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Boxing Day – 26 December 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Thankfully no boxes were found on this cold day.

Not a lot to say about the day, other than the sun came out to play for a very short time. I did get a few photos over in St Mo’s, mainly with the Lensbaby with a Sweet 35 lens. I wasn’t altogether happy with the results, but I really needed better lighting to make the most of this curious lens. Maybe tomorrow.

I’d promised to make a loaf yesterday, but I forgot. I did come good on my promise today, but the first attempt was a bit of a disaster. The second try produced a loaf that was edible, but only if you were desperate. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll manage the ‘Goldilocks’ loaf (not too soft, not too hard, Just Right).

Dinner tonight was chicken soup. That means it was yesterday’s chicken used to bolster today’s vegetable soup and despite Scamp’s complaints about it needing something to strengthen the flavour, I found it really good. Lots more for tomorrow in the pot, so plenty of time to improve the texture and taste.

PoD went to a close up of a cow parsley reduced to the claws of the plant. No seeds or seedpods left, the birds must have been needing the extra feeding the seeds provide.

We watched White Christmas. Some amazing dancing in a film that had quite a few old stars in it some of whom were singing about Dreaming of a White Christmas that was a possibility in the days when it was filmed, but which doesn’t seem to be likely this year. A feel-good film. We also watched a Paddington film we’ve seen again.

Hoping to get out somewhere tomorrow, even if it has to be on the bus.

Christmas – 25 December 2025

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A chance to catch up with friends and family.

It was just the two of us this year, but with Jamie and Hazy setting things up we had a three way connection over WhatsApp. One pair in Trinidad, one pair in London and one pair in Scotland. We had a good half hour or so chatting away to each other, then it was time to say goodbyes and sign out. Isn’t technology wonderful when it works.

It was still dry at home, so we went for a fairly long walk round Broadwood Loch, but Scamp didn’t have boots with her, so it was the shorter walk rather than the longer version she would have preferred. I got a few photos, but not very many. It wasn’t really cold out, but not very welcoming either with a damp feeling in the air. We passed a few folk out walking and exchanged the usual “Merry Christmas” greetings.

Back home, lunch was Scrambled Eggs on Toast with Smoked Salmon. A posh lunch for a special day. Later in the afternoon and while the chicken was roasting in the oven, I took two cameras out for a walk in St Mo’s. Why two cameras? I have no idea. I looked in my bag and there were two cameras there and it seemed a shame not to take both.

I got a few photos, but the light was poor. Then as I was walking round the pond the sun shone for a few minutes and I got the shot I was hoping for with the light just touching the tops of the reeds. One in the bag and a keeper to boot!. The rest of the walk was less productive because by that time the sun had sunk below the treelike and darkness wouldn’t be far away.

By the time I got back to the house, cooking was in full swing. I’d completely forgotten that I was to bake bread today and the chicken was still in the oven, so regretfully I left the loaf until tomorrow.

The chicken when it came out from its tinfoil cover smelled exactly like a chicken should, but had to wait another half hour before Scamp would deem it safe to eat.

So, Starter was fresh Prawn Cocktail followed by Breast of Chicken for Scamp and a portion of breast for me with a Drumstick as well. Both were served with Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts and Buttered Carrots. Dessert was a lovely trifle.

We watched a silly little Sewing Bee spin off. Nothing worth watching. Then the final, final of Strictly which I didn’t watch because I was working on today’s PoD. Any excuse to avoid the nonsense.

No plans for tomorrow. Maybe another walk if the weather holds, but nothing grand. Boxing Day is another day for relaxation.

Relaxing Day – 24 December 2025

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A much more relaxing day after yesterday’s busy, busy.

Blue skies and sunshine greeted us this morning. Up fairly early, but didn’t go out until the sun had warmed the garden a bit.

Just about lunch time we went for a walk to the shops to get some things for Scamp to make a trifle, plus odds and ends we’d forgotten. M&S was really quite busy, but they’s put some thought into laying out their aisles a bit more sensibly, allowing more people to get to the checkouts, except this was Cumbersheugh and too many people looked at the people manning the empty tills and looked away again. What’s the use of having a cleverly planned set of aisles when the shoppers are too stupid to use them. They just follow the person like cattle.
Rant over.

