Category: Dancing

Another day not wasted – 30 March 2016

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combo bUp fairly early and went to the gym. Scamp was quite circumspect with the machines, not wanting to aggravate here sore shoulder and then a heat soak in the steam room, the sauna and the jacuzzi.

After a quick light lunch I toddled off to fill up with petrol which has gone up to 101.99p per litre a rise of 2p since last week. I drove around for a while after that frittering away that expensive alcohol looking for some photos. I eventually settled on Hulks Road but luckily didn’t encounter any gigantic angry green men and got a few shots looking down the valley towards Glasgow an the incoming rain clouds.

Tonight we went to salsa as we hadn’t had our dancing fix on Monday because it was Easter holiday.  Drove through some torrential rain showers with the sun shining brightly behind them.  Worth it though.  Exhausted after two classes and found they were pretending to repair the motorway again and there were diversions everywhere. I made my own diversion and found a way back on. Why do they divert you to a slip road that’s closed? Only Glasgow has the answer and they’re not telling anyone. Looks like a decent day tomorrow, so we’re heading for some scenery somewhere. That’s the plan anyway.

Sunshine – 14 March 2016

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combo bHey, maybe we brought some sunshine back.  Deep in the folds of our bags there must have been a little seed of Canaries magic sunshine.  When I woke this morning, just after 7.00am the sun was shining through the windows and the sky was blue.  Got up and did a little more catching up on the blog then after breakfast I set to to clear my ToDo list for the day.  By midday it was clear, apart from some more blog posts and Flickr post to upload.  The heavy lifting was done.  I must say that it would have been a much more onerous task without the magic of DayOne and Dropbox.  DayOne on my phone means I can peck away at the keyboard and write about things as they happen during the day and that means it’s not such a chore (I hate that american sounding word) to remember and write up my day when I’m tired at night (like I am now).  Dropbox allows me to sync the DayOne write-ups with the Mac.  Anyway, as usual, I digress.

Got the bike out and went out wearing shorts!  I took my longs as well as insurance, just in case the sun was lying and it was really cold.  It wasn’t.  It was windy though, an easterly wind, which means it’s a headwind when I’m on my way home.  Not to worry though, that would be later.  It was a tail wind on the way out.

Got some good macro photos of Coltsfoot Daisies.  They always remind me of my dad.  He used to say they were one of the first signs of spring.  It was him who told me how it got its name.  It’s to do with the shape of the leaf.  Also got some green blobs – my name for the fruiting bodies of moss.  Pretty little things if you take the time to look and quite colourful too.  Got one shot of a duck doing its vertical takeoff.  Ducks make me think of fighter planes the way they take off in a straight line, climbing away into the sky just like a Typhoon or a Tornado does, but a lot quieter.  Beautiful flight patterns when landing too, with down pointing wings – technically anhedral as opposed to dihedral.  Less stable, but better for controlling the airflow.

Salsa and bachata at night.  Old moves, but well remembered in salsa and good combinations that we’ll need to work at in bachata.

Mixed forecasts for tomorrow.  As Scamp says, we’ll need to see what the weather’s like.

Gym, Walk, Dance – 22 February 2016

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combo bI usually go to the gym while Scamp has her Gems group in the afternoon. Today I changed that around today and went to the gym in the morning. After the workout, I went for a swim, but the pool was full, so I sat in the sauna instead. Fifteen minutes in total silence in a hot environment. Absolutely fantastic. Came out and the pool was quite a lot quieter, so I managed a few lengths before the Monday hoardes returned.

After lunch and while the Gems were gathering, I went for a walk down the Luggie. Not the best day, but there was warm sunshine and a little bit of a breeze, so I got some photos.

After dinner we went to salsa which was quite good, but for once the bachatta was even better. With the moves we have learned in the past three or four weeks, we can build a fairly decent combination. That’s something that Scamp has wanted for a while and I can see the possibilities in it.

Sore tonight. Sore shoulders and back. I’m doing something wrong with the upper body machines in the gym. I may go for a swim tomorrow, but no gym. I might even manage another fifteen minutes in the warmth of the sauna.

Endorphins – 21 February 2016

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combo bbSometimes when we come out of the salsa social on a Sunday, I feel it’s a duty done. Scamp usually wants to go to The Garage to the Sunday Social and I don’t usually mind. Today when we came out, I was buzzing and could have stayed until closing time. Yes, I’d have been knackered and yes I’d have been starving, but I don’t think I’d have minded. Apparently it’s all to do with Endorphins. If you haven’t heard of them, I’m told they are little smiley faces that bubble round your bloodstream and do happy things. You can read all about them on Wikipedia if you aren’t a sciency type like me. What they don’t tell you on the revered Wikipedia is that the little endorphins like dancing, especially salsa dancing and that’s why I was feeling much better coming out of The Garage than I did when I went in.

