Tuesday, April 16th .....

I'm in Inverbervie this morning.  This is the first of the three little villages which have all added to the foundation of my father's family.  In keeping with the solemnity of the occasion, it's a grey day.  The houses are grey granite, many of the streets are cobbled and when I look at the grey sea, I think of my ancestors who had to brave the elements day after day just to survive.  I also think of their wives who had to get up in the middle of the night to bait their lines, their fingers going numb in the icy cold.

It's my mother's birthday today. I wish I could talk to her about where I am and ask her to answer all the questions which are milling around in my head.  Sadly, the time has passed when I could do that.

I wandered round the old cemetery; no sign of the Christie name but many of the gravestone are so badly weathered it's impossible to make out who lies under them.  The library doesn't open until 2pm so I'll get the bus into Gourdon which is only a few minutes away.  In the meantime, I'm having a coffee. There's a group of mums and babies at the next group of tables.  It's the same all over the world.  No matter what the weather, young mums want to take their babies out for an airing, and to meet other friends in the same situation.  The blackboard menu had universal favourites like lasagne and macaroni cheese, but there is also stovies, mince and tatties and skirtie.  I'm not sure what skirtie is but I'm a great fan of the others.  Nostalgia again!

.I caught the bus to Gourdon and was surprised when a modern double-decker came along and held my breath when the driver manoeuvred it through the narrow 'wynds'. The wind was getting up and there was hardly a soul in the streets of the village. The tide was out and there were a few boats sitting on the mud of the harbour.  Nothing more could be achieved today, so I decided to walk to Johnshaven, along the track of the old railway which was closed in the 1950s.  The sign said 2.5 somethings.  I hoped it was kilometres but was prepared for it to be miles, knowing that Sandy and I had walked it with Mum in 1950.

The difference was that there was no headwind on that day.  Still, it was  a good walk and I enjoyed it. On the way, I passed a posh private school in a beautiful old building.  I reckon it would be a bleak place in the winter.  I thought I would recognise more of Johnshaven but a lot has changed in the past 63 years.  I got talking to a couple at the bus stop and they reckon they've never seen winds like it.  When I go back to Johnshaven tomorrow I hope the wind has died down.