Category: A Walk

More snow – 8 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Woke to another dusting of snow. A light dusting this time.

Fed the birds to keep them happy and tried to defrost the birdbath, not that any of the birds would have been suicidal enough to attempt a bath in this weather, but they might appreciate some liquid water to drink. Lunch was Scamp’s savoury slice which warmed us up on a decidedly cold day. After that and a cup of coffee we felt it was safe enough to go for a walk to the shops to get today’s dinner. Which was to be Neil’s Italian Chicken.

On the way back I took a detour round St Mo’s in search of some beautiful sunny weather and some snow. I found both. The paths were slippy and I didn’t have my YakTrax with me, so I was trying to be careful and managed not to fall or even to slip … very much. Got my photos and even made my first ever video with the Sony camera. It was of a crow rolling in the snow! I’m guessing it was getting the snow crystals into its feathers to help it dust off the mites that were harbouring there.

Back home we spoke to Hazy who was eager to find out all about yesterday’s mysterious visitor. I was forgetting that Neil D had already performed the “cotton bud down the throat” trick with the same gagging response we had.

When we came off the phone we found that the washing machine was stuck at the spin cycle. It was still displaying 12 minutes to go, but the Spin light was flashing. Also there was a fair amount of water in the machine. We managed to get it to drain some of the water out and Scamp removed the wet clothes and took them up to drip off in the shower. Useful things showers! I found the drain pipe and drained off the remaining water, then tried to remove the pump filter. It wouldn’t budge. This machine is about 20 years old and I’ve maybe once needed to remove this filter. Either it is baked in or there is something inside blocking it. My money is on the second one and if I’m right, it’s money, some coins, that are doing the blocking. The only way to get into the filter is to turn the machine on its side and remove it from the bottom. Now that’s easier said than done because if I recall correctly there is a big block of concrete that acts as ballast for the rotation of the drum and moving that is going to be a job for a JCB. Scamp said a firm NO to that course of action. We tried the machine again and Lo and Behold, it worked. Not at its best, but we did get all the washing spun dry(ish). How long it will work before the aforementioned blockage returns I don’t know. We spent a good half an hour looking at prices and reviews of washing machines, then had a shortened version of the dinner we’d proposed, namely fried chicken with potatoes and broccoli. Then G&Ts all round.

Watched The Serpent on TV. Weren’t impressed, couldn’t be bothered with all the jumping back and forward through time so junked it. A bit of a wasted day, but it was good to talk to Hazy and I enjoyed both of my walks. PoD was a shot looking through the woods in St Mo’s.

Tonight a temperature of -7ºc is predicted. It’s already down to -6.5ºc, so it looks like the prediction may come true. Thankfully it may rain on Saturday or Sunday. When is the last time I’ve made a statement like that? I don’t think we’ll be going far.

A lady visitor – 7 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

We woke to more snow today. Not a lot of the white stuff, but enough to send us back to bed to read to the end of the next chapter.

Actually we got a nice morning phone call from a bloke from Microsoft to say he could help me with a problem on my computer. He sounded quite plausible, but I wondered why these people always have an Indian accent yet have British sounding names. Anyway I told him to “Bugger Off” because I couldn’t be bothered playing games with him today. Scamp said I should have asked him if it was snowing where he was. She’s so much more friendly than me.

Our snow looked fairly soft and not very thick. So, with no real reason to go out and of course nowhere to go, we took it easy for the morning. I got another phone call, this time from Barbara to say that she was running a bit late and how were the roads where we were. I told her I hadn’t been out to check, but traffic seemed to be flowing freely. She didn’t tell me she was from Microsoft and could fix my computer, so I guessed she was genuine.

When she arrived, she gave us both a form to fill in and a bag with a thing to stuff up our nose and down our throat. Up the nose is fine, but a bit painful. Down the throat really does produce the gag response. Apparently if you don’t get the gag response you’re not doing it right. We were both doing it right, believe me. Next we dropped the cotton bud thing into a test tube, sealed the test tube, dropped it into a bag and sealed the bag then left it on the mat for her to pick up.
Yes, we were doing a Covid test on the doorstep. The person administering the test isn’t allowed into the house and she isn’t allowed to hand you anything. She leaves it on the doormat and steps back. Then you are allowed to pick it up, and vice versa. We both felt really sorry for her standing there in the cold asking us questions and logging the answers on her phone. It’s part of a Covid survey for HM Gov and Oxford Uni. We get one test a week for a month. If we decide to extend the survey we get an additional test every month for a year. For taking part in the first month’s tests we get vouchers for £50. Then more vouchers for a reduced sum if we continue. That’s the first one done. We’ll see how we feel after that if we want to continue.

