What’s the Story in Dalamory

We are in the wilds again – up an isolated farm track. The dog is in canine heaven, both because of the hundreds of acres of space and her step-family. The site for the campervan is both convenient and reasonably priced. The innovation that has pleased me most about the motorhome is the electric hook-up. No problem over worrying about running down the batteries with lights etc.

My confession is that it is nice to be away from the parish. Even though I am off sick, it is hard not to feel responsible and involved in the doings of the churches. But that is what comes of living o­n top of the job, as it were.

It is hard enough trying to remember all the names of the grandchildren. Life has suddenly got more complicated trying to remember the names of the ducks and hens.

Suggestions for enjoying growing older

1. Have a pensioner’s cut price meal of fish and chips.
2. Set up a website of things to do to take advantage of a senior travel card.
3. Go to a film on a pensioner’s day. (Either Walt Disney or sex and murder.)

Citylink buses are quiet, clean and efficient. Trains are dirty, noisy and bumpy. Living in a place like Seil, this matters. My o­nly complaint is that the three daily buses to Glasgow and the three daily trains are all more or less at the same time. (8-00ish; 12-00ish and 6-00pm ish.)

Best of all – o­n the bus I get to use my senior travel card. Still, as of this week I am allowed to drive again. The month-long ban o­n driving has made me even more aware of the problems faced in rural areas by those without their own transport.

Like half the nation I have become interested in tracing the ancestors. But just reading the “How to” magazines gives me a headache.

The o­nly word I can use to describe the Argyll Square Christmas decorations in Oban is – Yuk!

Each year is a struggle when it comes to printing out address labels for Christmas Cards. This year it has taken five and a half hours of getting to grips with the mailmerge, the programme and the printer. It would have taken a fraction of the time to write the envelopes by hand.

Still it is a good occupation for a wet day.

I came across this the other day. It rather appeals…..

Besides the noble art of getting things done,
there is the noble art of leaving things undone.
The wisdom of life consists
in the elimination of nonessentials.

Lin Yutang

Almost 2000 “hits” last month. Still far short of September's record. The question has to be whether or not I want people unknown to me to read the blog. Some bloggers write mainly for themselves, but I prefer to do that with fountain pen and a journal. So why do we bloggers write? The answer has to be somewhere along the lines of a desire to connect or to be understood.

Heaven forbid that it should be to be liked!

I've been experiencing broadband this week. It makes an enormous difference. Now I understand why everyone says it changes your life. o­n Seil we have to wait until March for the big switch o­n, but the way the weeks are going past makes that seem not too far away.

Mozilla Firefox  also helps with browsing. It is a bit difficult to explain to devotees of Internet Explorer, but I have been fed up with security glitches, so was willing to try for myself. If you like swift exploration of sites and having multiple downloads of sites o­n the go, have a look for yourself at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/