All by ourselves ay the cinema

Another beautiful day on Monday in Ullapool; the loch was so calm that it was almost glassy. We tidied around the cottage and set off home in the afternoon. The journey went well and we treated ourselves to a curry when we arrived home. 
This morning I was at Pickleball which was very enjoyable. We had decided to play outdoors at the tennis club, which was a good decision because it was sunny with no wind. However, it was quite cold - what a difference from a few weeks ago. James collected me and we went to our history of Art Class which was about Pelugino and Raphael today. When I think of Raphael I always think of James’ Dad because Raphael was his favourite artist of all time. His work certainly is stunning and colourful. For most of the two hours we looked at gorgeous paintings while Sybren explained them to us. One interesting snippet that Sybren mentioned was that Moses is quite often represented in Medieval and Renaissance paintings with horns. This was due to a mistranslation by St Jerome in his 4th Century translation of the Hebrew bible into Latin. The biblical passage which refers to Moses descending from the mountain refers to his face shining with light. But the Hebrew consonants “qrn” can mean quaran (to shine) or qeren (horn). So Jerome described Moses as horned and over many centuries he appeared in paintings with wee horns on his head! How fascinating! I can’t imagine that Moses would have been happy with this! Finally we headed over to Coatbridge, stopping for a browse at a garden centre on the way. The light was cold and low, and there were thin bands of white and pale pink cloud across the blue sky. Mist was lying in the hollows of the fields. I really think we may have stepped over into winter.

The film that we went to see at showcase cinemas was: Ghosts, the Possession of Button House. It was based on the popular TV series which we have watched, and it was a pleasant and nicely made continuation. They had kept it very much like the television series which I think was clever because it was definitely aimed at the fans, but it had some new ideas too. It was at the very end of its run and James found ourselves to be the only people at the screening, which I don’t think has ever happened to us before! 

Gutters and 633 Squadron

On Saturday James and I did the annual gutter cleaning at the Ullapool cottage. It was chilly but dry and I held the ladder while James cleared moss and weeds into a bucket. Earlier this week James and I heard the very well known theme tune from the 1964 film 633 Squadron on Classic FM. (I persuaded James, a while ago, to change our radio alarm to classic FM instead of the always depressing news channels). On Saturday evening James found the film on Netflix for us to watch. He claimed that we had agreed to watch 633 Squadron when we heard the tune. I had absolutely no recollection of this. However, we went ahead and watched the film and it was very good. We have seen it before of course, but not for decades. It was interesting to observe how attitude and perhaps values have changed over the last 60 years. The casual sexism was much more blatant than in most films nowadays, and the stoicism over the death of comrades seemed very strange. I wonder if it was really like that.
James went walking with the Ullapool Hill walking club today to the Stoer Peninsula. Meanwhile I did a little bit of housework, a little bit of grocery shopping, and had a coffee at Tea by the Sea. Bliss. Back at the cottage I socialised with the cats and read my current book, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi as well as a chapter of The Story of Art. 

Modest Mussorgsky

I was not in Ullapool for very long because I was going to a concert on Thursday and the first of my new set of art classes on Friday. So late Wednesday afternoon I bade farewell to James and the cats and I entertained myself by listening to a murder mystery audiobook on the way south. 
Ally W and I met for lunch at Singl’End in Merchant City on Thursday which was excellent. Then we strolled around the corner to our Scottish Symphony Orchestra afternoon concert. The concert had a Russian theme; a couple of short pieces by Lyadov, then Songs and Dances of Death by Mussorgsky, and after the interval, Tchaikovsky‘s Symphony No. 5. I found all of it very melodic and enjoyed it very much. I noticed in the programme notes that Mussorgsky’s full name is Modest Mussorgsky. I idly wondered if his brother might be called Boastful Mussorgsky! But when I investigated I found out that his brother was actually called Filaret, means “lover of virtue” which I suppose matches better! 
This morning I went back to my Art Class at the Prince of Princess of Wales hospice. There had been much discussion on the WhatsApp chat about roads being blocked by roadworks in the vicinity, but I arrived from the M8 and had no problems at all getting there. Ruth is on holiday just now but I knew most of the ladies there. I was sorry to hear that Kathleen has died. She was in her 90s and such talented and fascinating lady. 
After the class I headed north and managed to finish my murder mystery book by listening to it at 1.5 times speed. I arrived in Ullapool in good time to walk along to West Street with James to see the annual Guy Fawkes night celebrations including food and drink stalls and a large bonfire down on the shore below. It was topped with a guy made by the local primary school which burnt fiercely and suddenly toppled over to be consumed by the flames! I have always found this aspect of the celebration to be rather gruesome. Then there was a firework display before we walked back to the cottage in the darkness. 

