Journal Entries
Shoes
Posted Mar 17, 2014
I was having a clearout of old shoes this evening. Having bought a new pair of boots last week I felt it was maybe time to have a little rationalisation so I plunged into the wardrobe, peered under the bed, picked through the back door cupboard, prodded under the desk until I sat perplexedly perusing a ridiculous array of footwear. There were my winter boots, my interview shoes, two pairs of identical black work shoes, a rather bizarre pair of brown pointy ones, my trainers for the gym, my lounging about trainers, my cycling shoes, my sandals (whit?)... I thought it was women who had the shoe fixation? Clearly some of these had to go so I culled them down to the basics and put the rest in a bag for the bin. The sandals were first in, a rather daft idea from a few years ago when summer in Stirling extended to three consecutive days rather than the usual two.
But as I put them in the bag I remembered the story my mother once told me.
In early 1967 she travelled as a 16 year old bride with her 17 year old husband and me, her 3 month old son from the small Aberdeenshire market town of Turriff to the markedly rougher Fife mining town of Methil to set up home initially with my father's family. She didn't travel in trepidation on that 10 hour bus journey, she was absolutely terrified! Her only trips out of Turriff up until then had been a couple of trips to see relatives in Portknockie and one school visit to Aberdeen. Methil felt like the very ends of the world as the bus passed through places she'd only ever seen on maps or heard on the radio - Dundee, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy ... Methil.
My father was from a large family, 5 brothers and 3 sisters, all bar one of whom still lived in the two bedroomed house in Maple Gardens where all of them had been born in the front room. His mother had died when he was young so it fell upon the eldest sister, Elsie, to take on the role of family matriarch and it was she who met my trembling mother at the door. Although the welcome was warm, as Elsie showed her up to the room which she would share with the 2 other sisters, she uttered the warning - "Last up in the mornin' gets nae shin". Struggling a little with the thick Methil accent, my mother thought the threat of having her shoes taken off her if she was late out of bed was just a joke.
That night, despite the exhaustion of the long bus ride, my mother lay awake long into the early hours. This was the first time she'd shared a bed other than her one night honeymoon with my father. Her three new sisters made the bed a cramped one and it was a long time before sleep finally took her.
She woke to find herself alone and the sound of me crying downstairs. Dressing quickly she came down to find the spot by the door where she'd put her shoes the night before was empty. As she turned to go to the kitchen she was almost knocked over by my Auntie Angela, late for school and clattering down the hall - in my mother's shoes. Her complaint to Elsie who was cradling me fell on deaf ears.
Even years later as my mother told the story you could hear the utter indignation in her voice. "Angela took my shoes!". She was never last one up again after that.
So, my excess shoes are still in the bin bag, but I think I'll be dropping them by a charity shop tomorrow rather than the bin.
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Latest reply: Mar 17, 2014
Why Comet went bust and why Currys will be right behind them
Posted Feb 11, 2013
1m audio cable, 3.5mm to twin phono, B&Q - £4.99
1.5m audio cable, 3.5mm to twin phono, Currys - £10.99
5m audio cable, 3.5mm to twin phono, eBay - £1.69, free p&p
It's one thing saying Currys have to cover overheads but 650% more expensive for 70% less cable 
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Latest reply: Feb 11, 2013
Just so I remember where I put it
Posted Feb 7, 2013
from 2008
WE DIDNT START THE FIRE BY SW O’ L
Pope in the Middle East, Israel out of Lebanon
Concorde dies, Kursk dives, hanging chads and Bush
Ellen Macarthur, Tony Blair, Milosevic & Harrison
Race riots in the Northern towns, 9/11, anthrax
Princess Margaret, Queen Mother, Paul Burrell, the Jubilee
Karzai, Potters Bar, snipers on the Beltway.
Schwarzenegger, David Blaine, Europe in a heatwave
England win, millions march, SARS threat, Shock & Awe
Putin back, Bush back, Arafat ain’t saying Jack
Beslan, Madrid, headscarves and tsunamis
Pope dies, Blair’s in, terror on the underground
New Orleans, piano man, turkey twizzlers, Countdown.
Tracey Temple, Zizhou. Car bombs, bird flu
Global Warming, Hollywood, Madonna’s child and You Tube
Vonnegut & Bhutto, Cutty Sark & Smeato
Royal Navy I-Pods, Northern Rock & Kryptonite
Kosovo and Georgia, Cholera in Africa
Mumbai, credit crunch, Obama-mania
(deepest apologies to Billy Joel )
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Latest reply: Feb 7, 2013
Friends in Space
Posted Feb 17, 2012
Many years ago when I worked in theatre, I knew an Acting ASM at Perth Rep. He was a touch old to be doing that job, usually it's given to drama students just out of College but Eddie was 30. Over the season we became friends, I used to crash out at his place when it was too late to drive home and I got to know how he had ended up on the stage. Together with a friend he'd written and performed a song that was a minor hit in the charts (which explained the bedroom filled with keyboards and music computers). This brought in a steady wee stream of royalties which allowed him to pursue his dream of being an actor. Like many friendships in the theatre, we saw each other here & there over the years but I'd totally lost touch with him until last weekend when we bumped into each other at a Glasgow party. Catching up on what we'd been up to he came out with something that made my jaw drop. He's currently 23rd in line to go into space in Richard Branson's spaceship 
Hopefully, early next year he will became the first Scotsman in space!!
So well done Eddie. From Fiction Factory to the stage & screen and now the final frontier. You lucky, lucky 
Here's my mate the spaceman playing keyboards - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhHG337phTM
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Latest reply: Feb 17, 2012
Pleasant Little Surprises
Posted Dec 28, 2011
Sometimes it's the wee things that make you smile. I got a book token at Xmas and was standing in Waterstone's trying to decide which two of three books I could get as I didn't want to go too much over the token value. I finally made my choice, returned one book to the shelf and went to the checkout. What a pleasant surprise when the lassie said "Oh this one's half price" I swiftly grabbed my third choice book and left with a big grin.
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Latest reply: Dec 28, 2011
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