Category: A Walk

Rained again last night – 3 November 2019

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And most of today too.

It was one of those days that entice you out with the promise of sunshine and the unwary will venture out and end up soaked. The more circumspect will notice that there is a fine drizzle sparkling through the sunshine and wait for it to clear completely. For most of the day we were in that second group, then we made an excuse, any excuse, went out and got wet. There, that more or less sums up the day.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and then she phoned back to sort out a couple of iPhone problems for me. It’s great to have an expert on hand for just those niggling problems. After a puzzling hour Scamp and I finally managed to get my calendar and hers to speak to each other. You would think that in this day and age of technical wizardry, something as simple as sharing a calendar would be easy peasy, but it’s not. But then it’s associated with emails and it’s well known that emails and printers are the biggest nuisances in computing, other than trying to install Linux in a Linx computer that its, but that’s another story.

Here is that other story. I have a Linx 12×64, 2 in 1 laptop. It works fairly well, but it’s saddled with the despicable Windows 10 OS. It forever wants to “Get me back on track”. I don’t want to get back on track, I just want it to do what it’s told. That’s when I thought it might be a good idea to install Linux. Linux for those of you who have never heard of it is a free (as in free beer and free speech) operating system that runs on a UNIX base, much like a Mac. It’s a bit geeky, Val uses it, so it’s a lot geeky and the two of us are now competing to get it to run on our 12x64s. He’s almost there and I thought I was today until the screen on Elementary OS closed down every 15 seconds, no matter what I did to try to stop it. The challenge still continues and I’ll have another go tonight. I thought I’d broken the Linx last night when it ended up in no man’s land with no OS at all. No Linux and no Windows. Then I crossed my fingers and used Macrium to restore a backup of Windows and it rose from the dead again. I’m trying to keep this light with very little technospeak for JIC’s benefit, so I won’t explain my big mistake that led to that little problem. Suffice to say I won’t do it again … until the next time it sounds like a good idea.

Eventually Scamp harrumphed and said it was time to go out and get wet. We walked down to the new shops in the almost dry, got our messages and came home in the rain, just solid, straight down, rain. We knew we’d get wet and were dressed for it, so that was fine.

PoD tonight was taken, hand held with the pens sitting on a couple of tissues with another couple behind to hide the mess on the coffee table. I quite liked it.

Today’s blog title came from a Tom Paxton song, by the way “The Things I Notice Now”.

Tomorrow it’s Gems and I’m hoping to go out for a while, rain or shine.

White Rabbits (x3) – 1 November 2019

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It’s traditional on the first day of the month to say “White Rabbits, White Rabbits, White Rabbits”. Well, it’s traditional in this house anyway.

It was wet when we woke and it stayed that way all day. Eventually Scamp encouraged me to join her on a safari through the wet rainforest to the new shops. There we found our quarry, a pack of pancakes some chicken thighs and some ready-made flatbreads. Enough for dinner tonight we thought.

I was tempted to take another route home via St Mo’s and allow Scamp to carry the bags part way home, but that would be a bit unfair and I decided I was wet enough without an extra trudge through the muddy St Mo’s.

Back home, and after completing yesterday’s Sudoku, I started to make some pakora to go with the curry. I overestimated the amount of ingredients and ended up with far too much pakora. Luckily Scamp offered to scoff all the cauliflower pakora and I did the same with the onion bhajis. The result was we never did have the curry. We simply didn’t have enough room.

The rain did ease off for a while today after we returned from the shops, but not enough to encourage me out again.

PoD was a raindrop on a bush on the way to the shops. It was just a dull, wet day.

Tomorrow Scamp is going singing and I’m going to immerse myself in Cuba. All will become clear, I hope.

Coffee for two – 31 October 2019

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Off to meet Val for a technological chat.

There are four of us. Fred, Val, Colin and me. We all have our specialisms. Fred likes to talk politics, books and music. Val talks technology and books. Colin talks about gardening. I talk bollocks and books, music and technology. Between us we always find some topic of conversation to take apart. Today there were only two of us and so it was Technology and Books, but mainly Technology. We discussed new phones and old computers, books we’d read or were going to read and we both told each other lies and tall stories. That’s the best bit about shooting the breeze, nobody really believes everything the other is saying.

