Author: Zogman

Angelic Iris – 30 May 2026

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It was a dull day with the occasional showers.

We started clearing up the back bedroom under Scamp’s control. It’s amazing the number of things we ( that means I ) hold on to useless wee things that I hadn’t used in years, but that “Might come in useful some day”. I fought my corner well, but I had to agree that most of the things that went in the ’Skip bag’ were well past their usefulness.

The highlight of the day was a drive to The Cotton House in Longcroft. The food is usually good, but although Scamp’s Chicken Chow Mein was fine for her, my Kung Po Chicken was hotter than I expected. My fault, not there’s. I almost forgot the wee tubs of jelly beans that they serve when you are finished. I remember one of my pals just eating the whole tub of them once when we were there. I think I only got one. It’s those additional touches that make us go back there again and again. Overall a good meal. Just right for a Saturday afternoon.

We did a bit of chopping and pruning when we got back to the house and a fair amount of moving pots from front to back and vice versa. The occasional rain shower sent us looking for shelter, but we did get a lot done. Also, Scamp got a chance to try out her new water fountain in the garden.

I did manage to get an hour or so in the garden later in the afternoon and got a surprise, because the Yellow Iris flowers were in bloom. I grabbed a photo of one of them that looked quite like a little fairy. That was easily the PoD.

Tomorrow we’re expecting Jackie to arrive for a few days. I imagine it will be a talking shop, but will give the sisters a chance to go over recent events.

I may go for a walk, and I think I may be chef for the day.

Driving and Rain – 29 May 2026

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The Driving part was taking Shona home and the Rain was constant (and welcome) throughout the day.

We drove Shona home and then we headed east to Klondyke Garden Centre to get a pot to give the Acer a bit more space to expand into. It started out life with us as a small plant and has now started to grow as the years have gone by. In fact, it has grown so much it needs a bigger and more interesting pot than it has had for a while.

Klondyke is our go-to place to find new plants and accessories. Also, its cafe has improved greatly. Today’s offering was Mac ’n’ Cheese for Scamp and Gammon Steak and Two Eggs for me. It’s a long time since I’ve had such a good gammon steak. I hope we can go back some time soon. The only downside is the drive home. A 4pm drive through 40mph roadworks isn’t my idea of a day out. I don’t know what they are doing to the M80, but it’s not funny and not fun. So, the solution is clear Mr/Ms M8. Get your finger out and get it finished. We want decent roads.

We had driven through the rain to get to Klondyke and we were driving back home in the same weather, all as predicted by the weather fairies. Thankfully, as we reached Cumbersheugh, the rain abated slightly and we had a chance to shop in Tesco in the dry. Not totally dry, of course, but better than we’d had for the rest of the run.

A decent cup of coffee when we got home made it all worthwhile and we had a long discussion of what May had brought us. It wasn’t an inspiring month, but it did have a few highlights. Overall, I think we’ll be glad to see the back of it.

PoD today went to a grab shot from the garden centre. It took me a while to realise that what I was looking at was a Sedum. A pretty little collection of flowers.

We have no dance class tomorrow and hence, no great plans for the day!

Ladybird – 28 May 2026

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It was a cloudy morning but it did eventually clear to another bright day.

After we’d had lunch we went to pick up Shona and drove to the Co-op for her to see Paul. Such a busy place.

We all drove back to Tesco in the town centre and came back to the car with some stuff. Well, it was Thursday with all that entails and traditions have to be kept.

Back home I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got a few photos of an 18 spot ladybird that seemed to be reluctant to leave its perch on the wild flower it had found. It would open its wing covers and close them again as if it was practicing for flying off. That made PoD.

Shona was staying with us tonight, but she had left her washing out at her house, so she and Scamp went back to collect it. That left me some time to post the ladybird photo.

Dinner tonight was another of the large pizzas. A bit heavy, but decent enough and it filled a wee space as we say, with an ice lolly each to finish it off.

Although it will probably rain overnight or maybe tomorrow, we watered the garden tonight. We just used the watering can. One of us going clockwise and the other going anti-clockwise. I’m sure the plants will appreciate it.

No plans for tomorrow, but the weather fairies all agree that the temperature will have dropped and there will be the chance of rain.

More carpets, more cleaning – 27 May 2026

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Yesterday we started the big clean-up. Today we finished the ground floor.

We were a bit more organised today, dividing the work between us. Also we found some of the details in the cleaner itself and that made things a lot easier. Probably the toughest part was the hall, which hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. The last item on today’s list was the carpet in the kitchen. Neither of us can remember when it was last cleaned, so just for fun, I cleaned half of the carpet and admired the difference between the newly cleaned, wet part and the dry area. I wish, now, that I’d photographed the two halves, just for the record!

After lunch we admired our work then Scamp went out to cut the grass in the back garden, while I went for a walk in St Mo’s. There were a few more damselflies overflying the pond. A couple of Common Blue damsels and a lesser number of Large Reds. No dragonflies yet, but maybe I’m asking for too much. Maybe by mid June, all being well, we’ll see these aerial acrobats. For today I was happy enough to capture the Large Red as PoD.

