Category: A Walk

Going the rounds – 7 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Friday used to mean FitSteps for Scamp, but falling numbers meant that Kirsty was leaving it until after Christmas.

With more time to fill, we struggled with the puzzle page in the NYT before we drove over to that cold hole they call Costa in the town centre to meet Isobel. She looked cold and a bit drawn when we met her. No wonder. It’s a great high empty looking cafe that gets a gale blowing through it every time somebody opens the door. It really has very little to recommend it, half a shot of coffee in a big jug isn’t really a Latte, although the Cortado is drinkable.

We sat exchanging stories of what had been happening in Isobel’s side of the town and what we’d got up to on our Autumn holiday. Shona arrived just as Isobel was leaving. I got the drinks in for them and then left to go to Tesco. Bought a few things and made the mistake of forgetting to use my Tesco card which meant I paid full price for my goods. I won’t make that mistake again.

When I got back and put the goods away, I grabbed my camera and left a note for Scamp to say that I was away to get some photos in St Mo’s before it got too dark. I wasn’t kidding either. It felt like the light was failing at 1.45pm. I know the time, because that’s when I saw what looked like a bear on its hind legs in the woods at St Mo’s. Of course it was just a tree stump, but …

I headed for home after that, not because I was afraid of bears, but because I was getting cold. Dull and Cold, that about summed up today. I arrived back at the house just as Scamp was unlocking the door, having travelled home on the bus.

The bear shot is there to see on Flickr if you’re interested, but PoD went to a bright yellow leaf sitting on a pile of old trampled leaves. I liked it.

Tomorrow we may be going to dance class. Hope it’s a bit brighter day.

Stravaigin – 29 October 2025

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Stravaigin is a Scots word that means to roam, wander or travel through, often casually or aimlessly. That’s Alex and me every second Wednesday or Thursday.

This week it was a Wednesday. It suited Alex and it suited me. We met in Buchanan Street bus station in Glasgow, went for a coffee a Nero and planned our day after I’d bored him rigid with my tales of travels in about a dozen different places in the western Mediterranean. Next stop was through St Enoch’s square and down to the Clyde Walkway to photograph some graffiti.

By then the rain was threatening and we decided it was about time for lunch which would be in Paesano, the best pizza restaurant in Glasgow, or anywhere else for that matter.

After that we went over to the GOMA. Alex likes it, but I can take it or leave it. I can’t see the art in this exhibition. Also, there doesn’t seem to be any rotation of the sketches or paintings. Surely there is more interesting stuff hidden away down in the vaults.

From the GOMA we went for a coffee in Nero before we went our separate ways. Just managed to miss the bus, but that meant I was one of the first on the next one, which arrived on time. Amazing!

PoD was a close up of one of the chain link girders that support the suspension bridge across the River Clyde.

No real plans for tomorrow. We’ll see what turns up.

Flying through the air in a metal tube – 7 October 2025

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I can’t remember where I read that comment, but it springs into my head every time I’m in a plane.

Everything went like clockwork. The plane was on time we were seated staring out at a dark, wet and grim looking Glasgow Airport but soon we were beginning to taxi and then we were flying. The longest flight we’d been on in quite a few years. Still, the worries were there. Did I lock the back door? Were all the back windows closed? Oh what the hell, we were going to a few new countries and a lot of places we’d not been to in a long while. Just a case of lying back and enjoying it.

Sooner than I thought, I felt the plane begin to decelerate as it started its approach into Palma airport. Everything was going to be fine.

After the traditional first Holiday Beer at about 10:30am we went on a wander around the ship, our ship. Lots of places looked familiar and some didn’t . It was a slightly smaller ship than our previous Tui Discovery 2, but that would turn out to be an advantage. I needn’t have worried about the temperature. This was ‘shorts and tea shirts’ weather.

We went for a walk around the shore area and I caught sight of an aircraft carrier. The first I’d seen in a long number of years. I asked a Police man if it was an old ship, but he said “No. It’s real. It’s for the War”. That sort of took me back down to earth. You forget that although there are hundreds, if not thousands of folk arriving or leaving these cruise ships, there is a real and definite undertone of threat there too. We made an unspoken decision to put I to the back of our heads and not speak about it again this cruise.