We walked back up to the house and I went for a walk in St Mo’s. The bright sun was really too low to get decent lighting, but I did find one or two shots worth taking. PoD went to a thorny wild rose stem.

Not long after I’d returned, Scamp was complaining that she didn’t have the tinned fruit she thought she had, so I volunteered to go get some from the wee local shop. I even found they sold ready made and measured do it yourself trifle kits, so I got one of them as well as a tin of mixed fruit. I took a camera with me, but didn’t take anything with it.

Dinner was Fish Risotto and for dessert we had the remaining Pastéis de Nata, one each. These ones were Bramley Apple flavour. Expensive, but delicious.

We watched another Christmas Mastermind and then the 1946 It’s a Wonderful Life. I’d never seen it before and neither had Scamp. Absolutely brilliant.

Still a few things to do tonight, but I’m running late and need to get to bed before Santa does his rounds. Hope you all have a great Christmas and look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow, all being well.

Out on the town – 23 December 2025

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Just me and a camera. Scamp wasn’t invited. This was a man’s Christmas Shopping expedition.

Actually, it was a bit early for Christmas shopping, if I’m truthful. Usually I try to get all my prezzies organised and bought by the end of play on the 24th, and today was only the 23rd. But, let’s not quibble about a day, I was in shopping mode.

First I dropped in at the Apple shop, trying to find out why I couldn’t get the same controls on my iMac that I have on my MBP. It was while I was explaining the problem with a Genius that I realised my mistake. It wasn’t an Apple problem, it was a Lightroom one. Apple and Adobe are two different companies and I was trying to cure an Adobe problem by talking to an Apple person. He did offer a solution which went part way to become the answer, but emphasised that he was speaking as an Apple authority, not an Adobe rep. I thanked him and left before I made any more foolish mistakes.

I walked back down Buchanan Street going over and over what he said and taking a few photos too. PoD went to the Balloon Man who stands at the corner of Buchanan Street and Gordon Street, twisting and turning balloons into squeaky shapes that balloons aren’t really meant to be twisted into. It’s only when you examine his twists and turns, you realise what he’s doing and the shape suddenly changes from a saggy balloon into a Mickey Mouse or a Bow and Arrow. The best thing about him is that he never speaks to the adults, only the kids. They love him and listen intently to his stories. Clever guy!

I wandered further down Buchanan Street, but the light was getting poor, so I headed back up and made the daft decision to get the subway out to Byres Road to buy another box of Pastéis de Nata for Scamp and me to share. Well, I had lots of time, and could afford to be daft. I was standing right outside the entrance to the underground, so went in and I got a return ticket. About twenty minutes later, I emerged from the same entrance with my yellow box of little pies. On the way I picked up the last of my Christmas Presents and headed for the bus. I loaded my phone with some new music and relaxed into the music, gazing at the darkening sky as the bus took me home.

Back home, Scamp suggested I use up a couple of egg yolks to make Pasta Carbonara. It’s ages since I last made it and I think I made a good fist of it, although I must admit it wasn’t my best, but practise will help there.

We watched a couple of Christmas University Challenge programs. One fairly up to date, presented by Amol Rajan and another a bit older, chaired by Jeremy Paxman. Two totally different approaches to the same quiz.

We got some photos from Jamie and Simonne from Trinidad. It looks lovely, even if Jamie was bitten a fair bit by midges!

That was about it for the day. Dinner was good. Pastéis de Nata were good. What’s not to like

Hopefully tomorrow will consist of wrapping prezzies and tidying. Wrapping can be fun, but tidying? Maybe not so much!

Shopping and Fruit Flies – 22 December 2025

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Out this morning for a bit of shopping. At least, shopping for Scamp.

I dropped Scamp off at Tesco and headed for somewhere that would be redacted if I’d posted it here, so must remain a secret. Unfortunately I didn’t find what I was looking for, so drove back, picked up Scamp with the ‘messages’ and we drove home for lunch.

