Peace

First sunrise swim today. That did mean getting up at 0550, but it was not too much of a struggle. Mr A came too, and we met L and K at the beach for a peaceful swim (well, more of a float around and a chat, really). The swims are getting shorter, as the water gets colder. 15 minutes feels about par now. I reflected to Mr A in the car on the way home that I'd only been in Tain about 12 hours, and I'd already been in the sea twice!

I had some work to do in the morning, and then we headed out to enjoy a couple of events in the afternoon as part of the St Duthac Book and Arts Festival. Sara Sheridan contributed to the Dangerous Women Project, and is being lined up to play a role in a third DWP book which is being considered for publication, so I introduced myself to her at the end. She is now best known for writing the very successful Fair Botanists, which I'm afraid that I patronised as a 'slight but entertaining' read. In hazelh's much less complimentary write up of the book, she refers to the likelihood of a TV adaptation, and apparently this is happening. She's been optioned by, if I recall correctly, Sky. There is also another book coming out soon which I think I will pursue for further slight and entertaining reading, which is all I can manage at the moment!

The other event was James Robertson, who - like Sheridan - is very interested in the historical context of the work he does. I've read And the Land Lay Still (a long time ago) and News of the Dead (much more recently) and I've got part of the way through Joseph Knight before I got anxious there might be scenes of slavery violence that I shouldn't read late at night. Unlike the Edinburgh Book Festival, where every event is Q&A with an interviewer (who is often a bit irritating), here the writers sat alone on the stage and talked / read for a while (Sheridan was definitely better at that - she's a born raconteur; Robertson did more reading) and then took Q&A themselves. It's an interesting contrast. And the seats are less cramped and more comfortable. And the tickets were £5 and tea/coffee/biscuit between the events was £1, so I'll leave that there.... Suffice it to say, the St Duthac Festival is a growing event, and I think it really brings quite a bit of vibrance to the peninsula. It's also kind of them to hold it each September on my birthday weekend ;-) Long may that continue.

After the second event, we wandered back here to take the washing in, as rain was threatening, and ran into A on the street. It turns out she and N are in the same event as us on Saturday afternoon. She was on her way home from work and then was turning round to go and listen to Archie MacPherson, who was the main Friday night draw in the town, I believe. Turns out she's a big football fan and used to play. Must learn more! We agreed that the four of us should meet for a drink some time.

We went straight out again, down to Platform 1864 for dinner. It was good - if a little pricey. It's definitely a bit more expensive than the Inver Inn, but it's a decent standard of food and a nice vibe. And of course I can have a drink with my dinner, which has a lot to be said for it. Home, and more or less straight to bed, although it was not late. It had been a long day, with no breaks at all for me.

This photo was taken on the Go Pro after we'd emerged from our swim. The extra is a phone photo, taken on portrait mode. Getting there with the phone.