The cats return to Rutherglen

So we had to give Bonnie and Clyde back on Saturday. It was a bit sad as they were really adjusting to their holiday home. When they first arrived, they were so terribly nervous, it was satisfying to see the transformation. Towards the end of their holiday, they were running around this flat as if they owned it. In the third photo, Clyde is sitting on the green seat where I am typing this just now. I always sit here to type on the computer and this was his way of letting me know that I had to spend time with him. By sitting in my chair. I totally ell-you-vee cats.
Taking them out in the car on the hottest day of the year made them both pull this face...
They look quite terrifying but nothing could be further from the truth. Pussycats in the truest sense of the word. They both loved chasing paper receipts. Despite having hunners of toys, they went for the cliche of being the kids who open the present and play with the box. Their favourites were a ribbon from a box of chocolates and a mint toffee wrapper.

The good news is that we're getting them back in August when Jason's mum and Billy go on holiday again. Hooray. And hopefully this time, they won't spend the first 4 days underneath the armchairs in the studio!

Saturday, Part Two

It goes a wee bitty downhill from here. We went to Cottiers and managed to grab a lovely little seat outside. It was packed. I ordered some of their lovely barbeque but I was most disappointed with the length of time that it took to arrive. It was delicious though. Everyone tells me that it didn't take that long but it felt like it to me. For drinks, we all had some summer cider. I haven't had any since Connect '07 and this stuff was a bit sharper. Not quite as nice as Copperberg but it was nice enough to take us through the last of the summer sun. The lass in the last photo kindly took the group shot of us all.
Jason and I called it a day about half seven and went home for some pizza, some Talent show final results and then a 12 hour snoozeathon. Those summer naaaaaa-ights.

A day of two halves

The hottest day of the year so far, or at least it felt like it, we went up to Tennants on Saturday to watch the Scottish Cup Final. Rangers v. Falkirk; none of us really cared about it except Jason. His team won by the way. You can see him celebrate in the last photo while Central-Belt-Shell has a petted lip. Highlights of this first pub visit were catching up with Michelle & Jess and Tennant's wonderful ale collection. We drank Old Jock and Wildcat. Yummo. After the football, we headed up to Cottiers for Saturday, Part Two.

Bowling for Glasgow

On a beautiful afternoon, I left the studio to pick Jason up from school and saw that the traffic on the other side of the motorway was nose to tail and at a standstill. The M8 is often like this but not usually at 3pm. I reckon most people were given an early finish because of the sunny weather. Because of this, we decided to go the Paisley Road West way back but it was just as bad. After an hour of travel, we had moved a mile and a half so for the sake of my sanity, we jumped into here http://www.amfbowling.co.uk/Centres/details.aspx?centreID=6 for a quick game of Kingpin.
Jason was in charge of putting our names on the computer and this is what he went for... Yes, you can guess who is who... you will notice that Master is on the top level and Pupil on the lower level. Now look at the final scores....

That's right ratfans, the Pupil defeated the Masterrrrr. The good people at AMF give you a printout of your score if you feel the need to gloat and wave it in your partner's face. It's pretty much how I plan to spend my evening. Jason says he let me win. Of course he did.

Puffball skirt and sandals - a girly post this one

I made this wee skirt the other day, finished it at about 3am on Tuesday night. Would have been earlier but we had a power cut for three hours. A power cut is a bizarre thing. I realised how much Jason and I rely on electricity. No xbox, no projector, no projector screen, no tv, no laptop, no lights, no kettle, no sewing machine. It was weird. We had to talk to each other! Cute skirt though, eh? It's elastic at the bottom; it's a bit like a puffball. I wore it on Wednesday with my new £6 shoes. Don't you just love Deichman? If you haven't been to Deichman, go immediately. Today. You'll revamp your whole shoe wardrobe for peanuts.

