The parting of the ways

My sister K picked us up from the B&B this morning, but not before the owner had told us that his wife, who is poorly, has oxygen therapy at the hospital twice a week, which she pays for. Astonishing! I hope it helps. We all left around the same time:they for Oban, us for Connel station.

The mist around Crianlarich and associated stations cleared, and it was a fine day by the time we got to Glasgow. Steve headed off to Edinburgh on the 12.15 and I felt fine saying goodbye, until I glanced at the board and saw that my train, the 12.40, had been marked ‘cancelled’ just as Steve’s train pulled out!


What could I do? I had plenty of bags because I was carrying an extra oil painting executed in 1970 by my uncle John, RIP, so I headed to Off the Rails in Dundas Steeet for a coffee and a wee read of my book. Eventually the broken down train at Gleneagles was moved, and I was able to catch the 13.40 to Aberdeen, where I was intending to meet my brother R. The rest of the journey passed without incident.

Now this is a backblip some weeks later, but I see from my comments to Steve on WhatsApp that I had only just got off the train and into Union Square before I was approached by a beggar. I think she was a wee lassie. Instead of giving her some money, I told her that my mother had died and that I needed some looking after myself! She apologised and went on her way.

When my brother turned up, he took me to his capacious house in Old Aberdeen, the conservation area, once a settlement in its own right. It’s gorgeous! Late Georgian, high ceilings, big rooms, the lot. We had supper with my sister in law. their youngest son C and his friend A, who is Italian and is about to be sent off to an Italy for two months to attend ‘pizza academy’. Good work ethic! I found him very amusing. Later, after we had failed to photograph the aurora, I went to sleep in a room with seven guitars and one mandolin. The owner of said instruments, my nephew D, is at university in Wellington, NZ, to which country my sister TML is now returning.