Category: Driving

Driving the 40mph motorway – 6 May 2023

Posted on by Zogman

That motorway is the M8. No sooner is one set of repairs finished than another set are announced. It seems that we drive more miles at 40mph than we drive at 70mph. PITA.

Yes, we were off to Brookfield this morning for the first dance class after a three week lie up. I thought the Charnwood Cha-Cha would be the end of me. It’s not good to spring things like that on us without warning, or access to a defibrillator. The only thing I can say is WOW, that was hard work. Thankfully we knew all of the steps and I had a rough idea of the order they should be danced in.

Next was a new one, a waltz this time and we both think we were guinea pigs here to see how quickly we’d pick it up. Not that easy was my answer. Thankfully we both filmed it so we could watch it at home and work out what was being described in the walk-through. The Charnwood was a workout for the body. Joy’s Waltz (named for a friend of Jane’s who died in January) was a workout for the brain. Eventually we got the hang of the first three sequences and after watching the videos this afternoon we’ve got an even better idea of the bits we’ve never done before.

The final workout was another quite fast one, a Jive routine this time. It had a few routines we have picked up along the way in the last few years from different teachers, so it wasn’t totally alien to us, and not so fast that we were too exhausted to fit in the final sequence dance of the hour and a half, a Mayfair Quickstep. Just a fairly easy dance to ease us down to drive through the 40mph zones again on the other side of the road.

Back home we had lunch and watched the pageantry unfold in London. I took myself off for most of it as I’d a sketch to complete for EDiM. I was doodling a sketch on a bit of backing paper and the picture came to me. It was a highland cow, but there was too much rubbish on the paper and I knew I’d need to redraw it, so I left the rough there and went to get a photo for today. As I was walking over towards Condorrat, I noticed a snail tucked into a corner of a fence and knew that was the PoD. Of the three photos I took, the one you see here is my favourite. I also got a shot of the inside of a dandelion puff ball. It’s like the highland cow in that it’s not the finished article, but it’s worth another try, possibly in an inside setting with a camera on a tripod. We’ll see.

When I got home, Scamp was whizzing through the recording of the actual Coronation. It is one mighty big and complex piece of organisation. How they worked out how to get all those people into the cathedral and how they covered the lawn of the palace with the thousands of army, navy, airforce personnel from almost every country was astounding. I wasn’t really all that interested in it, I was waiting for Zadok The Priest to be sung. When it was, it was a little disappointing. Scamp said it was too fast and I thought it was lacking in power. Had we been conducting, heads would have rolled.

Dinner was from Golden Bowl. Scamp had her usual Chicken Chop Suey with Fried Rice. I had a treat that I knew I’d suffer for later and had Sweet and Sour Pork Balls and Fried Rice. I did suffer for it, but it was worth it. Pure decadence.

I redrew the Highland Cow and it does look better than the original. I’m happy with it and Scamp laughed out loud when she saw it. That was enough of a stamp of approval for me.

We have no plans as yet for tomorrow and there have been no street parties in and around Cumbersheugh, I’m glad to say, so not many sore heads tomorrow morning. Well no more than usual!

More driving, fewer photos – 26 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp was off today for lunch with the Witches. I was messing about with computers again.

She got picked up by Jeanette just before midday. That left me with a few hours to myself. Never a good thing. Usually I fritter those hours away doing ‘something on the computer’.

I have a 2TB (1TB=1000GB) external drive that was intended to hold just photos, but over the years, I’ve dumped other stuff in it too. I’ve a few 1TB external drives that could be cleared out to make room for the ’non-photos’ on the bigger drive. That would give me enough space to allow me to expand the photos on the 2TB to the most up to date version of Lightroom. It’s a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the long run. Today was the dummy run to see just how much ‘non-photo’ data was clogging the drive. I struggled with it for a while, but eventually decided I was wasting a good photography day, plus I’d another plan in my head.

Originally I’d thought I might go for a run to Milarrochy Bay on Loch Lomond, to photograph the famous tree that stands in the water, but the weather wasn’t looking great for that. Instead, I thought I’d go looking for Busy Lizzies to replace the ones that the frost got to a couple of nights ago and I drove over to Dobbies in Milngavie, but there were no Busy Lizzies, to be found, not even Lazy Lizzies. So I drove back almost to find somewhere photogenic.

