Category: Family

Tablet, but not Mrs Tilly’s – 7 November 2021

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It was a better day that it looked in the forecast.

According to the weather fairies we were to have a blusterous day with scattered showers. I’ll agree with the ‘blusterous’ part, but there really weren’t many showers, a few, but nothing to get upset about. After fiddling around doing basically nothing as you do on a Sunday morning, I decided to go and get ‘hands on’ with a tablet. Instead of depressing Coatbridge, we went to almost equally bad, Bishopbriggs. I did get the chance to try out a few and although the 10” iPad was lovely, I was looking for a small, probably 8” tablet that I could use as a Kindle reader. A Kindle reader with the added attraction of a games player for when the words get all mixed up, as they sometimes do, especially when reading a book with big words. I still wasn’t sure, so left empty handed again, however I did get some help from an assistant who obviously hadn’t been through the training centre at Currys, and actually ‘assisted’ this customer. He’ll learn that’s not the way it’s done.

After lunch and more faffing around, I finally decided the light was looking good enough for me to go and find a PoD. Lots of lovely low sunlight and that produced today’s PoD which was a fern leaf shot against the light. The leaf was almost transparent and you could see the shape of the spores against the bright green leaves. I quite liked the effect. There wasn’t much else to photograph today. Some fungi and more fallen leaves, but no deer or anything like that.

Scamp was in charge of dinner and we had the soup she’d made yesterday. It was maybe a bit spicier than she’d anticipated and the addition of three slices of red chilli on top just about set the roof of my mouth on fire. However, I survived after a cup of milk. She’d put a single slice of chilli on top of her soup, but after my reaction, it was promptly removed. The actual soup was quite delicious with just enough crunch in the kale to make it interesting without it overpowering the rest of the soup. Main was yesterday’s chicken served with potatoes and her signature mix of carrots, turnip and onions. I don’t know if that mixture has a name, but it’s absolutely brilliant. I made the pudding which was a steamed pudding served with a Morello cherry sauce. I say ‘made’, but that means I took them out of the packet and microwaved them for exactly the right time! I believe I may be allowed to make that again.

Spoke to Jamie later and found out that the news is there is almost no news. Things seem to move very slowly in Engerland! Most of the news was Scamp’s with her mixed up last few days.

Tomorrow looks wet, certainly a fair bit wetter than today. That will decide what we do.

Cavalcade – 1 November 2021

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How the other half travel

Today we were going for the messages and we thought we’d go to Waitrose in Stirling for a change. While we were driving there I noticed a line of motorbikes heading west on the opposite carriageway. There seemed to be no reason for them unless they were escorting an X36 bus, but that wasn’t likely, they were going far too fast. A few minutes later we found the reason. About a dozen outriders on motorbikes with blue lights flashing then the line of heavy duty black cars with tinted windows swept past, and they were flying. Last were the tail gunners, also on motorbikes. I wonder how they square all that petrol and diesel consumption and excess carbon release with the Global Warming conference they were heading for to spout more hot air at. How do the other half live with themselves?

When we got to the shop we had to wait while some american (you know the rules. Lower case for zoomers) dimwit decided whether to buy a piece of tuna or not ”It has to be Sushi Grade”. After checking with his phone for the umpteenth time he settled instead for four sea bream fillets, then almost caused the fishmonger to have a ‘hairy fit’ by asking him if he could have the skin removed! americans, you can’t take them everywhere twice – second time to apologise. Scamp and I had a good laugh about it. We bought some fish, then we bought Waitrose. I really did feel sorry for that poor fishmonger.

With a ton of stuff in the boot of the Blue car, we headed off to speak to a man about an upgrade. I’ve dealt with Azam for years, more years than I care to remember. After a fair bit of discussion about my gradually slowing down computer, we said the easiest thing would be for him to send me a quote. It’s a big job taking an iMac to bits, changing the memory and the hard drive and I knew it wouldn’t be cheap, but neither would a new iMac. I how have the quote. It’s roughly what I thought it would be.

Scamp was meeting June in the afternoon at Tim Hortons, so off she went after lunch. I stayed home and explained to the iMac what would be involved in the operation and that I trusted the surgeon. I think it’s going to be ok with what we’ve discussed. After that I did my usual ‘first day of the month’ tasks of backing up the photos, deleting all the rejected ones and building a new screensaver from last month’s photos. With that done I was off to St Mo’s on a very dull afternoon to see what I could find. There wasn’t much to see or photograph today, but I did find a wee park bench that became PoD. Best of all, there was no prompt today. No last minute sketching. No photographing it and squaring it up and posting it for two people to ‘like’ and fewer to comment on. Inktober 2021? Glad it’s over for another year.

