Bartimaeus

When we walked along the canal together alongside the signs of tree damage,  there was also signs of new businesses doing boat trips. The boats seemed unaffected by the weather and I wondered if they were putting more moorings in. There was a fenced off pile of bollards but they didn’t look new. They looked used and were piled up like bones in an elephants’ graveyard. I wonder if they are to be scrapped or repurposed since they haven’t been thrown out yet.

There is plenty of room to moor if they want to put bollards in. If people are hiring boats they will want space to moor. We are not sure what facilities there are along this canal for boaters but the liveaboards and trip boats must have access to water and a sanitary station. The towpath here is very good quality

On a brighter day I could see crocuses bursting open. On the way back they had closed up as the sun was not on them but I stopped on the Meadows to get the still bright blue sky. A man called to me it was magnificent, I agreed but said I was particularly taken by the moon in the sky.

It certainly lifts the spirit to see bright flowers and sunshine, but February isn’t a particularly sunny month and we have had a lot of grey days since then. Even so the flowers are coming up in our street. There are plenty of snowdrops We have a few shoots but recently I have seen a few new flowers blooming in other gardens.

Neither of us were enthused to walk in the series of grey cold days, running to the shops was the main exercise. I did have a couple of lunch meet-ups with ex colleagues and really enjoyed them though sitting, eating and blethering rather than chilly walking was the order of the day. It made me leave the house though. One was at the very tasty Red Kite cafe at the West End of Princes Street. The other was a travel adventure for me in Loanhead.

Walking to the bus stop to go to Loanhead, on Wednesday, I cut through the graveyard. We had recently spotted the gravestone of an elderly lady we had known. We knew she had had to leave her house but not for certain if she had died. We had always known her as Billie Reese and her relatives would not have known us to let us know. Finding her grave we discovered her original name, but fortunately her popular name was included or we would never have known. As I I passed it I noticed it had had flowers added. Gardens aren’t the only place for flowers and Billie’s was blest with both planted bulbs and a fresh bouquet. Even when she had a great deal of difficulty walking she tended her garden, so it is fitting she has plants all around. Knowing what a friendly and considerate lady she was,  I am unsurprised she has people who miss her, still thinking of her, nearly a decade after she has gone. It was new information to me that she was born in the same year as my mother. We had never asked her age.

As I walked on, I saw another grave very nearby, also well tended with fresh flowers. Sadly this grave was not for someone who had lived a long full life. She never got the chance to make any friends, but was much loved and still missed.

I went on to have a happy day in the company of my friend, who had cooked me a lovely lunch. On the way there the 15 minute bus service failed as the one I waited for arrived at the same time as the one after, so it was a long chilly wait. On the way back the service ran perfectly and my fingers were warm enough to attempt some knitting on the bus. It was fairly fresh on the needles. A friend had told me her fiancé’s baby had arrived safely on Monday evening so I had  picked out a pattern for the new boy. Then I hotfooted it to the wool shop the next day. Normally I start knitting earlier. The wool is lovely and soft and squishy and it is knitting up fast. Happily, for most, babies do usually arrive safely, but as I was just reminded, this can’t be taken for granted.