What a crazy mixed up summer it has been. At the end of August, we had a huge thunder storm with hailstones that culminated in a huge crash of thunder, a crack of lightning and the smell of warm electrics in Suse’s office.
We lost the computer that we had inherited from Jo when she went to Oz and the broadband router. However, we hadn’t lost the hard drive on the pc so with some help from Nicola from Flying Pigs Computer Services, Suse retrieved her emails and address books and wondered how best to proceed once the phone line was repaired. It took B.T. the best part of a week to fix things because the storm had affected so many people; indeed, some of our neighbours were off even longer than us.
Once the phones were back up, it still took about another week to get things back to something approaching normality. We now have a new router courtesy of BT and a very quick, reconditioned computer with a fancy graphics card that handles Photoshop without any problems. I think this is the first pc that Suse has had that doesn’t sulk when Photoshop is fired up. We lost some Quicken data which Suse has had to recreate and trying to remember the intricacies of the linkages between the domain names and the email accounts hasn’t been easy. We also took the plunge and upgraded Suse’s mobile, so she now has a Galaxy Note. When she figures out what it can do, she’ll be able to work away from her desk. Well that’s the idea!
Although we saw Jo, John and John when they flew in from Australia, some lousy planning on my part meant that I was away when they visited Larick House. Still it was all in a good cause, supporting Richard’s LEJOG ride. There are lots of pictures of him on www.facebook.com/SiandRichLEJOG He may have had a rough day at the start over Dartmoor but he was very strong in all of the Scottish sections and has raised several thousands of pounds for a couple of cancer charities. So, an all round good show!
What with the trip to John O’Groats and then Deer Park, Livingston for Jo and John’s lovely wedding we haven’t been at Larick House that much. They all came for a few days while John was LEJOGGING and son-in-law John moved the shicken up to the woodland where it is happily munching the reeds. It was replaced by the sundial which Jo sent for a Christmas present a couple of years ago and which has been waiting for a suitable plinth. Makes a change from shifting logs, which is what John usually does when he comes to Larick House.
Baby John had great fun discovering the stairs and was enchanted by the map on the wall which had to be examined both on the way up and on the way down, accompanied by sound effects for the dog, the lion and the dragons. He almost stole the show at the wedding on more than one occasion and we were lucky to have a couple of days with them afterwards and took him to the Zoo at Calderglen Country Park and the Transport Museum in Glasgow.
The weather and the wedding have interfered with my recent attempts to get back into some running training. Judging from the amount of water in both ponds, it looks like it has been pouring down here, so I probably wouldn’t have done much anyway. Suse and I keep threatening to do some kayaking up through the Kyles of Bute if we can get some suitable weather in October. Hope it warms up a bit though. The last couple of nights have been a bit “parky” for camping. More about this if it happens.