Two cats

Despite my actually spending quite some time looking out of that window today, watching for the return of PS Waverley to home waters after her sojourn Down South (yes, I'm as sad as that), I've plenty of photos to choose from today, and offer you a selection. All will be revealed ...

Made up for the disturbed night on Wednesday, I slept like the proverbial log and was in no hurry to get up. The builders didn't appear, despite only brief showers of rain to threaten their cement, so there were no voices outside and bed was ... cosy. I spent bits of the morning doing desultory cleaning jobs, mainly to do with the tendency of our water to create quantities of black slime whenever left in peace for a few days - so think shower, washbasin, kitchen sink. I also dusted, phoned a pal, and read the news as well as some more history.

The main event of today was actually the church Harvest Supper in the evening; for us, this involved taking keyboard, stand and stool down to the RC church hall (we haven't built one yet) on the East Bay and setting them up. We followed that with a brisk and slightly damp walk, and then sat down with some peppermint tea until it was time to go out.

I think I've mentioned before the capacity of our congregation to be hilarious, unexpected, gregarious ... and these qualities were all on show tonight. My friend (and partner in 8+1 on the second soprano line) had suggested we should sing Rossini's comic duet I Due Gatti - we had been down to do it years ago and I caught a cold and couldn't sing and then there was Covid and last year we were in Italy - so we'd actually practised it and thought about how we'd sell it. If you look carefully you might see my ears ...and a tail ... and there's a touch of leopard in there too. The only baby present loved it, apparently ... There was a fantastic Highland dancer, several guitarists, a violinist, some readings ... and there was food, and chat, and some great laughs. It was a BYOB affair, and as Himself wasn't drinking and driving I took my own wine in my chilly bottle that usually holds water... anyway, it was extremely jolly.

The last photo in the collage shows the scene outside at the end, as people staggered back to cars carrying various parcels, keyboards, instruments, amplifiers, past the lights the the church, which had perhaps been left on to help us to see where we were going. It was rather lovely, in a chilly sort of way. 

My watch tells me it's 7ºC outside tonight. I've not dug out the winter duvet yet - is it time, Blippers? Is it time?