the C word

 

I really enjoyed christmas 2021! Don't get me wrong; it is still the epicentre of the materialist world, a hotspot of overindulging in all the bad things. (And so I refuse to give it a capital C.) But we made a last minute escape to Mary's sister's family in Tayvallich who said there was room at the inn, so we drove over there on xmas eve and greatly enjoyed a change of scenery for a few of the worst days of the year!

First I should cover a few of the days prior to this. We had a couple of runs. Not many stops for photos, just running. It made me realise that Mary is the proper runner in our household. Because when she is not cracking the whip, I slack right off. She has been having loads of time off with injuries and so I have been failing to get out on my own to do decent sessions. I really struggle to get out on dark evenings if it is raining, and quite often when it isn't. I have been meaning to do Wednesdays with PRC but they are based around the start point half way along the prom which adds 2 x 3.5miles to any session, unless I cycle which involves padlocks and lights, and clothes that are suitable for both running and biking. In general it is easier to sit at home watching telly with a glass of red. Getting fat. Sad-faced shameful emoji.

Hopefully Mary is on the mend. She took us out a couple of runs in the days before xmas. There was a lot of drizzly days which just get me down. I'd be sitting in front of the computer seething with hate for nearly everybody on social media and have to restrain myself from telling people they were up themselves. And companies advertising that they were polluting the planet with their plastic fugly-garbage. And I'd go out a run with Mary and we'd do some tempo reps. And I'd come home, not lightness and joy-to-the-world, but at least not picking fights with the arseholes of the world. I had completely forgotten just how much I really enjoy (more like type 2 fun) a decent workout and how much it improves perspective, lifts depression and is just so good for mental health, to say nothing of physical health and off-setting the horrors of the xmas food-and-drink binge-a-thon. Now you'd think I'd have learned this over 20+years of running, but have I been out on any drizzly days recently hammering myself? No! But plenty of telly and red wine, you can be sure. It is a constant battle. 

Anyway thanks Mary for keeping my running going. Clearly I don't have the discipline to keep it ticking over without your coaching input. That and the SAD lamp.

prom starling - love these birds

We got a sat-nav for the car. I know, I know; cutting edge tech for early adopters! Haha. There were nearly as many in-car jokes about this, as about the female voice (christened Ms. Whiplash because of her haughty dominance) who not only tells us where and when to turn, but also rather sternly tells us when we are over the speed limit. Mary is never keen on reading instruction manuals so we haven't any ideas about fine tuning and changing functions beyond volume and turning it on/off. So we input Tayvallich and set off almost immediately not following the (fastest) route to Glasgow and the Irvine Bridge but heading off towards less hectic, more scenic Stirling and getting off at J10, the safari park and the turn off to the A811. (Drymen, Balloch, Loch Lomond etc.) Miss Whiplash tried to steer us back to the Glasgow route then realising she was fighting a lost cause, recalculated, and, with no trace of irony, agreed to follow our route choice.

Which almost defeats the point of a sat-nav except for the junction we messed up last trip.  Which added 5~10 miles and the best part of an hour to realise we had gone wrong and the kerfuffle of how to retrieve the correct route. Shock, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression and acceptance - the 7 stages of grief; before we even got to Balloch. All due to the A811 crossing onto the A81 and then almost immediately, back off. Last time we kept on the A81 and started heading South towards Glasgow.

This time we cut an hour off and made it to Tayvallich in 5hrs which included a stop around halfway at a garden centre that had a huge shop and restaurant and was doing a shit load of business. While Mary used the toilets I was tempted to buy "The Wit of Prince Philip" and a thousand piece jigsaw. I think there is something about long journeys that lowers your self esteem. We sat in the car with carry out coffees and home prepared food before knocking out the second half of the trip. It was all much MUCH less punishing than last time. And the sat-nav kept us amused.

