Sparkle

Just after midnight on Saturday morning and time for one last special moment before we head home...

The sky here is almost untroubled by light pollution - the woods outside our cabin are pitch black at night and we've been out every evening to look at the stars. Some nights have been a little overcast but on a good night it's like being inside our own private planetarium. It really boggles the mind!

I've been reminded of the 10,000 Maniacs song, The Painted Desert (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc74mXG_gGs) which contains the line "the stars were so many there, they seemed to overlap". (I'm not sure that Arizona and Arran have much else in common but who knows?!)

Tonight wasn't the clearest but we made up for that by lighting some sparklers and relishing our last few hours on this lovely island. We'll miss it!

How about some Sparklehorse? www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyvlYVZPW1g

Incidentally, one of the reasons I'll miss Arran is the time it's allowed me for reading. This week I've been lucky enough to have read an uncorrected proof of Margaret Atwood's new novel, 'The Heart Goes Last', which is due to be published later this month (there are definite perks to having a partner in the book trade!!). I finished the book this morning and loved it although I often found myself squirming as I read! It certainly doesn't hit the heights of 'Oryx and Crake', 'The Year of the Flood', 'The Blind Assassin' or 'Alias Grace' but it's a dark and twisted romp through the lives, loves and lusts of a group of people in a near future which is as imaginable as it is horrific.