A recce

We had a drive over to Forton services yesterday. We thought we’d sort out if there was a back way in, which didn’t involve driving all the way down to Preston to come back again. The answer would seem to be no. There is a back way in, for staff & to get to the motel, but that is beyond the station’s public car parking & there doesn’t appear to be any way of getting to the parking except by going up a one way road the wrong way. It would be fine for a taxi to drop us off there but not for us wanting to leave the car in the car park for the week. We’ve concluded if we do drive there ourselves, we’ll have to park on the south bound side, get me over the bridge to the north side. The Fox would then have to go back for the luggage, then re-cross to join me & await the coach.

I did find a taxi company that could do the job. However, the cost is £30-35 each way as opposed to a week’s parking of £64. We’re seriously beginning to think of just driving ourselves. It’s not far to go & the times for pick up & drop off are reasonable so it should be okay.

Afterwards we went off to the village pub to catch up on news of our friends there. One couple had recently got back from a few days over in Newcastle, staying with friends & exploring Northumbria. Another is planning a trip to Benidorm to help celebrate a friend’s retirement. He’s also going for a bowling holiday in Blackpool.

All this upbeat news was overshadowed by the bad news of our friends who I told you needed help. She’s now got to a stage she’s not able to get off her settee without her partner’s help. A physio is due to go today & hopefully give her some exercises to get her moving better. If something doesn’t improve soon, we all fear the worse. It may not be so long before we have yet another funeral, & another friend to support through grief. I hope not. She’s far too young, still in her fifties.

Still rainy

The weather is determinedly grey. Rain is coming down once more. It’s never been far away all weekend. Now it looks set to continue for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile I’ve been trying to sort out a taxi to take us to Forton Services to meet the coach that’s taking us to Scotland. It’s proving harder than I thought. I suppose travelling on a Saturday in the summer is bound to be popular. So many holidays go from Saturday to Saturday. We’re beginning to think we will just drive there & pay the parking. It seemed to work okay when we went to the Netherlands.

It won’t be so long now until we go. We’re both looking forward to it. We just hope the weather picks up a bit. Admittedly many of the trips involve inside visits & those won’t be affected by the weather. It’s just that the scenery will be better in some sunshine. The idea of strolling along the shoreline of the Moray Forth in the hope of seeing dolphins appeals more in the sun. Quite what we will do on our quiet day, a Sunday, in a rainy Nairn I’m not sure. We may just appreciate the chance to relax in comfortable surroundings after the long drive up there. We’ll see.

Meanwhile I’ll try a few more phone calls to taxi companies. Someone surely must be available.

Life goes on

I peel yet more tomatoes. I seem to have done a lot of peeling tomatoes lately. I’ve been trying out a few recipes from an Italian recipe book. The Italians clearly love tomatoes as much as I do. They seem to appear in so many recipes, as the basis of tomato ragu sauces. Today I’m having a go at a Potato Cake, which is essentially mashed potatoes with a homemade tomato sauce mixed in, to form a cake shape. We’re having some sausages & peas with it.

Yet more rain fell last night. There are puddles all around. The cracks in the soil are filling up. The rain has encouraged the lavender to start to turn purple. The peonies are opening up, rich dark red & soft pink. The last rhododendron is also opening, a deeper orangey red colour. The bluey purple geraniums are out. Everywhere colour is appearing.

In the front garden we seem to be swamped with yellow aliums. I think I will transfer some round to the back walled garden. Their brilliant stars will brighten up that rather shady bit of garden.

Now I’m eagerly awaiting the buddleias coming into bloom. We bought four last year – two small ones for the pots, one by the garage, one in the walled garden, and two larger ones for the far end of the garden. They were at the end of their flowering when we planted them so we’ve not really seen them yet in full bloom.

Yesterday a couple of goldfinches were back. We did buy some nyger seeds a while back, but they proved unpopular. Most of them went in the bin as they turned mouldy in the feeders. The last few seeds remain. We weren’t going to bother to buy any more. The goldfinches headed straight to them, so now I think we will have to buy some more seed. Clearly now they’ve found them, they may become regular visitors, & very welcome they would be too.