After the last post the kids and I headed into the town to get some lunch – it was tipping down and we were wet within about five minutes of stepping outside the hotel. The subway under the road in Fort William floods in the heavy rain (we discovered!) and while Davies was suitably shod in wellies Scarlett was in crocs and I was in silly girl shoes so we did a massive detour to cross the roads. We went to Lidl and got pastries and breads for lunch, called into Morrisons and got some ice cream which Scarlett had been desperate for, some yoghurts for dessert later and a bottle of wine and some tonic water for me in anticipation of two more nights in the hotel. The kids went back through the subway as Scarlett decided to just roll her trouser legs up but I walked round the long way. In Lidl we heard about the two missing climbers who still have not been found. Fort William is the scene of regular helicopter dramas obviously but it seems there is still a collective holding of breath when news gets out like that.
Back at the room we asked for a hairdryer, hung our sodden coats over the bath and put our wet trousers over the heater. I had an email from Steve to say the possible lift back to Rum today was back on and so a rapid exchange of emails followed to arrange it and I cancelled the hotel room for tonight. Now regretting the hasty purchase of extra food and drink which would not be consumed and would have to be carried back with us… I did pop out one last time for a wander round the shops but my heart was not in it so I came back for a very long bath instead. Travelodge baths are tiny so you have to decided which portion of your body is going to be submerged at any given point. A cunning plan to assist with this I discovered this time is to have the shower on at the same time, which sprinkles warm water, jacuzzi style over you to keep the unsubmerged bits warm. Fun!
We ate in the Wetherspoons as a sort of last night treat and to avoid walking anywhere (it’s directly below the Travelodge so less than a minute outside in the rain) but it was not really much of a treat as Scarlett’s first, second and third menu choices were all sold out. She ended up with Steak and Kidney pudding and mash which she sort of enjoyed but was not what she was hoping for. I have to say she has Ady’s good nature about things like that, I would have walked out after the second choice not being available! Davies was very happy with his steak though. Back in the room Davies had a bath, we all packed our stuff up and watched Gogglebox which I have rather fallen in love with.
This morning was an early (for us!) start and I had not slept well, I never do without Ady anyway and had kept waking panicking I had overslept and missed the train and boat – the stress of having to meet two specific deadlines is so outside of my normal life now I hate it. We were pleased to see the subway had drained away as we had been prepared to wade across to get to the station and were on the train in good time. Scarlett slept on the train, Davies was in a daze and I read my book. We’d been told the boat would wait for us til 10am and the train got in with seven minutes to spare so we were feeling hurried. Jen was getting on the train as we got off so we had a quick hug in passing.
We carted our heavy bags to where we’d been told the boat would be but no sign of it, we walked all around, asked some people and wandered around like lost souls trying to ignore the worry that we had missed it after all and frantically making a mental back up plan when it suddenly appeared pulling in. It was gone 1030 by then so actually we could have done the quick CoOp shop which I’d really wanted to do but never mind. We had to climb down the ladder and scramble across the boat so I got grease all over my jacket, jeans and rucksack. We sat in the little gally kitchen on the sea level deck and thought it would be fine. One of the crew (there was only him and the skipper) made me a cup of tea and handed round the biscuits, there was a tv on showing This Morning which Davies and I found most entertaining and George (the crew) was very chatty and friendly despite the twin challenge of him having such a strong Scottish accent that I struggled to understand him and him being hard of hearing with a hearing aid which didn’t appear to work fully so being unable to hear me. By the end of the trip we had developed that sort of fellow survivor mentality and were able to communicate in facial expressions…
About half an hour in Scarlett went grey and bolted for the loo, Davies went green and headed for the deck to get fresh air where he remained for the duration. I waited about ten minutes calling through to Scarlett to check she was ok periodically before the need to retire to the deck myself became pressing. At which point Scarlett called through that actually she was trapped in the loo. Between bouts of vomiting she explained that the lock twiddly thing was simply missing so there was nothing with which to unlock the door. Between checking on Davies and spending time restoring my own equilibrium I communicated to George what had happened and we had a surreal conversation with Scarlett through the locked door with me acting as interpreter as she could not understand him, he could not hear her, she was regularly being sick and I was fighting the urge to do the same. Eventually George went upstairs, accessed the bathroom through the ceiling hatch and passed Scarlett down a screwdriver with which to rescue herself by moving the lock across. Adventures abound!
We finally got back to Rum and it was so, so lovely to be home. A quiet afternoon – we got in and unpacked / put everything away, had some lunch. Then Scarlett spent some time looking for Gunther the disabled duck while Ady and I buried the piglets. Davies was catching up with some friends online who are on half term so more available than usual. We walked down to the shop for a few bits and then home to feed the pigs and get dinner on (Ady) and ring my parents (me). I’m not sure how it’s ended up being 1am so I am off to bed!