John is getting quite cavalier, and his response to everything is ‘Who gives a monkeys?’ I was nagging him to clean up ‘his slum’ as we were having friends round for dinner last week, and the shelf by the door is full of his prized possessions. For example – WD40, Raid, swimming goggles, sun glasses, phone, keys, wallet, Ken Follet books, pain killers, throat sweets; and receipts for various things. Well the guests came and went and I don’t suppose they did give a monkeys either. They were polite.

To appease my ‘cleaning up mood’, I decided to have a big clear out of my sewing room, so I tidied the shelves and now everything is pristine again.

I have been inspired by my ladies of the stitch group that I go to on a Wednesday.

Oh my goodness, they sit there drinking coffee and talking about important things like grandchildren and so on and yet behind these gentle facades and inane chatter is all this seething talent, and a driving compulsion to create masterpieces.

I thought the end of year quilt show at the guild lunch was something, where we saw such varied and beautiful entries, the result of so much time and passion to create a unique quilt that was supposed to portray a place where you had been. One lady is married to a pilot and has lived in 73 countries and so she made a depiction of the world with a plane flying around it. Nice.

The winning one was by Joy, and she had made the most beautiful representation of South Africa. She had even included a square with Mandela’s shirt in.

I have had so much inspiration from another South African lady called Ivis. When I saw her sewing room I just couldn’t believe it; she was so organised, she had so much fabric, and her quilts are just out of this world.

However, I am definitely going to give up sewing when I return to Scotland, I just can’t see me having the time that I have here to dedicate to it, as it is so all-consuming. I think I would like to cycle and walk and get fit, as John and I are planning to walk the Camino de Santiago in spring next year.
Maybe when I return to Scotland I might be inspired to paint our garden wall or something.

I was at Debbie’s on Wednesday and I idly looked out of her kitchen window and had to blink about a hundred times. Here is what she did to relieve her eyes from the endless sand and concrete. It is so beautiful. She is a clever, talented lady and she calls it just a hobby!

I remember years ago in Edinburgh, I was out in the Hebrides pub with my friend Irene, and it was a busy Saturday night, and we were approached by two brothers. The elder one, Chris, was fresh from the island of Eriskay on Scotland’s west coast. He had made a big effort to dress up for his night out in the capital and was in his dark suit and tie. He must have taken a shine to me, for I could see he was wracking his brain for good ‘chat up lines’ that he might try out. I remember him leaning forward and asking me, ‘Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy?’ Well, I was quite at a loss and could think of nothing. Eventually I think I muttered that I quite liked swimming, and then he went off on a big story of how he had to kill his dog for she had been worrying the sheep, and it was all quite graphic and I just stood there like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Quite an unusual way to beguile a lady on a Saturday night!
Funny what you remember when a word hits a trigger.

On another note I loved the reporting of a man who had kicked a pigeon out of his way whilst passing through a square. By chance the bird hit a lamp post and lay limp and bleeding causing all sorts of outrage from nearby witnesses. It died in the hand of a distraught woman who was screaming abuse at the perpetrator.
The villain said apologetically, but clearly determined to have no nonsense: ‘I’m sorry, but it was an accident. I’ve never seen a pigeon before that didn’t move out of the way.’
Everyone looked with disapproval at this hardened kicker of pigeons.
Love it!
And so who gives a monkeys? Clearly not John in his current frame of mind!