0444 - Again?

Twice this week I have woken with 0444 showing on the bedside digital clock.  That's the trouble with digital clocks:  it's never 'a quarter to five' or 'half past six' any more.  It's time accurate to a minute.  Assuming, that is, that the clock is accurate.  Mine tend to be.  I'm just like that.  An accurate clock person.   My main clock in the house is one of those clocks controlled by the radio time signal from Rugby and, of course, all the internet devices automatically correct themselves.

Sometimes this accuracy causes me problems.  When I drove one of The Family's cars in New Zealand the time was never accurate so it would throw me because I automatically made the basic assumption that it was.

It's all part of the Edwards Family need to be on time for appointments or at least not to be late.

What I was really thinking when I started this was just how coincidental it was to wake twice at the same time within three days given that my bedtimes vary within a three hour time gap.

Each year when I return I forget just how much catching up there is to do and how much adjusting.  Whilst I am away Pat aka Spesh looks after my affairs and without that my stay away would be, if not impossible, certainly very much harder.  Thank you Pat.  

David and Molly leave tomorrow.  Where did the week go?

 Molly looks rather sinister don't you think?  She's not.  She has a lovely nature (unless you're a cat!)

The RNLI Stornoway Lifeboat has a new home since I left last October.

What a Difference a Day Makes

I know most of you will have seen this view before but I thought that, after yesterday's dreich photo, I would show the view from my kitchen window in a more favourable light as it was this morning.  It really is a beautiful place.

This afternoon David and I went to see how Gaz was spending his few days of leave.  He was playing with his big boy's toy and digging a trench from the house to the road for the mains services.  I really would like one of those to dig the trenches for the proposed polytunnel I'm hoping to put in this summer.

Home and Dry

I arrived home on Lewis yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.  So home, yes but dry? Who am I kidding?  

There is a good Old Scots* word, dreich.  There is no finer word for describing a particular Scottish weather: the type of Scottish weather that we have been having since I returned to Scotland last Tuesday.  The type of weather seen from my kitchen window at 0630 this morning:

It's cold.  It's wet.  It's miserable.  It's misty.  It's dreary.  It's dreich!   It's my Scottish HOME!

It is one week ago New Zealand time that I left my New Zealand home for my Scottish one.  Where did that week go?  Well apart from spending about 30 hours in the air and what seemed like the same amount in airports I spent a lovely few days with a friend in Glasgow catching up and having a rest.  I'm fortunate in not suffering from the ill effects of jet lag and, on this occasion, despite sitting next to a couple snorting and spluttering with cold (there would appear to be cultures where the handkerchief is considered bad manners but spreading germs isn't)  on the leg from Auckland to Brisbane I haven't got a cold either.

A bonus is that David and Molly arrived last night.  I'm sure there will be photos for Molly's adoring public.  David is good company because there are lots of jobs to be done and David loves doing jobs! It must be something about the name because Pat's Dave has been keeping my grass cut.  Thanks Dave!  Gaz arrived back on the Island the day before me for a short break.  So that'll be more catching up.

Anyway I thought that I'd let you know that I have arrived and that this is going to be a busy and wonderful week.

* There seems to be considerable debate as to its origin and a trawl of the different dictionaries this morning would seem to indicate anything from Greek through Scandinavian and Norse to Middle English.

A Sudden Realisation

Yesterday was an Interesting Day (with apologies to Sellars and Yeatman).  It was to be a simple day.  I wanted a polarising filter for the new camera and a new camera case (I'm keeping the Sony for the time being) and some Guerlin Lilia Bella perfume for Wendy in NZ.

I got the perfect camera bag in Merchant City Cameras - a wonderful and unassuming camera emporium - but no converter needed for the camera to take a polarising filter.  It has come to something, though, when all the rest of the photography shops I went into suggested I buy one from Amazon.  The perfume has been discontinued.  We met various friends for 'farewell' coffees though.

I was looking at the television news recently when the UK's Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare was speaking.  I thought how young she looked.  Policemen have looked young for decades but somehow I still except members of the Government to appear a little older  than someone not long out of uni (even Merton College, Oxford).  In reality she's not that far off 40.  Several years ago my brother pointed out that I was not that far off my allotted three score years and ten.  Suddenly I am realising how correct he is.  However I'm firmly of the view that 70 is the new 55.   Good job really given that future generations may well not be retiring until the age I am now.

I am now sitting airside in Glasgow Airport with about 20 minutes to the flight being called.  It's been a full and enjoyable few days with a golden wedding thrown in for good measure. What has suddenly become scary though - harking back to the last paragraph - is that it's my generation that is celebrating its golden weddings.

The Emirates route is Dubai, Melbourne and then Auckland where I should arrive 1400 hours local time Tuesday.  Then it's just a short hop to Napier where I should arrive 'home' 1745 hours Tuesday.

And then my Kiwi resumes.

Bye for now: see you in a couple of days.

In the meantime this is what I will be doing a lot of: