My Photo Blog

Another Wet One – 4 July 2016

Posted on July 4, 2016July 4, 2016 by Zogman

Wet from start to finish today, but stuck to my guns and went out in the rain to capture something of the essence of the day. There were quite a lot of people about given the weather conditions. I felt sorry for the poor wee man sitting fishing under his umbrella. I hope he caught something – not the cold though! My cold has lifted thank goodness. Scamp is still coughing, but I think she is on the mend now.

It would be nice to say that these were all as they came out of the camera, but as usual, some ‘shopping’ was necessary.
The man with the dog for example:
When I got the base photo, the dog was off investigating an interesting scent in the woods, so I had to wait until it surfaced again, but then the man was facing me and had lost his hunched shoulders pose that really summed up the rainy day. No problem, I cut out the dog and added it to the original base photo, then blended it in with a vector mask. Although I knew it was raining heavily at the time, the photo didn’t show it, so I added some rain as a layer and changed the layer type to Lighten and it looked so much better. If you can’t see those carefully crafted raindrops, check out the version on Flickr 😉 EDIT! Well, you will when Flickr remembers how to upload files. What’s the point of having all these bells and whistles when the basic system doesn’t work. For Flickr read Fuckr.

Had coffee with Val in the middle of the day and enjoyed the chat. It’s always good to see old friends you haven’t met with for a long time. Had a long discussion about computers and programs. Picked up a few tips on new apps to try, both on the PC and on the Mac.

Dinner was a bit rushed as I decided at the last minute to go to salsa after all and with Scamp’s blessing. I knew that Jamie Gal wouldn’t be hosting tonight’s session, and was hoping it wasn’t Colin but dreading it might be Shannon although there is one worse than that. Surely she wouldn’t inflict him on an advanced class. Keep him for the beginners. It turned out to be Will who taught a good class very clear instruction and a great deal of humour. Total enjoyment for the full hour, 9/10 Will.

Driving home, I thought I might attempt Charing Cross Mansions as a sketching objective some time. One of the prettier architectural frontages of Glasgow. I would need a dry day for that, and the weather forecast doesn’t seem to include one of those for the foreseeable future.

More than halfway – 3 July 2016

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Zogman

I hadn’t noticed it, but on Friday we reached the halfway point on this year’s 366. So that means we are on the home stretch, doesn’t it? Should be easy from here on in. It never is though and just at present I’m going through the doldrums with no great interest in taking photos. Maybe it’s the feast of photos I took on holiday last month that’s to blame. 1115 photos in total for June, 936 of which were taken on our fortnight cruise in the Mediterranean. I need some more inspiration, but the weather has been poor for the last couple of weeks and that’s partly the cause, but it’s not the whole story. I just need to apply myself to the task and get on with it. I’ll start tomorrow. I should start today, but this is the weekend and I’m too lazy to do anything much now. That’s the problem. Procrastination. Tomorrow I must get off my backside and take some meaningful photos. Otherwise the 366 becomes a joke. Just a couple of grab shots of flowers to mark the PoD isn’t what I started 365s (or 366s) for. The shots have to be meaningful and be much better quality than I’ve been producing of late. Halfway through a 366 is a good place to start raising the standard.

Today we didn’t do much of note apart from go to the Sunday Social in the afternoon to see just how far we could push Scamp’s shoulder before it became painful. The answer was that we could actually get quite a lot of moves done. Much more than I thought we could. I don’t think she’s quite ready to go back to class yet, and as Jamie Gal is off in London this week, it’s probably best not to return to classes until next Monday. That’s not procrastination, that’s simple common sense. I’m not sure Scamp agrees totally with the logic, but I don’t think she’s quite ready for the speed of a class rueda yet.

I had one of the dinosaur bones from Chapmans in Baldock for dinner tonight, well, I had half a bone (actually a short rib) the other half will either be a large lunch tomorrow or dinner tomorrow night. I’d forgotten just how good they are. Forty-five minutes in the oven at gas 6 covered in tinfoil and it comes out a treat. Thank you JIC for introducing me to this culinary delight.

