Category: Family

Out shopping – 25 January 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not Tesco shopping, shopping for new tech!

We’d been talking about getting a carpet cleaner. Scamp had searched the usual online places and it seemed on paper that everyone of them was happy to sell us one in two days time. We knew that Currys in Coatbridge had them on display, and we found the one we were looking for, but when we said we’d like that particular model, the assistant said they had none in stock … but they did have that model in the Hamilton and Uddingston stores. If we were interested, we could pay for it in Coatbridge and she would sign off the paperwork, then we could pick it up from either of the two stores.

It seemed too good to be true, but, for once it worked almost seamlessly. Unfortunately when we drove to Uddingston, the slip road that would take us to the store was closed, so we had to drive a long circuitous route round a roundabout and down under a flyover that eventually took us to the Curry’s store in Uddingston. There we picked up the big box and drove back home via the M73, a route I’m quite familiar with, except we were approaching it from the opposite direction!

Meanwhile, Scamp had been in text conversation with Shona who was out for a walk and asked if we were busy. Scamp explained that we were on our way home and would meet her at our house in about 20mins, and we did just that. She stayed for a couple of hours and we heard about all her worries about Ben and Paul. Neither of them really involved us, but gave us more of an insight into how the councils work, and how convoluted everything is. We’re both glad we don’t have to go through all those hoops. It must be tough to be young in these times.

Shona didn’t want to stay for dinner, but got a taxi home. We don’t think she likes Haggis, Neeps and Tatties! That was dinner for tonight, it being Burns Night. After dinner we watched a supposed Burns Night celebration. It was truly awful. One Scottish bloke told a couple of jokes that were really, REALLY funny. Something you could laugh at without feeling talked down. Nor did you feel awkward because they were crude or rude. No, they were just good humour.

With one exception, the remainder of the ‘celebration’ was cringeworthy. Scottish singers singing Burns ballads in English, not with a Scottish voice. Burns spoke and wrote in Scots, not the anglicised version that was foisted on us tonight. Even worse, it was a recorded version that was played, not a live show. Bah!

Spoke to Jamie later had heard that Simonne is happy in her new job and hopefully Jaime’s house may have a new part-time owner. That’s a weight off both their minds.

Today’s PoD was taken on the kitchen worktop before all these shenanigans were taking place.

Tomorrow we may build the big carpet cleaner. It’s a hefty piece of kit, judging by its weight.

Glasgow – 21 January 2026

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I got the bus to Glasgow to meet up with Alex for a photo walk.

I’d arrived early and managed a walk round a few of the buildings near the bus station. Since Glasgow is built on a series of square blocks, nobody would ever get lost there. It’s a comforting thought, especially late at night or after one has consumed a generous amount of alcoholic beverages. Not that I had time for that pursuit and anyway, it was a Wednesday and being a weekday, drinking is not allowed in this family on a weekday.

I walked back to the bus station and met Alex, then we wandered down to the nearest Nero and had a coffee and a catch up. It had been about a month since our last walk, so we had a lot to talk about. Since the weather was still good, we chose to walk down Buchanan Street. Stopped in at the Clyde Walkway to see if there were any good bits of graffiti there to admire and then walked on to shoot more shots of the riverside Cathedral. By then it was pizza time, so Alex had his usual Tuscan Fennel sausage with tomato, mozzarella and olive oil. For once I went off piste and had Tomato base with sliced ham, rocket and grated cheese. We sat and talked about cameras, computers, photo management and lots of other techy stuff.

When we left the pizza place you could feel the light failing and night approaching. Alex had a couple of tries at some graffiti on a wall nearby, then we trudged our way up the hill to the bus station. We promised ourselves another meeting in a couple of weeks.

For once, I walked round to the stance for the Cumbersheugh bus and there it was with the last few passengers just boarding. It’s not like me to be lucky with buses, but I was today.

Back home Scamp was talking to Hazel and I joined in towards the end. We heard all the news about Epsom and roundabout. I promise Hazel I’ll wear the duck sweatshirt tomorrow and I’ll have a photo to prove it!

Dinner for Scamp and me was Scotch Broth made by our next door neighbour who always says she makes too much. I think she’s just showing off her soup making skills. I must bake some bread for her next week, just to show our appreciation.

