Funeral of an old friend

It was Margaret’s Dad’s funeral on Friday, which we watched online. There were only his three children in attendance which made it seem all the sadder, (they could have had up to twenty people there according to the current rules, but I think that they didn't want to endanger his elderly friends who might have caught Covid or the flu by attending), and the minister was a bit impersonal and even played the wrong music for one of the hymns (a modern tune rather than the traditional) which was a shame. He was such an intelligent man and a good person and deserved better. 

The weather has continued to be variable this week so we have been going out for walks whenever it’s dry. This week I have turned my attention to reorganising the utility room, again the kind of thing that I won’t want to do once we can travel further. The cupboards are much more logical now and it gave me an immense feeling of satisfaction.

Jamie’s birthday was on Wednesday and he spent it white water rafting with Kerry. I have a feeling that Kerry is very important to him. He sent us some video clips and he looked so happy and relaxed. It's nearly a year since we have seen him, I wonder when we will be allowed to visit New Zealand again.

I have finished sorting out my jewellery and I have decided to start wearing it more regularly. I don’t wear much jewellery normally anyway, and for the past year hardly at all. But what is it for, if not to be worn, so today I chose a wee pair of earrings that James bought me in Shetland many years ago: a pair of silver Artic terns. And I put on a gold dolphin ring from a 1980s holiday to Zante and a freshwater pearl pendant that Cat gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Such happy memories. 

Hello again rain

Well it certainly isn’t springtime yet; we woke this morning to heavy rain and high winds! Not surprisingly James went out for a walk anyway, he seems to be experiencing no side effects from his Covid jag yesterday. I however had a headache and felt a bit yucky; maybe James’ vaccine has been coming out of his pores and affecting me. I’m joking of course - but it does seem unfair that James got the jag and I felt out of sorts!

I went out in the afternoon instead, when the weather had calmed down a bit, and walked around an almost deserted Cambuslang Park. I listened to the Frank Skinner podcast that Jennifer has recommended to me; it was very funny and I was laughing out loud from time to time. By the time I got home I felt much better.

There has been more bad news among my parents’ generation of friends. My Mum and Dad’s very good friend John Leslie died a couple of days ago, and late last night our neighbour Mrs Wilson, who is now very frail, was taken to hospital by ambulance. *

I’m very pleased with the haircut that Cat gave me on Sunday, it’s sitting really nicely and is finally all the same length. I successfully dyed it beforehand, the first time I have done this without Cat's help. 

This evening when we were getting ready for bed Ally came through to tell us to watch the Starship SN10 Static Fire Test on YouTube. If this has been successful it could clear the way for a test flight some time next week. We watched the spacecraft as it gouted out huge amounts of steam and then a burst of fire. I’m not sure if this means that it was successful or not but it was interesting to watch. 

* Update later - Good news, Mrs Wilson is home again! 

The promise of springtime

As James and I had a cup of tea sitting on a log in Fernbrae Meadows today, bathed in warm sunshine, I asked him if he thought that this might be the beginning of springtime. James thought about this and answered no, but that it might be the “promise of springtime.” This makes sense since we are still in February, but it’s very nice that there are definite signs of the approaching change of season. 

There are also changes afoot regarding lockdown. The number of deaths has fallen due to the lockdown, and the number of people who have been vaccinated has increased faster and faster. 

Today Boris announced that schools will reopen on 8th March and then there will be a four step lifting of restrictions e.g. households mixing, restaurants reopening, over the next several months. By 21st June most social restrictions will have been lifted. This is of course dependent on all going well with the vaccine programme and the number of cases and deaths continuing to fall. Nicola Sturgeon is going to announce Scotland’s plans tomorrow but I expect that they will be similar. 

Talking of vaccines, James got his first Covid jag today (Astra Zeneca) and will get his second one in 12 weeks. Since the jags are being allocated in descending order of age (key workers and very vulnerable groups were given theirs first), they are doing well to have reached the 59 year olds already. James got his jag in Fernhill Community Centre which is why we then went for a walk through Fernbrae Meadows and up to Cathkin Braes. It was a beautiful day, and my good mood was not dented by a huge fall into a patch of mud that necessitated a complete change of clothes and a bath on my return home! 

