June 2015 – My Photo Blog

The Hottest Day of the year – 30 June 2015

Posted on June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 by Zogman

Today was hot. Not pleasantly hot, but sticky, clammy, close hot with the threat of rain in the air. Not a day for doing the washing, but needs must etc. So, I although I was up late this morning, I did get the washing into the washing machine and out on the line. When Scamp came in she stated her intention to attack the field of grass in the front garden. Being a non-gardener myself, I took the easier option and went out for a run on my bike. As I’ve said, today was hot, so it was cycling top and cycling shorts for today’s run. I went to the usual places and found very few damselflies and no dragonflies, so I started to look for the easier options of spiders. It was while looking for the spiders I came upon a lacewing dangling from a leaf. It took a bit of messing around before I found the right extension tube configuration for the image, but the result looked interesting. Too many flies and midges to allow for any more photography here, so I headed home. Just at the Barrs pond, I found lots of mating damselflies, but unfortunately they were all too far away. Tried for a few, but without much luck. The lacewing was the star performer of the day.

Today was hot. I think I’ve said that before, but it’s worth repeating. I am in Scotland after all. Tomorrow is to be hotter. Is that even possible? There is the caveat that there will probably be thundershowers, but we’ve survived that in Venice, so it should be a dawdle in Scotland.

An exhausting day – 29 June 2015

Posted on June 29, 2015June 29, 2015 by Zogman

The first day in the gym after a fortnight stuffing our faces on the cruise. 30 minutes in the gym then a swim to relax. Best bit was the sauna and the jacuzzi. Who would have thought that just two weeks could have had such an effect. Even earlier, I had a hospital appointment to check for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), but it was all clear, thank goodness. We had our usual salsa class at night and it just added to the exhaustion. As for the rest of the day, I have no idea where it went, other than I took some photos of the shooting seed potatoes as a POD. Oh, yes, and I put another batch of photos on Flickr. I think it will take the remainder of the week for us to recover. I aim to have a less stressful day tomorrow when the weather, according to the magic weather fairies, is to be fair and sunny. We’ll see.

Lazy Sunday – 28 June 2015

Posted on June 28, 2015June 28, 2015 by Zogman

Last Sunday, I took 110 photos. Today, I took just 5. That’s the way it goes sometimes. The furthest I got today was the back garden. Torrential rain, then sun with a bit of a breeze. Not a bad day, just a lazy one. A very lazy one. My shot of the day was this one of pansies in the rain. Taken through the kitchen window this morning. Too lazy to go outside. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Ok, I’ll be honest. All is not as it seems. As usual. There just wasn’t enough depth of field to capture the whole flower, so I took two shots. One with focus on the front and one with focus a bit further back. Then took the two images into Potatoshop as layers and aligned them then used a mask to cut through part of the top layer to allow the bottom layer to show through. That way I could get the best sharp bits from both images. It’s posh name is focus stacking. Others call it cheating. I call it photography.

Fannyside – 27 June 2015

Posted on June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 by Zogman

This was always going to be a busy day. We had friends coming to dinner and there was a lot to do. First thing was to make some bread. That was the easy bit. Just chuck the ingredients into the bowl of the mixer and let it get on with it. After 10 mins of mixing, divide the dough in half. Half goes in the freezer and half gets set aside for proving (allowing it to do the initial rising). Next, get the pannacotta on the go. I’ve done it a hundred times, but this time I nearly let it boil over. Just too cocky. After that, I could relax for a while, so took the bottles to the bottle bank – they make such a lovely sound when you smash them! Then it was time to get the photo done for today, and I decided to go to Fannyside moor to see if the bog cotton was in bloom. For once I was too early, as it was just beginning to flower, so I got some photos of moss seed heads instead. I also attempted a shot of a lonely tree, but the camera and the weather conspired against me and what I got was a shot of some dry grass stems with the tree just out of focus and distorted by the heat haze. A heat haze in Scotland, I hear you exclaim. Yes, it’s true, but perhaps today was summer. It’ll be sleet tomorrow, just you wait and see. P6270350- blog--178--178.jpg

Once the photography was over, it was time to head back home to slave over a hot stove, this time it was the main course. It’s a hard life this.

