Category: A Walk

Lunch in the Ivy – 17 February 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Just a little spot of lunch on a cold day.

Scamp has had a terrible cold recent and had requested a visit to The Ivy in Buchanan Street. We’d heard lots about it from friends and this was a perfect day to check it out. It was agreed that ‘drink would be taken’ so we left the Blue car to snooze under a bright blue sky while we took the bus in to town.

It was a slow bus, but we weren’t going anywhere fast. A coffee in Nero on the way down Buchanan Street and a walk down almost as far as Princes Square, then a gentle sedate walk back to the restaurant. It’s quite impressive inside, at least I was impressed. Maybe it was because it was a midweek visit, but the place seemed to have a more ‘senior citizens’ than I’d expected.

Scamp’ s starter was Zucchini Fritti With lemon, chilli and mint yoghurt.

Her main course surprise, surprise was Fish and Chips. What else would it be?

My Starter was Twice-baked Cheese Soufflé, Gratinated Monterey Jack and mozzarella in a cream sauce with grated black truffle.

My Main course was The Ivy Classic Shepherd’s Pie. Slow-braised lamb and beef with Cheddar mash, rosemary and red wine sauce.

I nearly didn’t get a starter or a main after I revealed that I had a mussel allergy. There was quite an investigation to go through, down to admitting that the cooking oil had been used to cook mussels. However, by some quirk of fate, I survived.

Dessert for me was a flamed Flambéed Crème Brulée. Flamed tableside with silky vanilla custard and a golden caramelised sugar crust.

Dessert for Scamp was Rum Baba with Mango. Moist rum-soaked sponge, complemented by Chantilly cream, tropical mango and toasted coconut. She didn’t like it!

After all that, we had a wee rest, then decided we’d pay up and go for a walk down Bucky Street, then get the bus home.

The gods were with us today, because as we were crossing the road at JL, the bus doors opened and we got a lift back home on a lovely day.

I’d forgotten to take a camera with me, so today’s photo came from my iPhone. It’s a bloke playing a keyboard on Bucky Street. He deserved a quid for sitting playing to an unappreciative audience, except me!

I don’t think I’ll be needing much for breakfast tomorrow, but we’ll wait and see.

Phone call with the doc in the morning and a visit to an old friend in the afternoon.

Still working on the back room – 16 February 2026

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More tidying was the main topic for today, the back room is better, but it needs a lot more work.

I was just waking up, properly when my phone rang. It was the Health Centre to tell me one of the docs wanted to phone me on Wednesday about my latest bloods results. That’s never going to be a good conversation. No details were given, just that the doc would phone me on Wednesday at 9am. I tried to explain to the lady on the line that I don’t do 9am, but she gave me the rubber ear. So Wednesday it will be. I hope it doesn’t take too long, because I have people to see, places to go on Wednesday.

After that joyous start I looked at some of the puzzles and managed a 4 for Wordle which is pretty good these days. ‘Strands’ was tedious and complicated then I solve the Mini Crossword with almost no trouble. That was about it for the morning.

In the afternoon, Scamp encouraged me to go out for a while. I did, but it was under duress, however the weather was not nearly as cold as I thought it would be and when the sun shone for a short while it was almost like Spring. In fact, that was exactly what if felt like. Some trees are beginning to show the buds on their branches and with a bit of luck there will be flowers on the trees too.

I think my favourite Sony 24 -105mm lens is a goner. It makes screeching noises as soon as I gently press the shutter button. T the 16-35mm lens is beginning to sound the same death knell. I think I may have had the camera bag open during one of those torrential rain showers and some rain has found its way into the internals. Looks like I need to break open my piggy bank.

We went to Kirsty’s class tonight, but I just couldn’t get my head round the spin turns and the fishtails. Scamp did her level best to show me how it worked and once, just once it worked. Must try harder.

Watched another of the pot throwing competition and marvelled at the way these people can manipulate clay and produce flowers from it. I once made a slab pot at college and thought I was great!

PoD was a low view along one of the channels in St Mo’s pond. Lovely reflections from the sky.

Tomorrow we may go to Glasgow for a Special lunch.

Happy Anniversary Hazel and Neil

Hope you had a great day.

 

Dancin’ – 14 February 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Today Scamp cleared the snow and frost from the car and I drove us to Brookfield for a dance class.

It was a cold start, but it was good to be driving under a clear blue sky and we made good time to the village hall. I think the clear sky was a blessing because the snow and low temperatures maybe kept some people from getting out too early. Much easier to just turn over and go back to sleep. But we’re both from hardier stock and weren’t bothered with sub-zero temperatures. We were going dancing.

