Old-school

Term restarted today - not school, though heaven knows that's early enough these days, in Scotland at least - but at our Pilates class, resuming after our teacher's summer holiday. As one of the symptoms of what seems to be nerve damage in my back is lack of sensation, I was nervous about doing some of the stretching exercises that I usually love, so I stuck in an extra plank or two instead. So far, so good ... It was good to be back , though, and good to see my friends again.

It was a strange afternoon as regards weather - it looked as if the sun was really coming out, as it is in the photos, but in fact after I took them the clouds slithered in from the north and the blue sky because a memory only distantly visible to the south. We had a lovely walk at Toward (again!) because of the promising sky, though by the time we were returning to the car and I'd wanted to take to the shore and scramble back through some slippy boulders ... well let's just say there was plenty of time for the weather to change.

My main photo is of the decidedly old-school means of communication in the corner near Toward lighthouse. The phone box, despite its scabby appearance, still has its equipment inside, though I was unwilling to try it; there as also a notice saying there was a mind to remove the box and what did we think about it... It is flanked by, on the right, a post-box for letters written on paper; I've never been convinced that things posted there would ever arrive. And on the left there is a bus-stop, so you don't need to stay put should things go wrong even if your car has died or you never had one in the first place. I thought they were cheerily splendid.

My extra photo is of the field we've been watching grow as we've walked past. It's been growing wildly during the months since May, and today it had just been reaped and was lying in sweetly-scented curled rows. 

I was going to say more, but I've started falling asleep and writing completely incomprehensible nonsense. I think my brain is trying to tell me something!