After we were done, Val went off to meet his wife and I went home to meet mine via M&S to get some lunch. After that, we picked up June and took her to sunny Coatbridge for her eye check. While the ladies were in the clinic, I took a trip to Currys for a bit of window shopping. Found another possible replacement for the Teazer, but on further inspection it didn’t quite fit the specification I’d set for myself. The back screen doesn’t flip up. Such a pity. The Sony RX100 iii is still the front runner.

Picked up the sisters after they were finished and after dropping June off, we went home. Scamp was getting ready to assemble a fish pie, so I went out to get some photos, but it was cold and I came back with only a couple of shots. Luckily they were decent, so I present one of them as my PoD.

Tonight’s sketch, and the last one of this year’s Inktober is an umbrella. This is not just an umbrella, this is a dripping umbrella. Let’s face it, those of us who live in Scotland get plenty of opportunity to sketch them, except today. Today was a bright, cold, sunny, DRY day. Typical!

We have no plans for tomorrow, at least not yet. Looks like rain.

On the Bonny, Bonny Banks – 29 October 2019

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Today we visited Loch Lomond.

Tuesdays are becoming the ‘just go’ days. Just get up, get out and go somewhere. Today that ‘somewhere’ was Balmaha on Loch Lomond side. To those who have never heard of it, it sounds like somewhere exotic, but you’re probably getting mixed up with The Bahamas. It was not very exotic today, in fact it was a bit cold, but when you were in the sun it didn’t feel too bad.

We had packed a flask and the usual assortment of picnic food like crisps and chocolate biscuits. Good healthy food and not in the least fattening. Before we got stuck into that we had to do some walking to get the blood flowing after our 50 minute drive. Walked down to the jetty and that’s where I got today’s PoD. It’s a two frame panorama stitched in Lightroom 6, thanks for asking. The blue sky is real and it looks exactly like the view from that pontoon today.

After getting my photos we walked back to give some other folk a shot on the pontoon. Took some more photos near the poorly tended Tom Weir garden. Then it was back to the car for a coffee and a chocky biscuit.

Scamp fancied stopping at the Beech Tree Restaurant on the way home, so that’s what we did. Luckily the Sat Nav lady knew the way to Dumgoyne and gave us directions.

Food was good, but I got a fright when the waitress asked me if my name was Campbell and was I a Techy teacher, if so there was a young lady sitting in the corner seat who thought she knew me. It turned out to be a former pupil and thankfully, it was one of the most pleasant ones I’d taught. I went over and had a few words with her and her dad who I remembered from various parents nights. Poor girl, like so many others, she’s working in a job she doesn’t like. I know that feeling. It took me many years before I got the opportunity to do a job I really enjoyed. Hope she gets that chance before long. After being properly fed on Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, and giving father and daughter a wave on the way out, we headed for home. Today was a lovely day.

I’m still not sure if the proper term is Skullcandys or Skullcandies. I’m going with the former. These are my go-to headphones (or to be more precise earbuds) when I’m out walking by myself. They fitted the topic today perfectly and the topic was A Pair of Headphones.

Tomorrow Scamp is out in the morning and we’re hoping to dance in the afternoon.

Sunny Coatbridge – 289 October 2019

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Beautiful day. Too good to stay in.

Stayed for a while to talk to Margie and cause ructions in the Gems group, then did as I suggested I would yesterday and made a sharp exit.

Since we are taking June to get her eyes checked on Thursday, it made sense to do a quick recce of Coatbridge. I was pretty sure I knew where I was going, and I was right. More importantly, I found where the parking was. There’s not a lot of it in Coatbridge and most of it is either owned by Asda or NLC education department, neither of which I trust with the Red Juke. I’m sure there are other more secure parking places near the building. Google will know, even if I don’t.

Since I was in Coatbridge, I thought I’d have a look at the grand building Clive and I had investigated on Google Maps. It took a bit of finding, but today with the sun shining on it, it did indeed look very grand. It also looked like the original building had been there for a long time. I don’t know how much of it IS original now, but it looks expensively refurbished. Didn’t want to risk taking photos of it for fear of security taking an interest in me. Maybe another day. On the way there, I discovered that Coatbridge has a cricket club. Who would have thought that?

