Journal

Lovely time catching up with my niece Amy for lunch at The Old Mill in Killearn on Friday. We chatted about her trips abroad, her ongoing love affair with Taylor Swift and about family.

I squeezed in more family time on Sunday when Dad visited while Mum was meeting cousins at Bellahouston Park. We had a good laugh watching Rudy and our neighbour’s dog Coco (who was visiting) roll around, while got ready to head off for a work trip to Wimbledon.

Today could be summarised as “a good walk followed by a good craic”.

Mark and I (along with Jura) made the short trip to The Whangie where we enjoyed a hike and a blether. On our return to Glasgow we met Clair and Gillian at the Rum Shack and gulped down some jerk fish and chips and other carribean-themed delights from their menu, plus a couple of pints. A good Saturday.

I’ve just finished reading Bicycle Diaries City, by David Byrne. It’s a log of Byrne’s observations and insights as he pedals through major cities of the world including Istanbul, London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, San Francisco and Manilla.

It was an enjoyable read that ambled along pleasantly throughout but got much better in the final chapters as he describes his efforts to effect change and his thoughts about how things could be.

Hung out with Jason and Lydia, Aldo and Anna today at Sloan’s bar in town. It was a good day – I hadn’t seen the former two for a while and know they’ve had a rough time of late due to a death in the family. They were in good spirits and we enjoyed tasty but well-priced food and drinks. I had Venison Stew, having loved it so much on that recent excursion to Wild Kabn.

Meanwhile I was delighted to hear that Aldo and Anna had bumped into our friends Doug and Zoe while on holiday in Ibiza recently and had all hung out together.

We spent a happy hour or two shooting the breeze. At the end, I went on with Jason and Lydia to Ryan’s Bar in the southside. That’s my third time there; it’s a cool wee spot with a good drinks selection. I was pretty envious of Jason’s margarita.

I had a fantastic time in London last weekend.

Today I made good use of a Friday off work. After spending the morning attending to a few bits and bobs while listening to some lovely music I then met Gillian for lunch at a mutual favourite The Old Fruit Shop. We had a great chat then enjoyed a stoat around nearby Linn Park. It was sunny enough that were folks swimming beside the waterfall. We had to watch our step to avoid a swarm of teeny-tiny baby frogs (thanks to the lady who pointed them out!).

Later that night Clair and I visited Pho in Glasgow which was pretty good! To start we shared summer rolls and a Vietnamese chicken and prawn pancake – both delicious – then I had king prawn pho which was also lovely. They had a nice line in non-alcoholic drinks too. Clair had a nojito and I had an alcohol-free negroni, then we followed up with coconut and pineapple water.

We ended the day back at home with Rudy watching the opening ceremony of the Paris olympics while eating an empire biscuit.

A good Friday.

He was a prince.

Alejandro Innaruto’s description of Ryuichi Sakamoto puts it perfectly.

This BBC Sunday feature offers a fascinating insight into an amazing man. I loved it!

It starts with how 1952, the year of Sakamoto’s birth, was an important year in Japan’s post-war transition. It explores his influences including Debussy, his exceptional talent for melody combined with a taste for experimentalism, and how with YMO he satirised anti-Japanese prejudice. It covers his anti-nuclear stance, and how he is a huge icon in Japan where they see him holistically for everything he represented.

Most of all I just marvel at his music – it perfectly captures my taste (and I realise after this documentary that I still have so much of his to explore, which is a happy thought). I loved the parts where the commentators gush at the beauty of his Last Emperor soundtrack (“every note is like paradise”) and when Alejandro Innaruto relates his experience of first hearing the opening two notes of his soundtrack for The Revenant.

For James’s 40th, Clair bought him the gift of some vouchers for the “wild cooking” and dining experience at Wild Kabn Kitchen, Ardkinglas Estate, Cairndow near Loch Fyne. The idea was that we two, James and Grant would go but with Grant looking after a recovering Toby, Toad stepped in.

I didn’t know much about Wild Kabn in advance and wasn’t prepared for how off the beaten track it was! From Glasgow you head out beyond the Rest and be Thankful and Arrochar toward Loch Fyne but toward the end of the journey you’re driving along the world’s narrowest wee track and beating your way through tree branches, which all adds to the excitement.

We were having the Sunday lunch by fire and, since it was a beautiful afternoon, we sat outside the greenhouse, right in the middle of the woodlands and with mountains in the background. We were at a trestle table beside two other couples and enjoyed chatting.

All three courses were fantastic but the venison was stunning.

Afterwards we had a lovely walk around the estate and onto the beach at the loch.

Great night there at Brel celebrating Stevie B’s 50th. Brilliant to see the man himself and Naoko. I spent most of the night chatting to Mark, Alan, Karen, Jenny M, Marty, Jenny B and Chris B (over from Oz). Lovely also to see Joe, Karen and Stephen and talk music.

I had a brilliant time hanging out with old friends this evening. We went for a Sunday roast dinner at Maison Glaschu. I tried french onion soup for the first time (but not the last) before enjoying the roast beef and yorkshire pudding with veg.

It was sunny so we stopped for a quick alfresco beer at The Bier Halle before heading down to the Admiral Woods to watch Scotland in the hope of a historic first-time qualification from the group stage.

Sadly Scotland couldn’t manage it (too cautious with the substitutes for me) but that didn’t stop us having a good time.

Cheers to Craig, Debbie, Alan, Karen and Mark for all their good vibes.