So here it is: an update at last and a promise to drop an occasional line or two here.
Where did I get up to? The general election.
It was a busy night at work but fun - it was strange seeing all the London-based political correspondents in the office, and very strange indeed that we were almost all still in the office as dawn broke. Bertie stayed with my colleague John's wife Penny, and I collected him before driving home. The downside of this late shift was that the next night at work I felt as though I had a really shocking hangover.
John and Alistair compare notes at the end of the all-night shift. Please note that I have two computers!
Anyway, soon enough I was off for my extended weekend trip to Argyll and points north. I took my time getting there - I was still a bit groggy from sleep deprivation. The weather was a bit wild en route: I stopped to let Bertie out for a wee on a bleak hillside and nearly couldn't get the door open, the wind was so strong. And I had some trouble finding the B&B - I've stayed there before, so I thought it'd be easy to spot. But in fact it's fairly tucked away, and Mrs Gordon doesn't bother with a B&B shingle.
It's a lovely comfortable place - not great on mod cons, but wonderfully homey and relaxing. I also had a nice big room, which is great where Bertie's concerned. Click on any of the photos to see more on flickr.com.
After walking Bertie I hit the hay and had a wonderfully restorative sleep. Just as well, because I had a busy day planned. First off, south to Loch Sween and the Kilmory Knap Chapel, to look at gravestones:
After that I had a great walk at a forest reserve along the road. It was a real gem - Bertie enjoyed it enormously. He doesn't get off the lead much on country walks due to sheep, so a gallop through forest glades was just thrilling for him.
Then I drove down the other side of Loch Sween just to have a look-see. Major thrill there was a roe deer dashing across the road right in front of the car, which caused Bertie almost to explode from excitement. I stopped in Tayvallich for a late lunch - the cafe was right on the shore, so I had a grand view of dinghy sailors battling the strong wind in the bay.
Next stop was Crinan, at the end of the Crinan Canal. Nice spot for an hour or so.
And still there was more to see! I hurtled back north to Kilmartin, to visit the graveyard there.
Then south again to Dunadd Fort, once the stronghold of Scotland's kings.
I was flagging a bit by now, but hit one more prehistoric highlight: the Nether Largie standing stones. It started to rain, so I headed back to Ri Cruin, completely cream-crackered. I didn't bother with dinner, just had a cup of tea and a biscuit.
While walking Bertie that evening, I saw something intriguing: a huge ruined house on the hill, half covered in ivy. I asked Mrs Gordon about it the next day, and she said it was Poltalloch House, which used to be the home of the owners of the big estate. It had a magnificent oak staircase and a pipe organ. Ri Cruin was the factor's house, and her parents had bought it after the war, when the estate was downsized.
She said they couldn't get staff for the house because young people didn't want to go into service any more - "they found out there was a world out there" - so they decided to demolish it. "They went and lived in the castle ... it's not like they didn't have anywhere else," she said.
So of course I had to go up there for a look. Mrs Gordon said there were Keep Out notices, but just to ignore them. I'd noticed what looked like a private road leading to the house during my walk, but when I looked at the map there seemed to be another one so I thought I'd try that. Next thing I was bumping along through a field on the most terrible farm track, trying not to gouge out the underside of the car on the ruts. And coming towards me was another car. Uh oh, I thought, here comes the farmer to berate me for upsetting his lambs.
He stopped and wound down his window. "Have you seen a lurcher anywhere?" he asked. Er, no, I said. Bertie of course was almost climbing out of the window - he does love novelty! "There's another road up here, you know, a much better one than this," he said as he drove off. So I carried on up the rocky road to the house. There were indeed signs warning me, but soon I was in the most amazing ruin. The roof was gone and the upper floors, and the ground was thick with mud and festooned in rolls of barbed wire. I couldn't get through all the obstacles to reach the front of the house, which was annoying.
Back in the car I drove round the front to see if I could get access that way, but it was all fenced off. (As I drove out on to the track, a van stopped and the driver wound the window down. "Have you seen a lurcher around anywhere?" she asked.) Plus I was due in Oban for lunch and still had other places to visit. I'll go back one day for a better look.
I headed off down the better track and met the lurcher man driving back up. "Did you find your dog?" I asked. Yes, he had. "She loves the farm so much she always runs away and hides when it's time to go home. She was in the house the whole time."
Off to Oban then, with a brief stop at the Temple Woods stone circle. I took some wonderful photos there the first time I visited - the bluebells were amazing. But this time it was drizzling and the flowers weren't quite out yet.
