The life and times of purplekitten» holiday

Bristol and other stories

Kathy Bragg — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:45:47 +0000

NaCl,
originally uploaded by synx508.

Last weekend, where weekend begins on a Thursday for purposes of this tale), Phil and I headed out to Bristol to meet up with my brother Andrew, his friends from uni and some beer. We also went to see Pete Atkin in a church in Bristol.
Pete, as usual, was fabulous, if nervous, and a good time was had by all.
Friday, Phil and I wandered blithely around Bristol, making our way to Clifton for an evening of drinking with Andrew and friends. I can totally recommend Bath Ales’ “Gem” if you enjoy a warm toffee-ey ale with plenty of flavour. Much merriment and foolishness ensued, but the very pinnacle of the evening was Chris and Aaron’s chemistry-symbols-with-fingers display. They also do organic molecules, with long-chain molecules dependent on obliging friends to provide extra carbon chains.
It was fun. We should meet up with those guys more often, they are delightfully strange and deliciously intelligent, being Maths and Physics graduates all. Sadly, I’m the dunce of the family.

Standing stones have moved

Kathy Bragg — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 15:06:16 +0000

Yesterday we ventured,via bus, to Tobermory. The journey was suitably hair-raising: the road is quite as scary as I remember. It appears that we must cycle it though, as there is a ferry from Tobermory that will take us to Kilchoan on the mainland, and philb wishes to ride around that area. Therefore it is necessary to cycle to Tobermory.
Tobermory was more or less as I remember it; I found myself irritated by the Balamory merchandising everywhere, but, as philb pointed out, visitors have certain expectations and it would be foolish not to cater to them.
We had some nice ice-cream from the Island Bakery, and bimbled up and down the harbour for a while until the last bus back at 2pm.
Today we ventured out shortly after breakfast, aiming to be Doing Things before the heat of midday, but even at 9am it was excessively hot. We walked up the hill above Dervaig, on the Tobermory road and stopped to admire the view. From there, we could see all the way to the sea and the island of Coll in the distance. We entered an eerily-neat conifer forest and were struck by the theatrical placement of some standing stones. Most impressive. Having not taken the map with us, we then blundered around the forest, climbing higher and higher, looking for the further sets of stones but failed to find them. On later perusal of the map, we were actually within a whisker of them, and the hill we were stumbling around on is called Glen Gorm. Struck me as being made mostly of peat bog and insects.
Having been stupidly hot this morning, it is now pleasantly cool and cloudy. We shall venture out to the pub for dinner and then probably walk around the loch.
Incidentally, the local beer is fanastic: we’ve been drinking the Island Pale Ale which is light, delicately-fragrant and most welcome after a hot day. I wonder if it for sale in bottles anywhere, as a quick search of Tobermory’s shops proved fruitless.
Tomorrow we venture to Treshnish and Crackaig, which are further round than Calgary, although I hope to stop for a paddle again.

Mulling it over

Kathy Bragg — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:08:15 +0000

It is now abundantly clear that the seats on the Caledonian Sleeper are designed for no other purpose than to persuade you to pay, an additional Â£34 per person, for a berth where there might be a danger of being able to sleep. I can sleep on most train seats, but such was the skill and attention to detail of the designer of these particular seats, that they were uncomfortable in all particulars: the back curved exactly the wrong way to accommodate the human spine; the headrest sloped toward the head, forcing your head forward in a most uncomfortable manner; the spacing between seats was such that there was minimal legroom; and the overall effect was a restlessness, an aching tailbone, a stiff neck and a night devoid of restful sleep.
In such a weary condition did we arrive yesterday in Glasgow, where at 7am we made a beeline for the ticket office and upgraded our return tickets. Another success for the chair designer.
The three hours from Glasgow to Oban were more pleasantly spent – the train was full but spacious enough to allow com
fort. It did, however, arrive slightly late and there was a mad dash for the ferry, where we were loaded on with the cars, which was a little intimidating.
All too soon we arrived at Craignure on Mull and faced the part I had been dreading for months: the 23 mile ride across the island to Dervaig. Either the lack of sleep had rendered me insensible of physical fatigue, or I am in fact fitter than I thought (or indeed, look), but we made it in 2 hours 15, which included several stops to admire scenery. Which isn’t bad really, as parts of the road are quite rough, and almost none of it is flat! I must speak up in praise of panniers: I barely noticed the fact I was carrying 90 litres of luggage, except on the steeper inclines, and am amazed how easy and practical they make holidaying by bicycle.
We were too tired yesterday afternoon (we arrived here at 3pm) to do anything but bathe, eat and sleep. I think it was the promise of a bath that had kept me going up the last few hills.
This morning we arose at 7.30 (although through long habit I had awoken at 05:40 and was surprised to see no Mogret staring at me). Breakfast was consumed and then we started the ride to Calgary Bay. For those that have seen our wedding photos, this was where they were taken. It’s about 5 miles from Dervaig, so it didn’t take too long to get there and we were soon paddling in the sea like a couple of children, splashing and dancing into the waves. We stayed on the beach for a while and then started the ride back to Dervaig. It didn’t take quite so long to get back, as the return journey seemed to be mostly downhill. I honestly didn’t notice the journey there being especially uphilly, but it must have been, as I got up a fair turn of speed on the way back, freewheeling most of it.
Tomorrow we shall venture on the bus to Tobermory, as I do not fancy that road by bike – it is a winding road that cars take far too fast, and I don’t think it cycle-friendly.
I love this house we are staying in: the owner is warm and friendly and the household consists of 2 cats, 2 dogs, numerous chickens and some ducks. There are mushrooms too, but they live elsewhere. In fact, on the cat front I have been especially bless’d as I have met no less than seven cats so far. The two that live here are most delightful.
Our cats are apparently failing to pine for us – we spoke to Phil’s house-sitting mother earlier. There has been an incident of an even randomer cat breaking in through the cat flap; a cat that I had mocked Phil about before as he insisted it had been in the house but we never saw it since so I declared he had dreamed it. Now mum has seen it too. It will have to be discouraged as we only adopt waifs and strays.
Oh dear, it looks like I’m going to have to suffer the sight of another glorious sunset over the loch. Shucks, it’s a hard life..

holiday plans

Kathy Bragg — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 10:27:16 +0000

As you may or may not know, we got married on the isle of Mull in Scotland. That was over two years ago now, and we haven’t been back since. This sorry state of affairs must be remedied at the earliest convenience of the lovely Caroline Wood who graciously provided accommodation, a wedding reception and a witness for the ceremony itself.

I can now excitedly confirm that we have booked a two week stay and now just need to organise trains to get us there. I’m unbearably excited: I’ve felt what can only be called a call to go back there, and I’m really looking forward to having a bicycle to potter around on. But I so need to get fit again, in order to be able to negotiate some quite fierce hills.

Last time we went I was regrettably ill-prepared: I had purchased new walking shoes, and had thought that I had broken them in, but a combination of unsuitable socks and the new-shoe phenomenon led to me being blister-riddled and unable to do much exploring. Those shoes (fondly known as my Clomping Shoes) are now 2.5 years old, and much worn. I shall purchase some double-layer socks for us both, and all shall be well, in the foot department at least. I think I need to start preparing my legs for the shock, several months in advance!