Category: Driving

Down on the boardwalk – 12 December 2019

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Accomplished another ‘out before 11am’ .

Down to the village to pick up Isobel at 10am. Drove her to her pre-op appointment at Monklands. Thought we might go to The Fort for a cup of coffee and then pick her up again later. She reckoned it would take about an hour to get her tests done and speak to the surgeon. The satnav thought it would take about half an hour to get to The Fort from the hospital and that would leave us no time for coffee, so, as we were on the road to Drumpellier, we changed our destination to there. A cup of coffee, a bit of a walk and then check in with Isobel to see if she was ready.

It was a cold, dull day at Coatbridge, but we had the coffee and a scone each then we did go for a walk. In the cafe I snapped the high chairs because I liked the way the light shone on their chrome and the silhouette they made against the window. It would have looked better if the windows had been clean, but it is Coatbridge after all. The fact that the windows are still there is a minor miracle.

On our short walk we passed a bloke with a nice bit Nikon fitted with a long lens.  He also had a spotter scope on an equally expensive looking tripod with a smartphone clipped on to it. The only bird life I could see were a couple of swans, a goosander and about a million seagulls. (By the way, my spellchecker just tried to change ‘goosander’ to ‘goo sander’?!). Back to the bloke. Poor soul looked frozen. I wonder what he was waiting for. Flamingos perhaps? Scarlet Ibis? Spoonbills? We’ll never know. I hope he found them.

Just leaving the park, Scamp phoned Isobel, only to find that she was still waiting in the first queue for the ECG and had another three tests and therefore another three queue lined up before she met the surgeon. She said thanks very much, but she would get the bus home rather than having us wait around. We drove back home via The Fort because Scamp wanted to get some cold remedies from Boots, and because we were out anyway.

Back home I changed into my boots and old cord trousers and went for a walk in St Mo’s. The light was too low for any photography, so I fed the ducks and swans with some bread. Then I noticed the barriers were down at the boardwalk and I decided I’d have a walk on it, just to make sure it worked. It did. It held my weight. I even did a wee selfie as a reminder! Maybe they’ll ask me to cut the ribbon when it’s officially opened!

PoD was the High Chairs.

Tomorrow we may go to Perth for coffee or Larky to order new glasses.

Lost in Coatbridge – 3 December 2019

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Not the place to get lost really.

Jackie left early to go for the bus home from Glasgow. As usual she booked herself a taxi, because she didn’t want to bother us. It was good to see her. We must visit Skye soon.

We set off ourselves a bit later in search of a walk in the fresh air at Drumpellier Park on the edge of Coatbridge. It was a fine day, not sunny, not bitterly cold and dry into the bargain. A comfortable walk around an essentially dull big pond, watching the ducks and swans being ice-breakers and cutting through the thin surface layer of ice. Had a coffee and shared a muffin in the cafe and gazed out over the pond. Great view across the water and although I said it wasn’t cold, it wasn’t too warm either, so a heat in the cafe was ideal.

Drove out of the gates of the park and turned right. After about half a mile I got a bit worried, because I couldn’t remember seeing those buildings when we came in. Turned at a school, I definitely couldn’t remember that. Lost, we switched on the sat nav and asked it to find the Fort. It directed us back the way we’d come. I didn’t think that was right either, but followed its instructions for a while before I went my own way again. Nope, that wasn’t right either. Finally after checking with Google Maps, I agreed that we had to go back the way we’d come and found the proper road. Trick was to turn left on exiting the park THEN turn right. Dumplin’! ( A “dumplin’ “ is like a “numpty”, but not as stupid. )

Found the Fort and got a few things for making parcels for Christmas. Then Scamp suggested we drive in to Glasgow because Santa was going halfers with me on my Christmas Prezzy. It’s (yet) another camera. This one is new. My first new camera for a month and before that? About ten years, maybe more. So, don’t start you pair! You know who you are.

Back home it was soup and Spaghetti Carbonara for dinner. Best I’ve made for ages, although Scamp’s Lentil Soup came a close second.