That said the last 5 miles of snaking single track was done at snail's pace as the low sun, which had only just appeared, was blinding us and we couldn't see anything.

at last

There was enough daylight to sit about being mesmerised by the sparrows on the garden feeders. Their constant chipper-bickering was delightful and I took some photos. It wasn't long till we were wired into seasonal beers and wines. Mary suspended her vegan and tt persuasions for the duration. Imagine that, a vegan who doesn't let everyone know about it, and doesn't make a fuss about eating sausages, in fact rather enjoys them. The sausages were terrific. Done to perfection in an oven, not fried. I took a hastily assembled bag or 2 of groceries and booze, but that aside we did little to help and were treated like kings for the duration. Max stars on trip advisor! Neither of us are used to drinking quite so much every day, so it was all seen through rosé tinted glasses.

love the Perseus-like eyebrows
on this sparrow

Our bedroom was b-b-b-Baltic but the bed was roasty toasty after 10minutes. I much prefer this arrangement over the commonplace hotel room with the central heating of a hothouse and having to sleep under one thin sheet, anything else being too hot. Next morning and not too hungover, I forgot it was christmas for most of the day, which is an all time record.

An excellent addition to the household, Noola the dog, (can't name the breed but it is the best behaved dog ever), requires daily walks. So Caroline and family have got into the great habit of going long walks over the nearby trails and hills which regular readers will recall from a Summer visit, includes some truly fantastic West Coast scenery of the top drawer. Having been advised about the wet and brackeny fields we overdressed in waterproofs and hats. Normal hillrunning gear would have been fine as the pace was brisk enough to keep warm. And it didn't rain. Lots of mud and splosh underfoot but no worse than an afternoon round Baddinsgill or the Ochils. I had looked out a pair of hill shoes I haven't worn in ages and enjoyed knocking the mud off them. 

Noola - fabulous beast!

Mary and Caroline

looking down to Tayvallich Bay, a sheltered harbour on Loch Sween

 and "one of the best natural anchorages on the West Coast" (Photo Mary)

photo Mary

Noola, Donald and Sorley. Photo Mary

photo Mary

I have used 4 pics of Mary's as they captured the moments better. I was teasing Caroline for dressing like a homeless person to go walking, which is rich as I was clearly dressed like a dog's dinner myself. Practicality was the thing. I wore Alpkit gaiters which kept jaggy things (and some moisture) out my shoes for longer. It was great to spend time with Donald and Sorley, who relieved me of the notion that all young people spend all day on smart phones and are far more woke and less self-sufficient than my generation. 

Barnhill on Jura
house where George Orwell wrote 1984

beardy lichen

Sorley on the big rock

looking down Loch Sween

whooper swans

as Alistair later said "a pleasant change from cooncil swans"

sleety flurries

The weather was not wall to wall sunshine. Quite a lot of blue sky for a christmas day, but also drizzle, rain and sleety flurries. However I had the camera in a poly bag for them so not so many pics taken of that. 

small herd of sika deer

I thought these were roe deer due to white rumps although I did think they were small and stocky compared to the deer we normally see. However they were too far away to get a proper look. (Camera at full zoom.) George later confirmed they were Sika. 

cracking colours

More back garden birds, followed by more excellent food and even more drink. Quite a lot of ruckus, and cold room, warm bed and then more of the same. Boxing Day was less spectacular weatherwise. Of the duller greyer variety. Which made for another splendid walk - this time over and down to Taynish, the nature reserve we spent time in during the last trip. But less good for photos. The camera stayed protected from the rain and drizzle even more. But lots of good chat about art and writing, butterflies, books and photography. It all made me want to return as soon as the Spring brings warm sunny weather and (surprise surprise,) butterflies. Although my growing interest in birds is really getting me through the Winter months. As long as there is something endlessly fascinating to point the camera at, I am happy. 

More great food, great drink and laughs. Since the weather seemed to be deteriorating we decided to return to Edinburgh rather than stay longer. The trip back always seems easier. No stops this time and just under 4hrs which is prob about right for 150 miles, give or take. Ms Whiplash had to concede to all of our choices while pretending she was happy to go that way, in fact had almost thought of that route herself. They are not fast roads, but it is the very out-of-the-way-ness that makes it kind of a special place. Expect to see more trips over there this year.