Category: Driving

What a wet day – 9 October 2021

Posted on by Zogman

We’d already agreed to go to Stirling for some light shopping and the possibility of a coffee.

Basically, we did exactly what we’d agreed. Driving through torrential rain and blinding spray in to Stirling. We parked in the big cheap carpark just outside the town centre proper. It was even cheaper today, in fact it was free for some reason. All the ticket machines were covered, maybe to protect them from the rain. Who cares, we didn’t even have to pay the usual cheap price of £2 per day.

We walked in to the town and found a new cycle shop where the owner was repairing, of all things, a Clavinova. Scamp’s Clavinova has a dodgy key and I’ve been telling for ages to get it fixed. The bloke listened to her explanation of the problem, then told her what was causing it, and more importantly, that it could be fixed. No estimate of the cost until he sees the piano. She got his card and will probably phone him to get him to have a look at it.

From there we walked past The Gallery, an art shop we always stop to look in, but sadly is now closing. Stirling won’t be the same without it. Then, down through the Thistle Centre which is the Stirling version of a mall. Brilliant lego fantasy creatures in the mall. The Griffin was exceptional. Coffee in Nero and a few pies bought from the farmers market then that shopping in Waitrose before the drive home into the rain that seems to linger around Cumbersheugh on these damp days. Drizzle elsewhere, rain in Cumbersheugh.

That, I’m afraid was about it for today’s excursion. PoD was taken in the garden when the rain had reverted to dismal drizzle.  It’s what’s left of the geranium flower Rozanne after  the wind and rain have blown away all its petals.  It’s posted on Flickr as Rozanne naked ☺️. Prompt for today was Pressure. I chose to do some lateral thinking and my offering is the difference between high pressure and low pressure as far as weather is concerned. I was going to draw a pressure cooker, but this was better fun.

We have no plans for tomorrow. Weather looks a bit better than today. We’ll, believe it when we see it.

A relaxing Friday? – 8 October 2021

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Nothing really to do and nowhere really to go. The rain continuing, so no incentive to go out. A relaxing day. Well, that is how it started.

I drove up to Tesco to get some stuff for tonight’s dinner and also because the Blue Micra was getting thirsty and needed some of that E10 fuel. Scamp stayed at home because there wasn’t really any need for both of us to go out.

Back home with the messages and we’d just finishing our lunch when Shona phoned to ask if she could “get the use of our car.” Well, actually the use of the car and a driver, please. She had to hand back the keys to the flat today by 4pm and now, at about 1pm she had some stuff still to move to the new house. I suggested to Scamp that two cars would be better than one and if only one was needed, then the other could return home. As it happened, we needed both cars, both of them stowed to the roof almost with bags and boxes filled with some things she hadn’t been able to pack until this morning. We got the two cars filled. Boot, back seat and front seat in my case and just enough room for Shona to fit into the passenger seat in Scamp’s car. Thankfully Shona’s new house is that, a house, not a flat. That meant we didn’t have to carry those bags and boxes up two flights of stairs.

Her new house is really nice. It’s an end house of a block with front, side and back gardens. The whole house had that new house smell when we went in. New carpet on the stairs and I think it’s had a skim coat of plaster and definitely a coat of paint. A fresh start to someone who really deserves it.

By the time we got home we were both exhausted, but the exercise seemed to have eased the pain in my back rather than exacerbate it. The rain that had been falling incessantly all day eased for a while and I did manage to get over to St Mo’s for a walk with a camera. Lots of spiders stocking up their larders for the winter, but not much else. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to shine. It was a spider picture that got PoD. The sketch of the day was what the prompt said, a Watch. My old analog Timex watch.

Dinner tonight was “Just Soup”. Nothing fancy. Literally, just soup. Tasted good to me but Scamp said it needed more salt. Lots more for tomorrow if needed.

Ah, tomorrow. Maybe we’ll go shopping somewhere other than Cumbersheugh.

Dancin’ and Drivin’ – 7 October 2021

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Not both at the same time though!

Drove our way to the tea dance, not the way the satnav wanted, but I wanted to make sure I could correct the mistake I made the last time. It took us about 40 minutes which was about the same as the satnav’s preferred route. Weather was the opposite of yesterday. Heavy cloud and lashing rain that would fade to a fine drizzle before returning again as a deluge.