On the way back from our walk, we found a ‘Cherry Picker’ being used to wash the windows of the top deck of the ship. I wondered if the bloke at the top had his “Working At Height” licence.  It must be a wonderful view from there.

The day was a bit of a blur. We did go for a walk outside the ship and also around the inside. We had lunch in one of the restaurants and had a few drinks too. There was the usual ‘Sail Away’ party on deck after the final late arriving folk were checked in and we spent a fair amount of time watching the goings on.

Eventually we agreed we’d had enough and went to bed. We’d been up since about 6am and it was now about midnight. Time for a bit is shut-eye … after one more glass of wine perhaps.

Tomorrow is a sea day with the chance of a dance class.

Getting Closer – 6 October 2025

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I always get edgy as we get nearer to the day we fly. This was no exception.

Were my cameras packed properly? Was the batteries charged? Was my checklist ok? Did I have enough warm clothes, because, despite what Scamp never tired of telling me, it wasn’t going to be all that warm where we were going.

Eventually I bit the bullet and went for a walk in St Mo’s. Taking photos is what I do to calm down and it worked. Not a lot of photos, but enough to take my mind off the possibilities of things that might go wrong and concentrate on taking some photos of the autumn leaves. Do they have autumn in Palma?

But first, another chance to worry. Would the taxi arrive on time. It did. I was soooo glad that I’d agreed with Scamp that we wouldn’t take our car, because the poor taxi driver had to manage the lane changes that were needed to get us through the roadworks that will be with us until May 2026, or so we’re told. We got to the airport just a little later than he’d predicted, paid him and walked over to dump our cases in the check-in hall. With the cases gone, my stress levels started to decrease. A glass of beer with a glass of expensive wine for Scamp and I was beginning to believe we could do this. Heavens, it sound like we’re a pair of bank robbers instead of just a couple of oldies going on holiday.

I knew we wouldn’t sleep much but we set our watches and phones anyway, and we did begin to drift away ………..

Tomorrow would come in its own sweet time.

Much calmer at last – 5 October 2025

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Today I think Storm Amy has left the building.

It was much quieter this morning and we only had Wordle and Strands to worry about. If that doesn’t make sense to you, I’d suggest you look for puzzles in New York Times, online of course. Once we had solved the puzzles it was almost lunchtime and Laura Kuenssberg’s morning battle with politicians. Today it was Kemi Badenoch and she was a much feistier opponent for Ms K. It was a close fought battle, but I do believe this round went to Laura.

After lunch I started changing things around and putting stuff away. It only happens once or twice a year and it usually doesn’t last long before I get fed up or get side tracked after finding something new to play with Today it lasted for almost a half hour before I got fed up, put my boots on and went out for a walk.

It was just damp today, never really amounting to rain. That dampness created a host of different fungi growing in the grass. My favourite was the Star Pinkgills you see here. Described in First-Nature as “Definitely not one for the pot!” I took their word for it and photographed the pair, but didn’t touch … just in case!

Last night our next door neighbour knocked at the door and said his wife had made too much chicken soup and would we like some. Yes please was the answer. We had it today as a starter for dinner. We both agreed it was lovely. Scamp had made pan fried trout for our main with broccoli. Dessert was Bramley apple pie. Not home made, M&S. The next best thing.

We watched what could have been a really exciting F1 GP from Singapore. It was spoiled by the childish complaints of Oscar Piastri who basically said he wanted to win. Tough son, that’s the way the cookie crumbles I’m afraid.

We spoke to Jamie and I did feel sorry for him. Back from a weak hill walking in Wales and now having to drive all those miles in the darkening gloom of autumn. At least he wasn’t moaning like Piastri who my spell checker thinks should be Pastry!!

Pod was the Star Pinkgills, although I just missed a clump of Ink Cap fungi that had just gone over into a black slimy mess.

