Category: Dancing

Don’t Look Hazy, Just Don’t! – 29 August 2016

Posted on by Zogman

29 AugWe decided at the weekend that we need to get out more. In the winter it’s ok to lie in bed longer than is good for us, but in these late summer days, we should be out getting some good fresh air into our lungs. With that in mind, we set ourselves the target of being out by 10am. Today we managed that, just!

Drove to the petrol station which was buzzing with police and ambulances, then got into an argument with a dumbo driving a tank, you know what I mean, great big gas guzzler and a tiny wee brain behind the wheel. There he was sitting looking smug, at least a metre away from the pumps while his wife filled the tank. I tried to park beside him, but it was an impossible situation, so I drove out and back in to a different pump, but not before mouthing to him “Prick!” While I was filling my own tank he came out of his pride and joy and said “Can I help you?” I smiled at him and said “Well, you can pay for my petrol if you want.” A smile and an unexpected reply usually baffles the dumbo. “Oh, I thought you needed something from me” he said after he had thought for a while. “Well, a bit of space would have been nice.” I said and walked away. This did not compute. CPU overload. Dumbo had to get back in the tank and plug his brain into the USB socket. I paid for the petrol and when I came back out, there he was again, brain freshly rebooted. “I don’t usually drive this car.” was his starting gambit, followed by “I wasn’t doing it to be ignorant. I had to do a very tight turn.” This is what always happens when you reboot a computer, it does random things. It looked like his CPU was still in the process of rebooting and was making his mouth spout rubbish. He should remember ‘Engage brain before opening mouth’. Not a big shouting match, but it started the day well, outwitting a dumbo. When we drove out he was still trying to remember how to start the tank. Then we saw the reason for the heavy police presence. A Post Office van had embedded itself in the wall of the garage!
We drove to Culross, parked in the carpark and walked along the coastal path in the general direction of Torryburn until we came to what on Google Maps on the phone looked like a path, but in reality was a pair of overgrown tractor ruts. We headed back and found another path that, according to Google again, would take us back to the main coastal path. It did, and was much more interesting from a photographic point of view. We sat for a while and watched the world and a few boats go by then walked back to the town, but called in at the Red Lion pub for lunch on the way. Lunch was a shared Chicken Salsa Wrap with Chips and a Salad and two cups of coffee. Oh, it was hot, and so was the weather. In Scotland we moan about the weather. If it’s cold we moan. If it’s hot we moan. If it’s windy we moan. If it’s not we moan. Never satisfied, that’s us. I got a few shots of the new pier and then we went home

Salsa tonight was interesting, fast and painful for me. My shoulder complained from start to finish, but we’re home now and I’m sitting upstairs in the front bedroom avoiding the Three Sisters below. There’s a mountain range up north called the Five Sisters of Kintail. This is the Three Sisters of Cumbernauld.

More journeyings tomorrow if the weather is good. If not, I may go a-hunting the Bramble! It’s that time of year.

Birds and the Bees (and a Spider) – 22 August 2016

Posted on by Zogman

22 augToday I did some gardening.

This is an example of forward thinking by Scamp:

  1. The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain, a few dry spells and then more rain, followed by rain.
  2. We have a bag of stone chips that we are going to put down beside the new tall fence to complete this area.  The stones when they are washed are basically a golden yellow, but with other colours through them, quite pretty.  In the bag they still retain the abrasive mix that they are tumbled with and are a claggy yellow ochre.

If you add these two things in the correct order, Scamp postulates that it would be good to lay the chips down today and then tomorrow’s rain will wash the claggy yellow ochre coating off them and reveal their true colour.  That’s why it was boots on, riggers gloves on and get yourself mucky laying down the chips.  Fine.  If only it ended there.  Scamp said: “Could we pot up this Hebe using the compost from the potatoes we lifted a week or so ago?”  Followed by: “We really need to prune the rose round the back door.” and “Maybe if we ….”  Oh, if you can’t beat them, then join them.  I volunteered to repot a wee rose that was being completely swamped by some wee blue bell-shaped flowers, that might be Campanula.  That’s as far as I went though.  This gardening can be quite addictive I’m told.  I’ll take their word for it, thanks.

Grabbed an hour and a camera and a new album from the latest John Connolly book and took them for a walk to St Mo’s.  I met a heron as I was walking over.  I’m not sure if it was Mr Grey or not.  It seemed a bit small for him, but I’ve only once seen him out of the water, so it could be.  He posed for some photos, then disappeared in a great flapping of wings.  The rest of the photos were bees and hover flies.  Hence the title of today’s epistle.  Birds and Bees and a Spider.  The John Connolly album was interesting as it always is.  Very atmospheric and all by artists I’d never heard of.