Dancing was good with lots of people there, much more than a fortnight ago. We got up for most of the dances although we got in a bit of a fankle with the Social Foxtrot. It’s actually a lot easier than the Ballroom version, but you’d never guess from our ham fisted attempt at it. Still, the tea was good and so was the cake that Jane allegedly bakes. It’s almost like dumpling. Quite heavy, but I didn’t mind because it tasted good. Stewart announced that the dance weekend in Perth was fully booked now (we are in) and they were now taking bookings for a May weekend in 2022. Of all the dates they could have chosen, they picked the on of Wee Jak’s wedding in Skye!

By the time we left my little brain was full of ballroom, sequence and Scottish Country dances. I even did a line dance!! Me? A line dancer? I’ll never live that down. It was still raining when we left and fought our way through Paisley, more or less ignoring the satnav’s pleas to go a different way. Eventually we reached the M8 and after a couple of miles everything ground to a halt. An articulated lorry had broken down on the M74 and the traffic was backed up onto the M8 leaving it as very slow moving conga line in all the lanes. About an hour and a half later we got home, and it was still raining.

My feeble attempt at a PoD was a macro shot of some rose stems in a glass vase. I liked the distortion the glass and water gave those jaggy stems. Sketch for today was Fan. I chose to draw and paint two of Scamp’s favourite fans. The blue one is embroidered cloth and the red one is lacquered strips of wood. I got fed up just using ink, so that’s why the watercolour appeared.

Tomorrow we might go out somewhere to get some petrol and I’ll perhaps get a more interesting and challenging PoD.

Out for a test drive – 26 September 2021

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Testing the red car and no coffee in a coffee shop. Strange times.

We decided we’d take the red car out for a longer run than it’s had for while. Enough to allow the alternator to generate some electrical power and store it in the battery. I suggested we drive to Robroyston and have a cup of coffee then come home. The drive was fine and the wee red car performed perfectly. The coffee shop, Costa, not so good.

There was a reasonable queue in the shop, but when I got to the front one of the baristas told me there was filter coffee and soft drinks, but no coffee, no lattes and no cappuccinos. If there was no coffee, what were they making the filter coffee with? Maybe instant coffee? Or perhaps gravy browning? To be honest, in Costa it’s difficult to tell the difference. I said “No thanks” and we left. Most of the queue left too. I’m guessing there were no HGV drivers available for the coffee delivery.

Instead we went to Lidl and bought enough to make tonight’s dinner and some other things too and drove home to get our caffeine fix. Again the wee red car behaved perfectly with a few squeaks from the brakes and maybe a noisy wheel bearing, but essentially it was working just as it should do. Now we just have to find a petrol station that’s open, without a mile long queue, and one with petrol in the pumps. That might be a bigger challenge!

After lunch and after watching Andrew Marr savaging Grant Shapps the transport minister and listening to Keir Starmer mumbling about what he’d have done if he’d been prime minister (fat chance of that), after all that, I booted up and went for a walk in St Mo’s. Sitting on an old log I found four dragonflies. I joined their group and took their photographs, individually and in pairs and trios. Never quite managed the full group photo. Well, you know how it is with group shots. There’s always somebody who blinks or looks the other way and there’s always the joker who pulls a funny face. It’s just the same with dragonflies, except with wings. One of the dragonfly photos got PoD.

Dinner tonight was Haggis Neeps and Tatties. No, it wasn’t Burns Night, it was just a great idea from Scamp that really hit the spot. It was buying the turnip from Lidl that settled the case for H,N&T. Very enjoyable and even better, there may be enough haggis left for tomorrow’s lunch.

After dinner and after watching another fascinating GP which Hamilton won <Insert boo here> and Verstappen drove a spectacular second place after starting last <Insert Hooray here> we did a bit of online investigating. Scamp found that the owner of the garage we used to take our car to for MOT and servicing has now gone into partnership in a new place. We may go and do a drive by tomorrow, just in case the wee red car need some TLC.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and found that life was just ticking over as normal down there. Told him I was testing Dashline and Lastpass, his and Hazy’s password managers at present. I’ve Dashline working on the MBP and Lastpass on the iMac. Not much to pick and choose between them, but I’m just a week in to the test.

Tomorrow we might do that drive by, or we might go for a walk or maybe we’ll do both. Who knows? You might, tomorrow.

 

In Deepest Paisley – 23 September 2021

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We were off into the depths of Paisley to dance.

Drove in through Glasgow again and the traffic wasn’t all that bad at all. Just make sure you’re in the right lane and don’t deviate. Go with the flow and all will be well. All did go well until in the centre of Paisley I made the same wrong turning I’d made two years ago and found myself relying on the sat nav to get me out of trouble. It did it perfectly. Arrive with about five minutes to spare.