Coffee and Pizza – 26 June 2015

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015 by Zogman

Today was slow to start. That’s what happens when you go to a birthday party, have a ‘gang bang’ (explanation will be forthcoming later people!) and drive home just before midnight. Am I getting too old for this nonsense? Anyway, we went in to Glasgow to get some decent coffee beans from Thomson’s. Couldn’t decide what to do after that, so we went out a bit further to far flung Newton Mearns where everyone talks funny and did some shopping (or messages as a plummy Englishman called it last week) then came home and had a late lunch at Milano’s. I got the wanderlust later and walked over to St Mo’s. It was a lovely early evening walk. Met Mr Grey and took some photos. It was dry, but the grass was holding a lot of rain from yesterday and this morning, so my trousers were soaked. Also, unfortunately were my feet as my long serving boots are letting in quite severely. I think I’ll have to bite the bullet and get a new pair. No deer today, but I did glimpse a dragonfly, not a damsel, but a dragonfly. That augers well for a good hatch over the next few days. My head is severely confused this week. I keep on thinking it’s Saturday today – it is now, but that’s because it’s just past midnight – but all day it’s felt like Saturday. Jetlag? No, just Numptylag!

Auld claes and purrich – 25 June 2015

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015 by Zogman

It’s that sad day after a great holiday when you have to come back down to normal life again. No longer to have breakfast on the upper deck. No longer to slather yourself in sun tan lotion and bake for half an hour at a time. No longer can you walk away and leave the dirty dishes for someone else to tidy up. There’s good things about it too, not least, your own bed at night. That’s worth a lot of the inconvenience. Not having to listen to the “Bing! Bong! This is your captain speaking from the bridge” and 9.00 every morning, that’s a relief too. Just a lazy day today with the added brightener of a birthday party tonight in Barca in Glasgow. So the holiday isn’t entirely over yet, oh no. Also, I got a minifig as a Father’s Day present from Hazy and a clever clogs card from JIC. Nice things to come home too.

However, as my dad would often say, it’s back to auld claes and purrich. In other words, it’s back to normal – or as near normal as we get. Oh yes, and it’s still raining!

Homeward Bound – 24 June 2015

Posted on June 24, 2015June 25, 2015 by Zogman

It’s been a long day. Alarm rang at 7.45am and we were up and out before 9.00am. Breakfast then a spot of sunbathing on the pool deck. I went for a wander around the deck initially to shoot some shots of he Moby ferry and the houses that rise up the hill. Then I noticed a bloke with a camera taking what I presume were fashion shots of a young lady wearing what looked like a bikini bottom, a furry wrap around top and virtually nothing else. The shoot, if that is what it was, was being done on a public walkway. Try doing that down on the Clydeside Walkway in Glasgow.

After that, we were on the homeward bound machine, except it was the Italian version. Which is the same as anywhere else, except it takes at least twice as long to get anything done. We waited half an hour for one wheelchair user to arrive and find his place on the coach. Couldn’t it have been done like it is on a plane, when the wheelchair users get on first to be settled before the rest of the passengers are boarded? Nah, that would be too easy. Better to make everyone wait, that’s the Italian way.

Arrived at the airport to find that there was a mini traffic jam at the entrance. One person moved their car and two taxis took their place, then two Carabinieri (Polis) cars double parked and screwed everyone up. Eventually the coach driver managed to get close enough for us to disembark and enter the airport. We got straight through security and were boarded. Well, not exactly boarded, we were sent through the tunnel to the plane, but no further for about half an hour because at least six people in wheelchairs were pushed down the tunnel to be seated first. Why, oh why does it take so long to seat six people?

Genoa is a toy town airport, pretending its a real one. Edinburgh is not bad, Glasgow is worse, but they are gold standard compared with this bunch of time wasters. The good thing was that while we werewaiting for the geriatrics to board and find their seats, it gave me time to take a couple of photos of two Piaggio P-180 Avanti II parked on the apron. There’s always a silver lining.

