welcome

Thank you for all your good wishes for my journey home last night. After the initial hoohaa it was all fine, lots of seats freed up after the first stop and although we were delayed by 20 minutes at Carlisle, the connecting train to Dumfries (last one!) was held until everyone was on board. I'm still not put off using public transport and would never ever consider driving all that way. And I don't blame Virgin Trains as the situation (possibly a tragic one for somebody) was completely out of their control and remedied as soon as possible. D and jess were overjoyed to see me and it was lovely to step out of the car and breathe the cool clean air of Dumfries and Galloway again. I love visiting cities but I love coming home, too.

I had a lovely afternoon a the relaunch of the Moving Stories Community Choir, hosted by MOOL (Massive Outpouring of Love) Refugee Action. Lots of exciting plans, including sharing songs with Syrians who have settled in our region* and with refugees in camps, using webcams. Kate taught us three songs today, including one specially commissioned from Lucy Renwick for the "Begin with a Grin" campaign, which aims to strengthen communities by encouraging us to smile and talk to each other instead of looking at our feet or our phones. It was so nice to sing again. Everyone was grinning.


* a Syrian cafe has opened in Dumfries, called Levantine. I've not yet visited by I've heard that the food is delicious. Welcome to our world!