Craig was off work today so I took a wee jaunt with him to Kilmarnock while he went for an eye test.

I’ve not been there in ages and the town centre has really sadly lost most of its shops. I had a wee wander then sat on a bench outside waiting for him. It’s another nice day today but not as sunny as yesterday.

We decided to go for brunch at a new place called the Duke, on John Finnie Street.

It was really lovely. Kilmarnock doesn’t seem to have a lot of investment anymore and yet this place is stunning inside, very plush. It turns out it’s a Buzzworks pub.

I had pancakes, bacon and maple syrup which Craig had hollandaise eggs. Their Oat milk cappuccino was lovely too. A really nice surprise and better than the Costa we used to go to when we lived in Kilmarnock.

Finally Craig’s car is ready for collection. On the last day of my holiday (naturally!) AND it’s not fixed despite being off the road for over a week. Happy days. Needs more investigation. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So Abbie the camper van and I drove to Dalry this afternoon to take a very special lady down to Portencross beach for the afternoon.

Shelagh, who helped me navigate through my first 3.5 years of Kinesiology is going through treatment for cancer. She’s finished chemo last week and felt strong enough to go for a walk down at the beach.

I cannot tell you how lovely it was to see her. She reckoned I was her last client at the start of February. It’s been too long!

She’s tackling this head on with every positive treatment she can think of.

It was so lovely to talk to her today and hear about her journey over this year.

She’s a real inspiration to me. 💕

We went for a walk down the coast towards Hunterston.

We went for a paddle in the wee harbour.

I wore my long shorts today incidentally.. 😆 just as well as it turned cooler as the day went on. We probably stood in the sea for about half an hour paddling around. it was really lovely and grounding.

We had to dodge all the jellyfish as there were quite a few. The conversation flows freely, no need to fill every gap…. just spending time out in nature enjoying every minute of the peace.

We had another wander around. The sky is pretty cloudy now but really atmospheric.

I could stay here all day just watching the sea. There’s so much to look at, gannets diving for fish, yachts sailing past and clouds swirling.

The rocks here are fascinating too.

Portencross is such a special place and it was so lovely to share it with Shelagh today.

The views more special because I was over on Arran yesterday.

It was lovely to spend time with her today and meant a lot to me.

I dropped Shelagh back home and made her promise to ask anytime she fancied another trip out.

Willing her on for the next stage of recovery ❤️‍🩹

I popped into the pub next door when I got home and stayed for a couple of Coke Zeros. And caught up on village news!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️