Candlesticks for Sally ...

I think it may have been dry this morning when we arrived at church - can't swear to it, as it was certainly very grey - but my main memory of the day was of torrential rain. You'll see why later. The service was what we call a "do it yourself" today - a Lay Leader conducted a service using the Reserved Sacrament, my pal Di preached, and there was the usual lay provision of the Intercessions. We've done this for years now, because we share our priest with Rothesay, and though a retired priest is a member of the congregation we don't automatically assume she'll step in. It works very well. And Himself and I sang a new piece for us, and it went down well.  Di came for coffee and - madly - we arranged to walk together in Benmore Gardens in the afternoon.

The madness came into it because the weather forecast was for ordinary rain till about 4pm followed by three hours of ... well, torrential rain. This obliged when we were right up on the top of the hill; by the time we reached the car park again we were totally drookit. Neither of us was wearing waterproof trousers; both of us had to take off our sodden jackets before we got into our cars - I just dumped mine in the footwell of the passenger seat. Och well, it was clean after the valeting at the garage last week ...

I'm going to add an extra photo from before the rain got really bad - one of the vivid rhododendrons of Benmore Gardens, which somehow looked even redder in the mirk. But my main photo is a faffed-with version of the one I mentioned the other day, and it's here specially for Blipper Sally - the clean candlesticks and the brass snuffer that a dear friend gave me for my 50th birthday. (Not yesterday). 

I think it's going to be wet again tomorrow.