Danced Waltz, Social Foxtrot, Foxtrot, Tango and innumerable Sequence Dances. Sat beside two folk we’ve met at tea dances before and who also go to our Saturday morning class, John and Madge. We also has a chat with two others we know from Salsa, Barry and Cath. There were also a number of “Weel Kent Faces” in the group, about a dozen couples in total. I don’t think we were the clumsiest and I know we were nowhere near the best, but we danced, socially and didn’t bump into anyone. Yes, we made mistakes, but we just got on with it. We kept to the right lane, didn’t deviate too much and went with the flow. It works, you know!

As promised, there was tea and cake and sweets. There was plenty of time to mingle and talk to folk. Do you know, I’m beginning to enjoy this social aspect of dancing. It’s slower than Salsa, but it’s just as enjoyable in a different way. Like so many things, it’s the people who make it enjoyable.

Back home the sat nav had an off day and took us home by the ‘Scenic Route’ then dumped us in the middle of a traffic jam caused by road works. We did eventually get home and I went out for a walk in St Mo’s to get some poor quality photos then went to Condorrat to get some ‘thick milk’ to add to tonight’s dinner which was Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto. One of our leeks again.

PoD was a Garden Cross spider, so called because it has the markings of a cross on its back.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to meet my brother in Glasgow.

Dancin’ – 18 September 2021

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Brain fade. A terrible affliction.

We were driving to Bridge of Weir for our Saturday dance lesson. The first one in a fortnight and I wasn’t thinking. Instead of heading down our usual M73, M74, M8, I turned onto the M80 and pointed the car at Glasgow. By the time I realised what I’d done, I couldn’t change it. I expected to meet long queues of traffic when the M80 joined the M8 in Glasgow, but it didn’t happen. Yes, there was a bit of slow traffic, but nothing like what I’d anticipated. It took us just about our usual time. Maybe the roadworks are nearly finished after all.

We started the class with Bellisimo Cha-Cha. Not my favourite, but I can do it. Next the Foxtrot, followed by a Midnight Jive just to clear our heads and allow us time to put on our Waltz Head, because that was next. We did quite well with our stripped down Waltz, but then Jane taught us how to do a Chassis properly. Not the little skipping step we usually do, but the actual theory behind the step. They finished with the Sally Anne Cha-Cha which we didn’t know so we left them to it, but so we didn’t feel left out, the final last dance was a Bossa Nova, which we do know.

Drive back was a bit more congested than normal, but we still made some decent time, although the traffic heading in to Glasgow from the east was much heavier now. I’d love to see an aerial view of that section of the road speeded up to see why the traffic builds up in some places.

Got a couple of photos of fungi deep in St Mo’s woods but PoD went to a shot of a late afternoon dragonfly on the boardwalk

Nothing planned for tomorrow.

Driving – 10 September 2021

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Feeling a lot better this morning. No sign of yesterday’s Lurgi.

We got in the car and drove to the petrol station to buy some extremely expensive petrol that only had 5% of Ethanol in it. Better the devil you know when you’re on a fairly long journey, carrying half a tonne of stuff.

Drove out of the petrol station, still smarting from the expense and joined the M80 heading in the general direction of Glasgow. Merged on to the M73 which in turn merged on to the M74. Drove sedately past the roadworks at Hamilton that are due to finish in October (year not stated), watching the train of cars, vans and lorries on the other carriageway, a train that went on and on and on. Made a mental note to exit the motorway at Canderside on our return journey and not be caught in a stramash like this.

After a hundred miles or so, Scotland became England and the M74 became the M6. Exited at Penrith and then it was on to the smaller A66. Just before the exit, the Start/Stop app in the car signalled a System Failure. This had happened before and I reported it to Nissan at the service a week ago. I was told then that the Start/Stop “… Checks a lot of parameters …” Which was technospeak for “It just does that, we can’t fix it”. Another Nissan failure on an otherwise great car.

Not long after we left the outskirts of Penrith, we were on a stretch of road which should have been dual carriageway, but was under repair, so it became a slow moving single carriageway. Just after what seemed like an hour, but was probably a lot less, we took the turn off that eventually led through narrower and narrower roads to the house. Actually overshot it, but Scamp noticed and we arrived. First to arrive again!

Cup of tea on the patio and a quick Foxtrot along the paving stones. I’ll bet that’s the first time anyone had danced a Foxtrot along that patio! Jamie and Sim weren’t far behind us, having left home long before us. Their’s a six hour journey and ours only about two. The world is ill divided.

PoD was to confirm that roses, even in England, have the same beasties we have up north. Honest, we didn’t bring them with us.
Scamp made Chicken Cacciatore for dinner and we all sat round the table, talked and ate.