My best guess for a decent spot was at The Stables which is a pub/restaurant on the banks of the Forth & Clyde canal. Parked at the restaurant and went for a walk west along the towpath and grabbed a few photos and watched the double decker Airbus A380 flying serenely overhead before banking into final to Glasgow Airport. I didn’t take any photos of it. Sometimes it’s better just to watch.
I wasn’t totally satisfied with the shots I had and walked east to see if there was any more interesting views. Bumped into a couple about our age on what looked like brand new Raleigh eBikes. The bloke was at pains to say that they weren’t total electric powered bikes, you had to pedal too, but the battery kicks in then and helps you. I could see how that would be a great benefit if you were climbing hills, but they were cycling on a flat tow path. Not much of a challenge. However, I wished them well on their travels and they did offer to pose for a photo, but I passed on that.

When I walked back to get the car, I saw my PoD. The Gipsy Princess was docked on the far side of the canal and it made my photo of the day. As I was taking the shot, I thought “GIPSY Princess? Is that PC?” Maybe not, but I’m not exactly PC either.

On the way home I stopped at Calders garden centre. It used to have a host of plants, but today it was looking a bit tired, even if the shop and the teashop were doing a roaring trade. No Busy Lizzies here either. I drove home.

It was a venison burger with potatoes and broccoli for dinner. Although she had already had lunch in the middle of the day, Scamp helped me to scoff the remainder of the veg.

One thing that annoys me about the Blue car is the overspeed warning beeps it screams when it feels justified in complaining that you are going too fast, even when the road signs don’t warrant it. In the two and a half years I’ve had the car, it’s been one of the biggest annoyances in it. Today I found out how to silence it. It’s not easy to find, but it is there, hidden under two layers of menu in the Settings part of the display. Silence is golden!

Tomorrow I’m intending to meet up with Alex to visit the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. Rain is predicted.

Strawberries and a drive – 25 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Yesterday I said we might go out for a run today, or else we’d stay home and pot up the strawberries. We actually achieved both!

There was quite a cold snap last night, or early this morning. I’d put the strawberries into the greenhouse to hopefully protect them from the worst of the cold. The Busy Lizzies were already in the greenhouse. The strawberries didn’t seem to have noticed the cold, but the poor wee Lizzies were looking a bit sorry for themselves. Scamp took them out and sat them in the sun for a while, hoping aginst hope that they’d recover. It might have worked, but we’ll find out for sure tomorrow.

It was cold in the morning, but the sun was warm, so we made the decision to pot up the strawberries in their tower pot. It’s a terracotta pot with eight hole for the plants and is the same material as an old fashioned flowerpot. That means it needs to be soaked in water before planting or else it will draw the moisture from the compost, so it has been sitting in a bucket of water for about a week. We made up some compost using two different strengths and then added some gravel to assist with drainage. We only had six wee strawberries in their pots all different varieties. Bad calculation on my part. I’m the Maths Man, apparently. It’s just coontin’ I can’t do. It didn’t take us long, working together for once and not arguing … very much and the pot is now sitting in the place Scamp prepared for it.

After lunch, the sky was still clear, apart from a few fluffy white clouds and I suggested we drive up to the Carron Reservoir to get some landscape photos. It was a fair climb for the wee blue car, up the Tak Ma Doon road with its hairpin bends and 2nd gear hills. Then it was feathering the brakes for the run down the other side. Instead of heading across the road at the end, we turned left for a mile or so and found an almost empty carpark where the parking machine was ‘Out of Order’. Even better.

I put my boots on and we walked through the woods and up past the dam. As we got there a small child, we couldn’t determine what variety it was, was running along beside the dam wall with its parents, holding a ‘6’ balloon. Almost at the middle of the dam, and after a gigantic party popper had fired confetti into the air, it let go of the balloon, just a few seconds before a low flying Easyjet plane appeared over the hill. A bit foolhardy, considering the plane was almost certainly on final to Glasgow Airport. However all was well and the screaming trio ran down the grassy slopes and into the woods.

I took some more shots of the reservoir and the scenery behind. Perfect day for landscapes and the surrounding hills just finished off the view. We sat for a while just watching the world go by and the balloon disappearing into the clouds. Then we walked back and drove the scenic route back, along the banks of the reservoir and down the Crow Road then homeward.

Stir fry for dinner tonight then watched another semi-final of University Challenge were the ‘goodies’ won and the ‘baddies’ were vanquished! Later another episode of Magpie Murders teased us with more information but inevitably complicated more than it explained.

PoD didn’t turn out to include the reservoir or the clouds, but was of the woods and a carpet of pine cones.