Testing the camera tonight, I found a big dust bunny on the sensor. This is a new camera and the sensor has dust on it and not just a microscopic particle, this one was bit. I was tempted to take it back, but then I tried my trusty blower on it and that did the trick. It’s a nice bit of kit this. It’s a bit smaller than the rest of my M43 cameras, but has that magic 4K Post Focus trick up its sleeve. Hopefully the best of both worlds. Even better, it came with a 12-32mm lens which I loved until it fell apart on me when we were down in Wales. Hopefully this one will last longer.

PoD was a Convolvulus stem making a neat helix on a cow parsley. Taken at Drumpellier before we got lost in darkest Coatbridge.

Tomorrow, hopefully we’re dancing again and I think I’ve worked out how to do that bloody spin 4 properly.

Falkirk for Food – 21 November 2019

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Today we went for the messages.

Drove to Falkirk to get the ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner with Crawford, Nancy, June and Ian. Scamp wanted to get some Cod Loin and Morrison’s is the place for fresh fish, except not today. Yes, they did have cod, but it didn’t look like there would be enough. They had enough hake, but it didn’t look fresh. They even had cod loin, but it had been pre-packed before being frozen and she really wanted to see what it looked like and preferred it fresh. I had to agree with her decision to reject it.

Drove home and found some decent looking cod fillets in M&S that passed muster. Other things too, passed muster and were added to the message bag. Came for one thing, went out with many. We also were served by Sharlene who was at pains to tell us that M&S had a website with a competition we could enter and win £500 and her name was Sharlene. Every time we visit M&S we get the same spiel and I’m getting really tired with it. I’m also sorry for folk like Sharlene who have to trot out this story to every customer trying to increase the (I forget the three letter abbreviation) efficiency of the sales experience. I’d hate to be working now and have to go through this excruciating and ultimately demeaning plea for ‘likes’. By the way, her name is Sharlene.

I guessed I had an hour to get some decent photo in St Mo’s when I got back and today’s PoD is a shot of an old apple tree in the park with a Lightroom generated sky behind. They’re beginning to dig up all the paths in St Mo’s and it looks a proper mess.  However, it’s not being done by NLC, so hopefully they will stay within the four week allocation for the work and also it will be done properly.  We live in hope.

Made eight panna cottas tonight for tomorrow’s dinner. They’re in the fridge now cooling and hopefully setting.

Tomorrow is Masterchef day when we’ll be slaving over a hot stove all day.

They brought a tank – 11 November 2019

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I made my decision this morning and packed up the Sony RX 100iii.

It was a pretty little thing, but in the end it was overpriced, even considering what I paid for it and it didn’t do what I intended it to. It had to go. Drove into Glasgow and returned it. I got my money back and also had the JL points deducted from my account, which is only fair. I then bought a Panasonic TZ 90. Not nearly as pretty as the Sony, but a lot more useful I hope. I wanted a camera with a large sensor, a long zoom and a tilting rear screen with a viewfinder if possible, Santa. The TZ 90 doesn’t have the large sensor but it does have a long zoom, a tilting screen and a viewfinder. Actually the Sony had ticks in all but one of my boxes too, but I just didn’t like it. It’s as simple as that. The TZ 90 is to replace a hard worked TZ70, so most of the controls are in familiar places. The fact that it was £100 cheaper was of no consequence.

Came home and Scamp was just going out to get Gems. After a quick lunch and a cursory glance at the users manual, I plugged the camera in and let it charge and charge and charge for about four hours. In the meantime I took the Oly out for a run. I needed petrol and a run in the country would lift my spirits, I thought. Drove up onto Fannyside Moss and that’s where today’s PoD came from. Lovely cloudscape over the far hills. They had been covered with a light dusting of snow this morning, but now almost all of it was gone.

Came back just as Gems were leaving. After some discussion, Scamp and I decided that we’d miss out on Salsa tonight, because we both had a lot to do.

On the way back from my photo trip, I took a run past the school and, oh dear. It looks like they brought in a tank after all. The glazing panels down the side of the Techy block are gone and part of T1 drawing room has gone. It won’t be long until it’s just a memory. Goodbye T4. I had some good days and some bad days there, but mostly good.

No great plans for tomorrow. We’ll see where the day takes us.

