Category: Dancing

Lazy day / Dancing night – 7 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

7 Nov

After the long walks these last two days, we both settled down to a sunbathing day today.  The furthest we were going to go was the pool, or should I say the pools.  The pool with the bar in it, yes in it, not just next to it, but in the img_3545-2-flickr-2pool itself, which means that you can swim up to the pool, have a drink and swim away again.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it all went ‘swimmingly’ today Winking smile   Both Scamp and I had a swim in the pool and when we both tired of this aquatic activity, we baked in the sun for a while more.  It was while Scamp was swimming she shouted to me that there was a dragonfly dipping into the pool.  It was actually a mating pair that was laying eggs in the swimming pool.  I don’t think there is much chance of those eggs hatching any time soon.  If the chlorine doesn’t kill them, the filters will grind them to a pulp.  Such a waste of time.  I got a fairly decent ink sketch done while we were sitting by the pool

We had booked for the Asian restaurant tonight and so we settled for a light lunch to protect our appetite.  After lunch it was back to the hard work of sunbathing again.

Later in the afternoon the sun had moved round and our sunbeds  were in shadow so we went back to the room and sat on the balcony for a while.  I got itchy feet and headed over to the lava rocks to see if I could capture any photos of  butterflies.  I managed a couple and that was my lot.

The Asian meal was delicious although it was a buffet and Scamp’s not keen on food that’s not piping hot, so she was a bit disappointed.  I thought it was all lovely.  My favourite was deep fried Dim Sum.  Scamp’s fave was the Tuna – no surprise there.  We had intended going for a walk and possibly a drink after the meal, but when we left the restaurant we could hear a violin playing.  At first we thought it was piped music, but it turned out to be a live musician playing an electronic violin.  Very clever stuff and of course that put paid to any chances of a walk, so it was ‘cooncil cocktails’ tonight.  Like I said, the bloke was really good, playing classical, pop and jazz.  We listened for his full set.

After the violinist had left, we went to hear the duo singing.  Different duo tonight, different songs, slightly better mumbled English lyrics, but best of all, we got to dance!  We did one Bachata and one Salsa.  Not our finest, but better than nothing.  There was a German (?) couple a bit older than us sitting in front of us and they seemed to think we had done alright.  They seemed to dance Ceroc rather than salsa.

We actually watched the full show tonight – Best of Shows it was called.  More like Least Worst in my opinion.  Blokes with balloons up their jumpers seem to get a great laugh here.  Possibly a Teutonic sense of humour.  I think it was the show that put the tin lid on things.  We went back to the room and off to sleep.  No nightcap on the balcony tonight because we were both tired out after such a lazy day!

Signed Off – 31 October 2016

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ea312057-flickr

After a fairly lazy morning I was gearing myself up for what might be the final visit to the physio.  I needn’t have worried.  After a bit of prodding and stretching he declared me fit to go out and push my shoulder to its furthest extent.  To go where no shoulder has gone before.  He did, however stab half a dozen needles in just to warn it (and me) that if we didn’t behave, there would be more prodding, stretching and stabbing to be done.  I find it hard to explain how I feel.  I’ve gained nothing from the exercises, but I’ve lost all the pain associated with the injury.  I think that’s the bit that’s hard to explain.  It’s the lack of something rather than a gain, although it is a gain, I’ve gained the ability to make my arm move, painlessly, in ways that it hasn’t in about a year.  I’ve been set free from the pain.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk over Cumbernauld Fields to sketch Cumbernauld House.  The house was under img_3482-flickrthe governance of CDC (Cumbernauld Doesn’t Care) when we first moved here.  After that it was taken over by NLC who almost immediately sold it to the highest bidder.  Now it’s been converted to a host of executive apartments.  Such a shame, but not surprising from the despicable NLC.  That said, I chose part of Cumbernauld House as my final Inktober sketch.  Technically it’s nowhere nearly as good as the Venetian Mask (my favourite), it’s a fair representation of the house.  I’m going to miss Inktober.  Admittedly I will now have more hours in my day, but sketching now has a place in my life.  I’m glad I completed all 31 of the sketches, all in ink, and most in a bound sketchbook.

Kizomba is bucking the trend for dancing in the STUC.  It’s becoming a Man’s dance.  More often than not, there are more men than women in the class.  Very strange.  It’s becoming a bit more technical, especially with footwork, but I’m still hanging in there, kept in check by the very tolerant and patient Scamp and Irene V.  I blunder through more steps than I’ve ever encountered in Salsa, but it’s still enjoyable.  If it wasn’t I wouldn’t have signed my name on the sheet to say I was interested in a Level 2 class.