More cats I saw on Saturday

Deirdre, Roger and Lorenzo welcomed their new edition to the family this weekend - Scoobie Do. Already nicknamed Scoobs, he is undeniably cute, adorable and any other kitten-cuteness words that you can imagine. Bold as brass, he ran round the house sniffing everywhere, climbing as high as his tiddly little legs could lift him. He's gorgeous. I can't wait until we get to babysit him in June. We are fast becoming professional babysitters. We're getting Danny back for a weekend soon and then again for T in the Park. Then we'll be getting Bonnie and Clyde again in August for a fortnight followed by Danny again in December. Phew. I love them all though. I'm so glad we get to look after them all.
The last two photos here are of Lula, the cat that visits Gregor and Michelle. On an almost daily basis, it should be noted. She is gorgeous. I was taking pictures of her last night and she was just staring at me, posing for the camera. An old hat at being cute, she just has to walk remotely near you for your heart to melt and before you know it, you're scratching her belly.
While we were waiting for the taxi, I saw Lula out in the street. I am not used to seeing her out on the prowl. She looked so out of place!
Deirdre introduces Scoobie for you. Scoobie just relaxes.

The Hidden Masters

Up at Michelle and Gregor's first for some pre-gig cocktails, we hotfooted to Sleazy's (yes, again) for a late night gig. The Hidden Masters rarely perform before midnight and it must have been closer to 1am when they took to the stage. It was just then that I found out they had shrunk from a 5 piece to a 3, two of their former members being in or going to London. Didn't matter, the remaining players easily filled the gap. They were superb. We were lucky enough to get right at the front, so I got great footage (again, apologies for the sound, it's just a wee camera) of Golden Hair, Rolling Thunder and Reading my mind (sic). If you listen out, you can hear all of us singing and cheering along at some points; I joined in on the chrous of Golden Hair.

Gotta love that cowbell. Bless that drummer Johnny, he's just mesmerising, both as a drummer and a singer.

The Hidden Masters; always a great night out.

Bonnie & Clyde

We're currently looking after Bonnie and Clyde - Jason's mum's cats - while she and Billy are on holiday. Initially, they were REALLY nervous, hiding under our big armchairs in the studio, but within about 5 days, they totally chilled out and are considering themselves at home. It's nice to see them relax now, especially Clyde. He is nuts. I'm going to try and catch his nutty moments on a short video, but any time I have tried to capture his antics, he lies down and acts all calm.
Lady Bonnie is another kettle of fish. She is the Queen of the house and simply tolerates other people and animals. Her favourite seat is on the blue armchair in the studio where she gets to snooze all day. Ahhh, a cat's life.
Bonster the Monster is the black and brown cat and Slidy Clydey is the ginger and white boy.

Cheap & Nasty

Last night we went along to Nice & Sleazy's (twice in a week) for Cheap and Nasty, a band and dj night. Featuring the Squid, The Paraffins and the Plimptons, it was sure to be a treat. And it was. The Squid played a storming set, admitting that they had in fact caused the credit crunch with my favourite song of theirs, "I hate the Royal Bank of Scotland".
The Paraffins are just one guy with an aquamarine kid's guitar, an MP3 player and a penchant for banging cymbals and he plays a nice tidy set. I quite like his work, he's a confident showman; check him out if he's playing near you.
Ah, the Plimptons. Their song, "Japan" held extra resonance now that I've been. I always like to watch them, they put on a good floorshow. I videoed "Ocean Colour Resurrection" for your viewing pleasure. Apologies for the poor sound, it was done on my camera.

Mr Sweeney's 30th

After the expense incurred during the great big Japanarama, poor Jason's 30th was never going to be an extravaganza. And because it was a Tuesday, it was dinner and drinks on Sauchiehall Street. Initally supposed to be Torres http://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venue/?id=8840, our favourite tapas restaurant, we decided instead to go to Sleazy's as Michelle & Gregor were in there having a pint. And you always get good scran in Sleazy's.
Gregor's birthday was the next day so it was nice to celebrate both at the same time. The boys were on white russians which they paid for dearly the next day.
It was a great night though; here's a sample of the garbage spoken at the table.