No plans for tomorrow.

Another early one – 28 October 2021

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Taking the wee red car to get its yearly checkup. Always a case for heart in the mouth.

Drove down to the garage and waited. It was supposed to open at 9am, and although one of the mechanics appeared, it was still locked up. Eventually we left the car key with him and just at that moment someone arrived with the key to the garage, so we headed off home for breakfast, stopping at Tesco on the way for milk and bread. Unfortunately it was still before 10am so the other essential (alcoholic beverages) weren’t available.

A while after breakfast I eventually decided that it was dry enough to risk a walk in St Mo’s to get some photos. If the day brightened up later I’d get some more, but that looked unlikely to say the least. I did get some photos, but none of them were really contenders for the PoD.

Came home and we had lunch. Finished today’s Sudoku and started investigating the possibility of getting my phone to get itself an upgrade. I’d put a dodgy piece of software in it about a year ago that would prevent Samsung doing upgrades every second day. Now that software had disappeared, but its effect was still there. Eventually after consulting with the inter web I found that it hadn’t really gone. It was just hiding deep in the settings. When I too the plunge and switched it off the updates screen lit up. BUT I needed the phone because that was the number I’d given the garage, but once I got the word that the car was ready to pick up, I’d start the installation.

Hazy phoned not long after and she and Scamp had a long discussion about dresses for weddings. You will notice that the ‘wedding’ word is in the plural and it’s no surprise then to discover that the ‘dress’ word is also in its plural form. After the fashionistas had completed their discussion I managed to get involved in the conversation too. We talked for a while about family stuff, just catching up, really. Then my phone rang. The car had passed and been serviced, so was ready to collect. We talked to Hazy for a while longer then said our “cheerios”. Drove to the garage, paid our dues and drove home.

When I was driving back, the sky was definitely clearing from the west. By the time I got home blue sky was visible. I waited for Scamp to return then took my camera for its second walk today in St Mo’s. It was quite warm with beautiful light and I did manage to get a PoD. It was just a little weed that had been washed for days by the torrential rain and all its neighbours had been washed clean at the same time. They really sparkled in the late afternoon sun.

Dinner was Bubble ’n’ Squeak, a long time favourite of mine, but something I haven’t had for years. I even learned to make it myself a long time ago. I may have to relearn it.

The prompt for today asked for ‘Crispy’. I gave them a Crispy Cake. Made with Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies, it fits the bill for me. One of the few cakes Hazy can eat. It mush have been your phone call that put it in my head.

Tomorrow I go to see the health centre vampires who will want to take some of my blood. It’s almost Halloween, so it’s quite fitting.

Out West – 20 October 2021

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Today I was meeting Alex at the Art Galleries in Glasgow’s West End.

Scamp gave me a run up to the station and I trained it in to Glasgow. The light was beautiful when I came out of Queen Street station, so I grabbed a few shots of the buildings and one sneaky wee shot of a bloke leaning in a doorway where they were ripping out the inside of a shop to make it into another shop that would last a year or so before going to the wall and needing another makeover. “It all makes work for the working man to do” as Flanders and Swan sang many years ago. I walked through a lane to Buchanan Street and got the subway from there to Kelvin Hall and walked from there to the Art Galleries, or Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to give it its proper title. On the way I passed what used to be one of our favourite restaurants, Usha’s. A vegetarian Indian restaurant. Now it’s a German Doner Kebab place. Possibly the exact opposite of an Indian vegetarian restaurant!

I took some photos outside Kelvingrove while I waited for Alex. A bus was parked outside the galleries and a group of drivers were being photographed. I don’t know what it was all about, but presume it was some new service that Glasgow Council have dreamed up. We walked round the museum part of the building and I took a few photos of the main hall with its pipe organ. Sadly no organ recitals today, probably something to do with Covid. Alex took some shots of the stuffed animals with his new acquisition, a Sony A6000 with a Zeiss standard zoom. Very nice! He’d kept quiet about that! After we’d had our fill of the stuffed animals and the beautiful Spitfire that hangs from the roof we went for lunch in the restaurant.

From there we made our way up to Glasgow Uni which was where Alex wanted to go today. Amazingly, I’d never been through it and was surprised that proles like me were actually allowed in. Light was fantastic today. My favourite place was the east quadrangle with a beautiful beech tree place, not in the middle, but towards one corner of the lawn. Alex wanted to visit the chapel and I did like the stained glass windows at each end and the lovely warmth of the wooden pews. I must go back again some day and have a second look at the Uni.

