Category: Driving

A cold day – 6 November 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not a day that enticed us out, but we did go out anyway.

Drove to the town centre to meet Isabel and heard about what was happening in her side of the family. She really is an interesting person. For someone who is 90, her recall is amazing. She can tell you the names of all her families members, past and present and can tell you who married whom and also the stories attached to them. She is an entertainment!

After a couple of hours she set off with her walker to go to Tesco, but refused a lift. We drove to the much smaller Tesco on the other side of town and Scamp came back with milk and tomatoes which we needed for lunch.

After lunch I dragged myself out for a walk in St Mo’s. By that time the light was disappearing. I spotted a couple of ducks that might have been Pochards, but they were too far out in the pond to get a positive ID.

I settled for a couple of reeds that created an interesting geometric pattern. It wasn’t until I looked closely at the reeds that I noticed a slender spider waiting for an unwary insect to provide its dinner. The reed became the PoD.

Dinner tonight was Saag Paneer Kedgeree. Another of Scamp’s specialities. Hot, but not too spicy.

Tomorrow we have been invited to a wedding.

A day in the sun – 4 November 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp was going out with her witchy friends and I was staying home because although the sun was warm in the house, the same couldn’t be said for the outside. It was quite cool!

Before she went out, Scamp was determined to plant out the Cyclemen and Violas she’s brought from Torwood. I think that’s them all in the soil now. They don’t seem to mind the cold weather, coincidentally neither does Scamp. Given half a chance she will be out in the garden in all weathers.

After Scamp left for meeting up with her friends, I dug out my recent book and decided I had to either find out what was going on with the Jinni and the Golem or give up the story. After about an hour I was beginning to see parts of the story coming together. It still wasn’t entirely clear, but we are talking about mythical beings here and as such they are unwilling to make anything clear. In other words, the story continues.

Later in the day I went for a walk over to St Mo’s to see if there was anything I could do with the warm light and I did find a use for it in a fallen leaf with lovely orange markings backlit by the low sun. The PoD was in the bag!

Scamp arrived a little later and we drove over to Shona’s house for dinner. Today’s menu was a square slice of pizza, a round of garlic flavoured flat bread and finally a quiche which was a delight! Thank you Shona for collecting all those disparate flavours and making them work.

Shona had a load of stories to tell about Ben’s adventures and the possibility of him getting a house soon. Still not sure where, or any other details, but there seems to be a move on the way. I just hope he’s not being moved too far away from Shona.

We drove home a bit later than we’d intended, but managed to get a slot in the almost full parking place.

Tomorrow I’m intending to meet Alex for a photowalk, probably in Glasgow or Paisley. I’ve missed the banter for the last month or so.

Today was a dull day – 3 November 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Unlike the recent weather, today was cloudy and wet. More like what we’re used to at this time of year.

I drove Scamp over to Condorrat to get her six monthly dentist’s check up. She left me her phone because she was expecting a message from Dundee, and sure enough, the phone rang not long after she left. I spoke to the doctor and agreed a time that would suit both him and Scamp for the first checkup, next week.

We then drove home and had a coffee before we drove over to Torwood for lunch. Of course, after our lunch we had to have a walk around the plants and we came home with two trays of flowers, one of blue violas and one of a mixture of cyclamen. I took my camera with me and managed a few shots of some Hydrangeas with big flower heads. They easily made PoD.

On our way to Torwood I did a detour to see if I could spot an old plane that had been circling as we left the house. According to Flight Radar, it was a Max Holste MH151 Broussard. I’d never heard of one before and it turned out to be quite an old plane indeed, vintage 1952. Unfortunately we didn’t manage a glimpse although Flight Radar described it as ‘landed’ at Cumbersheugh. Maybe tomorrow, then!

The rain started just after we’d started heading home and the nearer we got to Cumbersheugh, the heavier it got. Driving home in the rain wasn’t the best end to the day, but Scamp had made Tattie Soup for dinner and that did a lot to cheer me up. A great filling on a dull day.

