Month: November 2024

A photo walk in Glasgow – 20 November 2024

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On a cold day we decided to stay in Glasgow city today.

Met Alex at the bus station as usual, and as usual, we went for a coffee to discuss exactly where we’d go. On the way down Buchanan Street we noticed water bubbling out of the subway. It flowed down the street, guided on its way by piles of sandbags that channeled it down into an open sewer near West George Street. No idea where exactly it was coming from or whether it would be on its way into the Clyde, further down the street.

Coffee in Nero and then a walk down Buchanan Street took us to ‘The Shows’ in St Enoch Square. Not much we hadn’t seen before, so after a cursory look around we continued on to the Clyde Walkway.

Again, there were graffiti artists hard at work on their murals using ladders and countless paint canisters. We watched them for a while, both of us trying different angles and viewpoints to get that elusive perfect composition. I was nearly there with a couple of shots, but nothing that would be posted to Flickr just yet.

When we walked back through St Enoch Square I found my PoD which was a bloke gazing out of a bay window with an advert for a Thai Massage parlour below him. I’m not saying it told a story, I wouldn’t dare!

Lunch was in Paesano as usual, a quiet Paesano for a change. Usually around midday it’s full to bursting, but not today. Maybe because it’s midweek or maybe folk are being more careful with their spending as we near Christmas. We both enjoyed our lunch. Alex time to pay.

Light was beginning to fade a little when we walked around George Square but we managed a few more shots before we headed up to the bus station, only to find that there were barricades preventing us from getting near the bus station. After checking with one of the many council workers milling around we found it was because a ‘suspicious package’ had been found and there would be no buses running for quite some time.

We turned tail and walked down Buchanan Street, Alex to Central Station and me to Queen Street. A phone call to Scamp got me a lift home from Croy. Thanks again, Scamp!
Alex did the same and got a lift home from his station with Carol.

Just after 10pm there was an announcement that 3 men were ‘helping police with their enquiries’ and a controlled explosion had taken place, but no dangerous materials had been found. Wild place Glasgow on a Wednesday night.

No dancing tonight as the teacher has a heavy cold and doesn’t want to pass it on to us gentle souls.

Hopefully going to the Town Centre tomorrow for some relaxing shopping.

Meeting Shona – 19 November 2024

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After we defrosted two days worth of ice from the car we drove up to the town centre.

Met Shona in Costa as arranged, then I went to the bank to find out what happened yesterday with a purchase I’d made, or tried to make online. I was buying a bit of software from a one-man company I’d dealt with before, but after I’d paid for it, the transaction seemed to pause. I decided to cancel and try again today. Then I received a message from the bank asking me if I had attempted to make a purchase and gave me the name and address of the company. After a debate with Scamp, I messaged back to say “Yes” I’d attempted to make the purchase but had cancelled the transaction. A reply came through to tell me if I still wished to purchase the £7 software, to wait 10 minutes and try again. By this time I was fed up with the waiting and texting and went to be after I’d checked that no money had been taken from my bank.

Anyway, I checked with the bank and was assured that all the messages were from the bank and not a scammer. That put my mind at rest. I could go back to my coffee and a blether with Shona about her problem child, Ben. It’s hard to believe that in a couple of years he’ll be 18 and an adult! Poor Shona.

Isobel was in Costa too with her granddaughter and one of her pals. “Ok, here comes a ray of sunshine!” She said. I think she was talking about my orange jacket, at least that’s what I think she meant, although she has a good line in sarcasm, has Isobel!

We said goodbye to Shona who was heading for Tesco while we were off to Stirling to go to Waitrose.
Scamp said she wasn’t needing much, but eventually we filled four bags with what we bought and most of it wasn’t bottles of anything … for once!
Roadworks right outside Waitrose meant it took us almost 10 minutes to get out of the car park, with no sign of any work being gone on the road!

A walk in St Mo’s in the afternoon gave me a chance of more early winter photos. The PoD was a cow parsley plant in front of some lovely sunset light through the trees. The light is technically called Bokeh and is much sought after by photogs.

A cold day, but an interesting one for a change.

Tomorrow I’m intending meeting Alex for a walk and a blether and maybe a pizza.

Another cold day – 18 November 2024

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That was about all you could say about today.

As you’ve probably guessed, the blog posts from Wednesday onwards have been written as catch-ups. Sometimes I manage to scribble down a few notes as the day goes on, but mainly they are written ‘on the back foot’ so to speak. Hopefully most of the backlog is now dealt with and it’s up to date news you’re getting.