November trip north

Alasdair is on his travels in South America and has already visited several countries, including Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and now Brazil. As well as keeping in touch with us by phone call and message, he has been sending us postcards from each destination, which we have very much enjoyed receiving. We do miss him though, and look forward to seeing him in January at Jamie and Kerry’s wedding. 
Meanwhile our darling Jessica is very nearly smiling; a little smile seems to play around her lips from time to time while her eyes sparkle. On Sunday evening, I held her and walked around the back room with her so that Chanel and Davie had time to eat their curries, and I just love her.
I was at Childrens’ Hearings for most of the day on Monday. I have been warned that meetings can overrun, but this was the first time that it has happened for me. As usual I admired the knowledge and skills of the chairperson. And then today, after our Italian Renaissance Art Class, James and I set off to Ullapool with the cats in the car. We were glad to find the cottage undamaged after the recent storms, and soon got it warmed up and had our dinner. It’s nice to be back here. 

Hallowe’en Pickleball

I had a lovely chat with Jamie yesterday about all sorts of things, it’s always great to speak to him, and I appreciate that he phones at least a couple of times a week. Also I had a very pleasant chat with Jennifer who had some nice news to impart. 
James has had a very sore ankle for the past week, and I persuaded him to go to A&E in the afternoon. Hopefully it will get better soon. Today was the Hallowe’en Pickleball lunch at the tennis club. We had all brought a dish and it was a magnificent buffet. I brought baked salmon with baby new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and salad. I have to say that it turned out very well and was soon enthusiastically consumed by the Picklers. It was a fun and convivial afternoon.
Talking of social activities, James and Gordon went out for a curry with their friend Alastair this evening before their annual trip to see Australian Pink Floyd at the Hydro. When James arrived home he deemed the evening “excellent!” 

Kevin Bridges at the Hydro

It has been a sad week for Star Trek fans. Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek TV series, died aged 90 a couple of days ago. And today the death was announced of Sir Patrick Stewart who memorably played Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was 86 and also had a distinguished stage career. 
We had dinner in the restaurant at the Marriot Courtyard with Gordon and Morag this evening. The food was quite pleasant but most of all it was very handy for the OVO Hydro where we were going to see Kevin Bridges. The two support acts were very good; Chris Kent from Cork in Ireland and especially Christopher Macarthur-Boyd from Glasgow, who went to Bannerman High School where I did a teaching placement long before her was born! Kevin Bridges was excellent, very good with the audience and very funny. The Hydro was completely full and his run there is for two weeks! He wasn’t afraid to joke about controversial topics, and was only momentarily distracted when a fight broke out somewhere high in the auditorium between a couple of women who were somewhat inebriated. It was a very entertaining evening.  

Simon Yates and the missing rope

Just over a year ago when we were visiting Ally and Cat in London, we gathered some acorns in Oxleas Wood near Eltham, when we were walking a section of the Capital Ring. One of them has been in my desk drawer ever since. I have decided to try to grow it but I think I’m too late because one year is apparently the limit to plant it and I’m over that. If it doesn’t grow I can always try to grow one which has fallen this year. I have purchased a little “acorn vase” to try my luck. The acorn sits in its narrow neck with a reservoir of water beneath. 
Lesley and Chris came round for lunch today. We gave them spicy pumpkin soup followed by apple crumble. We used Cat’s Mum Christine’s recipe for the topping and it turned out really well. We had a good laugh and caught up on news. 
This evening we went to Cumbernauld Theatre with Gordon and Morag to hear Simon Yates speak about his mountaineering adventures. He is the climber who had to cut Joe Simpson’s rope when they were climbing together in South America after Joe Simpson fell over a cliff. (Yates had no choice or else he would have gone over the cliff too). Against all the odds Simpson survived and crawled back to their camp three days later. This incident became famous because of Simpson’s book and the subsequent film. James and I went to see the film at the cinema in the 1990s and I also remember us watching it on holiday in Orkney with the boys. Simon Yates appeared in the film as a narrator and although he is of course now in his 60s, he hasn’t changed much. He is a very good speaker, and told us about his extraordinary adventures in a self-deprecating and understated way, illustrated with slides. At the interval we were chatting to him as he signed his books, and Gordon (who, Morag told us, had been wondering about this all day) asked him if he had kept the rope that he cut! It was very funny! Simon Yates explained that he hadn’t kept it and it had ended up in the ravine into which Simpson had disappeared. An excellent evening. 

