Friday 11th April.
Walked and swam as usual and were able to tell Sarah we were
off to the Opera tonight. I wonder if she thinks we make all this stuff up just
to appear cultured? Before that there was the little matter of Lunch with
Lollster and Mum and then the Flute itself this evening.
Work was much as the rest of the week had been. I kept a
tally of how much digitising I had done during the five days and I have done
masses. I think even Mrs Briggs is surprised. [She was surprised by Mr Carr
chatting to me for over an hour, yesterday, that is for sure.]
We had lunch in an Indian that I hadn’t tried before but
their pillau rice was amongst the best I have ever tasted. I think we’ll be
going back there again in the new semester. I had sag murg, Loll had her usual
Rogan josh, although they had a king prawn version, so she had that. Mum went
for a Jalfrezi (which is what I often have). We shared a spoonful of each
other’s like we normally do and I was surprised at how spicy their Jalfrezi
was, too. Visiting this restaurant was a good call, I feel. It was Loll’s
choice; she said she had heard some of the undergrads talking about how good it
was but it was a bit on the expensive side.
I had a chat with the manager after we’d eaten (he came
across to see if we had enjoyed our meal) and I asked if they did lunch time
specials? He told me that they were thinking of doing a Thali stlye special
during the summer semester to gauge the reaction to it. I said if they’d had
that on offer today there were three women who would have gone for that option
everytime.
Loll and Mum went off into town together, in Mum’s car, so I
drove myself back to XXX & Y to finish my day’s work. When I got home Mum
was there too helping Laura prepare the marvellous chicken and pasta dish we
sometimes do, which she stole from Dominic. The plan was; we were going to
drive in convoy into town and then after the show head our different ways home.
Mum was having a huge bout of, “I wish I had agreed to come with you -itis.” I
told her that she still could if she wanted but she had an excuse so readily to
hand I guess the reason she couldn’t was genuine.
The Magic Flute. Maybe I should call it the Magic
Lampshades. They certainly seemed to be an abundance of them in the production
design, that’s for sure. The set was blue with huge steps and doors in the
grouping of three, of course. The chorus was pretty impressive and very
imaginatively used to make the spectacle flow seamlessly.
I thought Pencarreg’s Papageno was delightfully done, but
for me the true test is how well the Queen of the Night’s aria is performed…
Der Holle Rache kocht im meinem Herzen. I thought she was excellent. She made
it sound so simple to reach those high notes which make it a delight to listen
to and murder to try and copy.
Overall I think it was its simplicity which won the day for
me. We saw a really over-elaborate and complicated version in Norwich when I
was younger which could have put me off for life if it hadn’t been for the
beauty of the Mozart. Here the simplicity of the staging and set brought the essence
of the lovers’ search. You have to believe in Tamino and Pamina, in this one
you really did. I thought it was a brilliant production and would make a good
introduction to a first timer opera-goer.
We didn’t see Mrs Briggs here tonight, but I didn’t think
she would be. I hadn’t mentioned we were going and so it may not have been on
her radar. A one nighter isn’t as well publicised as whole week’s residency, I
find.
We parted company with Mum in the car park and flew back
home where Laura loaded our pre-packed suitcases into the car as I walked
Callie. That way she wouldn’t see what was afoot and get all silly and excited.
(She does when we bring out a suitcase or holdall!)
Saturday 12th April.
Up before the larks with the woofie. I took her for her usual
early morning stroll and then she had her brekkers while Laura and I had a
piece, or two, of toast each. Suitably refreshed we hit the road at just about
6am. The route, going up the M1 and A1 to Scotch Corner makes you think you are
covering much more ground than winding your way over Woodhead to hit the
Manchester Ring road system and eventually the M60, M61 and M6! I am so glad we
found that the distance using this new (to us) alternative route is only two
miles longer to Tallentire than going the way I just mentioned. The traffic was
almost non-existent and we hit the Penrith services on the M6 at round about
8.20am.
I gave Callie a comfort break and we then went and had a
full cooked breakfast. Yummy in our tummy. Laura took over the driving for this
bit and I think she was a bit more restrained that I was on the motorway
section. Even so we arrived at Ardrossan at almost 11.30am.
We swapped drivers again, I pulled straight up to the kiosk
and had a shock as the man said the next sailing was a full price one. I had my
book of six sailings as a present from my Dad and that was all he’d given me,
no paperwork, nor rules and limitations spelled out anywhere. I didn’t know
there were restrictions on their use. I explained this to the man in the kiosk
as winningly as was possible and eventually he seemed to come round to my way
of thinking; especially as we had booked a crossing on the 12.30 sailing in
advance. He said he would let us on this time but in future we must look out
for the full fare times on the published timetable – those were the ones we
couldn’t use the six book tickets on!
