Month: July 2024

Dancin’ – 11 July 2024

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Today we drove to Glenburn for the first tea dance for a while, or what felt like a while to me.

Not a great turn out for the dance, but some folk will be on holiday and some will be on child-minding duty, I suppose. Not everyone lives such a free and easy life as we do!
There were a couple of strangers in the camp. One couple were apparently semi-professionals and boy did it show in their styling. Very much the lady with her head back and the man holding poses on his tiptoes before plunging into a ‘running step’ along the diagonal of the dance floor, while the majority of us were quickstepping carefully, keeping to Line of Dance.

For the first time in ages we stayed for the full tea dance. Usually we leave early to avoid schools coming out and the long queues of folk driving home after work. Schools aren’t in until the middle of August and a lot of folk are on holiday despite it not feeling like summer this year. We could actually have stayed on the M8 and driven over the Kingston Bridge today and been home even earlier than we did. Traffic had been light going to Glenburn and it was equally light coming back.

I didn’t bother going out for a walk when we got home, instead I just photographed some flowers in the garden. Winner, and PoD was a shot of Switch Ophelia which is a form of Hydrangea. Flowers start as pale green, then creamy white and finally pink. Beautiful flowers and, as you can probably see it attracts red spider mites too!

No plans at present for tomorrow. Weather looks ok, today was nice and warm, but no sun until after 8pm.

Strawbs – 10 July 2024

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Another dull day with white cloud and no sign of the sun. Hmm.

This morning when I was making breakfast, I had a few strawberries because they looked nice. So nice in fact that I photographed them some with the new lens on the A7 and some with the A6500 on a macro lens and also with the new ‘kit lens’. One of the shots taken with the A7 and the new lens got PoD. PoD at not long after 9am must be a record.

Later in the morning after the traditional Wordle and Spelling Bee had been conquered we drove over to The Fort. Scamp was going to try to make a cover for the piano with A4 neoprene copy foam pads. It seemed like a good idea and it didn’t cost the earth. The only place she could think off to get them was Hobbycraft. With them in the bag, she was off to get some toothpaste and other stuff of that ilk, but on the way she spotted a pair of sandals in Clarks. She tried them on and lo and behold, they fitted, just like Cinderella’s, except they were the wrong colour. They had sandals the colour she wanted, but not in her size, so she ordered them right away and they should be delivered and a few days. While she was stocking up on everything Boots had to offer, I browsed the books in Waterstones, but found nothing of interest.

It was time for lunch when we met up again. Lunch in Costa. Not my favourite place to eat, but there was more of a range there than there was at home, so I agreed. Mozzarella with Tomato for me and Shawarma with chicken for Scamp. The shawarma was spicy, but not too hot. I must try it sometime.

With the weather cooling and still that feeling that it might rain, plus the PoD was in the bag, the afternoon was spent indoors. We spent an hour and more going through a skip full of old photos Scamp had found on an old SD card going back to 2016. Lots of memories, lots of places, lots of faces we remembered.

Dinner was Mac ’n’ Cheese. Probably not the most sensible thing for me after a cheesy lunch. I realise now I shouldn’t have eaten it all. I’ll suffer for it tomorrow.

Tomorrow we may be going dancing. I believe some dance practise will be needed in the morning.

A bit of culture – 9 July 2024

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Today I met Alex in Glasgow and we went for a walk in the sunshine.  Later we came back in the teeming rain. That’s Scotland.

Yesterday the weather was beautiful and today it was the same in the morning, but after we got off the bus to go to the Burrell Collection, we could feel the first spits of rain. By the time we got in and went for lunch the rain was getting heavy.

Today was a return visit to the Burrell. We’d seen most of the exhibits before, but there were lots of surprises too, like a tiny ceramic perfume bottle from circa 500BC and a Renoir bust of the man with the broken nose which had a tiny little signature in the inside of the hollow casting. It’s the little things you go back to see again and again.

My intention today was to take people pictures. One of the great things about this tele lens is the way it can separate a person from the background and I was playing with that a lot. The other thing that I tried was isolating people in the long corridors that almost always have a focal point at their far end. The weather might have been terrible, but we were inside and dry and we both had a great day.

Back home on the bus I listened to a podcast about Ramesses The Great. What a lad he was if all the stories were true. The average lifespan of Egyptians then was about 30 years. He lived until he was 80! The world was just as ill divided then, it seems.

Watched the Professionals doing Bakeoff and Scamp and I were agreed that the best pair won.

PoD was called Twa Dugs. Taken on the steps of the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. I think there may be more to come from today’s shoot, though.

Things I’ll remember from today:

  • Lunch today in a mobbed cafe are in the Burrell (New Yorker).
  • Seeing that 500BC perfume bottle
  • The Twa Dugs
  • Girl in Nero chattering away nonstop to us
  • Maybe, just maybe seeing Charles Hamilton

We may be going shopping for essentials tomorrow.

