Rain, rain, go away!

The weather this week has been pretty rotten, and perhaps that is Heaven's way of sympathising with me being back in the workplace. Dreary concept calls for dreary weather, right? Well today has been no exception.

My office has a floor to ceiling window behind me that lets in fabulous light, but also gives me direct view of the blustery conditions outside. I've seen umbrellas turned inside out, hairstyles ruined, uni students sploshing in puddles because they think no-one's watching, and more rain than I care to mention.

In the last week, Batreg and I have both been asked "why are you here?", and they're particularly talking about Paisley, not just Scotland in general. Apparently the civic pride here is a little low, and people can't understand why we'd look to find proverbial (rather than literal) roots in their fine city. But there's nothing wrong with Paisley.

Consider, if you will, that the place has got an Abbey with a King buried in it, a High Street with all the shops I could want to browse in, a Pound Land (where everything costs £1), and a train station taking me straight into Glasgow should I wish to go there. Not bad, I'd say.

So aside from the religious zealots preaching at maximum volume in the Square (not a frequent occurrence), the drug addicts begging us to put cash in their McDonalds cups, and the preference of the shop-keepers to retail clothes for 60 year olds, Paisley is okay with me. Some extra sunshine would be nice though, but I expect even the Paisley residents can't help that.

Some good news now, to end this drizzly post. At the end of this 4-week work placement, I jet off to Paris to enjoy lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant (half way up the Eiffel Tower) for Jamie's birthday. I've got a new dress in mind, a haircut and fake tan to schedule, and then I'll be set. I'm only going to be in Paris for the weekend (as you do), so this glamorous event is going to be worth working for. And I suppose that if the weather in Paris is sunny and bright for the lunch, then I will go out a winner on all fronts.