Got to Edinburgh and got stuck in a traffic jam almost all the way home.

And it was raining …

Stormy Weather – 23 June 2015

Posted on June 23, 2015June 25, 2015 by Zogman

This morning, after a fairly bouncy passage north, we woke to the news from the captain that the seas were too high to safely use the tender for going ashore, so therefore we would not be going to Monte Carlo as promised. A few minutes later there was another message that we would instead be going to St Tropez where the winds and sea were lighter and the bay was more sheltered. We were disappointed at first, but as we hadn’t been to St Tropez before, and as we had no choice anyway, it seemed like the best solution, so off we sailed to St Tropez. The journey didn’t take too long and as soon as we were anchored the tenders were readied. Now I know I’ve criticised P&O quite a lot in this blog, but this is one thing they excel at, organization. New port information sheets were printed and issued to every cabin. A “going ashore” presentation was swiftly organised. Tender tickets were issued and the whole thing simply worked like clockwork. We were passengers 638 and 639, but it only took about 20 mins from getting the ticket to boarding a rocky tender. A tender, by the way for those who don’t know is just a small boat used to ferry passengers from the main ship at anchor to the jetty or pier. Usually with a cruise ship, it’s the lifeboats that are used as tenders.

We wandered round the front area of ST and quickly found that it was just one big traffic jam. Occasionally some hooray Henry would race past in daddy’s Porsche, but it was mainly motor scooters and motorbikes that were deemed the best way of cutting through traffic. We walked through a market, but as the time was 1.00pm, most of the stallholders were shutting up shop for the day. It seems that the market opens around 6.00am and shuts between 1.00 and 2.00pm.

After the walk around the market, we headed for the old harbour to see the fancy yachts. They’re called yachts, but most of them are bigger than some cruise ships. It doesn’t look as if many of them sail out to see very often. Their owners get someone else to sail them in to port, then they themselves jet or helicopter in to spend a few days on them. There seemed to be a lot of parties going on in them. We, on the other hand, went looking for a bar to get a beer. We found one, an Irish bar, run by an Italian in France! Whatever, the beer was good. As usual, we didn’t want to be late back, so we headed back to get the tender out to the ship. After that, we had lunch then Scamp went sunbathing and I went for a short snooze. After an hour, I joined her on the sun deck to roast myself for a while before we went to the cabin to finish packing. Had dinner then watched a Headliners show before a drink, a hot chocolate and bed. Need to be up and out before 9.00am tomorrow, ready to return to cold Scotland. Oh well, All good thing must come to an end! It was great fun, and we’d do it again with the same itinerary, but not with P&O, despite their organisation. There are just too many flaws in their company.

Civitavecchia – 22 June 2015

Posted on June 22, 2015June 25, 2015 by Zogman

We waited until all the shore parties had left before making our way out of the ship today. Got down the gangway to be told that the shuttle had just left. Had a conversation with a man who had a plummy accent and had worked in Glasgow. He didn’t actually say what he did or had done for a living, but he “had a sales manager”, so I’m guessing he was quite high up the food chain. We talked for a while until the shuttle bus came. The busride into town was fast, bumpy and hair raising at times. Of course it was, we were back in Italy. We arrived at the bus stop and were immediately set upon by taxi drivers eager to take us to Rome. I started out saying “No, we’re not going to Rome today”, but they didn’t seem to understand that, or they weren’t interested, so I started saying random things like “No thanks, we’ve already got one” and “Hey, I’ve got a hat like that!”. What we really needed was Murd to say something in Gaelic to them, because the first thing they say is “hello”. When you reply, they can quickly establish what nationality you are and start their speil in that language. Murd’s Gaelic would puzzle them I’m sure, especially with a few sweary words thrown in for good measure. Anyway, we quickly ran the taxi gauntlet and walked into the town.

