Arctic Conditions Rule.

It's been an extremely busy week. Spook has shopped and cooked his way through it, driven kids up and down to the ski slopes, helped Meg to organise a party for her friends and then accomodated them all on a sleepover while I was on a sleepover at work. He has worked his way through big piles of washing, chopped wood and kept us all warm. I worked 45+ hours, which seemed to be a large part of the week. I was in Glasgow to visit a friend in hospital and came back up through Glencoe quite late. It was a very frosty night with no moon. When I got to the summit of Rannoch Moor I pulled into a layby and doused the lights. I stood in the middle of the road and just stared at the sky. I had no idea we had so many stars. I think the Southern Sky is far less crowded, just like the South Island we used to gaze from. It felt like I was in the Arctic Circle as I could see white moorland and mountains, and this huge starry sky. There were no cars on the road and the nearest danger was likely to be getting run down by a Stag. There were loads of them close to the road, but I couldn't hear heavy breathing or pounding hooves. I was happy to stop there, but wouldn't have stopped further into the glen as I always remember the story an old friend told me of a late night trip home to Fort William. She was the only passenger awake and saw an old lady with a tartan plaid wrapped round her head, sitting by the side of the road. As they drew level with her, she saw only a skeleton face. http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/glencoeghosts.php

True to my pledge last week, I ran todays winter league race, despite not having learnt my lesson by going out to practice. Spook ran an excellent cross country 5 mile route, and I ran a comfortable 3 mile race, followed by an horrendously uncomfortable 2 miles which felt like the equivalent of running the entire Ben Race. I really must practice before the next one.

The kids had a fun day up the hill despite shockingly cold wind. We went up to meet them, after our race, but I couldn't stay out in those temperatures for long. Meg met up with the snowboarding fraternity and got lot's of great advice and support from Dougie (with beard). Part of what is really good about being home, is that community that is there for them. It is the social aspect on the hillside that keeps them warm. I chose a shot of whisky as an easier alternative. Finn and his friends seemed to own a whole section of the beginners area (suspect the true beginners had been run off.) I'm not sure if jumps are meant to be built in that bit.

It will be a quieter week coming up, I think and I will need to do my share of housekeeping. Spook goes into his wee office tomorrow. I'm hoping I might get invited down for a coffee.