Daily Archives: July 7, 2013

It took a little while to get moving this morning after the hilarity of last night.  I was up far earlier than I would have liked and after Frank got up, we headed into town to get fresh morning rolls and the papers.  Of course we forgot it was Sunday and most of the bakers were shut so we headed to the new Waitrose superstore and got fresh rolls (regular and GF).

Then it was time to raise the offspring – the smell of bacon grilling for bacon rolls helped.  We managed to get them up and out in time to head out for their big event of the day:  heading into Dunblane to watch Andy Murray, the city’s native son, vie for the Wimbledon title and a chance to be the first Brit in 76 years to do so. When cousin Nikki first suggested the outing, Duncan and Gillian were a bit dubious that spending a Sunday afternoon in a pub watching tennis would be a worthwhile endeavor but they were game for a laugh.  They had no idea how big Wimbledon is in Britain and how big Andy Murray is in Scotland.  There are posters in shop windows all over town with “C’mon Andy” printed in big letters. So they got to the Tappit Hen in time to get ready for the match.

And what a match it was. Although today’s weather was absolutely fabulous – sunny and upper 70’s to 80 – there was a huge conflict in the nation between enjoying the rays and watching the tennis. Frank and I spent a bit of time with his mum getting her sorted in  her flat before having a nap and then wandered into town for some lunch and to see what choices people were making. We spent as much time in the gorgeous weather before giving in and heading to Tom and Una’s to watch the match.  They’d brought Frank’s mum over as well and we all sat an stared at the screen, completely enthralled with the play.  I confess that I have never been much of a tennis fan but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the telly.  Even in our small group, as the time passed we became more and more excited that Andy could actually do it.

And then he did. Duncan and Gillian tell me that the atmosphere was electric in Dunblane, with free drinks in the pub and partying in the street.Even in out small group, where were screams and a few folks near to tears.  We were having our Sunday tea with the family and it happened to be ready during the last set and no one wanted to sit at the table and miss any of the match – so we had our roast chicken and veg on trays while the excitement grew until the match was won.

The excitement was too much for Frank’s mum so she was off to sleep and Tom was off to work (back shift this week -ugh) so we headed out to Bridge of Allan to get some ice cream and enjoy the beautiful weather by the Allan Water before popping in to visit more relatives while waiting for the offspring to finish their celebrating and come home.  Once they did, we had a quick drink with Jim and Therese before they headed out to their holiday in Portugal.

Then back to the flat with some carry out for Duncan and Gillian and it’s into the bath for me.  A glass of wine, a lavender kiss from Lush and my book and I was in heaven.  Follow it up with a couple of episodes of Father Ted and it was nearly a perfect day.

Steps: 16, 189 or 7 miles.

Screams:  more than I could count.

Even though last night was not a late night (by most Cannon family gathering standards), we decided to make today a mellow day of rest.  Some of us were actually able to sleep in – I was not one of them and found myself wide awake at 7 am.  So I puttered around trying to decide how to spend some quality alone time without waking the rest of the family and I came up with only one option:  run!

So I broke out my running shoes and gear, so neglected in Italy, tried to revive my Garmin and headed out into the beautifully sunny morning. Yes, I said sunny when talking about Scotland.  I headed straight through town, garnering looks from the folks headed to work on a Saturday morning.  Down past the Raploch and over the Stirling Bridge to the Causewayhead roundabout.  The Garmin took 7 minutes for the satellites to find me then died shortly after the turn around so I have to guess at both time and distance (5 miles at about 45 minutes – probably less but that’s a safe bet).  I stopped at the Spar for the butter we forgot when shopping yesterday then popped into the bakers for half a dozen morning rolls for the family. I got back to find Frank trying to suss out the coffee maker while the “kids” still slept.

Frank and I  had a lovely breakfast on our own (roll with sausage and egg for him, toast with jam and yoghourt with fruit and muesli for me) and then decided to head into town and let them sleep.  We wandered around the town stopping at the chemists for a few items as well as the news agent’s for a paper.  We noted all the things that had changed in the town both since I was a student there 25+ years ago and over the visits we’ve made since then.  We chatted about people we’ve known and those we’d like to see again while we are here.  Frank recently reconnected with an old girlfriend on Facebook  and was hoping to see her while we were here; she’s quite an accomplished landscape artist and I was eager to meet her. We also tried to figure out whose phone number we still had and who we’d jut have to pop in on.

As it was getting close to lunchtime, we decided to pick up a few things at the Marks & Spencer food hall so we could have lunch while the offspring were having breakfast.  While wandering the aisles deciding on a salad, Frank leaned over and whispered to me, “ I think that’s Allison” – referring to the old girlfriend we had been discussing earlier. He was hesitant to approach her as he hadn’t seen her in more than 25 years and he didn’t want to look like an idiot.  I, on the other hand, have no problem with him looking like an idiot and encouraged him to take a chance.  Which he did, and it was her.  So they had an interesting reunion in the checkout line at Marks and Sparks.  What are the chances?

We aroused the sleeping beasts, made them bathe and everyone enjoyed the appropriate home cooked meal.  Then off to visit Gran.  She seemed to be having a good day today so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a drive.  We piled everyone in the car and headed for Callandar – along with most of the rest of Scotland. Gran was not up for a wander about town so we got ice cream and then headed home via a different route through the Trossachs.  We then made a pit stop to visit the other branch of the Cannon family as Tom is currently working night shifts and we wanted to catch him before he headed out to work.  We had a lovely visit with Tom, Una, Nikki, Amy and Ross and after the obligatory cup of tea, headed home since Gran was worn out.

A brief respite at the flat (where the wifi is spotty at best unfortunately) and then we headed out to cabaret night at McQ’s, the local pub where Jim tends bar.  And what a spectacle that turned out to be!  First the three course meal (served by my niece Leah who also works at the pub)  with a few pints of cider.  Then Johnny Lee Memphis, Elvis impersonator, took the stage.  What a howl!  He’s from Tullibody not Tennessee and had the obligatory sequined jumpsuit on.  He actually looked more like John Stamos than Elvis but there you go.  He sang half a dozen less popular Elvis songs before taking a short break and returning with a new outfit and some dancers.  Holy Vegas Strip Batman! The dancers were decked out in beads and feathers and didn’t seem to know precisely what was going on.  Eventually we got to some of the more famous Elvis songs as well as Tina Turner and a few other artists.  The room was filled with  (mostly) middle aged women and couples – Duncan and Gillian lowered the mean age by a good 20 years – but everyone seemed to be having a great laugh.

The capper for the evening was when Jim got up to do a dance routine with two other lads from the audience (one who looked like a Hobbit in an Elvis wig!) and was even coaxed into “singing” a bit.  I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard – I actually howled! We eventually called it a night and headed up the road to Jim and Therese’s house where we waited for a taxi to take us back to the flat.  Unfortunately, the wifi still wasn’t working which is why this post is late.

Steps: 12, 922 or 5.6 miles

(Plus the 5 miles I ran this morning but the family doesn’t get to take credit for it.)