Category: Garden

Dancin’ – 27 June 2026

Posted on by Zogman

For the first time in ages, we drove through some busy traffic to go to the dance class in Brookfield.

There were only four couples taking part and the topics were mainly quite easy, easy enough for me to manage them. We started with House of Bamboo then the Feta Foxtrot, The Britannia Waltz, The Salsa Gibraltar (which was new to us and not a real salsa), the Electric Slide (which I ‘Elected’ not to take part in) and we finished up with the Bossa Nova. Quite a full dance card.

The heat in the hall was quite stifling for a while, even with the front door and back door open. The floor was a mess. It looked as if some folk had been dragging chairs and tables across it and leaving a bit of a mess. I’m sure the teachers will be putting in a complaint.

It as raining when we came out of the dance class. I was glad to have brought my rain jacket and Scamp had her umbrella. More busy traffic heading back to the city. It must be something to do with the school holidays starting. However, by taking a few shortcuts we managed to avoid a lot of the traffic.

The weather at home was quite clammy and generally uncomfortable. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a cooler breeze. Scamp was doing a bit of weeding in the afternoon and I took the opportunity to ask her how I needed to go about changing my old credit card for the new regime. The way she explained it, made it look simple. I expect it is in reality. I just need to put it into practice now.

I went for a walk in the afternoon and got a fair amount of photos. My favourite was a combination of three shots of wild geraniums, merged together in Photoshop. After a struggle, I got it working and it looks pretty good.

We have no plans for tomorrow as far as I know.

Out to meet a doctor – 25 June 2026

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Not just any old doctor, this was a consultant who worked in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

We had to be there for 10.00am this morning. To make sure we got there with some time to spare, we got a taxi from the house to the hospital. It made sense to us because we wouldn’t have to worry about connections and one less thing to worry about is a bonus.

He wanted to speak to Scamp, not me, although he was happy for me to be in the room. The last consultant we saw, in Dundee, was efficient, went through the tests and answered our questions.

Today’s consultant went into a lot more detail and explained everything we needed to know without talking in “Topsy and Tim” language but not using too much technical language. We had a chance at the end of his tests and note taking to ask questions and he answered everything well. We didn’t feel he was trying to bamboozle us which was a complaint we had about the Dundee doctor’s explanations. I think we both went away feeling much better about the whole thing.

A coffee in the visitors’ cafe helped us get things sorted out in our heads and also gave us time to discuss between ourselves what we thought of the morning.

The hospital is a beautiful building, but we were both amazed at how noisy it was. Maybe I should rephrase that to “The hospital will be a beautiful building once it’s finished” It made us wonder how staff could work in a hospital that felt as if it was still under construction. It’s 11 years old and still needs maintenance.

We got a bus from the the hospital to Glasgow Central Station which is looking a lot better than it did a couple of months ago. Than we wandered along to Paesano. Since I wasn’t driving, I could have the luxury of a glass of wine with my lunch, Scamp had Prosecco instead.

We walked up to Buchanan Street Bus Station and after a few minutes wait, our bus pulled in.

All together an interesting day. I think Scamp is feeling better about the whole thing and will be looking forward to see what is going to happen in the next month or so.

PoD is a view looking up to the ceiling of the hospital and hopefully will give you an idea of its complexity.

Tomorrow we are expecting John and Marion for lunch. According to the Weather Fairies, we should expect Thunder and Lightning (“Very, Very Frightening) too. Oh yes, and rain!

It was a HOT one – 23 June 2026

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There was a blue sky with gentle mist running across the Campsie Fells this morning and that usually means it’s going to be hot.

And, it wasn’t wrong. The temperature was rising all morning with a great many warnings being issued to stay indoors if you can. That’s what we did after we’d opened all the windows..

Later in the afternoon, I drove down to Tesco to get some fruit and to pick up the meds for Scamp and myself. By then it was lunch time and we watched more horror stories splashed with red to impress upon us that it was going to be hot. We weren’t at the actual Red Warning and, spoiler, the temperature didn’t actually reach the Red Warning level. I think the weather fairies were a bit disappointed.

While Scamp was doing some washing, I was hanging pictures. About a year and a half ago we painted the bedroom and this was us just getting round to putting the paintings back up again. Sometimes life does seem to go quite slowly when you’re both retired!

Photos back in their places, I went for a walk in St Mo’s, looking for dragonflies because the heat really does bring them out. It was definitely Shorts and Tee Shirts weather. Got quite a few dragons soaking up some rays while Scamp sat in the garden and read. I was exhausted when I completed my usual circuit of the pond and a couple of beers helped cool us down.

In the evening and after dinner we took turns at watering the garden. One doing the front garden and the other doing the back. It’s a really relaxing task, watering the garden with a hose. Something to do with the susurration of the water hitting the leaves of the plants, I assume.

PoD went to a dragonfly which clung to a dried reed and stared straight at me, or at least that’s what it felt like. As is often the case with dragonflies, I wonder if it’s sizing me up or I’m sizing it up. I really don’t want to know the answer!!

Scamp’s hoping to go out with the Witches tomorrow. I may find somewhere calm to go.

