Back to school

On this horrid day of wind and rain there was one cheerful interlude when I was able to subside into being a pupil again and see how it worked out - my friend Paddy's Open Studio art class. Because Himself drove me there - I usually walk, but my painting stuff would have got far too wet - and we were early, he was invited in for coffee and stayed long enough for us to be under way when he was leaving, so I got him to take this photo before he went. We were also observed at work this morning by two visitors doing the rounds of the Open Studios; this felt quite strange, like having someone observe your class back in the day of having student teachers. [My watercolour painting is coming on - I've done the hills and the lake and a bit of shore; so far the most successful thing is the rocks in the foreground!]

Other than the class I took advantage of the wet afternoon to put together some packing for a forthcoming trip to see the family; as usual it seems to need as much thought and stuff as if I were going for a month. By the end of the afternoon I was so cold and irritable I went out alone to bash along the West Bay in the wind - it had stopped raining - and home along the back streets. Meanwhile FM Nicola Sturgeon announced the date on which she hopes to hold an Independence Referendum, so switching off from politics isn't going to be an option in the foreseeable future!

I'm adding an extra photo of the sky and sea this afternoon, with the wee ferry ploughing along towards Dunoon, the red Western Ferries heading for Hunter's Quay, and a large cruise ship inching out of the river and into the Firth. Fancy being on a cruise in this weather ...

And finally: if you've never come across Windy Wilson's idiosyncratic weather forecasts, you might be amused to take a look - Facebook and Twitter and very, very Scottish.