Tomorrow, it’s more organising, I’m afraid. The blogger’s work is never done!

Still fighting Amy – 4 October 2025

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Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season was still clinging on to Scotland today. I don’t know who named her, but she wasn’t behaving in a ladylike manner. Gale force winds and heavy rain battered the west of the country. Although there were some respites, it wasn’t a great day to go out anywhere.

Scamp and I had a couple of exchanges to make in M&S, so we drove there. There were a few trees blown down on our route to The Fort in the east of Glasgow, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We debated whether to have lunch in Glasgow or to just head for home. A splashy rain shower settled that discussion and we drove home.

Lunch was tea and sandwiches as we watched the weather systems come and go across the Campsie Fells from the comfort of the house. No sense in going out in the squalls that were coming in the western winds. Later in the afternoon I did give in and took the A7c out for a walk to St Mo’s with the intention of getting a fish supper for two at the local chip shop. I wasn’t long out when I wished I’d taken a warmer jacket. The wind was icy cold.

I did manage to get a couple of decent photos of reflections in a pool that had been a path a couple of days ago. The water in the big pond was a lot deeper too. The swans and cygnets were drinking clean water for the first time in a long while. The flooded path became PoD.

I walked over to the chip shop and was heading home with two fish suppers in a bag when I turned a corner and found the path blocked by a couple of big trees. At first I thought I could walk round them, bus soon realise that wasn’t going to work so I headed back the way I’d come and found a path that would take me by a slightly longer road to miss the trees. It only took a few minutes, but saved me a long walk round the park. The fish and chips were still hot when I got home.

We got some sad news this morning. Anju, a long time salsa dancer from our classes in Glasgow when they were run by Jamie Gallagher had died last night. Anju was a lovely Indian lady with a wicked sense of humour, and great fun to dance with. We’ll both miss her, even although we haven’t seen her for a while. We’re hoping we’ll be able to say goodbye to her properly this month.

Tomorrow we intend to tie up loose ends and check everything twice.

 

It rained – 1 October 2025

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Nearly all day!

I think it’s still raining. Maybe it will tire itself out soon, but after listening to the weather forecast after dinner, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. We’ll just have to wait and see. High winds forecast for the weekend.

Scamp was out in the morning getting her nails done – professionally. I sometimes do a bit of nail painting for her, but I can’t claim to be as neat and tidy as those who do this sort of thing for a living.

I kept myself busy clearing up the back bedroom and finding places to put all the stuff. After lunch I began collecting things that I’d need in the coming weeks, finding things that I really didn’t need and remembering things that I should have added to my list weeks ago. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow or the next day, or the …

I managed to do a backup of the September photos using Microsoft NTFS for Tuxera. A bit slower than the more expensive versions, but the fast iMac balances it out. As I’ve probably mentioned before, Apple software can read an NTFS formatted disk/SD card, but can’t save to that same format. With NTFS for Tuxera it can. Fiddly to start with, but after a bit of tweaking it worked.

Late in the afternoon I grew tired of organisation and went for a walk in St Mo’s. I took the A7c and a 16-35mm f4 lens. I tried and failed to get those low down to the ground shots that the folk on Facebook seem to be able to create. I think I just need some practise. What I did get was a decent shot of a snail sheltering under the seed head of a cow parsley plant. That became my PoD.

Dinner was potato, cabbage and egg for Scamp and if you substitute bacon for the egg you get what I had.

Tomorrow I believe we may be going to a Tea Dance.

More Shopping – 30 September 2025

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I don’t really enjoy shopping, especially for clothes. You guessed it, today we were shopping for clothes.

We drove in to The Fort on the outskirts of Glasgow. I admit that my trousers and sweatshirts are getting worse for wear. Some have holes in them, but that simply gives them character, I think. Some are stained, but again, that increases their ‘lived in’ appearance, at least in my opinion they do. Alas, not in Scamp’s opinion. I came out of M&S with two new pairs of trousers, one pair will be going back, too big. Then I was enticed into NEXT and managed to please Scamp by finding a short sleeved shirt going for a song, and a blue tie which didn’t match the shirt, but just because I liked it. This shopping thing can be fun.

