As you can tell from the dates of my previous postings there has been a gap between the events on the ground and me writing about them in this blog. I very seriously thought about giving it up altogether but in the end I have decided I need to trim it down and cut away the extraneous drivel I have written in the past.
It still serves as a really useful aide-memoire which is one of the reason I began it in the first place.
So, filling the gap between then and now is the first task.
Arran: We took the earliest ferry from Lochranza to Claonaig and drove down to Campbeltown, then on to the Mull itself. We did the St Columba bit - Chapel, Footprints and Kiel Caves. Then back up to the Springbank distillery at Campbeltown. Naturally I bought a couple of bottles (OK four). The long drive back up to Claonaig and the last ferry of the day meant we hadn't much time to dawdle anywhere else but it did mean we are definitely coming back to explore and maybe explore the possibilities of owning a camper van.
Next day we did the Glen Sannox horseshoe. Bloody hell. No Munroes but still knackering as hell. We managed it OK, we are fit young ladies after all, but boy were we tired out in the evening. It is truly breathtaking and at one point a bit scary, even for Callie and she has four-paw-drive to help her.
We snoozed and lazed and cleaned up the van on the Sunday 12th visiting the Kildonan seals and Hotel one final time in the evening; somehow we avoided having any local guys hitting on us, which made a pleasant change.
We left Arran on 13th April by the 11am ferry and stopped over at Dad's that night (so I could see my Baby sister again). Dad had a delivery of a half pallet of wine from Cochem (2103 vintage) so I paid up for my share - 10 case (that's German cases, BTW) and gave Dad his two different whiskies, Springbank and Arran.
Home on Tuesday to a concert at the Firth Hall that evening: Sacconi Quartet playing
Sibelius: Moderato and Allegro appassionato in C sharp minor
Nielsen: String Quartet in g minor, op. 13
Sibelius: String Quartet in D minor, op. 56, ‘Intimate Voices’ They were brilliant and we didn't fall asleep from fatigue.
Work began again as normal on the Wednesday (15th) but Uni has been really hectic. I have done four lectures during the last two weeks, it seems every undergrad is in a panic about end of semester exams or their finals. I can't remember it being this mad when I was a student. Perhaps being the other side of the fence (so to speak) gives me a different perspective.
We had our monthly girls' dining club, on the Wednesday night, at Claire's house, which was good fun. I supplied some wine from my collection from Dad's pallet. We drank one whole case. The girls were stunned by the 2013 Dornfelder! In fact they thought it made the other people's wine taste rather ordinary in comparison!
At the end of the week we were back up at Dad's to see The Halle at the Sands Centre, in Carlisle. We went with Dad and Louisa as they bought the tickets. Rah Rah Rah! The Orchestra were performing my favourite Beethoven Symphony - Number 7. It was excellent! They also played the Strauss Opus 4 Wind Suite and Ravel's G Major Piano Concerto. They haven't brought this programme to Sheffield, which is the real reason why we went to the Sands.
We have been to the theatre to see The Jeeves and Wooster "Perfect Nonsense" touring performance, which was a sort of mash-up of various books. It was mainly the 'cow-creamer' story but dramatised as a two hander. I was so impressed. This is another thing not hitting Sheffield (as far as we can tell) so we went to Nottingham to see it.
The next concert is on the 8th May at Carlisle again; also with the Halle Orchestra. They are playing the same programme in Sheffield but we, sort of, repaid Dad & Louisa by buying the tickets for here.
Our major time consumer, and the one which is taking up so much of our time, has been me helping Laura revise for her Pure and Applied Maths Finals. She has a timetable which we have been following religiously and I have been testing her each night on what she has supposed to have learned. She is determined to get the First she needs to go on to do a Masters'. Naturally I am wanting her to do that as well, we are a bit hindered by my relative lack of mathematical knowledge. Although, the fact she is having to explain things to me as though I am a novice (which is true) seems to be helping her. Dad always says the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.
We are still tutoring our five school pupils on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, which has been a bit frantic. Our GCSE ones stop at the beginning of June (that's when their exams start) but our A level ones continue on until next summer!
Obviously I have visited Mum (with some wine from Dad), seen my brother and family - and baby Sophie. We've walked in the Peak District, eaten out a couple of times in the city and done masses of retail therapy. We also went to see "A Little Chaos" which is charming.
Our sex-life has continued as usual. We haven't been as frisky out-doors as we were on Arran but we we've had a couple of al fresco sessions whilst walking the woofie. Callie had her birthday last Friday - 1st of May. She is now 8! Phew. She still thinks she's a puppy though.
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