Category: Glasgow

Well, it is my birthday – 8 April 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Today I was in charge, but I was warned it was only for today!

After opening the cards and the parcels and marvelling at the imagination of my family, it was breakfast in bed served on a tray with a carnation in a bud vase!

I suggested we drive to the station and get the train to Glasgow. Scamp agreed, and she drove us to the station. She got a bit flustered getting the tickets and asked the bloke in the ticket office for a return, but didn’t say where to! The standard reply to “where to” is generally “back here of course!” Got the tickets, train arrived and we were soon in Glasgow on a fairly busy train. Just walked across to the underground and got two all day tickets. Scamp got through, but I didn’t. Tried three machines and each one said “Cannot read card”. The way it works on Glasgow subway, your plastic “pensioner’s ticket” gets updated with the amount you want to put on it and becomes like an Oyster card. Except, mine didn’t. The woman at the ticket desk checked it and all was well at her end. Eventually a bloke came, checked my card and buzzed me through with his “Let Me In” gadget.

We took the train to Kelvinbridge were, of course I had to go through the same procedure again. This time it was explained to us that they are having some problems with this method of travel, but only with some (ie the North Lanarkshire) Concession Cards, that’s the posh name for Pensioner’s tickets. He buzzed me through and gave me a paper ticket that would get my back to the rail station. Isn’t it nice when technology just works … until it doesn’t.

We went to La Lanterna – West End. It’s a tiny little Italian restaurant with only about a dozen tables. We’ve been there before and the food was good. It was almost empty and we got a table easily, but only after I’d been reminded by the head waiter to say “Good Afternoon” first. It’s an Italian thing that you have to say “Bonjourno” which means “Good Day”, before you start any conversation or ask a question. I’ll remember next time.

Scamp had Arancini (deep fried rice balls) as a starter and I had a pretty little trio of bruschetta. For a main Scamp had a green pesto risotto with asparagus and broccoli. I had Pollo alla Milanese (Chicken fried in breadcrumbs) with Neapolitan Spaghetti. For once, I was the one having a glass of red wine and Scamp, the driver, had sparkling water.

When we left there we went to check that the old STUC building, where we used to go to salsa classes, was still there. There had been rumours that it was going to be demolished. Apparently not, but it is being turned into student flats. At least the building will be saved.

We walked along Gt Western Road to the Botanic Gardens against a cold westerly wind. We went in to the Kibble Palace which is a beautiful place to wander round and best of all, it’s a giant heated greenhouse that holds lots of exotic plants that need to be kept warm. It was also holding lots of folk sheltering from the icy blast.

Next stop was Waterstones for the new Ben Aaronovitch book “Amongst Our Weapons”. They didn’t have it. It’s only a tiny little shop. However the bloke behind the counter said that Argyle Street had some copies, so we headed there. We were just about to got out empty handed when there was a hail storm, or it might have been “frozen rain”. It looked like hail, but the frozen balls were like snow. Strange weather.

Got the underground down to Argyle Street and got the book in Waterstones, then made our way back up Bucky Street, via a posh shower gel shop, to the train station and just managed to get on the Alloa train to Croy and then Scamp drove us home.

There was a parcel waiting for me. The postman had handed it to one of our neighbours. It was a birthday prezzy. Another one. I have a great family. It was a great birthday. I really enjoyed my day in Glasgow. As well as all the foregoing, we stood on the bridge over the Kelvin watching folk ‘Magnet Fishing’ and a song kept buzzing round my head. A song without a name by a singer whose name I couldn’t remember either. With the help of Mr Google I’ve remembered the song as “Wire Burners” from the album “Glasgow” and the singer as Findlay Napier. Do yourself a favour and listen to it. Although the best track is the first one ‘Young Goths in the Necropolis’.

We had a few glasses of wine later, Scamp and I and a thin G ’n’ T before dragging ourselves off to bed. I posted today’s PoD on Flickr before that. It’s a Pelargonium we saw in the Kibble Palace.

Tomorrow we’re up and out early to navigate our way through the roadworks to a dance class in Brookfield. Morning will come early.

