The Other Side

I was up relatively early today (there are Blippers out there who would laugh at my definition of "early") because we had a ferry to catch, so I was rewarded by the marvellous sky just before sunrise and again as it appeared over the Gourock hills while I was drinking my tea: I chose the above photo for the added bonus of the rays of light from the sun, though I also took a dramatic close-up. (Yes, more hanging from the window in my nightie ...)

We were over on The Other Side because our recently-purchased car needed an update to the computer software. Apparently a great many of them have been throwing the same tantrums as ours. Anyway, because it was possible that it might take longer than a day, they gave us a courtesy car in which we whizzed back from Paisley to Gourock for an early lunch in the excellent Tonino's cafe next door to my hairdresser. We had time for a short walk round before Himself had an appointment at Inverclyde Royal about his knee. I decided hospitals were too full of ill people and stayed in the car, parked in the overflow car park across the road on the hillside in the sun. (IRH is in an extraordinary site in a hollow of moorland beside a small loch, with random streets of houses poking into the wild). I was there for quite some time, as the specialist wanted fresh x-rays before the consultation; I had to open the car door lest I fried, and sat there reading the paper until I fell asleep. Then I watched on my phone as the procession of the Queen's coffin left Buckingham Palace and marched down the Mall to the Palace of Westminster. I can't resist the combination of bands, precision, tradition and solemn ritual, and realise that it's done better in the UK than anywhere else. The same goes for the liturgy and rites of the CofE; the language and formality are ... strangely restful in their perfection. And the music was exemplary and I'm a sucker for that too.

Today's discussion on social media and elsewhere is whether or not it is right to arrest people for protesting. I'd suggest they (a) have lessons in effective protest (it doesn't help to spoil solemn moments, however much you may be annoyed by them, because it puts the majority off your cause and that's not the point) and (b) look around them before demanding a vote on whether or not there should be royals, or processions, or the expense of the security (because right now, with these numbers, I suspect they'd not get far.) 

Then Himself turned up again with the news that the car was ready, so we'd to whizz back up the M8 to collect it and then back down again to go home. I'm stiff with so much sitting, and sleepy with such a long day.

And Shetland's finished, and Jimmy Perez is gone. Tosh's face said it all.