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House/pet sitting in the UK

I love travelling, but I’m not made of money, so I have to watch my budget and think of ways to travel a little more cheaply.  A few months ago, I offered my house/pet-sitting services to friends and family (free in exchange for the use of their homes in the UK) and am currently undertaking my first ‘job’.

I am thoroughly enjoying myself, but it’s been a huge learning experience. Here are a few of the things things I have learned that will help me (and perhaps you) next time. Most of them are common sense, but they’re always worth repeating.

Most importantly –  If you can, try and spend 24 hours in the house/with the animal before the owners leave.  Ensure you have their contact details.

Wish I could put her in my suitcase and bring her home with me!

LOOKING AFTER THE ANIMAL:

Keep to the animal’s routine, not yours.  (eg Walking, feeding etc.)

Make sure you know what food they eat – where to buy more if you run out – and only give them allowed treats.

Keep to the owner’s rules  (eg not being allowed to climb on furniture etc) not yours.  I’m a big softie, and the dog I’m looking after can sense that, so she’s tried to push a few boundaries. It would be so easy to give in… but that wouldn’t be fair on her. Or my friends.

Know the animal’s health history.  Know any medications and how to give them.  (eg must they be taken with food?)  Know the vet’s phone number, address, opening and emergency hours, and ensure you know how to get there if needed.

Does the owner need to be informed before you take the animal to the vet, or are they willing to leave it to your judgement? How will the vet bill be paid?

HOUSE:

Know who are the spare key holders.  Carry their phone numbers with you when you go out… just in case you lock yourself out. (Haven’t done this myself, but you never know.)

Have a list of all emergency contacts – electricity, gas etc.  Get neighbours’ phone numbers if you can.

If there is an alarm system, make sure you know how to use it and ensure you do, as it could affect their house insurance if you don’t.

British homes can be quite different to North American ones, especially when it comes to the heating systems.  Heat is usually not left on 24 hours a day, so make sure you know how to use and override the timer in case you need to.  I have been asked to monitor the boiler pressure every two days, so make sure the owner writes down exactly how to adjust it.

CAR:

In North America, it’s common to insure the car rather than the driver. In the UK, it’s the other way around. If you are going to be driving the owner’s car in the UK, confirm that it will be insured for you, know the exact dates,  and know where the papers are.

Remember to drive on the correct side of the road.  :o)

A few years ago, I bought a cheap UK satnav because I visit here so often.  If you have one that works overseas, bring it along, just in case the owners don’t have one, or you can’t figure out how to operate it. (Ahem!)

YOURSELF:

I wouldn’t have thought about this except I fell on the street while out walking the dog yesterday, crunched my knees and barely missed hitting my head.  It’s unlikely – but possible – that something might happen to you, so be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

Carry your phone with you.  Consider buying a cheap one when you are in the UK so you don’t have to pay carrier fees, or arrange a plan with your usual carrier before you leave home.  You can buy a basic phone in the UK for about $20 with a pay-as-you go facility.

Buy adequate health insurance before you leave home.

Have someone to call in an emergency.

Have someone who can take care of the animal(s) if you become incapacitated.

Consider house sitting with a friend, so there is someone to take over if anything happens to you.

It’s quite a responsibility looking after someone else’s home and animal, but I have to say I’m loving it as I’m not allowed to have a dog where I live.  It’s a ‘quiet’ kind of holiday. I’m not dashing around taking in all the sights, although I could if I wanted as I have the use of my friend’s car, and the dog is used to being on its own all day. But I’m loving going for long walks with the dog and just… puttering and relaxing. Neighbours and friends have been very welcoming – and I’m enjoying the chance to slow down.

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Culross

View across the Forth

Wow!  Is it really so long since I last added a post.  I guess so.

I had an amazing trip back to Scotland a few months ago.  There were many very special moments: staying in a renovated 15th century castle; a ghost tour of Edinburgh; delicious scones at all the National Trust properties we visited; visiting old castles; horse-riding along the beach; long, lazy chats with old friends; visiting family; did I mention the National Trust scones…

But perhaps the biggest highlight for me was visiting the town of Culross (pronounced q-ross), in Fife, not far from Edinburgh on the other side of the Forth.  As the guide-book says, ‘Culross is a town which time has passed by; the most complete example in Scotland today of a burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries’.

One of the old streets in Culross

Not the Mediterranean but Culross Palace courtyard.