First dance was House of Bamboo. I used to hate it, but now I just treat it as a bit of fun to get us get us out of our winter clothes. Next was the new waltz that Jane had concocted a couple of weeks ago. There was one turn I couldn’t get the hang of, but after asking Jane if she would dance me through it, she saw what I was doing wrong and that made all the difference. Much more secure with it now. Meanwhile Scamp was dancing with Stewart and picking up more tips on the same dance.

Next was Quickstep which we are working through, but both of us agree that we need more practise at home to keep it fresh in our heads. Fishtails are improving.

Final dance was Rona’s Rumba. Rona was a dancer in our class who passed away two years ago, around about now. She and her husband were great friends with Stewart and Jane.

Our Rumba, like the quickstep and the waltz, needs a fair bit of work to get comfortable with it.

As well as the ballroom dances, there were a lot of sequence dances that the teacher use to give us a break from the difficult stuff. Today they were used liberally!

Drove home via the Clyde Tunnel today because there was a lot of congestion on the M8. The Clyde Tunnel cuts off a fair chunk of driving and is useful for days like today.

I went over to St Mo’s later in the afternoon in my new boots that needed breaking in. They are not really new, they’re about six months old, I just kept forgetting (on purpose, maybe) to put them on, until last week when I found a leak in the left side of the old boots. Maybe their time has come.

Dinner tonight was a disappointing Golden Bowl. Tough Chicken Chop Suey for Scamp and equally tough Chicken Chow Mein for me. Maybe it’s time to give them a rest and look for somewhere else.

We watched the Skeleton Sliders from the Winter Olympics. Scary stuff!

PoD was  couple of dried up flowers from last year. Very fragile looking.

No plans for tomorrow. Snow predicted.

Snow on Fannyside – 13 February 2026

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First time this year I’ve seen even this tiny amount of snow.

The temperature outside as I’m writing about is -1.3ºc, or so our trustworthy Oregon Scientific thermometer tells us. I imagine it will drop even further overnight.

I’d things to do today and after I’d posted a card to Val and then dumped the old Dyson which has now been replaced with a new Shark. After that I took myself over to Fannyside to get some photos. A lot more snow over there, probably because of its elevation and the constant cold wind that cuts right through you no matter what you are wearing, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I just had to get out and get some photos.

PoD went to some tyre tracks in the snow, the warm sun was melting the snow by the time I got there. Luckily I found a road, sheltered by a stand of Scots Pines that had held onto their snow,

Other than that it was just a normal Friday.

Tomorrow we may be going dancing if the weather plays nice.

Walking in the rain – 11 February 2026

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Scamp was entertaining Shona today and I was meeting Alex.

Scamp gave me a lift to the station and I had only a few minutes to wait before our train came which was handy because the rain was tipping down. In Glasgow the weather was just the same and I walked up Buchanan Street then parked myself in the bus station. For once I’d forgotten my headphones, but I didn’t have to wait too long for Alex to appear. I explained to him that I was on a timer. I had to be back in Cumbersheugh by 3.15pm at the latest to get my bloods taken.

As usual we walked down to the nearest Nero and had a coffee. I told Alex about yesterday’s disaster and he suggested some remedies I hadn’t thought of, but none of them were really practical and I think he knew that, he was just trying to help. I showed him the A7iii and explained what was wrong, but when he pressed the shutter button the lens worked. No screech from the internals, it just took the photo. Now, remember we were in a fairly noisy cafe and it could just have been that noise that was covering up the sound of the screech, but the more I tried to make it screech, the quieter it became. Neither of us could understand it. Maybe my brother is a magician, but don’t tell him I know that!

We wandered into Princes Square, partly to be out of the rain and partly to see what was new on their displays. There wasn’t much, so we decided to have an early lunch. Round to Paesano and I volunteered to pay. More discussions about cameras and the reason for the recent failure, but still without a sensible answer. Paesano was really quiet. Usually around midday it’s just a wall of noise with everybody shouting to be heard and making the noise even louder. Today it was half empty. Maybe it was a holiday week for the school kids. Holidays in teeming rain. Yes, that sounds like Scotland.

Outside we walked into the GoMA (Gallery of Modern Art). Only one or two new displays, nothing interesting again. It was nearly time up when we came out and we both walked up to the station. I had about fifteen minutes to spare before my train was due and Alex was going for another walk in the incessant rain. We said our goodbyes, he went for a walk and I got on the express train then phoned Scamp to tell her I was on my way home.