When I came back we sat and read for an hour or so. Scamp had a Pimm’s and I had a can of Brewdog Black Heart stout. Unfortunately it will be the last from that company which has now gone into liquidation. A great loss. No more Elvis Juice either, for the same reason.

It was another lovely warm day, but the temperature is dropping. There is a cool west wind blowing as I’m writing this and tomorrow may be the last day of this warm spell. Rain predicted for the next week. I suppose it is a good thing, because we won’t need to water the plants if things go the way the weather fairies predict.

I think we may have some family business to deal with tomorrow.

Squeaky Clean – 26 May 2026

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Nothing to do with Peter Murrell, but everything to do with carpet cleaning.

Today we were going to actually use the carpet cleaner we bought about five months ago and never really got round to using. It really is a clever piece of kit that washes the carpet and sucks up the muck into a big box, conveniently transparent so you can marvel at the amount of dirty water coming out of a carpet. Today was a good day to do it, because the temperature was high, around 24ºc which would help to dry out the carpet properly. Only half the living room done today. Hopefully we’ll get round to the other half tomorrow.

Scamp started on cutting the front grass and it did look a lot better once she was finished. Once she was finished she brought out her folding seat and sat in the sun.Me? I drove over to Fannyside to see what I could find in the way of insect life.

At first glance there was very little going on, but I kept feeling that I was being watched and sure enough, on the edge of the Scots Pines were three wild looking sheep, the ones I’ve called “The Girls”. Their horns had grown since the last time I’d seen them and they did look fierce. Thankfully there was a sturdy wire fence between them and me. They stood watching for a while before they decided it just a bloke with a big black tube. “Nothing to see here. Move along”.

I was told that it would be a good idea to bring back some ice cream to go with dinner. M&S were completely empty of ice cream, but luckily Iceland had plenty. Dinner was mixed Pasta with Spinach and Tuna. The ice cream went down well after that.

We watched the first episode of Master Chef the Professionals with its usual numpties and experts and everything in between.

PoD went to “The Girls” as expected.

I think we’re going to be carpet cleaning tomorrow – hoping to finish the living room.

A scorcher! – 25 May 2026

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In the global stakes they don’t stand a chance, but today’s temperatures of 24ºc are impressive for Scotland.

We had a lazy start to the day, but we really must get some work done to the house. I thInk I need to sand down the back door and repaint it. The window sills also need a fresh coat of paint, front and back. The cupboard at the front of the house could do with a lick of paint too. I think that will be a good start. The carpets need to be cleaned and that seems to be where Scamp thinks we should start … hopefully tomorrow.

We watched a fairly interesting Canadian GP with a lot of mechanical failures catching drivers out. I almost felt sorry for George Russell. After his car ground to a halt at the side of the road, he threw his headrest away in disgust and that earned him an extra penalty! Not St George’s day. This new F1 rule book is catching a lot of drivers out and causing no end of misery for the ‘Old Team’. Good to see!

After the race was done, Scamp and I went for a walk down to the shops to get some essentials for lunch and for dinner later. That was when I began to feel the effect of the 24ºc and wondered how Hazy was surviving “Dahn Sarf”. Hope it wasn’t too hot for you.

After lunch and before dinner, we drove to the Town Centre for a sequence dance class. I can’t for the life of me remember its name, but we knew it well enough to dance the whole routine without listening to the teacher. That didn’t mean that we just ignored her, and we actually learned some of the finer details like the hold we should be using. Good work, Kirsty.

Back home there was just enough light to capture a bunch of Aquilegia flowers backlit by the sun. That made an easy PoD.

So tomorrow we’re intending getting the carpet cleaner out and do a ‘Scrub a dub dub’ on the living room carpet!

Sitting in the sun – 24 May 2026

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Scamp was out with Shona in the morning doing some shopping and I was off the leash for the day, or most of it at least!

We were running low on milk today and since Scamp and Shona had borrowed the car, I walked down to the shops. It was a warm day and I was regretting wearing a sweatshirt, even if it did describe perfectly the perspiration I was feeling. Back home I brought out one of the folding chairs and settled down to an hour’s reading of Brigands and Breadknives. It’s a bit strange reading ‘real’ books. They are great because the batteries never run down, but their downfall is that there is no light for reading at night. Life is full of these imperfections.

It was late morning before I realised I hadn’t had lunch, but as I wasn’t really hungry, a couple of slices of buttered bread sufficed. I’d found a couple of possible PoDs on my walk to the shops, but nothing I was totally sold on.

Scamp and Shona arrived in the late afternoon and Scamp suggested the Peony flowers in the living room might make a suitable subject and they did work. Half a dozen shots later I had my PoD.

While I was concentrating on the flowers, Scamp was making a stir-fry from some veg that was languishing in the fridge and a couple of chicken thighs. They filled the plates quite nicely.

Shona was going home to her house later with a couple of large bags containing today’s bargains from the shops. Just to be up sides with her, Scamp also managed to snag a dress and leggings. She also managed to get me a new pair of much needed jeans. So all of us were happy.

Spoke to Jamie and made final plans for their visit next month. Looking forward to that.