Thankfully we got parked fairly easily. The parking in our street is a bit hit or miss at times. Today was one of those strange days when there were lots of spaces when we left, but only one when we returned from Tesco. Parked the car and left it there for the rest of the day.

After lunch which was roasted cheese on white bread, with dried basil sprinkled over the melting cheese(try it sometime. Cinnamon sprinkles work too). I went for a walk over to St Mo’s. It’s a strange looking pond now that the water level has dropped by about 75mm. Also, the pond weed is much thicker than it should be at this time of the year.

Today’s walk took me over behind St Mo’s school (all the kids are on holiday) then out into the woods where I found today’s PoD which is Amber Jelly Fungus on some winter trees. Odd looking fungi whose colour does look like amber. I also got a couple of nice cloud photos that I must plumb into Photoshop to be a home made cloudscape background.

Dinner was Sea Bream with Potatoes and although the fish was quite small and thin, was delicious. Scamp wasn’t so complimentary.

We’ve been pestered by tiny little fruit flies in the house. We can’t find out where they are coming from, but I’ve found a way of getting rid of them. Scamp has been experimenting with little jars of Apple Cider Vinegar with a drop of washing up liquid to reduce the surface tension. The top of the jar is covered with cling film with holes punched in the top. The flies are attracted by the smell of the cider vinegar and crawl down through the holes then fall into the liquid and drown due to the reduced surface tension. It works, but takes quite a lot of time.

I’ve chosen to use my battery powered tennis bat You may remember Jaime having one in Trinidad. It makes a lovely crack as it despatches the flies. Other than that, we didn’t do much today.

Tomorrow I may get the bus in to Glasgow to get the final prezzy that I’d hoped to get today.

The Winter Solstice – 21 December 2025

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The sun will shine twice as bright tomorrow.

Nobody was moving outside today. No cars seemed to move, including our’s, for the entire day. Even Laura Kuenssberg took the day off. Just a lazy Sunday.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s during the afternoon, but didn’t find much. I chopped up some soft apples and left them for the birds. I eventually settled on a photo of some thorns and seed heads on a gorse bush to be PoD and prepare us for the beginning of lighter and longer days to come. I was only out for about an hour and a half. I suppose I could have stayed until 3.03pm to complete the worship of the coming of the longer days, but I was feeling the cold and to be honest a warm house was more enticing than a Solstice.

Annette came to visit not long after I arrived back. A surprise visit that delighted Scamp. Not wishing to get in the way, I took myself upstairs to read a couple of articles about the new camera and its complicated adjustment system. Eventually I decided it wasn’t worth the effort and set everything back to the way it was. One day I’ll work it out. Annette had been on a flight to Miami, but wasn’t really impressed with it,

It was Charlie Bigham’s Roasted Veg Lasagne for dinner tonight and it was well worth waiting the 40 minutes cooking time for it to be ready to eat. Mince pies and custard for dessert was ok, just ok, although Scamp thought it was lovely.

We watched the Royal Variety Performance which was an hour and a bit of my life I won’t get back again. Camera work was awful as were most of the acts. The exception was a Japanese dance group, Airfootworks. Fantastic!

Tomorrow Scamp needs to pick up her meds and I may go for a drive later.

 

A trip to Glasgow – 20 December 2025

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Today we went for a trip in to Glasgow, for no reason. Sometimes that’s the best reason.

We took the bus in to Glasgow. We were half looking for a small, under-the-counter freezer to give more storage. We already have an old unused freezer that is really on its last legs, so a new one would be worthwhile getting. We saw two in John Lewis. Just two. One of which was an ‘integrated’ model. It wouldn’t have been our first choice, but it would work quite well in the space we have. It’s on our list now. Hoping it will reduce in price after Christmas.

We also looked for a new Dyson lightweight floor sweeper (careful not to call it a Hoover!) We saw a few and I think Scamp will make the decision on which would be best.

After our wander through what JL had in the utilities, we walked down to Nero for a coffee and to plan what to do with the day. We decided to get the underground to Byres Road in the West End of the city.

We walked down Buchanan Street and listened to a Salvation Army band playing Christmas Carols. Scamp gave them a few pounds and I took some photos. One of them became the PoD.

