My Neighbour Totoro

James and I were up early to catch the 8.50 p.m. plane to London City. All went smoothly although not for the man behind me in the queue for boarding who was told that he was in the wrong queue because his ticket was for Heathrow! We left our luggage at the Premier Inn, Westferry, and set off along the Thames walkway towards Tower Bridge. The weather was fine and soon we had to take our jackets off because it was so warm. We jumped onto the underground from Tower Hill to Temple and had a really good wee lunch at Delauney’s. We were only a short walk from the Gillian Lynne Theatre where we saw the matinée of My Neighbour Totoro. This musical theatre production, based on a popular Japanese Animé, was recommended to us by both Ally and Gordon, so we were intrigued. And we were so glad we went because it was unusual, joyful, and downright surreal! A good example is the twelve legged orange cat-bus! The puppetry was so skilful, the music was alluring, and the actors were very energetic. When Totoro himself appeared for the first time there were gasps from the audience at his sheer immensity and presence. There were quite a lot of Japanese families there; apparently Totoro is a very popular figure in Japan. There were also quite a few school groups, who were lively but well-behaved. The man to James’ left was told off for getting his phone camera out, and from then on the usher watched him like a hawk. I took a surreptitious photo myself at the end when the usher wasn’t looking, just out of a feeling of rebellion. 
After the show we walked some more (12 km in total during the day) and later had a decent if not outstanding meal in Gordon Ramsay’s Limehouse restaurant, which we have passed many times as we have walked to and from Ally and Cat’s flat over the last few years. It has been a long but satisfying day. 

A coffee on Mum and Dad’s bench

James and I were very wily this morning before Tom’s vet appointment. I assembled the cat carrier last night and hid it in the front room. James did not feed Tom when he got up, and we both acted very casually. As a result, when we went downstairs, Tom was frisking about our ankles, wanting his breakfast. Before he could suspect a thing I picked him up and popped him in the cat carrier. Flora was in the vicinity, but disappeared when she saw what was happening, probably under our bed. Ten minutes later we were at the vets with Tom with no fuss at all. The enthusiastic young vet had a good look at Tom’s itchy bits, and decided that they were probably allergies. He has a short course of steroids and some cream. The idea is if the patches stop itching, they will heal up and the cycle of scratching will be broken.
I then went up to East Kilbride Shopping Centre to boots for a Scottish NHS health check, where they found out that I had low blood pressure. It’s 82/59 which apparently is quite low. So I’m to talk to the doctor; apart from that, I am a good weight for my height so that’s good news. As I walked through East Kilbride Shopping Centre I felt a bit sad at how it has deteriorated from the fairly smart place it used to be when the boys were younger, and even from when I took pupils there in later years. A lot of the shops have closed which makes it look a bit bleak. However, the girls in the health check clinic told me that part of it is going to close and the rest will be consolidated, which hopefully will give it a new lease of life. Walking through there was similar for me to Proust dipping his Madeleine in his cup of tea; it brought back a lot of memories and I could picture it in its past incarnations very clearly. 
Elspeth came round in the afternoon and we visited my Mum and Dad’s memorial bench in Douglas Park together. We brought a flask of coffee and some cakes. It was really special and we had a good talk about our parents, who were great friends, and about family and life in general. 

Lunching

Both yesterday and today have been mild and sunny autumn days. We took the train through to Edinburgh yesterday to meet Margaret for lunch. It was warm enough to sit outside in St Andrew’s Square for a coffee beforehand. It was great to see Margaret and catch up on news; I’m so glad that she has moved back to Scotland and she is loving life in Crail. Amarone, a more spacious, high ceilinged version of the Glasgow restaurant, provided us with a very tasty lunch and then the three of us strolled through Princes Street Gardens and had a cup of tea at the National Gallery. 
Today was the second of my Northern Renaissance Art classes. I had lunch at Eusebio beforehand and thought fondly of my lunches there with Jackie, however although my spicy poached eggs on Italian toast were delicious, they were really too expensive and I will return there only sparingly. The course was good, however I think that my previous lecturer in 2024 was more structured so I’m glad that I have done the course before and have a basic knowledge to build on. Again I walked to Finnieston Station through  Kelvingrove Park after the class which was very pleasant with lots of people out and about. I saw a squirrel and a crow squaring up to each other beside a tree and I wanted to see what would happen next, but another person walked past nearer to them and they both hopped off. I had a meeting in Blantyre in the early evening and when I left at about quarter past seven it was already getting dark; the nights are fair drawing in! 

Sunny Weekend Miscellany

I had brunch with Gran Jan yesterday and it was so great to see her; I like to dress a bit more smartly than usual when I meet up with her because she is always so  beautifully turned out! We went to Sterling’s in Uddingston which has a really attractive wee café and had a really good talk. After I dropped Janet off at home I popped round to see Davie for coffee; Davie and Chanel’s house is looking fantastic as they continue to paint and decorate it. Skye made a brief appearance and I got the chance to have a wee cuddle with Harris. It’s such a good and spacious house and I love its location. In the evening James and I decided that, since we are going to see Bob Dylan in concert at the end of next month, we should watch the biopic which was made about him last year. It’s called “A Complete Unknown” (the name comes from the lyrics of his song “Like a Rolling Stone”) and stars Timothée Chalamet as Dylan. It turned out to be an excellent film, covering the period 1961 to 1965, and all the actors were superb and sang the Bob Dylan songs themselves. It made me appreciate Bob Dylan’s music more, so that is good timing. 
Today Hilary and Steven came round for lunch and then we went for a wee walk up to Holmhills Park where the trees were absolutely covered in red berries; the views over the east of Glasgow towards the Campsies were stunning in the sunshine. And later Davie came over to join us for a Sunday night curry, both the curry and his company were very pleasant. 