After a bit of shilly shallying I worked out how we should go to the Botanic Gardens, but by the time we got there, the good light had gone, so we headed back down Great Western Road to Kelvinbridge and the subway back to town, but before that there were street art paintings for Alex to photograph while I was amazed to see a bloke in a kayak shooting the rapids of the fast flowing River Kelvin. He seemed to be struggling against a fearsome current, but enjoying every minute of it. One of those shots made PoD.  Today’s prompt was ‘Sprout’ and I made up a bit of a fairytale about a boy who sold a cow for some seeds …  You’ve maybe heard it before.

Subway back to Glasgow and a cup of coffee before we split up to go our separate ways, vowing to do it all again in a couple of weeks. By that time he will have mastered his new camera and amassed a bag of lenses, no doubt. I got the bus home, just managing to get it before it left the stance.

Dinner tonight was beef olives for me and mixed veg and potatoes for Scamp.

Tomorrow we may go dancing in Paisley.

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.

Out walking with my brother – 6 October 2021

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My choice of venue today and I chose Chatelherault, because I can spell it without having to look it up!

Drove to pick up Alex in Motherwell and ended up sitting talking to him and Carol about lots of things, but most of all nothing to do with photography! Their grandson, Jack had been sick all night last night and was a bit disappointed he could come and meet me just in case he passed on his bug. Maybe next time. After an hour or so, Alex and I left to drive to the Chatelherault estate. It’s centered on a big house that stands on a hill looking over a great avenue of trees to the town of Hamilton. In fact it looks straight down to the mausoleum where the Duke of Hamilton, who owned the house, is buried. What a strange thing to do on a bright sunny summer morning, to look over where you know you will be interred!

It was the big house itself that was our first target and we took a few shots of it under a clear blue sky. Then some shots of the avenue with Hamilton in the background. Thanks to the amount of rain we’ve had recently the atmosphere was clear and cool with no mist of haze to spoil the distant view of Ben Lomond and The Cobbler. From the house we walked down to the Avon Bridge and what did I see there, but a kingfisher. Just a tiny wee spot, and just as I pointed it out, it flew off downstream. We both saw it and it couldn’t have been anything else. That bright iridescent blue is unmistakeable. We waited to see if it would return, but it never did. Such a shame. Too far away to get a photo, but we saw it, both of us saw it. First time ever for Alex and first time in about ten years for me.

We turned and walked back to the centre along the river walkway, swapping cameras as we walked. Alex got a chance to try out the full frame sensor of the A7 and also the neatness of the A6000.
Lots of folk running and cycling along the path and lots of things to photograph. Then it was a tough climb up never-ending steps to bring us back to the grassy banks of the estate.

Had lunch at the centre and then went for walk over The Duke’s Bridge to see the Cadzow Oaks. Ancient trees that have survived for thousands of years only to be burned by some morons. Such a shame. Then it was back to the big house for a last few shots in much better light than those we’d taken in the morning.

We both agreed that the next visit will be Alex’s choice and it looks like it will be in a couple of weeks and will be to Kelvinbrige in Glasgow, maybe with a visit to the Kibble Palace.

Scamp had been busy while I was away, planting Snowdrops and raking the grass at the front of the house. She’d also gone for a walk in the town centre and it confirmed her fears that it is falling into disuse. Plenty of nail bars and charity shops, but little else. A common complaint in Scotland.

Dinner was Giant Fish Fingers, Chips and Beetroot. Lovely food and just what I needed.

PoD was a picture of the big house and the formal garden framed by two giant yew trees with their strange red fruit looking like soft plastic or red pitted olives if such a thing exists. Sketch for today was Spirit, and I was thinking more about the alcoholic liquid spirit than the Woooo! kind.

Tomorrow we’re intending to go to another tea dance. Same venue as a fortnight ago. I did enjoy it, I just don’t know if my back will!

 

Getting back to normal – 3 October 2021

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After yesterday’s Dance Class, Cookery Class and late night, today was a chance to get back to normal.

A normal Sunday with sunshine to start with but we weren’t fooled. We knew it wouldn’t last and that rain would be on its way, sooner or later. It turned out to be later, much later and by that time Scamp had hung out some washing. She should have known that was the signal for the rain to start. Thankfully it didn’t last and the clothes just got an extra rinse … to two.

