Irma and Ally got along so well, and she had a lovely time with him, and when the two of them went out over the week-end, the girls stayed with me, sitting in the pub lounge playing scrabble, and when there were no men playing, they played pool.
For my next two days off, we were going to the Mull of Kintyre, where we would be camping at a campsight near Campbletown, and from there do our touristy thing. Lizzy was driving us, and, even though she always struggled against going into the wilds with me, and vowed never to camp with me again after the night the midges almost devoured us in glen Lyon, she was always going with me. I think secretly she was loving it almost as much as I did myself!
As usual it was quite a struggle to get Liz up and going, as she loved sleeping till about eleven, and from the time of her getting up, it took two more hours to get ready. But I think because of the kids that couldn't wait to go, she was up at about eight, and from my window at Irene's I could see that her kitchen light was on, and her curtains opened. A very good sign indeed!
I went to fetch the kids, and after we had packed all our foodies, and bags, and the dogs were watered and walked, the car wouldn't start. Poor Liz was a nervous wreck, and her hands that were usually a bitty shaky was just about rattling as she tried and tried to get the engin going! But then we got help from a guy named Chalky who lived across from Lizzy, and he pronounced with a wry grin that there was no petrol in the tank! Liz went white, and her big brown eyes almost popped out, and then she collapsed into a small bundle behind the wheel. She had clean forgotten to fill the car up the previous day when she went to Callender.
So into the Panda with self and Irma, while Lizzy and the youngsters went into the house with the dogs to await our return with the petrol. Luckily Chalky had an empty five liter can, and that would be enough to take us into Lix Toll to fill up!
So again we made an effort to get going, Irma, who got car sick when sitting in the back, nicely in front with Liz, and the girls, me and the dogs in the back. I was draped in an old piece of bedspread, as Benny, the Yorkie who was a bad passenger as he got terribly car-sick, had to sit on my lap, while Stouty, the other Yorkie, was shared by the girls. We haven't even started when self began to feel my tummy turn, as the smell of Benny's breath was like something out of a horror story, and quite indescribable, and he insisted to stand with his paws on the front seat!
It was better once we got going, as I opened the window completely, although it was quite a wet morning, but the droplets blowing in was my salvation, as it kind of revived me every time I wanted to swoon when Benny's breath attacked me!
The poor darling was kind of okay until we got to the pass between Strathyre and Lix Toll, when the tight little bends in the road made him wretch  uncontrolably, and I sat like a bally zombi, waiting for him to deposit his breakfast on my lap, so I just made sure that I was covered from head to feet in the bedspread!
I just couldn't understand why Liz could not leave the dogs in the care of the many friends who always offered to look after them, as poor old Benny just wasn't a good traveller at all!
Irma, who have been quiet all the time, maybe feeling a bitty bad about her mum struggling with the dog, then made a proposal to get some fresh ginger, both for herself who was looking a bit washed out also, and for the dog, as apparently that helped a lot in combatting car sickness.
But the first place with a supermarket or a grocers shop would be maybe at The Green Wellie, so in the meantime it was bellows to mend at the back, as the two girls were also affected by Benny's breath, and announced that if we did not stop on the double, they were going to vomit all over the car, and I fully agreed.
So we stopped at a small stream, where the dogs could run for a bit, and poor old Benny almost bursted out of his skin he was so elated to be out of the car.I was taking huge gulps of fresh air into my lungs, and then scratched around in my bag for something to tie over my nose, as I was feeling quite sick just thinking of getting into that car again with the panting and saliva dripping dog on my lap again.