Anyway, it’s flooers again tonight with a half hearted attempt at patterns with some strawberries. Not exactly award winning stuff.

Looking for that second chance called Tomorrow

A Lost Day – 2 July 2016

Posted on July 2, 2016July 3, 2016 by Zogman

I spent most of the day in bed. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think it might have broken the back of this cold. Last night, I was dead on my feet by the time I went to bed, and this morning was a lost cause.

Scamp drove us in to Robroyston and a cup of coffee helped me on my way to fitness. Didn’t manage to get out for any photos, so todays shots were taken in a rush through the kitchen window, but they are Pictures of the Day and therefore count.

Tonight we went to friends in Hamilton and had some lovely food, including a Tiramisu which almost equalled Scamps. I never thought I’d say that. Maybe that will encourage her to up her game. Only kidding Scamp!

Looking like a better day weather-wise tomorrow. Hope it is because Scamp needs some good weather to brighten her day and wipe out her cold.

Cold Friday – 1 July 2016

Posted on July 1, 2016July 2, 2016 by Zogman

Two weeks ago we were in sunny Ajaccio. Today we’re in Cold Cumbersheugh with the cold. Scamp threw out some bread for the birds and the birds came in a variety of sizes and types. After I’d chased the seagulls (AKA Shitehawks) the rest of the birds descended. Only the jackdaws seemed to hang back, which is strange for a member of the crow family. Usually they are almost as bad as the shitehawks. I did get a few decent shots of the jackdaw.

I went for a walk later in the afternoon and while I was walking through St Mo’s wood, I almost tramped on a wee bird. It was sitting on a branch in the long grass and looked as if it was completely lost. I did think of lifting it up into one of the trees, but the golden rule with wildlife which looks lost is don’t touch. Mum and dad birdie will be watching from the safety of the trees and if you disturb the youngster, they might just abandon it. Best to leave it to its fate.

Tonight I feel worse than I did this morning. The only good news is that Wales are into the next round of the Euros. It’s not that I’m interested in football or even that I support Wales. I just cheer for any team that plays England. Even better if, like Wales, they beat England, whatever the game.

Tonight Michael Gove announced his intention of standing for PM. Who could voter for such a Spitting Image puppet. He says he was born in Scotland. He wasn’t, he was born in Embra. Embra isn’t in Scotland, it’s in Embra.

Off to bed now, doped up with paracetamol and Benylin. Feeling shivery tonight. I even put the heating on! Hope July warms up a bit.

Perf – 30 June 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Zogman

We were off to Perf today, mainly to get some coffee and tea, but also to take our colds out for a run in the country and possibly to share them with the posh Perf people (intentional alliteration). It turned out a pleasant day. Not totally dry. It rained for a while during our journey and also just for a short time while we were in the Fair City.

We used to go to Perf (ok, it’s real name is Perth, but I prefer Perf and it’s my blog, so live with it). We used to go to Perf to eat in Cafe Tabou which was a really innovative and slightly expensive French restaurant. Not its become a quite expensive and slightly innovative restaurant that still produces French food, but cooked by a very good Polish chef. The big failure for us is that the menu, which used to change every month, now stays the same and the intention seems to be to change it only four times a year. Admittedly they still have a Plat de Jour and a Poisson de Jour, but the choice isn’t there anymore, so that is why we didn’t dine there today.

I did get my coffee and tea in The Bean Shop. I’ve been going to this shop for years and the quality and taste of their coffee and tea never changes. I always buy beans now as JIC gave me a grinder last year and it produces the same grind time after time.

On the way home I took a side road to grab a shot of the corn field and the big daisies probably Marguerites, but always called Big Daisies by my mum. After I took the shots, I wished I’d brought a tripod to get some movement in the flowers and corn stalks. Maybe next time.