Of course, this is a catch-up, but the gist of yesterday is fairly correct.

Drivin’ and Dancin’ – 7 April 2022

Posted on by Zogman

We were going to a tea dance today.

Yes, tea was served as was a tea loaf. For the philistines there was instant coffee.

First we had to work out the quickest way to get there. The community hall that’s used for the tea dances is deep in darkest Paisley. It’s a different one from the one we go to in Brookfield for dance class on a Saturday, very different, but both have good floors for dancing. The problem with getting there is that the motorway has roadworks for a few miles on the M8 and the speed limit is 40mph which is fairly slow for a motorway. It wouldn’t concern me greatly, but there are average speed cameras for the full stretch of the roadworks, and in case, just in case they are actually switched on, most folk are travelling at about 38mph. This slows everyone up. Then, once you’re free to travel at mind blowing 70mph, you have to leave the motorway to work your way through the devious traffic system in Paisley itself. It takes ages.

There is another way. I found it a long time ago when we started this tea dance caper. It’s the one that the Nissan app recommends. Anything the Nissan app recommends is usually to be avoided. When you ask it for a route between two places it firstly gives you the route and the time it will take if you’re walking. This from a company who specialise, not in walking shoes, but in selling cars. I digress. Today I thought we might just try the route from the app. Surprisingly, it was a much less stressful route than the M8, then the slow crawl through Paisley. I’m not giving Nissan all the glory for finding this route, I checked with Google first and they agreed! We were late arriving at the hall, but we much earlier and much calmer than if we’d gone the Paisley route. We also used it coming back and the only problem was the queue to cross the Kingston Bridge, but that was driver error. I should have gone with my gut feeling which was avoid the Kingston Bridge at all costs.

Lots of sequence dances today and we learned a new one. It’s got the usual sequence dance silly name and is an amalgam of various other dances. We tried the new waltz routine and it was a shambling mess to start with, or I was making a shambling mess, which is nearer the truth. However by the time we got to the Last Waltz it was coming together nicely. Tango was a work in progress. I’m sure we were cutting corners somewhere, but where exactly, I couldn’t say. We tried and failed at the Cha-Cha. I thought the music was too fast, and despite Scamp’s best efforts, we didn’t finish it.

We were sitting with a good crowd, most of whom we’ve met before and we seemed to get on well with them. The numbers were down today, but, as Scamp said, a lot of folk our age are grandparents now and have kids to look after during the school holidays.

Back home I changed into ‘normal’ clothes and went for a walk down to the shops via the well worn path behind St Mo’s school. Today’s PoD is a macro shot of a rotting fence post with a few clumps of moss growing in its hollow top which I found beside that path. I quite liked the picture and cropped it square, then gave it a white rebate. Looks a bit like a Polaroid now.

Tomorrow we may be going in to Glasgow for lunch, it being someone’s birthday.

Huntigowk – 1 April 2022

Posted on by Zogman

It may be April Fool’s day, but I saw no sign of it today. I think the world is so war and virus weary that there’s little time for fun this year.

I’d suggested that we go for a walk round Glasgow today. I’d no ulterior motive, just a walk round town and a chance to drop off a bag of books that had been languishing in my room. Scamp said we might go in on the bus, but we’d have been too late to catch the fast bus and neither of us fancied the X3 which takes nearly 50 minutes to trace 20 miles. Then Scamp said why didn’t we go in the car and she’d drive. She meant her car. I eventually agreed and we piled into the car. I tried to get the boot to open, but there was a softness at the switch that made me think the switch mechanism had come adrift and it really is an terrible faff to get in via the back seat. However, we didn’t really need to use the boot, we weren’t carrying much and weren’t intending buying much either. Halfway along the road the car started, what Scamp calls, ‘whistling’. It sounded more like screeching to me. As she was driving it gave me time to work out what was happening. Eventually I settled on a dried out wheel bearing. By the time we got to Glasgow it was getting loud and alternating from side to side. Two wheel bearings, both front? When we were waiting at lights after leaving the motorway, I could definitely smell burning, like overheated metal. We got parked and walked away and the car just sat there no clicking like you get with overheated metal, so maybe I was imagining things.

