Out & About - Edinburgh Festival

August 08 - here, there and everywhere

With Edinburgh Festival madness upon us again, Michael's older sister Vanessa was up working at the Festival, both talent spotting for writers and producing a TV comedy pilot. Unfortunately, her free days coincided with days when I had long-standing social arrangements (a friend's BBQ and a dinner party) so we ended up meeting up with her in between shows on a Friday - I took a day's leave - and on a Saturday daytime. I even had to turn down the offer of attending the Perrier Award Winners' party to go to my dinner party back in Stirling, although Michael turned it down cos he hates big parties!

Having a drink in Edinburgh - Michael & his sister Vanessa

We (ok, I) struggled to get up early on the last Saturday of the Festival to get to Edinburgh for 10.30am to watch the comedy that Vanessa was producing - 'The Emergency Family'. There were various actors who had volunteered to take on the parts and who had only rehearsed together a few times before performing the 2 pilot episodes of the comedy series. I was surprised that they used their scripts but it worked and was pretty funny in places (Vanessa didn't write it). There were a few faces I recognised including a very old-looking Michael Barrymore.

Edinburgh was heaving with people and we just wanted to get away from Princes Street to somewhere a bit saner and quieter.

Dinner party - ladies' night. Left to right: Nicki, Wendy, Jenny, Georgia, Gemma

I cycled to my ladies' dinner party in nearby Bridge of Allan prefering that option to the bus or a taxi. I knew I would be having a few drinks but felt that I'd either cycle home or as a last resort get a taxi. When it finally came time to leave in the early hours, it was peeing with rain and I was a bit the worse for wear. Anyway, Nicki and I decided to cycle home together, on the (empty) footpaths, with no bike lights and got very, very wet. At the half way point I started to feel very tired and questionned the wisdom of my decision. I got home soaking wet and muddy.

The party was good- we had a dinner provided by 3 different people- I did the starter (avocado, papaya & pine nuts in lime juice and ginger) which looked like a wreck but tasted good (presentation- nul point) - Jenny & Georgia our hosts provided fish pie for mains and then we had a rather tasty summer fruit pudding for dessert. Oh yes, and lots of wine. We then played stupid games including pass the parcel, a board game called Articulate (my team won but only cos there were no questions on sport or science) and a card game reminiscent of musical chairs - all of which resulted in a great deal of hilarity.

Sunday was spent 'relaxing' while the rest of the girls went on a hill walk- they must be mad!

Me on Ben Ledi - lovely light and purple heather on the hills

As I had taken Monday off, Mic & I went on a gentle hill walk up Ben Ledi and only got rained on a bit- the rest of the time we had sun. The streams and river were really flowing fast and our normal crossing point over the stream was deeper than usual meaning we spent ten minutes trying to figure out how to cross without falling in, testing rocks and depth etc. In the end I walked straight through it while Michael opted to return the way we'd come and met me further along the path (I think he just didn't want to spoil his new suede hillwalking boots although he claimed he didn't want wet feet!)

Trains, Planes & Delays

Over the past month I have been up and down to Oxford and London 3 times for work. I prefer to get the train when I can for my green conscience. On one trip I did resort to the plane for fear of Sunday engineering works on the railways but it would have taken the same time to get the train - since the plane was delayed 2 hours - and would've been less hassle!

I get really peed off with the cost of trains mind you. It cost £48 for a single flight from Edinburgh to Birmingham- but a return train ticket from Oxford to London was £50 - it's ridiculous! The trains are too expensive and the planes are too cheap. Why would people spend £100s on a train when they could get to the same destination faster for less by air?

I had 2 days in London and walked my feet off going round the shops on Oxford street before I had to run a focus group in the evening. My boss Sally flew down to run the group with me - (having twice forgotten her purse, borrowing 40 quid off a taxi driver and finally making it from Edinburgh) then afterwards, before getting our train, we went to a nice wee Indian restaurant near Euston which has been there since the 80s. But, as we ate a fight broke out in the restaurant- not between diners or a diner and staff but between 2 staff!

I took the sleeper train for the first time that night- misnomer extraordinaire - sleep is the last thing you do! It was like a small garden shed with a bed and sink and a window. I wasn't sure what to expect. In first class you get a cabin to yourself rather than sharing the same cabin with a stranger. You put in your breakfast order as you board the train where a nice lady asks you what you want and at what time. In your cabin you get a complimentary toiletry bag and a clean towel - I got a new eye mask in my bag, a mini deodorant, toothbrush, face cream etc. I had just bought some travel toiletries and needn’t have bothered! No ear plugs but I had my own anyway - even so the sound of metal grinding on metal is not conducive to sleep.

