Arran

As a travel blog, it’s been very light on travel stories. So here is a little about our first travel destination - Arran. It’s a pretty big island lying in a huge sea that was viewed by some as an inland sea. It is almost completely surrounded by land mass. Yesterday we climbed the biggest peak on the island - Goat’s Fell (‘fell’ being a mountain).

From the tippy top of Goat’s Fell you can clearly see why the island is promoted as containing elements of lowlands to the south and highlands  (massive rugged peaks) to the north. Our B&B host, Rob, is a fully qualified geologist and explained the geology of the division that separates Scotland  north and south, cutting Arran Island into two separate areas. 

The climb to the top was very hard going, especially the scramble up the last 400 mètres. Nonetheless, we made it, proving once and for all that Australians are the best in the world at everything. 

As usual, the climb down was excruciating on the legs, so we retired to the pub for dinner with very trembly knees. The day was unusually sunny, so the adventure was perfect. 

Aran jumpers

One of the sources of anticipated excitement about visiting the Isle of Arran in Scotland was the prospect of browsing through endless Aran jumper shops. Do YOU know about Aran jumpers?  Traditionally off-white, with cable patterns. I had one as a youngster that my mum had knitted. 

Anyhow, on Day 2 of our stay on Arran, I began casting about for these traditional jumper shops. Imagined entering the shop with head bowed to avoid banging it on the impossibly low doorway to this tinkle of a bell to announce my arrival. An earnest Aran jumper knitter would lift his/her head (no gender exclusion here) from furious knitting and ask if they could be of any help in finding the perfect Aran jumper for ME. 

Now, here’s the rub. You, the astute reader, will have by now anticipated the trap into which I had fallen. You will have understood the problem from my very careful - and quite deliberate - spelling of the word ‘Aran’. Yes, Dear reader, ARAN jumpers originate in the Islands of Aran, situated on the far western coast of Ireland. Being, as we are, visitors to Arran in Scotland, my dreams of Aran jumper browsing have been well and truly DASHED.

Toodles!

Ear worms

 

I have always suffered from ear worms. You know, songs that pop into your head and won’t let you go. You won’t have known this about me. I would be suffering an ear worm while I was speaking with you one-on-one or in a group conversation.

 

 Where do these frigging songs come from ?  It’s astounding. However, when I deliberately work through the lyrics, it becomes apparent.

 

A good example is on a bike ride with chums – maybe a Wednesday morning to Beechworth, Frankie Laine’s The Gambler will suddenly appear and firmly ensconce itself. Why this song (about lost love) ?  It’s about pursuit of love as a gamble, similar to playing a game of roulette. Frankie sings :  ‘… While the wheels are spinning, spinning, spinning, I’ll still think of winning …. Get it ?  Spinning wheels !  On the bike. Up to Beechworth. Bike wheels. OMG !!!

 

Well, last Monday, sitting in the double-decker bus, hurtling towards Victoria Station at dawn, suddenly the Peter Paul and Mary ear worm pops in :  Well eary in the morning, about the break of daaay … ON and ON and fricking ON !!!

 

HELP 

Ally

It would appear that our daughter Ally is having way too good a time living in London. We are staying with her in Hackney, in a block of apartments that are curiously described as ‘Mansions’.  Apparently, this désignâtes the flats as being slightly bigger than your normal, run-of-the-mill apartment. Couldn’t see it, myself. 

With such a frenetic social calendar it is very generous of Ally to spend time with her aging ancestors. Nonetheless, she hurtled down to Brighton yesterday to see her newly-beloved football team Leeds go down by one goal. 
Toodles!

Off to Arran

Up early this morning (yeech!) to catch a plane at Gatwick for the Isle of Arran via Glasgow. Getting up early is OT Groombles' thing, but the old Circadian rythms haven't yet kicked in, so I woke at 4:30 - plenty of time for a 5:00 am departure. JUST caught the 5:15 bus and JUST caught the express train to Gatwick at ictoria station. The journey into town in the very early London light was gorgeous, but the absolute highlight (apart from being on holiday with DJ) was spying a cluster of haircutting shops with the standout neon sign: Barber Streisand. Fabulous!! There WAS one diastrous moment, however. You'll need to brace yourself for this one, but Security snaffled my pot of hair product! True story. Astonishing! Apparently it was too big a pot. My basic instinct is that this was too tempting a prize for the security chap on duty to sllow it to pass through to its tightful owner, viz. ME! Toodles!

Kew Gardens

... so off we go to kew Gardens on a bright sunny Satuday morning. Ally came with us to the Broadway market, which was almost in full swing, except that it was too early (10:00 am). Al let us buy breakfast and then headed off to the football in Brighton with her chums. She is a mad Leeds fan, apparently ... Dear Jude (DJ) and I strolled along the London Canal towards some doof-doof music that was part of some week-long music festival that we were not going to pay to go into, so we didn't. I am puzzled as to how one is meant to walk down pavements in London. I can do it in Bourke Street in Melbourne, because everyone walks on the same side as they drive a car - on the left hand side. Simple. In your London, the peeps seem to walk on the right hand side. As a consequence, one continually bangs into people coming the other way. Switch to the RHS and one bangs into people, but not quite so often. Go figure! Toodles!

London 2022

Back in the blogging business! "Hooray" say some, "Eeek" say others. Anyhoo, here we go again. The trip to London via Perth was definitely a thumbs up! Good sleep after a tasty dinner and two glasses of red. Watched a cowboy and Indian series called 1868 or some such nearby date. Achieved cognitive dissonance, but the messages about might being right and attitudes re "Indians" questionable. Just saw (from the front, upstairs widow of a Number 55 bus to Hackney) a larger-built chap with a t-shirt reading, "I'm currently unsupervised. I know. It's scary. But the possibilities are endless". Home at Ally's now for dinner. She's lioking great, very fit and enjoying London way too much. Toodles!