After she left I put my wellies on and went over to Condorrat to post the calendars. I quite enjoyed making them although the photos are all from the UK this year. In fact when I came home Scamp was saying that she was looking for a small calendar to go into the downstairs toilet. It brightens up that wee space and gives you something to look at when … well you know what I mean. That was tonight’s work. We’re going to fill it with photos from recent holidays. Something to brighten our day.

While I was out anyway, I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Like yesterday, a bank of freezing fog was descending, blanketing everything. Actually it made the park look quite different and quite scenic in a strange way. It seemed to smooth out all the rough edges. I got some photos and the PoD was the one I liked the best.

Tomorrow we may go out if the weather improves. I know we both need the exercise and the mental stimulation of looking at something other than our four walls.

Another cold morning – 6 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Another day for the YakTrax.

It was a lovely bright morning, but cold. Temperature was around -2ºc and we were daft enough to go out in it, and BEFORE COFFEE TOO! What were we thinking. Well, the weather machine in the house was predicting snow and it made sense to us to go out in the morning, even if it was cold. It would be much more sensible to go walking in the cold rather than in the snow. That was the logic. It made sense to me. It was bright enough to get some decent images without having to hike up the ISO too much. After struggling with dust bunnies last night, I just wanted to take some photos today.

Scamp suggested we go round Broadwood because the paths there would have more footfall and therefore be a bit cleared than the ice rink that is St Mo’s. I agreed. Broadwood would make a change too. She also suggested that it would not be a good idea to try to cross the Broadwood boardwalk which is made of plastic panels and doesn’t give you much confidence or a decent grip when it’s covered in ice. Again, I agreed. I’d agree to anything if it gets us out of the house these days and with the added benefit of a chance to take some photos.

Most of the paths were, indeed, free from ice and walking was easy. We did try one of the less travelled paths, but it was low lying and prone to flooding. Today that flood had converted to solid ice. No grip. No chance. We chose to go back the way we’d come, then extended it round Broadwood Stadium. There were a few people out walking this morning. I think most were like us, just wanting to get out somewhere in the sunshine. There’s no point in complaining about the dull days and then staying inside on the bright ones.

Back home and after lunch I was all set to make some Limoncello. As a Christmas present, Scamp had given me four lemons, a bag of sugar, a bottle of vodka and a set of instructions for making Limoncello. Today I’d decided to make it, but first I wanted to sketch and paint the two remaining lemons, the other two having succumbed to mould in this warm house. I promptly got a sketch done and started laying down washes using the strange paper pads of paint Hazy had given me for Christmas. Such strange colours which, when dry bear no resemblance to colours when wet. There’s an intense blue which looks purple with a copper sheen when dry. The warm yellow turned to quite an acid yellow on the painting. Intriguing. They mixed beautifully, so beautifully I got a bit carried away and ended up with a multicoloured mess. A most enjoyable mess, though! I’ll try again tomorrow, hopefully.

When I was setting out the two lemons for painting, I discovered that one had a big mould spot on it. It had to join the others in the bin. Luckily I’d bought some lemons at the weekend and started to pare the rind off with a potato peeler which is ideal for the task. The lemon peel went into a kilner jar and as per the instructions, I poured the bottle of vodka over them, clipped on the lid and gave it a good shake. It’s now in the drinks cupboard and has to stay there for a week before it gets its sugar added. The little bare lemons look exactly like little sheep after they’ve been shorn of their wooden coats in the summer. I may take a photo of them tomorrow, huddled together.

I wasn’t satisfied with the morning’s shots, so I went out again in the afternoon and got a shot of a rare form of ice called Hair Ice. I’ve only seen it once before, over a year ago, in fact it might be the same bit of wood it’s growing on. Google it and be amazed at what nature can produce. By the time I was leaving St Mo’s a freezing fog had descended and I was glad to be on my way home to a warm house.