Salsa was another example of Jamie Gal’s zany and, at times, absolutely mental imagination.     Who would have thought of issuing all of us, leaders and followers with glowsticks and then turning all the lights off in the STUC then dancing a rueda.  Meanwhile there were sweets, lollies, chocolates an oranges to sustain us.  Very Halloween.  Thank you again Jamie Gal for your insane imagination.

Tomorrow?  Glasgow?  Maybe.

Just a Wednesday – 26 October 2016

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Some days are interesting, some days are not.  Today was not.  We had a few loose end to tie up today and we got them done.  Scamp was feeling better, or she said she was feeling better.  Photography was covered with a walk in the wind and the rain along the Luggie and I got a fairly decent shot of the wee falls upstream from where I usually go.  I had to take the shots in between chasing two dogs who wanted to be in the photo.  It’s an ok shot, but nothing spectacular.

We drove in to Glasgow tonight and did manage to catch the last 20 minutes or so of the beginners class, a minor miracle in itself as when we entered the motorway the CITRAC signs were telling us that it would take 51 minutes to reach the airport.  On a good day it takes 17 minutes.  Apparently Rangers were playing at Ibrox and the road was full of mad Gers fans.  After a few ‘long roads for shortcuts’ we did manage to reach the STUC building in just under an hour.  That was forty minutes more than our journey back home, an hour and a half later, after half a beginners class and our own Wednesday class.  I think they should ban football during the week, or on Salsa days anyway.  We weren’t the worst by far.  Poor Roy S took 2 and a half hours to get there from Alloa.  Having said that, Alloa is on the outer reaches of the galaxy.

img_3473-flickrToday’s Inktober is a sliced up apple.  The knife is an old bone handled one that, I think came from Scamp’s mum.  The handle recently broke and rather than throw it out, I glued it with Epoxy resin.  Old traditional bone handle repaired with modern adhesive.  I like that.  We’ve both found that we’re using the old bone handled knives more than their plastic or stainless steel handled modern counterparts.  The old knives have a much better feel to them and a lot more character.

Maybe going to Glasgow tomorrow, but we’re driving in.  I think the bus journeys with all the sneezers and coughers is what’s given Scamp the cold.  I don’t want it, and I want her to get over her dose as well.  I might even get some architectural drawing done into the bargain.  Who knows?  (Question mark or not??)

A better planned Monday – 24 October 2016

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24-oct

Mondays are busy days, frantic sometimes and the only way to get everything done and keep sane it to plan the day beforehand.

Morning was bright and colourful with the sun shining through the leaves.  I imagine leaves get thinner and more translucent in autumn.  I’d guess it’s because the sugars and starches are being drawn away from them into the trunk of the tree.  Anyway, the colours were really striking this morning.  I had my usual coffee while I finished today’s ‘Easy’ Sudoku.  For once, it was easy.  They’re not always like that.

After lunch, and while Scamp’s ‘Gems’ group were in practising, I went out to get some photos and hopefully a sketch too.  I’d planned to go to Auchinstarry and sketch some of the barges in the marina, but instead I went to Colzium park in Kilsyth.  Scamp and I used to go there for a walk on Sunday mornings.  We haven’t been there for a long time, maybe it’s time we went back again.  I didn’t come for the walk this time, just to sketch the house.  It’s an old house, dating from the early 19th century.  It’s owned by NLC now which means it’s closed most of the time, a great shame as it has great potential.

I settled on a seat to start the sketch and was getting to grips with it and also getting used to sketching in public.  Then a wee man who had been sitting admiring the view over Kilsyth and also keeping an eye on me came over and img_3467-flickrasked if I was ‘Doin’ a picture”  I told him I was and he asked if I he could have a look.  This is the first time anyone has spoken to me when I was drawing and it was a bit disconcerting, but the sketch wasn’t looking too bad, so I said “Of course you can.”  After casting his critical eye over it he asked me if I was going to make it bigger.  I suppose he thought this was just a ‘rough sketch’ and here was me thinking it was looking quite good.  I told him that this was the finished article.  He seemed bemused by this and asked why I was doing it.  Now, how do you explain Inktober to a  stranger, especially to someone who doesn’t draw?  Luckily I didn’t have to explain because he started a new tack.  “You’re no’ fae Kilsyth are you?”  He said.  I told him no, I was from distant Cumbersheugh.  He dismissed that great New Town with a “Hmmph” and after a few other bits of small talk he was off home and I’d survived my first unasked for critique.

