DRIVING THROUGH A RAINBOW ON THE ROAD TO PARADISE

This song title, to which I have yet to append an appropriate song, is available for a reasonable consideration to anyone who wants to use it, assuming it hasn't been used already. It came to me as my sister and I were on our way from Strand to Whiteness today, just before midday. It was typical bright Shetland autumn weather, with torrential rain showers driven on a strong westerly wind. The rainbow was almost an hourly feature. We had been to my sister's place to pick up a table, which is now surplus to her requirements, due to her ongoing household refurbishments (and, thanks to this table, the worktop in my studio is now much bigger). We were driving out to visit our mother for elevenses (known as "twal" in these parts), when the rainbow straddled the road ahead, and the phrase came into my mind.

Earlier this week, I spent some time at my mother's place, helping her with various things around the house. She is 92 years of age, and, although badly disabled with arthritis, she is still able, with the support of her family and the care agencies, to stay in the house which my late father had built for their retirement over 35 years ago. She still has all her mental faculties about her, and her wisdom and guidance are still of great value to me. My father, who, for most of my childhood and early adulthood, was headmaster of a junior secondary school, died in 1996 at the age of 85, and mother has lived on alone in the house ever since. My sisters and I give her whatever help we can, and we all enjoy getting together whenever opportunity allows, as it did today.