Keeping up with business – 22 June 2026

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In the morning we drove to Falkirk to sign some pieces of paper.

In fact we had to sign six different pieces of paper each. In the end I was beginning to get writer’s cramp! Still it was worthwhile and we felt a lot better after it was done.

After all that writing we thought we deserved a coffee, so we drove to Morrison’s for a coffee each. Scamp suggested we also have a cake each to celebrate. Her’s was a teacake and mine was a jam doughnut. Then we simply loaded up a trolley and pushed it back to the car. But not before we stopped to have a look at a trio of ceramic garden pots. So, we added them to the car boot and headed home.

It was just beginning to drizzle with rain as we were leaving the car park. It had been threatening to rain all morning so we were prepared for it. A totally different day from yesterday.

By the time we got home we had driven out of the rain clouds, but the skies were still heavy with more rain. We had lunch and decided what our next job was. It was mainly planning. Deciding which plants needed to move and which ones would stay. Also we were beginning to see which ones preferred shaded areas and which wanted to be in the sunshine.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Not a long walk, just a chance to see if there were any interesting insects appearing now that the weather was improving. There were a few dragonflies scudding round the pond, but the most interesting one was a Scorpionfly. It looks like a Scorpion with wings. Vicious looking with what looked like a sting in its tail, but harmless to humans (or so say’s Mr Google).

Scamp was going out tonight to a dance demonstration. Not Ballroom Dancing, more modern dance. She and the rest of the witches were going to cheer the girls on.  Also, as promised, the rain disappeared and the sun came out!

PoD went to the Scorpionfly, by a long way. High on the checklist was a Heron. A rare visitor now to the pond!

Alas, Keir Starmer’s job has come to an end. He resigned today. I admit I wasn’t impressed by him, but I almost felt sorry for him today.

We have no plans for tomorrow … yet!

Fathers’ Day – 21 June 2026

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It was so good to feel the sun on my back today. What a difference a couple of days makes.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and discussed books, little foxes and general garden stuff. Also having to keep the curtains closed to stop the room getting too hot. Hope you managed to get some sleep during the afternoon, Hazy.

Scamp and I went for a walk to the shops in the morning. Scamp was in charge of the fruit and veg for tonight’s dinner. I was in charge of getting the ice cream. Walking back to the house I just knew I was over dressed for the day. Shorts and Tee shirt would be better than jeans and a jersey.

And so it was that in the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got a photo of some ‘Big Daisies’. I never did know their proper name, but my mum always called them ‘Big Daisies’ and that name stuck. One of those photos made PoD.

Scamp and I sat in the garden when I got back and discussed what we’d like to do with the front garden to improve the colours. We didn’t come to a conclusion as we couldn’t quite agree on who had the best ideas.

Today was Fathers’ Day and I was allowed to have anything I wanted for dinner. I settled for Mince ’n’ Tatties. Scamp makes the best mince and tatties anywhere that’s why I chose it as my favourite. I had extra cabbage and beetroot too. (Sorry Jamie)

I spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard about the open gardens plots that are opened to any gardeners in the vicinity. One of today’s groups actually had a live quartet playing in one of the gardens. That’s an idea for you and Simonne for next year, Jamie.

Tomorrow we’re off to Falkirk in the morning to do some signing and shopping. Hope it’s a bit cooler.

 

 

Another dull day – 18 June 2026

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I’m getting fed up with the constant dull weather. I think my weather needs an upgrade.

We drove to Torwood today to get a white rose. Scamp has been suggesting a white rose might look good in the garden. A way to add a bit of light to the garden. I had to agree with her. Our front garden has lots of colour, but not one white rose. We also needed a bag of perlite to help aerate the soil.

At the garden centre we found quite a few white roses and Scamp selected one she liked the look of, ‘Diamond Dad’. Well, it is nearing Father’s Day! She also picked up a white Campanula to finish off the white theme. The only thing we forgot was at the Perlite we came for. We had lunch in the garden centre too. Just a Toastie each with tea and coffee.

Drove home just as the rain started and that rain lasted all day. I imagine it’s still raining now.

We were intending to have a couple of friends over on Friday for dinner, but a last minute phone call told us that my pal Crawford had pulled a muscle in his back and was presently at the local hospital. We agreed to find another suitable date when he is feeling better. We had just finish agreeing food for Friday, so that was now on hold, but I started making the Courgette, Pea and Spinach we’d decided on as a test. It was a really heavy soup that will need a bit of work to make it edible. I think we’ll try it again some other time and maybe chuck out the recipe book too. Perhaps that was a lucky break!

PoD was a wee ceramic lamb I saw in the garden centre. It looked as if it was sniffing the flowers.

No real plans for tomorrow, although we may meet Shona for lunch. We may get some Perlite too, but not to eat!

 

A warmer day – 14 June 2026

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A dry and a warm day. I didn’t do very much but Scamp was busy in the garden for most of the morning.

Later, she heard from a neighbour that Aldi was selling trays of Dahlias at a knock-down price, so off we trotted to the shops and came home with a bag of cocktails, a bottle of beer and the dahlias. The flowers looked good and they are now happily ensconced in the garden. I just hope the slugs don’t manage to sniff them out.