I liked the slo-mo shot of the burn coming down the wee falls.  I also liked the swanhead on the old curling pond.  Most of all I was quite happy with my finished sketch of Colzium House.  Were will tomorrow’s sketch be from?  I don’t know, but tonight before going to Kizomba and Salsa, I had processed the pictures and loaded the successful ones to Flickr.  I’d also posted today’s Inktober sketch.  All that was left after dancing was to write the blog.  That’s almost done and it’s just 11pm.  That’s what happens when you plan your day.

Coffee and Swapshop – 19 October 2016

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ea191936-flickr

I used to say that people who wanted to drink coffee should go to Costa and the rest should go to Starbucks, because Costa serve coffee and Starbucks serve Starbucks. I think that is no longer the case. Recently I’ve been going to Cafe Nero rather than go to Costa. The quality of coffee in Costa has plummeted recently in my opinion and is now almost as bad as Starbucks. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Cafe Nero in Cumbersheugh, only Costa.

Today the three Auld Guys, Fred, Val and I met to exchange goodies. Fred brought music. Music in a variety of formats, MP3 predominantly, but also FLAC and WMA . Val and I both got some. Val brought books which we accepted with grateful thanks. I also brought books which were shared out between the other two. We also shared jokes stories and the other two critiqued my Inktober sketches. It was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours with good friends and bad coffee. The meetings of the full Auld Guys contingent is a much better affair with plenty of sarcasm, wit and good beer, but these fortnightly meetings are good too. They have their place in our ‘busy’ lives.

When I got back I went for a cold walk round St Mo’s. Attempted a couple of landscape shots, but the light wasn’t conducive to decent photography. I think I just left it too late and the light quality was too poor. I did like the PoD at the top of the page. I like the graphic quality of monochrome, especially Black & White and I’m always amazed at the work the spiders put in to decorate these dried plants. You don’t notice these things until you look and that’s what photography is all about, looking.

Salsa tonight was interesting. It was Jamie G’s last lesson with his beginners class and I felt sorry for him saying goodbye to them because they are joining a class with another teacher next week. I know how he feels. I felt the same when I lost one of my classes at the end of the year. But that was long ago now, in the dim mists of time.

img_3456-flickrI’d thought long and hard about today’s Inktober sketch and attempted a couple of setups before I settled on A Pair of Pears. I quite like it. Not the best I’ve done, but better than what went before it tonight.

 

Back in harness – 17 October 2016

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Today I returned to the gym for the first time in months.  I took it easy, not wanting to undo all the good the physio had done.  I did my 10 mins on the recumbent bike and 10 mins on the treadmill, although I did up the incline and the speed to get my heart rate up a bit.  I also did one of the arm machines and one of the leg machines, so not too much yet.  I even managed a swim as the pool was nearly empty.  Unfortunately, Mondays are busy days and I had to get back home to get the dinner made.  Then it was off to Kizomba and Salsa.

Kizomba was quite stressful for me as we had to work on foot moves and arm moves too on Saida and Cross Step.  If I continue with the class, as seems likely just now, and if I look back at these posts (DV), the Saida and Cross Step will seem very tame, I’m sure, but tonight they were tough.  Salsa was frantic as usual and also very enjoyable.  Nice to see Catherine Mc back.

img_3452-flickrToday’s photo was of the peanut thief caught raiding the bird feeder again this morning.  The Inktober sketch is of Scamp’s Venetian mask.  It was a bit out of my comfort zone because of the amount of curves in it and the fact that there was light and shade to deal with on those curved surfaces.  Still, it’s a fair representation of the article.  What will tomorrow’s be?

Don’t know what the weather is going to do tomorrow.  The majority of the votes are for some sunny periods but with the chance of rain and some strong winds.  That about sums up any day in Scotland.

The Weather Fairies Lied – 16 October 2016

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16-oct

They promised us sunshine.  I think they must have had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

It started off dull, but we were expecting that.  We knew it would brighten up around midday.  However, when the wee hand was at 12 and the big hand was also at 12, the weather was much the same.  It stayed that way with the occasional bright spell through the afternoon.  I risked a half hour walk later in the afternoon and got a fairly decent portrait of a swan and a shot of a ‘Black Panther’ salute from a bush before the rain put an end to play.