Dinner tonight was lentil soup and Savoury Slice. Another of Sim’s recipes that Scamp’s adopted and adapted. She wasn’t happy with the results, but I thought it was fine. I was even more pleased with the coffee cake she made. Quite delicious.

The Hair Ice didn’t get PoD. Scamp liked a morning shot of the bench in its frosty coat and that became the winner.

Snow forecast for tomorrow from very early morning until early afternoon. We are having a visitor tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more about it tomorrow.

The ice is melting – 5 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Time to get the boots and the YakTrax on and go for a walk.

Just a walk round St Mo’s, but the ice is still treacherous, even more so as there was a slight melt happening and the water was covering the ice. With care it was possible to get round and that’s what we did. Just one circuit. The ducks haven’t returned from their holiday in a warm place and it looked like the swans had become frozen to the ice that covered St Mo’s pond, but they were just pretending and got up and staggered around while we watched. The worst bit of the walk was the boardwalk, because the ice runs for the whole width of the path with no snow and therefore nowhere to get a better grip. However, again, the YakTrax proved their worth and we completed the walk intact.

I made a loaf after lunch because we needed bread or at least we would tomorrow. For speed and also because I couldn’t be bothered with the faff of hand kneading, I asked the mixer to do the hard work and it did produce a decent dough. Set it to prove and headed off to St Mo’s again for a second chance at some photos, although I reckoned I had one in the bag already.

I tried another of the daring camera on the ice shots, but the ice was melting and I could hear it creaking a bit under my boots. I could also smell the decomposing leaf mass under the ice, so it definitely wasn’t as stable as I’d have liked. Four shots and I was off onto dry land again.

Back home and an hour or so’s work and I had a mono PoD of a park bench and a colour shot of the view from the ice. The PoD came from the morning walk with Scamp and the colour shot was from the afternoon.

The bread had completed its first prove and I placed it carefully into a Banneton which is a round basket made from rattan to do the second prove. Rattan is a climbing palm that grows in Indonesia. There, you’ve learned something today. I don’t often use the banneton, but it was recommended for the long proving times necessary for sourdough bread. It certainly produced a very decorative spiral pattern on the dough which rose quite quickly in the warm living room and the bread baked beautifully. Too late for our dinner unfortunately, maybe just as well because I don’t think it would have gone too well with a fiery chicken curry. The ice cream afterwards did go well with it.

Spent an annoying hour trying unsuccessfully to get rid of some dust bunnies on my sensor. I think I ended up with more than I started off with.

Spoke to Canute tonight. We were supposed to phone him, but instead, he phoned us. Had a long talk about the ‘joys’ of grandchildren. Living with Covid and the effects it had on small retail shops. I’d forgotten that his school clothes business would now be Click ’n’ Collect. It must be so difficult for small businesses in these days of constant on – off closures. We wished him well on his operation at the end of the month.

Tonight the temperature is forecast to drop to -5ºc. We may not be going far tomorrow.

The end of the feast – 3 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

One step on the scales told me the feast was over.

Two kilograms heavier than the last time I stood on the scales catalogs the amount I’ve eaten and drunk in the last two or three weeks. It has to stop and it has to stop tonight. One more day of debauchery, then it’s back to sackcloth and ashes, or as my dad used to say “Auld claes and purrich.” I already have the ‘purrich’ (porridge) for breakfast every second day. Now it will have to be every day until that extra 2kg has been removed. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

It was also a day with a return to rain instead of ice and snow and what a relief that was. I did go out for a walk without the Yak Trax and although there were patches of slippery ice, there were a lot more areas of black tarmac that gave a good grip to my boots. I walked round the back of St Mo’s and down to the shops, hoping to see some deer behind the school, but they were somewhere else today. Maybe joining yesterday’s ducks on a trip to a warm place. I did spot Mr Grey hunched in a tree looking as disgruntled as I was. I took his photo then left him to his lofty isolation.

I was heading to the shops for today’s dinner and also some lemons. Scamp had given me the makings of a bottle of Limoncello, but a couple of the lemons had turned musty in the week since the parcel had been opened. So, I was looking for three or four unwaxed lemons, a chicken and some potatoes, plus a carton of milk. It was a heavy bag to lug up the hill to the house, but at least I had managed to get a photo of Mr Grey that might make a PoD.