I dropped Scamp at the house and drove to the medical centre. After cruising round and round the lines of cars, I finally got parked, got my blood taken and went home.

Dinner tonight was tomato soup, home made, of course. Watched a bit of the Winter Olympics from somewhere in Italy where the UK went from being second to being seventh in a matter of minutes. I don’t think they like us much, these Olympians!

That was my stunning day. I got home and the camera had started making its scratchy noise again. I have a Sony 16-35mm f4 lens which I was going to sell just before Christmas, but it started the squeaky noises and I put it on the back burner. Today it’s been working brilliantly. Not a cheep out of it. I just can’t make head nor tail of these big lenses these days.

PoD was a cheeky we grab photo of a lady admiring some photos in the GoMA.

Tomorrow we’re intending going to John & Marion’s for lunch tomorrow. Haven’t been to Hamilton for ages.

 

 

An afternoon in the Toon – 9 February 2026

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This afternoon we drove in to Glasgow, looking for a table cover.

Every time I drive in to Glasgow these days there is another road pattern to negotiate. Today was no exception. Where there had been two narrow lanes to reach Buchanan Galleries, today it was one single lane going downhill. How you get back up that hill is anybody’s guess.

I did get parked in the Buchanan Galleries and chose a suitable table cover to give our Christmas table cover a wee rest. I’m typing on the ‘Snowman’ table cover that’s been on the round living room table since mid December 2025. Hopefully we’ll replace it with the new one tomorrow.

With the table cover purchased, we went our separate ways. Scamp went to do some shopping in Glasgow and after dropping off the table cover I went to the Nile Barber to get my hair cut. We met up back in Buchanan Galleries and drove home.

I’d grabbed a couple of photos when I was walking back from the barber. One photo of some pink primulas became PoD. I was tempted to remove the photobomber who walked past the flowers just as I clicked, but then I realised he was part of the image and kept it in.

We went to Kirsty’s dance class in the early evening and found instead of six of us preparing for the Quickstep, there were five children of varying ages and two adults who seemed to have turned up out of the blue. I pitied Kirsty who had to teach six adults who were looking forward to the quickstep class and at the same time teach seven children and adults who looked as if they hadn’t danced in years. Hopefully everything will work out fine next week. I hope so.

We have no plans for tomorrow.

Dancin’ – 7 February 2026

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Out early as usual on a Saturday.

We drove over to Brookfield, a fairly easy drive to light traffic but clouds and occasional rain. What we’ve come to expect these wintry days.

The class started with a quickstep, but not one we already knew. Almost everyone else seemed to be happy with it and although we did bring this fact to the attention of the teachers, we didn’t get much instruction. Luckily I had Scamp to tell me what the teachers were doing and after I’d added in a few steps from Thursday’s Tea Dance, it began to come together, but teachers are there to teach, not to get partners to make up for their shortcomings. I don’t think Stewart believed we’d not done this dance before. For the first time in ages I wasn’t impressed with his teaching.

What I will say in his defence is that he did intersperse some units with a couple of sequence dances, mostly ones we knew. Given that we’d had a tough start to the day, I did actually enjoy most of the class I think Scamp did too.

We drove home with about a million others, all heading in the same direction as us at about 15 mph and in the rain again. It was a stop/start drive, but after half an hour or so the traffic picked up speed and thinned out. No rhyme nor reason to it. I’m sure you’ve all seen this feature of driving in the past. Nobody seems to be able to explain why the roads get snarled up and then just return to normal with nothing to explain it. I wish I could be in a helicopter to watch the changing traffic patterns from above. It would be an interesting thing to investigate.

I chose the M74/M73 again and everything went smoothly back to the house. Lunch was toast and beans. A simple menu that just hit the spot.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk through St Mo’s and got a few photos, a very few. My favourite and PoD was two magpies discussing world problems in a tree. Magpies, the Darth Vaders of the Avian world.

We’d hoped to have a Chinese dinner, but Golden Bowl in Condorrat was closed until the 13th of the month, so it was Fish ’n’ Chips instead. Lovely fish, but too much chips. We watched the Olympic Snowboarding and Luge while we consumed our dinner, wondering why people put themselves through these dangerous looking games. Good fun to watch, but I can’t see it catching on in Cumbersheugh.

As far as tomorrow goes, we have no plans. Not ever Snowboarding.

Another grey day – 6 February 2026

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It’s becoming monotonous.

I’m really getting fed up with all this rain. Can’t somebody do something about it.

