After my last blog and Pete’s new shed had been assembled, we travelled as planned down to Yorkshire house. It was only a very brief stay to collect a few left over items and have a tidy round but it was nice to see our neighbours Katie & Paul if separately & only briefly… we didn’t stop too long as there was a lot of hype (as usual) on the telly about Storm Amy heading in and how it would impact Scotland so we aimed to get home before the storm arrived… fortunately, the hedge trimming man turned up around 8.30am & was gone before 9.30am and the fellas collecting the chairs for Sue Ryder also turned up pretty much on time, so we were on our way home to Scotland by 12-ish…

Storm Amy came and went… not sure it really had that much of an impact on us here in the Borders, although it was a bit rainy / windy… Having received the latest flood warning from SEPA, we went for a walk in the evening to take look at the river – it was flowing fast and was very high – the following day you could see a line of debris on the banks further downstream near the bridge that showed how high it had risen, but no flooding otherwise…

Despite the weather turning distinctly autumnal (although today, as I write this blog, it’s actually quite warm and a little bit sunny…), we have been out for some nice walks and enjoyed the autumn leaves…

We even had a run out over the border to Northumberland for a short walk in the Kielder Forest…

There is an info board in the grounds of the castle detailing the “First International Football match” between Scotland and England which apparently took place here around 1790 (about 100 years before the first official international game between the two sides)… according to the info board:

“Local tradition holds that in about 1790, The Dukes of Northumberland and Buccleugh had joined together with their retainers to have sport on the grouse moor above Kielder Castle. There being no grouse to shoot due to ‘Disease’ they organised a football match with sides of unlimited numbers made up from their respective Beaters and Bearers.

The match started after breakfast and at half-time there was high jumping and long jumping. At the end of the match (teatime) England had won 2 – 0, but eight players were found to be dead and several more died within two weeks, all blaming it on injuries received at the match…”

What a game that must have been! 😱

During our walk in the woods, we spotted lots of fungi to challenge Louise, Lee & the kid’s own haul from their respective walk in the woods last weekend – thanks for the pic you sent Lou – hope you like ours! Although we could probably name a couple, we’ve no idea what most of them are so there’s an advantage Lee would have on us!

We’ve actually been to the Kielder Forrest before but many years ago… Once we were there with my Mum and Dad when we were walking the Pennine Way (the Way doesn’t actually go through the Kielder but rather skirts it via Bellingham where it then heads northward towards the Cheviot Hills and the Scottish Border!) and once with Louise when Aedan (Grandson) was very little… it was nice to be back! As it’s only a 25 minute drive from our door we are looking forward to exploring this area of Northumberland in the coming months & next year!

We have also enjoyed a few nice walks in the rain & drizzle more locally too – the pic below shows what I think is the definition of the Scottish word “dreich”! Oh, and we have seen double dippers on the river again, plus a brace of owls flying to their roost in the gloaming the other night! Marvellous 🤩

We have travelled up to Melrose (approximately 40 miles north of us on the way to Edinburgh) to the Borders General Hospital for Pete’s treatment. The first visit was for him to have his “new patient” chat with the Macmillan Nurses – which was useful as it gave us a practice run at getting to the hospital and where to park etc.

The second visit (yesterday) was for Pete’s 2nd round of chemotherapy… I was a bit worried that they might not let him have it as, when we had got back from the hospital the day before, Pete was doing some work in his new shed and went to the old, crap and low-ceilinged shed to get something… of course, he managed to bash his head in the old shed and put the worst graze ever on top of his bonce… if you have a wound, chemo can affect the way in which it heals and you have to be really careful about infection, so I wasn’t sure whether this would stop the treatment going ahead (no pun intended)… of course, Pete says it was just a scratch (… a mere flesh-wound… Anyone else getting Monty Python & the Holy Grail flashbacks?? 🤣). Fortunately, the treatment went ahead – phew!

Whilst Pete was having his chemo, I took the opportunity to take a walk around the nearby town of Melrose. The visit Scotland website describes Melrose as “picturesque” and says it is “…located next to the Eildon Hills and is the birthplace of Rugby Sevens”. What can I say – it is lovely, they like a church (having several and a ruined Abbey too which dates back to 1136), a lot of the houses are very big and it seems there’s a bit of money in the town – to me anyway! Very nice…

Here’s some other things the website says about Melrose:

• A casket was discovered at Melrose Abbey which was believed to contain the heart of Robert the Bruce. The website says that there was a re-burial of this with a full ceremony and that it’s marked by a commemorative stone tablet – but I’m not sure if this is still at the Abbey (assume it is??) as I didn’t go in – thought I would leave that for another day when Pete was with me!
• The Romans built a “major fort” near to Melrose after they arrived in AD79-80 – they called it Trimontium which means “Place of the Three Hills” – these being the Eildon Hills (of which there are three although I only seem to have captured two of them in my pics below!)…
• It’s not far from where Sir Walter Scott (Novelist / Poet) built his mansion Abbotsford (another place for us to visit one day!)
• The “Melrose Sevens” rugby tournament, which first took place in 1883, is held each spring and, being an international tournament, usually has teams from as far as New Zealand taking part each year! For those that don’t know, rugby sevens is a fast paced game of 7-aside rugby which each half only being 7 minutes… the only time I’ve seen it is when the Olympics is on – so maybe that’s another day out in the future?

I know it probably sounds a bit daft, but I was actually quite anxious going to the hairdressers in the village… I’ve been going to the same hairdresser in Skipton for over 20 years so it was a bit daunting trying somewhere new…

I wondered whether this kind of anxiety was a “thing” or whether I was just being over-sensitive – so I looked it up (yeh, I know – too much time on my hands! 🤣) and apparently it is definitely a thing and is called Tonsurephobia – what a great name 🤣!

According to the net, “Tonsurephobia is the fear of getting a haircut” which usually affects kids more than adults… It can be caused by fear of pain or injury; loss of control during the haircut process; sensory overload; social anxiety about making small talk or being judged; post traumatic experiences after previous bad haircuts (haven’t we all had them at least once!?); and body image issues (e.g., about appearance). At least I wasn’t imagining it!

Needless to say, I shouldn’t have worried – my new Hairdresser is called Vicky and she’s been coifing the hair of the good people of Newcastleton for many years! When I got back, Pete actually said it was probably the best hair cut he’d noticed – there’s something! 😊❤️

Anyway, enough ramblings… I’m off to have some munches with hubby who has been busy all morning trying to get some jobs done before he starts feeling the effects of his latest chemo. L8Rs! Xxx