The Mercat Cross – used in Outlander

If the town reminds you of a film set, it is, in fact, frequently used as one! If you are a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, many of the buildings are instantly recognisable, including Geillis Duncan’s home, or the market cross where a young lad has his ear nailed to a post.

Lost in time it may be, but it is a thriving community. There’s little I can say to adequately describe what a fascinating place Culross is.  From its Palace and garden, to the Town house, Stinking Wynd (don’t worry, it doesn’t smell), Mercat Cross, House with Evil Eyes, Abbey and Abbey House, to the stunning views across the Forth, not to mention the great coffee shops, there’s something for everyone.

 

 

 

 

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WRITING A MEMOIR

Notes from the workshop given by Diana Cranstoun at When Words Collide, Calgary, August 11th, 2017.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BIOGRAPHY AND A MEMOIR?
Biography/Autobiography: the story OF someone’s life.  (Beginning to end, chronological order.)
Memoir: a story FROM someone’s life. (Eg Wartime Memoir)

WHO ARE YOU WRITING THIS STORY ABOUT?
Yourself?
Family member?

If it is about another person, where are you going to get your research from?

WHO ARE YOU WRITING THIS STORY FOR?
Yourself?
Your family?
For general publication?

Your answer will affect what you put in your memoir and how you present it.

WHY ARE YOU WRITING THIS STORY?

You have a story to tell that only YOU can tell.

  • We all have unique experiences in our lives. If you don’t tell your story, who will?
  • You may have a secret to share.
    • Big Secret – you may have participated in some major event that you have not been able to tell people about.
    • Little Secret – something small, but unique experience that people don’t know about you.
    • Family Secret: Illegitimacy, secret marriage. Eg Who Do You Think You Are.

Understand the past:

  • Writing a memoir can be a gift to yourself – allows you to look back on your life – as well as to future generations.
  • As your past takes shape you may gain a clearer vision of who you are.

Heal from A Traumatic Experience:

  • Allows you to connect with people who may have experienced something similar and offer them encouragement, comfort, inspiration and the assurance that they – and you – are not alone.

Preserve a Family Legacy

  • If you are interested about your parents’, grandparents’ or family members’ lives, sometime in the future, someone may be interested in YOU.

WHY NOT TO WRITE A MEMOIR:

  • Don’t write one for revenge. You don’t want anything out there that is going to harm yourself or someone else.

IS YOUR STORY A NOVEL OR A MEMOIR?
Please check out this website for interesting insight.

10 ways to tell if a story should be a memoir or a novel by Adair Lara.

HOW TO ‘CREATE’ YOUR MEMOIR
Not everyone is comfortable putting pen to paper – or fingertips to keyboard – to write a book, but there are many ways to tell your story.

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Edinburgh – City of Writers

You’ve got to love a city that has a museum dedicated to writers.  The three celebrated in Edinburgh’s Writers’ Museum – Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and R.L. Stevenson – remain widely read and revered even today.  Sir Walter Scott has been credited with ‘inventing’ the historical novel with tales like Kidnapped and Ivanhoe, we all sing Robert Burns’ most famous song, “Should Auld Aquaintance Be Forgot,” at New Year, and who hasn’t dreamed of finding their own Treasure Island or been frightened by a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde character.

writers museum

For a small city of less than half-a-million people, Edinburgh has produced (or been the home to) an amazing number of writers.  Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Irvine Welsh, J.K. Rowling, Alexander McCall Smith, Iain Banks, Ian Rankin, Robert Fergusson, Muriel Spark, Kenneth Grahame.

Outwith Edinburgh, the list of Scottish writers includes J.M. Barrie, Val McDermid, Louis Welsh, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Nigel Tranter, Alistair MacLean, A.J. Cronin, Dorothy Dunnett, George MacKay Brown… it goes on and on. and on…

For a wee country, Scotland delivers a ‘muckle’ literary punch.

writer quote

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In My Father’s Footsteps

A bit of back story. In 2009, I visited France with my friend Anna to retrace my father’s desperate journey from the small village, Vis-en-Artois – where he was stationed with the British Army 1940 – to the spot on the bloody beaches of Dunkirk where he was plucked to safety by one of the ‘little boats’.

I had written to the mayor asking if anyone remembered Dad. The mayor passed my letter on to Madame B, who had been a child during the war.We visited her and had a lovely day. She didn’t remember my dad, but just as we were about to leave, she said, ‘Come back on Monday. My friend Noel knew your father.’

