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The Old Farm – 09 September 2026

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It’s actually an old ruined farm that gets more ruined every day.

Scamp was out in Glasgow with Shona. I stayed home to ‘get some work done’. As usual, the real work was put on the back burner and I got nothing practical done. However, I did manage to get out to Fannyside to take some photos. The lighting was good and the low sun helped. I was quite pleased with the result.

Not long afterwards I got a message from Scamp to say they were having coffee in Glasgow before they came home. I hadn’t realised time was getting on and drove over to Croy station to pick up the ladies. Dropped a message to Scamp to say that I was parked up at the station, only to find that it was the NEXT train they would be on, after me taking all the short cuts I could think of.

Today I was making dinner and it was to be Salmon with Pasta and Fresh Baby Spinach, but I dropped the pan that was holding the salmon and, of course it went over everything. I don’t think Scamp was very pleased.

Just one of those days.

Into the distance – 8 September 2026

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Tuesday morning and we were visiting Ninewells hospital in Dundee.

It was a sunny morning with a mist over the River Tay.

We took a taxi to the hospital where Scamp had an MRI and CT scan this took over an hour. Time for a quick coffee and then a meeting with the consultant and the surgeon.

Forty five minutes later we left with a positive state of mind.

A spot of lunch and the bus home.

Dundee Day one – 7 September 2026

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This afternoon we took the local bus to Cumbersheugh town centre and then picked up the Ember bus to Dundee.

We arrived in Dundee just as a downpour blew in over the river. Luckily we didn’t get too wet on our walk to our hotel for the night. Dinner was ok, just ok. Watery chilli with no heat in it. Actually the rice that accompanied it was the high point for me. Scamp had Fish ’n’ Chips which was much better than what I had.

We had been warned that there was a large group arriving in the evening, so we took the warning seriously. A bus load of people arrived just as we were leaving after our dinner. There were only two lifts in the hotel and one of them wasn’t working. You can imagine that we weren’t impressed. Heavens knows what the rest of the foreign visitors thought of this hotel.

I could list all the things that were wrong with the place, but I won’t. All I would say is that we aren’t going back.

It wasn’t Dundee’s finest hour.

Crocosmia and Coffee – 6 September 2026

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Not a very promising day for weather.

It felt like the rain was ready to start at any minute. I didn’t have much hope of getting out, but as usual, I live in hope.

Shona was staying with us for the weekend and it felt like she really needed the rest. While Scamp and I were up fairly early, she took almost the whole morning to break surface. We were agreed that she probably needed the rest.

I turned on the new coffee machine later in the morning and it performed exactly as Scamp and the bloke from JL had described it. In no time at all I was holding a full coffee cup of the dark strong flavoured liquid. Maybe just a little bit too strong flavoured if I’m being honest, but a few drops of water soon reduced the strength enough to give it a more pleasant taste. As Jamie says, it takes time to get it tasting the way you want it.

Later in the day and once Shona had returned from the Land of Nod, I went for a walk over to St Mo’s, still being careful not to wander into the greenery or the possibility of more biting insects. On the way back, I found another Painted Lady butterfly feeding on flowers in our garden. There had been a couple of cold snaps recently and I felt sure the delicate butterflies would have taken shelter, but there it was feeding on our flowers. A quick check with Google confirmed it was indeed a Painted Lady.

The butterfly didn’t stay long and was soon off on the wing again, but by then I had a new PoD and it was a Crocosmia flower growing against a wooden fence and showing off its orange and copper colours to all and sundry. That became PoD.

After Shona had left to go home, we spoke to Jamie and I thanked him for his helping me work out how to adjust the grind setting for the coffee I was using. Who knew how difficult it was to make delicate adjustments to coffee grinders. Good to know that someone is there at the other end of the phone to explain what went wrong a day or so ago. I’ve just opened a new bag of coffee which will need a different set of tweaks to get it to deliver the same taste and strength as the one I’ve just finished. It’s all highly technical, or maybe it’s just me who is a tech freak!

Hopefully we will be on our travels again next week sometime.

Out in Glasgow again – 5 September 2026

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This time I was looking for the bloke I spoke to about tuning the new coffee maker a week ago. Spoke to Jamie in the morning and he gave me a few pointers on using the coffee machine. That helped a lot, especially the settings for the grind size. Thanks J.

When I got to JL the salesman was nowhere to be found. I guessed that he was on his lunch break, so, instead we went for a walk up Sauchiehall Street and had a quick lunch in Waterstones. I was looking for a book, but nothing took my fancy. Eventually we walked back down the street to Buchanan Galleries and by then the bloke had returned from his lunch. He showed me how to correctly remove and replace the grinder. Another good help. While we were there, Scamp found an interesting serving plate that took her fancy and added it to her collection.