I was in Oban to visit Kate, Robbie and wee Calum. I found them all well and happy, in a nice little cottage tucked around the corner from a beautiful beach near the town.
After lunch (delicious soup and home-baked bread) I headed off across the country to the Rose-Millers' farm. It was an uneventful trip - until I got to Inverness. I got stuck in a rush-hour traffic jam! I still can't believe a little city like that could have a rush-hour, let alone one that traps you in a single street for nearly an hour. As it turned out I got to the farm just as dinner was served, so the timing was pretty good.
My farm visit was pretty busy too! On Tuesday, after a lazy start for me and lots of farm work for Andrew, we went to Culbin Sands for a walk. Bertie flushed a hare and chased it at break-neck speed straight into the forest. He must have been doing 30mph when he hit the treeline - he was very close to catching the hare. When we finally found him he was badly winded (he is seven and feeling his age a bit) and had scraped his back legs on logs or something. The walk back to the car was a good warm-down for him though and no serious harm was done. We had lunch at Brodie Country Fare, a favourite spot. It has a great restaurant and the most mind-boggling shop, a cornucopia of ornaments, gee gaws and objets of every description - all wildly expensive. The smell of potpourri would fell an ox. Which they would then stuff, decorate and sell to American tourists.
After Brodies we hurried home, ditched Bertie and headed off to the movies. We saw that Crusader film, the name of which escapes me. Kingdom of Heaven? Anyway it was OK - I have a thing for Orlando Bloom so the ludicrous plot didn't bother me too much.
After the movie we hurried home again and got ready for dinner. We went to the Cawdor Tavern, which has great food. I didn't see much of Jenny, who is, as ever, busy with the museum. But Andrew and John are on good form.
Andrew is looking forward to starting teacher training. He's going to a college in Glasgow, arriving in July or August. His preparation includes observing at a school in Auldearn, a village near Nairn, and doing high-school maths.
The next day after a nice walk I headed for home. I went via the museum and then south over the moors via Carrbridge.
Fast-forward now to later in May and a brief visit from Faye. We went toHopetoun House, which is just down the road from my house but which I've never visited. It was great, and I'd like to go back for a second look. We had a sumputous afternoon tea in the cafe, which is in the old stable block. "The horses lived better than the servants," the waitress said.
Faye enjoyed having a break from her job - she says it's lovely to sit and read or do embroidery and know you're not going to be summoned away to deal with something. She's now waiting to hear from the Home Office whether her application for permanent residence has been approved. If it has, she'll try to get work up here in Scotland. If not ... wah!
So that's the main events. Other than that I've been quietly, happily busy: work, dogwalking, photography, the occasional movie or meal out, yakking on the phone, gardening, going to the gym, tapestry, reading. I'm feeling the benefits of the gym work, though my knees are still pretty painful. My trainer, Stewart, is a hoot. I had my MP3 player on while treadling away on the crosstrainer and he asked what I was listening to. "The Supremes," I said. "What do they do?" I let him listen to a snatch of Baby Love. "Oh, that 80s stuff!" he said. "Sixties, I think," I said. "I dunno, I wasn't born then," he shrugged. Now he ribs me mercilessly about my "old people's music". "Yeah, it's some old stuff from the 90s, before you were born," I told him.
I'm so old.
Also on the fitness theme, some workmates and I have started up a walking group - we're going to go for a longish hike one Saturday a month, see how it goes. The first one was yesterday: Barbara, me, Anne and Anne's friend Gina. We went to the Pentlands, did the long flat walk by the reservoirs. Barbara brought her dog, Jack, along and I took Bertie. It was a good walk, good company too.
I had a lovely letter from cousin Jean the other day. She and Margaret are coming to Scotland next year, probably November. I haven't seen Jean for years and years, so it was great to hear about her family and their farm and the McKenzie Country. It's amazing to think how similar our start in life was and how completely different our lives have been. I'm looking forward to having them to stay.
Work has been particularly busy the past few days, as John's away on holiday, so I have more solo shifts. Friday was a complete nightmare: it was the busiest I've ever been in this particular job, I was a blur from go to whoa. But I survived, and not only that, I didn't kill anyone or even shout at anyone, which is quite an achievement.
Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done - I'm going back to my natural colour, or rather my hairdresser's interpretation of it. But it's only a semipermanent tint, so it washes out - it's looking terrible at the moment. I've got Tuesday off, hurrah.
So there you go! All caught up. I will try to be more regular from now on.
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