Chanel’s 30th Birthday

James was out using his new leaf blower in the garden yesterday; he is loving it! He brought me the last two yellow roses from a bush in the front garden. It’s called “Absolutely Fabulous” and James bought it in 2023 after we saw one in Tralee in Ireland. We loved it for its bright colour and its gorgeous scent, and the two last blooms today still smell lovely. I put them in a tiny vase and set them on the kitchen ledge. 
Yesterday was our Chanel’s 30th Birthday! We popped round with her gift late afternoon and gorgeous wee Jessica was sleeping peacefully all snuggled in to her Mummy! 
The wild and rainy weather continues; we went to Italian Renaissance Art today and had lunch first at Offshore Café in Gibson Street. It’s ages since I have been there and I have very happy memories of having lunches there about 20 years ago with Fiona M and our lovely tutor Ernie. The Art History class was good and I was amazed to learn that the Bellini cocktail was invented by the chef in Harry’s bar in Venice and so named because it’s peachy pink hues were reminiscent of the colours used by Italian Renaissance artist, Bellini. Similarly, the same chef named his thinly sliced raw beef dish, carpaccio, because its red colour reminded him of the palette used by the Italian Renaissance artist Carpaccio. How fascinating! 

World Opera Day

World Opera Day is today, the 25th October. I only know that because when James and I were at the Theatre Royal this afternoon the director Sir David McVicar came onto the stage to tell us so. We were there to see Turandot, the first time we have seen it, and it didn’t disappoint. The plot was about a cold-hearted princess who asks each of her suitors three riddles. If they get them wrong they are executed. Our hero Princes Calaf turns up and is not put off by this ridiculous and deadly test. Will he melt the ice maiden’s heart?
It was great to hear the iconic Nessun Dorma in context, when the whole kingdom is forbidden from sleeping until the hero’s name is revealed. The cast and lavish costumes and sets were all wonderful. It was an excellent way to spend a windy and rainy afternoon. 
When we got home James made dumplings to go with the boeuf bourgignon that I made yesterday. I wanted dumplings too so I ate them with vegetable chilli. We had a cosy evening with the cats. 

Storm and Batch Cooking

Well now we have another storm called  Storm Boelo and this one really is very windy as well as rainy. As I lie here in bed the gusts of wind outside are so fierce that the cats keep staring at the windows. It is a momentous day at Casa Anderson because we have made the move to our winter duvet! And the clocks will go back tonight. 
We made the most of this miserable weather today and did some batch cooking. I made vast quantities of boeuf bourgignon and James made four times quantities of his signature vegetable curry. In a moment of carelessness I grasped the metal handle of my one of big casseroles just after I took it out of the oven. It burned my hand sorely so I ran it under tepid water for about twenty minutes, but it was still painful. I put germolene on it and bandaged it up, which helped considerably. We had some of the vegetable curry for dinner and it was delicious. 

