:: plinketty plinketty plonk

I've got about five chords memorised on the guitar now, and am concentrating on changing from one to another without looking. Lots of discord. My fingertips are getting tender. Next week I'll phone the local guy who does lessons.

I'm also pondering where to go/what to do on my week off. I'm thinking of spending a few days in Orkney. I went there a long time ago, on a day trip from Inverness and have always meant to go back. The day trip was great - I went with Annmaree, who now lives in Melbourne. The coach left at some ungodly hour and drove us to John o' Groats, where we got a ferry across to South Ronaldsay. The coach that met us there whizzed us round a selection of Orcadian highlights: Skara Brae, the Italian chapel, the Ring of Brodgar, the Churchill Barriers. We didn't have time to do Maes Howe and I only got a brief scurry around St Magnus Cathedral. The only thing is that it's a very long drive from here - about nine hours according to Google Maps. But then they suggest driving 29 miles north from the pier at Scrabster, so there's probably a bit of search and rescue downtime factored in.

It's only seven and a half hours from John o' Groats, but that ferry doesn't run after September. And there's always the option of getting a ferry from Aberdeen - six hours on the boat, which would be pleasant for me but no fun at all for poor Bertie.

The alternative would be to spend the week at home, making day trips now and then and doing stuff like going out in the evening and getting the garden tidied up. I'm leaning towards Orkney, myself.