Some strange/ worrying things I encountered on my various trips included a young woman under the influence of I'm not sure what lighting up in the seats next to me on the train then passing out, ciggie still in hand burning the plastic interior of the carriage...(she did eventually get removed, shoes on the wrong feet, by traffic cops). At Edinburgh airport I was bemused to see 'organs for transplant' being checked in at the usual check-in desks in what looked like a small plastic pet carrier and a large young woman at check-in bending over in a short dress to sort her bag only to reveal enormous white knickers (think Bridget Jones tummy control pants) and sheer purple tights with enormous holes in them around the crotch...ooh nice! I didn't have the heart to tell her what she'd just shared with the entire check-in queue!

Sun, rain & scary mountains

Aberfoyle July 08
The summer hasn't been good anywhere in the UK this year but now and again we get a lovely sunny day so we make the most of it. Mind you, even if it rains we go out walking! When we want a nice gentle walk Michael and I often go to Aberfoyle and just do one of the marked trails through the forest park- we rarely meet anyone on them, most people stick to the car park and lodge area and the adventure park 'Go Ape' thing with death slides and things.

A hot sunny day near Aberfoyle

Scary mountain - Ben Lawers, 2nd Aug 08
Our friend from near Barcelona, Toni, who's a really keen mountaineer and climber, often suggests a weekend walk and he has the maps and leads the walk for us. This time we went up to Ben Lawers national park near Killin with 2 new friends - Alexandra from France and Rosalia another Catalan so there were 5 of us including me and Nicki.

Toni drove and as usual the drive up was wonderfully scenic - we even saw a golden eagle near Ben Ledi balancing on a telegraph wire - another first for me! We came scarily close to the many enormous tour coaches on the narrow, twisty Scottish roads, it being full tourist season. Killin was the busiest I’ve seen it with many tourists admiring the white waters of the 'Falls of Dochart' and the village main street.

Another day, another mountain. Looking pretty wet as we near the summit and peaks of Ben Lawers - Nicki, Toni, Alexandra (in Michael's old jacket) & me

The girls Alex and Rosalia, who are only here working at the uni for the summer, had only brought fashion jackets and jumpers to walk in but with heavy rain forecast I offered to lend them a couple of coats (they certainly needed them)– when they suggested just using an umbrella I realised perhaps they weren’t expecting a mountain walk but a ramble!

We started around 12 noon from the car park at Ben Lawers- there was heavy rain and it rained for the entire ascent, more or less, then typically there was gorgeous sunshine for much of the descent! I was cautious not to go too fast as I had a sore hip- I thought perhaps I had jarred it on a previous hill walk but now remember pulling a muscle when messing about in the swimming pool with my nephews in York (a visit to the doctor since then confirmed it's probably just a strain, but possibly a hernia which will reveal itself through a swelling and severe pain in a few weeks... ouch!). So I was taking it slowly to avoid aggravating the pain and Alex also went at a slow pace to enjoy the views.

I did find the first 30 minutes of the walk the hardest, as is often the case, and think that eating a big banana just before starting the walk certainly didn't help! Toni is a pretty fast walker - although he describes his pace as moderate - so when I can keep up I am pleased with myself! This time I definitely wasn't keeping up!

The ridge- wet, misty & very steep - urgh!

The ridge, which runs along a number of adjacent munro peaks, was in thick mist and was narrow, as you'll see in the photos - not something I'd fancy trying in the snow. As we started the descent we came across a very steep, rocky and muddy section. As I was trying to work out which route down was the safest I froze as I heard a women screaming for a full 30 seconds. I looked down the very steep moutain side in horror fully expecting to see a woman tumbling down the slope, then lying limp and broken. Toni, Nicki and Rosali were ahead of Alex and I and Toni could see what had happened- he called back to reassure us the person was ok but it gave me a fright and the danger of the rocky section became very real.

At last, the sun comes out on the descent - Rosalia (in one of my jackets!) admiring the view. The man who fell down the rocks is walking in the distance.

Alex and I decided we'd rather go back the way we had come but Toni assured us that this was the only steep and rocky section from now on- I couldn't see a way down and had visions of slipping. After a long time glued to one spot, Toni helped me to manouevre my way down safely, mostly shuffling on my bum, but I was worried about falling and taking him with me. The rocks were wet, the muddy sections were sodden and loose and my boots' soles do not bend to grip to rocks. The girl behind me was only wearing trainers so I was worried about her too.