Tenzing and Spark

Today we have had the first named storm of the season; it’s called Storm Austen. In the 1970’s we would just have called it bad weather! It’s very wet but not much wind; I think it’s worse in parts of England.
On Wednesday, we went to the Royal Philosophical Society again, this time to hear a talk about investigating the solar system using an observatory in Chile called the Vera C. Rubin. It’s on top of a mountain north of Santiago but not as far north as San Pedro. The speaker was an American lady called Dr Megan Schwamb and she was very interesting. She is very clever and clearly loves her work. She is cataloguing millions of asteroids, comets, and near-Earth objects. It was quite technical but she explained it well. 
Then last night, James and I went to the cinema to see the film Tenzing. I went along because I thought that it would be nice for James, because he loves mountains. However, I think I loved it just as much as he did. It’s a tremendous film, fascinating and heartwarming, and I love that Tenzing and Hillary remained friends for the rest of their lives.
Today I was out for lunch with Chanel and Jessica! We went to Homegrown in Gartcosh and it was great, three generations lunching together! Jessica was just delightful, Chanel expertly fed her while we were eating and we had a good chat. Unfortunately Chanel had sad news to tell me. Her grandmother Parveen died on Wednesday and her funeral is today. She has been very ill recently but they thought that they would have more time with her. 
In the evening we went to see The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at the Citz. I remember watching the tv series in the 1970s and it certainly captures the atmosphere of an all-girls private school like the one I attended. The first half was entertaining but the second half became (inevitably) increasingly depressing. James was not impressed. 

Art History issues

We had rather a disappointing afternoon last Tuesday because our Art History class had to be abandoned. Sybren couldn’t project the slides from his laptop to the big screen no matter what he tried. After half an hour one of the class pointed out that it’s not much good going to a class about the history of Art when you can’t see the paintings, and Sybren agreed to postpone the class. There was much dissatisfaction among our classmates and everyone vowed to send a stiff email of complaint to Sybren’s manager. James and I consoled ourselves by going to the Art Galleries for a coffee on our way home. Just as we arrived back at the car the heavens opened! The rain was lashing against the windscreen as we drove home; we were so lucky not to have been caught in it.
The art history drama continued after I sent my firm but fair email to Blair. I got several emails of apology from different officials which assured me that the issue had been resolved. And then today when we turned up for the class, Blair himself was standing in the corridor to make sure that the technology was working properly. I noticed that many of the class members seemed very excited by the issue and almost seemed disappointed when everything was working perfectly today. I suppose the next step would have been riots on the scale of what has been happening in Paris over the last week, with looting and tear gas! The class was very good and I really liked the paintings and frescoes by Fra Filippo Lippi. 

Birthday and Babies

On Friday I took the train and underground with Sue H to see the Hunterian Art Gallery at Glasgow Uni. I haven’t been there for many years.  First of all we had a tasty lunch of croque madame and croque forestière in the Patisserie Françoise. On our way in to the Hunterian through the revolving doors I had an unfortunate freak accident with the toggle on my jacket, when it got caught in the door, the elastic stretched out and then zapped Sue really hard on her thumb. I felt terrible because I could see that it really hurt her. We were both very impressed with the art gallery, Sue hasn’t been there for ages either. There was much more to see than I had remembered; lots of paintings by the Scottish Colourists. It was a really good afternoon.
Saturday was Davie‘s 31st birthday and he, Chanel and Jessica came here for lunch and birthday cake. It was really great to have the three of them round and Jessica was very alert. I love the way she looks around and then really focuses in on your face! She is so gorgeous. I feel so blessed to be a grandma. 
On Monday, I visited another baby! I drove through to Glenrothes to visit Rachael and baby Robin who is now four months old. He is a gorgeous boy, full of smiles and very active and wriggly. It was a lovely drive there and back in the car through beautiful countryside.

• I’m glad to say that Sue’s thumb made a full recovery. 

Barack Obama

The week has continued very pleasantly with a mixture of fun and useful activities. We have pressed on with booking our holiday in Tahiti after Jamie’s wedding. It’s all very exciting. It’s really a holiday in three parts; firstly New Zealand, the wedding and a holiday to Blenheim vineyards with Heather and Ewan, and Margaret will join us for a few days in Auckland. Then James and I will have a couple of weeks in Tahiti on three different islands. Finally we will have a short break in Chicago on the way home. It didn’t occur to us when we booked it that Chicago in February is going to be a lot colder than our other destinations, and will require a whole different wardrobe!
I went back to Fitsteps on Wednesday for the first time in years. There were a few familiar faces from Pickleball there! Then I had a nice catch up with Linda P over coffee, and in the evening we went to see Barack Obama speaking at the Hydro. I decided to book these tickets awhile ago because Barack Obama is such an amazing part of American history, and he is also reputedly a very good speaker. This turned out to be correct, he spoke confidently and unhurriedly about the issues challenging the world today and his hopes for the future. I was really glad that we went along. After all of his chat about peace and love, I couldn’t help noticing that the audience were all jostling each other on the stairs on the way out of the venue! Ironic. 