I had a dollop of dough left over from yesterday’s home-made pizza. It seemed a shame to waste it, so we had it tonight and it was one of the lightest pizzas I’ve ever made. I’ll never be able to beat that one!!

Scamp is intending to meet the ‘Witches’ for lunch tomorrow. I may attempt another bow tie. Hopefully this one will be easier to make than the last one.

I think we might be booked for lunch/dinner with Shona tomorrow. Pizza again. You can’t beat it.

Swans & Cygnets – 28 October 2026

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Isn’t it nice to see two cygnets out for a paddle with mum and dad.

Scamp was out in the morning, meeting one of the witches for lunch. I wasn’t invited, but that suited me today. Idropped her off at Tesco in the Town Centre and drove home.

I was attempting to find a file that I used to have that showed the steps to make a bow tie. It seems that the original is no longer available on Pinterest. Then just by luck, this evening, I found a cut down version of the steps to make the bow tie. I don’t know who had the original version of the steps, but I think I’ve got enough now to restart the bow tie creation.

Rather than start the building of the bow tie, I began the demolition of the old plastic greenhouse. We think it was about twelve years old before it collapsed in Saturday’s storm, although it could have been longer. Anyway, it was almost rusted right through and was fairly easy to take apart with the help of a Claw Hammer and a pair of Mole Grips. Two essential tools for demolition. I managed to separate the metal tubes from the plastic supports. Hopefully we’ll take them to the skips later this week.

I went for a walk once Scamp had returned and got today’s PoD of the swans and cygnets in St Mo’s pond.

We watched another two episodes of Bergerac tonight. That leaves only one episode for tomorrow or maybe Friday. I’m a bit lost as to who the ‘baddies’ are and who are not. Time will tell.

I think we may have a last Tea Dance of the year this week.

A quieter day – 26 October 2026

Posted on by Zogman

We took advantage of a much calmer day, and we took stock of the damage done to the garden.

There wasn’t much damage done, really. Our old battered and bruised plastic greenhouse had blown down and most of the contents were strewn across the garden. We took one look at the carnage and decided it wasn’t fit to be reused. Too much damage to the metal tubes that held it up and too much rust on them meant it was no longer worth repairing. It has lasted a long time, so it will be going in the Council Tip at the first opportunity.

Most, if not all of the plants survived the wind and rain from the last few days, although my potatoes in their plastic pots were ravaged by the wind and rain. I don’t know if they will be worth digging up. We’ll see once everything returns to normal

We watched the American F1 GP and weren’t surprised with the winner. He was always going to win, it was only a matter of time before it happened.

Later we wiped off the load of leaves and branches that the Blue car had collected over the last few days and drove to Tesco. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that shop as busy as it was today. People wheeling trolleys everywhere and long queues at all the checkouts. All because of two days of heavy rain and strong winds. We only had a few things in our trolley and we got through the smaller checkout quite quickly.

No wind today, but a continuous drizzle kept us in the house most of the dull day, although I did get a few photos in the back garden of Scamp’s Cosmos flowers. They looked great even when they were soaking wet. Such cheerful blooms. The Cosmos flowers got PoD.

The weather tonight is beginning to get noisy again. The weather fairies say it will be more rain than wind this time, but we’ll wait and see what happens. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as the past few days. –

Dancin’ – 24 October 2026

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A wild day with a lot of enjoyable dancing for a change!

We were a bit late for dance class today, mainly because of the heavy rain, but thankfully we did just manage to get Brookfield just as the class was starting. Also, just by luck, I managed to avoid the ‘Rhumbumbumba’ a dance I hate!

The first ‘Real’ dance was the October Waltz that I’m getting used to. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to perfect it next week, all being well. As for today, well, it was a bit of a mixture. Most of it worked, but there are some awkward bits that need looking at. It’s a work in progress.

