Mid-Sept

Time for another quick update on what's been going on here for the last couple of weeks.

I've had my first overnight out of Banchory since we got back from Australia - just before lockdown. It was our Boat of Garten weekend - it should have been our 70th outing there, but our May outing had to be postponed this year. I was apprehensive. Boat of Garten and Grantown (where we were staying) are not exactly thriving masses of humanity but nonetheless staying in a hotel for the first time was a slightly daunting experience.

I'm happy to say that the hotel's protocols were good and we felt safe. We've been using the Grant Arms Hotel for quite a few years now and it felt quite homely coming back. The key staff have been unchanged for years and know us pretty well now - and likewise in reverse. However, in retrospect there was one major aspect that they - and we - overlooked.

We had a couple of beers after golf, then showered and changed for dinner, which was preceded by G & T's. Normally we would all have been seated at one big table for 12, but this time, it was two tables of 6. We all happily took our places and ate (and drank) our way through dinner. It was only afterwards that we realised we had virtually been sitting shoulder to shoulder - we definitely were not one metre apart. Why didn't we realise this and say something prior to sitting down? This was a classic example of how a few drinks relaxes you and lowers your guard. Lesson learned. The hotel should have managed this aspect a little better.

Anyway, I felt sufficiently relaxed after the weekend's experience to take advantage of an Itison offer and have booked an overnight stay for Jo and I at Dunkeld House Hotel (https://www.dunkeldhousehotel.co.uk/). Avoiding the Glasgow and Perthshire holiday weekends and October school holidays mean that it'll be another 6 weeks or so before we go - Tuesday 27th October to be exact.

I chose, however, to decline the opportunity to join our Hill-walking group on the planned trip to the Trossachs which is scheduled to clash a little with the Glasgow September holiday weekend. We had been due to go to the Peak District back in May but that obviously had to be cancelled, so this shorter (and nearer) trip had been planned as part compensation. Eight of the group are going ahead but four of us have now cancelled. The new Government imposed restrictions mean that you can only have 2 households sitting together, which make mingling and socialising even more difficult.

We did finally manage a trip in to Aberdeen on Friday to see Ross, who was looking good and seemed fairly happy, especially considering he is out of work now and scraping along on Universal Credit. Let's hope he can find employment again soon. After lunch in his flat, Ross walked us back to our car, which was parked outside a house with a small garden that was absolutely bursting with colourful flowers:

This weekend was also when CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival - a huge annual event in London - was due to take place. In its place we had a virtual event via Zoom. We subscribed to two separate beer tastings - one on Friday and another on Saturday. The latter was the better one, but all the beers were pretty interesting - and new to me.

Last week we should have been flying back from Phoenix after our week's holiday there - and arriving at Medford Airport, which may not have been recommended - or even possible, given the state of the fires there, which led to Cade and his girlfriend evacuating from their home and decamping at Scott and Lucy's for a few days. They're back in Medford now, but only after Cade had a medical scare with a blood clot necessitating a trip to A & E. And we think we've got problems.

Jo's been laying out her knitted squares in the front room:

Very pretty - they're going to be sewed together to make a blanket.

I'm still waiting to hear from our GP practice about the blood test that my cardiologist asked to be done. I think I'm going to have to chase them up this week.