You’ll hardly believe this, but Hazy has a Split Rock plant Ruby Flush (Pleiospilos Nelii) called Phileas almost the same as my unnamed Lithops! Some people can’t see green cheese … ! 😉

Tomorrow Scamp is booked for coffee or it may be lunch with the Witches. I have other plans which I won’t reveal yet.

 

A decision made – 14 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp was going out for coffee with her friend from work. I was driving to Larky after I’d had my PSA test done at the health centre.

I’d already made the decision to buy a new lens from a company I’ve used many times in the past, MPB in Brighton. Not a brand new lens, second hand. I’d made the decision the day before, but the day before was the 13th and I thought it would be unlucky to buy it on the 13th, so had left the actual purchase until today.

I’d put the lens in my ‘basket’ on the website, filled in my details and had just completed my two part verification when I got a message to say that the lens had gone! Someone had beaten me to it. I admit, I panicked, thinking I’d been the subject of a scam. How could two people have put the same lens into the basket at the same time? I’d never heard of such a thing. Scamp reminded me that time was ticking away and I’d miss my appointment if I wasn’t careful. Before I went, I checked with the bank to make sure my payment hadn’t gone through. It hadn’t. Slightly relieved, I drove to the health centre.

The nurse who did the blood letting was careful and quick, even better, later when I removed the plaster she’d put on the tiny wee scratch the needle made there was almost nothing to see. Probably the best experience I’ve had, getting my bloods taken, and maybe that calmed me down as much as anything.

When I got back I tried to phone MPB, but the help line wasn’t open on Fridays! I did get through to a European site and the girl I spoke to confirmed that the lens had indeed gone, but seemed as surprised as I was that two people could be trying to buy an article at the same time. Scamp left me to it and went to meet her friend. I checked the website one more time and that particular lens had gone, however there was an almost exactly the same one for a few quid less. With fingers crossed I went through the entire procedure again and it all worked perfectly, just as it had in the past. I was relieved when I got an email from the carrier saying the lens would be delivered the next day. However, I think that may be my last purchase from MPB.

After all that I drove to Larky and picked up my new reading glasses, then drove back home again after buying a four cheeses loaf for Scamp at the Co-op. A 50 mile round trip might seem a long way for a pair of glasses, but we both trust Simpson to look after our eyes, and Scamp will be next to get an appointment.

Scamp was home by the time I came back and I explained what I’d done and that it was all resolved.

A walk in St Mo’s to stretch my legs and calm my nerves and PoD went to a bunch of Cowslips. Another sign that Spring is here.

A wee glass of wine later to celebrate? Maybe that’s not the correct word for drawing a line under a difficult day.

Tomorrow I’ll be waiting for the email from DPD to say when the lens will come.

Off to Larky – 12 April 2023

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A trip to Larky to see Mr Simpson, the optician for my annual checkup.

I drove us over to Larky on a bright sunny morning. While I was in the optician’s reciting his mixed up alphabets, Scamp was shopping in the Coop, and recoiling at the prices she was expected to pay. This wasn’t Tesco price, apparently. Once my eyes had been deemed fit and fairly healthy, I walked along to meet her. I had been sensible enough to remember to put a pair of sunglasses in my pocket because dilated pupils and bright sun don’t work well together. We sat for a while in the car waiting for my eyes to return to normal, but eventually we decided that Scamp should drive home, since I couldn’t focus properly. A terrible thing for a photographer to admit to.

On the way home we stopped at the health centre for me to book my six monthly PSA test. With that done, my tasks were completed for the day and I could concentrate on photography in Scotland for the first time in a week … once I could see again.

It didn’t take too long for my eyes to return to normal, well, in total it took about three hours, but who’s counting because I could see again! I took the A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s just to unwind and to work out some of the aches from yesterday’s rail journeys. I thought it would be a shot of my favourite trio of ladybirds who would make PoD, but it was the little fly who won. The first fly I’ve photographed this year. I hope it’s impressed with the accolade!

A wee drink before another early night.

Tomorrow I’m off to Glasgow to meet my brother for a visit to the Hunterian Gallery and maybe the Museum.

Rain, Rain, Go Away – 5 April 2023

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It rained today. In fact it rained all day and it’s still raining.

We had Easter cards to write and then post, which was good, because we were going to Tesco anyway and could post them there. It was just a bit of light shopping, bread, a bag of rolls and a carton of milk. Oh yes, and two bottles of wine plus two cans of G&T. Like I said, light shopping. Just for a change, Scamp drove us there and back.