Took the bag of books to the Oxfam shop and they were again happy to see them. That was my main task completed. With nothing to do, Scamp suggested we walk to Glasgow Green. That sounded like a decent idea, because the sun was shining and there weren’t too many folk about. Then I realised I’d not brought my woolly hat, in fact I didn’t have anything to keep my head and ears warm. That’s what happens when you decide you don’t need your big heavy Bergy jacket whose pockets are filled with everything you might need, including a woolly hat. However we walked round the green and at the front gate I got today’s PoD which was a Lensbaby shot of some cherry blossom. I also got a second conventional lens shot of two folk walking through the cherry trees. That’s on Flickr too. Scamp prefer that one to my arty-farty flower photo. On the way back we did nip into M&S for a cheap woolly hat to shut me up.

Lunch was in Paesano and, as Scamp was driver for the day, I had a glass of red wine with my No 3 pizza. Scamp had her standby No1 – no garlic. We were halfway through our pizzas when we were joined by four weans of the female persuasion. Their combined ages were about 40, but they were probably younger. They all seemed to talk at the same time, then all pick up their phones and silently type madly into them, probably sending messages to each other. Then they discovered another group of four further along and started verbal, and probably digital, conversations with them too. I can’t stand weans, and these looked like snooty, posh weans and they’re worse. Thankfully we were leaving soon.

We both took a waltz round JL, me window shopping and Scamp buying, then we headed for home. The noise from the bearing started right away and by the time we reached Cumbersheugh it was deafening. I told Scamp to turn off onto an alternative, quieter road and stop when we’d a fairly straight stretch. That’s when I heard the ticking of metal cooling. I got out and tentatively touched the nearside wheel, but it was just warm. The offside wheel was too hot to touch. That settled it, at least a new wheel bearing needed. We took it easy the rest of the way home and the smell of overheated grease lingered for a while. The wee Red car will need to go to the car hospital to get the work done and in the mean time I’ll see what I can do about the boot switch.

When we arrived at the house there was a big box of flowers waiting for Scamp. There was no message with it and no indication of who had sent it. Scamp did some investigations and worked out who it might have come from. She spoke to her sister in Skye later and confirmed her suspicions. Somebody at M&S is going to get an earful for not including that birthday message.

Early rise tomorrow because it looks as if the dance class is on and as there are still roadworks on the way to Bridge of Weir, we’ll need to be out a bit earlier. Other than that, no plans.

At the Battlefield – 18 March 2022

Posted on by Zogman

A beautiful Friday morning.

Scamp drove over to Tesco to post Neil’s granny’s birthday card. Age 90 deserves a card on the day and by our calculations, the card should arrive on time if it was posted early.

After that, we just hung about, me doing Sudoku and Scamp reading until it was time to drive to Glasgow’s South Side to the Battlefield Rest. An independent Italian restaurant houses in a waiting room and tram stop! It’s a strange wee building that sits on its own traffic island at a complicated junction surrounded by ugly high-rise buildings. We were originally introduced to it by my cousin, Donald, an architect and fellow foodie. We had booked last night, just to make sure we’d get a table.

First problem was getting there. I missed a turning on the sat nav and the next one too. I took things a bit slower and found the third one, only to discover they were digging up the road and we had to take a diversion. After another wrong turn we arrived at Battlefield Road and every parking space I could see was either blocked or too small. Then, out of the blue, we found a nice big space just a few minutes walk from the restaurant.

Scamp had Mussels in a Tomato sauce to start and a main of Smokie Crepe. I had Crab Bruschetta, followed by Spaghetti Paesana (Spaghetti with meatballs). Just because we could, we both had a dessert. Scamp, of course had Tiramisu and I had Pecan and Pine Nut Tart with a big scoop of ice cream. A lovely meal we both enjoyed. It must be well over three years since we’ve been in The Rest. Hopefully it won’t be so long until we’re back.