We crossed the road and walked through the Argyle Arcade with its myriad jewellery shops and expensive prices … but didn’t buy anything. Instead, Scamp wanted to look in a shop in St Enoch’s Square, a ladies shop with lots of dresses. She found one which she liked and I’m sure she’ll send you photos of it if you ask her nicely, Hazy.

Next stop was the underground just in time to catch the train to Byres Road, where we bought some veg and fish in Waitrose. Some of the purchases might end up in tomorrow’s dinner. Across Great Western Road is the Glasgow Botanic Gardens I’d hoped it might have been dressed up for Christmas, but it wasn’t. However I did see some Pitcher Plants. We had some in the garden a couple of years ago until a dry spell killed them off. I think I’ll get more in the spring, all being well.

Oran Mor is a pub/restaurant that’s just across the street, so we went there for a drink that turned into a lunch. Scamp had Fish ’n’ Chips with a glass of red and I had a lovely Feather Blade of Beef with mixed veg and potatoes washed down with a pint of beer.

We walked back and picked up four Pastéis de Nata on the way to the underground, only to find there was a problem with one train and about a million folk on the platform for the other one. We didn’t have a choice and managed to squeeze on to the next stop where we got off and walked down to Kelvin Hall where we caught a number 77 bus which took us right to the Buchanan Street bus station. (Alex had shown me that trick a couple of years ago). We just missed the bus home by seconds, but hadn’t long to wait for the next one.

Back home we watched the final of Strictly and were surprised at the person who won!

Tomorrow we may have a relaxing day … hopefully!

A long lie in – 19 December 2025

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Maybe too long a lie in this morning. 9am had come and gone before we woke up properly. Must be the time of the year.

Yes, getting up at 8.30am feels like the middle of the night, and by 3.30pm it feels like it’s evening. So, effectively we have less than six hours of daylight at this time of year and that is without adding in the light loss from cloudy skies and rain. I can’t wait for Sunday 21st December, the Winter Solstice, after which the days get lighter and longer. At least they do in Scotland, anyway.

Eventually we dragged ourselves out to do some shopping. Nothing elaborate, just a drive up the road to Tesco to buy a few essentials and a lot of non-essentials, but ones that we’re hoping will brighten our Christmas season.

Parking is becoming a problem in our estate. None of the houses have off road parking and today it took an hour or so to get parked near the house. One of the problems is a neighbour who has a big mobile home. Badly named, because it’s only mobile for about three weeks a year. The rest of the time it just rusts away, blocking off about three spaces instead of one. Others are even more careless, parking where they like and taking up three space instead of two. Some folk don’t think. Anyway, I did finally manage to get parked.

Right, that’s most of the moaning done. After shopping, the sun came out and I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Just a walk round the pond, then on to the path behind St Mo’s School, then back by a circuitous route back home. I managed to get a couple of photos that I liked. One was off Cleavers which we would call Sticky Willies. Little balls of seeds that have hooked claws that catch on to animals and humans and that’s what spreads the seeds. The winner, and PoD was an old piece of farming mechanism that was probably used to dig out potatoes, but which is now a collection of iron and steel for kids to play on.

We watched the Portrait Artist of the Year final, where the winner of all the heats gets to paint a famous person. The winner in question was Chloe Barns who after a few changes, finally produced a painting of Professor Hannah Fry. That won her a £10,000 prize. In the last couple of years the overall winners have not been stellar in my opinion, nor in others I have spoken to.

Tomorrow we may have a wander round Glasgow as today’s walk was a washout. Hoping for better weather tomorrow.

Dancin’ – 18 December 2025

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The Last Dance.

The final dance class of the year no matter what dance class you are in. How will we survive for three weeks without a Chassis or a Spin Turn? Maybe we’ll just have to talk to each other.

I was out fairly early this morning going for petrol to make sure we’d have enough to get us to Glenburn and back again. Thankfully almost all of the petrol machines were working which is a change for Tesco. I had a wander round the Tesco shop too, but didn’t find anything interesting, so I just came home again.

