Missing My Pal

For complex reasons that I won't go into here, I find myself alone in the caravan in St Andrews while Marion is five hundred miles away in the south east. I know that for some blokes  this would be their idea of heaven - an opportunity to drink beer, play golf, browse the least salubrious sites on the internet and eat fish and chips in their y fronts. Not me I'm afraid. SInce our big retirement adventure began in 2010 we've seldom been apart for more than a day and now there's the prospect of being separated until Sunday at the earliest. 

If you know me you'll know that I'm a pretty upbeat sort of person but I really find it hard to enjoy this solitary sojourn. Which may sound strange for someone with the solitary hobbies, of reading, writing, metal detecting and cycling. And yes I do enjoy all of those insular activities but it's not the same when your return to an empty home with nobody to share the joys of a muddy hammered penny or news on the state of the roadside verges in Strathkiness. 

To keep myself occupied today, I went on a very long cycle ride. I have about four routes around St Andrews each covering about an hour of riding but, with no need to return, I combined all four of them and rode for about four hours. It was a good way to relax and think and it had a beneficial effect on my blood pressure which was as low as it's been for ages when I got back. I rode along the valley of the river Eden on a route that I've not taken since last year's floods and saw for myself the damage done near Dairsie when the floodwaters took the road and half of this house away. The road is still closed to cars and, looking at the damage and the lack of remedial work going on, I imagine that it's going to be that way for a long long time to come. 

I've been looking out for the wildlife around the caravan. There are still scores of rabbits but there is no sign of the red squirrel I spotted in January and the owls have been notable by their absence but on a positive note I've seen a great spotted woodpecker two or three times now and hope he's still around when Marion gets here.

Tomorrow I've got a busy schedule taking granddaughter Rose to her dancing class in Cupar and baby sitting later in the day. There are similar plans for Wednesday and Thursday so hopefully the time will pass a little faster and I can look forward to the drive to Leuchars Station to pick Marion up from her long and no doubt exhausting train journey. I can't wait.