PoD went to a Glasgow pigeon ( usually called a Doo in and around Glasgow ) all fluffed up to ward off the cold winds we are about to get

Hopefully dancing tomorrow if the weather is open.

 

A surprise meeting – 16 December 2025

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Instead of getting the bus today, I chose to take the car because I’d a few errands to run.

It was a cold morning with temperature around 5ºc for most of the day. Fog on the drive in to Glasgow and because everyone was shopping, the roads were a bit busier than normal. Also, the first available parking spaces I could find were up on level 7 in Buchanan Galleries. That meant I was going to be late for my meeting with Alex.

I met him in the bus station as usual and was only about ten minutes late. As usual we went for a coffee and caught up with all the gossip before heading down Buchanan Street. The fog wasn’t lifting much but the sun did a bit of back lighting that brightened the day.

We walked through St Enoch’s square, looking for anything interesting to photograph, but found little. Our next stop was the Clyde Walkway where we got a few shots of a guy up a ladder doing a bit of stylish graffiti. I found a lovely bit of light under the footbridge that made the most of the sunlight and the shadows. I may post it tomorrow if I can’t get anything more interesting. Lovely little spiderwebs jewelled with tiny raindrops which probably came from the fog. By then, I think Alex’s stomach was rumbling because he propose lunch and I agreed.

We were walking along Argyle Street, heading for Paesano when we were stopped by traffic crossing our corner when a man asked me if I was Donald and when I told him I was I realised he was Charles. We have been commenting on each other’s photos for over ten years but had never met until now. We shook hands and compared styles of photos and cameras. He had recognised me from my avatar on Flickr. We were heading in roughly the same direction, so we walked and talked, but he was heading in a different direction from us so we said our goodbyes and he headed on along Argyle Street while Alex and I went round into Paesano. A chance meeting!

After lunch, we walked back to the Clyde Walkway looking for some more good light, but the sky was clearing and the fog was lifting, so we put the cameras away. Alex was looking for a book in Waterstones and we found it, then we went back up Buchanan Street again, before Alex decided he wanted a photo of the Christmas decorations in Frasers store. We take these photos every year and rarely do they entice me to keep them in the big cull at the end of the year, but we still take them!

Another coffee in Nero and I gave Alex a run home. I’d a couple of parcels for him and the book I’d just read. Dropped him off at his house and drove him to find there was one parking slot available in our street. Brilliant.

Scamp and Shona seemed to have a lunch date and Shona seems to be well. Scamp might invite her over for lunch some day soon, if she’s not too busy.

PoD was a photo of a lady on the down ramp at Queen Street Station, waiting for a train or a lift home, I don’t know which.

Wrapping up a parcel tomorrow, but that’s about all we have planned.

Beautiful blue sky but cold – 2 December 2025

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When we had breakfast, made by Scamp, the sun was streaming in the front window. The back window wasn’t quite so interesting. Big heavy clouds away to the north. Thankfully they stayed there before disappearing over the hills, leaving the sun for us.

I sent Hazy a Happy Birthday message and it wasn’t long before she replied with her usual “Hello! Are you free?” Then we sang the “Happy Birthday To You” song which probably embarrassed her and had a wee chat catching up with what was going on down south. Glad she enjoyed the prezzies we sent her.

Later, I was browsing through what was on offer in the Apple App Store and found an App I was sure I’d bought, but which wasn’t on any of my devices. It looked interesting and wasn’t expensive, so I bought it. It’s called ‘Keysmith’ and seems to work with another app I use every day called ‘Keyboard Maestro’. Hopefully the two won’t clash with each other. I’m not going to explain what it does yet, but looks interesting.

Scamp was meeting Shona today to be a ‘listening ear’ when she (Shona) went to see the Dr Banerjee to find out about her recent blood test results. He’s been there for ages a really nice man who takes his time to explain things. Both Scamp and Shona seemed happy with what he said. He never “makes a drama out of a crisis” to quote an old advert.

