Friday/Saturday

Finally got my injections on Friday then came back to the house for lunch, only to discover Ross at home in bed again - he had driven his Mum to school but hadn't gone in to work as he had said he was going to - in fact, Harris phoned here to find out where he was!

I picked Jo up at school and managed to get her out of there by 4:00 pm - half an hour later than originally planned - and even this was only courtesy of her friend Chris, who was good enough to shoo her along.

We left Aberdeen in perfect conditions - warm(ish) and sunny but, at Forfar, we could see the gathering clouds and the portent of what Sally Traffic had been warning us about on Radio 2. It's a bit of a tortuous cross-country drive from Forfar to Pitlochry - not easy in the gloom and sodden roads, but we made it in ample time to check in at the Moulin Inn (est 1695) and have a bar supper with Colin & Johanne, after which we headed down to the Festival Theatre. Our room was up and down and across various stairways in the old hotel - and it had a very tartan feel - see above.

Stuart Maconie was excellent and we even bought his book afterwards and got him to sign it - I asked him to make it out to Kelly, who listens to him on Radio 2 every night and was very envious of us going to see him (see pages above). I'll read it and take it down to Kelly when we visit Cornwall in 3 weeks' time. The theatre was running "Fearie Tales" after the show - basically a couple of actors reading ghost stories - a bit juvenile for me, I'm afraid.

We had time to sample a few more of the ales produced at the micro-brewery there before we retired to bed. Incidentally, the lounge and dining room are filled with stuffed animals - Jo posed in front of the fox with a game bird in its mouth.

It rained heavily overnight and after the full Scottish breakfast we went down to the town centre for a walk (with brollies). The fish ladder and dam were over the other side of the Tummel but the river was in full spate. Our route there meant crossing a small suspension bridge - the entrances had been ticker-taped by the police but somebody had torn them down. Never mind we thought, let's cross anyway. Four very nervous people hastily reached the other side and immediately vowed not to go back the same way! The videos demonstrate the power of the water.

Coffees were then called for and after that lunch at the Moulin again. The road home was over past the Glenshee ski slopes and it didn't take long for Jo to start feeling ill (Johanne was the same Colin told me later). When we did finally get home, Jo headed for bed and TV and so I nipped down to the Douglas to watch the Wigan - Chelsea match with Colin - and Archie, who spotted me heading there.

I got home after the match and Jo was now downstairs watching the latest Pirates of the Caribbean adventure on Sky Box Office - a remarkable recovery!

The east coast was much drier than Perthshire and it was almost balmy on Sunday morning when I went to play golf - nice to play off grass, rather than frost or ice.