting up late making notes for the hearing all week, and then last night we were up late chatting to Ally, who is in Scotland to attend Sandy’s stag do. It was lovely to see him. This morning I got up super early to go over my notes one more time. I felt more relaxed once I arrived at the Leonardo Hotel; my new group are a friendly bunch and we were all supporting each other. And so Day Six of my training is finished! Next Saturday will be my final day of training.