Drove in to Glasgow in bright sunshine, but the sun was low and distracting.  One of those days where you wish it was dull like in the morning.  It might be boring, but at least there’s nothing to blind you.  Salsa was very energetic and very, very enjoyable.  I think Scamp was wondering what was coming next a few times when I started to string two or even three half moves together in a sequence.  It must be really hard being a follower at times.

img_3449-flickrTonight’s Inktober sketch is of some Lisianthus flowers in a vase on the table.  I keep wanting to call them Lissajous which are a totally different kettle of fish.  As far as I can remember, they were produced on an oscilloscope when we were studying AC current at college, back last century some time.  Google it, that’s the best idea.  Anyway ‘flooers’ as I call them are sometimes a picture of last resort, but these ones were quite a challenge.  Pen was a blue Linc Saffron from the Pound Shop.  Quite high quality rollerball pen, made in India.  It has a tendency to smudge when wet, but dries to a water resisting finish, at least the black does.  I’ve been using them for years now.  If you see them on sale, buy a pack.  A pound well spent.  Paper was my favourite Pink Pig sketching book.

Not sure what to expect from the weather tomorrow, but hopefully it will be better than today.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting for Kizomba to begin – 10 October 2016

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10-oct

Sitting in the STUC building after another slow run in to town. Not much fun, but at least I’m in a better mood than last week and more prepared for the slow drag.

Physio said there was a definite improvement again this week again, but he still made me in to the human pincushion. Three weeks until the next appointment.

Finally got yesterday’s Flickr uploaded this afternoon. To the eagle-eyed, congratulations if you noticed the swap of the Inktober drawing.  Once I saw yesterday’s on the computer, so many things were wrong with it, too many things in fact, so I did another, more calculated version in pencil first and then with ink on top.  After that I rubbed out the pencil guidelines.  Today’s Inktober isn’t done yet,  I’ll do it later and add it in to the blog when I get the chance

Today’s shots were just grabbed when I was making dinner. The coal tits must have been waiting for the feeder to be refilled because they were down as soon as the back door closed. The crow just looked so depressed sitting on the fence in the rain and I managed to capture the raindrops too.

[Later that same day}
Ok we’re home now and Kizomba tonight was equally good, although it was moves we’d done before ie. Forward Travel with Cha-Cha and Ladies Saida.  Kizomba seems more like Ballroom dancing than Salsa or Bachata to me because you have hand movements and foot steps too and they must co-ordinate.  I still find that difficult, but I’m sure it will get easier with practice.

It was a day of mixed fortunes weatherwise.  There was sun, it was cold, there were cloudy spells and rain showers too.  A wee bit of everything except (whisper it) snow.

Pictures are up on Flickr, Blog is written, Mosaic is in place.  Just a bit of sketching to do and we’re done! So, here it is.  Hope it was worth the wait.  Hands are fiddly to do, but they’re patient, they don’t img_3434-flickrmove unless you ask them to.  They’re always there and although they look like five limbed octopi or spiders, if they’re drawn badly ( I don’t think this one’s too bad ;-\ ), they’re always happy to sit for another sketch … or five.  I even got the twisted knuckle in my pinky to look like it is in real life.  Such a pity I couldn’t spell Inktober!

El Kaput – 2 October 2016

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2-oct

Short blog entry today.  Found that El Capitan wouldn’t access my storage area on the NAS drive.  Apparently it’s a known bug in El Cap, but nobody seems to want to fix it.  Apple don’t care and neither do Western Digital.  Each blames the other, but they keep taking the money from the punters.  Anyway, I decided to use my Carbon Copier and downgrade to Mountain Lion.  Back to safe ground again.  It worked – nearly.  Needed a bit of tweaking, but it did work in the main.  Some things didn’t work, the worst being Hazel. The app worked, but the rules wouldn’t load.  More work needed.  For once Apple hardware and software just didn’t want to work together.  You get kind of used to Apple products “Just Working”.  It comes as a shock when they don’t.  I’m back in business.  NAS drive works, but it’s like moving back a century.  Everything looks so much brighter in the future, in El Cap.

On a brighter note, I did get another sketch done for Inktober and tonight we went to salsa in the Garage and although we were late with the above problem solving, it was great fun.

Kizomba tomorrow

Flooers again – 18 September 2016

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18-septThere’s not a lot I can say about today. It started off sunny then clouded over before raining in the afternoon which was a bit of a downer.

We went to the Sunday Social which was energising as usual.

Dinner was a re-heated curry and it was very good.

We watched a ‘really exciting’ Singapore GP.

Some days are like that. You can’t always have sunshine and great photo opportunities.

Coffee with Val and Fred tomorrow. The world needs fixing again and we’re the boys to do it.