With my new knowledge, Scamp and I went for a walk down to see the changes that had been made to George Square. As I said to Scamp afterwards I wasn’t too disappointed by the changes that had been made to this old square in the centre of the city. They had placed trees round the perimeter of the square which was a start, but it would have been better to have some greenery too. Maybe that will come in the future. Very few of the statues had been replaced, probably to appease the more sensitive souls who would be easily offended.

We caught a train back to Cumbersheugh and picked up a couple of pizzas and a cake from M&S on our way home. Shona was doing an overnight with us tonight and we all watched a fairly lengthy tongue in cheek SF film, which Scamp enjoyed so much, she promptly booked the sequel for next week!

I applied the changes to the coffee maker that Jamie and the bloke from JL had suggested and it improved greatly. The dial is now rising to about halfway round the ‘clock face’ (you’ll understand that Jamie). I’ve probably missed out a few things, but it’s a work in progress, and the little things will iron themselves out over time. It does make good coffee!

PoD went to a bloke (a different one!) who was tuning and playing his banjo with all his accoutrements around him, including his dog (!) on Buchanan Street

No plans for tomorrow as yet.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Autumn – 4 September 2026

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The leaves are turning brown, there’s that Autumnal feel in the air and the temperature is dropping gently. Yes, it’s definitely beginning to look like Autumn

I forgot to mention that it was also pelting with rain when Scamp and I drove over to Falkirk to pick up a packet of Henry’s coffee. Not too bad a run there, but definitely not much fun on the way back.

Later in the day we drove to Tesco for a trolley full of the usual suspects. Just a few odds and ends of vegetables and some odds and ends. A bottle of plonk here and a bottle of whisky there. Just the usual.

After we got home and had lunch Scamp wanted to ‘Tidy up the kitchen’. I’ve heard those stories before. They usually end up with “Have you seen my X, Y and Z”? Today it was my headphones. I rarely go out without them and as usual it was my fault for not putting them where they should be. Today they were hiding behind the couch in the living room. I have no idea how or when they got there, but at least I found them. I’d be like a bear with a sore head if I couldn’t have ‘some music where ever I go’

I walked round St Mo’s pond today. After last month’s tick attack, I’m being ultra-careful. These little black beasties are a danger to life and limb. I wish there was some way of dealing with them that didn’t involve flattening them with a hammer. All things great and small is a nice thought, but it doesn’t apply to Ticks!

PoD today went to a branch of Sycamore ‘helicopters’, so called because when they drop from the branches, they twirl like little helicopters. When I got back Scamp had done an excellent job clearing some space for the new machine to take the place of the old coffee maker. After a bit of reading last night I started to understand how the new machine worked, or partly understood would be a better description. I think we may go to JL tomorrow to speak to the salesman there to get some answers to questions we’ve both been wondering about. How do you control this? How do you adjust that? I’m sure he’ll be glad to see the back of us by the time we’re finished!

So, maybe a trip to Glasgow tomorrow, and maybe Shona will be doing an overnight with us. We’ll see how things work out.

Walking through History – 3 September 2026

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I met Alex today and we drove over to Loudoun Hill in Ayrshire. After a couple of wrong turnings, we found the path that would take us to the car park that gives access to Loudoun Hill itself. The hill is the remains of a volcanic plug and stands proud over the landscape. We didn’t actually climb the hill today, but maybe on a better day and with frequent stops to take on water and any other liquid sustenance, we could probably make it to the top. On another day and we’d probably get back down again! It’s a conical walk I’m told that should take between an hour and an hour and a half to get to the top. Another day, then!

On our way back down the single-track road that leads to the main Ayr road, I suggested we stop at The Heron for lunch. Scamp and I had been there before and thought it a bit expensive and the clientele, a bit snooty. Today, when two scruffy looking customers came looking for food, I think they didn’t know what had hit them. We both settled on a Croque Monsieur topped with minced bacon, something I’d never seen before, but definitely something to try again.

We drove home via Strathaven (Pronounced Stray-ven) which was undergoing a fair bit or change as most of the local towns are with road works everywhere. I thought I could find the way back through a series of shortcuts, but as usual, the ’shortcuts’ turned out to be ‘long cuts’, but eventually we did find our way home.

I dropped Alex off at his house and we agreed a tentative suggestion of another meet-up in a couple of weeks, but we both knew that it was unlikely to be that easy. However, If you don’t make plans, you’re likely to end up taking one of those shortcuts that become long cuts.

