In
January and February 2008 we went on another Big Trip, this time to
Libya. See Libya for our travel diaries
and pictures in time-honoured fashion. This blog entry covers the
first part of the month, before we set off.
Tue 1
Jan
The
midnight fireworks marked the start of the new year. In the morning
Ness came in to wake me up and we went downstairs to have breakfast
with Mama. We spent the morning together at home, doing this and
that. Mischa called to say Happy New Year. Re-using some Christmas
wrapping paper Ness wrapped up the CD’s I had bought from MDC on the
South Bank months ago and these made a successful New Year’s present
for Mama. For lunch, Mama had prepared one of my favourites, blinde
vinken with fried potatoes and onions, delicious. We left around one
o’clock and Ness drove the whole stretch under grey skies, which
cleared only a little as we got to IJmuiden. We waited to board the
ferry and took advantage of the opportunity to have some
bitterballen and a broodje haring at the ferry terminal cafeteria.
We boarded the Princess of Norway a little later and found our
cabin. “Just” Commodore class this time – still a very decent cabin,
with a double rather than two single beds as on the King of
Scandinavia (formerly a French vessel, hence the “lits jumeaux” as
Peter had informed us). I got us moved to a different cabin as the
one next to us had screaming kids (the one we ended up in had a
broken loo, ah well). We had a drink in the main bar but didn’t
linger long as it was more in the style of a dark night-club rather
than a pleasant lounge. Before dinner we went for a stroll on deck,
finding a deserted Sky Bar on the top deck, now of course closed
(too cold/dark, etc.) There was no wind other than that produced by
the ship’s own speed. Later we had another tasty dinner in the Blue
Riband restaurant, as the ferry slowly corkscrewed its way across
the North Sea. I keep saying it, this is one of my favourite ways of
travelling (the other one of course being by train). We had a final
drink in the bar and then headed off to bed. Fantastic start to the
year.
Wed 2
Jan
We both
woke up refreshed, enjoying the slow motion of the boat, and went
down one deck to have breakfast, again in the Blue Riband restaurant
and I was glad to find a Danish buffet, complete with tasty dark
bread and herring. We arrived at Newcastle around ten o’clock. It
was grey and heavily overcast, bordering on mist. I drove us back to
North Berwick, where we arrived after a short two-hour drive. We did
have good intentions to go for a nice beach walk and spa session but
as it was so grey outside we ended up spending most of the afternoon
indoors, watching a bit of TV, unpacking a little, having some lunch
and tea, etc. We drove into Edinburgh later on and went to see “I am
legend” at the Odeon cinema on Lothian Road, in the city centre. The
film itself was so-so, but with plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat
moments. Afterwards we found a halfway decent bistro/eatery on
Broughton Street called the Olive Branch or something like that, and
then drove back home and into bed.
Thu 3
Jan
First day
back at work. As I lay in bed in the morning I was trying to
convince myself to go for a short morning beach walk, but it was
warm and snug inside and cold and dark outside. Back to relative
normality, for a brief period before we’re off to Libya in a bit
over a week. Commute into town, picked up the customary medium
“Americano” from Costa’s and spent the rest of the day at the
office. I popped out for lunch at one o’clock. It had been snowing
on and off during the morning, thick snow flakes, but it was too
warm for the snow to accumulate and instead resulted in slippery
pavements. My favourite sandwich place had shut down. I ended up
having a large burger at All-Bar-One, and then back to the office
for the afternoon. It carried on snowing on and off.
Fri 4
Jan
Caught
the train into Edinburgh and went into the office. The office was
virtually deserted, with only one other person on the ground floor.
I had hit on an idea for an area to focus on, something which
combines my IT trade with my “international” outlook, the latter a
rather nebulous concept which means something to me but I have
trouble articulating. The idea is to look into the concepts of
internationalisation, localisation, globalisation, etc. for computer
systems. I did a few searches on the internet as well as W3 and
quickly came up with some relevant information and contacts within
IBM. I ended up staying at the office until after six o’clock and
caught a late train back home. I think we a chinky for dinner in
front of the TV.
Sat 5
Jan
We had a
lovely lazy long lie-in. Ness watched Sherlock Holmes episodes while
I read my book. We haven’t done this for ages. Later we spent some
time doing things around the house. It feels more and more like a
real home now as we start to put things in the right places and
recreating some space for ourselves. We built a nice log fire in our
lounge at the end of the day. No loud rowdies outside and with the
window open slightly we could hear the sounds of the waves outside.