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Excerpt from In My Father’s Footsteps by Diana Cranstoun.

Monday, we return to Vis-en-Artois. We’re the first to arrive at Madame B’s. My husband has e-mailed a picture of my Mum and Dad taken in 1936. It’s one of my favourites. They look so young. So Happy. So in love.

I’m expecting Noel to be a woman, but of course that would be Noelle. Noel is accompanied by his wife. Like Madame B, they are both friendly, alert, white-haired, fresh-faced, on the ball.

1936 copy copyWe’re introduced,  I show him the photo of Mum and Dad. ‘Ahh.’ He smacks the picture in that Gallic way. “Jacques Cranstoon.’

But I’m not totally sold. After all, I wrote Dad’s name in my letter to the mayor and perhaps Noel wants this connection to the past as much as I do.

And then he says something that sends a shiver up my spine. ‘Et votre mere, Marie.’

Mary.

Nowhere – nowhere – had I written my mother’s name. This is very, very, real.

We talk, Anna interpreting as I catch only every fourth or fifth word. My dad was billeted next door to Noel’s family. Throughout that bitter winter of 39/40, with no heat or lighting in their accommodation, Dad and another married soldier visited Noel’s family’s warm house every Friday evening to write letters home to their wives.

Noel reaches into his pocket, pulls out a small, rather battered brown leather diary, and offers it to me. ‘Your dad gave it to him for Christmas 1939,” Anna translates.

The hairs on my arms stand on end. It’s as though, to borrow a quote from Alan Bennett’s History Boys, a hand has reached out of the past and taken mine.

My Dad, dead for 30 years, is in the room with us.

IMFF

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THE MIDPOINT

Look at any diagram of three-act-structure and you’ll find two main turning/plot points (Act One into Act Two/ Act Two into Act Three) and a midpoint.

Michael Hauge calls the midpoint, the Point of No Return (PONR). In aviation terms, the Point of No Return is that point in a flight where the aircraft does not have enough fuel to return to its point of departure, and must make it to its destination safely or crash and burn.

At the PONR in a story, something happens in the ‘plot’ that will turn the story around and take it fractionally closer to the end than the beginning. There is no going back. For example, in a mystery novel, it might be a clue that finally puts the detective on the right path to solving the crime.

When it comes to character development, something will happen here that allows the character to become closer to the person he will be at the end of the story than he was in the beginning.

James Scott Bell calls this the ‘Mirror Moment’. He says: ‘What I detect is a character point, something internal, which has the added benefit of bonding audience and character on a deeper level.’ It’s a moment, not a whole scene. He also says, the midpoint of your story is where your character faces some kind of death.

  • Physical – where there is a real threat to his life.
  • Professional – where his reputation is on the line.
  • Psychological – where something inside the character changes.

JK Rowling says, ‘It is our choices that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities,’ and it will be at this point in the story where a character makes a choice – or understands the ramifications of past choices – that gives them a glimpse of who they truly are, or want to be. It is the moment of transformation from who the character was, to who they will become. It’s when they get the chance to look in a metaphorical mirror and see themselves in a new light.

CASINO ROYALE: There are stories where the character doesn’t change/arc – James Bond. Hercule Poirot. Indiana Jones. Miss Marple – but every rule comes with an exception. Casino Royale – the version with Daniel Craig – tells the story of how James Bond becomes ‘James Bond’, so the character does arc in this story. Check out this ‘mirror moment’ in Casino Royale – halfway through the movie – which actually uses a mirror!

Look at the dress Bond brings for Vesper Lynd to wear. It’s on a plastic hanger and looks like it’s just come from the dry cleaner’s. Compare that with the tuxedo she has for him. And that moment, when he wears a tailored suit for the first time ever, watch his reaction when he looks at himself in the mirror. He’s seeing himself a little differently. Interestingly enough, this is the first time you will hear the strains of the Bond theme in this movie.

Contrast that with the last scene in the movie where he is fully revealed as ‘James Bond’ and we hear to whole theme for the first time.

 

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: Open Pride and Prejudice half way through the book and you will find a couple of scenes: 1) Where Darcy visits Elizabeth and offers her a horrible proposal of marriage. 2) Where Elizabeth reads the letter Darcy writes to her following her refusal of his offer.

The title Pride and Prejudice tells you what the book is about. Both Darcy and Elizabeth are proud people – he of his wealth and position, she of her ‘discernment’. For them to end up together at the end of the book, they’ll both have to find a bit of humility and get rid of their prejudices.