Beautiful warm day. Was that summer? – 8 July 2024

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In the morning, I started to clear out some to the rubbish in my room. Just junk mainly. That left me some room to store the things I wanted to keep in the racks in the corner. The rubbish bag is full and it’s in the grey bin now. Can’t go back.

I drove up to the town centre later to get my hair cut. It didn’t take long, probably about ten minutes from me opening the door to going back out again. A number 2 cut all over cost me less than a tenner!

I’d parked in Tesco car park, so it seemed a good idea to pay for it with a bag of rolls for lunch. Not as good as the ones they used to bake on the premises, but not bad, if a bit doughy. On the way in I bumped into Lorraine Henderson who I used to work with. It was quite embarrassing, because she obviously had forgotten my name and I had forgotten her’s. She was with a friend who originally came from the Cumbershugh area but was now in the US. Said was on holiday here and said she would come back here ‘in an instant’, and I thought “Aye Right!”

Back home and after lunch, I started making a support for the apple tree. One bough in particular is carrying a heavy load just now and that load is just going to get heavier as the apples swell. The support is a bit rough and ready, but it’s holding for now. I think we might need another one further along the branch just to stop the bough from breaking. That’s for the future. For now it’s a lot better than it was.

When we were finished and sort of tidied up, I drove Scamp up to B&M to get a set of three storage boxes. One was earmarked for holding her dance shoes and another would be for my shoes, although I’ve a plan to chuck out some of the older shoes I’ll never wear again.

The weather was still lovely when we got back, so Scamp read in the garden with a Pimms and I went for a walk in St Mo’s. PoD was a close up of a solitary Soldier Beetle. Unusual to see just one. Usually they are in pairs, busy making more Soldier Beetles! Saw and photographed Common Blue Damselflies too. When I got back to the house I had the final bottle of beer from last year’s box. Only slightly out of date, but tasted fine. Dinner was Tuna Pasta and that was really nice.

Hoping to meet Alex in Glasgow tomorrow to go to the Burrell Collection. Rain predicted!! Scamp says she’s going to do some tidying.

Actually not a bad day – 7 July 2024

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In the morning we watched Laura Kuenssberg interviewing some of the new bright eyed and bushy tailed Labour administration. It was a gentle introduction and the claws were retracted … at least for the moment. Let them find their feet and let them feel confident, then the gloves will come off and the claws will be extended.

Today was the British GP and we could watch it LIVE on C4 without the interruption of adverts, and for once, it was worth watching. I lost count of the number of times the lead changed hands and felt sorry for one British (not english) driver who didn’t quite cut the mustard. However I did enjoy seeing one bruised and battered driver making his way through the young whippersnappers to stake his claim as the first driver to win a remarkable ninth British Grand Prix and to set a new record for the most victories at a single event.

Dinner tonight was Mushroom Risotto. I haven’t made if for ages and volunteered to attempt it today. Not quite enough mushrooms, but some chickpeas filled the space very nicely. I don’t think it was my best, but it was good enough to fill a wee space.

It was actually a good day with occasional showers, but lots of sunshine. Even now at 11.15pm as I look out the back window, the sky is bright blue. It’s dark now, but the sky is still blue. Today’s PoD award was won by a couple of Aquilegia flowers in the garden. They are just ‘going over’ now, but if we take care and cut them back they may, just may produce another show of flowers later in the year.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard that Simonne’s latest interview went well, so we’re hoping that’s good news for her. Any reduction in her workload would be a good thing. Also some planning is being done for a short holiday which is well deserved.

I think I may bite the bullet and get my hair cut tomorrow. Scamp has already told me that it looks a ‘Pure Afro’. I don’t think that’s the correct description. I’d say it was more a ‘Cock’s Comb’. My mum used to delight in combing Alex and my hair into that mini Mohican and every time I look in the mirror these days, I see it! A number ‘3’ should sort it out.

Other than that, no plans for tomorrow.

 

Out for a walk – 6 July 2024

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Scamp suggested we drive to Colzium, just outside Kilsyth and go for a walk in the park.

That sounded like a good idea. The weather looked fairly settled with blue skies and white clouds, so off we went. We parked in a small carpark in the trees and started a ‘figure of eight’ walk by passing Colzium House which was once the seat of the Edmonstone family but became the property of the Burgh of Kilsyth after the Second World War. Built in 1783, it was substantially enlarged in 1861. Beyond the house, the path climbs a long tiring hill with excellent views over to Bar Hill and the intervening fields with their different shades of green. From there we walked through the woodland, still climbing until we reached the top and took a wee rest on a rough hewn bench.