Jamie, I drove in to Glasgow after I left Alex and collected a very large, very heavy box from John Lewis. It contained the bits and pieces that would turn into a ‘Sage Barista Express Impress’ coffee machine. The De’Longhi has served us well, but it’s probably time for a new one. We may need some assistance with the twiddly bits, but I’m sure you can work out what we’re doing wrong. If either you or Hazy have any suggestions, they will be gratefully accepted.

Today’s PoD was a shot looking through the Spirit Of Scotland Monument to Loudoun Hill in the distance.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to collect a bag of coffee

Freesia – 2 September 2026

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It was wet today.

Sometimes drizzle, sometimes heavy rain, but always wet. I couldn’t find a suitable subject, so instead I took a shot of these Freesia flowers with an out of focus background. It seemed to brighten up the day.

We drove to in the morning to find a new pair of dance shoes for Scamp. Actually she got two pairs. One pair sparkly silver and one pair bright red. I couldn’t find a pair for myself. The only pair I liked the look of were too narrow and I knew I’d end up going over on my ankle, so it looks as if I’ll have to resort to polishing up my Black ’n’ Whites for any ballroom dances. The lady in the shop told me she was expecting a new delivery of gents dance shoes later in September. I’ll see what she digs up. She is usually good at choosing mens shoes.

We drove home and I started looking at ‘New Toys’. One was on my list, but wasn’t available anywhere near me. I’ll keep looking just in case there are some cut price goodies near me to whet my appetite.

Dinner tonight was Fish Risotto and although I thought it was a bit wet, Scamp seemed to think it was excellent. I think she is just buttering me up because there may be another pair of dance shoes she has her eye on.

We watched “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” after dinner. We had seen it before, but it was just as good the second time around. The only problem with it was the amount of adverts that cut across the storyline and broke our concentration.

I’m supposed to be going out with Alex tomorrow because we thought Thursday was going to be the best day of the week. It doesn’t look much like it now, especially after a really heavy rain shower earlier in the evening. We’ll just have to grin and bear it tomorrow and maybe find somewhere interesting to go for lunch.

So, hopefully a run in the country for us. Not quite sure what Scamp is doing.

Flowers in the rain – 1 September 2026

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It was one of those days when it rains almost all day.

Last night Scamp admitted that she’d been having toothache. It was coming from a big molar. She’d had pain from it before, but this time it was more severe and it wasn’t going away. She had taken Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Both worked to a degree, but when the pain returned this morning she phoned the dentist who very kindly fitted her in to her busy schedule in the afternoon. I drove her over to the the dentist, dropped her off and waited. That’s when the rain started. Some torrential rain and some, just wet and noisy, rattling on the car’s roof. Just over half an hour later she got her wish and the big old molar was gone. She seems ok now. The pain has gone and the swelling has gone too. I hope the fairies leave her a present for being a brave girl.

Afterwards, I was making a late lunch in the afternoon. Scamp didn’t really want anything to eat, but then she decided that she could manage a mashed up banana because it was soft and easily swallowed. That seemed to help settle things too.

The post came late today and the postman brought the details for our visit to Dundee along with his usual collection of junk mail. So now we can see where we are going and who we’re going to see. We still don’t know how long we’re going to be there, but hopefully we’ll have more information once we’ve spoken to the doctor and the surgeon.

Today’s PoD was twin Japanese Anemone flowers taken in a grab shot in one of the dry spells in the garden.

It’s been a busy and exciting day, all things considered. Hopefully things will calm down for a bit now.

The Butterflies Return – 31 August 2026

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It was a blustery and breezy day today, but it didn’t dissuade the butterflies or the bees.

Our Buddleia bush has lost all its flowers this month. Not surprising really, given the number of bees and butterflies that have visited it. I thought they were gone for good, but then this morning, not one, but two butterflies were visiting our smaller white buddleia. One was a Small Tortoiseshell and the other was a Peacock. They stayed for most of the day and the gusty breeze didn’t seem to upset them.

I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be good if our esteemed leaders could behave like the butterflies and just simply get on with things instead of all the posturing and back biting they usually exhibit.

Other than photographing the butterflies, I didn’t do much. I did take a camera for a walk over to the shops, but couldn’t find what I was looking for and came home empty handed.

Scamp used the day to thin out some of the compost we’ve gathered this summer. It will stand us in good stead for winter planting once it dries out, all being well.

I worked in the morning to clear out some of the unmarked photos from August and hopefully tomorrow I’ll dispose of the ones that failed to get a Red or Yellow marker. That should clear out some of the ‘dead wood’.

August is a month I’ll be glad to see the back of. So many mistakes and problems with fitting the subjects and details into the catalogs. I think I need to use a much clearer way of organising the photos.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp may be looking for an appointment at the dentist to have a look at a tooth that’s become painful, just recently.