Homeward ...

Back in the west, having escaped more or less all the threatened precipitation other than when we had to drive through one or two short showers. I hate packing, whether to go somewhere or to leave it again, and today seemed particularly exhausting largely because it involved not only clothes but a duvet and two pillows , as well as all these last-minute checks of switches and taps and leaving the family's house as clean and tidy as we found it.

However, the threats of rain that had me visualising dashing back and forth to the car in the wet became instead warm sun, so that by the time we sank into the car to leave we felt like having a sleep. But we managed to resist, and by doing without lunch found ourselves in Greenock with 45 minutes to spare before the hair appointment I'd managed to make. This meant tea and something to eat in the wonderful Tonino's (if you're ever passing through West Greenock, I do recommend this for a pit stop). The something materialised as hot salty flatbread pieces with two kinds of olive oil to dip ... 

An hour later, minus the irritating bits of hair that had somehow become decidedly non-chic, we were heading for the ferry - my extra shows the dramatic view from the Western Ferries terminal. However, the main photo is of the promenade along the front from Hunter's Quay to Dunoon, palm trees and all, against the background of dramatic clouds that somehow spared us. This is the road the council have suggested ruining with cycle lanes and dedicated pedestrian routes on the wrong side of the road.

Now it's midnight and we've unpacked and eaten aubergine and garlic pasta and raspberries with yogurt and fallen asleep over the news and I've become long-winded again because I'm back at my computer. Nothing changes...