While the ladies were out, I was making steak and kidney from kidneys out of the freezer and defrosted with a pack of much, much older steak chunks from Waitrose, hopefully only last year’s and no older! The steak was tough (chugh in Scotland) despite being in the slow cooker for ages. The kidneys were excellent. Scamp said put everything back in the slow cooker again cook them until you’re going to bed. I wasn’t convinved, but did as I was told. After another four hours in the slow cooker they were perfect. That’s tomorrow’s dinner sorted!

When we got back after dropping Shona off at Paul’s house we watched another episode of Highland Cops a surprisingly interesting fly on the wall documentary based in the north of Scotland … obviously! Worth watching.

Other than that we didn’t do all that much today. The bloke from Virgin Media is due tomorrow evening so, hopefully we’ll have the ‘Big Telly’ back in business, although Scamp’s laptop has kept us going for the best part of a week.

PoD was a shot looking along the boardwalk as the sun set behind the trees at 2.24pm. Daylight doesn’t last long in Scotland in winter.

Scamp’s booked for getting her hair cut tomorrow and I may get my own locks shorn this week too, if I can find the time.

 

 

Out of sorts – 24 November 2025

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It was Scamp who was a bit out of sorts today.

She phoned the doc’s and after a bit of a wait, got a prescription which I went to collect for her. That seems to have put her mind at rest for a while. Scamp is rarely ill, I’m usually the one with the aches and pains in this house.

We spoke to Hazy in the morning and she and I discussed a problem I was having with Spotify. It’s still not entirely fixed, but since  I hardly use Spotify on the iMac, I’m not all that bothered. Hazy and I discussed books and for once I got to recommend a book to her! Most of the talk was between the ladies, but we heard about a visit to India by the extended family.

After lunch I read a bit more from The Fathers and as the light was beginning to fade, I took the A7c out for a walk in St Mo’s. There wasn’t much doing today, although while I was walking in the woods, I spooked a Woodcock in the trees. Unusual because it’s largely a wading bird. Maybe I mixed up my species.

PoD went to a few Yellow Rattle seedheads that survived the high winds from a month or so ago and the ice from a couple of days ago. The dried, seed heads of the yellow-rattle plant (Rhinanthus minor).
When the seeds are dry and mature, they rattle inside the inflated, papery calyx, which gives the plant its common name. By feeding off the coarse grasses, it eventually allows more delicate, traditional species to push their way through.

I was glad to get back to the house after my walk, because my feet were cold and I do believe they were a wee bit wet too. A cup of coffee warmed me up and then it was time to start the dinner. Pasta with tomatoes, some thinly sliced bacon and a couple of frozen spinach cubes. It seemed to go down well with a miniature ice cream lolly to finish it off.

The forecast is for warmer, wetter weather for the next few days. It’s a pity we can’t split it and only use the warmer part. Then we could store up the wet weather for when we need it for the gardens.

I don’t believe we have anything planned for tomorrow.

Another early rise – 21 November 2025

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I was meeting Alex in Glasgow for a wander and a pizza later.

I was earlier than usual getting in to town. It was a cold morning. About -2ºc when I was leaving the house. I’d brought my Shokz headphones with me and I needed them. Some eejit was sitting behind me playing his hit-list of the worst jokes in the world with his phone turned up to max. The phone wasn’t a match for the Shokz.

I was nearly at the bus station when I looked out the window and a little voice in my head said “Get out and walk. Walk down to Rottenrow. You’ve plenty of time.” So that’s what I did.

Rottenrow is the old name for Royal Maternity Hospital. An old hospital that was founded in 1834 and finally demolished in 2001. It wasn’t completely demolished. The site was redeveloped by the University of Strathclyde into a public park known as Rottenrow Gardens. The park features elements of the old hospital, such as the original facade and a sculpture few sculptures. I’m almost sure I’ve been there before, but can’t quite remember when. Today I finally got some decent light to capture the giant Nappy Pin that dominates the site. Definitely worth a walk after hearing that voice in my head!

After I walked back to the bus station I’d only just sat down when he appeared. He’d been up at the other end of the town trying to capture his favourite piece of architecture, the Pavilion Theatre. Luckily for me I’d caught the Nappy Pin in good light but he had just missed the light on the Pavilion. A usual, a coffee in Nero gave us time for a catch-up, but neither of us had a definite destination in mind for the rest of the day. I suggested the Art Galleries, but we didn’t really have enough time for that, so we settled on a walk down to St Enoch’s Square where the ‘Shows’ were just beginning to start up for the day.

