here we are

I'm sitting at my friend's computer marvelling at how clean it is.  The keys are nice and shiny.  It makes a big difference, that sort of thing.  The journey to Scotland was largely broken up by Babycake screaming.  The first leg was fine, and we thought we had it sussed.  We stopped every couple of hours and fed him, then he went straight back to sleep.  The second leg, however, was a little different.  He was all windy, and we had to keep stopping to get him burp or fart.  Now, if anyone had told me that I would be doing this a year ago, I wouldn't have believed them.

We're here now though.  I keep forgetting how beautiful Scotland is.  The scenery somtimes looks like something created by Peter Jackson.  It just doesn't look real.  The air is clear and the sun is shining in a clear blue sky.  It was lovely sitting outside having a fag this morning.  I also forgot how good the roads are.  Long, or just long enough, and straight with lovely smooth surfaces.  Just perfect for encouraging idiots to speed along at 100 MPH.  Of course, I didn't do that.

We arrived at my parents' home several hours late.  Apparently, the whole clan had been waiting for a couple of hours but had to give up to go about their business.  They had left behind an emissary in the form of my little nephew, Craig, who is five.  He was so excited about seeing his new cousin that he couldn't bring himself to leave.  He wanted to be the first to meet him.  Craig was very, very sweet.  At one point, while my dad was holding Babycake, Craig, who is my dad's No.1 grandson, told my dad that Babycake could be his No.1 and he would be his No.2.  How lovely is that?  My dad, surprisingly, was quite sweet too, he told Craig that he and Babycake could be his joint No.1s.  He then added that Craig's two brothers could be No.2 and No.3.  It is nice the way he manages to keep alive the family competition about who is the most loved amongst the children.

I am now debating with myself whether I was being a bit silly arranging to come to Scotland for two nights.  I think I just wanted to make the experience as painless as possible, and for me that meant short.  Now that we are here though, I am realising that this will mean that we can do absolutely nothing but visit my family.  There just will not be time to do anything else.  I have to be back in England for Friday, but I think I might cancel a few things, so that we can stay a bit longer.

By the way, Steve, I think I saw your house.  Was it the one with the conservatory by the motor way?  We waved but no one seemed to be at home.