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Another broken bus – 15 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Usually the blog is written from my perspective, but the majority of today’s is written about Scamp and the Witches visit to Manchester.

Yesterday the witches had a fairly faultless run down to Manchester and by all reports were impressed with the Trafford centre. Today they were heading back to Manchester from their overnight stay in Chorley or nearby there to go to the Christmas Markets. Around 3pm I got the message that they were leaving Manchester and would phone at Gretna.

I got a message to tell me they were leaving Gretna with an ETA of 7.20pm at Hamilton bus station where I’d agreed to pick them up. Two minutes later I got the message that the extremely high winds had blown the windscreen wiper off the bus and they’d need to get someone to fix it or get a replacement bus. Long story short, two hours late, I picked up the four and dropped them off at Jeanette’s house and we drove home.

I’d made a fairly large pot of Minestrone soup for a late lunch and it was used for dinner while the sorry tale unravelled. I’m not saying Scamp is a jinx, although she did, but this is the second bus journey that has come to grief with a broken bus she has been on!

My own day had been a case of taking some odds and ends to the skips in the afternoon. The winds hadn’t been as wild then, so I carried on to Fannyside and got some photos of “The Girls”, the hardy sheep that don’t seem to notice the wind and the rain as long as there’s food in their basket. Went for a walk along to a farm, got some photos of Cladonia lichen that grows well there, apparently a sign of clean air. On the way back I saw a fast flying bird land on a telegraph pole and grabbed a few photos of it. When I came home I found that it was a Kestrel. Unmistakeable with the narrow wings and the chestnut coloured back.

PoD was that picture of “The Girls”, looking as if they were posing for a photo.

Hoping to have a less stressful day tomorrow.

 

 

Off the leash – 14 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

An early rise for me. 6.30am is definitely early for me, very early. I was up at that ungodly hour to drive Scamp the Condorrat, there another driver would take her with the rest of the Witches to Glasgow. And from there down the M74 and the M6 for miles and miles and miles.

They were all off on a short ‘Jolly’ down to Manchester to experience the Trafford Centre. Tomorrow, hopefully, a Christmas Market awaits them, also in Manchester. Then back up north to a place called Reality!

That left me off the leash for a whole day and a half. What would I do with all that free time? I would do this, and that, and that other thing I’ve been meaning to do for ages … but in the end, I sat and read for half the morning. Then went to Tesco looking for something that wasn’t there. I did grab myself a pizza for dinner and a bag of Jelly Babies, two bags, actually and came home. That’s the trouble with having plenty of time. I just never ever use it properly. I just fritter it away, and before you know it, the sun is setting and I’ve not taken a photo yet.

Well, I did have a photo. Admittedly I’ve shot that same scene at least ten times, each one similar to but not the same as the last. It’s That Lane. Usually it begins to look a bit sinister after I’ve boiled it in Lightroom and Photoshop, then washed it out in ON1. Still, it’s done and I like its sinister aura “a’ roon” to quote Billy Connolly.

I watched another couple of painting tutorials. Little half hour slots with known faces, painting faces. They always amaze me how simple their structure is, simple and perfectly formed. I nearly always try to do as they say and end up putting it in the bin.

As you’ve gathered, I didn’t get up to much today, but I did go for a walk and achieved what Garmin says is a decent score.

Scamp is due home tomorrow evening and this time I’m chauffeur. After that, life will return to normal I hope!

 

Coffee and Cake Cancelled – 13 December 2024

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I said yesterday that Shona had invited us to Costa for coffee and cake. It was cancelled.

Scamp got a message from Shona just after 9am to say that Ben had refused to go to school. That means he’ll be home all day and the Costa visit was cancelled.That sort of messed up our morning, but not as much as it messed up Shona’s morning. Poor soul was looking forward to a relaxing morning, heaven know she deserves it.

To make use of the day, Scamp and I drove up to Tesco and bought a trolley load of food (and drink) and then drove home for lunch. Which turned out to be Wednesday’s soup.

Later in the afternoon, but not too late, I put my boots on and took a camera out for a walk in St Mo’s. Scamp was walking down to the shops, so I joined her for most of the walk down to M&S, then left to go round St Mo’s pond a couple of times. Not a lot to see, but the thaw had come and all the frosted trees had little droplets of frost melt. One of those photos made PoD. Scamp says it looks like a cartoon horse’s head. It took me a while to see it, but now I can’t unsee it!!

Dinner tonight was paella and it actually tasted quite good for a change. The only mistake I made was putting the prawns in too early, resulting in Rubber Prawns. Not very nice to eat.

Watched the semi-final of Portrait Artist of the Year and wasn’t surprised to see a truly awful painting make it to the final three. I think I now know who is going to win, unfortunately.

Scamp is hoping to go on a overnight tomorrow with the other Witches. That means an early rise for me too!

