I got home from Friday morning’s dog walk to find some records in the post. I’d recently deleted my Discogs wants-list having realised twenty years too late that it is far too addictive, and as a last hurrah had earmarked a last few key wants. One of those was The Blue Nile’s Tinseltown in the rain – a slice of Scottish pop perfection on Linn records – and I enjoyed a brief listen before heading back out.
First stop of the afternoon was a visit to Greater Govanhill’s office to collect their latest edition (more on this later).
On Fridays, Gomo Kimchi is open so I popped in for lunch and out of the rain. I resisted my usual urge to order everything on the menu, going for a kimchi toastie which was delicious.
During my work’s “summer Fridays off“ period I try to fit in one short trip and overnight stay outside the city, and this weekend was my chance. So I made the one hour drive to Kippen, stopping in at the lovely Woodhouse farm shop and café en route for coffee and a slice of apple pie.
Kippen is a gorgeous little village situated between Fintry and Callendar, near the Gargunnock and Fintry hills. Although not far to drive, it’s far enough outside the city that you might find yourself standing beside a pony outside the local coffee shop, as I did! With an hour to kill before check-in at my hotel, I enjoyed a stoat around the main street, some residential parts, the parish church and the local tennis club. I also stopped in at The Inn at Kippen for a half-pint.
I was staying at The Cross Keys, a cosy country pub/restaurant with a handful of rooms. Clair and I stayed there some years ago and enjoyed it, and happily their prices are still reasonable. Before dinner I enjoyed a pint in the pub then took the tiny trip up three stairs to the restaurant floor where I had the hake special. Since I was on my tod I had time to read my copy of Greater Govanhill while eating. This one, the Heritage edition, is full of insights into the history, landmarks, architecture, bars, shops and people of my local area and I loved it!
Saturday was a pretty chilled day. I made the trip home then hung around the house. Sunday started with a nice long dog walk in Pollok Park. Back home, I put on Tinseltown in the Rain again, this time with Clair beside me and Rudy on her lap. Rudy enjoys music (which is handy) and he looked happily tired and blissed out as Clair applied a premium-grade head scratch and the music played. That was my favourite moment of the weekend.
Later that day I played table-tennis with Phillip and Steve, with Pete coaching. Playing was great but hearing about Steve’s improved health was better.