The River Clyde from the railway bridge south of Glasgow Central Station a little after 4pm today.  So beautiful.

I had been up to Glasgow to attend a funeral, which had needed an overnight stay with a friend. 

The northbound journey took two hours longer than anticipated, all due a signal failure at Lockerbie and the knock-on effects across the network.  It was interesting to watch how people reacted to the delays, some becoming angry and trying to force their way onto already overcrowded trains, and others engaging in friendly chatter and helping each other out.  In the end, my journey included standing from Carlisle to Glasgow on a very slow train, but I got there, which was what mattered. 

Last night a group of Gathering Place folk gathered to chat over nibbles, and it was such a joy to see them and to hear their news.

Today the funeral was ably led and well attended, a lovely tribute to a dearly loved man.  Whilst it was odd not having any official role in the funeral (I reckon it's more than twenty years since I went to one 'just' as person) it was also lovely not to have to do or be anything.

At the station in Glasgow, I bumped into someone I knew from a different context, and we had a lovely ten minute chat before she went on her way. The journey home was delayed and got more and more so as delays and cancellations built up.  But it was such a glorious evening for a ride down through the south of Scotland and the Lake District, I couldn't do other than enjoy the ride.

I do feel blessed - I travelled safely (and now have a claim in for the entire cost of my ticket due to the level of delay!), I was well cared for, I saw people who matter to me, and now I am home.  Those, surely, are blessings worth counting.