Category: A Walk

What a day! – 28 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Grab a cup of coffee or anything else and listen to the story of our day!

The day started with me driving down to Jim Dickson’s garage.

I was getting a rough estimate for a couple of bits that were needed for the car and he gave me a reassurance that after a quick look underneath, apart from those bits, the car was fine. That was my mind set at rest for a while. It goes in to get the work done on Monday. It would have been sooner, but Storm Éowyn had driven a cart and horses through everyone’s plans it seemed.

Next stop was Tesco because we needed milk, except they only had the more expensive Cravendale filtered milk, but since it was ‘on special’ it was worth buying. They had absolutely no bread. None! The reason that there was no ‘Tesco’ brand milk and no bread was that Storm Éowyn had driven a cart and …! I’m beginning to think that poor Éowyn is getting the blame for everything including Donald Trump’s bald patch!

Picked up Scamp at the house and we drove down to Croy station car park hoping against hope that there would be an empty space. There wasn’t. However while I was driving back to the exit, I clocked a woman pushing a pram. Maybe, just maybe she was going back to her car and we could pinch her space when she left. Scamp was my lookout and she reported that the lady was reversing out of her space. I managed to get there first before any other vultures arrived and she signalled that she was leaving.

As it turned out she had one young child and a baby and was trying to keep them amused while she bolted them into their car seats. As she got more and more frustrated, Scamp offered to hold the baby while she worked at the car seat for the boy. Finally she go the boy secured and the baby was next, but she couldn’t work out how to get the pram folded and into the boot of her car. She explained that she was ‘the granny’ and that the car was new. Her daughter had dropped the children off at the car park and said it was easy to fold the pram. Actually it looked easy, once you saw how it was designed to fold in both the body of the pram and the wheels. The problem was the big Tesco bag full of baby clothes that was stuffed into the pram. After removing that, everything slipped into place.

After loads of “than-you’s” she reversed out and drove off while I signalled to the three vultures who had been circling that the space was mine. KEEP WELL CLEAR. The look on my face must have been enough. They gave me space and we were parked.

We had just enough time (7mins) to literally, run across the car park just as the train was approaching, buy the tickets, run over the footbridge and jump into the first open carriage before the train departed. I think we might have reached Falkirk before our breathing had returned to normal and our heart rate was no longer in the RED area. The journey to Edinburgh was uneventful by comparison. Did I mention that we were going to Edinburgh to see the Turner watercolours?

We walked from Waverley station to Royal Scottish Academy and joined the queue that was at the bottom of the stairs into the building itself. We were told it would take an hour to an hour and a half to get to the room with the exhibition. Well, we’d come this far and been Good Samaritans for on harassed lady, and run across the carpark then jumped into a train that we were sure would leave without us. Sure, we could handle an hour and a half walking into the gallery.

In the end it took a little more than two hours to follow the snaking line of art lovers to reach our goal. It was a bit like the queue at the airport, without the security check. It was also good humoured and I actually enjoyed most of it. Folding stools were available for those who couldn’t or didn’t want to stand for two and a bit hours. Eventually we reached the exhibition room. At first the paintings were underwhelming, but then, when you saw the vast amounts of detail in the sketches and the lack of detail in the watercolours, you realised just what a genius this man was. People in the paintings were just tiny little brush strokes, but they were obviously people. We were allowed to photograph any and all we wanted. I just chose a selection of my favourites, then we were gone. Out into the cold of Edinburgh. I was reassured when I saw that the queue was just as long as it had been when we had joined.

We had dinner in the posh restaurant below the gallery. Simple Fish ’n’ Chips. Then a cup of take-away coffee before getting the train home.

PoD was a wee asian man taking a photos of two members of his family. I liked his stance!

Well, that was a long story, and I’m sure I’ve missed out some details. I’ll sleep on it tonight and write myself a bullet point list of things to remember. I may post it, but it would probably mean nothing to anyone other than Scamp and me, and maybe a ‘granny’ who was getting flustered trying to fold a pram into the boot of a car while the baby bawled it’s head off!

Tomorrow I may meet Alex for a photo walk.

Dancin’ – 27 January 2025

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Out fairly early to speak to Mr Dickson.

As usual on a Monday, Jim Dickson’s garage was mobbed. Not with people today, but with cars all waiting for their time slot to get up onto the jack and have their innards examined. I guessed the Blue car wouldn’t be getting worked on today. The place was just far too busy, especially after the stormy Friday we’d just had when folk were told not to travel. That meant there would be a backlog of work to be done today, because Dickson’s doesn’t open at weekends. I did manage to buttonhole Jim D and explain what I wanted looked at. He agreed to do it on Wednesday. That would be a problem for Alex.