Back home I prepared the chicken as per Scamp’s instructions and that gave me enough time check the photos. None of them looked like a PoD, in fact very few of them realistically would make the cull. I had just enough time left to set up a tabletop of a Christmas Cactus upstairs in the photo room. It’s amazing how easy it is to produce a white backdrop with a drawing board on an old card table as a base. A piece of hardboard clamped to the card table frame with cheap plastic clips and an A1 sheet of cartridge paper to give the shadowless backdrop. Five minutes work if all the things are to hand.

Just in time I finished and went down to check the chicken and put the veg into a roasting tray beneath it. Scamp checked the chicken and said it was looking good and needed about another hour. Plenty time to take the shots. They looked fine. Heavy tripod, low ISO and deep depth of field. All photogs words that mean it was going to be a fine grained image with plenty of detail. Mr Grey would need to be ready for his closeup another day.

Soup as starter. Chicken was great. Beautifully cooked, even if I say so myself. One glass of wine each and no pudding. We watched the second half of Jools Holland’s Hootenanny with a 2016 performance of ‘Tilted’ by Christine and the Queens, followed by a 2021 duet with Jools and Rick Wakeman on nested grand pianos. Brilliant!

Spoke to JIC for a while after that.  We weren’t really expecting the call, but it was welcome as usual.  Good to hear that all is well down Cambridge way.

Christmas Rose (Schlumbergera buckleyi) made PoD.

Tomorrow, it’s Auld Claes and Purrich. Hopefully with a walk thrown in for good measure.

Bread – 2 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Not just any old bread. This was handmade focaccia.

JIC and Sim gave me the bread making kit for Christmas. Six monthly bread related tasks to challenge me. Today I tackled the first one, Focaccia. The last time I made focaccia, I used the Chef mixer to do the heavy work and just added the ingredients. Today I did it all by hand. Hand kneading the 600g of bread flour with yeast, salt, 200ml of water and 60ml of olive oil in a bowl was hard going, but there was more muscle work to come. There was the main kneading on a work surface and adding in the additional 125ml of water. That was the bit I was dreading, because the dough gets really sloppy and difficult to handle then. However we worked at it together, the dough and me and we got it done with all the water absorbed and the dough silky smooth. Set it to rest and prove while Scamp and I went for a walk with our new best friends, the Yak Trax.

I don’t think she believed me when I told her how easy it was to walk on ice wearing these old fashioned, but so clever overshoes. It was a dawdle. I took some photos as we did two circuits of St Mo’s pond. We watched one wee girl take a tumble on the ice and felt just a bit sorry for her as we crunched past on metal feet. Lots of very photogenic frost pictures to be had, but not a lot else. No ducks and no swans today. I think they must have got an early flight to Malaga or Tenerife. Or at least somewhere warmer than St Mo’s pond.

When we came home the dough had risen and was ready for the next phase. I plonked it into a baking tray, hoping against hope that it would expand to fill it properly. It looked a bit deflated there. It went into the pre-warmed proving oven (grill) for half an hour or so while we had lunch. After lunch there was the fluffed up dough waiting for its next stage. This involved poking our fingers (washed!) into the dough to form deep dimples and then pouring 100ml of good extra virgin olive oil onto the dough. Sprinkled it with rosemary and left it for another 15mins in the proving oven to allow the main oven to come up to temperature. Then in it went for 20mins.

It came out looking golden brown and smelling like any good focaccia should. The last stage is to pour and ADDITIONAL 60ml of EVOO over the top then sprinkle with sea salt. We allowed it to cool for the required 10 mins before we got stuck it. It was oily and salty and herby and simply delicious. It got PoD! Thank you JIC and Sim for encouraging me to make this bread and it was the right decision to knead it all by hand.

Tonight we watched half an hour of Mortal Engines before I lost the plot, literally. Was this the same story I read all those years ago? Bits of it were, but it was more special effects than story. We swapped it for Oceans 8 which was silly and funny and just what you need (not knead) for a cold night (-3.5ºc as I write). Good recommendation Hazy.

Tomorrow looks like it may be a cold start with the chance of the beginning of a thaw later. We may go out again.

The end of a year – 31 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

A year we won’t forget, although most of us will wish we could.

