Thursday – Continued glorious weather. We went off on the Sheerwater boat trip, our first of the year although I think the third of the season so far, we’d just not bothered as the weather had been pants. It was gorgeous, sunny, still, blue skies etc. We went off with our rucksack packed full, suncream applied, sunhats and sunglasses etc but without any real high hopes of seeing much with it so early in the season.
The outward trip was justifiable of our expectations without even a seabird in sight but as soon as we left Soay to head back to Rum it all got very exciting. There were at least two, probably four minke whales, porpoises aplenty, kittiwakes and shearwaters, gulls and gannets and the friendliest bonxie (great skua) we’ve ever met. At various points there was something happening in every single direction you looked in. We chased the whales for a while, the bonxie chased us and it was just heavenly.
Back on dry land we came home, watered the polytunnel, fed the animals and I made pizza dough then we headed down to the shop with Birthday Brownies. A good turn out of folk to celebrate Ady’s birthday with him and plenty of beers bought for him. Davies and Scarlett headed back up a little ahead of us and I think we got home around 930pm. Â I made pizza and that was Ady’s birthday celebration really. I went to bed around 1am and Davies and Scarlett were both up and wide awake making birthday cards. Sign of the times…!
Friday – A slightly strange day really – I was off at 4pm on the boat which always means the day is spent in expectant limbo. I packed and Ady and I walked down to the shop to pick up various things Ady needed for later in the day for dinner, back home for lunch and I said goodbye to the kids and Ady and I went down to meet the first boat which had a butchers order coming off for us on. We put that away and then hung around the village until it was time for the second boat. Mike & Deb were on it along with Colin, a long term contractor who is over at least once a month and is always very friendly so we all sat together and Colin bought us all cups of tea and kitkats 🙂 Mike and Deb offered me a lift to Alison’s so after a quick dash into the CoOp we set off. Unfortunately my message to Alison had not got through and Leon had been along to the station to pick me up so we all arrived at the same time. Mike & Deb headed off and I settled in to Durbin-world, the land which Alison and Leon inhabit which is all very slowed down and low key, which despite four years on Rum I still struggle with a little.
A nice meal was already ready (hours and hours before Goddard o’clock obviously!) after which Leon drifted off, the girls went to bed, Alison, Phil (the barefoot beekeeper dude who was leading the course and staying with Alison too) and I had a few drinks before calling it a night. Jenna had very kindly given up her bedroom to me for my stay so I slept pretty well although after the first night I kept the black out blinds open at night – it really freaks me out to wake in complete darkness and try and adjust, I am much better waking in daylight with the sun even if it means waking earlier in the morning and struggling to get back to sleep if you rouse at some ungodly summer daylight hour.
Saturday – Alison made breakfast for people, I just had tea and we headed off to the village hall for the course. It was a really good day with lots of interesting people – about half very local, about half having travelled, some from Inverness and the Black Isle, some up from Glasgow / Edinburgh and me across from Rum. An interesting mix of interesting people and personalities. Lots of chance to chat and get to know others on the course too which is always good. We finished around 5pm and headed back to the house. Alison had put forward the idea of going out for the evening to a local pub for some music – I actually know the people who were playing and it would have been good but everyone was a bit tired (which is the natural state of being at their house!) so once we’d had dinner we decided against it. We did instead decide at around 10pm to start constructing Alison’s new bee hive! So that slightly gin fuelled adventure was embarked upon. I went to bed around midnight and left them to it. I’d had some long and interesting chats with Phil  during the course of the evening but was ready for my book and bed,
Sunday – I was up way before anyone else – Leon had been off on a weekend overnight course doing island survival bushcraft with a group up from Glasgow for the weekend and he is usually the earliest riser. Phil got up shortly after me, then Alison and the girls. We had logistical issues getting all of us plus dog and beehive to the course venue so Alison took Phil and the beehive while the girls and I got ready to go in a second run – the hall is only five minutes from their house. The second day of the course was just as good and offered plenty more chatting opportunities with people. I do love going on learning adventures like that, you really bond with the other attendees and everyone always leaves so enthused regardless of what you’re learning, our cob course was just the same. After the course I drove me, the hive, the girls and the dog back leaving Alison and Phil doing the final tidy up. Leon was already home so he went back to collect them and I unloaded and put away then reloaded the dishwasher, tidied up the kitchen a bit and then did some crocheting waiting for them to come back. The idea to go to the pub for dinner was put forward and voted as a very good one by everyone so we drove the five miles ish to the nearest pub for dinner which was a real treat 🙂
Back at the house Leon went off to bed as did the girls while Alison, Phil and I chatted for a while over some wine. Then I left them to it and went off to bed, I was really, really looking forward to getting home.
Monday – I got the school bus with Jenna into Mallaig which got me in about 830am. I did a modest CoOp shop, small enough to cram into my rucksack and then went across to the Calmac office. When the tea kiosk opened opposite just after 9am I went and got a cup of tea while looking out for my assignation. Sure enough around 930am a van pulled up with Animal Rescue Centre painted on the side and I dashed out to meet them. Fiona and her husband John, plus a pair of peahens for Ady and a little black cat for me!!! This was all rather last minute and I had not really believed it would all happen until it actually did. The added surprise being that Fiona grew up on Rum! Much chatting with them for 20 minutes or so before saying goodbye, leaving the peahens to be loaded onto the car deck and collecting my bags to walk on to the boat with the cat.
I settled myself at a table in the cafe bit as upstairs was totally full and had started chatting to the people at the next table who were heading to Eigg but had been to Rum last year and on a castle tour led by Ady when Niall the farrier got on. So he and I sat and gossiped and drank tea for the entire trip which was lovely, he is such a nice bloke. He helped me off with the peahens and Ady met us to load them all into the car. Davies and Scarlett were off playing with their mates who were over for the weekend (Claire’s new partner Dan has teenage girls who he has on alternate weekends and part school holidays. They get on really well with Davies and Scarlett and spent loads of time with them when they are over visiting . But they all came to meet the boat for hello-I-missed-you cuddles before heading back off again. Ady and I bought cats, peahens and stuff up to the croft and had some lunch before going back to collect the rest from the car. D&S returned having waved their mates off on the second boat.
Bonnie and the cat had their first meeting which went fine. So far they are mostly just scared of each other, the cat is more curious than Bonnie is but there is no aggression and I am confident it will pan out ok over the next few weeks before we let the cat outside.
It was fantastic to be home, I had missed everyone so much.
Today – we decided to come up with a name for the cat. She came called Piper which we decided we would keep if she responded to it, but she does not so we wanted to call her something which meant something to us. We came up with a long list of about 10 names and all chose our top three, any with more than one vote went through and we all chose our favourite from that. That left us with two votes for Kira and two votes for Jinx. As her official human I got casting vote so Kira she is. Ciara is gaelic for ‘wee dark one’ but pronounced kee-ra so we have gone for the phonetic spelling and named her Kira Cat.
It rained pretty much solidly all day long so nothing much got done other than hanging out with the cat, crochet, listening to radio downloads and Ady tidied out a kitchen cupboard. At 5pm it cleared up so I walked down to the village to the shop and freezer before coming home to get dinner sorted. I had a shower and called my parents with my cat news.
I’m being quiet about it on facebook as the woman who I got the cats from last year is my facebook friend and I have never been able to bring myself to explain that we never saw them again after they escaped so I always say they are out and about on the croft but never come in the caravan. I actually don’t think she’d mind but it feels a bit insensitive to be all thrilled about a new cat somehow.