George Square is the usual venue for the Christmas Carnival, but allegedly the square is having an upgrade and won’t be in business for at least two years. I think you can call that Twenty Two years if the council’s usual slower than slow progress is anything to go by. Today we walked through the stalls and found nothing that encouraged us to stay, so we walked on to the Clyde Walkway, and even there the graffiti was poor. Not very much artistry or humour in the paintings. I did take a few shots of people walking across the suspension bridge and one got into Flickr, once it had been worked over.

We walked back to Paesano for a very nice pizza, then we walked up to the bus station, said our goodbye’s until next time and each of us got a bus home. I found a suitable set of tracks to take me home on the bus.

PoD turned out to be a woman in a red coat watching her grand-kids on the fairground rides in St Enoch’s Square.

Scamp had made some soup when I got home, which was gratefully accepted. Now I think it’s raining. Hopefully that will make for a warmer drive to Brookfield tomorrow after our sharp frost.

 

A day on my own – 17 November 2025

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Scamp and Shona were booked on the train to Inverness today, but …

We were both up and dressed nice and early. I had warmed up the car and defrosted it, while Scamp was having a swift breakfast, then we drove off to pick up Shona at Paul’s house. That’s when things went wrong. Despite three phone calls and knocking on the door, there was no sign of Shona. We waited for a good four or five minutes, and Scamp was getting worried that we might miss the first train, the one that would take her to Stirling where she only had 5 minutes to catch the connection to Inverness.

I dropped Scamp at the station with enough time to spare to walk over the bridge to the far side to catch the Alloa train that would drop her at Stirling. Just to satisfy my nagging worry that Shona might be waiting at her own house, rather than Paul’s, I drove past her own house, but there was no sign of Shona. Knowing that we’d both done everything we could, I drove home and had my breakfast. No need to rush now. Scamp had sent a text to say she was now on the Inverness train. I thought I’d take my time and read a bit more of my latest book ’The Fathers’.

The plan for the rest of today was to put some air into the Blue car’s tyres. Then if time allowed, to take some clutter to the skips. The tyres had been gradually losing pressure for the last few months and needed it fixed. I remember when air was free at a petrol station as long as you were buying fuel, but not now. Thinking back on it, that was at least 20 years ago now! Anyway, I paid my quid and filled the tyres. I hadn’t realised just how low those tyre were. The car went skipping along now.

I checked the box with the stuff for the skip, but wasn’t certain I was looking at the correct box. Better to be safe than sorry, so I left it for another day. Instead I drove to Tesco for bread and a pizza which would be my dinner tonight.

Lunch time was coming up soon and that was going to be a ‘piece ’n’ banana’. Healthy and nutritious and, best of all, easy to make. Another nose dive into the book and it was time to go for a walk. Somewhere close to home, because light was fading again. The days are certainly getting shorter.

PoD came from that walk. The pond was frozen, really frozen, not like yesterday when there was a thin sheet of ice on the water. This ice was hard. I tapped it with my fingernail and it sounded hard. Time for one of my ‘Dangerous Dan’ ideas. Set the camera to the aperture and shutter speed you want and gently place it on the ice, holding on to the wrist strap, just in case! Gently press the shutter and get ready to swipe it off the ice at the first sign of a crack. Just as I was pressing the shutter button I saw the ice start to shift. It wasn’t as solid as I’d thought. Whipped the camera away, unharmed. It would have been a great shot, but maybe another day. The final photo was take from a slightly higher viewpoint and it looked almost as good as the photo that never was.

After my pizza dinner I got a message from Scamp to say she was on the Inverness train heading to Stirling. The next message a couple of hours later told me she was on the Glasgow train. I drove down to the station and parked just as the train came in.

That was a long day for Scamp and Jackie, but not for me. I just relaxed through the day. Shame about Shona missing the trip, but there will be other days.

Absolutely no plans for tomorrow.

Walking in the woods – 9 November 2025

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The day started with heavy rain showers, then the sun shone.

I didn’t believe the weather forecast, but after lunch the sun shone.
I didn’t think it would last, but it did. That’s me. Always the glass half empty.

