Category: Glasgow

A Lovely Lunch – 24 March 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bToday is Scamp’s birthday and we headed in to town to celebrate.  Lunch was booked for 1.30pm in the Battlefield Rest in Battlefield, where else.  At 2.05 after 35 minutes waiting, we had still not had our starters and were getting a bit fractious.  Thankfully it wasn’t much later when Scamp’s Smoked Haddock and Spinach Crepe and my Haggis Polpette arrived and as anticipated, they were lovely!  Mains followed soon after the first plates were cleared away.  Scamp’s was Smoked Haddock Risotto, mine was Italian Sausage Stew.  If it was possible for the starters to be bettered, the mains did it.  We more or less forgave them the bad start.  Coffees were on the house when Scamp revealed that it was her birthday.  Overall, it was what we expected in the Battlefield Rest.  If you’re in a hurry, it’s not the place to eat, but the food is very, very good.

Stopped off in Glasgow City Centre on the way home and in the course of wandering around the shops, managed a few shots of the bloke with the beard playing the guitar.  That was about it.

When we got home I saw the raindrops on the flowers in the hanging basket and thought it might make an interesting shot.  Today we had the first rain in 14 days.  This must be a record in Scotland.

It’s been a good day today.  Let’s hope it’s a Good Friday tomorrow.

A day in the “Toon” – 26 February 2016

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combo bRather a late and lazy start to the day.  Possibly too much Laphroaig last night, if you can have too much of a good thing, that is.  So, later than anticipated, I took the Megane for its wash and brush up for being a good car yesterday and not giving me a showing up at the MOT garage.  It felt better to drive after the car wash, but that was partly due to it having a service yesterday.  Cars always drive better after a service.  I know it’s probably a psychological thing, but it is partly practical too.  Still a couple of things to put right before we drive any long distance runs.  Rear brake disks need replacing and the front tyres are also needing replaced.  If it had been to Arnold Clark for the last three MOTs it would have had to have the disks replaced and the wheel cylinders replaced too every time, I’m sure.  Bunch of sharks.  I digress, as usual.

I drove in to Glasgow and to limit my wandering about time, decided to park at a meter.  Found one near to the bus station and went to pay the ticket.  After decoding the parking cost/time formula I proceeded to dump all my loose change into the ticket machine.  Almost got to the two and a half hours I needed and the message “Take your money back” appeared and all my change rattled out.  I assumed the machine was knackered and went to another where the same thing happened!  Is there a limit to the amount of coins you can put in these machines?  It’s never happened to me before.  I can only think that the money box in the machines was full and couldn’t accept any more cash.  I didn’t have any pound coins, so I had to abandon that idea and go to the expensive Concert Hall carpark where, despite the sign saying “Car Park FULL”, there were indeed spaces in our usual secret dungeon.  Best kept secret in Glasgow.

Wandered down Bucky Street and took some photos of folk that looked interesting.  One bloke who stands there hail, rain and shine with a sandwich board saw me and turned his back which was a great shame as he has an interesting face.  Maybe I should ask him next time if I can have his photo.

I had a last visit to the Art Store before it closes next week.  There wasn’t much left.  The shop is all but gutted now.  Almost nothing left.  No brushes, paints, pencils, canvasses or sketch books.  A few pens and some pastels, but nothing worth talking about.  Everything was 75% off.  I saw an old woman pocketing a couple of packets of pencil leads.  Sales assistant watched her and just shrugged his shoulders.  If she’d bought them, they would have cost a few pence.  Some folk have no decency at all. Not been doing very much painting or drawing recently.  Must get started again.

Egg pizza for dinner, but went in to Collins & Son butchers on the way home and bought a couple of nice sirloin steaks, one of which is in the fridge destined to be tomorrow’s dinner.  Got loads of other stuff too, almost all of which is now in the freezer.  It’s good to go to a real butchers rather than Tesco.  The meat just looks better.  It’s been our aim for the past few years to buy from indepenedents where possible.

Weather for tomorrow doesn’t look inspiring.  Don’t have a plan.  The Easy Rider mentality, only I won’t be stamping on my watch in the morning (see the film to understand).