On the way home I stopped at St Mo’s and that’s where I got the PoD.  I just thought the nearly naked tree looked a great shape against that bright blue sky.  Later I though about straightening up the slope of the grass, but eventually decided it looked ok like that.  I must look next time and see if it really does slope.

Back home and after dinner we set off for Glasgow and Salsa. Tonight we learned that New One No 2 is now called Timber. Named after a snake I believe! Jamie G also tried to reinvent a couple of moves from last week. The first one, a Rueda move, he decided could be extended to run infinitely. It caused a fair bit of confusion. The second one which might or might not have a name could be converted to a follower’s move according to him. I don’t know if many of the followers or any of the leaders managed it.

Today the demand was for a sketch of coins or dosh or smash or loose change. I had to cadge some extra spondoolicks to bolster my meagre collection, but then, it is nearly the end of the month.

We have plans for tomorrow, but only if the weather fairies behave. It’s 1.2ºc just now, so we’ll have to be well wrapped up.

A Morning Walk – 27 October 2019

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We hadn’t been for a Sunday morning walk for months.

We drove over to Colzium estate for a walk among the trees. They have the most amazingly coloured Japanese Maples. I’d forgotten just how many there were. Unfortunately the place was looking a bit run down. The bandstand must have been bad because it had been put in a cage, or maybe it was just falling down. Loads of trees blown down and some looked as if they’d been there some time. The curling pond was almost completely silted up. The trees that were still vertical were magnificent, but the rest of the park was looking very sad. Such a shame. I did get today’s PoD which was a blob of moss growing in a crevice of the old road bridge at Colzium.

After lunch, Scamp walked down to the new shops to get some ‘messages’ and when she returned she reported that it wasn’t as cold as she’d expected. That gave me the impetus I needed to get out myself and have a walk over St Mo’s. With the clocks going back this morning, the days seem to become a lot shorter and this is most obvious in the late afternoon. I’d a photograph in mind and it relied on bright sunlight from a low sun. I almost caught it in one shot, but I think I missed the perfect time by a few minutes. Maybe another day. I’ll use either PhotoPills or The Photographer’s Ephemeris to work out the exact timing for it next time. Great apps, they allow you to find the optimum time for directional lighting anywhere in the world. They even work with light striking along a path in Kilsyth!

I was making dinner tonight and it was Chicken Cacciatore from one of Scamp’s cookery books. It was a bit fiddly to make, but it tasted very like her’s, so I must have made it right.  On the subject of food, today my Inktober list said “Bread”, but I included a glass of wine in the background. Then I drank the wine, which was perhaps a mistake on so many levels.  I could say that I’d baked the bread myself, but in fact it was a Warburtons Multi Seed and Grain and does taste just like home made.

Spoke to JIC at night and got the full story about the dummy interview he’s sent us. We both thought he’d managed the interview really well. Although we could see that he was taking the whole thing very seriously, he did inject a bit of humour too. A scary thing to volunteer for, especially knowing it was being filmed. Well done you!

Stayed up late to watch an ‘eventful’ Mexico GP. It’s amazing to listen to the drivers’ versions of events which vary greatly from the actual scenes you’ve been watching.

Tomorrow (or to be more exact, Today) is Gems day. I’ll make a sharp exit.

I thought I’d have a day in town today – 24 October 2019

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Just window shopping mainly, but with intent.

Drove up to the station to see if there were any spaces. There weren’t, there were cars everywhere. Cars parked up on two wheels on the verges, cars in the flower beds, cars double parked. This is just carnage from Tuesday to Thursday. I think a lot of folk either work from home or take a holiday on Mondays and Fridays, because I can usually get parked without a problem then. However, there is always the worry that when you come back some moron has parked in front of you. Maybe a ‘ten pence coach line’ would remind them that behaviour like that is not acceptable. Sooo I had to drive in to Glasgow.

