MP Simon Opher at St Laurence’s church Stroud

I attended the launch of Stroud Dementia Action Alliance at St Laurence’s church. MP Simon Opher, the man in the middle, spoke passionately at the end. On his left is John Colquhoun, who launched a charity called EngageD now and a lunch club in Stroud, and on the right Jeremy Porteous, who advised the previous government on health.

Afterwards my friend K and I went for coffee. Then o grabbed some lunch at home, and Steve took me to the station to catch a train to Birmingham airport. Despite a scare about a cancelled train, all went well until I was about to board the plane, when I found out that my small bag was too big, and I got landed with a £48 surcharge. Ouch. I’d been looking for one of the bag-measuring containers in the checking-in hall, but had not been able to find one. I was annoyed, but what could I do at the the entrance to the plane, but pay up? I need this bag for work.

In Edinburgh, I marvelled at the changes to the airport in the 40-odd years since I’d been there, and set off to find my friend Elspeth, who was driving around. We were reunited at last, and she took me back to her new home in Almondbank, near Perth. We bypassed Bridge of Earn, where we first met at school, but I could see the Bridge from the A9.

Elspeth’s house is in a quiet street not unlike ours, and it’s remarkably together, considering she only moved this year, and has been to India and Australia since then, as well as working full-on until the end of January. She has a knack for putting things together. The guest bedroom is large and comfortable. I look forward to the days ahead.