The History Boy

I got a text from Ally today that gladdened my heart - he has been offered an unconditional place to study History and Latin at Glasgow University. Now his first choice is still to study Law - although he has a great love for History - but this offer means that the boy will definitely be going to University! We all drank a toast of congratulations to him at tea-time.
A bit of worry about my furry boy Jack; I took him to the vet this evening for a blood test because the vet likes to test that his kidneys are still functioning well and that his pills are working. He usually gets a clean bill of health, but today the vet said that he has lost weight and that there is a wee lump on his intestine. Now this might be nothing to worry about, but it is exactly the same as Jill's symptoms just over a year ago. He is to get an ultrasound on Monday so I am not going to get ahead of myself.
We all watched "Death in Paradise" which we recorded yesterday. It is very pleasant and its Caribbean scenes are particularly suitable to watch on a cold December night in Scotland! 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

As I write this the rain is battering on the roof of the extension, and presumably washing most of the remaining snow away. The journey to work was not great this morning because there was still a lot of snow lying on the roads and some drivers were going very, very slowly, however I saw a fine sunrise on my way. When I drove a sick pupil home at lunch time the back roads were still very snowy, however the thaw had started by the afternoon. It was a good old busy day at work, and as an unexpected bonus I was delighted that my twilight course was cancelled because of weather conditions. I got cakes for James' hill-walking committee meeting on the way home, it is going on in the lounge just now. I hope they choose some lovely destinations for outings for next year; James mentioned that someone has suggested St Kilda which would be great, it has long been a dream of mine to go there. I have just been checking out Christmas ceilidhs on the internet because Ally's friend Clarissa, whom he met on holiday in St Lucia, is coming to visit this weekend from London and he wants to give her a Scottish experience! We have narrowed it down to two venues and I hope to book one of them tomorrow for him. If not he will have to give her the Scottish experience of a fish supper from Benny's! I am beginning to feel a little bit Christmassy, which surprises me because after last year when Mum died I thought I was kind of finished with the excitement of Christmas. I of course enjoyed our Christmas celebration with Heather and Ewan, and Christmas morning with Grandma, Marjory, Forrest and the children. And the boys opening their stockings on our bed on Christmas morning is still one of the joys of my life (yes they still do that!) But last Christmas without Mum was very sad for me and we went for dinner to a hotel for the first time ever because I couldn't bear to have Christmas dinner in the house without her. Dinner in the hotel was fine but a bit flat - it lacked the personal touch. However this year we will be back at home because the new extension won't remind me so much of Christmases past, and as we start the preparations I can feel stirrings of the old Christmas excitement that I thought would not return. Maybe it was the lovely Mince Pies outing to the Ochils, or the first snow, or the Kate Rusby carol concert; I don't know why exactly but Christmas is beginning to work its old magic! Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light, from now on our troubles will be out of sight....I hope so. 

A wintry day

The Kate Rusby concert last night was great; she was performing with her band and because it was their Christmas tour she sang a lot of traditional carols. She has a truly lovely voice and chatted between the songs, telling us about where they originated. James and I both enjoyed it; I wasn't sure if James would, but he liked the music even though it is a bit different from his usual taste. The snow had followed us from the Ochils and it was snowing during the night. We woke to two or three inches of snow and then James found that his car wouldn't start. He was furious and ranted angrily as we tried to jump start it (unsuccessfully), asking himself why we had bought that car when he had wanted a different one. I knew he meant me (it was me who wanted a seven seater) but rather than enter into a debate I sensibly kept quiet. I was quite concerned about being held up because I had all the English prelims in my car - I brought them home to staple them when I ran out of time on Friday - but I needn't have worried because the main roads were mostly clear. James got the train into work and sounded cheerier when I phoned him later. It was a busy exam day and it flew by, it snowed on and off all day but I could tell that it wasn't too bad and the journey home was fine. On the way home I collected my car from the garage and hopefully it is cured; it was nice to have it back although the brakes seemed a bit soft compared with the Micra courtesy car. Davie's train was cancelled so I nipped over to Newton Mearns to collect him from Stuart's house, it was lovely to have his company in the car; I miss him now that he gets the train home. He is so interesting to chat with. A pleasant evening at home ensued; we all competed on University Challenge as we often do, and we had a good laugh and argued over the answers. James won as usual with twelve points. The rest of us performed dismally. Jack cat got no points at all and didn't show any interest. As I looked around at my boys I suddenly felt very lucky, they are such fun.  

