quiescently

Just after crossing back over the level-crossing on the way back the alarum sounded and the lights began to flash, causing approaching cars to stop. A wee man appeared from somewhere, darted about for a bit and then waved the cars on as the lights cut out, which made the short trot back towards to crossing with the boy on my shoulders (after he decided he wasn't going to bother walking anywhere himself) slighty unnecessary. The settlement seemed slightly less tacky by daylight (when normal house-buildings rather than just the brightly-lit tourist-based constructions were visible) but still seems to lack a normal population rather than codger-tourists or loafing youth-childrens.

I think the last time I was in Inverness prior to this evening was whichever winter festive period the Indonesian tsunami occurred during, when I ended up spending boxing day catching the odd bit of it on the news in between running to and shuffling back from the hotel bathroom after catching some form of unpleasant winter vomiting virus, which I think was the same visit when it suddenly went extremely snowy on the day we drove back (it being a different visit when we were staying in a caravan when there was some localised flooding on the day we drove back). A blip-search for "Inverness" by me picks up nothing actually taken in Inverness, so I assume I haven't been back there during the past five and a half years. It was quite nice to be able to get to it in under an hour to pop to visit the nieces and nephew and let them poke at Edgar and try and get him to give them repeated cuddles. He didn't seem too disrupted by falling asleep on the way back then being re-woken to be transferred to his cot but did eventually decide he was going to be unsettled a little later.