Double Time

03/28/2006

Spring is with us with a rush of moist air from the Atlantic and the temperature doubles to 10 degrees. Our odd blinks of sun have real heat, although it is generally cloudy with showers. The ice and snow start to melt leaving the ground very soggy and the rivers in spate.

I scribble a few lines in an extraordinarily busy week taking in several hundred miles of driving and visits to the South, Glasgow (twice), Northern Ireland, and Aberdeen. Throughout it all, I have to struggle with 200,000 local government workers being on strike, the French taking to the streets of Paris and dearest Dotty supervising Lachie in the construction of an outside “smoke shack” to whence I am banished to draw on the soothing smoke of a corona at any time of day or night to comply with the Scottish ban on smoking in the workplace.

The clocks changing have also brought difficulties, as I never seem to remember to find every clock. In my study, the clock that I failed to put back in October now shows British Summer Time, while the car clock seems to have gone the wrong way to double Greenwich Mean Time causing me to pull up outside the Bridge of Orchy Hotel in anticipation of an eleven o’clock stiffener at 9.00 am. However, I hope to be on more of an even keel by the weekend and to find the time to share a few thoughts with you all, Yours Aye, Archie, The Baron Trollaigh.