Once we had caught our breath we crossed the bridge over the Colzium Burn and started the descent, because “what goes up must come down” on the other side of the burn. I was taking some photos of moss fruiting bodies ( a long time favourite of mine) when a man stopped and asked what camera I was using. Obviously a photog, he said that he had a ‘crop sensor’ Nikon, but just used it for family and holidays. He stood and talked for a while and then we went our separate ways. It’s uncommon for folk to ask what camera I’m using. Only serious photographers do that, so I think he was more serious than he seemed.

Down to the old curling pond, the first one in Scotland it’s said, and finished our circuit back at the carpark. Drove home and had a quick cup of tea and toast, intending to go over to The Cotton House later in the afternoon for a late lunch … except, both of us were too busy reading and by the time we realised, the restaurant would have been near to closing.

Instead, Scamp put some washing in, then worked in the garden for a while and I helped out for a while. The parking area was full when we got back from our walk and I had to park quite a distance away, but I noticed when we were in the front garden that a parking space had appeared, so I went to retrieve the car while Scamp hung out the washing. Just as I was parking the an ice cream van stopped and as I had some ‘real’ money in my pocket, I got two ’99’ cones and watched Scamp’s face light up. Her second surprise this week.

We spent more time discussing plants and what could be cut back and what couldn’t. Scamp was also making plans for another planter to go into the front garden. Always thinking about next year. We were standing in the living room discussing whether to water the plant tonight because many of them in the tubs were very dry when I noticed it was raining. We brought in the washing which was nearly dry and realised that we wouldn’t need to water after all.

Dinner was a Spice Tailor curry made with Chicken Thighs. Just a wee bit hotter than we were expecting.

Watched The Duke. A 2020 British comedy we’d seen before, but neither of us could remember the whole thing. A harmless bit of fluff, allegedly based on a true story.

Pod was a photo of Colzium House.

No plans for tomorrow, but the weather looks not as good as today.

 

Surprise phone call – 5 July 2024

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We got a morning call from Hazy this morning to say that her PiP allocation extended until 2030. That’s a six year extension. She sounded delighted and no wonder. It would appear that someone, somewhere has seen sense for probably the first time. Gaun Yersel, Hazy.

The oldies (that’s us, well, me anyway) went shopping in Tesco. Just the usual circuit veg, fruit and a bottle of milk, plus a whole load of other stuff.

Back home and after lunch I took some photos of flowers in the garden. Geums were the stars, but daisies made a good show too. Later I went for a walk in St Mo’s, but didn’t get anything that was better than the Geums, so to was them that got PoD. Red on Green a gold standard for colour contrasts.

We’ve been deluged by BBC interviews with everyone who ever stood next to Keir Starmer. It’s becoming one big long boring telethon. Ok, he ran a good campaign, but it’s done now, it’s over, let’s move on. What a waste of taxpayers money. Mind you, it wiped the smile of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s face for a while, so, some good things came from Starmer’s win.

Dinner tonight was Curried Cod a 30 minute meal but you would never have guessed that. I think it will be my turn to cook tomorrow or Sunday. I hope I can equal that with my choice.

Weather wasn’t terrible today. We didn’t have much, if any rain, but the wind was still strong for a while and gusty most of the day and then a glorious sunset at night. Tomorrow it looks like rain will return.

Not a lot more to be said about today. At least it didn’t rain!!

Talking gardens with Isobel – 4 July 2024

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Today we were meeting Isobel for coffee in Costa. Not my favourite place, but it suited us today. Just a place for the ladies to have a blether.

The conversation was wide ranging, about family and the difficulty for young folk to find a permanent job, but eventually it all came round to flowers, plants and gardening. Isobel is a really dedicated gardener and I’m sure she and Scamp could spend all day talking about plants and different regimes for planting, feeding and disposing of unwanted plants. She is quite a hard task master with no quarter given. If a plant isn’t performing, it either gets cut down to the ground to force better growth next year, or it gets ripped out and dumped in the bin. There’s usually another plant ready and waiting to fill its place.

When the talking was done Scamp went to get a new cover for her phone and I drove Isobel home, then I went back to pick up Scamp and we drove home. She told me that everyone in the shops wanted to sell her a wallet type cover but she stuck to her guns and got the cover she wanted, not one they wanted rid of. I know where she gets that attitude from, Isobel!

After lunch we walked up to the Polling Station and handed over our bus passes as proof of identity, then put our cross in the correct box. Strangely we used to be quite coy about who we had voted for, but now we were much more open about it and both of us had gone for the same party. Spoiler Alert: It wasn’t a Conservative!

It was a wild day with gusty winds and heavy rain showers, but thankfully we got up to the Polling Station and back again without getting wet. That’s a miracle in itself these days.

