:: heat

The heatwave has cooled down a little, so I'll crank out an update. As most of my readers (all three of you) will know, Faye has migrated north from Englandshire and is at present a houseguest in Salty Towers. She started work today, in a care home on the outskirts of the city. The agency she'd been intending to work for were disorganised and ditzy about her interview and the paperwork and the feeling was they'd probably be disorganised about pay too, so she had a look for other work and landed the care-home job right away. She said it had a friendly, cheerful atmosphere.

Faye has also landed a flat, a nice one-bedroomed furnished place in a lovely quiet cobbled mews courtyard just down the road from the National Portrait Gallery. It isn't available until the end of August. She's looking forward to living in the middle of town and I'm sure she'll be happy there - she certainly won't be short of entertainment.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying some scorching weather - though not absolutely everyone has been enjoying it.



Poor Bertie has been suffering. He loves going for walks, but now has to stick to shady places and trudges panting from watering hole to watering hole. I sometimes take water with me, but he'll only tolerate a "plasticky" drink if he's desperate. The best walks are at night, when it's usually a bit cooler - even the evening's too warm for him. Or in places where there's a nice cooling stream to paddle in (there's one among the trees in the photo). One day I hosed him down after his walk, and he enjoyed that.

The garden's a bit dry, but the soft fruit has done quite well, the blackcurrants in particular. I made some jam at the weekend - even though it was really too hot to be messing with boiling and sterilising!

I've got two weeks' holiday this month, hurrah. I'm going up north for a bit - Andrew is back up there for a year and I'm going to visit him before he starts teaching. He's finished his year of training in Glasgow and will be in his probationary posting at a school near the farm. I'm going to a couple of shows at the Festival and will no doubt see some Fringe things too, and then I might head for the hills for a few days. Faye is due to move into her flat on the last day of my hol, so I'll be able to help with that. She has most of her stuff in storage, but ... well, you know Faye. She has a few tonnes of kit at my place as well.

I was thinking of going up to Torridon, in the north-west. I like the look of this place, though I'm slightly put off by the line "Where Eagles Fly Free" appearing above "dogs are welcome" and a photo of a nervous-looking dachshund. They accept "UK based dogs with well-behaved owners" - presumably owners who won't get hysterical when an eagle makes off with Fido. I also fancy the Old Mill Highland Lodge, which says: "No television. No loud music! No smoking. No children. Well behaved dogs accepted." And ye'll have had yer tea...

I've idled away a few hours recently redecorating my website. Same crappy old content, but spiffy new design.