Windy

Such an autumnal day, complete with Shelley's wild west wind  and drenching showers as well as brightly sunny spells, as in my photo, and a clear night sky with Jupiter hanging bright over the Firth. No builders, though - the promised downpours (they said) kept them away as the cement would be ruined. So we're still skipping through our neighbour's front garden ...

As you'll see, I hung out a washing first thing - that shirt, a fairly heavy linen one, was more or less dry after an hour, which was all it got. Then we were off to the hardware store that has sprouted an admirably spacious cafe, there to meet a couple I'd never set eyes on despite their having lived here for some time - Himself and the man were both at Heriot's, and this was enough for them already to have met and blethered. After two hours we were just leaving as the lunchtime crowds came in, meeting on our way a lady from church who can't actually make it up the hill any more but who was out for lunch with her son (she's 93) and our now-retired dentist and his wife, both of whom have done wonderful things for my teeth in the past. 

So lunch was decidedly late, and it wasn't long before I had to get down to the surgery for an appointment with the physio who these days conducts clinic in the surgery in addition to his hospital work. I'd mentioned on Monday as I was having blood taken that I had pins and needles in my legs ... seems to be related to back troubles, primarily sciatica. Deep joy. Keep up the physio exercises ...

Home, to finish off the calendar with birthday dates and order it (a huge early bird discount from Vistaprint was the reason for the rush) before going for a walk (2.5 miles) along the Eachaig to Lock Eck. A red squirrel darted off across the footbridge as we approached, and the river was a rushing torrent round the lower branches of the trees and in among the grass of the riverbank. We managed the whole walk without getting particularly wet, which was A Good Thing.

I was just about to make dinner when I had a call from the younger granddaughter: could she borrow me for a wee while to help with her RMPS homework? This turned out to be supplying my answer to the moral dilemma involving a runaway railway truck, a branching line, five workers stuck on one branch and a lone and equally stuck worker on the other. If I change the points by pressing a button, the truck will only kill the lone worker; if I do nothing the truck will stay on the main line and kill the five workers there. What do I do, and why?

Quite apart from the interesting moral dilemma (I used to teach some of this stuff when I returned to teaching) it was a joy to hear Anna so enjoying this subject and obviously appreciative of the methods her teacher employed in the classroom to make them all participate fully. 

But tell me, dear reader: what would you do?