Dancin’ – 12 December 2024

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The last tea dance of the year.

Drove through the freezing fog to Tesco for a bottle of fizz for the dance teachers, plus a loaf and some pomegranate seeds and … well, lots of things, actually.

Then it was back home for a coffee and a Wordle. Didn’t quite get the Spelling Bee, but the coffee was good. Found I’d got an Explore for the photo of Hair Ice back on Tuesday. I suppose it is a strange looking thing and not seen very often.

Lunch was coming up fast and I wasn’t dressed for it yet, so it was a frantic rummage in the wardrobe to get suitable clothes for today’s tea dance. ‘Christmas’ was the unspoken theme for today and for once I did embrace it. Christmas jersey and a very old bright red tee shirt with a reindeer. Scamp was in her Christmas dress and looked very festive.

The fog was almost gone by the time we reached Glenburn but there were only a few or the regulars there. We danced a whole, or almost a whole, Quickstep. I was quite chuffed to find that I could remember almost all of the Hoabie Quickstep. We rather messed up the Waltz Nioli which we used to know and that was it for the formal ballroom dances. The rest were sequence dances and I think we danced them all, even the Christmas Pudding Dance which is a complicated four person dance with lots of ducking under and dancing round each other. Best seen, not described.

Made a mistake on the way home and took the Kingston Bridge road which felt like a moving car park. Once we were on the bridge and after a quick lane change we were moving a lot faster. Actually we took about the same time as we would have done if we’d taken our usual M74/M73 route. That freezing fog from the morning was descending by the time we got home. I dropped all the bags in the kitchen and went over to Condorrat to get a large fish supper for us to share, and that was dinner sorted.

There had been no time today for an outside photo, so it was a still life. The Christmas cactus has just come into flower, so that was today’s subject. Actually it an amalgam of two photos. One of the flower petals and one of the stamens. If you look closely you can see a dusting of pollen from the flower.

Watched the final of Masterchef The Professionals and the right person won as far as we were concerned.

Tomorrow we’ve been invited by Shona to coffee and a cake in Costa. I look forward to that.

Another early rise – 11 December 2024

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This time it was just me who was rising early. Heading for the 10.14am bus to Glasgow.

I met Alex at the bus station as agreed, just exactly at 11am. We were adventurous today and went to an old Nero for a coffee and to plan our day. After we were finished I tapped a lady on the shoulder and told her she could steal. She’d asked me a few minutes earlier if she could have our seats and I said we’d leave them for her when we finished. I headed for the toilet, but all of them were full, so I went back and tapped her on the shoulder and told her and her mother(?) that they could steal our seats. They thanked us as we left.

Alex was looking for a down jacket like mine and I told him I’d show him it in Tiso in Buchanan Street, so we had a wander through the shop and I do believe he may be writing a letter to Santa as I’m sitting writing this to you. While we were in the shop, I saw a lovely pair of gloves. Light as a feather as befits a pair of gloves stuffed with feathers and they were only £60! I liked them, but not that much.

We walked down to St Enoch’s to see if the stalls were worth photographing. They weren’t, so it was a quick walk around them and then along Argyle Street as far as M&S where I got a pair of underwear while Alex was photographing the “Star Tunnel”. Not its real name, but close. Two ladies (different ladies) were walking past and one said to the other “Would you look at that! The place is falling to pieces and they waste money building a thing like that!!” I had to agree. A lot of time, energy timber and electronics for something that would be torn down in a month, if it hasn’t been vandalised before that.

By now it was lunch time, or thereabouts, so we walked along to Paesano where we both had a pizza Number 3 Anchovy and Olive.

I went to Cass Art to get some charcoal pencils to test out a sketching method I’d seen on the Sky Arts program on TV. Alex went for a wander in the gallery but came away saying it was all about Collage which never interested either of us. By the time we’d walked up Miller Street, the temperature was dropping and so was the light level, so the coloured lights of the Roundabouts and Big Wheel were beginning to be worth a shot of two. The newest attraction whose name I now forget, consisted of a gigantic glowing square column with a four sided set of chairs for those of an adventurous disposition to sit in and be winched up to the top before a disembodied voice called out 5 – 4 -3 – 2 – 1 ZERO and the whole set of chairs dropped like a stone, accelerating downwards 9.81 meters per second, per second, before even more rapid deceleration pulled it safely to a halt. We didn’t go on it, surprisingly!

About an hour later I’d had enough and told Alex so and headed for the bus. Later he sent me a message to say that he’d stayed on for another 45minutes, before doing the same thing and going home.

PoD was a monochrome photo of two ladies (yet another two ladies) having lunch on a stage behind the main attractions.

Back home dinner was a bowl of soup. Lovely soup too, Scamp. Later we watched the finale of Shetland. Worth waiting for.

