Saturday 4 November 2023
It is raining and wet and very grey. In London. We’re heading back to Scotland tomorrow. It’s 07:49 and I’m in lightweight clothing and a window is open. I am really going to miss the warmth of this flat and not needing to use any kind of heating.
This morning, I’m meeting my friend Louise at Victoria station, hoping we’ll be able to endure the rain for a walk and long overdue catch-up. I am wearing contact lenses today. I have a few pairs of trial ones left and the main reason I wanted some was for rainy (Scottish) weather. I’m now convinced it’s a bad idea to wear them as they’re not suitable for anything that requires reading. This is an element of getting older that I am not at all on board with. At least if we were to walk around the roads in Scottish Borders, there would be nothing I might need to read! (I abandoned the contact lenses about a minute before I was due to walk to the train station)
I drove down to Kent yesterday to see my mum, another thing that’s obviously great to be able to do from London. I’ve managed to meet up with at least one person every day I’ve been back in London. I’m not sure when we’ll next be in London before Christmas but I realise that I will more likely miss Christmas meet-ups this year. Last year, we had only just moved up to Scotland and had kind of already made plans for going out and meeting up with friends ahead of Christmas. I don’t envisage going up and down between London and Scotland as much this November and December as last year. I know we were very lucky with the weather last year and how none of our trips had to be postponed or cancelled due to bad weather. I am convinced that this year will be more challenging.
While at my mum’s house, four Chinooks flew over, which was noisy and strangely exciting. Military planes in Scottish Borders, Chinooks in Kent. My mum also has a medlar tree, which you can see in this photo. I love the prehistoric look of those fruit. I did wonder about trying to grow a medlar tree in Scotland but then I remembered the bletting process with medlars and I don’t think I’d have the patience to prepare the fruit, though I do love the taste.
I am looking forward to getting back to Scotland, but the coldness of the house is not at all appealing, especially after a few days here where it’s been comfortable and easy. A friend of mine (a second-timer in terms of visits) might be coming up for a few days next week. I must stress and emphasise to her more than I did to our last guest, Lindsay, how cold the house is. The plan is, she and I will do some prep work for the cabin. The weather forecast isn’t catastrophic, neither particularly cold nor particularly wet …