Category: Uncategorized

After the turmoil from yesterday, it was good to draw a line under a mixed up day.

We should have been dancing yesterday, but instead we were struggling to find a repair man to get things going again. It was, in fact, the same gentleman who had repaired our last disaster when we were locked in our house!!

It must have taken him the sum total of 15 minutes maximum to diagnose what was wrong and get it working again. Meanwhile I was wandering around Tesco getting essentials for today’s lunch and dinner. Scamp chose one of her favourites from Mowgli to be tonight’s dinner. The smell of the curry was enough to make me salivate!

For my part, I took three parcels over to the Skips to dispose of them in their separate steel buckets. They were all well worn tubular steel rods that are well past their sell by dates. While I was out, Scamp was clearing a path for the new plastic greenhouses to fill. We haven’t actually decided on a size of the greenhouse yet, but I’m sure she will have the dimensions in her head to get the best use of the space in the back garden.

In between all these things, I managed to grab some time to take a few photos over at Fannyside. The best ones were the lichens on the old fenceposts that seem to support themselves on the single track road round the farms at Fannyside.

The dinner tasted just as good as the smell predicted. I made a batch of Australian Scones that were better than last week’s effort and now that things are getting back to normal I can relax a bit.

PoD went to a lichen covered fence post at Fannyside.

Strange message from John M, who offered to bring us back from Dundee! If you’re reading this John, I appreciate the sentiment of your offer. It was just the sort or thing I could rely on you doing. That’s what good friends do. Thank you pal.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a relaxing day, just for a change!

Val.

Valerio Rinaldi passed away yesterday, 18th May 2026..

I’d been to see him a week or two ago and planned to go and see him this week or next, but didn’t get that chance, or didn’t take the chance. I suppose that’s what we all say and never do. I did and I’m glad I did. I just wish I’d done it more often and that will be one of my greatest regrets.

I lost a great friend, but I have wonderful memories of him.

Rest in peace, my pal Val.

DC.

Dancin’

Today we drove to Brookfield after I’d spent about £1,000 on half a tank of petrol!

Well, it certainly felt like £1,000 when I was half filling the tank. However, we were passing through the Straits of Glasgow where your speed is limited to 40mph for quite a few miles. We managed to avoid most of the potholes and all of the mines. The 40mph restriction kept the fuel usage fairly low, but I wouldn’t want to drive like that all the way every day.

Again, we weren’t the last folk to arrive at Brookfield, although we were among those who were given the evil eye by the Teachers.

The order of dance was:

House of Bamboo – A 1958 song by Andy Williams. Just a bit of fun.

Britannia Waltz – A waltz made up by the teachers that I haven’t mastered yet.

Tango Sereda – A tango, obviously, that we’ve both almost managed to get working for us.

Quickstep – A quickstep that I don’t think I’ll ever master. It seems to change every week!

Blue Angel Rumba – I’m getting there, but it requires pushes and shoves by Scamp to remind me of the steps.

Sally Ann Cha-Cha – A silly wee dance where the leaders get a chance to shout “O!” at the end of each sequence with the option to high-five anyone nearby.

An energetic morning for all concerned.

As usual there were new roadworks on the way home with neither workmen or vehicles to be seen. Talked a good game but no work being done. Time wasters, all.

I did take a walk in St Mo’s in the late afternoon after Wordle et al had been conquered.

Scamp made dinner tonight, a prawn risotto. Long time since I’ve had it and it was a nice surprise.

Something is still wrong with the SSL in Namecheap. I’ll need to find out what tomorrow. More time wasted.

Off to bed now. No real plans for tomorrow.

I wasn’t at my best today.

A morning in bed and I was feeling a bit better, with Scamp being my nurse. Just an ache in my back that Paracetamol worked wonders on.

We were due to go to John & Marion for lunch and it seemed a shame not to go. We had Salmon with crumbled breadcrumbs, Tender Stem Broccoli, Baby Potatoes and a thin slice of orange. Pudding was Bramble Tart, with coffee and water for Scamp.

We got a surprise Save the Date card from Ross and Chris for their wedding on 7th November 2026. Scamp was delighted and so was I. Two great guys, we’ve watched Ross grow into a lovely man and I have no doubt that Chris will be any different.

There are no photos today, because we discovered this afternoon that Jaime passed away today after a short illness. An hour or so later I got a message from Val to say that his wife, Jeanette passed away last week. I hope they both rest in peace.

So long 2025. It wasn’t  the best year.

Hopefully 2026 will be an improvement.

Not much time to talk, The clock is catching me up.

See you in 2026.

I decided I’d go for a walk around St Mo’s again.

Before that, I had to go round the house, changing all the older clocks because it’s only the newer, digital clocks that can auto adjust to Daylight Saving Time. I always remember the mnemonic Spring Forward and Fall Back.

Walked over St Mo’s hoping to find some inspiration. The lighting was good with the low sun creating great textures on the grass and the trees. A little gentle use of warm yellow lighting back home helped greatly. It would have been even better if the clouds hadn’t started massing, but I was quite happy with the final result.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening which felt a bit strange with Scamp being in Aberdeen, but I gave him a disjointed description of our October holiday. I found out that Ori, Scamp’s favourite dog of all time was going away to live in Canada with Simonne’s sister. He wouldn’t be alone as there was another of Jaime’s dogs going with him. I hope they both enjoy their new home. Hope it’s not too cold for them, after being used to Trinidad’s warm weather.

PoD was more of the man-made channels in St Mo’s pond.

Scamp returns tomorrow and is determined that she’ll get the bus home from Glasgow.

In other words, it was back to normal today.

I went for a walk and Scamp started the unpacking from her case. Another week or so should see us back in the old routine again.

PoD was a photo of the fallen leaves in St Mo’s.