The Highs and the Lows – 8 November 2019

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Cameras. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

I’ve been looking for a replacement for my Panasonic Lumix TZ70 which is a wonderful pocket camera. Long, Long zoom, shoots in the malleable RAW format, nice comfortable grip and an ideal form factor. Its big drawbacks are the small sensor (the digital “film”) and its habit of sucking in dust to the lens and ultimately to the sensor. A tiny bit of dust on a DSLR sensor is a bit of a pain, as is a tiny hair. On a sensor that’s smaller than your pinkie nail, that tiny bit of dust is a great black blob. My Teazer has a host of those blobs and now has a hair to keep them company. That’s my reasoning for looking for a replacement. Not ‘another’ camera as JIC will have it, but a replacement. One in, one regretfully out.

I’ve been charting the price fluctuations of a Sony RX100iii for the past few weeks and had a look at the camera in Jessops which was the cheapest of the local shops and Amazon too. Today when I checked, the price had risen by £30 from £449 to £479. The price hike, I presume is so they can ‘reduce’ the price again for Black Friday at the end of the month. It looked like it was out of the question, but I had a second runner in the race and thought I’d have a look at it. Went to JL and they had it in stock it was a Panasonic LX10 (I knew you’d want to know that JIC), but although it had a viewfinder, it didn’t have tilting screen which I now use a lot on my Olys. Bummer! Then I noticed in the reduced section in JL, the Sony I’d been denied by Jessops false price hike. Better than that, it was a kit, complete with a finger grip and a leather case. Best of all, it was about £100 below even the original asking price for the kit in Jessops! I took it. Things were on the up, perhaps. Scamp had got herself ‘another’ pair of jeans in M&S, so she was a happy bunny too.

Came home and went to lunch at Milano Express at Old Inns. Pizzas were a bit of a disappointment, lovely light, well-fired base, but far too heavy on the cheese. Must ask for less cheese next time. Had a relaxing lunch and Scamp was driving on a beautiful sunny day.

By the time we got home there was hardly any time to grab a photo and I did want to unpack this small miracle camera. It was small, it is tiny. Without the finger grip it’s very difficult to hold. Quite slippery. The controls, too are tiny and the menu is a labyrinth of jargon filled abbreviations. You can control the camera using NFC which is great, but the software is a bit clumsy and doesn’t always work. Also, the ‘control’ you have is whether to shoot with a time delay or not. No chance to change aperture or shutter speed. No clue what you’re focusing on. It’s all a bit hit or miss, but mostly miss. Long story short, although the camera is perfect and looks like it’s never been used, I think it may go back on JL’s shelf soon.

Today’s PoD is a slice of pomegranate, but could equally well be a slice through my befuddled brain!

Tomorrow we have no plans.

Over the Forth on the Fifth – 5 November 2019

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Yesterday was Gems day. A Tuesdays is rapidly becoming our day.

It was a lovely morning and we decided we had to go out and enjoy it. Scamp suggested Kirkintilloch and I suggested Dunfermline. Scamp then said that was her second choice and we’d go to Kirkie on our next free day, so Dunfermline it was.

The River Forth was shining beautifully when we drove over the Kincardine Bridge. I was tempted to stop, but I’d proposed Dunfermline and while Scamp wouldn’t have complained about me taking a diversion, I thought I’d better stick to the plan. We parked just at Pittencrief Park and had a walk round the park in beautiful light shining through the trees and lighting them up. Found today’s PoD there too. A genuine fairy toadstool. The notorious Fly Agaric. Look but don’t touch unless you want to wake up in hospital, or never again.

The walk up through the town was less photogenic. Boarded up shops and more than their fair share of charity shops. It was like an outdoor version of the Cumbersheugh Town Centre. Good enough for coffee and a bit to eat though. After that we just walked back to the car, via M&S for Scamp and Waterstones for me.

As we were driving home the clouds seemed to be gathering, but I don’t think they were serious about it because the forecast is for sub zero temperatures tonight because of the clear skies. Also, as we reached the Forth again on the way out of Fife, with the low sun the river was shining again. I resisted the temptation again.

Practised the Fearsome Four Jive moves for tomorrow and I seem to have a finger hold on them at last. I’ll let the little grey cells work on them overnight and file the successful method away for further reference. Tomorrow morning we’ll try again and all will be well, I’m sure.

That was about it for today. A lovely day, most enjoyable. Tomorrow, hopefully, we’re dancing again.

Rain and Balloons – 4 November 2019

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All day, it rained. I think it should stop now, we get the message.

