Category: Driving

Still fighting Amy – 4 October 2025

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Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season was still clinging on to Scotland today. I don’t know who named her, but she wasn’t behaving in a ladylike manner. Gale force winds and heavy rain battered the west of the country. Although there were some respites, it wasn’t a great day to go out anywhere.

Scamp and I had a couple of exchanges to make in M&S, so we drove there. There were a few trees blown down on our route to The Fort in the east of Glasgow, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We debated whether to have lunch in Glasgow or to just head for home. A splashy rain shower settled that discussion and we drove home.

Lunch was tea and sandwiches as we watched the weather systems come and go across the Campsie Fells from the comfort of the house. No sense in going out in the squalls that were coming in the western winds. Later in the afternoon I did give in and took the A7c out for a walk to St Mo’s with the intention of getting a fish supper for two at the local chip shop. I wasn’t long out when I wished I’d taken a warmer jacket. The wind was icy cold.

I did manage to get a couple of decent photos of reflections in a pool that had been a path a couple of days ago. The water in the big pond was a lot deeper too. The swans and cygnets were drinking clean water for the first time in a long while. The flooded path became PoD.

I walked over to the chip shop and was heading home with two fish suppers in a bag when I turned a corner and found the path blocked by a couple of big trees. At first I thought I could walk round them, bus soon realise that wasn’t going to work so I headed back the way I’d come and found a path that would take me by a slightly longer road to miss the trees. It only took a few minutes, but saved me a long walk round the park. The fish and chips were still hot when I got home.

We got some sad news this morning. Anju, a long time salsa dancer from our classes in Glasgow when they were run by Jamie Gallagher had died last night. Anju was a lovely Indian lady with a wicked sense of humour, and great fun to dance with. We’ll both miss her, even although we haven’t seen her for a while. We’re hoping we’ll be able to say goodbye to her properly this month.

Tomorrow we intend to tie up loose ends and check everything twice.

 

Wild Windy Weather – 3 October 2025

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It all started out so calmly too!

It was a lovely morning. Cool and a bit damp, but nothing to worry us. I dropped Scamp off at the town centre to go for coffee with Shona. I had intended driving to The Fort to exchange a belt that was far too small for me, but by the look of the weather and the warnings on the radio, it looked like a stay at home day, so I drove home and parked.

Scamp arrived back home around 2pm wet, despite her Berghaus jacket, after a short walk from the shops. Then the rain came on more seriously and it brought wind to the party too. For most of the afternoon, the wind got stronger and stronger. It felt like the front windows were going to blow in. About 6pm things started to calm down. Now at just about 11pm it’s becoming calmer still. Hopefully by morning we’ll be able to go out and retrieve the bins that are lying around the garden.

I wasn’t going to risk life and limb going over to St Mo’s today to get blown all over the place just to get a PoD, so the one you see here is a tabletop setup. It’s a selection of the ‘Coral’ we picked up at Coral Beach in Skye, many, many moons ago.
Despite its appearance, its Maerl is a type of algae, not true coral, which are animals. The meal extracts calcium carbonate from seawater to build a hard, white outer skeleton. So says Google and Google is never wrong.

Tomorrow if the weather is in a better mood we may go shopping.

Dancin’ – 2 October 2025

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It was another wet autumn morning with a loads of clouds.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and found out what’s going on down south, or “Dahn Sarf” as my old pal Ray would say. We talked for a while and never once mentioned books! That’s a bit strange, but here is what I was going to tell you Hazy. I’ve must started ‘Babycakes’ by Armistead Maupin. Not very far into it yet, but enjoying (maybe that’s the wrong word) it so far. It’s a long time since I’ve read his books. Just thought I should mention that. After we had finished blethering and said our ‘Cheerios’I took a drive up to the doc’s.

I had to drop some samples off and arrange a blood test. Then I drove home via M&S to get some sweet things for Scamp. She got a Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie and I had a Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookie. Actually both of them survived until we returned from Tea Dance! Sorry Hazy, I’d imagine they both had eggs and other contraindicated things in them.

We were almost late getting to Glenburn for the Tea Dance. Pesky roadworks again. No diversion signs, just ROAD CLOSED. Not the most helpful signs. We did find our way round the labyrinth that encloses Glenburn by following our noses. A much bigger group today. Lots of ‘Weel Kent Faces’. Ones who we hadn’t seen since the spring. All coming back because the heating was on in the hall perhaps?

It was a bit of a lacklustre dance. Not quite as good as we were hoping for, but Scamp sat and talked to Carol and I sat and talked to David, her husband. We did dance almost all the dances that were thrown at us, some of them were variations on the real dances, but they were close to what we were trying to do. We left just a wee bit early hoping to miss the traffic jams getting out through Glasgow, but I chose the wrong lane and we ended up taking almost an hour to crawl over the Kingston Bridge and eventually got out of first and second gear.