It was snowing when I was making breakfast and it continued to show well into the afternoon. I finally put on my boots and snow gaiters and went for a walk in a sort of sleety drizzle over to St Mo’s and found my PoD. Not taken with the fancy Sony, but with my old Teazer TZ70 which is clean for now after being hoovered out a year or so ago and left to recover from that shock. It’s now much cleaner than it’s replacement, the the TZ90 that is a dust magnet. Anyway, PoD was a moorhen striding out across the snow on the frozen St Mo’s pond. Almost, but not quite black & white. A couple of circuits of the pond told me that there were no other animals or birds looking to be models for me, so I headed home.

It’s traditional to do a bit of tidying up on Hogmanay and as I said last night, I booked myself in to clean the kitchen cupboards, just the outsides, of course. Heavens, it would take a week to clean the outsides AND the insides. I’d like to say it wasn’t such a terrible task. I’d like to say that, but the truth is it was just as bad as I expected. I think we may have to reduce the amount of frying we do, especially deep fat frying. It’s not until you try to clean a cooker hood that you realise just how sticky everything becomes. However, it’s done now and the kitchen looks better for it.

I think Scamp may be coming down with the cold that I thought I had yesterday. Strangely I feel much better today and now she sounds like I did. Let’s hope she recovers as quickly as I did.

Dinner tonight was paella made in the new pan. It worked, but only just. Not the best pan for cooking a rice dish. All those little rice granules get caught in the same ribs that make steaks or chicken breasts taste great.
Note to self: Horses for Courses.
Paella may have been a miss, but the Viennese Shortbread, Scamp made was melt in the mouth. Lots more in a Lock ’n’ Lock box for tomorrow.

Temperature is a positive 3.7ºc now and the snow is still melting. If it freezes later in the night the roads will be a mess. I’m just glad I’m not having to drive. I couldn’t tell you the last time our respective cars turned a wheel. There’s just been no point, so they’ve been parked up for ages. Must make the effort in the new year, i.e. from tomorrow.

No real plans for tomorrow. We’ll probably stay up for “The Bells” tonight, have a dram or a gin and go to bed.

Looking back is what we do on this day, but this isn’t a year I want to look back on. Restrictions, Lockdowns and disappointments marred a terrible year. We can only hope that next year will be everything this year hasn’t been.

I think that’s my wish for 2021. I hope all my readers have a happy and a healthy New Year. Let’s keep looking forward, not looking back.

Another cold start to the day – 30 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

Temp was -3.7ºc this morning. We were in no rush to go out.

Instead, Scamp started baking a couple of Dundee cakes. They should have had whisky in them, but she doesn’t like the taste if it (why!!?) so she substituted Calvados instead. I gave her a bit of help with the logistics. I held the paper cases open while she spooned the mixture in. I’m useful for some things.

With the cakes in the oven, I was staring out the window and I realised that there was a Long Tailed Tit pecking at the fat block that hangs from the tree. As we watched, it was joined by another four of them. They are very rarely seen near houses, preferring open country. I thought that if I grabbed my camera and went through the manipulations that are necessary to connect it to the adapter and to the long lens, the birds would be long gone. But no. They were still there. I managed two shots, then a blackbird seemed to startle them and they flew off. I guessed that now they’d found the fat blocks, they’d be back and sure enough about five minutes later they were crowding round the food. I managed a few more shots before they flew off again looking for something extra to finish their lunch.

Our own lunch was now calling us and I used the heat from the oven to warm through my slice of mince cake (I’ve got the last bit in the fridge for tomorrow). It was delicious and it disappeared in no time.

I wanted some more ammunition just incase the bird pictures didn’t work out, so I dressed for the just above zero weather and walked round St Mo’s. Scamp isn’t too keen to go walking in this icy weather, so she stayed home to admire her cakes and do some cleaning. I did get a few shots in St Mo’s, but nothing to compare with the birds from this morning. I walked down past the back of the school to the shops, but saw nothing of note. I was hoping for some deer, but they were off somewhere else today.

Back home and after dinner, it was the Long Tailed Tits that made Pod. I also got my first two or three calendars printed. Then the printer started banding a bit, so I think it needs the ink reservoirs refilled. I may do that tomorrow.