With that said, there wasn’t much of interest today. I made a pot of soup for dinner. It was meant to be for lunch, but I was too late in getting it started. It was fairly good and should last until at least tomorrow. I have a habit of making too much soup or putting far too many vegetables in it and the result is a stodgy mess. Today’s was much lighter than normal and that in itself improved the taste.

I got out for a walk in the afternoon and brought back two decent photos. PoD went to the carefully cropped shot of the ice crystals between the wooden planks of the boardwalk over in St Maurice’s. It was really cold out and even with my Down jacket, one circuit of the pond was enough for me. Again I’d left it just too late to catch the good light. I must teach myself that the days are indeed growing shorter every day and leaving it until it’s getting dark just makes the processing take longer.

I emailed Alex and it looks as if he’s free on Wednesday for a photo walk or maybe just a wander followed by a blether in Paesano. The frosty weather looks as if it might last until Saturday without much let up before then.

I think we’re meeting Shona tomorrow for coffee. I might even come along just for fun.

Another lazy Sunday – 17 November 2024

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We seem to be waking earlier than normal these days. Don’t know why.

It was a Wordle morning, then a half hearted listen to Laura Kuenssberg over lunch. Lunch today was an omelette each. Both of them were “what have we got in the fridge omelettes”. The best kind.

After that I went for a walk in St Mo’s and today’s PoD turned out to be a little posy of Ragwort wild flowers. There were a load of warnings about them on the net. I knew they were poisonous to eat, both for humans and animals, but I didn’t know they could cause irritation if touched. Must be more careful in future.  Anyway they made a bright spot on ano otherwise dull day.

Watched Strictly and were disappointed that neither of the couples we’d chosen to leave came a cropper. Such a shame. Maybe next week then.

Spoke to Jamie and heard that things are going smoothly and they are well organised for Christmas. I’m glad to hear that, because I haven’t done a thing about it this year, not that that is a great surprise.

The threatened snowfall didn’t occur after all the warnings. It did happen above and below the central belt, but we avoided it. However according to the weather fairies it will be cold tonight. Temperatures of -4º c predicted.

We’ll see if that transpires.

Recovering – 16 November 2024

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Since the teachers were off to Edinburgh to watch the rugby, there were no dance classes, so Saturday was nominated a day of recovery.

Sitting admiring the sun shining on the vase of Alstrumeria flowers in the morning I grabbed my camera and took a few shots that turned into the PoD. It was the refractions that took my fancy.

We drove to Falkirk in the late morning and collected two necklaces Scamp had put in to a jewellers there to have their catches replaced, one of them over 50 years old.

Next stop was Morrisons for a bit of gentle shopping, but as Morrisons is totally different from Tesco or Waitrose, there were a lot of things there we couldn’t find elsewhere. Things like Spelt bread and miniature tins of wine that are convenient for Scamp to take to evening socials at Brookfield. I now take zero percent Guinness instead. The result was that we bought more than we intended, but without vastly overspending.

On the way home we stopped at B&Q to get a new toilet seat. I’ve been going to replace the old one for almost a year and today was the day to get it done. It was a lot easier to replace than the previous one and that’s all you really want to or need to know on the subject!

We watched Strictly at night and picked the two folk we thought would be leaving the show tomorrow. Nice to see the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool again. We must go back there some day.

That was about it for a rest and recovery day.

Tomorrow we may be due some of the white stuff.

Going home – 15 November 2024

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It always comes to this. Hopefully we’ll come back again next year, all being well.

Breakfast, and then Murdo drove us to the bus stance in Portree. Lots of hugs and handshakes, then we got on a much newer bus and thankfully a different driver. Relieved, we settled down to wait for the wheels to start turning.

Three or four women boarded after us and they were a noisy lot. Maybe it was their first time out of the island. Scamp can tune noise out, I can’t. Thankfully I had good earbuds and another of the podcasts that Hazy had sent me the link for. ‘Ologies’ they are called on Spotify if you want to try them out. Every conceivable topic under the sun. Roughly 1hr 25min each. There, my advert’s done!

Irritating as the women and their little Indian friend were, they were nowhere near as irritating as the the VoiceOvers that came on the loudspeaker at random times.

Woman’s voice: Thank you for travelling with us

Man’s voice: The next stop is …

I kept hoping the man would actually tell us what the next stop was, but he never did. It was like the company had paid for the basic setup, but couldn’t afford the detailed info that would actually be helpful.