Tomorrow we may go dancing in the last tea dance of the year at Glenburn.

 

Fog – 10 December 2024

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This morning the sky was clear when I was making breakfast. It didn’t last!

An hour later everything was covered in a thick freezing fog. However, it did gradually thin down and I took out the A6500 with the kit lens and the Tamron too. I just went over to St Mo’s and did a circuit of the pond. It wasn’t all that successful. The fog kept coming and going, thickening and thinning. I did get a few photos, but even the thin fog wasn’t as clear as it had been a week ago.
It was also really cold. I must look out a pair of full finger gloves. The fingerless ones are fine when the weather is cool in winter, but my fingers freeze up on really cold, sub zero days like today. I might have a look for a pair tomorrow if I meet up with Alex.

It’s been a tradition that we go in to Glasgow to photograph the lights in George Square at Christmas. I must admit I do get bored with wandering around taking photos of the same lights as last year, especially when it’s cold. Even with my new down jacket and my insulated walking trousers, the cold will manage to find a way in.

Scamp and I were in Glasgow yesterday and we thought there were fewer than normal stands and food outlets. Maybe I’ll be able to convince Alex that St Enoch’s will be a better target for our cameras. It seems to have taken over from George Square.

Well, the tree is up. The decorations are in place and the Letter has been opened and read and the Snowman table cover is on the table. I think it must be nearly Christmas.

The PoD went to a shot of frosted Cow Parsley seed heads, complete with spider webs, I saw on my walk over to St Mo’s this cold morning.

Tomorrow, as I said, I’m hoping to meet Alex in the bus station in Glasgow. Where we go after that will hopefully be revealed tomorrow evening, all being well.

A day in the Toon – 9 December 2024

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We took the bus in to Glasgow, just for a wander in the sunshine.

It wasn’t warm by any means. A cold day from start to finish, but the sunshine made it feel better. First stop was Nero for a coffee, then we split up. Scamp walked down to the shops and along to M&S. I went to the Apple shop to interrogate the experts. They don’t have a Genius Bar in the Glasgow centre shop now which is a shame. It was good being able to talk to the geniuses!
I did spend some time perusing the expensive pieces of glass, metal and plastic and I did have a conversation with one of the advisers who answered all my questions, so I achieved something.

I bumped into Scamp on my way down Buchanan Street and we walked back up in the general direction of the bus station. Bought ourselves a bargain pack of reading glasses each in Poundstretchers £3 for three pairs of glasses. Walked round the corner an found that we’d just missed the X3. Rather than wait in the cold, I suggested we cross the road and wander around JL for fifteen minutes and that’s what we did. Why freeze when we could use JL’s heating to keep us warm. The bus arrived in time and we headed home.

Scamp built up the tree and decorated it while we listened to Joni Mitchell which is a tradition in the house. I added two wee decorations to the tree and helped hang up the Christmas star Mairi had made for us.

Dinner was the usual pasta with what’s in the fridge and a tomato sauce. Then I launched Time Machine. Apple’s automatic backup device and it performed the first backup in about 5 years. I’d forgotten just how useful that bit of software was. I hope I don’t ever need it, but it’s there if I do and I’m sure it will work perfectly to reinstall the entire system.

PoD went to an asian couple taking selfies in Buchanan Street. It was too cold and the sun was too low to take anything more interesting. When the sun is as low as that it really blinds me.

The weather looks even colder tomorrow. Sub zero predicted for most of Scotland. I think we might be taking Shona out for lunch. It depends on whether Ben decides to go to school or not.

A lovely clear morning – 8 December 2024

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So good to wake to a bright, clear winter’s morning. Makes such a difference from the dull, milky skies of late and the gale force winds too.

It was Scamp’s suggestion that we drive over to Colzium, just outside Kilsyth and go for a walk in the woodland. I agreed, and off we went. Instead of our usual clockwise walk, we ignored tradition and walked it anti-clockwise. I hadn’t realised just how tiring the climb up the side of the Colzium Burn was until we were about half way up. Then we both realised that it was going to get even tougher when we crossed over the burn by the bridge and covered the last stint. A stop at the top gave us both a chance to rest for a while and take in the view down the waterfalls that tumble down to cross through the park many metres below.

After taking some photos of the waterfall and the rapids, we walked along the far gentler path that would take us through the trees to the once private road that led to Colzium House, now a wedding venue. On the way we were passed by a girl leading, or trying to lead her Setter along the path and through the trees. They made it Flickr, but didn’t get PoD. That went to a photo of the waterfalls at the top of the climb.

We took our time and followed the road past the house and back along a different burn on a higher channel. The burns cross at one point, but one is carried through a pipe below the higher one. It’s a strange sight to see. One sailing sedately along while the other drops through a manmade waterfall, through a pipe on off on a totally different direction. You probably have to see it to understand what’s going on.