I just arrived home when Alex’s WhatsApp arrived asking if I was free this week. I phoned him to tell him it was unlikely I’d be able to go for a photo-walk this week. Every day is booked except Friday and I knew that Alex is always busy with grandkids on Fridays. After I’d explained the situation, we had a blether and compared Éowyn stories.

Scamp and I drove over to Tesco to get a trolley load of veg and fruit and the usual assortment of odds and ends. It also gave us a chance to have a look around the area and see just how lucky we had been not to have any serious problems with the wind.

Scamp had a phone call booked with Jackie for the afternoon, so I put on my boots and went for a walk over St Mo’s. I didn’t expect to see much and I wasn’t disappointed. Nobody was walking around the paths today, nobody but me, that is. I did see a Treecreeper going from tree to tree. They seem to climb around the tree in a helical direction looking for insects in crevices. When they get to the top, they fly down to another tree and start again. I hadn’t seen any of these secretive wee birds for a couple of years and I thought I could maybe get a photo of this one. Unfortunately I slid on my bum down the steep banking and by the time I’d righted myself the bird was long gone. Thankfully there was nobody to see me!

Back home it was almost time to get changed to go dancing with Kirsty’s class. Tonight started with a reprise of last week’s waltz, followed with a short introduction to the Foxtrot. It wasn’t really an intro to it, because we’d all danced it last year. This year’s routine was a bit different and was slightly more difficult too. We both enjoyed it, but sometimes we didn’t agree on the finer points.

We drove home in a dark, gloomy winter’s night. Scamp made Haggis Neeps and Tatties, but although Scamp thought the veggie haggis was ok, if dry, I thought it was like eating cardboard. Now I haven’t eaten cardboard recently, but I imagine it tastes better than the haggis. No taste and no spice.

PoD should have been a treecreeper, but it ended up being some Cladonia growing out of a carpet of sphagnum moss.

Tomorrow we may go out somewhere.

Late start to the day – 26 January 2025

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At least there was no snow and no high winds. In the late morning we went for a walk down to the shops. On the way we found our next door neighbour’s wheelie bin lying across the road and in a hedge. I managed to haul it out and take it back to its rightful place.

It was a cold walk down to the shops. Temperature had started at 0.3ºc when I was making breakfast and it didn’t feel as if it had risen much above 1ºc all day. Paths were icy although the wheel tracks of the little grit sprayer were clear to see, unfortunately there was no sign of any grit being sprayed. Probably the council told them to drive around and folk would think that the paths had been gritted. Fly barstewards.

By the time we returned with the food for lunch and dinner, the light was improving, so I went out with the A6500 and the long Tamron lens, hoping for something interesting. A group of maddies were using the BMX track to race radio controlled cars and I thought I might get some photos there, but by the time I found my way round the fallen trees and the slippery paths, they were heading for home.

I did get a photo of a wee robin, all puffed up against the windchill and that made PoD on Flickr, but more interesting for me were the fallen trees scattered all around one side of St Mo’s park, the other side was barely touched. Something to do with the direction and angle of the wind I think. I took a few photos of the destruction on my iPhone, because the Tamron was not covering a big enough area.

Just past the boardwalk there were three trees all large and fairly mature, ripped out of the ground or broken blocking the path. Somebody before me had worked out a route that took me round the trees and water filled holes on to the path on the far side. I imagine the tree surgeons will have their work cut out clearing the path this coming week.

I walked back to the house after one circuit of the pond and by that time the sun was dipping behind the clouds and the temperature was dropping again.

Lunch was bacon and black pudding with a handful of mini tomatoes, while Scamp had black pudding, egg and those mini tomatoes.

Processing the photos showed just how fierce the winds had been on Friday, and I scattered some across the blog.

Dinner for me was a rump steak from M&S and Scamp had ‘Rats’ which we all know is Ratatouille. We shared some sautéd baby potatoes and I pinched some of Scamp’s Rats.

We spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard that one of our friends is now in a nursing home receiving palliative care. So sorry to hear that Clive. A lovely man.

Tomorrow I’m going to ask Jim Dickson to give me an estimate to repair the blue car. I’m pretty sure there’s damage to a spring and at least one shock absorber after a meeting with a deep pothole last Thursday.

Beautiful clear day – 21 January 2025

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It was a bit dull this morning, but then the clouds cleared and the sun shone!

We had a fair bit of shopping to do today, so we drove up to Tesco to see if they had anything interesting in store. We managed to get almost everything we wanted, but we might need to go shopping again tomorrow for the odd one or two we missed.