Tradition – 29 June 2016

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Zogman

A 7.30am start to take my car to Tadstar to get new rear brake disks and pads fitted. As an added extra, Renault supply the disks with with wheel bearings. They don’t do it for free of course. £70 a pop plus VAT and you need to fit them in pairs. All up, counting disks, pads and fitting, I got a quid’s change from £300. I suppose I could have got it a bit cheaper, but it’s brakes, you don’t cut corners with brakes.

Waiting for the car to be ready meant we had the rest of the day to play with and it was threatening to rain. Well, it was the end of the school year and we all know it rains in the afternoon of that day. It’s traditional. After we had breakfast, we went to the gym, or to be exact, the pool to pretend we were still on the ship in the warm waters of the Mediterranean. The pool was almost full, penshies everywhere. Luckily the steam room was empty. Ideal for me to help shake off the cold that’s hanging on me and for Scamp to rid herself of the last vestiges of hers. After a couple of sessions in the steam room, the pool got a bit emptier and I did manage a few lengths before more of the grey hairs waddled into the water. Heavens, there was even one codger wandering around with a zimmer frame! Aargh! I thought I was back on a P&O ship again. I’d had enough. One more soak in the steam room and it was time to go.

By the time we got back, the schools were out, the holidays had started and it was raining. From simple ‘raining’ someone turned it up a few notches to ‘hammering down’ and it stayed there for a few minutes before returning to ‘raining’, but you could tell it was on for the day. Sorry boys and girls, but it is traditional.

Got the car back about 4pm and after signing away or keying away the £299, I took a walk through St Mo’s, a wet St Mo’s. Didn’t get much, the light was so low, it’s a wonder I got anything at all. Took the Nikon for a change and I’m glad I did. One thing the Oly doesn’t excel at is low light.

Hopefully a bit brighter day tomorrow, because the weekend and most of next week don’t look too clever. It’s traditional.

The day that the rains came – 28 June 2016

Posted on June 28, 2016June 28, 2016 by Zogman

Woke with a sore throat. Actually it had started last night, but today it felt worse. It could be the start of a cold, so I began dosing up with Vit C. The chemist once told me that when you start to feel the twinges that precede a cold, overdose on Vit C to give your body a chance to prepare. Some will argue that is nonsense, but it works for me, so that is what I did. Your body has a limit to the amount of Vit C it can hold. How do you know when you’ve reached your body’s limit of that vitamin? Your body will flush it out, along with most of the stuff that’s in your digestive system at the time. That’s where I am at present 😉

As for the rest of the day, there wasn’t much to report other than it rained again, almost all day in fact. I managed a couple of shots from the back window while I was making dinner. Chilli con Carne for me and Peppers & Mushrooms with Rice for Scamp. Actually, Scamp had been out with her friend for lunch, so I didn’t expect her to need any food at dinner time, which is why I defrosted the mince for mine.

While Scamp was out to lunch, I took her car through the car wash. I think the poor bloke who runs it thought we had found the car somewhere. It looked like one of those you see in overgrown front gardens with flat tyres and a brushed on paint job. Once it came out the other end of the wash tunnel it was sparkling clean. When I dropped it off for Scamp to drive back from the restaurant, I noticed the cut in the front tyre. Oh dear, more expense. My car goes in for new brake disks tomorrow. It’s just an expensive time of year!

Hoping for a better day tomorrow, but not at all confident that we’ll get it. More rain forecast, but Thursday looks a lot better.

An improving day – 27 June 2016

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Zogman

With Scamp’s cold improving, she went to Marji’s for June-D’s birthday lunch. That left me off the leash for an hour or so in the afternoon. I spent the morning looking for the serial key for a piece of software I wanted to swap over from the Toshiba to the new Linx. Never did find it and I wasted almost a whole morning trying. I wasn’t going to waste the afternoon.