With Hazy’s help, we got Netflix to work tonight and after salsa class, settled down and watched A Royal Night Out.  Harmless fun.  Better than watching the highlights of this year’s Olympic Games.  Princess Margaret is a hoot!

Rain forecast all day tomorrow.  Hope it washes the stone chips clean again.

Kizomba – 21 August 2016

Posted on by Zogman

21AugWent to Kizomba this afternoon, before the Sunday Social.  It was good.  Not the best, but better, much better than the last two numpties who pretended to teach it.  Unfortunately, the earlier than normal trip into Glasgow really shortened the day.  To ensure that we got parked and into the Garage in time, we had to leave home by 2.30.  That didn’t leave much time for going anywhere or doing anything other than dancing, so in that respect, it was a bit of a wasted day.  I had an hour when we got back to go over to St Mo’s and get some photos.  The results are above.

A New Start – 8 August 2016

Posted on by Zogman

8 augToday we returned to the gym after a couple of months lay off.  Hopefully it will be a return to fitness for us with our stated intention of having two days a week at the gym and pool.  Well, the weans will be back at school next week, so there should be fewer of them in the pool.  It was good to get back to a bit of exercise.

In the afternoon I went for a walk along the railway and got some good shots of a couple of Red Admiral butterflies as well as some abstract looking photos of translucent seed pods on the gorse bushes.  It was a lovely day when I was out, but half an hour earlier it had been heavy rain.  I wasn’t complaining, because the sun shone all the time I was out.

To complete our ‘new start’, Scamp started back at salsa class tonight and her shoulder held up with very little pain or awkwardness.  Tomorrow will be a better test to see how successful it was.

Off to Larkhall tomorrow for eye checks for us both.

Pins & Needles – 7 August 2016

Posted on by Zogman

7 aug2We had already been warned by the BBC that today we would have abnormally, unseasonably high winds. They arrived during the night and stayed most of the day. Apparently we are to have more of the same tomorrow. This was not going to be a cycling day. The high point for me today was going to the physio.

I arrived early and got the paperwork done while he was attending to another patient. Then it was time for my assessment. After he’d poked and prodded and moved my arms in all the different directions they could and couldn’t go, he told me that I’d injured the muscles surrounding my shoulder joint and that it was not as serious as I’d thought. All it needed was a bit of gentle pushing in the right direction. He also suggested that he could use acupuncture to stimulate some regeneration in the muscle tissue. He certainly did a fair bit of manipulation and I could feel the effects of it. Then he took three needles and poked them in. I felt the muscle spasm after the first one, but nothing from the next two. Once he was satisfied with the position of the needles he left me to relax for about half an hour. I had had acupuncture before and knew that it worked. This time it took away a lot of the ache he had put into the muscles and I felt quite relaxed when he came back. After he removed the needles he did some more manipulation and then showed me a few exercises to do between now and my next appointment on Friday. Overall, I felt quite a bit of benefit from the work he had done and will have a go at trying the exercises before Friday.

Scamp was also feeling fitter from her shoulder injury (two old crocks!) and was keen to go to the Sunday Social in Glasgow. It had been a long time since we’d tried to dance on a Sunday and this was to be a test to see how much we could do. Some of the moves were more successful for me and some were more successful for Scamp. Between us we covered most of our repertoire of favourite and not so favourite moves. Enough to say that we could quite happily dance as well as most of them.

Driving home was a bit hairy at times with very strong winds and heavy rain.  As usual, the new section of the M80 did a less than exemplary job of draining away the surface water.  Why don’t the road designers take these things into account when designing motorways in a country where heavy rain is a fact of life, not an occasional hazard.

Two quick shots today taken with the macro lens on the Nikon. I’d seen the water beads on the Gazania when we came home and of course, you can always rely on one of the pink roses to look good in the rain. Hoping for some dry weather tomorrow and a bit less wind. Hoping, too, to get to the gym to begin the process of getting in shape again with some treadmill, some bike work and a swim.  We’re both banned from the weight machines for now. Holiday is over, there’s work needing done.

Drip, Drip – 25 July 2016

Posted on by Zogman

25 July b

The title refers, of course to the weather.  Yet another rainy day, but as I write this in the back bedroom while Scamp watches Celebrity Masterchef (boak!), there is blue sky with some clouds of course, but blue sky nevertheless and the promise of a better day tomorrow.  Hope it’s a better day for Scamp too.