And the first stirrings of that happens in the middle of the story. Darcy is so shocked by Elizabeth’s refusal – ‘And this,’ cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, ‘is your opinion of me!’ – that he goes home and writes Elizabeth a letter explaining the truth about Wickham. After she finishes reading it, Elizabeth says, ‘ How despicably have I acted!’ she cried. ‘I who prided myself on my discernment…. Till this moment, I never knew myself.’

(Ironically, there is a mirror in this scene!)

Elizabeth and Darcy still have a long way to go before that second – successful – proposal at the end of the book, but at the midpoint of the story, they cross that line from being who they were, and how they saw themselves and each other, to who they will be by the end.

THE HUNGER GAMES: Set in a dystopian future, Katniss Evergreen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the murderous Hunger Games, where out of 24 participants, only one victor will be left alive at the end.

Midway through the book/film, Katniss finds herself facing physical death. She has no weapons – except for a knife – is trapped up a tree, and is literally waiting to die when daylight comes. Then something happens which can change her fortune, but only if she decides to go for it. Watch carefully for that ‘moment’ when Katniss realizes she has a chance to live. By the end of the scene, she has a weapon she is skilled in using, has killed some of her deadliest opponents, and has allies in Rue and Peeta.

DANTE’S PEAK: A perfect example of when the midpoint of action and character development meets beautifully. (Unfortunately there is no Youtube link for this.)

A mountain is threatening to erupt, but the scientists won’t know for sure until sulphur gets into the water supply. Hero and heroine have been badly hurt in previous relationships and wary of becoming involved with anyone again.

Midpoint of the story is when hero and heroine come back from enjoying an evening at the bar. She sends the babysitter home and invites him in for coffee. Both are nervous – ‘I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.’ – and are leaning in for their first kiss when her daughter calls down from upstairs. She’s thirsty. Can she have a glass of water? The heroine turns on the tap. It’s contaminated with sulphur.

The mountain is now going to blow – not right this minute – but there is no doubt it’s going to go.

Hero and heroine have taken the joint risk to open up their hearts again. (In a love story, the midpoint is often where the hero and heroine will kiss or make love.)

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Dunkirk

It’s funny, isn’t it, how sometimes things ‘connect’?

Although I wasn’t born until long after The Evacuation of Dunkirk, it’s always hung there, over me, throughout my life. My dad was one of the 350,000 men rescued from its beaches in May 1940 by one of the ‘Little Boats’, and I have come to believe it was, perhaps, the defining moment in his life.

My dad was a good, honest, hardworking, honourable man, and I sometimes think any illusions he had about mankind were, literally, shot to hell on the beaches of Dunkirk.  He didn’t speak about Dunkirk very often, but when he did, one of his memories was of watching  Nazi pilots bomb a hospital ship clearly marked with the Red Cross.

So when I saw the trailer for Christopher Nolan‘s movie Dunkirk this week, and saw a clip of a Red Cross ship being bombed… well it brought all those memories back.

The second ‘connection’… ?  A friend and I were talking about our favourite Christmas movies.  Mine is The Bishop’s Wife, made in 1947, starring Loretta Young (who looked like my Mum) and Cary Grant.  What has that to do with Dunkirk?  Well it turns out, the original book of The Bishop’s Wife was written by American writer Robert Nathan who also wrote a poem about Dunkirk.

There weren’t just men on the beach at Dunkirk.  British army nurses were rescued from those beaches too. And I love the idea – as in this poem – that at least one of those Little Boats had a girl on board too.

Dunkirk

Robert Nathan

Will came back from school that day,
And he had little to say.
But he stood a long time looking down
To where the gray-green Channel water
Slapped at the foot of the little town,
And to where his boat, the Sarah P,
Bobbed at the tide on an even keel,
With her one old sail, patched at the leech,
Furled like a slattern down at heel.

He stood for a while above the beach,
He saw how the wind and current caught her;
He looked a long time out to sea.
There was steady wind, and the sky was pale,
And a daze in the east that looked like smoke.

Will went back to the house to dress.
He was half way through, when his sister Bess
Who was near fourteen, and younger than he
By just two years, came home from play.
She asked him, “Where are you going, Will?”
He said, “For a good long sail.”
“Can I come along?”
“No, Bess,” he spoke.
“I may be gone for a night and a day.”
Bess looked at him. She kept very still.
She had heard the news of the Flanders rout,
How the English were trapped above Dunkirk,
And the fleet had gone to get them out
But everyone thought that it wouldn’t work.
There was too much fear, there was too much doubt.

