A hidden gem

The invalid is still a-bed. Coughing. Looking miserable. Not eating anything - not even custard. What is to be done? The doctor would just say stay in bed and get over it. But this has been rather a long time.

I went swimming. Wednesdays are excellent - plenty of room. I did my 20 lengths with plenty of stops. The lady I was sharing the Slow Lane with did not stop. I congratulated her. She'd just had her gall bladder removed (not sure of the time scale, but I'm presuming it wasn't just yesterday...) and was just getting back to her 40 lengths without stopping. She recommended Zumba, too. As being good for what, I don't know.

I couldn't save myself with the crawl if I fell off a boat, but at least I can resort to 'Granny Swimming' as my old and much missed (not) teacher used to call breast stroking without getting your hair wet.

I popped out on a wee jaunt, as I've spent a lot of time in my cupboard dark room of late. I went to a place that I haven't been for years - Swanston Village. I was looking for Robert Louis Stevenson's house in his teenage years. His 'cottage', I was sure, would be a wee quaint white thatched cottage. But there were no signs or helpful hints. It was like a time warp. Nobody around.

I did spy an elderly lady brushing her the step of her cottage and had a few words with her, and she directed me to RLS's cottage - down past the farm. Eventually found the 'cottage', only after asking a farmer. It was no cottage. It was a huge double storied bay windowed mansion. Not quite what I had in mind.

But first I popped into the 'brasserie'. The last thing you'd expect to find in this wee quaint, empty place - it's not even a village, just a few houses. Anyway, went up the stairs to the brasserie and it was like entering another world. It was mobbed! Crowds of folk eating and drinking and celebrating. Huge windows looking out on the golf course, which is on the hillside, so must prove quite difficult., but I suppose all the greens are horizontal. Maybe not.

It's quite a wee hidden gem. Well, not hidden to the folk who were there. If I were to take up golf (and funnily enough, all the male members of my family were and some still are, expert golfers) it would be at this wee club.

I stood for ages, zoomed in on the three horses on the horizon and the big bare trees. It would have been a brilliant shot. But I wanted them all to turn profile, or at least see their heads in profile. I called and shouted at them to turn around. Nope.

Eventually this wee chap came to see what I wanted. So he's my blip. There was a fence wire right across the shot, but I used the 'content aware' spot healing brush in PS, and it was gone in seconds. Brilliant. I love technology!