Out on a photo walk with Alex.
I was due to pick Alex up at his house around 11am, but after getting up at about 4.30am to take some paracetamol to numb the pain from toothache, I wasn’t sure I’d be meeting him any time today. However, when the 8.30am alarm chimed out its merry tune there was no sign of toothache.
The early rise and the alarm were because we’d booked the man from Hannah and Howie to come and service the boiler. He was supposed to arrive between 9am and 1pm, and I was glad we’d set the alarm for 8.30, when he knocked on the door at 9.05. It only took him half an hour to do the service and report that nothing needed replaced this time, but maybe we’d need a gasket replaced at the next service, which should be in a year’s time. One thing done.
Scamp asked me to take her up to Tesco to get more messages, so I dropped her off and drove on to Motherwell, had a chat with Carol and Alex and I drove over to Chatelherault on the outskirts of Hamilton. While we were sitting in the car talking, an unusual bird swooped down not far from us. At first I thought it was a Shrike, but Alex though it might be a Jay, and when we got a good look at it, that’s what it was. Not very common this far north, but I think Hazy gets them in her garden.
It was a wild day with sunny skies one minute and torrential rain the next. We walked down past the Three Hard Men, the statues of David Livingston, William Wallace and Robert Owen cut from steel plate. I got a few shots, but wasn’t really struck on any of them. Alex, of course, got a cracker of a shot!
We walked further on to the old Avon Bridge where we saw a Kingfisher about a year ago, but the Avon Water was in spate, or probably more likely just running off a spate, but far too fast flowing for the kingfisher to show today. As we turned to climb the hill that would take us back to the Big House, we felt the first spits of rain. We’d both been watching the clouds rolling in and as there was no shelter, we just had to plod our weary way back through the rain. We got passed by about a dozen cyclists who must have been as wet as us, if not wetter. It was lovely and warm in the cafe though and we got a table without any problem.
I had just been given a tray with our two coffees and two scones when the woman at the till said the system had gone down. She took a note of our order and said she’d let us know when the system was back in business again. After our coffee and scone lunch, we sat and talked a while. People were being served again at the counter and it looked like the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again, so went back and paid for our lunch. The woman seemed surprised that I’d bothered to come back, but maybe it’s just auld guys like me who do that. Anyway, she gave me a wink and gave me a discount for being honest!
Alex suggested a walk to the Cadzow Oaks, the ancient oak trees that surround some earthworks. The oaks have been dated to the mid 15th Century. That kind of ancient. Some of the oldest living trees in Scotland. The earthworks are a mystery. Nobody seems to know their significance, and there is no clue to who built them. The oaks always make me think of the Ents that Tolkien wrote about. We both got a few photos of them, quite a few! One Ent photo made PoD. Then the rain threatened again and we walked back over the Duke’s Bridge to the car. I drove Alex home and we planned another outing between Christmas and New Year, probably to Glasgow if the weather behaves.
Scamp had been busy while I was away. There was mince cooking on the stove and a lovely smell of baked cakes from the oven. They were Dundee Cakes with a lovely mixture of fruit in them, as well as a measure of Black Bottle whisky. I’ve only had one, because although the paracetamol had done its job, I didn’t want to risk another early morning second dose.
Tomorrow, coincidentally, I’ve a dentist’s appointment to repair a broken filling, so I’ll maybe ask the lady dentist if she’ll have a look at my dodgy molar. Scamp is booked for lunch tomorrow at Calders. Hopefully I’ll be able to speak properly when she gets home, if my jag has worn off by then!