Tomorrow we’re going exploring.

Crossing the Forth – 8 September 2021

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It was a lovely morning and we weren’t going to waste it.

We had a few places in mind for today. Culross (just look away and roll your eyes, Hazy), Dunfermline and Kincardine were three of them. We settled on Kincardine and drove over to Fife and parked in the free car park beside a ‘new’ Coop building. The parentheses are because I still don’t think it’s a new building. I’m pretty sure there was a residential home on that spot a few years ago, probably the last time we were there. If you looked closely you could see the outline of windows that had been bricked up, given a new coat of render then painted. Fancy wood facing to the building completed the transformation. A quick look on Google Street View when we got home confirmed the makeover. It was a nursing home that used to be on that site. You can’t kid us!

We walked down through the old part of Kincardine where all the houses seem to be dropped into place and then roads are added as an afterthought. We found or way down to the path that runs along the side of the Forth, noting on our way the big bramble bushes with a healthy number of fat berries. We’d collect some of them on our way back.

Walked along past the, now redundant, piers that originally carried in coal to the Kincardine power station, now razed to the ground. An electrical substation now occupies part of the site. Not the most scenic of views past on the right, but great views across the Forth to Airth on the south of the estuary. The Forth is tidal at this point and the tide was out this morning exposing the mudbanks on both sides.

We walked under the Clackmannanshire Bridge, an elegant structure with a really clumsy name. Some bright spark renamed it the Clacks Bridge which trips off the tongue much more easily than its sixteen letter official name. We sat for a while on a seat kindly provided by the council with a plaque to tell people how thoughtful they are. NLC, there’s things you could learn here. From the seat we could look over to some buildings that looked like a farm and a ruin that turned out to be Kennetpans Distillery, allegedly the first commercial distillery in the world.

We sat soaking up the sun for a while before we headed back the same way to the car, stopping on the way to make good our promise to pick some of those black brambles. Unfortunately we didn’t have any poly bags with us, so Scamp used one of her shopping bags which got squashed later in the boot of the car, spreading bramble juice over everything. Back at the car we were heading for that terrible place that Hazy hates, may its name never be spoken in her presence. It was mobbed. We trundled through it with two cyclists who insisted on travelling so slowly they were in danger of losing their balance (it’s the gyroscopic effect of the spinning wheels that allows bikes to stay upright). Eventually we found a parking place off the road with a vacant picnic table where we could have coffee and crisps (and a chocolate biscuit) and christen our new flask. Then it was time to drive home.

I had intended going out on Dewdrop to get more brambles but the warm weather and the chance of a midweek beer put paid to that idea. Instead I finished a pastel painting I’ve been struggling with and then joined Scamp in the garden.

Dinner tonight was Neil’s Pulled Roast Chicken with Rice. Very summery and a fitting end to a good day out. Such a pity the good weather is forecast to end tomorrow, but we enjoyed it while it lasted.

PoD went to a picture of the Clacks Bridge taken from below to make the most of its curves.

Tomorrow we may go out to lunch.

bqb? – 7 September 2021

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Today was to be a better day than yesterday, which wouldn’t be difficult.

We chose Loch Lomond to be our destination. Scamp said she wanted to go and have a cup of coffee somewhere nice. Lomond Shores which is a retail area at the south end of Loch Lomond looked as if it would fit the bill. Well, we did have coffee and a bite to eat. We even got a window seat, so that ticked both of Scamp’s boxes.

As Lomond Shores is a retail area, some retail therapy was in order. I was still looking for a decent pair of trainers for a decent price. Scamp was looking at dresses and tops, but ended up with a pair of trousers, walking trousers. Not exactly fashionable, but certainly practical and for a practical price too. I couldn’t find anything that suited my feet for any price and I’ve all but given up on the whole idea. I might just buy a pair of flip flops, preferably pink and wear them.

We had a walk around the sad wreck that used to be Maid of the Loch. She was the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom. I only sailed on her once, on a school trip to Rowardennan to climb Ben Lomond, back in the mid 1960s. She was a beautiful boat then, so it’s really sad to see the state she’s in now. I really can’t see this boat returning to the loch. It’s just not going to be a practical proposition. Such a shame. PoD was heavily post processed shot of the old maid taken through the railings of fence that keeps her safe for the time being.

Drove home via Stirling. It was a bit longer than the route we came, but the scenery was better and the road was much quieter. When we were driving to Loch Lomond in the morning we stopped at traffic lights before going on to the M73 and I noticed a van with a familiar logo but a strange company name. It read “bqb”, but the logo looked a lot like the DPD cube. I said this to Scamp and she laughed and told me I was looking at a DPD van in the wing mirror! We passed a house on the way home today and its name was “Gowk” Another of my mum’s words. It means an idiot. That’s what I felt like, a Gowk!