Tomorrow being Hogmanay, it’s the day for cleaning before we usher in a new year. I’ve volunteered to wash down the kitchen cabinets which are really badly in need of cleaning. Scamp will no doubt be similarly engaged elsewhere in the house.

Shopping, Snow and White Flamingos – 29 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

It had snowed during the night, not a lot, but a covering. Very crisp, very even, just not deep.

We stayed in during the morning waiting for the snow to melt away, it didn’t, in fact it’s still there just the same as it was this morning. We were having a piece on fried egg for lunch. If you don’t understand this description, imagine a slice of bread, buttered. Lay a fried egg on it and then, carefully, place another slice of buttered bread on top. There you have it, a piece on fried egg! Well, to get back to the story, Scamp took an egg from the egg box and attempted to crack it with a knife. Except, instead of making a nice wee crack in the shell, she sliced the egg in two! Neither of us had ever seen that trick done before. What a mess to clean up.

After lunch we went a walk to the shops. The paths looked treacherous, but weren’t too bad. Scamp had been smart enough to book a slot at M&S. I haven’t managed to master that bit of online trickery yet, so I went for a waltz round Home Bargains instead. Got a couple of things and met her outside. Then we walked home.

I only came home to keep her company and to pick up my lumberjack’s hat and a long lens to take some interesting photos of the birds on the ice at St Mo’s. The swans were practising their Flamingo routine, tucking their head under their wing. That became PoD. I was surprised there was so much ice still because the temperature was rising.

Walked round to the wee pond and the lighting was good, so I got some wide angle shots of it too.

On the way home I saw a powered paraglider off to the east. I was hoping the pilot would fly over the pond, but whoever it was flew away south after circling for a while over the town centre I would presume. It would have been a great view from that thing today as long as you were well wrapped up. The temperature may have been rising, but the sun was dipping down by the time I left St Mo’s and I think the temperature was hovering around zero by that time.

Back home Scamp gave me a run down on how to make a mince pie. Very simple, but simple things are never the easiest to make. I made a fair fist of it, although I think I was a bit too easy on the salt. Must be more generous with it next time, all being well. Watched Zog and the Flying Doctors tonight. Great film, absolutely fascinating to have a film made about me!

No plans for tomorrow. It may be Cod with Prawns and Fennel for dinner.

It was Monday – 28 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

It gets harder to work out what day it is just now.

It was dry this morning, but it was also cold. Because of that we didn’t move much until after lunchtime and judging by the line of frosted cars, most folk were thinking along those lines too. The temperature wasn’t rising very much to encourage anyone to go out, but we eventually decided we’d go out for a walk.

Since we didn’t know what the paths would be like, we limited ourselves to a walk round St Mo’s pond. Even then we had to be careful and constantly watch to see where was ice and where was asphalt. The rough paths under the trees were fine, but the lower lying paths were so treacherous we chose to walk on the grass rather than the asphalt. I’d taken the Tamron long lens with me on the adapter and it worked as well as it could in the low light that marks December. PoD turned out to be a coot picking its way carefully across the ice on the pond. So it’s not just us who are minding our feet! The boardwalk was icy, but walkable with care. The grit that’s bonded to the wooden boards seems to provide a decent grip as long as you’ve got boots on.

Back home I processed today’s pictures and posted them while Scamp read. Dinner was spaghetti, red spaghetti as it’s known in the house. A tomato base with something from the veg selection in the fridge flung in. Today it was a bit of fennel, a couple of shallots, a handful of cherry tomatoes and the same of mushrooms. Apart from the tomatoes which went in whole, everything chopped up fine and sweated down before adding half a tin of tomatoes. It’s a hit or a miss each week whether it’s “great”, “reasonable” or “in the bin and we’ll have a pizza.” Today was “reasonable”.  Scamp’s leftover trifle needed no such evaluation, it won the “Great!” complete with exclamation mark.

Watched Singing in the Rain which we’d recorded yesterday. Absolutely brilliant film with amazing dance routines. Scamp’s just finished watching Strictly’s Top 25 which was a pale version of ‘Singing’!

Looks like more sub-zero temperatures tonight and most of tomorrow. Scamp’s got a slot booked for M&S tomorrow afternoon. If the paths are bad we may drive down. If not, that will be our walk for the day.