Since it was such a lovely day we went for a walk over to Queen’s Park, marvelling at the changes in the area and the amount of construction work still going on. We climbed up the long unforgiving hill to the flagpole and viewpoint in Queen’s Park. Great views of Glasgow from the viewpoint, but oh, the cobbled paths are treacherous. We both nearly took a tumble there. Saw a couple of Pied Woodpeckers in the wee wood behind the flagpole. First ones I’ve seen since we were down at Jamie and Sim’s old house. You can sometimes hear them in the woods at Drumpellier, but I’ve never actually seen them there. We followed another treacherous path down to the real, tarmac path and followed it round the park to the exit and from there back to the car. It was a fairly easy drive from there to the M74 and home.
Today was rated as “Excellent” by both of us.

The weather was still fine when we arrived home and I was tempted to take the camera for a walk in St Mo’s, but I knew I had a couple of interesting shots, one of which would make PoD. I was wrong. It was a cropped shot of The Battlefield Rest suitably toned to make it look older. That won PoD.

I got an email from MPB telling me they had downgraded my estimate for the condition of the camera. I didn’t fully agree with their description, but agreed because I know it was a borderline case for “Excellent”. Their estimate of “Good” was probably more realistic. Money should be with us next week, hopefully.

It appears that despite some people withdrawing from dance class tomorrow, because the first dance of the year is on tomorrow night. We’d intend going to both, but Scamp made the decision to go to the class and possibly a tea dance during the week. We did have a quick practise of the Cha-Cha and the Waltz as preparation for tomorrow’s dance so, I shouldn’t  make too many mistakes.

If the weather holds tomorrow, we may go for a spin after the class, maybe to the seaside. I’m not sure if we’ll pack buckets and spades. However, I do still have a snow shovel in the boot!

 

Today we went on an adventure – 4 March 2022

Posted on by Zogman

We went in to Glasgow on the bus.

When was the last time you were on a bus? That was the question Scamp asked me today when we were waiting for the X28. I was on a bus last year, but she didn’t reveal when she was last on a bus. It was an experience. Another little step on the road to ‘normal’ whatever ‘normal’ will be once we get there. We deliberately chose the ‘fast bus’ rather than the X3 which takes about four days to get in to the city from our house, or at least it feels like that.

We started our expedition with a wander round JL. There was nothing interesting for me in the ‘toy shop’. Big boys’ toys that is. Computers, cameras and lenses. Nothing interestingly cheap enough to actually spend money on. Scamp was looking for dresses for the two weddings we’re invited to in May. There was nothing much for her in JL either. One dress she liked the style of, but not the colour. Others she said she had dismissed, but still wanted to show me. I think she was just hoping I’d cast my tailor’s eye over them and say “I could make that one”, but I didn’t. I restrict my tailoring skills to taking up the legs of a pair of jeans, these days.

From there we walked down Buchanan Galleries. Now I often call Buchanan Street ‘Bucky Street’, but ‘Bucky Galleries’ just doesn’t have the same ring. At the end of the Galleries Scamp disappeared into a shop and went for a walk. I was pulled back to the shop with a swift phone call to ask where I thought I was going. Apparently I was meant to wait outside the shop like a good little boy. My usual reply to commands like that is “Hope you’ve got your bus pass, ‘cause it’s a long walk home.” Of course that didn’t work this time. We both had our bus passes, and no car to take us home. Going out without the car is sometimes almost as scary as going out without your phone. Anyway my advice was required on another dress which had already been rejected. This time I was more agreeable and suggested she try it on. Actually, I had to agree that it suited her once I saw it on. She bought it. Photos will be sent to interested parties. To celebrate, we went to Paesano for a pizza lunch. Well it was Friday after all. On the way there we wandered past the next place they had started filming. Again turning Glasgow into Gotham for Batgirl or some such American nonsense.

We walked down to Argyle Street to peruse the dress offerings of M&S, but nothing took her eye. We walked back to Cafe Nero at St Enoch’s then to Waterstones because I’d a book token burning a hole in my pocket, but I couldn’t find the book I was planning to use it on. Up Bucky Street and home on the X37 which was just as quick as the X28 in the morning. It was a beautiful day, all day. The weather fairies had it wrong with their threats of heavy clouds and rain. You can’t trust anybody these days.