Flora and the jigsaw

On Friday Marjory and Forrest came round for lunch. They were on good form and were telling us all about their house move, which is going to be quite complicated as they need to do it in stages. We were also talking about Jenny’s wedding next September which should be a lovely family occasion.
From the top hall this morning, I noticed that Flora was jumping around in the back room. In closer inspection, I saw that she had managed to get hold of a tiny piece of James’s current jigsaw and was playing with it, batting about on the floor with her paws and jumping in the air. It was really cute.
I decided to go down to the leisure centre for a swim but I couldn’t make any bookings because they have a new system and I couldn’t get into it no matter how much I tried. When I popped in the lady at reception was really helpful and sorted me out. By coincidence an aqua aerobics class was just about to start in the pool and there were two spaces left, so I joined in that thoroughly enjoyed it before going on to swim a few lengths.  I really should go swimming more often because I enjoy it very much. 

First chill of autumn

When we woke up on Thursday, James announced that it was 3°C outside, the lowest this autumn so far. And sure enough it really did feel quite autumnal when I got outside. It was beautiful too, with blue skies and the leaves on the trees just turning to gold and red. After nipping out to do a few errands I spent the morning doing a training course about the new children’s legislation for older children. Heavy stuff. 
I had a lovely catch up with Ally Walker over lunch at the museum of rural life in East Kilbride, we both had lots of news to share. She invited me to a Café Litteraire at the Alliance Française at the end of November; the book to be discussed is “L’heure des prédateurs” by Giuliano da Empoli so I will need to read it. I feel excited but rather daunted at the prospect! 
Then James made delicious asparagus risotto for dinner and even made our old favourite of Angel Delight poured onto tinned pears for dessert. He is definitely in my good books for that! 
Later on I hosted book club; we were discussing the Nightingale by Kristen Hannah and our discussion of the book led on to the French Resistance and the Second World War. It was a really good chat. 

Royal Philosophical Society

What a laugh we had on Monday at our ladies lunch in Il Pavone. There were only three of us because Maggie was in London to see her new grandson, and Helen couldn’t make it because of a tyre puncture, so Libby, Wendy and I decided to ask the waiter to take a photograph of us looking sad without the others. The photograph was hilarious. I was staring gloomily into my coffee cup , Wendy was making a sad face at the camera, and Libby was attempting to pout but trying not to laugh which resulted in a very strange expression. We immediately sent it to our absent friends who thought it was very funny but both wanted us to arrange another meet up before Christmas so that we can all be reunited! James and I were back at our art history class on Tuesday; this week we were looking at the use of perspective in the Italian Renaissance. I found it a bit dry and it doesn’t help that the room that we meet in it’s so warm. It’s in the James Black building in the university, and there is nowhere nearby to get a coffee at break time, so James and I go for a walk up and down the corridor and look at the science posters. Later I went to Pickleball coaching, which I really enjoy. The proof of this is how quickly the hour flies past.
Today I had lunch at the Burrell Collection with Hilary, we parked at the old cricket club and walked the short distance through the park to the museum. It was very beautiful with the leaves just turning golden, and Hilary suddenly said “how lucky we are!” And I have to say that I agree with her! We had a lovely lunch and talked, among many other things, about grandchildren. Hilary has four much loved four grandchildren and they are all very different from one another.
Talking of grandchildren, I popped round to see Jessica and Chanel later in the afternoon. Jessica was very cute, moving and stretching in her comfy pram and definitely looking right at me when she opened her eyes. Davie arrived in from work and was telling us about his day.
In the evening James and I went to our first lecture at the Royal Philosophical Society in the Dir Charles Wilson building at Glasgow University. It was about the Chemistry of life and death. There was a lot about mitochondria and the Krebs cycle. The speaker was called Nick Lane from UCL. He was immensely popular, it was standing room only at the back but luckily we got two of the last seats available. He was very personable and a good speaker, and James enjoyed it very much, however the science was way over my head and I really felt as if I must have looked like a dog watching a card trick! 

