A lovely, varied weekend

It’s nearly half way through the weekend and it’s shaping up to be a good one. Last night was spent having a thoroughly lovely time at a night of ‘Moroccan Madness’. One of my good friends, Sue, is part of a group who are going off to climb the Toubkal Mountain in North Africa in an effort to raise funds for the NSPCC’s ‘Building Better Futures’ campaign. Unlike some other extreme fundraising ventures, the girls have saved to pay for all of their expenses out of their own pockets – so every single penny raised goes straight to the charity. I’m always a bit wary about donating to fundraising events that involve flying off somewhere exotic to take part in some extreme adventure or another and I always like to make sure that the donated money is going to the cause, rather than paying for the flights. Happily, that's definitely the case with Sue’s trip and her and her friends have been working extremely hard, not only to raise awareness of the cause but also in training for the trek. I went along with my pal Julie and we enjoyed an evening of lovely Moroccan food in a great atmosphere, with a good fun auction and a bit of belly-dancing thrown in for good measure! Lots of lovely wine was also flowing, but I’m glad I was sensible and stuck to the soft drinks as I had an early rise this morning. 

Today was the inaugural St Andrews Park Run, so two of the Milne boys (and their number one supporter) headed off for Fife at silly o’clock this morning. (Poor Gordon would've liked to run too, but looming Highers took priority!) I’ve mentioned the Park Run initiative in previous posts and I still think the whole concept is brilliant. Volunteers organise the events - which are basically  5k races round some park or another every Saturday morning - and they’re springing up all over the UK. The St Andrews event is being staged in Craigtoun Park and, aw man, what memories came flooding back as we walked from the car to where the runners were gathering! Passed the big white castle in the middle of the boating lake (it looked a lot smaller than I remember) and over the miniature railway level-crossing (it definitely looked a lot smaller than I remember), on passed where the trampolines used to be (probably removed for health and safety reasons, tsk) and on towards the cafe (which was shut, but looked much the same from the outside as I remember it!) Alex and I took Gemma to the park when she was just a baby, about 20 years ago, but the memories today were stirred from my own childhood. Caravan holidays at Kinkell Braes Caravan Park - or visits to my relatives in Dundee - with the added bonus of a trip to Craigtoun Park for a bounce on the trampolines, a ride on the wee train and a shot on the boats. Happy, happy days. 

And today was a happy one too as I got to watch Ross win the very first St Andrews Park Run , with the added bonus of seeing his auld dad coming in second! Aye, there’s definitely life in the old dog yet! Gemma had been working at the hotel last night and didn’t finish till the back of 4am; she’s got pretty important exams coming up so catching up on some sleep this morning had to take priority over a trip to the park! However, it was just great to meet up with her later in St Andrews to enjoy a long lazy chatty brunch before the boys and I headed home. 

Tonight I’m off to a concert in the beautiful Paisley Abbey with my mum and my choir buddy, Christine. One of our other friends from choir, Mair, is singing with the Glasgow City Chorus; so, we’re off for a bit of culture! The concert is ‘Berlioz - Te Deum, Szymanowski - Stabat Mater’. Which is double Dutch to me. Well, I know the composer is Berlioz but, ocht, I’m just looking forward going along and taking as it comes!  

Tomorrow Alex’s running in the Balfron 10k - so a bit more of standing cheering out in the rain beckons. It’s also the London Marathon and some of our good friends from Central AC are running; with one of the nicest young blokes in our club – Lewis Millar – taking one of the coveted ‘Elite’ spots. Go on Lewis! 

So, I’m having a lovely, diverse weekend; a bit of belly-dancing, a bit of catch-up with good friends, a bit of good running action, a bit of special family time and a bit of culture. And, of course,  a lot going on to make me feel good.