Apart from those nuisances, human and taped, the journey was fairly painless, especially compared to the journey from Fort William to Staffin with ‘Popeye’. Scamp found the seats really uncomfortable but a couple of Paracetamol made it easier to deal with. I just found it a bit annoying and a pain in the back.

We arrived in Glasgow exactly on time to the minute. Better still, we walked round the corner of the bus station and the X3 pulled up and opened its doors. That was very welcome. No silly messages and decent seats. The ‘ladies’ had left at Glasgow airport.

Pizza for dinner. Not the best. Nowhere near as good as Paesano, but it filled a wee space.

PoD was the view from the bedroom window in Staffin looking down the croft.

Tonight we’ll sleep in our own beds and tomorrow is another day.

Meeting Grian – 14 November 2024

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Just a wee baby but he’s the reason we are here in Skye.

After breakfast, Murdo drove us over to Jaki and Allan’s house to meet Grian. He’s now about five weeks old and Scamp just couldn’t keep her eyes off him. I’m more of the Kevin Bridges “How ye doin’ mate” camp. I find it hard to talk to babies, but I knew that Scamp would jump at the chance to hold him and have a cuddle. Grian, that is, not Kevin Bridges!

I’d brought my cameras, of course, and after taking a few photos of Grian with his mum, his dad and with ScampI, Allan (the dad) asked if I wanted to go a walk along the shore. I knew I’d only be a hinderance with all the baby talk going on, so I gathered my kit and caboodle and Allan and I walked halfway down to the shore. He went back to the house after giving me clear instruction that would get me on a circular path back to the house.

After falling on my backside twice I realised I really do need to get a new pair of boots. There is so little grip left on the heels and the sole is beginning to wear too, but for today, for scrambling they were great. Plenty of ankle support still. I walked over the seaweed and on to the sand before finding the sea washed pebbles and cobbles that formed the demarcation between the sand and the seaweed. I took a few cobble photos and remember Ailsa, a girl from Salsa, posting photos of those same stones in rock pools.

Unfortunately, the rain swept in and I was at the gate Allan had told me to take and then I was at the path I’d been told to follow back to the road and from there it was an easy walk to the house where Betty, the dog, interrogated me, wanting to know what I’d been doing out without her!

It was soon time to leave the house and Murdo arrived to take us all back for lunch, leaving Jaki, Grian and Allan, whose birthday was today, to some peace and quiet. How much peace there would be with Betty the excitable guard dog running around, I don’t know.

After lunch Murdo drove us up over Quiraing and on to Uig where we stopped for some snacks before dicing with death on the thousands of potholes that make the driving on Skye treacherous, especially on the north end.

Dinner was fish pie. It couldn’t be anything else on Skye. Jackie makes the best fish pie anywhere. It just beats Scamp’s and she would agree with me there.

We’re going back south tomorrow from our lightning visit to meet Grian. I had a great time, despite ‘Popeye’ and his antics. It was good to see that not much had changed in Staffin, or in Skye in general.

Time to pack tonight, but that shouldn’t take too long. Hope it’s a different bus … and a different driver!

On the road – 13 November 2024

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Out just before 9am to get a taxi to Buchanan Street bus station.

Showed our ticket and our bus pass to the bus driver and we were ready for the loooong journey north. Little did we know then just how long that journey would be.

Scamp demanded that I get the window seat on the bus, because I’d never had the luxury of being able to look out the window as someone else did the hard work and drove us all the way to Skye. I’d always been the one driving us to Skye since way back in 1987!! That was last century, you realise!! Anyway, I enjoyed the run out of Glasgow and up past Loch Lomond. We passed Glencoe and crossed the Ballachulish Bride over Loch Leven and on along the snaking road to our first official stopping point of Fort William. A half hour stop there, just enough time for a coffee and a cold panini each and we were on the bus again.

We’d changed drivers at Fort William and climbed up past Lochs Lochy, Garry and Loyne, then along Loch Cluanie where we stopped for a comfort break (ie, a fag break for some). We were now at the highest point on the journey and it was all downhill from there … literally. We drove past the ‘Biscuit Tin’ that is named Eileen Dolan Castle. Not nearly as old as it looks.We cruised along to Kyle of Lochalsh where the driver did another ‘comfort break’ stop. That felt like a stop too many. It was now gloaming, and as the sun sank behind the Skye hills I walked on to the slip and got a few photos of the Skye Bridge. When everyone got back on the bus the driver kept saying “Oh Dear!”, like the comedian he later turned out to be.