I managed a walk in St Mo’s later in the afternoon and although it wasn’t very wet, the cold blustery west wind wasn’t great to walk in and I was glad to get back home with a couple of photos. This time I’d fixed the new lens on to the A6500 where it was a bit overbalanced by the Tamron. It still produced a decent shot of a little wee yellow flower which became PoD. I must look it up to see just exactly what it was. While the lens copes quite well with these almost macro subjects, it’s not really suited to them. It’s more a large landscape lens or a means of isolating a subject from the background. Maybe I need to get out into the wider world to test it properly.

Dinner was Savoury Rice which is basically “What have we got in the fridge?” with some rice cooked in a chicken stock. It was very nice. I had it without any additions, but in retrospect, maybe a dash of Soy Sauce and maybe a splash of Yorkshire Relish would have lifted it.

That was about it for the day, except for Andy & Jamie Murray’s doubles exit from Wimbledon, against a better pairing. I’m not sure if he will continue to the mixed doubles now.

No plans for tomorrow yet, Just waiting with bated breath to find out who wins the poisoned chalice of the house in Downing Street.

 

Wet and Windy – 3 July 2024

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Another day when the weather was wasn’t very like the July we all used to know.

Hurricanes in the Caribbean and temperatures almost in single figures at home. This isn’t at all like the summers we’ve been used to. What happened to summer? Did I blink and miss it? We’ve struggled through a wet, windy and cold winter, only to find at the end that it was at times, warmer than it is this summer. Personally I blame the government!

I did go out for a while in the afternoon hoping it would stay dry at least, but it didn’t. Luckily the trees are all in full leaf now, so I could shelter until the worst of it was past. I did get a couple of decent photos, despite the wind and the rain. Best of a reasonable lot was a photo of a Drone Fly, a kind of Hoverfly, feeding on the flowers of a Cow Parsley head. Probably not the prettiest of insects, but the new lens delivered a sharp image of it. There’s another of a ‘spider house’ on Flickr that gave the drone fly a run for its money.

That was about it for the day. Scamp didn’t even go out to prune her roses. It was that kind of day. I think we were both a bit tired after two hours of almost constant dancing yesterday.

We did a bit of digital tidying up. Moving photos from Scamp’s old computer on to a storage SSD and from there onto her new computer. Now it’s her job to complete the tagging of the photos before copying them to OneDrive. I suppose, grudgingly, I have to admit that there are things that OneDrive can do very efficiently.

Dinner tonight was the ready-roasted chicken we bought in Troon yesterday served with potatoes and cabbage. It made a decent meal and the chicken was lovely.

Tomorrow we may be meeting Isobel if we don’t get blown away, because there are more gusty winds predicted.

 

A wee surprise – 2 July 2024

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We had agreed that we should go out somewhere today.

I suggested to Scamp that she might like to go down to Troon to test out the dance floor there. There are two dances a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays and since we were committed on Thursday, why not go today? By the time I’d rinsed the breakfast dishes, Scamp had laid out prospective dresses and shoes, so I guessed the invitation had been accepted!

The dance started at 1pm and finished at 3pm. The drive down to Troon was without event and by the time we got there the sun was shining. Even better still, there was a parking space next to the hall. After heading in to the wrong building by mistake we were given detailed instruction on how to get to the hall which was next door, but was hidden round a corner. Booked ourselves in and paid a tenner for both of us, probably the going rate for us Auld Yins!

We found a large dance hall with the compere and keyboard maestro ready for action on the stage with his three keyboards. He had a good sound system and the sang to all the tunes he played, and he played a lot. We were used to Stewart & Jane’s setup where they played pre-recorded music and there was tea at half time. Not so today. If you wanted something to drink, you had to provide it yourself. That way participants didn’t lose any dancing time.

I think we danced for almost everything he played. The only things we stayed seated for were the ‘school dances’ Military Two Step and Canadian Barn Dance. We also avoided the Viennese Waltz which isn’t in our syllabus. We even added in a Salsa track and a Bachata, just for fun. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Ronnie and Millie seemed surprised to see us and we had a bit of banter with them.

For once in a dance class, the time seemed to fly. I don’t think it was because my dancing was stunning, because it wasn’t, I think I was just enjoying dancing. But soon it was time for the last waltz and we assured everyone we spoke to that we’d be back, despite the long drive.

Since we hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, Scamp suggested we go for a late lunch at the Lido in Troon: Mussels for Scamp and Italian sausage and pasta for me. We had stopped at Morrison’s on the way home to buy a loaf and ended up with a trolley full of stuff, as usual.

The run back in  the rain, took a bit more time than the drive down, but I’d expected that. Much more traffic on the road and a lot of congestion coming off the M74 on to the M 73. I’d hate to drive through that every day.

I only took six photos today and kept only four of them. PoD was a bloke sitting on the wall at the seaside having his lunch.

We have no plans as yet for tomorrow. I’m sure something will turn up.