PoD was a view down Virginia Street to the buildings at the end which seem to crowd in on one another. If you view it on Flickr you will notice that it’s had it’s GPS location stamped on it and it’s been mapped automatically by the software. Neat little trick of linking the camera to an app on the phone by bluetooth. Impressed? I was!

Tomorrow looks like a good day again. Let’s see if we go anywhere interesting.

 

A long day – 17 February 2022

Posted on by Zogman

A long day with a good result.

Phone call from the hospital at around 9.15am to ask if we could manage to get there for 10.30am instead of 12 noon which was the time we were told to be there. No explanation, but it was possibly because of cancellations due to the the weather which was quite ‘interesting’. Hail showers and gale force winds then blinding sunshine would make some people want to reschedule. We just said “Yes”.

Drove in to Glasgow and got parked in the correct place for once and Scamp got booked in. When she was called through to the clinic itself, I left to go home. Drove through what really was a car park on a four lane road reduced down to two lanes. Found myself in the correct lane except it was blocked by a white lining lorry. Fought my way through and eventually got on to the motorway heading east after losing almost an hour clearing the stramash. From there it was easy going.

After a cup of strong coffee the world began to settle down. I’d been told two and a half hours for the prep, operation and recovery, so I reckoned I had enough time to go and get some essentials at Tesco and put some expensive fuel into the car too. I’d just got to the self service till when my phone played the ‘unknown number’ tune and an 0141 number showed on the screen. Would this be another automated american robot voice telling me it was from The Amazon Prime? No it was from the hospital to say that Scamp would be ready to pick up in 15minutes. I thanked the bloke and said I was on my way. Paid for the stuff and body swerved the petrol station and drove back in to Glasgow to the hospital.

By now the log jam at the roadworks had extended itself by about 200m further down the road. Where, in the morning, I’d been able to just cruise into the hospital carpark, now there were about ten vehicles in front of me and they weren’t moving. Long story short, I got there, picked up the patient with her clear plastic pirate’s eyepatch and we navigated through the traffic jam for the second time today. This time it was easier and I was lucky that most folk were avoiding the lane I needed to be in, so we were on the M8 east in double quick time.

It looks as if the surgery has done exactly what the surgeon predicted. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely liveable with according to Scamp. It certainly looks like a clean job. She’s not removed the eyepatch yet, and only when she does will she be able to properly assess the full extent of the improvement. Now a week’s wait until the next one.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s later in the afternoon got PoD, which is a baby larch flower, and then extended the walk down to the shops to get some fish for tonight’s dinner which was Fennel, Leek and Cod. It’s like a thick creamy soup with fish and prawns in it. Eaten with a spoon! That was our Anniversary Dinner. Later we watched The Apprentice with a Rum ’n’ Coke each. Mine was Dark Matter and Scamp’s was Kraken.

Wow! That was a busy day. Frantic at times, but with a good conclusion. Tomorrow we are hoping to take it easier and watch the predicted snow fall!

Down the Green – 14 February 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Someone brought a dog into the house next door and it was practising its barking this morning.

So, after breakfast, I drove up to Tesco to post a parcel and get away from the racket. Actually, Tesco at about 9am is quite doable. No big queues and not a lot of people. The biggest groups were men musing about which oversized bunch of red roses to buy for someone they fancied, or had forgotten to send a Valentine card to. The same men were to be seen later striding across the car park looking sheepish and pretending they weren’t carrying a bouquet.

Back home (and without a bouquet) it seemed a shame to waste a good day and Scamp had previous said she fancied a walk down Glasgow Green, so that’s where we went. It seems a bit strange that Glasgow Council provide tour buses that visit the People’s Palace but the building remains closed. Apparently due to ”essential building maintenance works to the building interior” according to Glasgow Life who own the building. If there is work being done to the building, you’d expect there to be builders’ vans and lorries outside, and the sound of essential building maintenance being done, but there is total silence. Strange that. We walked past what used to be a fine building and on down to the McLennan Arch then back past the old Boathouse which is being renovated to make a community hub and here there IS work being done with plenty of folk working on site. The work here is under the umbrella of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and not anything to do with Glasgow Life, thankfully.

