Blogmas, day 6,

Good morning, everyone.
So, here I am at the Waverley Castle Hotel in Melrose, Scotland.  

Chris and Steve both came with me to the coach pick up which was so kind of them.  There were already people waiting so they didn't need to stay and I was glad because it was so, so cold with an unexpected hard frost.

The coach was comfy, I had both seats to myself so I could spread, everyone turned up and off we set.

It was a really good journey.  Obviously, we hit some traffic at times but we were on wide roads (M11, M1, A1(M) ) so it wasn't too bad.  We stopped twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch.  I bought a Festive Sandwich from M&S and had one half for breakfast and the other half for lunch with a nice coffee from Pret - the first of the day and I didn't half enjoy it, sandwich and coffee!  I guess it will be the same on the way home on Monday.

I didn't take any photos of anything yesterday so I will have to take more today to make up!  A shame really because we went through some wonderful scenery; I specially loved the moorlands of Yorkshire and Northumberland because I so love wild, bleak landscapes.

My bedroom is tiny but perfectly adequate.  It has a very comfortable bed (great night's sleep), a cute little ensuite loo and shower, a table, a sink in the bedroom, a wardrobe and a table and chair.  And while I wouldn't want to try to swing a cat (why would I?), there's room enough.  I'll try to remember to take some photos today.

When I entered the room, it was stiflingly warm but there was a good control on the radiator so no worries.

The staff are very friendly here.  They carried my case up to my room with no expectations of a tip (I will leave a general one when I leave) and the dining service was good too.  The food is, from what I can see, conventional but seems to be well cooked.  I had baked brie for starters, followed by salmon pasta and then a rather nice fresh fruit salad with coffee.  Portions weren't too big either.

I mentioned in a comment yesterday that I had a bit of a drama . . . 
When I unpacked my case, I couldn't find my hearing aid charger.

Just to explain, for any newer readers, I have a hearing disability and without my aids I'm pretty deaf.  With my aids, it's fine, I manage OK.  They are rechargeable aids rather than battery powered and I guess a full charge will last me maybe a couple of days, depending on when I put them in and take them out,  In reality, they charge through the night, every night.  This is what it looks like.  Quite small and absolutely essential.

Anyway - panic started to set in.  I turned my bags out, looked and looked again - nothing.
I phoned Beth to see if she could go over to mine, find it and send it by sort of 'emergency delivery' but, when we looked online, there was such a service but . . . over £500!  Oh, my gosh!
I looked on Amazon and, yes, they do have them but not on next day delivery which is fair enough - they are a bit specialist, after all.

I was so upset.  These aids are my social lifeline and here I was, on a social weekend and I was going to be completely cut off.  

But I was absolutely sure I had packed it, together with other leads.  I'm so very careful, knowing how reliant I am on my aids.
So I had another look and, this time, checked the clothes I had unpacked and put away and . . .  there it was, in the folds of my stack of leggings.

So I cried again - but tears of happiness and relief this time.   Crisis over.

When I get home, I am going to find a bag and, in it, put my spare charger and lead, plus my other aids and some batteries and a USB plug, so when I go away, I can be absolutely sure that I have everything together.  And a bag is less likely to get into a pile of clothes.

After a great night's sleep, I was up really early but that's OK.  I have my laptop (obviously) I have my kindle and I have my Advent cross stitch.  I'm currently enjoying yesterday's Earl Grey tea and today's is lemongrass, citrus and ginger which sounds really very nice indeed.
I didn't bring anything else Advent-y with me so I'll catch up next week.

Breakfast is at eight fifteen and the coach leaves for Edinburgh at nine thirty.  I won't be on it though because at ten John will pick me up for a nice family sort of day.  I'm so looking forward to it.  I will definitely take photos!  :-)

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For today's Advent calendar music, I've gone for a song we listen to every year when we watch The Snowman on Christmas Tree Day.

Walking in the Air, sung by Peter Auty (who I reckon had a bit of a raw deal as far as this song is concerned, even if it did launch Aled Jones into the public eye)

I wondered what Peter Auty is doing now.  I Googled and discovered that he is an operatic tenor who has worked with most of the major opera companies in Britain and a number of companies in continental Europe.
So he has done OK too. 

The wonderful Libera also performed this and here is their version.