We drove home via Lidl where we stocked up on sweets, beer and a loaf. The loaf was to be lunch, toasted and covered in baked beans. Beans on Toast, in other words!

Once lunch was past, we brought the tree out of the loft and unrolled the Snowman table cover in the living room to allow it to warm up and stretch a bit after being in cold storage for eleven months.

Dinner tonight was ‘Rats’ for Scamp and a steak for me. Steak was overdone but the baked potatoes we had with our protein were great.

Watched yesterday’s ‘Strictly’ and the F1 GP. Strictly was instantly forgettable but the GP was full of thrills and spills.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard about his plans for Christmas. We also heard of the problems of pleasing all of the people all of the time when it came to Christmas food. I don’t believe it can be done. Please yourself, that would be my suggestion. Then at least one person will be happy!

No definite plans for tomorrow, but a trip to the skips wouldn’t be a bad idea!

A cold windy day – 7 December 2024

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We hadn’t planned anything for the day and it didn’t look like there was going to be any reason to go out.

Basically, that was the story of the day.

It was such a dull day too. I had no reason to go out to take a photo. Instead I decided it would be a tabletop shot today. I chose the Hebe cuttings she’d taken, with permission, from Jackie’s bush in her front garden in Skye. She had watered them today and a little bead of water was nestled in the bottom of some leaves. An ideal subject from a less than ideal day. After about a dozen shots I had one I was happy with. It was a 30second exposure which will give you an idea how low the light level was in the toilet today. The toilet has been a great place to photograph plants. Awkward to get the Manfrotto tripod into, but a great setup to shoot in. PoD done and dusted.

With a few hours left were taken up with building this year’s calendar. I’m only really about half way through the first attempt and there’s still a lot to do, but a start has been made.

A pizza for dinner, because we were going over to Brookfield in the evening for the final evening dance of the year. Quick change of clothes and a shower, then we were off into Storm Darragh. Again, we were just on the edge of the worst of the wind, and thankful for it.

Arrived in plenty of time and had a great night of dancing and what can only be called a “Carry On”. Spoke to folk at our table who I may, in the past, have described as slightly standoffish, but once I took the time to talk to them, they are just ‘folk’.

Drove home along a motorway that was busier than I’d anticipated, probably due to shows and pantomimes emptying into the motorways. After we left Glasgow everything calmed down and we got parked quite easily at home.

We watched the qualifying for the F1 GP of the year, and had a wee snifter each to keep our eyes open.

Wind is still quite strong and noisy, but it’s calming down, I think.

No plans yet for tomorrow.

Windy night and a windy morning – 6 December 2024

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We didn’t fancy going anywhere today which was lucky because I still had a fair amount of tidying up to do on the computer. It’s working, but things keep changing inside its silver box. I don’t know what’s going on, but it feels as if things are settling down. I hope that’s not Famous Last Words.

Leaving the computer aside, there were a few tasks in the garden needing seen to. Not a lot, but the sunflower that turned its back on us needed to be chopped down and the assorted miniature sunflowers around the edge of the raised bed had to go too. Not much else, but the place just looked a bit better after that. I passed my secateurs over to Scamp and she chopped down the dead stems of the geums.

After lunch which for Scamp was turkey sandwich and for me it was a sandwich with pastrami and mustard. It’s a long time since I’ve had pastrami. Anyway, after lunch I went for a walk in St Mo’s. It was only about 2.40pm when I went out, but you’d have believed it was about 5.40. I don’t think the sun shone at all to day.

There were thin pickings out around St Mo’s, but my favourite by far was a shot I took on the way there. It’s a bush called the Snowberry and you can see from the photo that it’s well named. It produces the white berries in the autumn but they don’t last long and seem to degrade quickly.

When I got home I worked on the photos for a while before starting to get ready to go out to Bombay Dreams for dinner with June and Ian. I was looking forward to one of their famous curries. We had noticed that the quality of their take-away meals had slipped a fair bit the last time we’d ordered one, but tonight the service was really slow and my pakora was only part cooked. Portions were smaller than they used to be, but many restaurants are doing that now to avoid bigger hikes in their prices. However, the restaurant was about a quarter full which is not what you expect to see on a Friday night. Waiters constantly asking if we wanted more drinks became annoying too. This was not the Bombay Dreams we used to visit fairly regularly a few years ago.

Worse was yet to come. We’d been told there would be a special karaoke event. It was awful. One bloke attempting to encourage the participants to come up and sing, by singing off-key himself, there was no attempt to segue into the next track, just stopping in mid track and changing the music. I could go on, but I won’t. A totally wasted night. I don’t think we’ll ever be back. What a shame.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go dancing at night. The last Evening Dance of the year. Wind and rain forecast! No karaoke!