Once I’d got my ‘easy’ sudoku solved (Easy? Do these people know the meaning of the word?) I got ready, and dressed to deter the ticks, I drove down toe Auchinstarry to see what was new along the railway. The answer was, quite a lot actually. The trees were in full leaf now and the smells from the flowers, especially the Meadowsweet were lovely. There was quite a strong westerly wind blowing and this helped make the lighting on the hill much more interesting. Unfortunately, the wind also blew in the rain clouds that joined me for the walk back to the car. I could have got soaked, but luckily I’d prepared well and brought my old almost-waterproof rain jacket with me. It saved the day again. Happy with the collection of photos I got today.

Salsa for me tonight, but as I was getting into the car, I felt that little roughness in my throat. Don’t tell me I’m getting Scamp’s Lurgi. Salsa was interesting with three new moves for me to remember. Hope my voice recorder has caught all the nuances of the moves.

Just about to start on the doggie bags Scamp brought back from the party.

It started out nice – 26 June 2016

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Zogman

It did start out nice today, but then it went downhill by about 14 o’clock, that’s 2pm to you. Rain swept in and forgot to sweep out again. The furthest I got today was Tesco. Couldn’t even interest myself in a walk over to St Mo’s, that’s how bad it was. Scamp has still got the cold she picked up coming home and can’t seem to shift it. Remembered to take some pics of the new fence so you can see what a difference its made. Yes, the garden does look bigger, but that’s because you can’t see the forest of plants behind me. Lots of planning to be done before we put things back in their new places. I only want to do it once, because these plant pots are really heavy.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow. There’s always tomorrow.

A no news day and a new fence day – 25 June 2016

Posted on June 25, 2016June 3, 2018 by Zogman

Now that most of the furore of the last couple of days has died down and the UK hasn’t sunk beneath the waves of the Atlantic, life has returned to a bit more like normal. The media is still in full blown disaster movie mode, but who really listens to them. I only watch the news to see what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, all the rest I can get from ‘bbc.co.uk’ and only click on the links that interest me. It’s as if news has come full circle. At the start of last century newspapers were really the only form of news distribution, then came radio. The problem with radio was that you had to listen to all the guff before the news reader got to the bit that interested you. It was more up to date than newspapers, but it was Serial Access of information. Then came TV and as this medium has proliferated, news readers have become actors and presenters producing colourful presentations. News became more of ‘edutainment’ for the masses, but it is still Serial Access. You still have to wade through all the multicoloured drivel Robert Peston has to show you so you will understand just how much cleverer he is than you. Now that we have news online and especially on smart phones, we have returned to more of a newspaper format where you can immediately access the information you want without the drivel or the presentations. That’s the great thing about Random Access as opposed to Serial Access. For me, I just click on the weather and ignore the doom and gloom.

Alan, the fencer was coming today (not with his foils and epees, but with his spade, crowbar and nailgun). Today we were getting a new fence between us and Ghost, the gigantic Japanese Akita and also a new fence at the back of the garden. The old one which was very fragile was over 30 years old and had done quite well surviving the ravages of a Scottish climate for that time. It took Alan less that three hours to get the remnants of the old fences down and the new ones up. Thanks in part to the wonderful ‘nail gun’. Brilliant thing. Gas powered from a little propane cylinder. He hammered in 50 nails in as many seconds. I want a nail gun. I don’t know what I’d do with it, I just think it’s such a wonderful toy. I’d even say it was ‘cool’!

Scamp was decidedly under the weather today with a heavy cold, presumably from sitting in a bus for 10 hours breathing in the recycled germs and viruses from the coughers and sneezers around us. Anyway, we decided to go to the wee tea shop over at Johnston Loch and that brightened up our day.

I had a quick walk over to St Mo’s later and got some photos of a bit of yarn bombing that had been going on while we were away. Also a bit of landscaped seating that’s been added to St Mo’s. Let’s hope is doesn’t get damaged. It’s good to see NLC actually doing something in the community for a change, especially as pupils from local schools had become involved.

See, there’s always a bright side. Yes, Scamp, I have been listening to you.