That was about it for today. Driving through the rain was the theme. I didn’t really get a chance to take any photos. PoD went to Mrs Salt & Mr Pepper who were sitting on the table looking a bit lost. I think getting their photos taken brightened their day.

I might have to take some ill fitting clothes back to M&S at The Fort tomorrow and Scamp may meet Shona for a blether.

Fantasy Land – 29 September 2025

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Today we drove into Glasgow to do some shopping, but when we turned the corner in what was George Square we were transported to the late 1800s

I get really fed up with the media moguls attempting to make Glasgow look like something else. Something American. Why don’t they make their fantasy America in America? Why choose a Scottish city? Half the centre of the city is being dug up or pulled down, now they want to rebuild it as something it isn’t. Grrr!

We walked down to M&S looking for a pair of trousers for me and some other things for Scamp. When we came out it was raining. This was September Weekend, a Scottish holiday, so you expect the rain. I remember my mum and dad taking me to Ayr on September weekend one day a long time ago. I needed a slide rule for going to college and I was sure I could get one in a big shop in Ayr. There wasn’t such a thing as a calculator in those days, let alone a laptop. I still have that slide rule somewhere. I must look for it some day, although I don’t think I could work out how to use it now.

Anyway, back in 2025, we walked along to Waterstones on Argyle Street where I used up a book token I’d had since Christmas and got the latest Slow Horses book. We had lunch there too, because Scamp remembered the toasted sandwiches were very good. Then we fought our way into an HSBC bank at the bottom of Buchanan Street. I thought I had been spirited away to the far east, because almost everyone in the queue was either Japanese, Chinese or Korean and to paraphrase Tom Waits “… and no one speaks English …”. Then Scamp explained that as well as being September Weekend, it was also the start of the University intake. Suddenly all was clear.

We drove home, still in the rain and I grabbed a few shots in the garden to supplement the couple I’d taken in Glasgow, but it was one of the Glasgow photos that got PoD. It’s a hand cart pretending it’s from the late 1800s.

We went dancing in Kirsty’s class, Waltz for a change. Only Andy and his wife plus us, so not a gigantic class. For the third, or is the fourth time recently, I thoroughly enjoyed waltzing round the floor. Great fun Kirsty, all is forgiven.

No plans for tomorrow yet.

 

Today we went Dancin’ – 27 September 2025

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We drove through heavy traffic to Brookfield to go to dance class.

The class was smaller than we expected. Partly due to the weather forecasts predicting heavy rain (that never materialised) and the fact that it was September Weekend, a Scottish long weekend. However we did have a quorum and enough participants to make it interesting.

We started with Queen of Hearts Rumba and after fluffing a few steps it worked well. Then we segued into the Cameron Quickstep that we’d attempted last week with a smaller than normal class. It was good to get some tips from Stewart and from Jane about those little things that make dances difficult, but which improve the flow of the dance once you are told about them.

In the break, we danced the House of Bamboo just for fun and I actually danced through it without making too many mistakes. Next was the Blue Angel Rumba which we learned with Kirsty in the church that is now a skeleton of steelwork after being burned to the ground a month or two ago. We finish with a waltz that neither of us know the name of, but we’ve definitely danced before. Lots of spins and twists in it. Must find out what it’s called.

We finished dead on time because the Bowlers wanted in for their afternoon lunch and prize giving. By then it was raining and the roads were jam packed with folk like us who were caught up in the new roadworks on the M8 that will be with us until May 2026 DV.

Back home we struggled through Wordle et al. We were hoping the rain that had just followed us would stop, but it didn’t. I walked down to the shops to get some of the messages for tonight’s dinner which was going to be Fish Risotto. I don’t know what I did wrong with it tonight, but it ended up a wet mess. I drained off some of the liquid and boiled the rice for another 20 minutes or so and that sorted things out. I added some frozen spinach and that made it even better.

We watched the first ‘live’ Strictly later in the evening and weren’t impressed with much of it. Some to the dance routines were poor, but some showed potential. We may watch the next episode.

PoD went to a bunch of blue Asters and pink Carnations taken inside the house, because it was raining quite heavily. It sounds like the rain has returned, judging by the sounds outside. Another wet day tomorrow perhaps?

Out with the dragons – 25 September 2025

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Scamp was hoping to meet an old friend today. She also wanted to get a present for a newborn baby. I wanted to get my hair cut. I had to collect some meds. If there was time left I wanted to go for a walk in the warm sunshine. Those were our tasks for today.

Scamp was first to go out in the morning. She found almost exactly what she set out to get and was back with enough time to wrap up the parcel and have a coffee before going out again.