Made the rest of the pakora when we got home and although the chicken stuff was ok, the veggy pakora was much too thick and stodgy. Version 2 will be better when I get round to making it.

It’s been a dismal day with constant rain. The temperature is supposed to drop considerably over the next couple of days with ice and snow forecast. Much nicer than constant rain.

Broken Promises – 15 February 2016

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combo bSo much for getting up and out early today.  To be fair, I did get up earlier than I have of late, but the ‘out‘ didn’t materialize.  What I did do was put the Christmas decorations up in the loft because that was overdue.  This isn’t the latest it’s been.  I think one year it was March before I got round to it.

When Scamps crowd of ladies came round for their practise I couldn’t decide whether to go for the Gym/Swim option of a walk in the sun.  The sun won, because I can go to the gym any day and the swim option is best selected on a dull rainy day.  Best to get out and get some foties taken, so that is what I did.  I walked along the railway from Auchinstarry and when I got to Dumbreck Marshes, the silence was deafening.  I really mean that.  It wasn’t a total silence.  It’s hard to achieve that anywhere in the UK although parts of Skye come close.  No, there were sounds like the grass rustling and the occasional small bird singing, but no road noise or aircraft noise, because the breeze was from the east, so planes were taking off to the east and by the time they were overhead, they were already at 5000 odd feet and not making as much noise as when they were on their final approach at under 2000 feet.  It was a lovely afternoon with hardly anyone about.  I even managed a small ink sketch of a house in a stand of trees.  Very relaxing.  You don’t get that sort of silence at the gym or the pool, and I still had to walk back so I was getting some exercise too.

Got a few photos, but not many.  I’m finding it difficult to motivate myself with this 365.  Maybe I need a year off, but I’ve started now and I need to see it through.  As Scamp says, if I stop now I’ll regret it later.  No doubt I will, but I need to find a new set of subjects.  Something other than landscapes and macros.  Maybe architecture would fit the bill.  I don’t fancy portraiture.  Still life was working for a while there, but that’s quite a difficult subject to get right and an easy one to turn into a cliché.  I’ll think about it.

Tomorrow is to be a gym/swim day, we’re both agreed on that.  We need the exercise, as if the hour of salsa and another hour of bachatta wasn’t enough tonight.  Good fun, but tiring.

Cycling in the sun – 8 February 2016

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combo bHeavy rain when we woke, but then the rain cleared up, the sky lightened and blue sky appeared. It was too good an opportunity to miss, so I got the bike rack on the car and drove the bike to Auchinstarry.

When I got there, I noticed right away that there was a strong westerly wind. A head wind for me. Oh well, better to have a head wind going and a tail wind coming back rather than the other way round. It was a cold wind though! Made heavy weather of the outward run and got some interesting photos at Dumbreck, including the shots of the swans. I just missed getting shots of their take off, but it was a joy to see in the scattered afternoon sun. Cycled as far as Shirva Farm but the going was tough with the headwind and the fact that they were “upgrading” the canal tow path. Upgrading apparently means digging it up and leaving it like that. The path was a quagmire. I turned and came back along the canal, then crossed at the path through the plantation and back to the car. I was really pleased that I’d taken Scamp’s advice and brought a flask with coffee. It was a more pleasant run back, not fighting the headwind, but the coffee was welcome.  I even washed my bike when I came home.  The first wash it’s had in a long time.  I hope it still works.

Salsa at night and then Bachata for the second hour. It’s getting better. I’m beginning to relax into it. Much less frantic than Salsa, but not as enjoyable. Too regimented for my random brain. Rain forecast for tomorrow.

 

White Rabbits (x3) – 1 February 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe traditional greeting for the first day of the month.  It’s meant to bring you good luck or something.  Let’s hope it breaks the seemingly endless chain of storms that are sweeping Scotland.  Today it was Storm Henry’s turn to wreak devastation.  Henry is quite a noisy and blustery storm, he’s still rumbling around outside as I write this and will be there tomorrow to catch the unwary so we are told.  Some businesses in Glasgow let their workers go home early because of him.  They probably had their hours cut though.  Charity stops at the office.

Didn’t see any rabbits today, white, brown or striped red and yellow.  I did see three deer though.  The were feeding in a public park near the path to Condorrat, right next to a swing park.  They saw me, but pretended they didn’t and seemed quite unconcerned.  I could almost hear them saying “Oh, it’s just another old codger taking photos.  Ignore him and he’ll go away after he’s got his shots.”  So I did get the shots and they did ignore me and I went away.

“Gems” had invaded the house by the time I got back so I took the car out for a run and tried for some photos down by the Luggie, but there was nothing stirring and it was getting really dull so I headed home with an empty SD card.

