Category: Dundee

Dundee – 2 February 2026

Posted on by Zogman

We got a taxi from the house to the bus station at the town centre, then the Ember bus to Dundee. It’s a very civilised way to travel and for oldies like us, an economical one too. Once there we went for a coffee and something to eat before we got the bus that would take us to Ninewells Hospital. It was a round trip on the bus. The journey to the hospital was a long trip all round the houses and the one back was a much shorter one.

The meeting went well. The doctor was really nice and went over what was going to happen in detail. Then he got Scamp to sit facing him with her hands, palms down, on her knees. Then he got her to lift her hands to about shoulder height, palms down again. Then she was to turn her hands, palm up and then hands at shoulder height, palms facing and finally with middle fingers touching.

Next he had her touch index finger to thumb with both hands, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Next test was touch her index finger to her nose with her left hand, then with her right hand. She had to do it a few times. Then he asked her to touch her outstretched index finger to his, once or twice with one hand then the other. Finally he asked her to open her mouth and close it two or three times.

He took her to another room, I wasn’t invited, and got her to walk a straight line in a corridor, then back again. Finally he got her to do the same thing, but this time doing ‘toe, heel’ like you see the cops do on the old films, and that was about it.

He seemed really surprised to discover that she only had the tremor on one hand, he was expecting to see evidence of it in her ‘good’ hand, but there was none.

He told us that he thinks Scamp would be a good subject for the ‘MRI Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor’, but she is unlikely to be put forward for Deep Brain Stimulation. He did say he may give her a course of Parkinson’s medication to see if that would reduce the effects of the tremor, but admitted it’s unlikely to work. It doesn’t look like she will get another appointment until the middle of next month at the earliest, but that would be a consultation with himself and the surgeon. She told him that we were hoping to go away for a couple of weeks in the summer and he said that wouldn’t be a problem.

All in all, we were happy with the meeting, although afterwards we remembered all the other questions we wanted answered, although he had covered most of them.

The day was horrible outside. By the time we were coming out of the bus from the hospital, it was cold, horizontal rain. We went into the V&A to be warm, and then walked back to get the bus home. We were both shattered by then. Maybe it would have been better to do an overnight in Dundee and come home refreshed next day, but I think Scamp just wanted to get back home.

Despite the weather, I did get a few photos taken. The best of them was a view through the archway under the V&A.

Tomorrow will probably be a day of working out what happened on Monday!

Off on our travels – 25 February 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today we were heading north east.

Travelling fairly light. Just the minimum amount with an A6500 and two lenses: 10-18mm f4 and 18-50mm f2.8 plus a laptop.

Taxi to the Town Centre and then the Ember Bus to Dundee.

First stop was Waterstones for a coffee and a scone each. It’s a bit of a tradition going to this old fashioned book shop. Braithwaite’s was our next destination, but it was closed on Tuesdays, so no coffee beans today. From there we got a bit lost, then found we’d been within 100m of the hotel we were looking for.

After dumping our stuff (Scamp was even lighter loaded than me) we walked down to the V&A, only to find that it too was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but we had a walk round the building on a cold and windy day, but with a clear blue sky. I took some photos of The Discovery ship framed by the odd angles of the V&A. Then we walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner tonight at the Dundee Rep restaurant.

Starters:
Scamp – Black pudding bon bon with pea puree, pancetta crisps & salad
Me – Arancini with light rice filling and a dressing I can’t remember, but was lovely.

Mains:
Scamp – Lentil & vegetable cottage pie with broccoli & carrots
Me – Korean pork collar with braised rice & broccoli, topped with spring onion and sesame seeds.

Desserts:
Both of us – Limoncello tiramisu. We both agreed this was disappointing. Not enough lemon flavour and too much heavy cream. Foodies!!

After that we managed to stagger up to the hotel. Scamp had a Rum and Coke and I had a whisky with water.

Went to bed, ready for tomorrow!

Almost 50 photos taken. PoD was a man walking under the V&A.

Tomorrow we are hoping to head east.

A walk around the town – 23 April 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Just a gentle stroll along the promenade.

We walked down through the town and made sure that Braithwaite’s was open, it was. Then we walked down to the V&A again and I concentrated on taking photos of folk going through underneath the strange concrete structure while Scamp waited patiently. She was watching toddlers in wet gear walking through the shallow fountains in the play park. I also took some photos of the giant metal sculpture of a whale that stands above the play park and has a sort of maze of stainless steel bars with speakers playing what I assume to be ‘Whale Music’. Although some of it sounded like a toilet being flushed continuously. What do I know, I’m just a photog! Got some photos of the ship Discovery and couldn’t imagine people actually sailing it into pack ice in the Antarctic. Further on, we watched the airies doing circuits and bumps, (ie. Practising Takeoffs and Landings). We didn’t actually get as far as the airport, but the planes were flying low overhead with their landing gear down and we assumed they were practising. Onward past a gigantic Tesco store, we reached a boring straight stretch that seemed to go on for miles, so we made the decision to cross the road and walk up the hill beside Magdelen Green. That would take us up to the Perth Road where there were supposed to be lots of restaurants.

