At long last Sunday came to an end, and while cleaning away the foodstuffs and filling the dish washer, I could feel my legs buckling, and my body sagging! Sam, my government paid aid of course only worked till ten, but over weekends it is really bad, as the kitchen are expected to do meals until all hours. I liked doing it, as all the restaurants in Strathyre and surroundings close kitchen at nine thirty at the latest, So I am stuck with the cleaning, as the youngsters helping at night are only allowed to work four hours, so they also work from six to ten!
But I woke up next morning, and it was Monday, and it being Monday, I was of course off! I lay in bed much later than usual on my days off, as I am usually off to one of my favourite spots to have a barbeque breakfast at seven. Today however, the old legs were a bitty lazy to respond, but after I dragged my battered body out of bed, and made a strong cuppa, I felt like a brand new sixpence again, and ready for all this day may bring.
It took only minutes to pack my stuff, made a flask of strong coffee, and took off at great speed, wanting to get away as soon as possible, as I am regularly called in for help, Theresa and Tony not able to manage. That is why I left before they were up and in, as I felt that I really earned my time off.
I have decided to drive to Aberfoil, on the Trossachs trail, as some way down a small and winding road, you got to loch Ard, and that is one of the best places if I wanted to sleep over in my tent. I always found a new and beautiful spot walking around, and today I did so again. I found a small stream, very private, as it was quite far from the road, with a lot of lovely leafy trees shading it from sun and prying eyes, so I put up my tent! Oh the joy of just lying in the dappled shade reading and musing over my quite hectic life, was unbelievable!
I decided to walk down to the loch, and look for old pieces of pottery, as I collected it. I have found the most beautiful, but sometimes tiny pieces of very old pottery at the different lochs where I loved searching the beaches!
A few cows were grazing lazily on a small green  rise, and never having had trouble with any highland cow, or any other species, I was shocked into first a kind of paralysed panic, and then into doing a creditable Olympic sprint over grass and rocks, as one of the herd, a huge bally bull, gave me one look, and decided that he did not like my presence! He gave one nasty bellow, and charged!
I moved like the wind over the field, making for the safety of the cold loch, and was inspired to even more speed when I peeped around, and saw that the whole herd was now giving chase!
Getting to the loch cost me a lot of skin on my legs, as I was wearing shorts, and the water was icy, but I waded in as far as possible, keeping a weary eye at my pursuers! This lot now stood at the edge of the water, and looked at me with what I first thought was hatred, but then I saw a cow with the biggest udder on earth watching me with soft brown eyes while chewing her grass. Soft eyes or not, I was not planning on leaving the safety of the water while this lot were watching me, and wondered how long it would take to freeze to death in the cold water.

It was one dreary looking female who got up the next morning, and it took a lot of willpower to actually get upright. I had to be in the kitchen for seven to do my prep, but at six I had the dicy job of switching on the geysers, as tony put it off at night to save a bit of money.
To do this was really hazardous, and feeling like I did this morning made it quite dangerous as well. The switches was in the room above the kitchen, so I had to slump up a very steep staircase, and getting to the top, usually quite breathless, I had to take a very deep breathe, as now the dangerous rafters awaited! There was no floor in this room, and the few rafters left was spaced about half a meter apart, and the switches resided on the opposite wall. So one actually needed the balance of a circus acrobat, and the nerves of a lion tamer to attempt this job! I was frantic, as a rule, but this morning, with the poor old head aching like the blazes, and the poor old eyes almost sightless they were so swollen, I took one humongous breathe, and like a bally tightrope walker I sprinted from one rafter to the other, and could not believe that I had actually made it safely to the switches!
 Then it was the return jumps, and I took another gasp, my chest now feeling real tight, and just went for it! Tony promised every time I moaned that he would have a decent walkway put up there, but as he is running around like a beheaded chicken himself, I think my moans went in at the one ear, and out at the other, as no attempt had so far been made.
The bar was in chaos! I had to make the coffee in there, as we use the big coffee machine, but every available space was filled with dirty glasses, and it smelled like one very dirty shabeen, that means an illegal drinking spot in our townships back home. I opened every window, and the front door to get rid of the stale smells, and hoped by the time the guests came down the place would be fresher!
I did see a few noses quiver in disgust as the people started coming down, and I noticed that they all looked like I did, with red eyes and pursed lips, although my lips were stretched in a kind of what I meant to be a smile! They were all very upset at the noise through the night, and I tried to explain that it didn't happen every night, but that we had a beach party! They were not at all interested in my explanations, just ate their food in silince, gazing at nothing in particular!
I was relieved to say the least when I had seen the last one off, then went into a panic as Toni came down, looking terrible, his hair uncombed, his beard long, and his clothes looking as though he had slept in it, which he probably did! I told him that I would see to any one coming in if he wanted to take a shower first, but he explained that the truck would be coming any minute to fetch the sand.
What a bally racket! Only Frazer and Willie came to help, themselves not looking quite alive, and between the lot of them they cleared all the sand from the pub lounge!
I found this card in a shop in Callander, and having experienced the bally midges for myself, I think this is probably not far from the truth!!!