Civitavecchia is a working, industrial town, not at all given over to tourism. It’s a bit seedy in places and not very pretty. We walked into the main shopping area and decided that it wasn’t really going to be very interesting, so headed back to the sea front where there turned out to be a decent promenade. Scamp loves promenades and we walked a fair distance along it. We watched two guy practising karate or tai kwon do. I’m not being facetious here, meaning they were fighting, no, they looked like they were performing a kata on the promenade. Strange. Pretty as the prom was, we decided to walk back to the bus stop and go to the ship. We passed a wee cafe offering free Wi-Fi and stopped for a coffee and a beer. Britain could really learn from the Europeans about using free Wi-Fi to encourage punters in to cafes. I’ve only once paid for a wireless connection and that was €3 for 60 min. Compare that to the ship’s extortionate £1 for 2 min which equates to £30 for 60 min! How many places in Glasgow or Embra give you truly free Wi-Fi in a cafe? Very, very few. So, I got connected and uploaded two days of blog with pics attached this time. Then we headed for the bus and then back on board.

Had lunch and sunbathed for the rest of the day. Went to the Headliners show in the theatre. It was quite good, not excellent, just quite good. Yes, I know, damned by faint praise, but that’s the way it is. For me the singing is rough and strident but the dancing and choreography is great. Couldn’t agree on what to do with the rest of the night, but as we were both yawning, it seemed that the best thing to do was to have an early night, so once this epistle is done I’m off to beddy bies.

I don’t think I’d rush back to Civitavecchia again. It’s pretty rough around the edges, but it is what it is, just another industrial town. To sum it up, in one shop window I saw some swiss army knives and wilderness camping gear. Nothing unusual there I suppose although it’s getting rarer in the UK. The next window had machetes, short hunting bows, crossbows and throwing knives. Hmm, camping doesn’t get tougher than this. Thought for a while I was back in Carbrain.

Oh, one last thing. We got talking to a couple in the theatre last night and found out they came from Croy. Then the guy let slip that they are both Rangers supporters. In Croy?

Dancing on a volcano 21 June 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015June 25, 2015 by Zogman

Well, not quite dancing on a volcano, but sailing pretty close to it. The it in question being Stromboli at the southern tip of Italy, but let me start at the beginning. We woke around 8.30am and went out to see the passage through the Straits of Messina again. I make no excuses for this as it is a great sight. While we were there we saw the strange swordfish fishing boats with their enormous masts and crows nests where the pilot steers the boat to the shoals of swordfish. There is also an extremely long bowsprit from which the fish are speared. Unfortunately we never saw any actual fishing being done, but the pilots were in the crows nests steering the boats. Scary looking stuff. There was beautiful light on the coasts on both sides during the passage. Lovely dramatic skies too. We also passed the highest pylons in Europe which are now designated listed status.

Just before we went for breakfast we saw a pod of dolphins, the second we’ve seen this trip. After breakfast I went to a talk on JMW Turner and also on some bloke who’s paintings the gallery were trying to push. Strangely, when the talk was finished and the powerpoint closed, there was a message on the screen to the effect that this was not a legal version of windows 7. Pirates on a ship? How apt. A quick walk along the deck and we were at the next talk which was about ancient Rome, but couched as a port talk would be today. The speaker was obviously really interested in his subject, but maybe took it a bit too enthusiastically for most of the audience.

When that was done we had just started to get near to Stromboli. We sailed right round it and were just sailing away when I saw some rocks falling down the scree with clouds coming from them. I presume these were thrown out by the only active volcano in Europe. A really amazing and scary sight. I don’t think I’d like to live near it.

Time for lunch, and after that it was sunbathing time, with a short interlude to watch the start of the Austrian F1 GP. By about 5.00pm it was getting a bit cool to sit any longer so we went back to the cabin to get ready for the last formal night of the cruise. Watched three soul singers in the early cabaret – very good entertainment. After that, it was the Crew Show, but it was mainly the Entertainment Team and a few of the staff, but very few. All in all, it was a good day at sea, well filled. I’ll probably remember it most for Stromboli and the swordfish fishing boats.