There was no point in going anywhere today unless you had to. Scamp had to go out to collect some of Gems, because today was Monday and that’s what happens on a Monday, Gems come. After she came back and after Margie and I had a look at each other’s drawings, I got my wet weather stuff on and drove out to the local council tip to get rid of the bottle of stinking oil I’d used to make the pakora the other day. After that I drove back via Tesco to get some money from the money machine and to get milk. You understand that there are times when these things are the highlights of the day.

Salsa tonight was enough to brighten any day. Tonight was Jamie G’s Halloween Party with balloons, fairy lights, glow sticks and reindeer antlers. There should have been witches hats, but one the other teachers had stolen them. Children? What can you do with them? As well as the usual festivities, this was the first night of a beginners class and we were called upon to help out. It wasn’t an onerous task, in fact it’s quite fun to be considered an “expert”. It’s also fun to watch their faces when Jamie demonstrates what they’ll be able to do in eight weeks time. You can see them whispering to each other, “I’ll never be able to do that!” But the thing is, They Will! Yes a Halloween party with everybody acting like big kids and a chance to be an “Expert”. Those two things made me forget about the dull day and the rain.

Today’s PoD is a sycamore seed which was stuck by the rain on the rear light cluster of the car. I liked the patterns the rain made more than anything else.

Tomorrow looks like a better day, but we’ll have to wait until morning to see if it works out that way.

Singing, Photographs and Numpties – 2 November 2019

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Today was going to be a busy day with a load of culture.

Today I was dropping Scamp off in Baillieston at midday for a choir rehearsal and then I was off into Glasgow to see Dougie’s photographs of Cuba.

The first part was fairly easy although the sat nav took us by a different route from that chosen by Google Maps. No big problem though because it got us there, possibly quicker than Google would have. Dropped Scamp off and headed for Glasgow. Took a wrong turning, but followed my nose and the lie of the land and found my way on to the M8 again at Easterhouse.

Got to Glasgow and parked on level 6 of Buchanan Galleries. Even then it was just a lucky space. Don’t usually have to go that high! When I was walking down to Tolcross where the exhibition was, I did notice more than the normal amount of Saltire clad Scotsmen (and women, but mainly men). The worrying bit was the amount of police roaming George Square. Much more than a normal Saturday.

Got to Dougie’s exhibition and had a word with him. Some lovely prints on the wall. Didn’t even ask the price because:

  1. If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.
  2. I’d been in such a rush to get there, I hadn’t had time to go to the bank and I only had £10 in my pocket. That said, £10 was the price of the catalogue, signed catalogue too by both artists, so not that bad.

Listened to the introduction to the gallery and the ethos behind the photos. Then the two photogs took us through a few of their photos, explaining the reasons for hanging them. Dougie spoke no Spanish and Roberto Chile, the other photog spoke no English, so the translator was kept busy. My one criticism of the event was the translator. He spoke in a monotone all the time. Shannon (Dance teacher Shannon) was there. She would have been a much better translator and would have injected a bit more life into the talk, and the occasional “Ooo la la” too. I must suggest it to Dougie.

Too many people there and too few seats, which meant I was leaving with a sore back. Walked back up the hill and found that the Saltire Army must have been breeding. There were hundreds of them all being whipped into a frenzy by some opinionated numpty with a microphone. The crowd did, however, give me the opportunity to take some crowd photos. Best one I got was That Selfie Moment which made PoD.

Walked up to the car and was trying to get out when I came across a poor woman trying to reverse what I suspect was her husband’s rather large automatic Audi out of a tight parking space. She was in a tizzy and had got herself into a position where it was almost impossible for her to move back in to the space and impossible to get out. I took the bull by the horns and gave her some simple driving instructions and between the two of us we got it out without any bumps or scrapes.

Drove to Tesco to get lunch and then realised that it was 3.30pm and Scamp’s concert started at 4.00pm. Dumped the loaf that would have been my lunch and drove back in to Baillieston and just got there in time. Thoroughly enjoyed the Faure Requiem. An hour’s peaceful music in a busy day.

Dinner was a dire curry from Bombay Dreams. Not sure what was wrong with it, but it wasn’t their best. Suffice to say if the next one isn’t any better we’ll be looking for an new Indian take-away.