This time I was driving and I dropped her off at Calders Garden Centre, then drove up to the town centre to park. Walked over to an almost empty barbers an was back out again, a tenner lighter and with shorter and tidier hairs. We were doing well so far.

Next up was Boots for the meds and Tesco for the shopping. Since both shops are next to one another and I had a written shopping list, it was an easy trip.

Back home for lunch and to put the messages away and another hour and a half was gone, before Scamp phoned to say she was ready to come home. I drove back to Calders and picked her up and surprisingly she didn’t have a flower pot or new flowers to plant!

That was our driving done for the day. I did manage a walk with a camera in the late afternoon and PoD came from that. I think it’s a male Common Darter. It’s sitting on an old fence post soaking up some of the afternoon sun. There were actually a few dragons on the wing today. Probably due to that warm sun.

I made dinner which was an M&S stir fry. Once it was finished, I started making the pannacotta for tomorrow’s dessert. Same pannacotta I’d made for our visitors earlier in the month. It’s in the fridge chilling now. Tomorrow is going to be busy with John & Marion hopefully arriving around 1pm for lunch. Lots of stuff to do, lots of hoovering and lots of prep for dinner. It will be fine … hopefully!

Out for a drive – 23 September 2025

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Scamp got the all clear.

I was up and out today driving to Boots Chemist to pick up a five pack of Covid test kits. The cold, flu or dare I whisper it (Covid) wasn’t lifting and the only way we would know what was going on was to do The Test. Thankfully, it was negative and we both breathed a sigh of relief. Now we could venture out without worrying.

I suggested we go to The Smiddy just outside Stirling. It’s a good place to go for lunch. A day in the sunshine, in the country would hopefully brighten up our day even more. It worked. We drove out into the farmland just a couple of miles north of Stirling. We knew the food would be good, and were prepared to be handed a buzzer and told how long the wait for a table would be. But we were wrong. There was no buzzer because there were quite a few empty tables. Mac ’n’ Cheese for Scamp and Shepherd’s Pie for me. Both were declared perfect for a lunch in the country.

The food was good, but the prices in the deli were eye watering, although I did look twice at some nice thick steaks in the butchers department. It was the price of coffee that nearly knocked me off my feet. An almost 50% markup on a bag of coffee is just a bit greedy IMO!

We stopped at Lakeland/Dobbies, (the two are now conjoined, but are separate shops) and I was tempted by a Sage coffee maker with a £100 markdown. I was tempted, but decided I’d spent enough this month.
For once Scamp didn’t go looking in Dobbie’s and we came home with some paper liners for a cake tin.

Back home, Scamp was keen to get some bulbs planted for spring flowering. While she was splitting up some plants, I was handed a trowel and two bags of spring bulbs and was given a 400mm square patch of earth to plant them in. I think I put them all in the ground the right way up, so they won’t be growing down into Australia. I just need to remember where they are planted. It will be a surprise. To finish off our day in the garden, we took down the sweet pea canes and netting, kept the canes and put all the twine and plastic clips in the bin. The canes are now drying off in the front bedroom for next year, all being well.

PoD turned out to be a photo of what looked like a genuine American policy car. A Black and White. It was only when I looked inside the car I noticed the steering wheel was on the right side. Otherwise it just looked the part. Someone spent a lot of time and effort getting this looking just right.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go for lunch with the rest of The Witches and I’m hoping to meet Alex for a wander round Glasgow.

Today I went shopping – 22 September 2025

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Scamp wasn’t feeling very bright and cheery, so I offered to do the Monday shop.

She very kindly made a list of everything we needed and even recited the list in the places I’d find them in Tesco. That meant I didn’t have to wander all round the shop looking for butter when I was in the aisle for orange juice. I appreciated that Scamp.

That didn’t take too long because I was out early … well, earlyish! But there were very few folk browsing the shelves, so I was done and dusted in half an hour at the most. Not so lucky when I was looking for petrol for the wee blue car, because the pumps were either displaying the yellow NO PETROL signs or there was a long queue waiting for fuel. I decided I wasn’t that desperate, and drove home to have lunch.

After lunch, and assured that Scamp wasn’t feeling that bad, I was encouraged to go for a walk. I chose to go up to Fannyside Moor to see if there was anything interesting to snap. I almost bumped into a dragonfly, a black one – can’t remember its name and then watched a field of bullocks running about in one of the fields. Finally got the photo I wanted of a group of cows watching me and making sure I wasn’t doing anything that needed to be referred to the farmer. PoD captured.

Drove home, remembering that I didn’t need to hurry, because Kirsty had cancelled today’s dance class because she was too busy working in her house. Instead, I took my time back home and made Oozy Tuna and Apple Pasta Bake From the Mowgli book. It was a bit complicated, because it told me to par-cook the spaghetti then cut it up into bit sized pieces before completing the cooking for 15 minutes. It looked a bit strange and sweet, but other than that it was fine.