Scamp went out to FitSteps in the morning. While she was out I worked out the last few February I’d missed in the past week. That’s the problem with deciding to do a photo a day. You forget just how much time it takes.

I’d like to say we did lots of things today, but we didn’t. I went out in the early afternoon into the cold east wind that’s been blowing for the last week and a bit. I’d offered to do some shopping while I was out, and picked a photo of a weed of some description sneaking out from a metal cable support. I thought it looked interesting. Then I walked round the back of St Mo’s school and from there down to the shops and back home. It was just as I was reaching the house I realised those two photos would have to be the PoD for today.

Scamp made a curry from the Mowgli book, but wasn’t. Impressed with the finished article, saying there was a funny taste from it. We tracked that ‘funny taste’ down to a tablespoon of English Mustard I’d put in as stated in the instructions. I don’t know how the English can eat this stuff. I can’t even abide the smell of it. I think we’ll use a different recipe in future.

That’s about it for me for today. Hoping for a dry(ish) day tomorrow, just for a change.

Another cool grey day – 4 February 2026

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I think we were both fed up with that same grey sky every day.

I’d had a message from the DVLA to say that my license needed to be upgraded, I knew it was coming. I also knew that Scamp had already completed the upgrade on her license and this was a complete overhaul of the DVLA procedure for us over 70s and I wasn’t looking forward to working through the questions and six digit numbers they wanted to see. Long story short, with Scamp’s instructions, the transition to the new world of digital was completed without too much swearing.

The next thing to do was to sort out the holiday. Again, Scamp took control while I worked at patching together the missing files on the Mac. Just over an hour later we were signed up to a short spring holiday in a resort we’d been to many times in the past. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

After Scamp had returned and after lunch, I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got my PoD almost right away. I admit the sky is fake, borrowed from Photoshop, but quite believable. Photoshop is not one of my favourite apps, I prefer Lightroom, but I was impressed with how the new version of PS handled the sky in this cut ’n’ paste.

That was about it for a busy day, but between us we got a lot done.

Tomorrow looks like it may be a Dancin’ Day, partly to say ‘thanks’ to Scamp.

The Continuation – 30 January 2026

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Now that I’ve whetted you appetite, here is the continuation and the explanation …

After I’d visited the skips and disposed of the unwanted goods, I drove up to Torwood Garden centre and spoke to one of the ladies who work there and asked her a strange question:

“Do you still have those ceramic chickens?”

She didn’t think they did still have them, but passed me over to a manager who said “Yes, we do still have them”.
The garden centre has been having a make-over since Christmas and everything seems to be a bit shambolic, but she took me to where about a dozen ceramic chickens were standing on a couple of wooden shelves. I chose one and paid for it right away. I don’t know what the sales ladies thought I was going to do with it! What I did do was wrap it up in some bubble wrap and tuck it into a box in the boot of the car, ready to be revealed on the 30th, today.

The Explanation:

Today, the 30th of January, is our unofficial anniversary. I won’t give away the date, but it’s quite a while ago! I wanted to surprise Scamp with a ceramic chicken. She had fallen for a comical black chicken during the summer and seemed so pleased with it in its place in the garden. The new one was a white chicken and looked just as cute as the first one. Today I presented her with a green compost bag and inside was the white chicken. I do believe she was quite delighted with the prezzy. She handed me a poly bag and inside it was two pairs of socks. Not just any old socks, but Merino wool socks of different colours, so I can wear different socks on each foot! Thank you Scamp.

To celebrate our special day, we got the bus to Glasgow, walked down to Central Station and caught a train to Mount Florida. We walked along Battlefield Road and reached the Battlefield Rest where we’d booked lunch.

For a starter, Scamp had Mussels in a Rich Tomato Sauce. I had Tomato and Black Olive Focaccia with a traditional Caprese salad.

For a main Scamp had Smokie Crepe stuffed with smoked haddock, salmon, and creamed cabbage, topped with tomato sauce and cheese. I had tomato risotto with Nduja, chicken and chorizo.

A generous glass of Malbec each to help wash it all down and to finish, coffee and a small glass of Jura for me and for Scamp it was Kahlua and a latte!

Phew! That was a lunch to remember!

We got the train back to Glasgow and had a quick wander round John Lewis looking for a new table cover. Too awkward to get it home on the bus, so we may go back soon to get one.

PoD was a view down one of the alleys that lead off Buchanan Street. That was about it for the day. Wasn’t it enough? We thought so. A very good day.

The diet probably starts tomorrow!!