A pleasant autumnal week

Tuesday was a sunny and breezy morning and we played Pickleball outdoors, it was excellent fun as always. Then James picked me up and we went straight to Italian Renaissance Art, following the same routine as last week. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi wasn’t working in the dilapidated Sir James Black building, so Sybren had to carry his laptop around the room to show us the slides. It must’ve been exhausting for him. Luckily for me, I had already printed out the slides so James and me were able to have a closer look at them. This week we were learning about the many artists who were involved in creating Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral; builders, sculptors, painters and more. Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello were the big hitters in the early 15th century. 
We had dinner at Heather and Ewan’s, the veg lasagne was delicious and so was the apple and blackberry crumble. We had a nice chat and heard about their holiday in Croatia. 
On Friday we caught up with Stuart and Anne for the first time in ages, it was really great to see them and hear all of their news. And on Saturday night we had Gordon and Morag round for dinner with Cornel and Heather. They hadn’t met before, however they all got on extremely well and we had a good laugh. I was gratified at how well the meal was received. Tom and Flora were enjoying the chat and sat in the lounge with us looking around at everyone and being admired (but not jumping up in anyone except James and me.) I’m so proud of how social they are! 

Talking of cats, I was cat-sitting Skye and Harris this weekend; Davie, Chanel and Jessica went to Warrington to visit Chanel’s Grandma who is very ill in hospital. The good news is that she is doing much better and is expected to get out of the ICU tomorrow.

Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks

Our guests left us on Saturday morning to catch the 10.30 ferry to Stornoway where they were going to attend a family party. They will return to the cottage on Wednesday evening and, depending on the weather, may stay for a few days. 
However we won’t be able to join them because today we have headed down the road to rejoin the cats and to go to various events over the next few days. We were unlucky in the way down the A9 to get stuck behind a traffic accident, and we were sent on a long diversion via Dunkeld. * 
It was really tedious. 
We barely had an hour in the house before we needed to set off to see Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks at GRCH. We parked at Cowcaddens and hurried along the road to the concert hall. But when we arrived I realised that I had left my phone at home. My phone had the tickets in it and I couldn’t log into the ticket website from James’ phone because the password was randomly generated and is saved in my phone. We went to ask for help at the box office but there seemed to be no way to retrieve the tickets. 
James immediately plunged into the five stages of grief, but got stuck at number two - anger! Then one of the people at the help desk said that he had the list of tickets bought via ticketmaster and he was able to find our names and reissue our tickets. We got to our seats just as the concert was starting - phew! 
I enjoyed the concert more than I thought I would. The psychedelic music of Jon Anderson is more James’ taste than mine however his voice is still good and I enjoyed the concert. The concert was sold out and the partisan audience loved every minute of it. No one of course loved it more than Jon Anderson himself, who was clearly enjoying the adulation of his fans. It’s hard to believe that he is nearly 82 years old.
* Three people were taken to hospital but no fatalities I’m glad to say. 

The “Lost” Cat

Tom climbed in the kitchen window of 10 Cadzow Drive at some point today. The inhabitants must have assumed that he was a stray, closed the window, fed him a can of tuna and put the word out that they had a lost cat in their house. Christine next door phoned me at about 6 p.m. to tell me that no. 10 had told Brian about it when he was out walking Bailey. I phoned Angela who went round and chapped the door of no. 10. The first thing she saw when they opened the door was Tom, rolling about happily on his back on the hall carpet. The people who live there were very nice, and told her that when they searched Facebook to see if there were any reports of a missing cat, they found a post from Cat five years ago about Tom being lost! He did have a collar on but it may have had the old house phone number on it. Angela had a look but she didn’t have her reading glasses with her so she couldn’t read the number. So we will have a look when we get home and make sure that he has an up to date tag on his collar with my mobile number on it. Tom returned home with Angela unrepentant and I have a bad feeling that he may visit number 10 again! Anyway all’s well that ends well but we will be having some stern words with Tom on our return home! Not that he will either understand or care!