8 December 2011
It's the Thursday of our week-long holiday to Scotland and we are still at our first checkpoint with the ever-hospitable cousins in Glasgow. On Tuesday it was the snow and ice that kept us from driving farther north. Today it is the wind keeping us from meeting Tim and family in Edinburgh.
Welcome to Scotland in December: gales increasing to storm-force in the afternoon has public transport and roads closed across the country. This time it's not just our southern sensibilities keeping us at bay. People are being sent home from work, and schools and nurseries are closing. The Met Office website features emphatic red splotches over the map of central Scotland. Status has escalated from "Be prepared" to "Take action".
"Storm force, Storm force!" repeats our four year old. She's loving it - another pyjama day with the colouring book and 200% parental attention. This is the way to have a holiday.
Holiday In The North. Pt 2 • Opuss № I