She looked at him, and he looked at her.
They were English children, born and bred.
He frowned her down, but she wouldn’t stir.
She shook her proud young head.
“You’ll need a crew,” she said.

They raised the sail on the Sarah p,
Like a penoncel on a young knight’s lance,
And headed the Sarah out to sea,
To bring their soldiers home from France.

There was no command, there was no set plan,
But six hundred boats went out with them
On the gray-green waters, sailing fast,
River excursion and fisherman,
Tug and schooner and racing M,
And the little boats came following last.
From every harbor and town they went
Who had sailed their craft in the sun and rain,
From the South Downs, from the cliffs of Kent,
From the village street, from the country lane.

There are twenty miles of rolling sea
From coast to coast, by the seagull’s flight,
But the tides were fair and the wind was free,
And they raised Dunkirk by fall of night.

They raised Dunkirk with its harbor torn
By the blasted stern and the sunken prow;
They had reached for fun on an English tide,
They were English children bred and born,
And whether they lived, or whether they died,
They raced for England now.

Bess was as white as the Sarah’s sail,
She set her teeth and smiled at Will.
He held his course for the smoky veil
Where the harbor narrowed thin and long.
The British ships were firing strong.

He took the Sarah into his hands,
He drove her in through fire and death
To the wet men waiting on the sands.
He got his load and he got his breath,
And she came about, and the wind fought her.

He shut his eyes and he tried to pray.
He saw his England were she lay,
The wind’s green home, the sea’s proud daughter,
Still in the moonlight, dreaming deep,
The English cliffs and the English loam
He had fourteen men to get away,
And the moon was clear, and the night like day
For planes to see where the white sails creep
Over the black water.

He closed his eyes and prayed for her;
He prayed to the men who had made her great,
Who had built her land of forest and park,
Who had made the seas an English lake;
He prayed for a fog to bring the dark;
He prayed to get home for England’s sake.
And the fog came down on the rolling sea,
And covered the ships with English mist.
The diving planes were baffled and blind.

For Nelson was there in the Victory,
With his one good eye, and his sullen twist,
And guns were out on The Golden Hind,
Their shot flashed over the Sarah P.
He could hear them cheer as he came about.

By burning wharves, by battered slips,
Galleon, frigate, and brigantine,
The old dead Captains fought their ships,
And the great dead Admirals led the line.
it was England’s night, it was England’s sea.

The fog rolled over the harbor key.
Bess held to the stays, and conned him out.

And all through the dark, while the Sarah’s wake
Hissed behind him, and vanished in foam,
There at his side sat Francis Drake,
And held him true, and steered him home.  

If you’re interested in learning more about Dunkirk, there are some great movies that tell the story.  Mrs Miniver. Dunkirk. Atonement. 

And, at the risk of promoting myself, I have also written a short memoir of retracing my father’s experiences at Dunkirk in, In My Father’s Footsteps.

 

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SCOTTISH WISDOM

castle-campbellAlthough I was born and brought up in Scotland, I’ve lived overseas for so long now, that sometimes I forget just how rich and humorous and wise some Scottish sayings are.

Here’s just a sampling.

WE’RE A’ JOCK TAMSON’S BAIRNS. (We’re all Jock Tamson’s children.) We’re all the same under the skin/ We’re all God’s children. (Here’s an interesting link as to who Jock Tamson might have been.)

ANE AT A TIME IS GUID FISHIN’. (One at a time is good fishing.) Be content with your life. Don’t look for everything at once.

MONY A MICKLE MAKS A MUCKLE. (Many small things make a lot.) Lots of little things add up into big things.

AULD CLAES AN’ CAULD PORRITCH. (Old clothes and cold porridge.) After a period of expense, it’s back to basics. Or… after a holiday, it’s back to real life.

WEANS WI’ BIG LUGS TAK IT A’ IN. (Children with big ears take it all in.) Watch what you say in front of the children.

YER JAICKETS’ ON A SHOOGLY PEG. (Your jacket is on a wobbly hook.) You’re close to being fired from work.  (Maybe not a wise saying, but I love the imagery!)