Tomorrow we may go for a walk and there’s talk of a practise session for Jive, Quickstep and Waltz in the afternoon.

On the Bonny, Bonny Banks – 29 October 2019

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Today we visited Loch Lomond.

Tuesdays are becoming the ‘just go’ days. Just get up, get out and go somewhere. Today that ‘somewhere’ was Balmaha on Loch Lomond side. To those who have never heard of it, it sounds like somewhere exotic, but you’re probably getting mixed up with The Bahamas. It was not very exotic today, in fact it was a bit cold, but when you were in the sun it didn’t feel too bad.

We had packed a flask and the usual assortment of picnic food like crisps and chocolate biscuits. Good healthy food and not in the least fattening. Before we got stuck into that we had to do some walking to get the blood flowing after our 50 minute drive. Walked down to the jetty and that’s where I got today’s PoD. It’s a two frame panorama stitched in Lightroom 6, thanks for asking. The blue sky is real and it looks exactly like the view from that pontoon today.

After getting my photos we walked back to give some other folk a shot on the pontoon. Took some more photos near the poorly tended Tom Weir garden. Then it was back to the car for a coffee and a chocky biscuit.

Scamp fancied stopping at the Beech Tree Restaurant on the way home, so that’s what we did. Luckily the Sat Nav lady knew the way to Dumgoyne and gave us directions.

Food was good, but I got a fright when the waitress asked me if my name was Campbell and was I a Techy teacher, if so there was a young lady sitting in the corner seat who thought she knew me. It turned out to be a former pupil and thankfully, it was one of the most pleasant ones I’d taught. I went over and had a few words with her and her dad who I remembered from various parents nights. Poor girl, like so many others, she’s working in a job she doesn’t like. I know that feeling. It took me many years before I got the opportunity to do a job I really enjoyed. Hope she gets that chance before long. After being properly fed on Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, and giving father and daughter a wave on the way out, we headed for home. Today was a lovely day.

I’m still not sure if the proper term is Skullcandys or Skullcandies. I’m going with the former. These are my go-to headphones (or to be more precise earbuds) when I’m out walking by myself. They fitted the topic today perfectly and the topic was A Pair of Headphones.

Tomorrow Scamp is out in the morning and we’re hoping to dance in the afternoon.

Sunny Coatbridge – 289 October 2019

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Beautiful day. Too good to stay in.

Stayed for a while to talk to Margie and cause ructions in the Gems group, then did as I suggested I would yesterday and made a sharp exit.

Since we are taking June to get her eyes checked on Thursday, it made sense to do a quick recce of Coatbridge. I was pretty sure I knew where I was going, and I was right. More importantly, I found where the parking was. There’s not a lot of it in Coatbridge and most of it is either owned by Asda or NLC education department, neither of which I trust with the Red Juke. I’m sure there are other more secure parking places near the building. Google will know, even if I don’t.

Since I was in Coatbridge, I thought I’d have a look at the grand building Clive and I had investigated on Google Maps. It took a bit of finding, but today with the sun shining on it, it did indeed look very grand. It also looked like the original building had been there for a long time. I don’t know how much of it IS original now, but it looks expensively refurbished. Didn’t want to risk taking photos of it for fear of security taking an interest in me. Maybe another day. On the way there, I discovered that Coatbridge has a cricket club. Who would have thought that?

On the way home I stopped at St Mo’s and that’s where I got the PoD.  I just thought the nearly naked tree looked a great shape against that bright blue sky.  Later I though about straightening up the slope of the grass, but eventually decided it looked ok like that.  I must look next time and see if it really does slope.

Back home and after dinner we set off for Glasgow and Salsa. Tonight we learned that New One No 2 is now called Timber. Named after a snake I believe! Jamie G also tried to reinvent a couple of moves from last week. The first one, a Rueda move, he decided could be extended to run infinitely. It caused a fair bit of confusion. The second one which might or might not have a name could be converted to a follower’s move according to him. I don’t know if many of the followers or any of the leaders managed it.

Today the demand was for a sketch of coins or dosh or smash or loose change. I had to cadge some extra spondoolicks to bolster my meagre collection, but then, it is nearly the end of the month.

We have plans for tomorrow, but only if the weather fairies behave. It’s 1.2ºc just now, so we’ll have to be well wrapped up.