Reflection

A day into which we probably tried to fit too much. It started with an eighty mile drive to Bridge of Allen, lured by the thought of World Textile Day and lots of lovely fabrics to feel, wonder at, and, of course, buy. Well, I was quite restrained - just five fat quarters of African cotton and a couple of scarves made from recycled saris, with kantha embroidery, which may well end up as presents. Or I might make them into a jacket ...  While I was doing this, TM had a snooze in the car, then came along to the hall for tea and cake laid on by the ladies of the Rural.

He was sufficiently energised by that to feel like driving a bit further west so I could take a look at a ruined Priory on the Lake of Menteith. There was a reason, but I won't go into that, it would take too long. I never saw it, because it is on the island in the picture, and there was no sign of the boat which is supposed to take you across. In any case we were running out of time, because ....

We had tickets of the Borders Book Festival in Melrose.  We got there in good time and TM went off to his event (something about the Black Sea) and I to mine - Kirsty Wark talking to John Lanchester about his latest novel 'The Wall'. He's not a natural speaker but KW drew him out, and his commitment to the fight against global warning was evident. Made me wonder about all the driving about we'd done today, and the ethics of buying stuff from the other side of the world.  I'll certainly be reading the book.