I laced up my boots and went for a walk, deep into the woods. I hadn’t been in the deep woods for ages, but with the leaves falling continuously these days, there was more light than normal through the trees. I walked for a while, longer than I’d anticipated and by the time I was thinking it would be a good idea to head for home, the good light was gone. Then I found today’s PoD. I’ve no idea what variety of fungi this one belongs to, but I liked the shape and colour so I snapped a few shots of it. If I get a chance in the next few days I’ll go back in and try for some better shots.

I also found a dead drone in the middle of the woods. I meant to photograph its details. Such a simple thing to do with a phone. If I get back to photograph the fungi, hopefully I’ll find the drone at the same time.

Other than that, it was a fairly usual Sunday. Late to rise and wasted most of the day. I really need to get up and out earlier. People post such wonderful photos taken out walking the dog in the morning, or just after sunset. Mayne I should get a dog! (Only kidding, Scamp!)

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about his and Simonne’s week. It seemed like their week had been much like ours, with nothing much to report.

I bought a new pair of boots a month or so ago and haven’t worn them yet.  Yesterday’s walk gave me reason to question if one of my old  boots is leaking. Today’s walk confirmed it. It looks like I’m going to need to get the new boots out of their box and break them in gently.

So far, we have an unbooked day tomorrow. We may go out somewhere.

Going the rounds – 7 November 2025

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Friday used to mean FitSteps for Scamp, but falling numbers meant that Kirsty was leaving it until after Christmas.

With more time to fill, we struggled with the puzzle page in the NYT before we drove over to that cold hole they call Costa in the town centre to meet Isobel. She looked cold and a bit drawn when we met her. No wonder. It’s a great high empty looking cafe that gets a gale blowing through it every time somebody opens the door. It really has very little to recommend it, half a shot of coffee in a big jug isn’t really a Latte, although the Cortado is drinkable.

We sat exchanging stories of what had been happening in Isobel’s side of the town and what we’d got up to on our Autumn holiday. Shona arrived just as Isobel was leaving. I got the drinks in for them and then left to go to Tesco. Bought a few things and made the mistake of forgetting to use my Tesco card which meant I paid full price for my goods. I won’t make that mistake again.

When I got back and put the goods away, I grabbed my camera and left a note for Scamp to say that I was away to get some photos in St Mo’s before it got too dark. I wasn’t kidding either. It felt like the light was failing at 1.45pm. I know the time, because that’s when I saw what looked like a bear on its hind legs in the woods at St Mo’s. Of course it was just a tree stump, but …

I headed for home after that, not because I was afraid of bears, but because I was getting cold. Dull and Cold, that about summed up today. I arrived back at the house just as Scamp was unlocking the door, having travelled home on the bus.

The bear shot is there to see on Flickr if you’re interested, but PoD went to a bright yellow leaf sitting on a pile of old trampled leaves. I liked it.

Tomorrow we may be going to dance class. Hope it’s a bit brighter day.

No excuses – 14 September 2025

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Today we didn’t do very much. I’ve no excuses for this, it was just the way the day turned out.

It was a normal Sunday. Watched Laura Kuenssberg tearing strips of poor undefended MPs and other politicians. It was fun for a while watching them squirm, but you knew they were lying because their lips were moving. That took all the fun out of it.

After lunch I went for a walk over to St Mo’s. There wasn’t very much over there to photograph, but I did get out for a walk which was good … until the rain came on. As usual, the rain waited until I was at the furthest point from home, then it started. I didn’t mind, because I had my big orange Rab jacket on and it’s fairly waterproof and the rain was fairly light for most of the walk home.

PoD was an old favourite of mine, the view down the avenue of trees that takes you down past St Mo’s school. A bloke with an umbrella was kind enough to walk into view just as I was crossing his past. I waited a few minutes and got my Photo of the Day and he never felt a thing.

Dinner was a rump steak for me and potatoes with ratatouille for Scamp. Rice and prunes was the dessert.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard that he and Simonne are considering going away for a week some time soon, not sure when yet. This time Vixen gets to go with them which should please her.

Thanks for the hint Hazy. I’ll tell you how I got on with it once I work my way through it.

Dentist tomorrow to get a broken cap on one of my teeth fixed. Oh what fun!