Scamp’s new phone was due to arrive this morning between 9.12am and 10.12am.  I just love DPD’s accurate time intervals.  Anyway, it arrived just around 9.15am and as she opened the parcel and then the box the phone was in, I noticed that the seal was broken on the box, the bit that says “If the seal is broken reject the phone, blah blah”.  I carefully took the phone out of the box and noticed there were finger prints on the protective plastic cover.  The cover itself looked as if it had been removed and replaced.  You know how it looks when that’s been done, the bubbles and the edges not quite right.  Now it might be my paranoia, but in these days of heightened cyber security fears, that sort of thing shouldn’t happen.  We eventually agreed that she should phone Vodafone and request a replacement in a sealed box.  It took three phone calls and finally a post on Facebook to get the thing almost sorted.  I say ‘almost’ because she now has to wait 48 hours to get approval to get the replacement from a Vodafone shop.  Neither of us can understand why she has to wait that amount of time and neither of us is happy with the result.  Customer service from Vodafone has been shocking for both of us now and I don’t think either of us will be renewing our current contracts.

I’ve been painting experimentally today, using cling film to create interesting effects in watercolour.  I tried doing the same thing with acrylic, but it wasn’t as successful.  The next thing is to try it on a real painting, and on a larger piece of paper.

Neither of us went to salsa tonight.  Me because I couldn’t really be bothered and Scamp because her shoulder is still giving her some pain.

Did you know if you overwater a spider plant, the plant gets rid of the excess through the leaves?  That’s where today’s photos come from.  It’s amazing what you find out.  Every day’s a school day.  I never thought I’d say that again after June 2014.

Better weather forecast for tomorrow.  Let’s hope they aren’t lying.

Another Wet One – 4 July 2016

Posted on by Zogman

4 julyWet from start to finish today, but stuck to my guns and went out in the rain to capture something of the essence of the day. There were quite a lot of people about given the weather conditions. I felt sorry for the poor wee man sitting fishing under his umbrella. I hope he caught something – not the cold though! My cold has lifted thank goodness. Scamp is still coughing, but I think she is on the mend now.

It would be nice to say that these were all as they came out of the camera, but as usual, some ‘shopping’ was necessary.
The man with the dog for example:
When I got the base photo, the dog was off investigating an interesting scent in the woods, so I had to wait until it surfaced again, but then the man was facing me and had lost his hunched shoulders pose that really summed up the rainy day. No problem, I cut out the dog and added it to the original base photo, then blended it in with a vector mask. Although I knew it was raining heavily at the time, the photo didn’t show it, so I added some rain as a layer and changed the layer type to Lighten and it looked so much better. If you can’t see those carefully crafted raindrops, check out the version on Flickr 😉  EDIT!  Well, you will when Flickr remembers how to upload files.  What’s the point of having all these bells and whistles when the basic system doesn’t work.  For Flickr read Fuckr.

Had coffee with Val in the middle of the day and enjoyed the chat. It’s always good to see old friends you haven’t met with for a long time. Had a long discussion about computers and programs. Picked up a few tips on new apps to try, both on the PC and on the Mac.

Dinner was a bit rushed as I decided at the last minute to go to salsa after all and with Scamp’s blessing. I knew that Jamie Gal wouldn’t be hosting tonight’s session, and was hoping it wasn’t Colin but dreading it might be Shannon although there is one worse than that. Surely she wouldn’t inflict him on an advanced class. Keep him for the beginners. It turned out to be Will who taught a good class very clear instruction and a great deal of humour. Total enjoyment for the full hour, 9/10 Will.

Driving home, I thought I might attempt Charing Cross Mansions as a sketching objective some time. One of the prettier architectural frontages of Glasgow. I would need a dry day for that, and the weather forecast doesn’t seem to include one of those for the foreseeable future.

More than halfway – 3 July 2016

Posted on by Zogman

3 JulyI hadn’t noticed it, but on Friday we reached the halfway point on this year’s 366. So that means we are on the home stretch, doesn’t it? Should be easy from here on in. It never is though and just at present I’m going through the doldrums with no great interest in taking photos. Maybe it’s the feast of photos I took on holiday last month that’s to blame. 1115 photos in total for June, 936 of which were taken on our fortnight cruise in the Mediterranean. I need some more inspiration, but the weather has been poor for the last couple of weeks and that’s partly the cause, but it’s not the whole story. I just need to apply myself to the task and get on with it. I’ll start tomorrow. I should start today, but this is the weekend and I’m too lazy to do anything much now. That’s the problem. Procrastination. Tomorrow I must get off my backside and take some meaningful photos. Otherwise the 366 becomes a joke. Just a couple of grab shots of flowers to mark the PoD isn’t what I started 365s (or 366s) for. The shots have to be meaningful and be much better quality than I’ve been producing of late. Halfway through a 366 is a good place to start raising the standard.

