Barbara's wee car was being driven by son Jonathen as we headed toward a local eating house to celebrate Barbara's Birthday. Two, nearing three year old Alexander was securely strapped in his car seat next to me in back. We were having great fun spotting the recently harvested wheat and Barley fields now dotted all over with large, neat, round 'Gruffalo Poos!'
Oh! C'mon people ..... round straw bales is just 'soooo last week' where a toddler is concerned. I would have lost all my brownie points if I'd tried that one.
The 'Gruffalo Poo' fact was even emphasised at one point. Accompanying the visual identification of the 'Gruffalo's' recent presence was a strong pungent farmyard manure smell. I guess Mr local farmer had been muckspreading. Just the thing though if you are someone deeply engaged in teaching a youngster about the ways of the world which of course includes 'Gruffalo education!'
The meal out was a great success as was the 'Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain folk music concert in Dundee later. These two veteran folk musicians have been playing together for twenty nine years. Their music is a delight to listen to. Seeing live their 'musical skill' is simply awesome.
Tanya and I arrived at Barbara's lovely cottage near St Andrews two weeks ago from Glasgow where we had visited Grandchildren and completed some work on my house before new tenants moved in. A busy but enjoyable month.
Sadie is now having a well earned rest parked up at Frank and Bernice's farm just across the road. Once again it is a busy September harvest time here in the 'East Neuk of Fife'. Combine Harvesters, giant tractors and trailers, spud harvesters and articulated lorries constantly roar up and down through the village to the four surrounding farms.
Some sadness too. Barbara's sun blessed garden backs onto a protected grass meadow which for years has been used by a local dairy farm for young heifers and dry cows. These cows make mowing the garden very special for Barbara with this being her very first country cottage. She bravely battles the line of slobbery bovine heads reaching over her wall as she empties the lawnmower grass box in among them. The herds bullying scramble to get every last mouthful is always fun to watch.
A large transporter collected all the cows yesterday. The dairy industry is in crisis and these cattle were, like so many others, off to be sold, probably for very little money. The local dairy farmer in question has finally, and probably financially, had enough. So bye bye livestock. No more black and white curious cow faces peering over the wall.
Jonathen and wee Alexander were deposited at Edinburgh airport a few days ago en route back to their home in Germany. We retired to 'Crammond' for a bite to eat and a lovely walk across the Forth estuary mudflats to 'Crammond Island'. A sort of calming down walk after a week of toddlerdom. As I write this I can hear Barbara 'bumbling' away busily upstairs returning her cottage to default. Ie; tidy, quirky and calm lady pensioner status.
She loved having number one son and grandson staying for a week and I know she was sad to see them go. So it was good therapy the day after when she partook of the 'collecting her new 'VW Move UP' car celebration'. Susan the sales lady at the local VW dealers did her proud too with flowers, Champers, personalized poster plus shiny new car to unwrap from its dustsheet right there in the showroom.
I'll be here in sunny Fife for a short while yet enjoying the luxuries of 'convention'. Next stop ..... The Caravan and Motorhome show at Birminghams NEC mid October.
Hmmmm.... Now that prospect has the potential to be expensive!!
