Denise: Tilly was spayed today. Yes, she’s a lovely dog, and I’m sure puppies would be cute, but there’s enough dogs at the animal refuge with homes to find … and anyway we’ve enough already on our hands with Tilly and the seven cats!   So, no food this morning and no walk either: off early on the 25 mile drive to Creagorry on Benbecula.  This afternoon both J and I went to collect Tilly. She’d woken up some time before, and she was on her feet alright, but a bit unsteady. Her tail was wagging though! J was less enthusiastic with the bill: £180, plus two round trips of 50 miles each (and a third in a fortnight to have the stitches out).

We set off an hour or so early to collect Tilly so as to give us some time first for some errands and a rare treat. At the hardware store we bought a new kitchen bin – a rather nice Brabantia stainless steel affair at £57: the old plastic one is showing its age – we bought it in 1986 when we moved to Shrewsbury.  At the charity shop in Balivanich we handed in some items Catherine no longer wants, we can’t use, and aren’t good enough to sell: three boxes of books, videos and other items. After some shopping for bulk items at Lovat’s store in Iochdar, we went to Hebridean Jewellery, just nearby, for a treat of coffee and cake, watching the light fading over the wet sands, the high dunes of Gualam island, and the glowering winter sky beyond. Winter can be lovely!