After lunch and with the weekend Sudoku done I doodled the Inktober sketch for today whose prompt was “Vessel”. With a few possible sketches done and now that the rain was tapering off to very occasional showers, I got booted up and went for a walk in St Mo’s. As I suspected, there were not many insects looking for a portrait session, but in the woods I did find quite a few bunches of fungi in a variety of forms, sizes and colours. They would have made PoD, but my eye and camera were drawn to a sprinkling of light across the pond and without the wherewithal to take a wide angle shot which would include some lovely clouds, I did what I usually do and hammered off six shots which I later got Lightroom to build into a decent vertical panorama, technically a Vertorama. That did win PoD.  With a little time to spare I drew the submission piece for Inktober ’21

Dinner tonight was Shepherd’s Pie. It’s ok, the shepherd doesn’t know we have it. They weren’t traditional shepherd’s pies either. Scamp’s was a purely vegetarian one with brown lentils taking the place of meat and mine was made with last week’s mince which had been chilling in the freezer and since it was beef mince, it wasn’t the traditional lamb for the pie. All that aside, we had two decent main courses preceded by Haggis Bonbons. Very cheffy and fairly easy to construct according to Scamp. Pudding was Ice Cream with Meringue Nests and Blackcurrant Syrup. A decent Sunday dinner almost all made from leftovers. Just shows what you can do when you have an imagination, especially an imagination like Scamp’s.

Spoke to Jamie later and found that the fuel embargo is beginning to lift down their way. Supplies are getting through and the tanks of cars are being filled again. No more news for there.

Tomorrow we may be going to Rutherglen to find at least one pair of lady’s dance shoes. No men’s shoes are required at this stage.

Coffee at last – 30 September 2021

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We were taking Isobel with us to Costa

Picked up Isobel in the village and drove to Costa where I met Val. Surprise, Surprise, Costa had coffee. Real coffee, not instant and not filter, but barista made coffee. Conversation between Val and I ranged over the usual wide range of subjects, tech subjects and photography subjects admittedly, but what else would you expect from us?

During the discussions I must have missed the email that had arrived to tell me when DPD were delivering my parcel. We drove Isobel home, Val was meeting his wife at Tesco, and then Scamp and I went to Calders to get some snowdrop bulbs. Unluckily for us the HGV drivers hadn’t been to Calders and there were no snowdrop bulbs to be had. I think half of Cumbersheugh must have been panic buying them during the week. It was while we were at Calders that I found the email and the second one to say that they hadn’t been able to deliver it because there was nobody in! I wasn’t in the best mood after that, but we drove to Tesco to get food for tonight and tomorrow’s dinner.

Drove home and went in the huff for most of the afternoon. The only thing that brightened my afternoon and brought me out from under my black cloud was a phone call from Hazy. Found out about the goings on down Epsom way. Good to hear that Grannie is in much better spirits, and yes, I will try to get the recipe for the bread to you soon. By the way, I don’t know if I said Hazy, but I used a credit from Audible to download Entangled Life and am quite addicted to Mr Sheldrake’s soporific voice reading his book to me. Also it means I don’t have to try to work out how to pronounce those big sciency words! I like that it’s a Jamie and Hazy collaboration.

After we’d finished talking to Hazy I discovered that my phone had received a message to say that I could now collect my DPD parcel from Matalan at The Shops. Jacket on, because it had been raining on and off all day, made sure I had the QR code on my phone screen and that I had photo ID. I’m going to a shop. I have to wear a face mask in a shop. What good is photo ID? They can only really see my bloodshot eyes! Anyway, I picked up then parcel containing a Sony 50mm f2.8 macro lens that weighs about a third of the weight of the Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro lens I’ve already got. There was almost no useful light to test it with tonight, but the few photos I took look like it was worth the money … and the wait.

Scamp was busy all afternoon making ice cream and yet another Swiss Roll. The ice cream is now in the freezer and the Swiss Roll has its chocolate ganache coat on and is in the fridge.

Today’s PoD is one of Scamp’s Lisianthus cut flowers, not to be confused with Lissajous which is a figure I met on an oscilloscope many years ago and nothing like the flower.

Tomorrow we are having Crawford and Nancy for dinner, so lots of prep to be done, which probably explains the ice cream and Swiss Roll.

Family Photography – 24 September 2021

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Today I was going to Glasgow on the train, to meet my brother. Unfortunately the Wee Red car wouldn’t take us to the station.

