Day 70 - Gallashiels

Over breakfast I met Nadia and Simon. Originally from Zurich, they now live in Cardiff.

They had just completed walking the Border Abbeys Way. Nadia is a pianist and composer and studied music at Cardiff where she was inspired by Schoenberg and Janacek.

How's that for a conversation over breakfast?

With the repeated plugging and unplugging of my phone I think the jack socket has become worn, loose, temperamental or all theee - and has become choosy about what combination of cables and power banks it will accept. Otherwise, it loses its charge within less than an hour. This has become increasingly concerning particularly because I depend on my phone for all maps and navigation.

Not only that, but I'd realised yesterday that my boots were making a different sound as I walked. Having looked at them properly this morning, I realised the heels on both boots had become loose.

So, a day of housekeeping.

Melrose had no remedies so I walked to Tweedbank and caught the train to Galashiels where I'd found a Timsons and Sally had found a Carephone Warehouse.

Jim, the manager at Timsons said he could get them reheeled within an hour. Fantastic news. This is the third time that Timsons has come to the rescue and true to his word, by just after 12 they looked as good as new.

Jim is a boxing coach and trains his team three times a week. He said he had some good young guys coming through. He said that boxing was all about not using your head as a line of defence. It sounded like pretty good advice.Many thanks Jim and thankyou also for the kind donation.

While waiting I wandered across the road and visited The Great Tapestry of Scotland exhibition at its permanent home on the High street.

Inspired by Alexander McCall Smith it's apparently the largest community art project in the world which involved 1000 stitchers and is almost 150m long. 

At the same gallery, I saw Grayson Perry's tapestry ' The Life of Julie Cope' and listened to his ballad that accompanied it. Poignant,  powerful and brilliant.

Then on to get a phone, The whole process of checking the existing phone, even blowing air through it and then selecting a replacement based on availability seemed to take an age so it was after 3 by the time I was done.

No time for the walk so decided to catch the bus.

While waiting at the bus stop my eye was caught by a sticker showing what some people in Galashiels think of our esteemed PM.

I caught the X68 and arrived Innerleithen in the sunshine.

Walk to Peebles tomorrow.