Sun 6
Jan
We had
planned to go out for the day and from one of the walking guides we
had picked a short walk focused on the Falkirk Wheel. Today was the
last day it was open for several weeks before closing for a few
weeks of maintenance. Ness prepared a flask of tea and packed some
snacks, including two slices of her delicious Christmas cake. We
drove in Eddie and reached Falkirk in less than an hour. It was not
the most scenic area, with lots of pebble-dash housing estates and
nearby the background of the Grangemouth industrial area
(refineries, oil terminals), but a worthwhile outing all the same.
We parked the car at Lock 16, a traditional canal lock, and walked
towards the Falkirk Wheel. First point of interest along the way was
the Antonine Wall, which marked the northernmost extent of the Roman
Empire. It was a rather odd sight, no more than a mud rampart and
ditch, but looked very scenic with the greenery and trees on the
banks and accumulated leaves in the ditch. A bit further on we
reached the Falkirk Wheel, a unique rotating boat “lift”. We were
lucky with our timing and had arrived just in time to go on a boat
trip on the wheel. We were both grinning with pleasure, suckers for
a ride! The wheel lifted us thirty-five metres above the basin,
connecting with the canal at the higher elevation. When we got back
down it had started to rain pretty heavily. We had our flask of tea
while sat in the entrance lobby and then walked along the canal tow
path back to the car. The Union Inn looked promising at first for a
spot of lunch and a pint, but we left promptly after peeking in
and getting stared at by the locals assembled round the bar. We drove
back, not quite ready to call it a day yet but unsure what else to
do or where to go. Ness had a brainwave and suggested the
Flotterstone Inn, by the Pentland Hills, for lunch. It was an
excellent idea and we had large and tasty chicken and mushroom pies,
with a decent pint of IPA for me and a lime and soda for Ness. Back
home we tried to sort out the printer and various other things. I
tried Sven and Sue, who had left us a message a few days ago to try
and arrange to meet up when they come to Scotland in March for their
holiday. We built another nice log fire, and cuddled up on the
settee to watch Mission Impossible.
Mon 7
Jan
Worked
from the Edinburgh office today. It was busier today than it had
been last week. Ness came into town in the afternoon to do some
shopping and we had a drink the Abbotsford pub on Rose Street, which
turned out to be a bit of a find (see 9 Jan).
Tue 8
Jan
Worked
from the Edinburgh office again today.
Wed 9
Jan
Worked
from home, just doing some general admin and a bit of on-line
training in the absence of any proper work. Spent some time locating
project roles for when we come back and it’s beginning to look
highly likely that I’ll end up in Swansea at the DVLA, but hopefully
only on a three day per week on-site basis – wait and see. In the
evening we drove into Edinburgh to meet Mark and Eliza. We met up at
the Abbotsford pub on Rose Street, which had been a real find the
other day. It has a lovely wooden bar, wood-panelling, good beers,
and a proper open fire, big wooden tables and benches, no fruit
machines, no music, just the sounds of conversation around the room.
We had dinner at “Above”, the restaurant on the floor above, in the
same vein but smart with it, linen tablecloths and so on. Definitely
up for a repeat!
Thu 10
Jan
I worked
from home again today. Not that there was any real “work” to do and
I simply completed a few on-line courses in the study. Meanwhile
Ness was busy sorting stuff out around the house in preparation for
our trip to Libya and trying to get as much sorted as possible. Not
easy when we had our team of Jimmy, Jan, Paul and Grant in and out
throughout the day. Back to business as usual with them and we’ve
had to accept that the remaining work will not be completed before
we go away, but at least there is progress: Jimmy fitted the Ikea
Pax cupboards and blinds in our bedroom, Jan moved the sconces in
the lounge a bit lower down, Paul applied some filler, etc. Slowly
getting there, but I could sense Ness was getting frustrated with
the ongoing upheaval. Outside it was overcast and raining pretty
steadily. I didn’t go out at all today in the end. Ness had a cinema
club meeting at the Blenheim hotel across the road and also popped
in to Hope and May, our neighbours below, to ask them to keep an eye
on our post while we’re away. For dinner we had a tasty pasta with
lamb ragú. Later we nodded off on the settee upstairs, each under a
blanket and curled up with Baloo and Joey.
Fri 11
Jan
Worked
from home. Well, not that there was any genuine work to do as such.
Jimmy, Paul, Grant, came and went.