I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one over on the guy. I
honestly didn’t know about the restrictions on travel. I think he must have
sensed that, and coupled with the fact he could see I was telling the truth
about my Dad having bought the tickets as a present for my birthday seemed to
make up his mind for him. It is so nice to meet a man in a uniform who doesn’t
become an officious ‘jobsworth’ the moment his tie is tightened! I could have
got out of the car and hugged him.
As we were about an hour early we parked up about fifth in
line for the crossing, which probably meant we’d be on the elevated section (I
told Laura). Sure enough, we were, third car back. This meant as soon as we had
switched off and locked up I asked Loll to run up to the restaurant and get a
place in the queue. She hared off and I checked Callie was OK before rushing
up, in a Ladylike manner, to join her. She was third in the queue when I joined
her and I ordered a bacon bap with an egg as my lunch. We had started eating
before the last of vehicles were loaded and were on our second round of mugs of
tea as the ship eased out of Ardrossan for the island.
The ferry was pretty busy, which sort of surprised me as
Good Friday isn’t until next week. It must mean that the schools had broken up
early for their Easter holidays too. We walked to the front and watched, in the
bitingly cold wind, Brodick draw nearer and nearer. The sheltered nature of the
Firth of Clyde makes the sea here much less rough than say, the Ferry to
Shetland or even out to Lewis and the Western Isles, so we had a swell but
nothing to cause worry to unsure sailors. Being a salty sea-dog’s daughter, I
had no trouble with it at all. Laura seemed to be bearing up pretty well too. I
think this was only the fifth time she has been on the sea, and the last two
times were with me coming to and from Arran!
The snag with being on the elevated section of the ferry
means you are among the last of the vehicles off, the good point is you don’t
have to rush down to get in your car! We ambled back down the stairs; I opened
the boot and ruffled Callie’s ears for her and then we settled down to wait to
be lowered down.
Our first port of call on the Island was the co-op and stack
up on essential supplies. We had sort of planned a menu for the week and bought
for it here.
There were four bags of groceries to fit into the car and a
bag of dog food. Luckily we hadn’t brought too much luggage with us and it all
went in fairly well. We scooted off out of town and over the hill to Lamlash,
then on to Whiting Bay. I thought it politic to call at the site manager’s
office to let him/her know we’d arrived and then we unloaded our gear into my
van! (Well, mine and Dad’s!)
It is brilliant. There are two bedrooms, one with an
en-suite toilet and basin. The second bedroom has twin beds and is a bit on the
narrow side. The kitchen area looks out north up the bay whilst the dining part
looks south and across the firth of Clyde (a bit). The reason why I thought
this was the best model to buy was the fact that the lounge is separated from
the kitchen by a wall and door which makes the whole thing feel less like a
caravan and more like a real house. Even better than that is the fact that the
site fee included a deck being built from the front of the van to the site wall
and, as the van has opening French Doors at the front, we can walk straight out
of the lounge on to the deck. It is brilliant! The deck is built so that a bit
extends down the side of the van to the front door and then there are steps up
to the deck from there. The guy who built the deck had even put a gate on at
the top of the steps so that Callie can’t escape and go for a wander.
Dad had already put out a table and four chairs on the deck,
protected by a plastic cover and fastened to the deck railings to stop them
being blown about, but I was surprised at how sheltered the whole of the site
was. I think we will only get a blow if there is a wind from the east or north
east, every other direction seems to be covered so we don’t get the wind from
that direction! Being a bit obsessive I paced out the deck space and it is just
over fifteen feet by twelve which is larger than the lounge area!
Dad had asked if I would buy a couple of long tarps to put
along the deck railings to act as an extra windbreak on each side. I found the
very ideal thing on line, they are called balcony windbreaks; so, after a swift
mug of tea, Laura and I began the task of installing them. They have eyelets
along the top and bottom and you thread nylon cord through the top row,
wrapping it round the top of the balcony rail to hold in place. Along the
bottom set of eyelets a long length of bungee had been threaded and you need to
fix some hooks into the balcony to fasten the bungee on to. We had brought two
dozen hooks but we realised we’d only need about eight down each side.
Dad and I put together a tool kit for the van during the
time between buying it and moving in. It’s in a huge black plastic tool box which
is really heavy to shift about. He’d told me it was stashed under one of the
beds in the second bedroom. It was. So with the help of the cordless drill I
fastened the hooks into the side of the decking and then looped the bungee over
them. The whole thing works a treat. I was really surprised by the difference
just hanging two strips of tarpaulin along the rails would actually make. As we
were working the site manager came along to see how we were finding the van. He
was impressed by the balcony windbreak but did ask if we could take it down
when our visit ended. [That was always our intention.] I offered him a mug of
tea but he declined saying he had other things to do. They involved noisily
cutting the grass on the site for the next two hours!
