Is it me?

I flew up to Aberdeen from Luton on Friday. Almost.

We were about to land when the aircraft accelerated and then the pilot announced that due to poor visibility we were diverting to Edinburgh. So we had to travel the last bit of the journey by bus. Arrived Aberdeen airport after midnight. No onward transport of course. I finally arrived in Keith 12 hours late.

Then the warm weather, which they had had all week disappeared. Yesterday we drove through a snowstorm to get to Aberdeen.

Why do I always seem to have this effect on transport and weather?

A day in London

I live in London. But I rarely go into London except for work or to meet friends. And Andrew works too hard without a break, even at weekends. So I suggested that today we spend a day in London. Which I organised and we did.

The best efforts of First Capital Connect to thwart this plan were overcome.

So firstly we had lunch at the West End Kitchen in Panton Street. Cheap and cheerful.

Then we went to see 'Milk' at the Apollo Cinema. A really excellent film. Great acting, sharp cinematography and of course a moving and uplifting story despite the fact that we all knew of the tragic death of Harvey Milk at the hands of one of his fellow members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Quick tube journey to the Natural History Museum to see the Charles Darwin exhibition. A fascinating exhibition marred, as nearly all successful exhibitions are, by there being simply too many people trying to go round and blocking the exhibits.

Back to Regents Street for dinner at the St Alban restaurant. Not one I had been to before. The meal was fantastic. The best Paella I have ever had in this country.

And finally coffee at Balans in Old Compton Street.

A lovely day.

We must do this sort of thing more often. Otherwise what is the point of living in London?

Lochnagar

I have just booked to stay in Ballater at the Glen Lui Hotel from 3rd to 6th July. Purpose of the trip is to climb Lochnagar. My mother did this many times as did my grandmother. And I never have. It will be too late to be able to tell them that I have done it, but I want to see the mountain in the way they saw it.

I will invite some friends and family to join us and hopefully make this a combined reunion and group climb. I just hope the weather will be on our side.

New Car?

I don't do a great deal of driving. I commute to work on the train and apart from trips to the golf or tennis club or visits to my boyfriend, my car spends most of its time in my garage.

Currently I own a 9 year-old Renault Clio which has done only 37,000 miles. But when I put it in for a service last year, it cost £1,000 to get it through the MOT. Maybe now is the time to look for a new car.

So today, we went to Cambridge to look at the new Hyundai i20. I was very impressed. It was larger and more solid than I was expecting, the driving position was great, it has all the new connections for an ipod, mp3 etc., sufficient room for in the boot for the golf clubs and generally looked really good. And cost under £9,000. So now I am pondering whether to make this significant purchase.

I.C.T.

It has been a very disappointing season for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. And of course for the fans of whom I am one.

The disappointment culminated in the 8 league defeats in a row which took us to the bottom of the Scottish Premier League and let to the dismissal of Craig Brewster, the manager. Terry Butcher , the new manager, seems to have instilled a new backbone, new determination and new confidence. Nonetheless, we were still bottom of the league yesterday when the team travelled to Ibrox to play Glasgow Rangers who were top of the league.

No chance there then. But football is a strange game. The result was Rangers 0 Inverness CT 1.

When I heard the result late last night, I probably woke up all of the neighbours as I screamed YESSSSSS. Great result. We are off the bottom. And my hope has been restored.

Blood Test

Today I went to see my GP. For nearly three months I have been suffering from an allergic reaction. But I do not know to what I have developed an allergy. Every day I have skin rashes and itching in varying places. I have eaten no new food, used no new shower gel, used no new moisturising creams. I have been taking anti-histamine tablets which have helped, but today I decided to see the doctor.

She said that it might just be a straightforward allergy, but wanted me to go to Barnet General Hospital for some blood tests. Apparently this could be a sign of something more serious - diabetes for example. Which is a bit scary. So on Monday I head to the hospital for a blood test.

I don't know whether to have a drink in order to calm down or not have a drink in order not to exacerbate the condition.

Spring Cleaning

I have taken 3 days off work partly to do some cleaning and tidying around the flat. But when I take a day off, I wonder where the time goes. Perhaps some goes on looking at the internet. Perhaps I am writing this blog when I should be cleaning the bathroom. Perhaps I am just inherently lazy. Whatever the reason, I never get as much done as I would like.

Anyway time to stop blogging and start cleaning.