What happened was a warning light had appeared on his dashboard when he tried to start the engine. His solution was the same as every driver; he switched the engine off but immediately turned it back on again. Now, even I knew that he should have counted to ten first before restarting. It’s all about allowing capacitors and other electrical devices to discharge and give the engine a chance to have a clean restart. Not surprisingly the warning light was still there, but he drove off anyway, possibly with his fingers crossed. Maybe he thought he could drive the almost forty miles with a wounded bus.

After a short time he realised this was beyond his skill set and stopped to phone for a mechanic. Meanwhile about a dozen folk were complaining that they needed to get to Uig a further twenty odd miles from Portree to catch the ferry to Harris. He did manage to get the bus to a carpark in Broadford and arranged for a minibus to take them to the ferry port, so maybe I shouldn’t be so down on him.

However, two more breakdowns later we ended up halfway up a hill in total darkness, miles from anywhere (there are no streetlights between villages in Skye). Another call to a mechanic and then the driver started telling stories to the folk left on the bus and carrying on a repartee with a Canadian(?) teacher(?). I think they thought they were entertaining, but they obviously weren’t looking at the faces of the folk on the bus. We were all just fed up by then. Fed up and sore too.

Eventually, Scamp cut into his flow of consciousness and asked how long we’d need to sit in the dark, because we had people waiting for us in Portree. He disappeared for a while and came back with a message from the mechanic to say that we should be on the road again in 20mins.

As it turned out, the mechanic was as good as his word and on the way we dropped off one lady at a different ferry taking her to Raasay. Thankfully Jackie and Murdo were waiting for us. They’d even got a Chinese carry-out for us all! That was very welcome. Our advertised seven hour journey took Nine hours

When we described the driver to Murdo, he just said “Oh! ‘Popeye’, that ***** idiot of a man.” Expletives deleted.

PoD went to the photo I’d taken in the ‘Blue Hour’ looking out from the slip at Kyle.

Is it significant that today was the 13th? Lucky white heather!

Tomorrow we are hoping to meet Grian.

Foggy – 12 November 2024

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A grey morning with mist and fog

I was off through the fog to the dentist in the morning. Just for a check-up, but I knew that I needed a filling and some work done on one of my front teeth. Too much to do in check-up time I have to go back … in January. That’s next year! At least the work was going to be done under NHS otherwise I’d be moaning about the cost as well as the wait. Thankfully the loose filling isn’t giving me any pain (touch wood) and it’s been loose since about January 2024, so no need for hurry! Drove home and the fog seemed to be lifting a bit.

We drove to M&S to get the makings of tonight’s dinner which was to be stir-fry. Then we went to Tesco for bread and milk and all the other stuff we couldn’t get in M&S.

After lunch I went for a walk in St Mo’s in the fog that was now descending again. PoD went to a photo of a bank of rushes with a tree almost fading into the background. I quite liked it. Lots of shots of desiccated cow parsley heads, bejewelled with strings of spiderwebs holding little raindrops. Very pretty and pretty cold too. Thank goodness for a down jacket.

Dinner tonight was Prawn Stir-Fry and even if I say so myself, it turned out really well.

We watched Bake Off and mourned the loss of another good baker and a great contestant. And now there were four! Next week is semi-finals week.

Tomorrow is to be foggy again and I’m sure I heard the weather man say it might be snowy next week. I’m not surprised!

Sunshine and flowers – 11 November 2024

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For once it wasn’t sunshine and Showers.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning. I think she liked the rhinoceros shoes that are destined for Grian. I did have a quick look, but no adult size shoes with attached sox could I find. The Van Gogh exhibition sounded amazing, Hazy.

As we were talking I was watching the light playing across the Alstrumeria cut flowers on a table in the living room. Once we’d finished our call with Hazy, I just had to take a couple of shots of them. Literally two shots was all I took, but the effect of that sunlight and shadows meant I didn’t need any more. Photo one got PoD.

I took the Down jacket out for another spin later. Just a walk down to the shops to get bread. It should have been bread and some cold sliced chicken for Scamp, but I completely forgot the chicken. It was one of those days when things went a bit wrong. Never mind Scamp I’ll bring some home tomorrow if I remember.

Dinner tonight was pasta all’Amatriciana. Pasta with tomato, onions, bacon and chilli flakes. I added some tomato concentrate to strengthen it and it worked very well. The simplest dishes are often the most difficult to make properly.

That was about it for the day. That bright sunlight in the morning sort of faded away in the afternoon and left us with the usual clouds.

Last week Scamp was at the dentist. Tomorrow it’s my turn. I know I need at least one filling. I’ll have to wait to find out what else she discovers!