At a low ebb ...

In a way I think we tried to get back into our normal life today, starting with the Pilates classes that I've felt the lack of recently. It was really good to concentrate solely on the one thing at a time, whether it was breathing properly or holding balance on one leg while waving the other about in a controlled manner (more or less!) Because it was a lovely morning, I washed a whole load of sheets and a heavy cotton bedspread and got them all out on the line before class, which was satisfying. And I got some extra Italian done with my post-class coffee ...

We had lunch in the garden - not as warm as that lovely weekend a week ago, but warm enough in the sun. Then we took a look at our travel insurance, phoned the travel agent (no news yet from the cruise company), tried to keep our cool (mine evaporated trying to talk to a Silversea rep in the UK, whose accent was troubling and whose line was crackly and who dictated an email address to me using the international alphabet, which I can do in short bursts - all this alpha bravo stuff made me feel I was in a movie.

Then I had an appointment at the surgery - these days I find our practice's ability to fit one in on the day quite remarkable - about the painful swelling that's appeared beside the corner of an eye. I am currently making a dreadful mess (literally) of putting antibiotic ointment into my eye ...

And then we gave it all up and drove to Toward for a short walk along the Ardyne beach road. That's where the photo comes from - the cloud was beginning to come over, but Arran is clear and sharp beyond Bute, and the amazing complexity of the low tide shore at the river mouth is there in all its bird-strewn glory. The Canada Geese were having a paddle somewhere off to the left, but if you look carefully you can make out a crazy pheasant pretending to be a seabird towards the bottom right corner.

I'm rather gripped by that new thriller on the BBC - I shall never feel quite the same again about the train to London.