Day 32 - Sunday 30th July - Travel to Auckland - Panic - Flight cancelled

 Day 32 - Sunday 30th July

Travel to Auckland - Panic - flight to Los Angeles cancelled!

Weather: Cloudy and Drizzly

I woke up this morning at 5:30 am to find a message on my phone that said that my British Airways flight BA269 from Heathrow to Los Angeles had been cancelled. Panic Stations! I spent the next two hours trying to contact:

1. British Airways, but they said that their phone line was overloaded and to go online to Manage My Booking to rebook my flights to Auckland
2. Allianz Travel Insurance but they said they were coping with a large volume of calls and put me on hold. After twenty minutes I gave up!
3. Sue Wrigley, but she just said to contact my Insurance
4. Mary-Ann to let her know what had happened. She suggested that I go to Edinburgh Airport and talk to the British Airways staff there as they might be able to help me.
5. Helen Laidlaw to see if I could stay with her for a couple of days if necessary

In the end I had breakfast at the hotel - which I wasn't planning to do. I had planned to go to Edinburgh airport at 6:40 am before breakfast. Now I need something to keep me going.

I then ordered a taxi and got to the airport at about 9:15, 10 minutes before my original flight BA 1457 was due to take off. The check-in staff member was a bit peeved off that I hadn't come in sooner. I pointed out that I had been very busy trying to organise myself, and that the message from British Airways had said not to go to the airport without an onward booking!

They gave me a boarding pass for the next flight to Heathrow BA 1433, although I wasn't keen to go there and find myself stranded.

I went up to Boarding Gate 10 at Edinburgh ready to board Sunday 30th July at 10:40 and joined the queue to get on. I explained to the man there what had happened and another staff member on the other side of the Gate heard what I said and asked me to come over to his computer and he would see if he could sort me out while the other young man loaded the other passengers.

This guy sat at his computer and in ten minutes had  sorted out an alternative booking to get to Auckland that day, by booking me onto a flight to Hong Kong instead of Los Angeles and thence to Auckland. He also checked me in on those flights and printed off the boarding passes! I was so relieved and grateful! I shook his hand and got on the flight to Heathrow feeling much happier, but forgot to get his name.

When I got to Heathrow I messaged Mary-Ann to let her know and rand Helen Laidlaw also.

From then on it just became the tedium of waiting around in Heathrow for flight number BA 31 to Hong Kong!

I got to Auckland airport in plenty of time to catch the bus I had originally booked to Hamilton.

Day 31 - Saturday 29th July - Travel to Edinburgh and the Dakota Hotel

 Day 31 - Saturday 29th July

Travel to Edinburgh and the Dakota Hotel

Weather: Cloudy early, but by the time I went for my morning walk the sun came out!

I got all packed up, tidied up, the car loaded and had a chat to Mary-Ann by 10:30 so I put the key in the key box, dropped the rubbish off at the main gateway and drove the car into Selkirk for a coffee at the Three Hills Cafe.

I then went back to the carpark and drove off to Edinburgh. It was a nice sunny day so it was a good drive.

I found my way to Enterprise Cars and dropped the car off. They rang up a taxi for me to get to the Dakota Hotel -

 It took a while to get to the Dakota and the driver wanted to chat all the way. I had to pay some real attention to get the hang of what he was saying

I had a shower and then went down stairs to have a whisky before I came up and did my computer jobs like checking in to my flights, which I did except for printing off my boarding passes. I will collect those at the check in kiosk tomorrow morning.

I had a really nice meal later on - Olives with a spicy tomato sauce -

... and then Dover Sole with New Potatoes -

... with a Peroni Beer.

Day 30 - Friday 28th July - Selkirk again

 Day 30 - Friday 28th July

SCD - Selkirk Again

Weather: Cloudy and a bit drizzly in the morning, but cleared up in the afternoon and became quite sunny

I went down to the Town Centre and took photos of the Town Roundabout near the Co-op -

The statue is of Mungo Park who was born here -

Here is the co-op -

... and the money machine that, although it has nothing to do with Barclay's Bank, was quite happy to recognise my WestPac Card and spit out cash and  a receipt -

Day 30 - Friday 28th July - Margaret Pritchard

 Day 30 - Friday 28th July

SCD - Margaret Pritchard

Weather: Cloudy slightly drizzly morning, but cleared up later

At about 10:50 I set off for Selkirk and Halliwell's Museum where I was to meet Margaret Pritchard, a Scottish Dance Teacher in Selkirk. She drove me back up the hill to her place at 20 Loan Street to meet her husband Brian, her son Graeme and Phoebe the dog-

She provided an amazing lunch. Her husband Brian had made the soup that morning, she provided the rest and Brian, her son Graeme, and I just sat and ate it -

Us "three boys" sat in the the three chairs while Margaret bustled around serving up the soup that her husband Brian had made that morning and tea.