After lunch I went for a walk. While Scamp took advantage of the gentle warm breeze to hang out some washing, knowing that it was extremely unlikely to rain.

In St Mo’s, a single dragonfly was circling the pond. I think it was one of the Four-Spotted Chasers that I saw earlier in the week. Just in case it flew away, I grabbed a couple of shots, for the record. Apart from that, there wasn’t much to see, but it was good to get out in the warm, without a raincoat.

On the way home from my walk, I managed to get a couple of shots of a Wild Geranium, just coming in to flower and that made PoD.

Dinner tonight was Tomato Soup, Tuna steak with potatoes and Cavolo Nero Kale, and some of Jamie’s Rhubarb stewed at home. A lovely dinner.

Watched the Spanish GP saw Hamilton win his first race for Ferrari. I’m still not clear on what was happening to Antonelli on track, when he had to retire his car. Maybe he’d been bad, and that was his punishment.

No plans for tomorrow.

Rain, Rain, Go Away … – 11 June 2026

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… Come again another day.

It was a very wet day. We complain when we have no rain for a fortnight and we complain when “It’s always raining”. We’re just never pleased that’s what’s wrong. The weather is just the weather, that’s all.

Having said that, it was a dull day. What we, in Scotland would call a Dreich day. I think I went out once in the afternoon to do some shopping, but I was glad to get back home again, in the dry. I hope our hardy hillwalkers were having a better time than us.

One thing the weather did do, was give me a chance to tidy up some of my computer stuff. I’d noticed that the bin in the Mac was filling up drastically. I usually don’t have a problem with it, because I use Noodlesoft’s ‘Hazel’ app to keep it under control, but for some reason it wasn’t working the way it should. I think I’ve managed to clear the blockage tonight and things will flow again.

Dinner tonight was one of Scamp’s specialities, Cabbage, Bacon and Potatoes, with the addition of Jamie’s Asparagus. Nice and crunchy. Now we’ll have to wait another year for it to regrow, all being well. So thank you to all you gardeners.

Today’s PoD was another Alec’s Red flower dripping in the rain.

We have no real plans for tomorrow, but I may go out looking for a decent pair of trainers as the Goretex on mine is wearing a bit thin, as are the soles!

Back in time – 3 June 2026

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In the morning Scamp went to the dentist to get a tooth repaired.

After the we opened up another of those magic boxes that take you back in time. This one was a DVD from 1991 and most of it was about a holiday in Wales. We saw Jamie and Hazy making clay pots, making waves on machines that explained how tidal waves worked. We watched steam trains, although I don’t think we actually went on the trains. Moving forward in time, we were driving up Quiraing and over the top, then down past Uig and onward to Portree, then home to Staffin. Watching that route now, the roads seemed very narrow and treacherous. There were a lot fewer cars on the road then but the roads are probably worse now with too many cars a far too many potholes.

Later that year we went to Hazy’s school concert where she played her clarinet to the parents and teachers and got to take a bow. Around the same time there was a ‘Rock’ concert near the primary school for Westfield Gala Day and Scamp remembers Jamie’s pals joining in.

Great memories. The quality of the movie cameras has moved on greatly, but watching those old videos was great fun once you settled down to remember places and faces.

Back in the present day, the weather was pretty poor. I had intended to go for a walk this afternoon, but didn’t want to get soaked, so today’s PoD turned out to be a photo of one of the Thalictrum plants in the back garden. This is the third or maybe the fourth year they have flowered.

Dinner was a cobbled together Fish Risotto that looked a bit rough, but which worked out fine.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to meet Alex for a walk if it’s dry or a pizza and a blether if it’s wet, Scamp may be meeting Shona for coffee.

Families Gathering – 1 June 2026

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It was a wet day and a sad day, despite everything.

Drove up to the car wash at Tesco. The owner must have thought I was mad. Who in their right mind would want their car washed on a day when it was lashing with rain. I would.

A quick lunch of a banana sandwich, then we were in the machine. That’s what it felt like. We three drove over to The Village and picked up Isobel. Then we drove to Cairntoul Court and dropped Scamp off to find her place in the ‘Big Car’. The car arrived and we all drove over to Daldowie and were ushered in.

The celebrant gave his speech which, if you were hearing it for the first time, would probably have been uplifting, but not today. Once the curtains closed it was all over. Nothing left to do but head back to the pub where the meal would be served.

The food I had was delicious. For the second day in a week, I had a chunky, lovely gammon steak with chips. We sat and listened to Ian and Isobel telling stories of times gone by, but the different groups kept to themselves and didn’t mix very much. Probably a Scottish way of dealing with a situation like this. Gradually everyone made their ways home, individually and in groups.

Back home the ladies had a laugh with a few drinks, remembering things that had happened over the years. It’s the Scottish tradition again.

Jackie is off home tomorrow and we’ll start straightening everything out and getting ready for our own lives to begin again.

Paul wasn’t a bad boy. A bit wild at times and out of his depth. May he rest in peace.