Friday.

Friday was a day of non-stop action, some good, some bad. In the morning I went up to the Well Woman Clinic to get my Mirena IUS replaced. This only has to happen once every five years, which is fortunate because it ain't particularly pleasant. Benefits outweigh the downsides though, so I filled up with painkillers ahead of time and tried to think positive thoughts. In the event the whole thing went extremely smoothly and with the minimum of fuss and pain, given the quite obviously highly experienced team of doctor and nurse that probably held some sort of record for the speed with which they could perform the procedure. So by lunchtime I was back out on the pavement, feeling a bit pulled around but happy it was all over.

In the afternoon my mother, sister and younger niece came round to see Oliver the kitten and for my niece to say goodbye before she flies out to Australia for her gap year. In classic tradition I must now say "How time flies! I remember her being born!" etc etc. Now she's 18 and going to the far side of the world on her own. On Thursday I was in the supermarket thinking I should get coke and crisps in for "the kids", which included her. In the event she brought a bottle of rose sparkling wine with her so we could toast her departure, lol. At least I managed to make a cake. (Chocolate sponge filled with chocolate fudge, chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles on top. Most satisfactory.)

In the evening we went to the wedding reception of Hubby's cousin. Second marriage. It was a fun and lively reception but what was unusual about was that there were two brides, both in their white dresses, and no husbands at all. Even the bridal couple on the cake were both brides. It's the first time I've been to a Civil Partnership Celebration (can they not think up a better term for this??!!) and it was great fun, despite me still having to take painkillers and only being able to have one glass of fizz. Our cousins' daughters by her first (straight) marriage were there too, and once again it was a case of "Yeah Gawds, I remember them as babies!!" Now they're both at university...

I feel old today, lol.

Finally, as promised, some pictures of the Haldane Orkney.







It's an awfy nice wee wheel, as we would say in Fife. I'll be putting the listing up on Ebay tomorrow.