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In The Park

I attended a workshop given by Donald Maass some time back, where he talked about the different sensory factors you need in a scene to give it depth and ensure it comes to life. For example, don’t just describe the light coming into a room, he said. Describe the quality of the light.

A few weeks ago I was walking along the river-path with my grandson.  He’d fallen asleep in his stroller, so I sat down on a bench, pulled out my notebook and decided to apply Donald Maass’ advice to the scene around me.  If I was describing this in a book, what particular elements could I find to make my scene unique.

park

Here’s a selection

A businessman, dressed in smart suit, and man-bun, chatting on his phone.
A very pregnant woman jogging – very slowly.
The soft slap of running shoes of the serious joggers on the river-path versus the staccato clack of ‘smart’ shoes belonging to business men and women out for a noon stroll.
The gentle ‘ping’ of a bike’s bell as it overtook walkers.
Hearing snatches of music from people’s ipods as they jogged by.
A man in an adapted wheelchair zipping along the path.
The warm colours of the autumnal day.
Snatches of conversations: A girl breaking up with her boyfriend.  “Move your shit out my place before I get back.”  A young man meeting a friend. “These are the last two days here.  I’m done with this city!”  An older man saying to his friend, “Problem is, you get to my age and I think I can still play.”
A man on the phone, trying to solve a problem for his father.
A young girl munching on a burger as she walked and chatted on her phone.
The heavy breathing of runners as they talked to each other in half-sentences.
Three retired couples walking together, the women in front talking about families, the men talking about baseball.
Serious cyclists, head down, weaving their way through the walkers.
Fun cyclists, in ‘sit-up-and-beg’ bikes, meandering along the path.
A guy pressing down one nostril and snorting into the grass.  Yuck!
An elderly couple strolling along hand in hand.
A plane soaring into the air in the distance.
Kids from a daycare, walking along in crocodile fashion, singing, ‘If you’re happy and you know it…”
Dogs prancing along, tails wagging.
Young women jogging, their ponytails swinging from side to side.
A cacophony of different languages.
The siren from a firetruck in the distance, honking as it went through an intersection.
A running group… they’d been walking for a bit, resting hands on waists.  “Okay guys, lets try this again and pick up the pace.”
Leaves falling onto the pathway.
A squirrel with a black body and red tail darting between the trees.
A crow cawing, high in a branch.
The breeze rustling the leaves in the trees.

The above took me about ten minutes.  Try this in a cafe, in a bookstore, in the bank, at the movies, in church, on the bus, on a plane… anywhere.  Really notice what you’re seeing, what you’re hearing, what you’re smelling.  Take notes, and when you want to add a unique detail to a scene set in one of those places, you’ll have it at your fingertips.

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Visiting Glasgow – Byres Road

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All cities have their iconic streets. One of my favourites is Byres Road in Glasgow’s West End. It stretches from the working class district of Partick at one end, to the beautiful Botanic Gardens and mansions of Great Western Road at the other. With both the University of Glasgow and, until their recent move to Pacific Quay, the BBC Scotland studios close by, it has a vibrant, diverse feel to it.

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Visiting Byres Road on my trips back to Scotland, it remains familiar, and yet new enough, to still excite me. I love how Byres Road honours its past by not knocking down ‘old’ buildings, but by repurposing them, turning an old church into a theatre,  and an art deco cinema into a restaurant.  The city – and street – is alive!

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My grandparents used to live about halfway up Byres Road, and I spent a lot of time there when I was a wee girl. Much has changed since then. The pork butcher shop, which I remember having tiled walls, carcasses hanging from hooks which dripped blood onto the sawdust covered floor, is now an Oxfam shop, while Colquhouns, where we used to go for lunch on a Saturday, now houses a Pizza Express.

Across the road from their flat was Ashton Lane, now a trendy mews, with the famous Ubiquitous Chip restaurant and entrance to the Grosvenor Cinema.

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Byres Road has many of the stores you expect to see on any High Street – Boots, Marks and Spencer Food etc – but there are some great independent shops too where you can buy  unique gifts.

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And if you fancy getting a cup of coffee from ‘The Tardis’ you’ll find that there too!

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The butcher shop I remember has long gone, but down near the Partick end there’s another butcher with a good sense of humour.  I used to hate potted meat!  Yes, I guess that means I was a ‘toff’.

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And if you fancy stepping back into history, pop into Curlers Rest (formerly Curlers) for a drink. Established in the 17th century, it used to stand beside a pond where – you guessed it – they curled in the winter.

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