We had intended to go out for a walk in the afternoon, but that didn’t happen. Scamp was cleaning and I was printing off the remaining calendars. Yes, Hazy, they are coming. I’m hoping to get them posted off tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon, once the calendars were drying, I went for a walk in St Mo’s. The sun was just setting as I was crossing the boardwalk and I took a few shots with the camera. Then I tried the phone camera, but wasn’t impressed with the results until I spent a good ten minutes going through the different settings and sub-settings on the thing. That’s when the PoD appeared. I was trying to shoot an ultra-wide view across the pond to grab the sunset colours, and suddenly it all just worked! Scamp chose the PoD and I have to agree with her. It worked so well.

We eventually got a ’normal’ dinner tonight. It was Pasta all’Amatriciana. Pasta with bacon, dried red pepper flakes and a tin of Italian tomatoes, served with cheese. I added crushed garlic just to play with the garlic press!

That was about it for today. Tomorrow I think we’ll both be baking or cooking for Crawford and Nancy.

An early shout – 20 January 2025

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Out just after 9am (early for me!) to go see the bloodsuckers. Those darling ladies who take away some of my high quality blood for their own nefarious purposes. I think they use it to make black pudding!

After the blood letting, I was free to enjoy the rest of the day. It was a gloomy prospect. Poor light in an overcast sky and nothing to look forward to. Even lost my 36 day run on Wordle. First one I’d tried on the new phone. I hope that’s not an indication of what’s coming next.

After a reviving cup of coffee, Scamp set out her plans for the remainder of the day which involve driving to Falkirk to look for a bedside lamp, a coffee table, maybe a new fridge and just the chance of a new rug for the lighting room.

  • None of the many bedside lamps ticked her boxes.
  • Of coffee tables there were no signs.
  • Fridges were also thin on the ground. There were cheap ones and there were expensive ones, but virtually nothing in between.
  • We did find a rug which was almost the same size as our present one and we took a chance on it.

At least we did get the rug and then we went shopping in Morrisons for … well, shopping mainly; – also known as ‘Messages’. We were almost as unlucky there too. It being Monday, a lot of the shelves were empty. I’m beginning to wonder about Morrisons. Over Christmas they were in dire straits when they couldn’t produce the Christmas goodies folk had been saving up for. It wasn’t a good sign. No doubt we’ll hear about it sooner rather than later if the shops begin to close.

Drove home and I took a chance on being able to get some decent landscape shots. Luckily for me I did find a likely sky scape that reflected on the water of the pond at St Mo’s. I took that as a basis for a PoD.

Drove up to Kirsty’s new dance class. The class had started last week, but neither Scamp nor I was really ready for it, but today we were. The hall she had found was a decent size an brightly lit. Much, much better than the dingy pocket handkerchief we’d been working I for the past year. This was a whole new possibility. Tonight’s dance was the first two parts of a waltz routine and it worked well. We had a new couple just joined us last week too. I hope Kirsty’s enthusiasm starts to bring in more ballroom and latin dancers.

Tomorrow, I think we may be practising some food ideas for two friends on Wednesday, all being well.

Snowdrops – 19 January 2025

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The first snowdrop flowers to appear in the garden.

It was Scamp’s idea that I should take a photo of the first snowdrops. I think it was just a ploy to get me to go outside for a while, but I didn’t mind. Finding a decent viewpoint to shoot them from, because they were nestled into a corner of a square pot, that was a challenge. I eventually used a piece of matt black neoprene to give a dark background that would hide the plastic pot, but wouldn’t be too detailed and draw the eye from the plants. Eventually I came up with about six photos. Three from one angle and three from another. The final choice was up to Scamp and she chose this one. I think she was right. She sometimes is!

The remainder of the day was a typical Sunday. Lunch for Scamp was one of yesterday’s fresh eggs, fried with some tomatoes on buttered bread. I had the remainder of Friday’s mince with another of those eggs poached in it. A Larky standard!

Later after Scamp had taken in all that Laura Kuenssberg had to say about the release of hostages from Israel and Gaza and the forthcoming deification of Donald Trump, we went for a walk to the shops. Of course I took a camera with me, but I didn’t use it. I knew the first snowdrop would stand for PoD. It wasn’t as cold as it had been in the morning when I’d been on location in the garden photographing flowers, but on the way back home a chill began to descend.

Dinner was Trout Fillets with Hasselback Potatoes (why do I keep calling them Hasselhoff?), Peppers, Tomatoes and Shallots, roasted in the oven. Absolutely lovely. Why do I keep describing food? Because we are both foodies and good food deserves to be praised.