Once we’d put up the windbreak we went and unpacked our
stuff and loaded up the cupboards with our food. In the fridge Dad had left a
bottle of Hilmar’s Pink wine and a bottle of Arran distillery Lochranza
whiskey. His note (pinned to the notice board) said they were for me and Laura
to enjoy.
What a star he is.
We had a swift snuggle on the bed and it turned into
something a bit more passionate that went on almost all the way through the
site manager’s grass cutting (I really must ask him his name). We decided that
a shower might be a good idea after all the sweat we had worked up. It was not
as big as my shower at home but my goodness the shower itself was a hell of a
lot more powerful. We managed to get in comfortably and gave each other a
thorough wash.
The plan was to take Callie out for a stroll and have dinner
when we came back. For ease, tonight, we’d bought a couple of co-op ready
meals. We strolled up the track past the cottage we had rented last year and
eventually arrived at the top viewpoint for Glenashdale Falls. Callie had
chased about like a mad thing for most of the walk up to this point, but I
thought it safer to put her on the lead so close to a steep drop.
We walked round to the normal view point for the falls and
then along the forest road to Giant’s Graves. It was cloudy and windy but there
was none of the rain that had been forecast. I love the descent from the Graves
especially as it offers a great view of the whole of the bay plus cottage we
stayed in and (on a clearer day) a magnificent panorama of the high fells north
of Brodick. You can’t see the caravan site from here, which some might consider
is a bonus.
Back at the van we had a proper, sober, sensible look round
everything. It really is lovely. Dad has even put a few items in the freezer,
too. Ice-cream, vegetables, a couple of desserts. We already had a pile of
linen and towels, we’ve yet to arrange how we go about cleaning those things
and bringing them back. We bought a stack of cleaning items, which Dad brought
up too, plus all the pots and pans, cutlery and crockery which we had amassed
in Cumbria. He has the TV and PVR set up he’s even brought the mini hi-fi up
too. I have brought about 300 burned CDs of Classical Music and Dad is going to
do the same with his rocky stuff.
We did talk about leaving some clothes here but he hasn’t
yet. I have brought up a couple of waterproof jackets, one pair of waterproof leggings
and a pair of walking boots. They will live here. I also brought a spare Callie
bed to live here and a complete set of leads, bowls and other dog impedimenta
to leave as well. I even brought up two day rucksacks to leave in the van (I
guess this only goes to show that I seriously have too much stuff at home!)
As there is a bathroom cabinet in both toilets I also
brought some toiletries to leave here too. Talc, antiperspirant, toothpaste and
toothbrushes, perfume and of course a selection of emergency sanitary supplies!
It is quite exciting, like setting up home again. Two things we don’t have are
a wok or a pair of scales.
We heated up the meals and wolfed them down with a delicious
continental cherry and custard tart for afters. The bottle of Hilmar’s wine was
dispatched pretty summarily and we also opened one of the ones we’d brought up
too!
We rounded off the evening with watching TV, although I must
admit my eyes were closing throughout Inspector Da Luca. I sort of thought they
would so I took the precaution of trying out the PVR to record it. I completely
missed the last few minutes and was startled awake by Laura gently shaking my
shoulder saying, “Time for bed, sleepy! I have taken Callie for her last walk
on the beach and we can just hit the charp…”
I didn’t need telling twice. Electric blankets are a
wonderful idea. I had planned to demonstrate just how much I loved this slender
blonde angel when we got into bed but I must have been pushing the zeds almost
as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Sunday April 13th.
Not quite the same
weather as yesterday, which was a pity. Much more cloud and rainy spells,
mingled with really blindly good spells of sunshine. The trouble was it didn’t
seem to know which of the three to be so we kept getting one after the other.
We had wanted to have our first breakfast on the deck but the weather put paid
to that. We sat at our kitchen table and watched the seasons change in front of
eyes three times during the space of about half an hour!
I decided to dodge the spots to rush down the front to fetch
the newspaper. I was going to get them when I took Callie for her morning walk
but of course I had forgotten that the papers came across with the first ferry
and so they hadn’t arrived. Silly baggage!
I bought the Sunday Times and Observer and headed back just
as the heavens opened again! This gave us a chance to sit and cogitate for an
hour or so and attempt all the crosswords. I also read through the manual for
the oven and we decided to put the beef joint in to cook while we were out.
Risky, I know, but we are insured should there be a small towering inferno.