A Snowy Walk in the Ochils

When James, Davie and I were collected from the Main Street by coach just after nine this morning it was cold and damp, it didn't seem very encouraging weather for our hill-walking club MInce Pies outing. While we stood waiting for the bus a lady walked past and paused to complain to me that she had mistaken the time and would not be able to buy her "carry out" for another hour. She explained that this was inconvenient because she had had her last drink an hour ago. I commiserated with her as best I could. Soon we were on our way and stopped for breakfast in a cafe in Bridge of Allan. There was a good turnout and Heather (from the club, not Heather B) had organised the whole day beautifully; not only had she planned the route and arranged where we would have our refreshments at either end, she had baked reindeer biscuits and made a Christmas cake in the shape of a cottage, the detail on it was amazing. We were then dropped off at Blairlogie at the edge of the Ochil Hills. One group including James and David "took the high road" up to the top of Dumyat, and the rest of us "took the low road" by circumnavigating Dumyat then heading northwards. Both routes converged shortly before arriving at the Sheriffmuir Inn. What an amazing walk! We set off in sunshine; there was a light dusting of snow on the hills and it looked very picturesque. Then it started snowing lightly - even more picturesque, and we opined to each other how we felt as though we were walking along in scenery reminiscent of a Christmas card. Then the sky darkened and the snow got heavier and soon we were struggling along in blizzard conditions, it was a whiteout and became bone-chillingly cold. Lunch took place beneath some trees beside the path - we didn't linger! Later the snow stopped and we crunched along in snow that was at least a couple of inches deep, there was even a little bit of blue sky again. Five different types of weather in one day, that's the joy of walking in the Scottish hills! After about three hours we spied the welcome sight of the white painted Sheriffmuir Inn, standing solitary ahead. We had our Christmas celebration which was great fun; Steven was a brilliant Santa for the second year running - he said he was more relaxed this year because last year he was a "Santa Virgin". All the wee children had a great time and Davie, as the oldest "child"  got a big cheer when he good-naturedly went up for his present! The adults all got presents too as well as mince pies and mulled wine. After a hearty chorus of "Jingle Bells" it was time to get back on the bus; the driver was understandably a bit nervous about the weather conditions. When we got home there was no snow at all, hard to believe after our wintry walk. What a good weekend we have had - a really good evening with Alison and Hugh yesterday and a healthy walk today. And the weekend is not yet over - James and I will shortly be going to a Kate Rusby concert at the concert hall - let's hope we don't get snowed in! 

Christmas Shopping with James

I do a lot of my Christmas Shopping on the internet these days, but some things have to be chosen in person so James and I set off into town this morning with a list! Thanks to James' nagging we arrived nice and early, and it wasn't too crowded. Our trip was very successful, we purchased everything that we wanted and even remained on good terms throughout! To celebrate the end of our Christmas shopping we went for lunch in John Lewis and ate pasta at a little table overlooking Buchanan Street. I have always liked sitting by this window; the multitude of shoppers on the street below always reminds me of a Lowry painting. We had a pleasant chat about all sorts of things including our plans for next summer. Alasdair and I went to Tesco in the afternoon to get folders that he wanted, then I dropped him at the station because he has his Dunlop Ceilidh tonight. Then I did some cooking for Alison and Hugh who are coming for dinner tonight and I even have time to read some of my new book - Inheritance by Nicholas Shakespeare. I'm enjoying it so far; it's certainly an intriguing idea but it now depends on how the author develops it. What a nice weekend. 

My car is still sick

The unfeasibly expensive repairs on my car continue. Apparently the wrong parts for my exhaust have been delivered to the garage and will not fit the other bits. That's about as technical as I get. The mechanic was very apologetic and has given me a courtesy car for the weekend. I found this a bit suspicious because I was told earlier this week that there were no courtesy cars available until well into next week, which is why I had to hire a car for two days. Oh well, at least the garage are having to work hard for the huge amount of money that they are charging me.
Another really good day at school. I worked on until six to get everything ready for the prelims which start on Monday. Last year the timetable had to be completely reworked because of the Big Snow so I hope that the snow holds off for the next two weeks. Oh dear, what has happened to me? Have I become grown up and boring? Never mind, there's nothing I can do about the weather anyway.
I went out for a curry with Kathryn, Sheila and Barbara this evening to Ashoka South Side. It was a lovely meal for only £8.95 for two courses (pre-theatre so we had to be there at 6.15). I rushed there straight from school and managed to leave my phone in my classroom which is very annoying. To think I once said that I would never want a mobile phone, and now I feel very twitchy to be separated from it for a few hours! Anyway I had a lovely evening with the girls catching up on all the news and having a laugh. The curry is now sitting uneasily in my tummy. 

The rain it raineth on the just

"The rain it raineth on the just, and also on the unjust fella;
But mainly on the just because, the unjust steals the just's umbrella."
One of my favourite short poems from my childhood, attributed to Lord Bowen I think, who was a well-known judge in the 19th century.
Yes it is still raining and the temperature is dropping too; it's definitely getting wintry which I suppose is not surprising on the 1st of December. However I have had a great day despite the dreich weather; work was really good - we were visited by a band called Little Eye who played a gig at lunch-time! The pupils were all very excited, as were many female members of staff. I even had my photo taken with them! This evening I was at my Cambuslang book club at Lesley's where I had a lovely time talking books with good friends. I am tempted to subscribe to a magazine called Slightly Foxed which looks tremendous. James had to collect me from work today because my car has been in the garage for the last couple of days. I hired a car for two days but the car was not ready in time for this afternoon as promised. It was quite nice to chat to him on the way home and I am looking forward to his company on the way to work tomorrow. My car repairs (brakes and exhaust) are costing a fortune and James tells me that I will have to keep the car for at least two more years to justify the expense. I don't really mind that because I like my car (Peugeot 207 cc in a lovely turquoise blue) but what I don't like is that many things have gone wrong with it, it is not the most reliable car! Anyway I am off to bed in a good mood and I will end with another childhood rain poem:
The rain is falling all around,
It falls on field and tree
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.
(by Robert Louis Stevenson).