Saturday 27 October 2018

Puck's Glen

Somewhere over the rainbow
Our first day in our holiday house in Inveruel began with a rainbow over the loch (second photo in previous post) before setting off with backpacks containing a fine picnic into the wilds of western Scotland. Five go on an adventure….
Puck’s Glen
Puck’s Glen felt like the route to Rivendell in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. And it had the same name as a well-known character from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So the magical features of both those works of fantasty fiction infiltrated my mind as we crossed wooden bridges, climbed moss-covered stones, gaped at picturesque waterfalls and ascended to a high ridge overlooking a panoramic view of this section of the Argyll Forest Park. At times you had to pinch yourself that you were in Scotland and not in a tropical rain forest with the proliferation of wild (and sometimes giant) ferns and with the rivulets and cascades appearing on every bend, bouncing off ledges, tumbling round corners. Douglas firs towered above us along the way, so emerging on the high ridge at the top of this dramatic gorge, Puck’s Glen, felt like quite an achievement to start our week in Scotland.



Saturday 20 October 2018

Inveruel, Colintraive

Harriet, Chris, Emily, Sally and me in September, north of Hadrian's Wall....
Home from home
Regular readers will know there are (currently) three other spots in the UK where I feel “at home” other than Yorkshire:
  • Badby/Stratford-upon-Avon/the Cotswolds
  • Northumberland (especially the coast)
  • and Scotland.
So, in September, it was a deep pleasure to visit another Scottish spot we’ve never been to – Colintraive, near Dunoon on the Cowal Peninsula – miles from the nearest shop and hunkered down in a house called Inveruel overlooking Loch Riddon.
Inveruel, Colintraive, lovely house with views and visiting sheep....

Test of a holiday

In our retired state (mindful of budgets) the test of any holiday is that the place we stay has to be as nice or nicer than our own home. Inveruel exceeded expectations: well-designed, with oak floors, plenty of space for spreading out to relax, read, do jigsaws, eat, drink, sleep and strip off muddy boots and coats from hearty walks.
Rooms with a View or two
It also had lovely views. And it was easy to feel Gatsby-like and imagine the lights over the loch belonged to mysterious celebrities. The nights were dark, the stars were out, the moon was bright and the next few blogs will have pictures of what we did during the week….
Plenty of atmosphere and chances to star-gaze as the sun went down....



Tuesday 16 October 2018

Widescreen Birthday

Birthday boy with Nick Shelton artwork, prezzies, Spiderman cake, family dinner
Aug 2014 to Oct 2018
Happy Birthday to me on October 15th – I aim to space out my blog posts evenly but Life has a way of hijacking best intentions – but the images are enjoyable memories for me, even if they are a bit removed from the original date. Looking back to 2014 when I started this blog, my birthday post was about Shakespeare and Fargo’s Marge (“it’s a beautiful day”) Gunderson; in 2015 I presented gruesome evidence of a cyst on my back; in 2016 I had begun a routine of writing three days a week as my main retirement hobby; and in 2017 I began writing Book 2 of Rhenium Tales after finishing the first draft of Book 1. What now?
Brothers, sister, wife, daughters, friends....

2018

I’ve submitted material to some agents and started my collection of BadgesOfHonour rejection notices…. but also had some specific tips and insights to act upon. So Phase Two of My Writing Career begins…. Chris Grimley is a significant other in the family…. Empty Nest Syndrome is on the brink of happening again…. and I got my wishes for a birthday tea of salmon on lentils and treacle sponge pudding and custard…. Life! How did I get here from where I was?
First Man, Looper, The Age of Innocence, Lady and the Tramp with Theo Gluck, The Wife 
Film season
Movies have been a big part of September and October with the National Media Museum’s Widescreen Weekend in Pictureville allowing us to enjoy brilliant screenings of Scorcese’s The Age of Innocence, and Disney’s Lady and the Tramp (introduced in person by Theo Gluck, all the way from Hollywood; he’s the Head of Library and Restoration at Disney Studios.) I got rattled to bits by an IMAX First Man, admired Glenn Close in the preposterous but atmospheric The Wife, and loved Emily Blunt (Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis) in the mind-bending Looper. Lots more films to look forward to later in the year, I think.
J B Priestley statue, Barry Cryer and Sophie Fyson, Joanna Trollope, Jenni Murray
Ilkley Literature Festival
Wrapping up my October birthday memories is my record of the Ilkley Literature Festival where Lee Hanson, Chair of the Priestley Society introduced the witty Barry Cryer and the gracious Sophie Fyson who spoke about the memoir of Sophie’s mum, Rosalie Batten, recently published by Great Northern Books: Priestley at Kissing Tree House. Rosalie was the secretary of great writer, humanitarian and Yorkshireman, J B Priestley, and has written with fascinating insight and disarming candour. Joanna Trollope and Jenni Murray both also provoked plenty of food for thought about writing, successful women and feminism today.
My birthday season colours....