Here we all were, sitting in a rain cloud

Starting with a Small Faces reference from 1968, to keep you on your toes. You'll find Ogden's Nut Gone on YouTube I daresay.

But anyway, here atop the Porridge Hill, where we normally have a view across the Moray Firth from Inverness to Lossiemouth, we only had misty stuff and heavy splosh at breakfast.

So the morning was spent in builders' merchants looking at sanitary ware and, finally, we Made Decisions. Till we change them, anyway. The afternoon was picking out electricals for the kitchen, and the manager said "if you want that much we'll definitely do you a deal". So that's something.

In between there was lunch, and that's what this is about. In 2003 I did a consulting job for a big magazine publisher in London, and I flew down every week from Inverness. One plane did three return flights a day, always with the same crew. Friday return was relaxing, with the Highland MPs (Lib Dems in the days before the avalanche swept them away). We regulars got to know the crew well.

Anyway the head of the cabin crew went off to start a deli/restaurant in Beauly called Corner on the Square. (Has everyone got their maps out?) Today we went in for a takeaway picnic, for the first time since we started shielding in early 2020.

Much mutual recognition and catching up. My lunch was this Gigha smoked halibut, beetroot and fresh dill quiche, along with some soup and coffee, and it was all damn fine jolly marvellous. When there's nothing else to show, follow the old rule and blip your lunch.

And you might find www.gigha.org.uk worth a look.