Next was the ‘X Line’ Tango. A dance we learned during Covid, watching it over Zoom. That was back in 2020 when the world was young and we were ready for anything to do with dance. In other words, what I’m saying is that I’d forgotten most of it, and it’s only recently I’ve gone back to it. It’s almost there in my memory, but not quite all in the right places. I’m assured that it will come back … soon.

The Feta Foxtrot was the next on the agenda. One of Scamp’s favourites and I must say one of mine too. A nice gentle foxtrot with nothing too difficult to remember, but a lot of clever tweaks that make it much more interesting.

We finished the class with the Midnight Jive. This one is definitely embedded in my little brain and I sometimes think I’ve danced it in autopilot. Whether that is the case or not I’m not willing to say, but it’s all to do with Muscle Memory, I’m sure of that.

We weren’t driving straight home. Instead we were booked for lunch at Coast, a restaurant that sits with wonderful views across the Clyde Estuary. Of course it was pelting rain today, sot those views were mere blurs on the horizon. Still we had a decent lunch there, even if the first piece of steak from my steak and sausage pie was all gristle and completely inedible. Scamp was much happier with her Sea Bream with Risotto. I think this is only the second I’ve had bad luck with meat from Coast. Next time I’ll remind myself to have something else instead, all being well.

Instead of driving home by the M8 as we would usually do, Scamp remembered there were long delays near Glasgow Airport, so we went via the Erskine Bridge instead. I don’t think we gained any time by going that way. It would probably be just as quick risking the M8. No matter, we arrived home safely and got parked.

Not long after we got home, we could feel the wind rising. Storm Austen was handing over to the much stronger Storm Boelo. It’s blowing a hoolie just now with gusts around 50mph. Hopefully tomorrow it should calm down.

Today’s PoD was the view from the front window with the rain sheeting down. Brrr!

No plans for tomorrow.

A really dull day – 23 October 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Thankfully we went to Tesco in the morning and missed most of the heavy rain.

Rain had been predicted for us, but after that early deluge, everything calmed down and we saw very little of named storm Austen. However we did have a continuous drizzle and that’s almost as annoying as rain.

I restarted cutting the fabric for the reversible bow tie. I thought I had it sorted, but now I’m thinking I might try a different version. I don’t want to waste any more fabric and end up with nothing. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do a dummy run with some cheap fabric and photograph each step so I can always come back to it after I’ve got it the way I want it. Assuming that I get it right this time around!

Hazy: I bought a packet of clips (Clover Wonder Clips) that seem to be easy to use for holding fabric layers while you stitch them. Much easier than using pins and less likely to draw blood!

I did manage to get just three photos taken today. The best of a bad lot went to a shot of some red flowers that were hanging from a pot that itself was hanging on the fence in the back garden. It was drizzling and I wasn’t hanging around. That was PoD covered.

Scamp was clearing out the fridge yesterday and found a plastic tub of home made tomato soup. That, and a Fish Finger Sandwich was dinner. The soup was excellent, but I would say that, because I made it! So was the FFS!

It looks like we’re going to have a windy couple of days tomorrow and Sunday with the next named storm, Boelo. High winds and heavy rain. Oh what fun.

Looking for shoes – 22 October 2026

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Not just any old shoes, Scamp was looking for dance shoes. Sparkly dance shoes.

We drove over to Rutherglen to Scamp’s favourite dance shoe shop. She can usually manage to pick up a couple of pairs of dance shoes there but today she was out of luck. The lady who owns the shop knew what Scamp was looking for, but didn’t have the exact ones she was looking for. However, she did get a new pair and the rhinestone sparkles on them kind of made up for her initial disappointment.

After leaving Rutherglen we got a bit lost trying to find Glasgow Green. It must be years since we were last in ‘The Green’. Thankfully the Sat Nav found a way through the twists and turns that brought us neatly to our destination and we managed to find the last slot in the car park.

Beautiful light on the Park as we walked over to M&S where Scamp was hoping to get a Rab lookalike jacket. I was heading to Jessops to get my hands on a Sony A7c ii, one step up from the one I bought a year or so ago. Both of us met up again just outside M&S in Argyle Street and neither of us found what we came for. Scamp’s raincoat was a bit tight and my camera wasn’t much better than what I’ve been using. Money back in our pockets!