So far James has reported no side effects from his jag. 

A walk on a rainy day

I went for a walk with Margaret today. It was lovely to see her, although of course she is in Cambuslang just now for the sad reason of her Dad’s death. We had a really good talk as we walked up to Fernbrae Meadows and back. I haven’t seen Margaret for over a year due to Covid and I have missed her. It was drizzling when we set off, and the sky was grey and heavy looking, which was disappointing because the forecast had been fairly good. We didn’t let the weather hold us back and strolled around the park. We of course had a cup of tea, an intrinsic part of our friendship! I had brought a flask and we sat on some mossy branches under the shelter of some trees. 

It started raining more heavily as we walked back down the hill, and by the time I arrived home the rain was battering down, and it stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon. So James and I tackled his Mum and Dad’s photos again and added in the new information from his cousin Andrew and his Uncle William. Some mysteries may never be solved, including the identity of the very dignified lady who appears in several photos as well as in a mourning brooch, but we know that she is from the Larkhall side of the family so I think that she will be given a place in the family album even if we never find out who she is. *

* Update - Andrew Eadie has informed us that the dignified lady is Jeanie Eadie (nee Steel) who died in 1937 aged 71. She was both James’ and Andrew’s great-grandmother. 

(Mother of Marion Forrest (nee Eadie), grandmother of Jean Anderson (nee Forrest), great-grandmother of James, great-great-grandmother of Jamie, Ally and Davie.) 

A little warmer

The temperature rose to about 7 degrees C over the weekend and by Monday all of the snow was gone. I walked down past the golf course on Monday afternoon and it was completely green again - it was hard to believe that only two days previously there had been plenty of snow for Ally and Cat to ski and sledge on. 

The rise in temperature has been quite pleasant and I have been out walking every day so far this week. Today I met Jenn F at East Kilbride and we went for very pleasant walk and chat through Calderglen Park where there were lots of snowdrops. I could almost believe that the merest promise of spring is in the air. 

Valentine’s Day Fondue

On Sunday morning Suzy sent me a photo of Tom squaring up to another cat in her garden; she had heard them screeching and yowling outside her window! A few minutes later Tom arrived home without his collar - when I described this to Davie by phone later I told him that Tom had arrived naked (well, his collar is his only item of clothing!) and Davie said that I had made it sound as if the other cat had shaved him! Anyway we then got a phone call from Mrs Rattray to say that she had found Tom’s collar round the side of her house, so Alasdair ran up to meet her at the hedge to retrieve it. Soon Tom was reunited with his collar and went up to our bed to relax after his ordeal. 

James and I met up with Heather and Ewan for a walk in the afternoon. It was cold, icy in places, and a bit drizzly but it was lovely to get outside and to meet up with them. We obeyed the current regulations by walking “two by two” again. 

When we got home Ally and Cat had prepared a Valentine’s meal for the four of us - a fondue savoyarde and a hot stone grill! It was absolutely fantastic! The fondue tasted perfect and we cooked steak strips and chicken strips for Ally and James on the hot stone as well as peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms, and we had cubes of bread and wee new potatoes on the side. It was a delicious feast. 

One pair of skis for two - no problem

Yesterday Ally and Cat got up early and headed up to the top of the golf course to sledge and ski. We have seen a lot of people sledging on its fairly steep slopes over the last couple of months - whenever there has been snow - but Ally and Cat are the first skiers we have seen. We followed them up the hill about an hour later and took some photos and videos of them skiing. They didn’t let the fact that they only had one set of skis hold them back; Cat hopped onto the front of the skis and wielded the ski poles while Ally was anchored to the skis by his boots. Ally did a fair bit of skiing by himself too, while Cat sledged. Of course this meant that they had to climb up the slopes again and again, but they were full of the energy of youth. It was very cold up at the top. At the end of the morning I gave Ally a lift from the bottom of the golf club right up to the top near Nerston so that he could have a final long run, which he enjoyed. 

On our return home I got a phone call with the sad news of the death of our friend Margaret’s Dad, Norman. He died of Covid. It has been expected for the last few days, but the news was so sad when it came. He was a lovely man who lived a long and good life.