Early morning Queen

We're into the mornings when the light wakens us before we're ready to be awake. Today I was up at 6.30am, taking photos of the wonderful red pre-sunrise sky in my usual precarious (and chilly) hanging-out-of-window mode, but I went back to bed, turned my back on the sky, and slept again till a message pinged in at 7.30. My younger son, in Leith: are you awake? There's a warship coming your way ... That finished it. No more sleep. I checked my ship finder: a cluster of tugs off Cumbrae. Presumably my target was in among them. Quick cup of tea, check again. And for some reason, briefly, the main attraction appeared among her attendant tugs, just off Toward Point: HMS Queen Elizabeth. Billions of pounds worth of new aircraft carrier, coming to a loch near you. 

When she did appear, she was enormous. Sadly, she was also dead in line with the sun, now risen above the hills on the other side of the water, so getting a clear picture of her remarkable outline was impossible against the land. So here she is, just turning slightly west to head towards Loch Long, where she is now tucked further inland that you would think possible.

The rest of the day was more normal: Pilates in the morning, then a watching paint dry moment as my computer finished a major update of the operating system. A witty Mothers Day card from my older son arrived, making me smile, and I started reading a Susan Hill tec. 

After lunch we were fairly expeditious and got out to drive to Ardentinny, on Loch Long (actually hoping to catch sight of the ship, but she's too far up the loch). We had the most lovely walk - quite strenuous uphill, and we were both tired, but so peaceful, with the only sign of life a slowly circling MOD Police launch below us in the vicinity of the nuclear submarine floating dock.  Some of the strange cluster of monkey puzzles on the hillside have been blown down, and lay looking like defeated aliens on the ground. There were blackbirds and robins and great tits sounding like a squeaky door, and no people until we were back down in the village at 5pm and the dog walkers were out. 

Isn't it strange, though: I can't resist the views of naval ships that I see from my bedroom, but I loathe the fact that all this military hardware is stashed away in our quiet lochs, far from the Fat Controller in London and his minions. Just saying ...

Adding an extra of the bird-strewn shore in the village of Ardentinny on our way back to the car, just for balance.