The Journey Home

The journey home from Glasgow was a much more leisurely affair last week.  I drove up the West Coast of Scotland to Balmacara Square just before the bridge to Skye and met David and Molly who had driven up from the Borders.  Actually Molly didn't do any of the driving: she left it all to David.

 Coming up to Rannoch Moor I was astonished to see that there was still snow on the North faces.

Close up

 Looking across Rannoch Moor: as bleak and remote and beautiful as anywhere in Scotland

 and again

Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye Bridge

The Bridge approach road from the car's onboard camera

Nestled in the bosom of the hills 

The grandeur of the mountains of Skye 

 The Cuillins from Sligachan

Uig on Skye: the Harris ferry approaching the jetty

Arriving at Tarbert on Harris

Soon Be Home, DV NP.

You may not have noticed (though some of you have - thank you for your enquiries) I've been away.   I went down to Ayrshire (south and west of Glasgow for the non-Scots amongst my readers) for a cancer consultation and, whilst I was at it, I spent a few days visiting friends.  Everything was very positive.  Now I'm on my way home again sitting in bed on a beautiful sunny morning before breakfast which is served at 8am where I am staying.  Hopefully I'll be returning to Blogland tonight or tomorrow.  However David (of David and Molly the Dog) is returning to stay as well and there are more projects planned.  David likes projects.  Actually David just likes work and being busy so long as it's outdoors.  It could be a very busy ten days. 

The reason I have time to type this is that I have just had a long and solid sleep and woke at several hours later than I usually do.  Or so I thought.  In fact instead of my usual summer getting up time of around 6.30 or earlier I thought I had woken at 7.50.  I was up and showered and dressed in a flash (we Edwardses could never stand the stigma of being late even for breakfast) and as I put my watch on I realised that it was 7am on the dot and not 8am.  So I had a whole hour 'free'.  

After breakfast there will be a leisurely morning through Skye until we have to be at the ferry at 1300.

Yesterday: Change

Last Wednesday I suddenly decided to replace the wooden internal window ledge in my kitchen with a while plastic one.  I'd started the job about ten years ago but abandoned it temporarily when I realised I couldn't fit the new one on top of the old one because there wasn't quite enough clearance for the vertical blinds.  So what I though was a nice quick job that would be finished in time for morning coffee turned out to be a day's work finishing just before 5pm.

However by this time I was in change mode.  So ordered the new bed that I'd been thinking about for several years.  Then I decided that although the bedroom had been recently decorated (in 2002 - I'm not a great one for change for change's sake) it could possibly do with a new coat of paint before the new bed came.  So I emptied it and prepared everything for the painting to start yesterday.  I was just intending to do the ceiling.  I ended up doing the ceiling and the walls.  Job finished.  (It's all the preparation and masking that takes the real time).   By 5pm my back and paint-brush-holding hand were aching so preparing dinner for Pat and Dave was a welcome relief. 

We had a cracking evening and eventually stopped eating and talking around 11.30pm. All my tiredness and aches had gone with the food (possibly the wine helped too).  It was a beautiful evening and I had no lights on in the house so we hadn't realised how late it had got.  

So this is yesterday and this morning in pictures taken from the front of my house (unfortunately those at 3.40 am were taken through my windows because the midges were just too bad for me to be bothered going outside with so much flesh exposed).

Yesterday morning - 0750 - flat calm sea

Yesterday evening - 2327 - almost the longest day

This morning - 0344 - a beautiful morning in prospect

This morning - 0709 - the mist and rain's set in.  This is Scotland after all.

It's The Way That You Ask

Jenny, author of the blog An English Travel Writer posted Signs of The Times yesterday.  As always it was an interesting post and, as always it had some unusual and interesting photos in addition to information: Jenny is, after all, a travel writer (amongst other things).  She also has a very keen eye for good photos.  However today what realy struck me was the wonderful psychology evident in this notice:

© Jenny Woolf whose permission I have cheekily assumed she would give if I asked.
Thank you Jenny.  I know you are busy

Evidence on the day seemed to suggest that it works!

It reminded me of an equally interesting notice that Pauline and I saw in Northland on our last visit:

Even Pauline turned back and that has to be a first!