The Scottish Tourist Board are re-running part of their Autumn Gold campaign to get people to come to Scotland. Ironic that we are going to be going to Somerset for an autumn break in a week or two. It reminds me that we only need to look around to see the glories of creation and it is only a short step from there to contemplate the beauty and love of God.
Enjoy today.
Two items worthy of note this mroning. First of all – we have water! only it is white and disgusting looking. I am assured this is only due to air in the pipes, nonetheless it is as well there is still some bottled water left.
Second item of news is that the new non-stick bathmat from Tesco's is definitely not non-stick. My back is sore to prove it. This is going to necessitate a trip to the store to advise them of the facts and to try and make sure they withdraw the product before someone is seriously injured. I've just had to take painkillers, but at least I haven't broken anything. Nothing other than a dent to my pride. Well it is not very nice to be slipping, slurping and being a cartoon character whilst stark naked under the shower. Especially when one is still half asleep!
Our water is off at the moment. When six bottles of water were delivered at night and left just inside the garden gate, I should have realised it would still be off tomorrow. Him Behind the Wheel says it's nothing when you think of the people of New Orleans. Neither it is, but it makes you realise how much we take our basic facilities (electric, water, oil etc….) for granted. I believe there is a burst under the main road in the village, so it will be upsetting the flow of traffic as well. Everyone says that the pipes are old and out of date. I wonder how long it will take the Water Board to accept that and do something about it.
The countdown is on till B-Day…….. the expected date of arrival of the newest grandchild is at the end of this month. This will be the first child for Chris and Karen. I don't know who is more excited, the prospective parents or the grandparents. The only antidote to the nerves for me is to knit furiously.
Pity I cannot seem to work out how to do buttonholes properly. Apart from that the finished articles are quite good. (Very small of course!)
Lest anyone be in any doubt, it is not so much that Presbytery is dire, rather that I am! Or rather my stamina let me down.
For the uninitiated, the presbyterian system is a means of ordering Church of Scotland business in a particular area. Ours is the Presbytery of Argyll, which is a vast geographical area covering many islands as well. Ministers and Elders gather together four times a year to process the nuts and bolts of business, though much of the groundwork is already done by committees under delegated powers. Even the foregoing explanation sounds dry and dusty, and like all business meetings, this one can suffer from the tedium of minutiae. I simply got overtired with it all. It was lovely to see folk, but four and a half hours of paying attention, sitting in the one place is wearing in itself. Then there was the travel there and back.
My thoughts are encapsulated by the person handing out the badges at the beginning; she found mine in amongst the retired ministers and said, “But you don't have to be here!”
The motorhome is due in for minor repairs today. The folding step isn't going up and down. Let's face it, this is not such a minor repair when you are veritically challenged like me. I will be glad when it is done.
Songs of Praise tonight from the new church hymnary at Taynuilt. The new book is excellent as far as material goes, and people always love a good sing. Well worth the effort!
Dalmally Show must rate as one of the best of the local agricultural shows around. Highlights included the childrens' section in the dog show (especially when Poppy of many breeds and rather large and shaggy, slipped her collar and out of the ring altogether); Highland cattle determined to go their own way; non-stop shinty; Argyll Animal Aid refreshment tent; meeting up with someone I hadn't seen in over twenty years…….
But the prize in my day goes to the falconry display: flying on the wing and to the lure, and the peregrine being dive-bombed by local sparrows. It has encouraged me to revive my list of Sixty Things to do in my Sixtieth Year…… most of them did not get done because of ill health. I am obviously feeling better now, because No 1 at the top of the list is going to be to treat myself to a half-day at the local falconry school.
It is Dalmally Show today…… When we first moved here someone thrust a catalogue in my hand. Two things struck me then; the first was that I really must get myself motivated to enter some photography or artwork, the second was that the arrival of the show itself would mean that summer was more or less over. The entries never did materialise and the weather still thinks it is summer.
I'm not complaining.
