Creatures of Habit
I was roused from my self-regulating ‘snooze button’ when the door to my bedroom was pushed open at 0750 and I was greeted by a wet nose and waggy tail. Jack usually waits for me to call him in – but only at the weekend – and so I took it as a sign that he wanted to get up and get on with his day. Jack and I walked through the Lodge Grounds round to Links Rd where I had left my car yesterday afternoon in order to take the train to Prestonpans intent on joining friends in celebrating J’s 60th birthday. It being the start of half term and a bit of a reunion of former colleagues I had decided not to drive. Lunch had been arranged for 1pm at the Prestoungrange Gothenburg and only one person knew I would be there. In times gone by when I worked at PLHS we often favoured The Goth as it is locally known and were rarely disappointed. I love the culture and history that is apparant in every twist and turn; the painted ceilings, tapestry, cosy log fire and friendly bar staff make it a destination as well as a drop in. Sadly, times have changed and as much as the building offered the same hope and promise of a grand day out, the food left much to be desired, coupled with the fact that the room we had been given was freezing. I am not backwards at coming forwards and would ordinarily have complained about my food: a very small haddock fillet enveloped in multiple layers for tasteless thick batter. A few soggy chips underneath and some hard overcooked peas did nothing to help. However, I didn’t want to make a fuss as I had slightly gate-crashed the event, and my review will be a little more honest. After lunch we moved into the bar and arranged ourselves by the cosy log fire. Great company, a couple of vodkas and a glass or two of red wine and it was just like old times. Being with The A Team felt like being home and inspired me further to attempt to build the same level of trust and bonhomie with my team at Meadowpark as V had done at PLHS before retiring.
He came round to take Jack for the week – we are sharing custody – and stayed for a coffee and almond croissant – thank you Bostock bakery for my new bad habit: fresh croissants and bread on Saturday mornings.
As I watched Him and Jack walk away I felt sad for so many reasons, but mostly because I would have to be completely alone for a few days without my four legged best friend. However, I set about vacuuming and relishing the fact that Jack’s usual rest points – between the kitchen and living room doors, at the top of the stairs and on the rug in the loft, would remain dog hair free for a week. I ironed linen confidently knowing that dog hairs would not appear on my sheet and duvet cover and pottered about without my usual shadow padding behind me. Ironically at around 5.30pm I was feeling very restless. This of course is the time that I would habitually take Jack for his evening walk, after he’d been fed and before we could both settle in for the evening. It has been a foul day weather wise and the wind was battering again the velux in the loft but I could contain my itchy feet no longer and so took myself off for a walk. I walked along the beach and watched the white spume of the waves crash onto the shore even as dust was settling in. The sky was heavy and flecked with so many tones of grey, and the wind buffeted the pompom on my hat. I missed having my companion but relished being outside.
I stopped off at Locketts to get a bottle of wine for the weekend and was greeted by G who informed me that the wine I had chosen – Logan Weemala Pinot Noir – had been extremely popular today. Glad to be on trend.
And so having suffered writer’s block for the last 2 months I intend to get back into the habit of regular blogging.
A slight change to the format – there won’t always be a poem, but I hope I can share something that I have discovered during the day that made me laugh, cry, frown or question. Today 2 things: I saw an advert for a T-shirt for women born in April which read: ‘ I was born with my heart on my sleeve, a fire in my soul and a mouth I can’t control’! Just can’t disagree with that one! Downside thing was a GRRR – someone has damaged my car while it was parked on a side street in NB overnight. Upside: Facebook gave me a forum to vent my frustration and a number of responses reaffirmed I was not alone. It does help to share the pain!
FINALLY – Think of one thing you did today that added value. Yes you did.
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