Endorphins – 21 February 2016

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combo bbSometimes when we come out of the salsa social on a Sunday, I feel it’s a duty done. Scamp usually wants to go to The Garage to the Sunday Social and I don’t usually mind. Today when we came out, I was buzzing and could have stayed until closing time. Yes, I’d have been knackered and yes I’d have been starving, but I don’t think I’d have minded. Apparently it’s all to do with Endorphins. If you haven’t heard of them, I’m told they are little smiley faces that bubble round your bloodstream and do happy things. You can read all about them on Wikipedia if you aren’t a sciency type like me. What they don’t tell you on the revered Wikipedia is that the little endorphins like dancing, especially salsa dancing and that’s why I was feeling much better coming out of The Garage than I did when I went in.

Made the rest of the pakora when we got home and although the chicken stuff was ok, the veggy pakora was much too thick and stodgy. Version 2 will be better when I get round to making it.

It’s been a dismal day with constant rain. The temperature is supposed to drop considerably over the next couple of days with ice and snow forecast. Much nicer than constant rain.

Forty Three Years Ago – 17 February 2016

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combo bForty three years ago today the weather was much the same. There was snow on the ground and it was cold. Two young folk, one 22 and one just 18 repeated their vows and became man and wife. How their lives have changed.

Today we took it easy. We had intended going to Edinburgh, but it being the middle of the week and with the prospect of more snow on the way, we decided to cut our losses and go to Glasgow instead. Rather than suffer the long bus journey through the wilds of Moodiesburn and Muirhead, I offered to drive. We eventually got parked in the third carpark we tried, despite the electronic signs telling us that there were spaces in the other two (they lied). Walked down through town me looking at a couple of cameras on the way, but still undecided which or even if I’d buy if it came down to it. Just like a girl can never have enough shoes, a photog can never have enough cameras. Decided on Browns for lunch and were mightily disappointed in the lack of flavour from both our meals. It’s feels like they have a reputation now, so they don’t have to try so hard. I think we’ll try somewhere else next time, but it’s a shame when it was a celebration meal and we rejected a few good restaurants before opting for Browns. Maybe it’s something to do with the name “Browns”: ordinary, nondescript, boring. Sort of sums it up really.

Went from there to the Art Store and picked up a couple of small Pink Pig sketch books and a wonderful bargain of a watercolour box reduced from £79 to £25!! Unfortunately, as I guessed, the Art Store is closing for good at the end of the month. According to one of the assistants, “the company is kaput”. Short term bargains for artists, but long term loss for art in Glasgow. They will be sadly missed.

After we came home, the weather brightened up and I managed an hour in St Mo’s just walking in the snow taking shots mainly with the 9mm. Some of the results are above. No plans for tomorrow, it all depends on the weather.

Booked – 12 February 2016

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combo bWe finally got a holiday booked for Scamp and I.  We were beginning to think that we wouldn’t get away at all, but now we are good to go.

Went in to Glasgow today.  Couldn’t decide at first whether to go to Stirling or Glasgow, but I wanted to have a look at a camera and I was pretty sure I could get my hands on it in Glasgow.  There was no chance of seeing a camera in Stirling.  With that in mind, we headed for Glasgow in the afternoon.  Other than visiting the travel agent and then Jessops, it was just a quick trot round the shops, then home.  There was one surprise, the Art Store in Queen Street was offering everything in store at 50% off.  That may sound good, and indeed there were bargains to be had, but it made me wonder if this is another independent art shop that has gone to the wall.

The camera was not as good as I had hoped it would be.  It was an Oly E-M5 and I got my hands on it in John Lewis.  First impressions were that it felt a bit clumsy and not as neat as the E-PL5.  I then tried it’s newer sibling the Oly E-M10 in Jessops.  It was neater and more ergonomic than the older E-M5, but still didn’t make me want to part with my money.  I had no intention of buying the camera from either of these shops.  I only wanted to use them to get my hands on them and give them a bit of comparison.  If I was going to buy one, I’d go to one of the second-hand dealers on the net like MBP in Brighton.  Anything I’ve bought from them has been really good quality and was at least a third off the price when new.