Scamp is intending to get a Covid test kit tomorrow, just to be sure, because she’s meeting two groups of friends in the next few days and then we have friends coming for lunch on Friday. She say’s she’s fine and she does sound a lot better tonight, but she’s just making sure …

Other than that, no plans for tomorrow.

Dancin’ – 20 September 2025

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A much smaller class than we are used to.

Only three couples plus one solo dancer without a partner. She danced with Stewart.

I was a bit apprehensive about today. I’d heard all sorts of warnings about half-hour waits and queues of traffic due to extensive roadwork on the M8. As usual they were magnified out of all proportion. Yes there were roadworks, but only for a few miles. Nothing we hadn’t seen before.
Yes, there were road restrictions, but nobody had to wait in a queue. Just the powers that be trying to terrify us.

As a result of the poor attendance, the lesson was reduced from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. The class started with Tina Tango to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’. Then we went in to a quickstep, the Cameron Quickstep which we’d learned months, if not, years ago. With the help of Scamp and Muscle Memory, I managed to get round the hall fairly easily, if not elegantly. I do hope they repeat the lesson next week, because, with a bit more help from Scamp I’m sure I could master this one.

Stewart asked for suggestions of sequence dances that we’d like to go over in the second half hour. Queen of Hearts rumba was favourite for a reprise and after that the New Vogue Waltz finished of the main lessons. However, Stewart wanted to finish with House of Bamboo which I stumble through, but am beginning to remember bits of, just not in the correct order.

With that we were free to go. Again I expected more carnage on the drive home, but it was actually quite clear with everyone behaving themselves. I wish all the dance classes were as enjoyable as today’s.

Back home I should have been going out for a walk, but instead I got stuck in the puzzles again. They are quite addictive. Later in the afternoon I did manage a walk round St Mo’s and today’s PoD came from that walk. Just a bunch of Hawthorn berries hanging from a branch after a rain shower. I really must get out of the rut and walk further afield in these shortening days. Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner tonight was Fish & Chips x 2. Nice and easy and nobody needs to cook.

Tomorrow, maybe that walk.

Dancin’ – 18 September 2025

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Out to Glenburn for a Tea Dance, the first in ages.

I struggled with the Sony A7c’s internal workings, attempting to make sense of the new system for allocating the twelve items I use most often. I finally got what I wanted and it does work quite logically so I’ll stick to it for a while until I’ve filled in all twelve boxes. That and the inevitable Wordle took up most of my morning. I think it took up almost all of Scamp’s time too. After a quick shower it was time to get ready for today’s dance, and I was looking forward to it for a change.

A fairly busy drive over to Glenburn and we were almost late comers. Thankfully there were a few stragglers arriving later than us, so we didn’t get a telling off or even worse Stewart’s well worn comment “You can’t just Waltz in here at any time, you know.” It really should have a “Boom Boom!” at the end.

The afternoon started with a waltz, as usual. Also, as usual, I made a bit of a mess of the first track. However, by the time we’d completed the second track, Waltz Nioli was again firmly in my repertoire. The next track was a Cha-Cha I think. It’s hard to keep a record of what we did in what order, but if it wasn’t the Cha-Cha, it was a Quickstep. All the right dances, but not necessarily in the correct order. Again, as usual, Stewart inserted a few sequence dances to encourage some folk on to the floor. We didn’t really need the encouragement, we were there to dance and would dance almost anything.

Tea time came quite quickly and Scamp was annoyed that the two other blokes at our table didn’t include me in their conversation. I wasn’t really bothered, they were just arseholes anyway. See, Hazy I can swear in the blog too!

The formula for the second half of the dance hasn’t changed in the past year or so, it’s always a very few Ballroom and Latin dances linked with a collection of Sequence dances. I used to call Sequence “Dancing for the Dead”, but now I realise the repetition in these dances actually keeps them fresh in your memory, especially the complicated sequences. It’s quite a clever way to memorise them.

I was keeping a watchful eye on the clock because we like to get away early most weeks, to avoid the school kids. We were a bit later today and the road was almost clear all the way to Cumbersheugh by the M8/M74/M73.

Back home I walked over to St Mo’s to try to get some low camera shots with the new toy, but the light was beginning to fade as the big black clouds rolled in. I did manage a few and the best of a bad lot was the low viewpoint shot of some fallen leaves on The Path. It’s always good for fallen leaves later in the autumn. It just filled a space today.

Dinner was a baked potato and prawns with Marie Rose Sauce (ie tomato ketchup mixed with mayonnaise).

For the first time in ages I thoroughly enjoyed the dancin’ today. We must do it again some time. Scamp is intending to go to FitSteps tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll find something to fill my time.