We walked further up river and crossed the Clyde to Richmond Park. Half the park has been sold to developers who are presumably building houses on the site. The park itself has been left to rack and ruin, literally. The boating pond is still there, but it’s been a long time since much boating has been done on it. It gets really depressing when you see the damage Glasgow Council had done to the green places in the city. They have closed so many buildings and failed to maintain others. They should be ashamed.

Yesterday’s prompt was Chantilly Lace. I listened to that song for as long as I could stand and this was my abiding memory, the telephone he kept answering. Why didn’t he just put her on hold like any sensible person would?
I should have posted it yesterday, but the day just seemed to disappear. I blame the whisky or it might have been the gin or the wine!

Love is Like a Butterfly was today’s prompt.  Another delightful melody, thanks for that Dolly. I chose to attempt a painting of a real butterfly (without satin wings). It a fair representation of a Small Copper.

Palomino Blackwing soft pencil
Cass Art watercolours
Seawhite A5 Concertina sketchbook

#EDiF #28DL

Walked back to the car and drove home. I was pretty sure I had enough photos for a PoD and it turned out I was right, but I went for a walk later in the afternoon and took some more. You can never have enough photos. While I was out, Scamp was working in the garden getting things sorted out for a new gardening year. She had to give up eventually because she just couldn’t see properly to get the work done. I think I may be her eyes tomorrow.

Nothing else planned for tomorrow, but we better make the best of it, because Wednesday and Thursday don’t look like great weather days.

Off to the Coast – 8 February 2022

Posted on by Zogman

We’d agreed that today we would drive over to Braehead to find the new Ross Hall Eye Clinic.

Scamp was out in the morning to get her hair cut. Before she went, she suggested that we could go to Coast for lunch. We’d heard great reports about the food in this restaurant and we’d passed it a few times in the last year or two. Maybe it was time to see if the food lived up to the hype.

So when Scamp returned looking very swish with her new hairstyle, we drove to Braehead. I’d earlier used the Nissan app to put both the postcode for the clinic and Coast into the Micra and got the report back that the destinations would be available in the car. I wasn’t convinced, and I was right to be. When we started the car and the navigation system loaded it confirmed the address for Coast, but not for Braehead. It really is the most unreliable car navigation system I’ve ever used. Actually, I’ll rephrase that. The navigation system is fine, it’s the app that just doesn’t work.

After Scamp, as co-pilot, manually typed in the address for Braehead, we drove through the rain and found the clinic without any trouble. Very smart looking building, all gleaming aluminium. That must be where our money goes.

From there we drove to Coast and it too was a smart looking building with great views across the Firth of Clyde from Dumbarton down to Helensburgh. It’s ok, Jamie, we weren’t going there today – wrong side of the Clyde anyway. Scamp had her usual tester for any new restaurant, Fish ’n’ Chips. I had a Spicy Sausage Rigatoni Ragu. We shared a starter of Tempura King Prawns. Food was really excellent. Both of us agreed on that. Service, I thought, was a bit slow, but Scamp was more forgiving. Besides, that view from the wide windows kept us occupied as the rainbows on the river came and went and the rainy squalls did likewise. There was no rush, you felt you could sit there as long as you wanted, but I wanted to take photos, as always. Hopefully we’ll make an excuse to go back again soon.

We drove along through Langbank which just looked like it sounds, a long main street with no shops, just houses. We drove as far as the outskirts of Port Glasgow and the rain got heavier all the time, so we turned and drove back towards Glasgow. We turned off the A8 at a roundabout and sat out the rain at Parklea which is a sort of sports complex. When the rain eventually left us, I got out and took those essential photos. Not the most scenic of places, but at least I got some landscapes for a change. Drove home over the Erskine Bridge and then through the outskirts of Glasgow to Kirky then home.

That was a good day. We found the way to the clinic for next Thursday and we investigated and evaluated another restaurant. Even better, we found that it’s part of a chain and there’s another one nearer us in Falkirk. We may compare and contrast some time.