Kingfisher Blue

Flora had an upsetting start to her day, although it was really her own fault. Last night I found a big spider running around my bathroom, so I captured it in a glass and gently tipped it out of the red room window. I was aware that Flora had followed me so when I left the room I called her and looked for her, and when there was no sign of her I closed the door. This morning as I headed downstairs I heard a little cry from the red room. I don’t know where Flora had managed to hide from me but she had ended up trapped in there all night. She was extremely hungry so she ate a hearty breakfast of cat food before going outside to perform her ablutions. 
James and I had brunch with Gerry and Janis in All Bar One; they were full of the joys and we caught up on each others’ summer adventures. They showed us recent photos of their wee grandson Rory, he is so cute. We decided to go for a walk in the west end since the good weather is still with us, despite the dire predictions of the weather forecasters. Again there was not a cloud in the sky and the Botanic Gardens were pleasantly busy with people enjoying the sunshine. We walked down to the River Kelvin and spotted, for the first time in either of our lives, a kingfisher! It was the most amazing bright blue and was sitting on a log that protruded into the river. We walked beside the river where the surroundings were autumnal and pretty, then up into Kelvingrove Park and on to Kelvin Hall underground station and thence to Cowcaddens. We had a lovely meal with Gordon and Morag in the Piper’s Tryst and caught up on more news, before going to see comedian Stewart Lee at the Theatre Royal. I like Stewart Lee and have seen him before, however this evening I thought that he was a bit too chaotic even though there were some very funny bits. But then again chaotic is what he does, so that’s part of the deal. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I could see what he was aiming for, which was to satirise right wing comedians, but James did not feel the same way and told me afterwards that he will not be returning to see Stewart Lee ever again. That’s comedy though, it’s very subjective. 

Small Acts of Love

Yesterday morning we needed to take the cats for their annual health check. James set the cat flap to “in only,” and we surreptitiously assembled the small cat carrier in the lounge. I’m convinced that the cats didn’t notice this, and yet somehow both of them disappeared shortly before the appointment. Tom appeared first out on the patio and I quickly picked him up and put him in the carrier. Then I spotted Flora having a face off with another cat at the top of the garden, and she was distracted enough by this that I was able to capture her too. We arrived at the vets only slightly late and I’m glad to say that the cats are both in good shape. As we already knew Tom has been biting the inside of his legs, causing raw patches, so we will need to take him back next week to get them properly looked at. 
Dougie came round in the afternoon for a coffee and we had a really good chat with him, There are aspects of his life of which I had no idea, he’s a very interesting person.
Then Lesley and Chris arrived to give us a lift to Glasgow Green where we had a pre-theatre meal with them in Whistlers on the Green before going on to the Citizens Theatre. I am absolutely thrilled that the Citz has reopened after about seven years. It’s one of my favourite theatres and we have seen some fantastic productions there in the past. Its opening play is Small Acts of Love and what a brilliant play it is. The cast was led by that fine Scottish actress Blythe Duff, but actually there was no principal actor because they all played multiple parts. The play was about how the people of Lockerbie supported each other and the families of the American victims of the Lockerbie disaster in 1988. I remember it so well. It was a musical play with the music written by Ricky Ross, and the stories the acting and the music where all excellent, and very moving. Gordon and Morag were there too and we were chatting with him at the interval. Afterwards we set off with Lesley and Chris to walk back to their car, which we had left on the other side of the river. However, as we approached Albert Bridge we saw that it was taped off by the police with lots of emergency vehicles including river rescue. This meant we had to take a detour down to Saint Andrew’s suspension bridge and back up through Glasgow Green. It was a fine mild evening so that was no hardship, but I did wonder what incident had happened. There was nothing in the news so it may have been a training exercise. 

Northern Renaissance again

Another beautiful sunny day; a pale blue sky without a single cloud. Today was my first of a course of ten Northern Renaissance History of Art classes. Eagle eyed readers will notice that I attended this very course a year ago with James. However, although I enjoyed it very much, I didn’t feel that I got the best out of it because I didn’t do any extra reading or research. So when I came to look for an interesting class this autumn, I thought, “Why not do Northern Renaissance again?” James declined to join me because he felt that once was enough. When I arrived at the class, I noticed that it was a different lecturer from last year. I thought this was just as well because it might have seemed a bit odd to turn up again, as if I was some sort of geriatric Art groupie. And of course all the attendees were new to me, although mostly of the same post retirement demographic. I had looked forward to finding the coursework to be extremely familiar and well within my comfort zone. However, I actually found it quite difficult. I still have the same problem with understanding the difference between Northern Renaissance art and Italian Renaissance art. I will need to look into it further. The lecturer is a cheerful young chap but he moved fast through the topics and it certainly didn’t feel like a beginners class; thank goodness I have covered the subject before, otherwise I think I would’ve been rather lost.
Afterwards I decided to walk through Kelvingrove Park to Exhibition Centre station because it was such a nice day. The park was busy with school kids on their way home, student, parents and children. The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn orange and yellow, but it didn’t look like full autumn yet. I was surprised at how short the walk was; less than two kilometres.