Tomorrow, for the first time in ages we really don’t have any plans!

Off to Brookfield for a dance class – 23May2026

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This may possibly be the last dance class for a whole month. The teachers are off on two different cruises. I won’t say I am disappointed, but I’m not.

We got a great surprise when we headed over to Brookfield and were allowed to travel faster than 40mph. The 40mph ban had been lifted and we were driving at normal motorway speeds. Even better, the roads were only partly full. We usually watch for one of the big ‘out of town’ parking areas to whizz past on the left, only half full. Today it was almost totally full. Finally we reached Brookfield, about fifteen minutes quicker than usual. That’s the difference the 40mph ban makes.

Today was a high energy dance class. It started with the Electric Slide which only about fifty percent of of the class seemed comfortable with. I was just lost – thinking it was The House of Bamboo with different music. Then we were into the ‘meat’ of today’s class with “Celia’s American Smooth Waltz”. Every time I start this dance, I think I’ve got it sorted in my head, then it falls to pieces. Today if took me a couple of rounds of the floor before I managed to join all the units together correctly.

A couple of sequence dances came next to give us a bit of relaxation, then it was time for another of Stewart and Jane’s less complicated dances and we finally ended up with another exhausting sequence dance that left most of the senior dancers gasping for breath.

We walked out of the hall into sunshine. It was such a beautiful day. We drove home in very light traffic for a Saturday. We even had enough time to go to M&S for some messages.

After lunch, Scamp wanted to work in the garden and I wanted to go out to St Mo’s in the hope of finding a damselfly ,,, and there it was, a Common Blue damselfly. It was very agitated and kept flying away. Eventually it settled down and I got a clear, if distant, view of the insect. The first damselfly this year for me! That became the PoD.

Tomorrow I have no plans.

Out to lunch today – 22 May 2026

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Investigating a restaurant in Paisley. Scamp had heard good reports from it.

It’s a complicated journey to Paisley from Cumbersheugh. Bus to Glasgow. The inevitable coffee in Nero and a walk through the streets, busy on a Friday morning. Then we needed tickets to take us on the train to Paisley. With tickets in our hands we just managed to get on to the train with seconds to spare. The train took us the four stops that we needed to get to Paisley Gilmour Street station and we walked into the sunshine of Paisley.

We did a quick wander round the shops in Paisley, just in case they had different shops that we have at home, and surprise, surprise they did have a dress the exact size for Scamp and another top that might just fit Shona. It looked like it was going to be a good day.

We were actually too early for lunch, but Scamp said she was sure they’d fit us in, and they did.

Scamp’s Lunch was: Cullen Skink Croquettes then Beer Battered Haddock washed down with a glass of red.

Mine was Crispy Chicken Tenders then Gourmet “Scampi” & Chips ( the Scampi was actually King Prawns, but it was clearly labelled as such, so no problems there) Also washed down with a glass of red!

To finish we had Vanilla Ice Cream with Homemade Tablet and Hot Caramel Sauce. Delicious.

We’ll be back!!

I had a view of Paisley Abbey and Scamp had a panoramic view of a wedding party walking into the restaurant in their finery.

We walked to the station and caught the train to Glasgow, then a coffee for me and a peppermint tea for Scamp before we got the bus home.

Quite a tiring day, I did over 11,000 steps and Scamp did a lot more.

PoD went to the Golden Torch Rhododendron that’s flowering in our garden.

I think we are possibly going to Brookfield for an hour and a half of dancing tomorrow.

Photobombed – 21 May 2026

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A lazy start to a day that seemed to be constantly threatening rain.

The result was that I didn’t do much, although I did plant out a couple of flowers that had come in a bundle of dried flowers for my birthday. Most of the flowers were desiccated and didn’t show any way of producing roots or leaves, but a couple of them did manage to produce a coil of roots, so I gave them a chance and potted them up. They are now soaking up water in the bird bath. I’m sure the birds won’t mind.

I went for a walk after lunch and was just lining up on a string of cygnets that have appeared in St Mo’s pond when I was photobombed by a couple of Mallards, one male and one female. It’s something to do with the time of year. Spring is busting out all over and that sort of thing. I kept the shot and liked the way all the birds and reflections lined up nicely. That became PoD.

Dinner tonight was half a home-made Quiche for Scamp. The second half of the quiche she’d made yesterday. My dinner was Mince ’n’ Tatties. Again it was half a dinner Scamp had made for my yesterday because I hadn’t told her I was dining out with Alex yesterday. I think it was probably better today.

We had a meeting with Shona and the Celebrant in the evening. The celebrant that Shona had chosen was the same one that spoke at her mother’s funeral and he was really good. I think we were all impressed with the way he collected information and collated it in such a way that you would have believed he knew the person he was talking about. After an hour or so he had all the information he needed, but told Shona that she could contact him at any time to add more information if she wanted.

When he left we sat with a cup of tea and talked with Shona for a while. I think we’re all feeling the pressure now, but Shona is feeling it more than most of us.

Thanks for your message Jamie. I’d forgotten about Val’s massive antenna.

Tomorrow we’re planning on going to Paisley for lunch.