As we came round the bend we saw a man sitting with his head in his hands and a woman standing near him - it was the man who had slipped and fallen and his friend who had screamed having seen him fall and 'land on his head' as she described it (the person who falls rarely has time to scream). He wasn't bleeding or unconscious and luckily was able to walk so we accompanied them the long walk back to the car park where his female friend took him off to the hopsital for a check over. You do get a bit blase when you do a lot of walking but it brought back to me how things can go easily wrong- I didn't have a first aid kit or a survival bag with me and mobiles do not work up these hills. We felt very relieved that the acccident hadn't been worse.

When we got back to the car the rain had gone and it was beautifully sunny - we could now see the peaks we'd climbed. Purple heather in the foreground.

When we got back to the car, the sun was glorious and the views amazing so we ate our packed lunches, took some photos and enjoyed the views. It certainly didn't look dangerous now. Luckily I had a change of clothes as my backside was very wet and muddy. We headed off to one of the hotel pub's in Killin afterwards for tea/ beer and finally got home by around 7pm.

Summer travels

York Summer hols, July 08
I was so looking forward to a holiday after a busy, stressful time at work and had planned to have a family holiday near York with mum, dad, Kate and her 2 kids for a week. We drove down in 2 cars- Kate and I with the boys and mum and dad in his new Audi which he is ‘breaking in’. As the kids are only 6 and 3 we needed to break up the journey for them so stopped twice on the way there, taking our time and letting them run around and use the play parks. One of the places, a farm shop and café had a trampoline in the grounds that was incredibly popular with all the kids who were there – we hadn’t realised it was wet so they all came off with soggy socks!

Holiday cottage near Claxton, York - Dad, Ruben & Mum

Dad had found a holiday cottage near Claxton about 6 miles from York in grounds with 12 cottages and a small indoor heated pool, outdoor tennis courts and a play park. The countryside around the cottages was flat fields which was strange to me after the hills I am now used to around Stirling. We had a nest of 5 baby swallows in the eaves outside the kitchen and dining room and spent time every day watching which chick was getting fed, whether any had perished (none did but one greddy one got very fat), and being amazed at how often and for how long the parents fed them- apparently it tots up to 7000 insects a day which they catch on the wing!


Video clip of swallow family taken by dad on his camera

We barely saw any of the other families staying there for the entire week and only once had to share the pool with another family- who got out pretty soon after we got in (one advantage of having small kids with you!). There was only 1 day when we didn’t use the pool as we were late home after visiting my mum’s sister Janet at the campsite she and Byron were staying on not far from us (they have got a spanking new campervan with all mod cons- I am jealous. Byron even tows his smart car behind it).

The Shambles in York- Mum & Dan by Chocolate shop

Although there were a few downpours we mostly had good and sunny weather and had a glorious hot day on Scarborough beach where I and my sisters had spent some happy childhood hols with mum, dad and our grandparents. It hasn’t changed and I have a memory from when I was only 3 of the steep hill going from the beach up to the hotel we stayed in – sadly the fountain where we used to wash the sand off our feet was no longer there but the hill was just the same as I remembered. Strange that you can have such clear memories from such a young age - it obviously left an impression on me!

Scarborough beach where we spent childhood holidays - it hasn't changed!

We tried to do things that would appeal to the kids- the Transport Museum and large ‘Ferris wheel’, the beach, a miniature steam railway ride and so on. They are easily amused anyway and loved the pool and the beach which is enormous and sandy with loads of sun-warmed rock pools to explore and sit in - many near the shore had anenomes in them.

The traditional British deck chairs - Mum with spa in background

On another day trip to Scarborough to Peasholm park (they were closing early to prepare for their annual naval battle re-enactment on the pond - I was worried about what would happen to all the ducks) and the railway, we were in fog all day- the ‘har’ - and it was quite cold although only 10 miles away from the coast was warm sun and no fog to be seen! The town centre was pretty much like Blackpool with amusement arcades, tourist shops, pubs and neon.

We went to York as well for a look around and looked at the wee, cobbled back streets, York Minster, the half-timbered houses and the nice park. On Friday morning I also took a bit of time out to do a bit of clothes shopping in the town- not very successfully, mind you. Evenings were spent playing yahtzee and drinking wine after the kids had gone to bed.

Shame that the return journey to Glasgow took around 8 hours due to an accident on the A66 and the need to stop to give the boys a break. But with only 1 minor squabble in a week (that's the adults - not the kids who squabbled every day), it was a success and a great distraction from work (only dreamt of focus groups once) and a nice change of scene. I didn't touch a computer all week - a miracle for me!