By mid-morning we decided that, as the weather was coming
across roughly west to east, the driest place on the island could be Kildonan,
so we set the oven going, piled into the car and whizzed off there. It was less
rainy that is for sure but the wind was still whipping across the tip of the
island. Braced against the elements in goretex jackets and wellies we headed
off in to the face of the wind, hoping to catch some seals at play in the water
but it must have been a bit too choppy for them.
We strolled along the rocky foreshore and over the beach
where possible until we made Black Cave. We knew it was there but we didn’t
come here the last time we were on Arran. As though the gods were smiling on us
the clouds decided not send more rain down and I thought I was able to discern
a breaking of the blanket cover. Laura said it was just wishful thinking.
The cave isn’t as interesting as I’d hoped it would be, not
a patch on the King’s caves at Blackwaterfoot, for example, but it was a cave
and worth a look. There was a lot of wetness and green stuff inside which made
for a tricky passage and I doubt if you’d get safely through the hole at the
back without someone belaying from outside. It was just too slippery and dangerous.
All in all a cave that wouldn’t be getting a return visit from these two
visitors. The seals may like it though…
Not seeing them on the beach was a disappointment but as we
got closer to the car I thought I made out the familiar shape of a couple further
out between the dykes. Once again I was told it was wishful thinking!
We headed back to the van. It hadn’t burned down but it had
cooked the beef joint really quite well. I am not used to a gas oven so I
wasn’t sure about the numbers and such but it seemed to have done the job
nicely. The joint was suitably dark brown on the outside and a fork inserted
into it produced a nice trickle of bloody liquid. Still flying by wire, I
guessed that prepping and cooking the veggies would give it just about enough
time to be done enough for Laura to eat the outside bits and me to have the
middle.
We tucked into our first Sunday lunch in our van on Arran at
about 3pm. I have decided that I will stop saying what things we have done that
are the first in our van on Arran as I suspect it will get tedious in the
extreme.
We chilled until the evening time, when the weather turned
remarkably clement compared to its earlier incarnation and we decided to be
tourists and hit the Bar Eden, at the local hotel. I was pleasantly surprised
that we didn’t get that filmic moment when we walked in, where everything stops
and all the people turn to glare at the strangers. In fact the bar person was
quite friendly and welcoming. I guess he was thinking “New totty” to himself.
Maybe he had visions of a romantic nature with one (or both) of us? I explained
where we had come from and that we’d just taken ownership of a static van. He
asked which site and when we told him he did the archetypal sucking of his
teeth. “You’ll be pretty well rolling in it then, I expect?”
I asked him to explain himself, politely of course, and he
told us that most of the vans on that site are owned by the A and B
socio-economic professionals from Glasgow. (The surgeons, barristers, chartered
accountants, Professors etc) He seemed disappointed that I was a mere Research
Assistant and Laura was a lowly undergrad. He got his bounce back when I
explained I had gone halves in its purchase with my Dad who was a senior
lecturer and a former Oxford University man and that I, a Tab, would begin
lecturing next year. I had to explain
what a Tab was.
Naturally when he found out Laura was reading Pure and
Applied Maths he went, “No. You can’t be. You don’t look the type!” She told
him her little spiel which always gets them confused, “Do you know if I
invested the pound I collected from every person who had ever told me that,
using compound interest, by the time I graduate I will have made enough to pay
off my student loan and have a holiday in the Bahamas!”
I had to tell him it was a joke!
We had a bottle of fairly pleasant wine and quizzed the guy
about the meals they served. They cook food daily until 9pm. He gave us a menu
and it seemed quite the usual pub fare but everything was prepared on site, not
frozen reheated stuff. Plus the bar has free wi-fi which will spare my data
allowance on my mobile phone.
He told us there was a quiz on Monday nights which was worth
coming down to and it wasn’t all Tele and pop music questions. I said we might
wander across.
By the time we left, to rescue Callie from the car boot, it
was about 8.45. The sun had gone down, the rain had disappeared completely and
the lights of west Ayrshire were twinkling across the stretch of the Clyde to
our east. It was one of those moments when everything seems so right with the
world you just want to scream for joy at the top of your voice. Instead we
stood in the bus bay, by the side of the road (and the Clyde) and I hugged my
gorgeous girl and said, “It has just finally sunk in. We can come and stay here
any time we want. For ever! It’s like we are islanders too. This has to be the
best purchase of my life. It beats my little house because that was just a necessity,
although buying that was wonderful, too. What I have done here is ridiculous
and brilliant and stupid all at the same time. Other women my age are planning
their futures, getting married and having babies and what have I done? Spent
£36K on a static caravan with Dad! I am so happy you are here sharing this with
me, being part of this mad enterprise!”
Laura’s reply was a suitable down to earth and sensible, “Oh
stop it. You’ve had too much to drink!”
We both took Callie for her last walk of the day and then
had a second early night. It must be the sea air that is making us tired.
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