I was give a list of shower gels to get for Scamp in Molton Brown. Of course they don’t call them ‘shower gels’, they call them Body Wash. Isn’t that what shower gels do, wash your body? Anyway, today was the start of their annual 20% off offer so that’s why I was given the list. With the job done I wandered my way back up Bucky Street to see what goodies Jessops had for me. My attention was a girl interrogating an older couple. Then I felt a hand on my chest. It was attached to a woman about my age and it was there to stop me walking into her! I hate folk that don’t look where they’re going, and here was I doing exactly that thing. I apologised and laughed and thankfully she did too. Never did find out what the girl was doing.

I hadn’t heard that Jessops were on the point of being put into administration – for the second time. It was only when another customer asked one of the assistants if the shop was closing. His reaction gave the lie to his explanation that nothing was certain yet. Another one bites the dust, I think.

I had another look at the Sony RX 100 camera and for once the salesman I was talking to didn’t push me to try the version 5 of the camera, but said the best bargain was the version 3. I’m still not sure if it’s what I’m looking for. It has a silly little pop up viewfinder that I’m sure I’d break within the first month and then regret shelling out my money for it for the rest of the ownership.

Back home via Tesco to get the makings of dinner. Then I just had to visit the new Aldi store. It was a bit smelly and that could have been the veg counter, or just the great unwashed. I’m not sure which.

Back home I was in the middle of making a pot of Scamp’s Just Soup when the lady herself returned from her gig. It seemed to be a resounding success as it always is in Abronhill.

I left her to cool down and talk to her sister on the phone while I went to get today’s PoD. It turned out to be a little bush which grows wild around here with white berries and pink flowers. It’s called a Snowberry Bush. I liked the flower and the composition.

Apart from fish and prawns, I ‘m not a great fan of seafood, especially shellfish. However, that was today’s topic and needs must … Most of the bits and pieces were cobbled together from various photos of shellfish on the Internet. A splash or two of paint and we’re done!

No plans for tomorrow.

Dancing and a screamer – 23 October 2019

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Wednesday is dancing day. Screamers are just nutters with a different name.

My new phone vibrated just after 12 noon to tell me it had changed numbers, back to the one I’ve had for the last eight(?) years. A result. Thank you to the bloke in EE who sorted it. Now I can go ahead and unlock the old phone.

Drove in to Glasgow and started again into the new routine, adding the subtly named Bump and Grind. After that is was a practise session for the Quickstep and the Waltz. I had problems with them both, but the room is simply too small to be able to go over these steps. Add two speaker stacks and a piano and it becomes more challenging. If you add the third complication of the thick couple Gary and Freda who will happily stop anywhere and discuss who was making the mistakes. Actually, like most couples both were at fault, but do they really need to block everyone else’s path while the blame each other? It appears they do.

Coffee afterwards and coming back from the toilet, I noticed an iPhone on the floor behind where a woman was sitting. I tapped her on the shoulder to tell her and she let out this cutting scream. Honest, I just tapped her on the shoulder. I didn’t think I was that scary, although years of S1 pupils at school might disagree. Some folk just want to be the centre of attention. Nutters by any other name.

Back home I went out for a walk with the “Big Dog”. Thinking that as it was really dull, the bigger sensor on the Nikon would handle it better than the Oly. I was wrong. Lots of grain showing on the images. I finally chose a shot of a swan as PoD.

When I got back it was time to get the sketch sorted out. The topic was “A Fried Egg”. Where do these people get their ideas from (it was an old list for EDIM actually)? It should have been fairly easy, but I’m not that good at getting eggs into the frying pan without breaking the yolk, (and that’s what I did with the first one.) Tomorrow I’m expected to continue the food theme!

I packed in early and that’s why this blog post is a catch up. Sorry!

Tomorrow Scamp has a gig and I may go in to Glasgow.

Meeting a man from the money trade – 22 October 2019

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Drove in to Falkirk this morning to find out about finances.

Went to meet Andrew, the man with the eye-catching sox and a finger on the pulse of the stock exchange. He told us that all was good and had figures to prove it. Filled us in on what was happening with investments and stuff worldwide and how the Chinese are trying to pull the wool over some folks eyes. He didn’t actually give us his opinion of Boris.