I struggled through Wordle and Strands, then flung a few, almost random suggestions into Connections and lo and behold, I got all four groups correct. Even the Mini crossword was solved in double quick time with a little help from Scamp on a musical question. Not bad though for a bear with a sore head, because I wasn’t at my best today for no reason.

Soon it was time to get dressed for the last Tea Dance of the year. We drove over to Glenburn and danced almost all of the ballroom and sequence dances that were on Stewart’s list. I actually enjoyed the whole afternoon and we stayed just a little bit longer than usual and danced to the end of the class.

We usually leave the class about half an hour before the hall closes, and now I know why. Long lines of cars where there are usually three or four on a bad day. Today we were crawling up to the nightmare roundabout that just seems to hold everyone back. We finally arrived home after about an hour. Much later than we usually are. I think it was partly due to the rain and driving in the darkness, but maybe some folk were leaving work early, it being nearly Christmas. Whatever, that extra half hour made all the difference between a fairly easy drive and a drudge.

Dinner tonight was Bacon, Potatoes and Cabbage. Actually it was Cavolo Nero rather than cabbage. I think I prefer cabbage. Still, Scamp had fried the streaky bacon until it was crisp and lovely. Probably not good for you, but very crunchy!

PoD was the third indoor photo for December and was the Fairy on the Tree. We think the fairy is about fifty years old. It’s quite amazing to look back at how the world was then. We didn’t have a car. No Internet. No colour TV, but we did have our own house. It was a different world then, but just the same too.

Tomorrow, Scamp wants a walk around Glasgow. Not looking for anything special, just stravaiging.

Wet, wet, wet – 17 December 2025

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Not the group, just the weather forecast. It rained all the day I think. What a change from yesterday.

In the morning, Hazy phoned to ask if we were free for a chat, and we were. It gave us a chance to pause in our attempts to put parcels into a box that was never made for them. We seemed to be getting nowhere, and a wee blether with Hazy helped clear our heads. We heard about Neil changing has church, I don’t think he’d been happy with the other one for a long time. It must be strange to be a parishioner for a change. I hope he enjoys his time in the new church. Hazy has given me a couple of new books to have a look at. I’ll have a look at them this week, H. Scamp and Hazy discussed the online meeting she is booked for in the new year with the group in Dundee.
In general, it was a very good catch-up today.

We went back to our parcel packing refreshed, and I volunteered to drive up to Tesco to get a sensibly sized sealable plastic bag that would hold the parcels, but one that wouldn’t need miles and miles of Sellotape to secure it. Tesco didn’t have any, but thankfully Home Bargains came to the rescue with an A4 sized bag. The Goldilocks solution: Not too big. Not too small. Just Right! Drove home through more torrential rain. While I was in Tesco I managed to dive into Boots and explain that I was running low on eye drops and was told they will be in with my January meds. That was all I wanted to know.

Then after lunch I walked over to St Mo’s through the quagmire the builders have made of what was a fairly tidy path over to Condorrat. Now the green grass is a brown/grey slippery mudhole. They are supposed to be putting up new lighting standards to replace the old ones. With the amount of slurry that’s been dug up, scraped up and spread everywhere, it will be a miracle if the lights don’t fuse the first time they’re switched on. Got the parcel sorted and posted and was heading home when the rain came on again, heavier this time, if that was possible. Now I have three jackets drip drying in the boiler cupboard. At least they should dry quite quickly there.

Scamp was putting marzipan on the Christmas cakes, plural, in the afternoon, because we will hopefully start on the first one on Christmas Day, but keep the other one, because Scamp says they will keep for some time. Not if I get my hands on them first!!

Dinner was a variation on Tuna Pasta. Again it came from ’Home at 7 Dinner at 8’. Some strange combinations in that book. I’d never have thought of cooking the pasta with Balsamic Vinegar and definitely not with added sugar! But it worked. I wonder what we’ll make next.

PoD was another Christmas tradition. This time it was ‘Fairy Nuff’ the slightly aloof bear that sits on the front of the tree. As you can see, she takes her position very seriously.

If you’re reading this Jamie, hope and Simonne are enjoying the weather!!

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go to the last Tea Dance of the year in Glenburn, just outside Paisley. I hope it’s a lot dryer than it was today.