Three shots today from our walk around Glasgow.  Nothing outstanding, just a few candids.

Cold and bright in Glasgow.

Curry – 7 February 2016

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combo bI had to drive in to Glasgow today to go to a curry making afternoon at Cafe India in the city.  It was a really interesting two and a half hours which started with making pakora – Potato, Spinach and Chicken varieties.  After we sampled them, we moved on to mains.  I made the Lamb Lazees (pronounced Layzee) which was really rich and a little bit creamy.  I think I’d he hard put to make it myself, but it was an experience discovering just how quick these dishes are to make.  Granted the meat was all pre-cooked, but one woman was vegetarian and she made a standard vegetable curry in the same time as the rest of us, which was about 10 minutes.  Next was a demonstration of making nan bread and chapatis.  We didn’t get a chance to make our own, probably on health and safety grounds as the tandoor oven operates at 300ºc!  Finally we had a sit down lunch where we got to eat the fruits of our labours.  I’ve told Scamp that the next time she sees this offer, she should go and then we can compare notes.

We should have gone to the Sunday Social today, but I couldn’t be bothered and Scamp was feeling the after-effects of yesterday’s late night at Kul’s surprise birthday party at Gusto in Bothwell Street in Glasgow.  Table should have been ready for 7.45pm, but the restaurant were running late.  Finally got our mains at just after 10.00pm.  I don’t think we’ll be back there again.  My main was good – roast chicken, but the meat was finished before they brought the potatoes and veg.  Totally disorganized and not cheap either.  So, we agreed to forego salsa but did have a practise at the bachata steps we learned last week.

Only got one shot today in a dull rainy Glasgow.  It wasn’t raining in Cowcaddens underground where I got today’s PoD.  It should have been the full view across both tunnels, but I was rushing and didn’t notice the camera strap obscuring the left hand tunnel.  One of the problems of the 9mm lens is the remarkable field of view.  Sometimes it’s too big a field.

Saw a couple of lovely paintings in the restaurant (top right) and tried to copy one tonight.  Not totally successfully, but an interesting diversion from my usual “style“.  Yet another work in progress.

Deep and Crisp and Even – 30 January 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt snowed during the night. When we woke it was bright white sunshine that was coming in the windows. Such a nice difference. Yes, I knew it was going to cloud over and there was the chance that we’d have more snow during the day, but for a while it was sunny.

Had a relaxed start to the day, no need to rush on a Saturday now. Let the workers do the rushing to make the most of their weekend. Us retirees can take our time. Finished the book I was reading “Strange Loyalties” by Wm McIlvanney. It was a bit of struggle finishing it, rather like wading through treacle at times, but good use of language. Full review on Goodreads (3/5 stars).

Luckily we had planned on a bus journey to Glasgow because I didn’t fancy driving anywhere today with blizzards forecast for everywhere in Scotland. As it happened, we didn’t see any blizzards, but there was a bit of snow as we were driven in to the great metropolis that is Glasgow.

This being our anniversary, or the anniversary of the day we met, we went for lunch. Today’s choice was Charcoals. I had Rara Gosht and Scamp had Chicken Dopiaza. They were both lovely – not cheap, but lovely. We wandered round ‘The Toon’ for a while and then came home on the bus.

By the time we got back most of the snow had gone. It was a great day.

Today’s PoD, in fact the only one worth talking about, was taken outside the Apple building which is being ‘modernised’. A nice bit of business acumen there.

One day this weary winter will be gone – 28 January 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATitle comes from a Loudon Wainwright song and it sums up my feelings quite succinctly.  Another still life as evidence of the darkness outside from dawn to dusk.  Dusk being about 5 minutes after dawn.  After that, total darkness reigns.

Today we went to 1 Devonshire Gardens for lunch.  It was a retirement present from the Malleys for Sheila.  This was a full dress occasion – suit, shirt and tie.  I even got shaved.  It was worth it.  Food was really excellent.  Service was excellent too, just what you’d expect in a place like this.  Because we knew that “drink would be taken”, we went on the bus, in fact buses because we got the bus from the centre of town to the restaurant.  That was a first for us, travelling IN Glasgow by bus, but it was a necessity today because it was a 20 minute walk from the subway station and it was raining.