Spoke to Jamie and heard how he had spent his week weeding and working in the garden while Simonne lived the high life in Florida. Your time will come Jamie!

Tomorrow morning I’m expected to donate a full test tube of my precious blood to demonstrate how wonderful it is!

Dance Class – 18 January 2025

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First one this year and first one for about a month too.

Drove to Brookfield to find that the room was almost full. Neither of us had seen such a busy dance class in a long time, if not ever!

Just as we were driving over to Brookfield, my phone buzzed. By the time I got there the message was long gone and anyway it was just a message to say that NHS Hairmyres Hospital had called and it wasn’t possible to reply to this message. What sort of way is that to run a railroad, or a hospital, for that matter. I phoned the hospital and spoke to a human who told the message was about an appointment I had. By the sound of her, I wasn’t the first to have one of these calls. In fact I’d had one last week and knew what was coming.

Back at dance class, we recognised a few faces from years ago, in for a refresher course. Stewart asked us how many of us could remember the October Waltz. Most of us couldn’t remember how to tie our shoe laces, far less how to dance! That didn’t sway Stewart and Jane and we were soon remembering ‘Back Cortés’ and ‘Spin Turns’. It also gave me a chance to do take some video footage on my new phone. The October Waltz took up most of our time and we may still be perfecting next October if we’re spared.

A wee bit of sequence dancing gave our knotted leg muscles a chance to recover after the waltz, and we were in to the Tango. A new version of the X-Line Tango that we started with a few years ago, but which has been altered an improved in the last year or so. Actually, it feels like a completely new dance now. With Scamp and Jane’s help I did put the steps in the correct place and my feet followed suit. In the end, the tango wasn’t as daunting as I’d feared.

A Midnight Jive or two brought proceedings to a suitable finale and we were still able to walk back to the car. One of the dancers had brought eggs, laid by a neighbour’s hens and was giving them away. Scamp collected half a dozen in a box filled with straw and they survived the journey home. I took a risk and went the Kingston Bridge way home, it being quicker, especially if you claim a space in the outside lane quickly enough. I did.

Back home despondency hung over me because of the complications of the iPhone 15 again. However, a severe talking to by Scamp and the promise of a Golden Bowl supper made me forget.

A walk over to Condorrat to collect the supper gave me my first serious shot with the phone of cars on the motorway. I was quite impressed. Not camera quality, but not bad. That was the PoD in the bag.

Remember the phone call that you cannot reply to? We got another one tonight when we were watching last year’s prom on iPlayer. The same message I got last week, so I knew what to expect. Automatic recorded voice which, thankfully wasn’t american, talked me through the procedure an I was booked in.

Scamp was enthralled by Barber’s Adagio and I was similarly fascinated by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Absolutely fascinating. How can these folk remember all those piano pieces.

In a much better frame of mind tonight. I’m more settled with the phone and with the next appointment at the hospital. It looks like it’s going to be a busy week. Only one free day for a walk with Alex.

Hoping for a bit better day tomorrow, even just a bit of light, even if it’s raining will do.

Heading for Fife – 16 January 2025

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Today we got a bus to catch a bus that would take us to Fife for a walk in the park and to grab some lunch.

We got the X3 to the town centre and just missed the bus to Dunfermline. That meant we had to stand in a cold, unheated bus shelter for about half an hour until the Dunfermline bus arrived. Really, in this day and age I’d think a wee bonfire in the corner could have been lit to provide us with some heating. Even if we gathered up all the fag ends, we could have allowed them to dry out so they would be easier to light and give us a heat. It looked from the singe marks on the timetables in the shelter that some adventurous folk had the same idea. At least someone was thinking about us shivering pensioners.

We finally got on the most rickety bus Stagecoach could find and at least it was heated. A fairly pleasant run up to Dunfermline, but I was wishing that I’d taken Scamp up on her suggestion that we grab a seat on the Perth bus that we allowed to pass us, or even the Dundee bus would have been good. The fact that both of those destinations had shops selling coffee beans that I’d tried in the past had nothing to do with our destination. There were no coffee beans for sale in Dunfermline, but there was a Cafe Nero which was the next best thing.

Suitably refreshed, we went for a walk through the park and I got a chance to take some photos of the more exotic plants in the heated glasshouse. I also sneaked some photos of folk in and around the park. PoD went to a leaf in the glasshouse, brilliantly lit from behind by today’s bright low sun.