We had coffee and a cake in Tinderbox which is not a patch on the old Tinderbox that used to be in Buchanan Street in Glasgow. Watery coffee, but the Pastel de nata made up for it. Another book plus an interesting one added to my book list and we headed for home.

Back home I set to and cut out the fabric for a bow tie I’ve been promising to make for over a year now. I bought the fabric in Jersey last September and then got some interfacing in Dunfermline a month or so later. A photo of the composite became PoD. That was lucky, because the rain appeared just as I was starting the construction and looked like it was staying for the rest of he day, so no outside photography today.

We watched the Bake Off and were disappointed that the person who left just seemed to be having a bad day. Felt it was a pity.

Not a lot else to say about today. Scamp is intending to have her nails done tomorrow. I won’t have mine done, I might take my baggy trousers back instead.

Fantasy Land – 29 September 2025

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Today we drove into Glasgow to do some shopping, but when we turned the corner in what was George Square we were transported to the late 1800s

I get really fed up with the media moguls attempting to make Glasgow look like something else. Something American. Why don’t they make their fantasy America in America? Why choose a Scottish city? Half the centre of the city is being dug up or pulled down, now they want to rebuild it as something it isn’t. Grrr!

We walked down to M&S looking for a pair of trousers for me and some other things for Scamp. When we came out it was raining. This was September Weekend, a Scottish holiday, so you expect the rain. I remember my mum and dad taking me to Ayr on September weekend one day a long time ago. I needed a slide rule for going to college and I was sure I could get one in a big shop in Ayr. There wasn’t such a thing as a calculator in those days, let alone a laptop. I still have that slide rule somewhere. I must look for it some day, although I don’t think I could work out how to use it now.

Anyway, back in 2025, we walked along to Waterstones on Argyle Street where I used up a book token I’d had since Christmas and got the latest Slow Horses book. We had lunch there too, because Scamp remembered the toasted sandwiches were very good. Then we fought our way into an HSBC bank at the bottom of Buchanan Street. I thought I had been spirited away to the far east, because almost everyone in the queue was either Japanese, Chinese or Korean and to paraphrase Tom Waits “… and no one speaks English …”. Then Scamp explained that as well as being September Weekend, it was also the start of the University intake. Suddenly all was clear.

We drove home, still in the rain and I grabbed a few shots in the garden to supplement the couple I’d taken in Glasgow, but it was one of the Glasgow photos that got PoD. It’s a hand cart pretending it’s from the late 1800s.

We went dancing in Kirsty’s class, Waltz for a change. Only Andy and his wife plus us, so not a gigantic class. For the third, or is the fourth time recently, I thoroughly enjoyed waltzing round the floor. Great fun Kirsty, all is forgiven.

No plans for tomorrow yet.

 

Another lazy Sunday – 28 September 2025

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We didn’t do very much today. More tidying up than anything else.

Over lunch, (always a late lunch on a Sunday) we watched Keir Starmer squirm under Laura Kuenssberg’s gaze with his usual rabbit in the headlights look and James Cleverly talk for half an hour or so without actually saying anything. And these are our leaders or would-be leaders? Oh yes, and Greta Thunberg. Thankfully we couldn’t hear her due to sound problems … or something.

I did some reorganisation in my room, hoping to find something useful there. Eventually discovered the sheet of paper I was looking for and taped it to the bedroom door.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s. There wasn’t much to write home about, so I won’t, except, as I was heading home a tree cast some beautiful shadows towards me across the grass. That became PoD.

While I was off galavanting with my camera, Scamp was busy making dinner in the house. Beef olives with potatoes for me and a lentil stew for Scamp. However the star of the dinner was an Eve’s Pudding Scamp made with our own apples. Absolutely delicious.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard more about their Welsh adventures. Out walking every day after worrying that the rain that came on day 1 would last all week. No need to worry the landscape photos they sent were lovely.

Tomorrow we may go in to Glasgow for some shopping.