After that it was a short trip to The Fort to see what was up with the phones debacle. After a quick check on a slow computer the man from EE found the fault. The PAC code hadn’t been entered. It is now, or so he said, and who am I to argue with him. I was merely an interested bystander feeding him the information he asked for. The transaction should be completed just after lunchtime tomorrow.

Lunch for us was a coffee and a cake each in Costa, there being no better coffee shop in The Fort. There is a Starbucks, but they don’t sell coffee, only Starbucks. Not sure what that’s made from. I knew when I was eating the chocolate caramel crispy bar that it wasn’t going to do me or my sugar level any good, but it just tasted lovely at the time. An hour later I didn’t feel so great about it. Too much sugar and fat is not good for you. To work it off a bit I walked the half a mile or so round the walls of The Fort to get the last A4 Seawhite sketch book from Hobby Craft. I’m sure it’s gone up in price since the last time I bought one, midsummer.

Back home and the temperature seemed to be falling. After some bread and ham for ’real’ lunch I decided to take the Oly and the new phone (no nickname has been set for it yet, but it might be Sammy) to find out if it could control the mighty E-M1. I tested it out in St Mo’s on a couple of toadstools, because I know they’re patient and wouldn’t start messing about or running away. I couldn’t find out how to get the WiFi to work on the camera and then the bloody phone wouldn’t allow me to use it as a replacement for the back screen on the camera. I ended up just taking a couple of shots manually, actually having to press the shutter button. How ‘old school’ is that? When I got back to the house I found out what I’d done wrong. Or should that be “all that I’d done wrong”. Lots of mistakes and strangely it worked perfectly in the house. Maybe Sammy, if that’s its name, doesn’t like the cold either. Today the ‘old school’ photo of the toadstools made PoD.

Today’s topic was “A Hand”. My left hand again. The one that suffered in the first sketch of Inktober 2019 where the topic was “Ring”, well it would be, wouldn’t it. I’ve only got one left hand. This time the hand was the subject and the little Lamy pen was just a prop. While I didn’t sketch it with my left hand (obviously!), I did write “Hand” with it. Just for a bit of fun.

Tomorrow I intend to be checking the two phones, just to make sure they do as they’re told this time. Also we’re hoping to squeeze in some dancing.

Time to get the big jacket out – 21 October 2019

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I went for a walk today when Gems were in. I was decidedly underdressed.

It’s not like I was wearing tee shirt and shorts, just my usual jeans shirt jersey and my blue windproof rainy coat, but the wind today was biting. I think it’s time to bow to the inevitable and bring out the big Bergy jacket with its heavy lining.

The cold didn’t stop me enjoying the walk and I got today’s PoD down by the Luggie. I don’t know where this spider was going, but it was on a mission. Clambering over the rough gravel path. Look at the size of those teeth, or are they fangs? I don’t know. I didn’t want to get too close.

After I got as far as the road bridge, I had to give up because I was only wearing trainers and while they are waterproof, they are not mud and glaur proof. ‘Glaur’ is an old Scots word for really sticky mud. At least that’s my excuse, but really I was getting chilled by the cold westerly wind and glad to turn my back to it.

Back home I spent a profitable 15 minutes drawing today’s sketch of a bag Scamp bought me. The words “I’m away for the messages” will be familiar to most Scots, but if you are not of a Scottish persuasion, this means “I’m going shopping” Not window shopping or lightweight shopping. No, this is heavy duty serious buying for the week ahead type shopping. Anyway, I like the bag, it’s cotton and feels good. I’ve not actually used it yet. I must do soon. I also liked the sketch. It seemed to flow, not like a few of my Inktober 2019 efforts.

Kept watching the new and old phones while I was making the dinner, but no amount of watching, waiting or wishing would make the phone number on the new phone magically turn into the old one that seems to be stuck firmly to the iPhone. PAC code has been issued and as far as I am told it’s been accepted, but even after we returned from Salsa, never the twain would meet. Will speak to the new provider tomorrow with a bit of luck.

Salsa was the usual stramash that results from Jamie G introducing a new move. The ‘New’ move this week was called DJ and it was really a rehash of something we’d done before. Scamp and I both agree on that. It was a good move, one I think I could dance ‘in the wild’.

Tomorrow we’re off to Falkirk to speak to a man from Yorkshire.