Lunch was in Wetherspoons. Fish ’n’ Chips for Scamp and Chicken Jalfrezi curry for me. Scamp’s was washed down with a large glass of Barossa Ink and mine with a pint of Innis & Gunn. Long time since I’ve had that.

After that it was time to head for the bus home. An uneventful journey with some lovely cloudscapes that I couldn’t take, but enjoyed watching.

Tonight we watched our first and probably our last Traitors. I’m guessing most of the folk in this pointless bit of fluff were cracked actors or “Be on a Show” people who just wanted to be seen on TV. It was puerile rubbish, but seems to have attracted a fair following. So what do I know?

Tomorrow we’re back in the old routine with Scamp intending to go to Fit Steps in the morning.

 

Sunny and cold today – 15 January 2025

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A lazy morning for Scamp, and for me a successful hour or so of working out how to put my Gmail accounts into the iPhone. These may be famous last words, but I think I’m getting the hang of the iPhone at last. It’s far more complicated and security conscious than the old SE model I had a hundred years ago!

In the afternoon I took a break from technology and drove Scamp up to the fairly new Westway retail park, in what used to be Wardpark, for lunch with the Witches. A few shops, a Home Bargains, a Halfords and a B&Q. Fantastic.

I wasn’t invited nor did I want to be. Instead I drove up to Fannyside on a beautiful cold day with wall to wall blue sky. I only came, as I said, for a break from fighting with an iPhone that wanted my password every few seconds. I parked at a corner by the side of a field full of sheep (The Girls) and went for a walk, heading north-east for about a mile along the single track road and got a few photos, then retraced my steps, back to the car.

I had two cameras and three lenses with me, so I changed cameras and lenses and walked south-east for another three-quarters of a mile before heading back to the car again with very few shots in the bag. Then I noticed that a few of The Girls were wondering what was going on and coming over for a better look. That’s when I got the PoD. I could drive home quite happily now there was something decent in the bag.

Back home I was just making a cup of tea (herbal tea) when Scamp arrived home from lunch with tales of cakes and coffee bought for just a few quid. Who would have thought you’d get decent coffee and a cake at Home Bargains for less than a fiver?

Scamp made dinner tonight and it was Prawn & Pea Risotto. A lovely combination she makes so well. Washed down with a half a bottle of red. Well, it is ‘Hump’ day. Midweek!

Later we watched The Great Scottish Book Club. Always worth a watch, just to make sure you’re not missing anything worthwhile putting on your ‘watch list’.

Tomorrow the plan is to take the bus to Dunfermline over in Fife for a walk in the park and possibly some lunch.

More frost and more ice. – 10 January 2025

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Out in the morning, then a lazy day.

I went out in the morning to book a face to face meeting with a doc at the health centre. It’s nothing serious, I’m just booking a PSA test. I had a biannual test in the years before Covid put an end to those things and I kept forgetting to get back in the loop. Alex nudged me about it yesterday, so now I have to see a doc next week to get my annual or biannual check-up authorised.

It was very sparkly and frosty when I was out and I was really glad to get back to the warmth of the house. We’d considered going out somewhere for lunch, but eventually talked ourselves out of it. Lunch was more of Scamp’s soup. It tasted better today. Better blended now the veg had softened and mixed together.

Inevitably my thoughts turned to what Hazy and I had been discussing yesterday, a new phone. I did have a look at an iPhone 16, but decided that ‘Apple Intelligence’ wasn’t for me. It all sounded a bit pie in the sky and none of the reviewers I read seemed to have a clear idea where the benefits were. There is advice that says “Never buy version 1 of anything. Wait until version 2 comes out. By then most of the bugs will be ironed out.” That Is how I think Apple Intelligence will pan out.

I did take a camera out for a walk today and took a few of my Dangerous Dan photos. It’s the dangerous practise of placing an expensive camera on the ice of a frozen pond, pressing the shutter button and quickly lifting said camera once the shutter goes click. So far I haven’t sunk any cameras, expensive or otherwise, but there’s still time! That didn’t get PoD. A swan looking as if it was skating across the frozen pond got that.

After I’d photographed the swan and the ice crystals on the pond I walked round the back of St Mo’s school and down to the shops. I was hoping to see some deer, but none were coming out to see me today. Got some veg in M&S to make a stir fry for dinner. It was pronounced good enough to eat by Scamp.

We watched a rather half hearted Grantchester episode and I came away not really knowing what had happened in it. Maybe just the manoeuvrings of the first episode of a new series, putting things in their place and maybe changing some things. Or else it might just have been a crap episode!

No plans for tomorrow. Dance teachers are back in the UK, I think, but not feeling well. There’s a lot of that about, I believe.