The light on Glasgow Green when we were walking back was better than what we saw going into town, but after I’d looked at the photos when we got home, I wasn’t really impressed with them. The PoD went to a distorted view of a new housing development halfway to The Green.

Chicken and peas for dinner. A long time favourite.

Tomorrow it looks like it’s going to rain all day. Let’s hope they got it wrong.

We were out visiting today – 21 October 2026

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We went over to The Village today to see how Isabel was progressing. She’d had a fall last week and has been recuperating. Good to see she is almost back to her usual chatty self. Keep up the good work Isabel.

After Scamp and Isabel were finished talking plants and gardens, Scamp and I drove home for a spot of lunch. Afterwards, Scamp was tidying up some of the plants that were needing a good trim and I’d half intended to go for a walk. Then the rain arrived and I gave up on that idea. Scamp had only a few more plants to work on and then she too gave up gardening for the day. Instead, she started working her way through some old clothes that could go somewhere useful while I started making Lemonade Scones, sometimes called Australian Scones. I’d made the scones years ago and luckily I still had the recipe which was really simple:

  • 4 cups Self-Raising Flour, sifted.
  • A pinch of Salt.
  • 300 ml Cream.
  • 300 ml Fizzy Lemonade.
  1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 7 (220ºc) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well. Pour the cream and lemonade or soda water into the dry ingredients and mix together to form a soft dough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured bench, dust lightly with flour and gently roll out into a rectangle. Cut into approximately 12 pieces and lift each onto the baking tray. (Size 2 cutter)
  4. Bake in a preheated oven for around 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool inside a clean tea towel to help keep their freshness.

Serve with butter or your favourite jam and whipped cream.

After testing the scones and agreeing that they were good, it was time for dinner. Today it was Pasta Carbonara. I thought it was a bit strong tasting, and Scamp thought it was a bit dry. We agreed to disagree and settled down to watch Bergerac on U which neither of us had heard of, but Scamp managed to get it working. A good start to series 2.

Since rain stopped play today, I was stuck with an inside shot for PoD. Then the Lemonade Scones saved the day and they became today’s PoD!

Scamp says she may have plans for tomorrow, but she’s not telling anyone what it is!

Schoolgirl – 20 October 2026

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Today Scamp was going to visit Shona for coffee and I was starting to make a bow tie.

I dropped Scamp off at her niece’s house and drove home to start on the bow tie construction.

I had brought back some interesting fabric from our visit to Jersey and thought it would look good for the bow tie. Scamp reckoned she would be out at Shona’s for a couple of hours and I was sure I could get a good start to the bow tie construction. Half an hour later I was still looking for the paper bag that held the fabric. Then I remembered that it should be in one of my cupboards. Once I’d found it, it was fairly plain sailing to pin down the paper pattern and cut round it. I remembered to arrange the fabric Wrong Sides Together and it all looked fine.

The bow tie was to be a reversible one with different patterns on each side. A year or so ago I worked out how that could be achieved. It’s too complicated to explain, but basically there is a lot of twisting and turning involved, but once you’ve worked that out, the rest is easy. It should have been, but it wasn’t until Scamp phoned to say “could she have a lift home” that I noticed one of the patterns was round the wrong way. Thankfully I think I might have just enough fabric left to make a new one. Either that or it’s a flying visit to Jersey to get more of the fabric!

I’d had enough of twisting and turning patterns for the day and left everything as it was and picked up Scamp and we drove home.

Dinner tonight was Potato Wedges and Veggie Sausages for Scamp and also Potato Wedges but with a Wagyu burger for men. Both served with a tin of beans. Yes, I was cooking!

Today’s PoD went to a photo of a Schoolgirl flower, cut from the climber rose in the afternoon. It was too wet and dull to get any decent outside photos, but the indoors version worked perfectly.

I think we might be visiting Isabel tomorrow.