Greetings from Scotland!

Greetings all from up North – I’ve come home for a last minute sort-your-life-out trip of unspecified duration. This will not be the most amazing entry I’ll ever come up with, but I figured I may as well keep you updated. Sorry once again for neglecting you (the few of you that care) but see above, under life sorting...

Various things have happened in the past week. First I discovered that I CANNOT play pool. Then I had a busy few days being suddenly popular in that way one usually is when one announces that one is going away for a while.

I had a blood-pressure-raising trip home, which involved one over-large suitcase (I will learn how to pack some day), six trains, and cost me £141 more than it ought to have done. National Rail are getting a letter of complaint, and I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank sensible old Mel, not only for stopping me from killing the pedantic little wotsit who is to blame, but for ignoring my spectacular pratfall in the middle of London Kings Cross station when I went to angrily kick a bin and missed!

Once I eventually got home, I bummed about and enjoyed the family’s brief presences. I toyed with the idea of getting a puppy for my 21st, fell out with a friend over the issue, and finally was informed today by the universe that “my” dog just isn’t out there at the moment. We confirmed once and for all that Pepper is not my dog, but does in fact belong to...my sister... And no, I have no idea how we came to that conclusion, given that this time five years ago she was sitting across from me at breakfast sobbing “I- don’t- want- a- dog”, but there it is.

This weekend I went into town with mum and shopped with her money, which is always more fun than shopping with an empty wallet, and yet I still only came home with one skirt. (Not for lack of trying things on though – since when did “denim shorts” mean “hot pants”, and why are all the denim skirts in the stores uncomfortably short - or am I the only one who minds flashing the edge of my knickers when I bend over? Or do I just need to lighten up and purchase smaller pants to go with said smaller skirt, and embrace the trend that seems to assume everyone in Portsmouth wants to see my bum...? Answers on a postcard please, and bless the dear old Gap for still stocking denim skirts in Laura-acceptable lengths!)

On Sunday we took the dog for a nice castle walk in the sun – Scotland seems to actually be getting a summer this year, miracle of miracles, and I knew it would cos I didn’t bring my capris! It was a classic lazy day just like way back when I still lived at home, and was very good for restoring the morale. My mother, bless her, even flirted with the waiter...

Today I nipped to the eye docs to confirm that I still very much need glasses. I did this on my battered old bike, and I also discovered that that particular muscle group was long overdue for a workout! I also remembered why the sister and I stopped going for bike rides – when one lives on the top of a hill, the way out is great fun, but the way home is taxing!

Tomorrow the sister is off work, finally, so hopefully I’ll get to spend some long overdue time with her. In fact, I shall leave this very fascinating blog entry to go watch some American Dad with her, I think.

Hope all is well down South. I hope to be back soon, watch this space!