Today we didn’t do much of note apart from go to the Sunday Social in the afternoon to see just how far we could push Scamp’s shoulder before it became painful. The answer was that we could actually get quite a lot of moves done. Much more than I thought we could. I don’t think she’s quite ready to go back to class yet, and as Jamie Gal is off in London this week, it’s probably best not to return to classes until next Monday. That’s not procrastination, that’s simple common sense. I’m not sure Scamp agrees totally with the logic, but I don’t think she’s quite ready for the speed of a class rueda yet.

I had one of the dinosaur bones from Chapmans in Baldock for dinner tonight, well, I had half a bone (actually a short rib) the other half will either be a large lunch tomorrow or dinner tomorrow night.  I’d forgotten just how good they are.  Forty-five minutes in the oven at gas 6 covered in tinfoil and it comes out a treat.  Thank you JIC for introducing me to this culinary delight.

Anyway, it’s flooers again tonight with a half hearted attempt at patterns with some strawberries. Not exactly award winning stuff.

Looking for that second chance called Tomorrow

Posted on by Zogman

combo bA better start to the day than yesterday. Wall to wall sunshine and blue skies with not a cloud to be seen at 8am.

I was torn between going to the gym and cycling for exercise today. Cycling won. You can go to the gym any day, hail, rain or shine, it doesn’t matter. Cycling is best done on the Shine days. Today was definitely a shine day. Unfortunately it was also a windy day with a strong east wind. East winds are usually cold, but today’s was an exception, being nicely warm. I got togged up with my short sleeved cycling top, shorts and walking boots. You see, cycling for me is not just about the joy of the open road, it’s also about getting me to places where I can take photos and walking boots are so much more practical than trainers or cycling boots. Having said that, my cycling boots are actually rock climbing boots, not that I’ve ever climbed rocks wearing them. They are very comfortable, but not practical for walking through bogs searching for damselflies or dragonflies. There were no dragonflies today – far too early, they don’t hatch up here until about August. There were no damselflies either, although it’s almost time for them. They usually appear May – June time, depending on the light and the heat. What I did see was a wee rabbit which sat watching me, deciding on its next move. That move was an extremely fast about turn and away across the field. I liked the yellow blobs – moss fruiting bodies. Usually the blobs are green and there were some of the green variety, but the yellow ones looked that bit different.

Salsa at night for one – Scamp’s shoulder is not fit for salsa yet. We did attempt a bit of bachata, but danced as a couple and didn’t change partners to protect her arm from some of the less careful dancers, of which there are quite a few sometimes.

More sun forecast for tomorrow, but not as hot as today. Maybe a walk tomorrow if the wind is as strong as today. A head wind coming home is not, to quote John Torode “A lovely, lovely thing.”

A really lovely day – 20 April 2016

Posted on by Zogman

comboToday was a lovely day from start to finish – unless you were a Rangers supporter because they were beaten 3 – 2 by Hibernian for some cup or league or other.  Personally, I couldn’t care less.

Stayed in in the morning waiting for the postman to bring my second camera strap.  This one destined for my E-PL5 or ‘5 as it’s now known.  While I was waiting, I put my boots on and went and cut the front grass.  It seemed a shame to just sit there on the step soaking up the rays when I could be doing some useful work and since Scamp had a muscle pain in her arm, the grass cutting would probably make it worse.  Postman arrived just as I was finishing and he did indeed have the strap.  A bit wider and more colourful than the previous black one.  I’m quite impressed with the quality of these straps.

After a quick bite to eat I rolled the bike out and went for a run.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  Almost no wind and a blue dome above me.  It’s a while since I’ve had a chance to wander over one of the wilderness walks and a bike is the only way to get there.  No parking places nearby, so a bit of exploration and some exercise too.  Didn’t do very many miles today, only about 6 miles all in, but hopefully I’ll get more done during the summer.  I meant to mention in yesterday’s blog that I saw my first swallows yesterday.  Three definite sightings.

As I was leaving, Scamp started painting an old orange box that will hopefully hold her sweet peas.  The orange box must be over 30 years old and came from my mum and dad’s house.  It’s wooden, probably beech and originated from Cyprus.  It might have been my brother Alex’s toy box at one time.  Notice the carefully mown lawn in the background!

While I was out I managed to get the shot of the spider hanging from its web.  I liked the translucency of the body with the light shining through it.

Before I went out I took the preparatory shots for the Weemen picture and finished it off tonight in Comic Life via Photoshop.  One more to go in the series.

Salsa tonight was easy as far as moves were concerned, but hard on the legs and feet.  Scamp says it’s because of the concrete floor.  I don’t know if that’s true, but it was sore on my wee feet.

May go in to Glasgow tomorrow if the weather holds.