A rattle from the starter made me think it was a flat battery, except the battery was only a year old. Starter motor? I had a look under the bonnet, but there was nothing to see. Nothing loose, battery connections tight. Not sure if the RAC would come to the house, because we don’t have Home Start. The simple answer would be for Scamp to drive me there in the Blue Micra, but she’s only driven it once or twice a year ago. However, she stepped up to the plate, locked the red car and got into the driver’s seat of the Blue Micra. She drove me to the train station and I had plenty of time to get a ticket and get on the train. Meanwhile she texted me to say she had parked at Tesco.

I wandered round Bucky Street, because I was a bit early and it was a lovely clear morning, which was a change from the soaking Scottish drizzle at Croy station. I sat on the steps of the Concert Hall and took a few 18mm photos down Bucky Street to St Enoch at the bottom and on to the M74 in the distance with just the hint of Queens Park on the South Side. I was wearing a red carnation so he’d recognise me, but I spotted him first. Even from the back he was recognisably Alex. We met halfway up the stairs and after a quick hug we walked up Sausageroll Street.

Alex wanted to photograph some architecture and I suggested St Aloysius church on Rose Street. I really like this building and did a pen sketch of it some years ago. I can’t remember ever photographing it though. Maybe I did, but it’s so tall and there is no room to get distance to it, I don’t think any of my lenses could have coped with it. The 18mm managed it today. From there we walked down towards the motorway and more importantly the beautiful wedge shaped ex-bank on Shamrock Street. Glasgow’s version of the ‘Flat Iron’ building. While we were photographing it an older lady stopped to ask if we were interested in the building. She told us she lived in it and gave us a bit of its history. Built in 1909 and designed by architect Neil C. Duff. She said it was good that some people were interested enough in the building to photograph it. We thanked her and said our goodbyes.  Today’s PoD was a view of the front door of the ex-bank.

From there Alex wanted to photograph some modern day graffiti on the Chinese Supermarket across the street. Then we went for a coffee in Costa and compared notes. Next stop was Union Street for a bit of tech shopping, but the actual purchase didn’t happen because the queue was far too long. More graffiti on Mitchell Street (the lady picking people off the street), then a delightful tea and cake in the Willow Tea Rooms on Bucky Street. Never been in there before, but would go back again for the carrot cake!

All too soon it was time to go. We’d had a fairly comprehensive walk and photo shoot around central Glasgow. I got the bus home and Alex headed for the train. We’ve vowed to meet up again soon in two or three weeks, depending on the weather. I thoroughly enjoyed today. We will do it again.

Back home I brought tonight’s dinner. A small fish supper for Scamp and a single large fish for me. I needed that after a day of sugar overload. Found the battery in the car was completely flat. It’s been lying dormant for a long time, so maybe it needs to keep its wheels turning, or maybe there’s something more wrong. I’m suspecting a flat battery caused by a dodgy alternator, but we’ll get a charger tomorrow and try that first. One step at a time. That might be the theme for today.

No plans for tomorrow except charging a battery.

Rained – 19 September 2021

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It rained all morning, but that didn’t bother us. We weren’t intending going far.

We spoke to Hazel in the morning and gave her updates on who did what and who cooked what when we were down in Little Musgrave. She in turn got us up to date on what the family were doing in Wimbledon and around. She gave me another password manager to experiment with. So now I have two managers looking after two computers and I’m hoping they don’t speak to each other and I can remember the passwords for each and don’t get them mixed up.

Scamp relaxed for most of the day, posting a collection of photos on FB and still found time to do some washing, so we had at least some clean clothes to wear! I spent most of my time stuck in front of the computer I’m writing this on, posting photos in Flickr, which I suppose is my version of FB. I also started writing up some blog posts that I’d condensed into bullet points to get things in (almost) the right order.

Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and I got out for a walk in St Mo’s where I found more interesting mushrooms, or at least fungi. I used to think these tiny little plants were so delicate, but after reading Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled Lives, I view them in a far different light. The way he describes it, fungi could mount a takeover bid for the planet and win easily. Scary stuff. Today’s find was a group of Puffball mushrooms which I don’t remember seeing before. PoD went to a group of fungi that appeared like rosettes and looked quite delicate, but remember Merlin’s words!

Dinner tonight was Fennel, Prawns and Haddock. It should have been Cod instead but the Haddock was there anyway and it fitted the bill. We used the first of our own leeks too and they were lovely along with the slow cooked fennel.

Spoke to Jamie and found out more about the air display we missed on Thursday afternoon. It sounded quite spectacular and I was sorry we hadn’t seen it, but needs must when you need to get home in time to grab a parking space!

Tomorrow the lady will come to see us with her probing questions and then we will probe our throats and nose cavities. All for the sake of Science!