We had a good old chat beforehand about all sorts of things. Graeme taught at a school that included refugee children from Ukraine. I had a great time. 

Day 29 - Thursday 27th July - Galashiels & Hilary & Gordon

  Day 29 - Thursday 27th July

Galashiels & Hilary & Gordon

Weather: Cloudy and drizzly in the morning, but cleared up a bit later on

This morning I went off to Galashiels to pick up my "Laidlaw Story" book and give Mike the USB with the spreadsheet for "Reminiscences of Yarrow" as well as the pictures of Yarrow from the book.

This time the GPS did not take me up the "Sharp Turn" off the A7 to go to Galashiels, but interestingly brought me back to Selkirk that way - that road is called Elm Row.

I took some photos of the Border Reiver in the town Centre -

This is near to Scott Crescent and the gardens -

I picked up my stuff and headed back to Selkirk, this time along Elm Row and the sharp turn onto the A7 back to Selkirk.

I parked the car and walked back into Selkirk to do some shopping. Just before I did that I walked down the Ettrick Water roadway to the Court House -

I actually saw a barrister walk out of the front door still wearing his black gown.

Just a few yards down from there was this other old building in what I believe is called the "Scottish Baronial Style" called "The 5 Turrets" -

I needed to pick myself up a small bottle of whisky for a dram tonight and tomorrow so I went into The Selkirk Distillers shop -

 and asked the man behind the counter if he had a small bottle. He looked a bit taken aback and said that he had just sold the last one. I told him why I did not want to buy a whole bottle - just enough to last me two nights before I went back to NZ. He said,"Hang on a minute!" and came back with a little bottle with about two drams left in the bottom and said, "You can have this!'

... and handed it over. I said, "What do I owe you?" He just waved his hand and said, "Have good trip"

So I walked out with a free dram. Scotsman's dream. His name is Allan Walker.

After shopping at the Co-op I had a coffee at the Three Hills Cafe next door to the Peony Rose.-

Inside -

It was a great wee cafe!

At 2:00 pm Hilary & Gordon arrived. We all went for a walk around the loch. Here I am holding up the bough of a big Sycamore Tree -

We also found this ad memorial to a talented young musician that Hilary and Gordon had known who had committed suicide - which makes the message to others all the more poignant -

There is a "Clootie Tree" which is a way of remembering those who have been lost to suicide -

... with a memorial under it -

 

 and then came back for a cup of tea. We had a good old chat about all sorts of things including oil wells!

Day 28 - Wednesday 26th July - Melrose Abbey, Michael Scott The Border Wizard & Robert The Bruce's Heart

  Day 28 - Wednesday 26th July

Melrose Abbey - The Border Wizard Michael Scott & Robert the Bruce's Heart with Julian & Sue

Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells

After lunch we proceeded to Melrose Abbey where the Border Wizard Michael Scott is buried, but to our disappointment the Abbey itself was cordoned off because of the risk of falling masonry so we weren't able to get in to see it, or Bruce's Heart. This is about as close as we could get to where Micahel Scott's tomb is-

Nice archways -

We had a cup of tea in Melrose and then went back to Selkirk.

In the evening we met up again at 7:30 pm for a farewell dinner at The Fleece. They are going off to Gorebridge tomorrow as they start to make their way back to London and Bexhill near Hastings on the South coast..

... and there on the wall was the Selkirk Grace -

I was so glad that Julian & Sue had decided to come all the way up to Scotland so that we could meet up. They have been excellent company all the time we have been in Selkirk and we have done a lot of things together that I probably would not have done on my own. Thank you!

Day 28 - Wednesday 26th July - Scott's View & Dryburgh Abbey

 Day 28 - Wednesday 26th July

Scott's View & Dryburgh Abbey with Julian & Sue

Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells

Off we went up to Scott's view of the Eildon Hills where his used to stop every time his carriage made the journey. Here we are -

... and the Eildon Hills themselves -

On the way up here we caught the occasional glimpse of a Kite, known in The Borders as a "Gled"

Then we were off to Dryburgh Abbey nearby, where Sir Walter Scott is buried -

It was sad to see the Abbey such a ruin -

From there we went to Melrose and had lunch at the "Well Fed" cafe - soup and a bun