No practise tonight, but that just means there will be one tomorrow. We have no real plans for tomorrow. If the weather fairies are correct tomorrow is going to be hot and it will be the last hot day for a while, so we may go for a walk somewhere.

Climbing and Flying – 1 September 2021

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The assault on Croy Hill, the reverse direction.

Scamp suggested we go and visit Silvanus, the Roman warrior’s head that stands on the edge of Croy Hill, and instead of walking the usual path from Croy itself, we could walk along the canal and up on to the old railway line and tackle the hill from the north. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and sun, so the walk seemed like a good idea, but first I wanted a closer look at a plane.

We’ve seen and heard a Spitfire flying around the town and I wanted a closer look. With that thought in mind we drove up to Wardpark and past the airfield, but saw no evidence of the old warbird. Disappointed I drove over to Kilsyth and from there to Auchinstarry where we parked and put on sensible walking boots for the walk.

I’d forgotten just how steep the climb was from the canal up to the old mineral line, but thankfully once we had reached that path, most of the hard work was done and we were on level ground for a stretch. The statue of Silvanus was much further along than we remembered, but as we were walking I could hear the sound of the Spitfire’s Merlin engines although I couldn’t see the plane itself. I checked with Flightradar24 and found that the plane was almost over Carron Reservoir, about 5 miles away. The sound of the plane faded as it dropped behind the hills. We walked on and as we neared the statue we could hear it returning. This time, with the help of Flightradar I found it heading straight for us. I took a few photos of it before it banked and overflew the airfield before climbing and performing a neat slow roll. Then it turned and headed back with flaps and undercarriage down. A few more photos before it disappeared over the hill to the airfield. I wasn’t sure I’d captured it, but at least it was better than nothing. A little bit of research at home led me to its website. You can book a flight in this two seater Spitfire. £3,000 will get you a 30 min flight in this old lady, which is five years older than me. I may have to save my pennies for a long time before I book that flight!

We met a bloke at the statue who was a Kilsyth local and was impressed that he’d ID’d the Spitfire. He wasn’t a fan of the Silvanus head, but like us was pleased that it hadn’t been vandalised in the time it had been up on the hill. We said our goodbyes and headed up over the hill while he seemed to take a lower path. I must admit I was wary of the hill because we’d passed notices to say that the cattle were back on the hill for the winter. These cattle are big brutes, if I remember right and I don’t like cattle at the best of times. “The best of times “ being when there’s a fence between them and me. There are no fences on Croy Hill. However we didn’t meet any today and we took the ‘easier’ paths where they were available, missing out the tourist routes over the tops.

When we had passed the top and were coming down the other side I realises Scamp wasn’t behind me. I walked back, expecting to find her having a seat somewhere. She was nowhere to be seen. I shouted for her, twice, but no response. I changed to a wider path that was closer to the edge and there she was. Did she not hear me shouting? Yes, she had. That could have been a time to pick up a ‘black monkey’, but for some reason I didn’t lose it. I think I was just glad to see she hadn’t come to any harm. She said she was on the right path and knew I’d eventually realise I was on the wrong one. That could be the story of my life!

When we got back to the car it was absolutely boiling inside. Drove home with the air con on full. It was lovely.

I spent the afternoon cleaning the sensors of the two Sonys. They seem to be absolute dust magnets. They are a bit cleaner now. Not perfect, but a lot better than they were. After that I got a request from Jamie to fix a photo for Sim. It was a fairly easy bit of editing, made even easier by the new Photoshop. Scamp was cleaning up the leaves in the back garden and managed to scrape both arms raking leaves from under the blackcurrant bush. Then it was Guinness and Pimms time in the garden, in the sun.

Fish & Fried Potatoes with tomatoes for dinner. A new twist on Fish & Chips. After that we sat in the garden while I listened to the end of my Alan Parks book, Bobby March Will Live Forever. Good story with a poor reader. It was there I got PoD. I was looking at a wee single sweet pea flower backlit by the setting sun. It took a wee bit of editing to get it looking like my eyes saw it, but that’s what Lightroom excels at.

A quick practise tonight. Just about half an hour at the most, but we covered Tango, Waltz, Cha Cha and Bossa Nova in that time.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go for lunch with Isobel, June and Ian. I’m hopefully meeting Val for coffee in a different place, but at almost at the same time. Scamp and I will be able to compare and contrast our experiences!