Back home and after lunch we started throwing things into bags. Counting in the socks and underwear then adding another one or two for luck. It looked like the rain was getting a bit lighter and there was just the chance of some sunshine too, but it was just a ruse by the weather fairies. The rain strengthened and the sunshine went to some other boys and girls. I’d thought of taking some indoor ‘flower’ shots, but risked it with a few shots of Scamp’s Helebores that sit by the back steps. Their full name is Heleborus Orientalis Lenten Rose. The ‘Lenten’ part is to signify that their flowering period roughly covers Lent.

Dinner was paella which I thought was nice and dry, but Scamp thought it was just too dry. We never can agree on food and cooking. However it tasted fine and used up some chicken thighs that had been languishing in the freezer for a long time.

In the evening I threw more things into a big red bag and I’ve just remembered I have to add the Gorilla Pod.

I think that’s us about done. Early rise tomorrow. Hope the rain has stopped by then!

Out on the moor – 4 April 2023

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Scamp was off having lunch with Mags today. I was going to Fannyside Moor.

Scamp had a lunch booked with Mags at Wetherspoons. She had other things to do, (unspecified) and as you can only park for 3 hours anywhere in Cumbersheugh, I offered her a lift, with the added benefit that I’d pick her up once she was finished. I dropped her at the restaurant and drove off to the council tip to ditch some old garden things and a load of cardboard. After that, I was free.

I drove up to Fannyside Moor hoping for some decent light. I’d just parked when the light appeared and lit up the landscape down as far as the old ruined farm at Jawhill. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to get the camera out of the car before the light was gone. I took a walk along the road, but that light didn’t come back. I did get some photos of a couple of fence posts covered in lichen, then walked back to the car to photograph some sheep huddled together because it was a really cold west wind. Such a change from yesterday’s balmy weather with hardly a breath of wind. That photo eventually made PoD after a fair bit of editing and re-editing. Drove home after that and tea and toast for lunch. Nothing like Scamp’s lunch of Fish & Chips which she described as “mmmm lovely”. Some of us just have to make do with what we have.

I’d almost finished the re-editing of the sheep photo when my phone rang once and stopped, then the house phone (old tech, but reliable) rang. It was Scamp asking for a run home because she’d forgotten her bus pass. I didn’t mind at all because it gave me a reason to turn the computer off.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s late in the afternoon, but I took completely the wrong set of lenses. I don’t know what I was thinking. Unless I was thinking how good I was to get an “Explore” which is a First Prize from Flickr for the Horse Chestnut bud from the other day. That’s the second one this year.

I think that was about the end of our galavanting for the day. Dinner for me was Baked Potato and a portion of stew from the freezer. Scamp added to her lunch with a baked potato. We watched another episode of Death in Paradise, series 1 tonight and although we’d seen it before, it was better than the last series, series 10..

Tomorrow is going to be busy shopping, cards to post and arrangements to be made.

Dancin’, and more Dancin’ – 1 April 2023

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Learning in the morning. Putting it to use in the evening.

Drove to Brookfield in the morning and we started with Charnwood Cha Cha then the Foxtrot and finishing with the Quickstep that we’d been practising all week … except, they weren’t interested in what we’d been practising, they only wanted to add in extra steps. We just ignored the new steps and concentrated on trying to get the ‘basic’ quickstep danced properly in a ballroom situation. There were, of course, a collection of sequence dances to leaven the more demanding ballroom dances.

We drove home through a much quieter motorway than last week and were back home in a little over forty minutes.

We talked about whether we’d go to the evening dance or not. I wasn’t keen. Driving the M8 twice on the same day didn’t appeal to me, and sometimes the evening dances are a bit dull, but it’s not only about me, and although Scamp said she didn’t think we should go, I knew she was only doing it for me. So, eventually I convinced her we agreed to go. And we had a great time. We joined Peter & Gillian, Barry & Cath, plus Cath’s sister. We danced most to the dances. I wasn’t perfect, but then I never am, so nothing new there. We laughed with the crowd at the table which you can’t avoid doing with Barry and Peter. The main thing was we enjoyed the company, the music and the dances.

The hall will be closed from tomorrow for a week at least, probably more because the floor needs repaired and re-varnished. Then the teachers are off working on a cruise ship for two and a bit weeks. So this would be the last dance until May! How quickly the year goes round.

Drove home along a very quiet M8 and we both had a little nightcap before turning on Sunday morning. So this is another catch-up. PoD was a LensBaby shot of Forsythia in the garden, because it was a bit too cool in my opinion.

Later on Sunday we intend to watch the Australian GP and do very little else.

Coffee with John – 28 March 2023

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Scamp was out for coffee with Isobel. I went over to John’s for coffee too.