Lots of wee shops and lots of students buying lunch from one shop in particular. Didn’t get the name, but obviously a very popular take-away. Not so much the Vegan restaurant which we passed twice and both times it was empty. Scamp was looking for a place for a drink as she was thirsty, preferably somewhere with a beer garden. There was one which fitted the specification, but she thought there were too many students there, right across the road from the Uni. However, eventually I convinced her it would be ok and we had a Margarita pizza to share with a G ’n’ T for Scamp and a pint of house Pilsner for me, part of a deal. It was a bad decision and I should have known better. The pizza was underbaked and doughy and the beer was all gas and no taste. Should have listened to Scamp. Paid and left. We didn’t see very many restaurants, but lots of pubs (without beer gardens).

Then I remembered that there was a Lemmings statue I wanted to photograph. ‘Lemmings’ as in the old computer game so we followed Mr Google’s directions and there they were at a little park we’d been to yesterday. Scamp wasn’t amused by the trio of Lemmings’ antics. We went down a set of steps that took us down the hill from the Lemmings to the railway and from there we found where we’d get the bus home to Glasgow. We needed that assurance that we would get home!

We walked on into town and bought some coffee and tea in Braithwaite’s. We wandered round the town centre looking for a suitable place for dinner tonight. We’d thought of going to the place the bloke in the hotel had recommended, but it was quite a distance from where we were staying, so settled on a Brewdog pub we’d chanced upon as we’d had a really good lunch in a Brewdog in St Andrews a few years ago. From there it was an easy 10min walk to the hotel.

The Brewdog was a bit of a let down. Very limited menu and Scamp was hoping for a Chicken Burger, but it appeared they no longer did chicken burgers. Oh well, just across the road was the only Wetherspoons in Dundee. We went there instead and after some arguing, discovered they did Chicken Burgers, so Scamp was sorted. I had Chicken Tikka Masala and it was very good, as was Scamp’s burger. A glass of Shiraz for Scamp and a pint of Brewdog IPA just to confuse the issue.

Walked back to our hotel and had a couple of G ’n’ Ts to toast the three day/two night’s of a belated birthday present. Lots to remember, lots to forget. Dundee’s not the city it was. Not the one we remembered going to all those years ago, but places change and Dundee is changing. Not sure yet if it’s for the better. The city break, though, that’s a winner. We’d do it again, all being well.

PoD turned out to be another view through that triangular tunnel in the V&A, but from the other side. I now realise I like the look of the building more from the outside than from the inside. Too much empty, wasted space in it, or maybe we just didn’t explore enough, maybe there’s more to it.

Tomorrow we pack our bags and look for a black Ember bus to take us home.

 

Making Connections – 22 April 2024

Posted on by Zogman

We were up early, packing our bags ready to catch the X3 that would take us up to the town centre.

It arrived on time and dropped us at the bus stance in Cumbersheugh. That’s where we caught the the Ember E3 bus, the electric bus. The driver scanned the QR code on Scamp’s phone and then we both scanned our ‘pensioner pass’ and we were on the bus. It wasn’t exactly silent running, but you can blame NLC or any council these days for not doing the proper maintenance on the roads. The system is really clever. The driver reads the display in front of him which tells him where his next pickup point is and when he has to get there. This wasn’t the X3, this was a real express, only stopping where there was a person waiting. It took us less than half the time it would take a normal service bus and were dropped off at the train station in Dundee in no time.

We were way too early to book in, so we went for a coffee and a bite to eat in Nero, then found Braithwaite’s Coffee shop which was closed, as were many of the shops in Dundee on a Monday. We wandered around the shops that were open and were surprised with the state of them. The big mall we remembered was now like a giant Barras Market. It used to look so grand with its three tiers of shops. Now it was just mainly junk shops and charity shops. We came away disillusioned.

We decided we’d better find the hotel we were staying at and after crossing and re-crossing busy roads we were there. Booked in and a very chatty receptionist told us the best places to eat in the town. We thanked him and found our room on the 1st floor. No view from the window unless you count Papa John’s and a casino as interesting.

We walked down to the promenade that runs beside the River Tay and visited the V&A which was one of my reasons for wanting to go to Dundee. Impressive from the outside, and almost as impressive  on the inside. A good few photos were taken, most really arty. It’s that sort of place.

Next on the schedule was food. We couldn’t find the restaurant the bloke at reception recommended, but we did find a Tapas place called Black Mamba and decided that would suit us. It was fairly good food, but maybe too much oil in mine. I think it was down to the Padron Peppers in a light batter. I enjoyed then, but they’ve kept returning all evening.

We walked back to the hotel and bought a bottle of Hortus gin and half a dozen cans of tonic on the way. The rest is a blur!

PoD is a view through the V&A to the Tay Road Bridge and further on to Tayport.  The V&A is a great place to find silhouettes!

Intending to have another visit to the V&A tomorrow and my stated intention since this visit was mooted is to get some coffee beans in Braithwaite’s, the oldest shop in Dundee.