Went to the Bachata class again tonight and although it was the fat bloke, he was much, much better than last week’s wannabe.  “Junior Instructor my sharny arse” as DCI Steel would say in the latest Stuart MacBride book.  Books are a real pain.  Did you know the pages don’t light up?  You have to physically turn the pages too.  The pages don’t turn when you touch the right hand side of them.  How old-school is that?  If you want  to look up a word you have to use a special app called a Dictionary you can’t just ‘long press’ the word.  Worse still, the Dictionary app is a book too.  I think there’s a conspiracy here by the book makers who are trying to get you to but even more books.  It won’t work though.  There will always be a place for a Kindle.

Face Painting – 31 January 2016

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combo bThe last day in January and I was off to a sketching workshop at Cass Art. It was Ok, but no better than that. Most of the workshop was based on portraiture and I was interested in that as it’s one type of art I’m not confident about. His (and he is Jake Spicer) pitch was very gentle and believable and his tasks easily completed in the time given. I drew Fred and he drew me. Both were likenesses. However, I felt the whole workshop was quite two dimensional with very little depth. I also had a look at his book which was quite expensive for what it was with lots of space in it to practice your techniques. I’d like to see how big the book would be without that wasted space. To quote Dragon’s Den, “I’m not going to invest”, but Quote of the Day came from the woman who was drawing and being drawn by an older man “That doesn’t look like me at all …” Sorry missus, but it does bear a resemblance to you. “… and mine looks exactly like you!” Only if he lived in Picasso-land.

After we got home and I had had my lunch, I went for a walk to St Mo’s in the rain to investigate just how high I could push the ISO and still get an image. The answer appeared to be 12000 ISO. I fed the swans and the coots, then went for a walk through the woods to find some deer, but they were sheltering somewhere else from the rain. Came home and got ready to go to salsa.

Enjoyed the dancing at the Garage and came home to a dinner of soup and crab ravioli. Lovely.

Rained almost all day and it’s going to snow tomorrow according to the weather folk, and more high winds of course.

Those who can, do … 26 January 2016

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combo bAnd those who can’t, teach.  And those who can’t teach?  Well, we met one tonight.  He thinks he’s a great dancer and now he thinks he’s a great teacher.  Oh dear, wrong on two counts.  We’d enjoyed our own salsa class and then I’d given in and said I’d go to a Bachata class afterwards.  Bit mistake.  The fat bloke wasn’t there tonight, instead we had to put up with the other Fat Bloke who appears to have been dancing for a year now and “thinks he’s god’s gift.”  Not my words, but those of one Scamp’s friends and someone who’s opinion I hold in the highest regard, as well as being a great dancer.  Anyway, I survived the hour although my tongue was really sore at the end from me biting it.  If FB2 is taking the class, I’ll be giving it a miss.  It looks as if AdS is on a downward slope.

That was this evening.  The day wasn’t much to write home about.  I went for a walk in the afternoon to avoid Scamp’s Gems group practise and it rained and the light was terrible as is the norm in January.

Previous to that I was to be found rolling around in the boot of Scamp’s car trying with part success to repair a broken boot lock.  Hopefully I’ll get a switch tomorrow and perform the open heart surgery on it to get it locking (and more importantly unlocking) to order again.

Overall, not the best Monday ever, but it will be better tomorrow – heavy rain forecast.

“Ur ye dancin’?” – 3 January 2016

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combo bScamp had an upset night with sickness and diarrhoea. We’re not sure exactly what caused it, but the new Indian restaurant is a prime suspect. Strangely, I wasn’t affected at all and we shared the food, as we always do. It’s a strange one indeed and will need further investigation, maybe even a return visit with a packet of Diocalm with us. Once she was up, Scamp was as right as rain again, but sensibly didn’t want to travel far from the house, so I took myself off for a solo walk along to Dumbreck Marshes to see what the new year had brought in the way of photo opportunities. Not a lot was the answer and with the ISO up in four figures at least, grain was going to be a problem again. Oh, I wish we had one day of sunshine, just one.

Scamp declared herself fit enough to go dancin’ and we set off for The Garage around 4.30. Place was nicely busy. Not too crowded and not looking abandoned either. I’d expected it to be a bit emptier than it was with all the events and venues that Shannon was punting recently on FB. Had an enjoyable couple of hours of energetic salsa and realised how much exercise we’d been missing in the last two weeks. It’s amazing how you get lazy with the short days. Hoping to get out in daylight tomorrow – bank holiday, so no salsa class, but may go to the gym for a swim at least. I’m expecting all the New Year Resolutions will be crowding out the gym for the first two weeks in January. After that, things will get back to normal.

The days are getting longer aren’t they?