Scamp was intending to meet Isobel for coffee at their usual haunt that is the Costa near TJ Hughes. Isobel caused confusion by phoning me to ask where Scamp was. When I told her, she should be at Costa by then. That’s when I got worried. Was the car giving trouble? Had she broken down somewhere? I phoned her and she replied that she was in Costa as agreed, but couldn’t see Isobel. Another call to Isobel cleared things up. She was at the other Costa (we’ve got two Costas in the Antonine Centre! Lucky us) at the other end of the centre. Long story short, they met up at the Costa near Tesco. Phew!

When she returned I had a quick cup of coffee and a cold meat sandwich then headed off to see John and hand over two parcels for Marion. We had a coffee and discussed the way the world was going wrong and how we’d have put it right if they’d only asked. It had been raining when I left the house and the clouds were getting lower. In Hamilton the skies were noticeable lighter and the clouds higher, plus it wasn’t raining. You see, that’s what happens when you live in South Lanarkshire. You pay a bit more council tax, but you get better weather. As if to prove this hypothesis, when I was driving home later, the rain started again just as I was leaving the boundaries of Hamilton. It continued to rain for the rest of the day and may be raining now. I rest my case Your Honour!

My camera hadn’t been out of the bag all day, but I still needed a photo for PoD. I turned to flowers, as I usually do in such times, and today’s PoD is a bunch of yellow Alstroemeria with some Sweet William and a bunch of Stocks as supporting actors. All shot on the tabletop with the A7iii + LensBaby Sweet 50 lens to blur out the edges.

Scamp’s turn to make dinner and it was a chicken stir-fry and although it was a bit dry it’s taste made up for that.

No plans for tomorrow. We’ll see what happens, but it might involve a Quickstep practise.

 

Off to the east – 27 March 2023

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Not the Far East, just following the Forth.

It was a lovely day. In fact it was just as the weather fairies had predicted, bright, clear and cold. Just 0.2ºc above zero when Scamp was making the breakfast.

We decided we wouldn’t waste any time, we just drove over to Aberdour in Fife. The last time we’d been there was in January last year and it had been bright, clear and cold then too. After a bit of indecision Scamp remembered the street we needed to go down that would take us to the Silver Sands that Aberdour is famous for. I remembered the big, almost empty car park that those in the know use. We parked there and walked down to the sandy beach.

Scamp had been intending to walk the shore path to Burntisland, but instead we found ourselves following our noses and discovered not one, but two lighthouses, what looked like a gun emplacement from WW1 or WW2 we weren’t sure. The other thing we found was a memorial to Wee Alfy. Not much more information, except a plaque with “In Loving Memory of Wee Alfy 1986-2004” and an engraved picture of a leaping fish. It was on a sturdy table that looked as if it had been used for a barbecue and was built on a concrete and steel frame.

We walked back to the path that would take us to Burntisland. It was a decent path we were on with a plenty of climbs and then slopes down the other side. Well used too by walkers, joggers and cyclists. Everyone out to make the best of this spring day that was warming up nicely. Well, the path would have taken us to Burntisland if we’d had the time, but after walking for about an hour we stopped for a seat and made the decision to go back, because our destination wasn’t getting any nearer. The path was just as interesting on the way back. We were getting hungry by then and waited in the queue to get a table for lunch at the cafe. Scamp had Tuna & Cheese sandwiches and I had a burger. A bacon and cheese burger. It was truly the worst burger I’ve ever had. The meat itself had been reheated a few times before it came to me. The bacon had been fried to within an inch of its life and the cheese. I hate to think to the torture that had been inflicted on that oily orange slab of bubbling something. Take heed, if you are ever in the Sands Cafe, do yourself a favour. Eat one of your shoes rather than risk the burger. Your stomach will thank you for it. The slice of tomato was the best bit and the chips were excellent. We walked back to the car and realised why it might be worth the £2 to park on the lower car park. That is one long, steep and twisty bit of road.

We drove home via Tesco for milk and bread. Then Scamp wanted to do some deadheading that progressed into pruning and then there were plans to be made for the new peony rose we bought. Later, when the gardening work had been completed we used some of the straw that came with a Golden Anniversary rose to stuff a bird feeder and hung it on the tree in the garden. It was Scamp’s idea after I saw a blackbird with a beak full of twigs and leaves, presumably for nest building. Let’s hope some of the birds can use some of that straw.

PoD turned out to be a landscape shot taken on our walk to Burntisland.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to have coffee with Isobel and as it’s forecast for rain, I may stay home and do that painting I’ve been dreaming about.