After our delicious lunch we went back in to the centre of town to pick up my beautiful artwork from Sunday’s class in Cass Art.  It’s still sitting in  the bag until I have the courage to look at it again.  I’m only glad that I didn’t buy the paint they were pushing at the class.

Now we are getting ready to batten down the hatches before Storm Gertrude arrives with its 80mph wind gusts.

A Different Sort of Day – 22 January 2016

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combo bAfter a downer of a week, weatherwise and otherwise, we woke today to … rain. Woke up at around 6.00am to rain battering against the window. Turned over and went back to sleep. Next thing I knew it was 9.00am and it was still raining. Oh well, I’d decided to go in to Glasgow for a wander and the weather app on my phone said it would be sunny by midday – fat chance says I. By the time I’d got myself organised and finished just one more chapter of Strange Loyalties by the late William McIlvanney, a very introspective novel with wonderful use of language, by the time I finally put it down, it was getting on for 11.30. Scamp had declined my offer of a run into town, so I went myself on the train. Got parked easily for a change at the station.

When I was walking up to the station, the rain had stopped and wonder of wonders, there was blue sky up there. At 12.10, sitting in the Glasgow train, the clouds parted and the sun shone. It stayed that way for the rest of the day. The weather app was right, well, ten minutes late, but we can forgive it that. In Glasgow I went up to JL, but they had no bargains – well, they hardly ever do. Had a play around with one of the Oly 4/3 DSLRs I’ve been watching coming down in price. Second hand of course. Unfortunately I handled the posh V2 version first, so the viewfinder wasn’t as clear in the second, more affordable, one. That said, it has come EVFs have come a long way since the Sony F707, or even the removable EVF of the Oly E-PL5. Sorry for all that technospeak, Jic, it’s over now, you can open your eyes again.

Lots of lovely light in Bucky Street and interesting people too. I have to thank the community policeman who noticed I’d dropped the viewfinder from the E-PL5 in my rush to get a shot. Thank you very much whoever you are, I never really got a chance to thank you properly. I know it’s unlikely you will ever read this, but I feel better now. I walked all the way down past St Enoch’s to the Clyde walkway and found even more photo opportunities.

Back up to the station, back home and a piece ‘n’ cheese for a late lunch before Scamp came home from a “Witches” meeting.

What a difference a bit of sun makes.

A grey day – 20 January 2016

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combo 2b

Grey start to the day with mist and the inevitible rain. We had hoped to go out somewhere scenic today as we did last week, but it wasn’t looking like a scenic kind of day. Finally settled on going to the Forge Market in Glasgow. Not very scenic, but it does have a Clarks shoe shop and there are few of them in the countryside. After trying this and that, leather and suede, black and brown, boots and shoes – you get the message, I settled on a pair of brown leather shoes and almost as my debit card was cooling in my wallet changed my mind. That’s about par for the course for me. I’ve got 28 days to cool my heels, or my feet to be more precise, before I have to accept or reject the shoes.

When we came out we tried to get a table at Cotton House, but were too late. They closed at 2.00 and it was just about 1.00 at the time. We were in Glasgow and they were in Bonnybridge – a bridge too far.

After getting lost a couple of times trying to get back on the motorway, Scamp suggested we go to The Fort in Easterhouse. I always did think they needed a fort in Easterhouse, but not one with high fashion shops, just a portcullis and a drawbridge. Had lunch at Wagamama. I had my usual of Ramen, Pork Ramen to be precise and Scamp had Teriyaki Chicken which was quite nice.

Walked along to Hobby Craft after lunch and got myself a daylight light bulb. Fred gave me one a month or so ago and although it was quite good, it was a bit weak and not as blue as daylight should be. The one I got today is much better. It’s a long life spiral bulb 20W which equates to 95W and has a mired value of 6500k which sounds like a perfect daylight level. I’ll give it a try over the next few days. Maybe it would disperse the grey light we are living with at the moment.