PoD was a shot taken at Parklea with Dumbarton in the background. A wee woman in a red coat and walking a dog gave a nice spot of colour to an otherwise drab landscape. Thank you Mrs.

Today’s prompt was Step by Step. They say that every journey begins with the first step. Sometimes that first step leads somewhere, sometimes not. It’s often the case that the first step leads to another step and eventually you begin to wonder if you’re just going round in circles and there is no exit. I’m sure Mr Escher and also Mr Penrose thought that. I know I have.

Tomorrow some of the auld guys are meeting for coffee in Costa, hopefully with the addition of a new member.

A Day in the Toon – 4 February 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Today we drove in to Glasgow.  Just for a wander round the shops and maybe a spot of lunch.

Halfway along the M80 I thought we’d made a terrible mistake.  We were driving into a blizzard.  It started out as sleet, then turned to snow for a while before fading away as if it had never been, and there was sunshine and a beautiful blue sky again.  Parked at Buchanan Galleries and had a quick look in JL where there wasn’t anything interesting for me, but there was a bargain for Scamp.  I’m not going to say that she went there knowing that bargain was available, but I think the visit to the shop was partly stage managed,

Walked down Bucky Street and got some photos on the way.  I’d taken the little A6000 with me today because I think walking around all day on Tuesday had caused the ache in my back.  So it was one small camera and one small lens. Actually the combination was very effective and netted me about 50 photos, most of them perfectly exposed and sharp.

Lunch was at The Cup, the place Alex and I had had lunch in.  It was much busier than Tuesday, but that’s to be expected on a Friday.  Food wasn’t quite as good and the coffee was terrible.  A bit weak and too sharp.  Maybe we were just unlucky or maybe Alex and I were lucky last Friday.  I used one of my Covid vouchers in Waterstones and got two Denise Mina books that had been on my wanted list.  I felt I got them for free, because I wasn’t using real money, just a voucher.  Tried a pair of Merrill trainers, but the fit just wasn’t right.  Girl in the shop seemed a bit put out that I didn’t just buy them without trying them on.  Sorry dear, auld guys don’t do that.

Drove home through more rain and sleet and when we got to the house another blizzard blew in.  What a day!  More snow and sleet due  for tomorrow.  However the teachers are off taking dance classes on a cruise ship for two weeks, so no early rises and no driving through that awful traffic on the way home.  We will miss the exercise though.

PoD went to a photo of Buchanan Street subway again.  If you’re reading this Alex, it was taken just after 1.15pm!  Just as you predicted.

Today’s prompt was Little Red Corvette which meant Prince, of course and again, not one of my favourite singers, however I had listened to the song a few times in the past and had a fair idea what he was singing about. Although a lot of the references meant nothing to an old Scots guy, I did work out what the Trojan horses and the jockeys references meant. Basically it was beautifully sung filth. I may listen to more of his music now with a different ear!

No plans for tomorrow apart from a lazy morning.

A walk in Glasgow and a short day, the shortest – 21 December 2021

Posted on by Zogman

We decided we’d go into Glasgow for a walk to see the lights.

There weren’t nearly as many folk wandering the streets of Glasgow as there were a couple of weeks ago when Alex and I were there. We walked down Bucky Street and thought the crowds were sparse. Only half the stalls were in St Enoch’s Christmas market and Argyle street just had normal weekday shoppers. When we walked up Queen Street the streets were almost deserted. I think we were both shocked by the lack of footfall at what should have been the busiest week of the year. Only Covid seems to be doing good business!

Back home, another parcel was ready to be posted and although I had taken a few shots in Glasgow, I wasn’t sure I had a worthwhile PoD, so I took a camera when I went out to post it. For some reason, and for the second time I’d been at Condorrat post office recently, it was surprisingly empty. Maybe everybody is ahead of the game this year and already have all their cards and parcels posted. It’s either that or, as the lack of crowds in Glasgow would seem to indicate, nobody’s buying presents or spending cards. Anyway, parcel posted and cards too, I went for a walk in St Mo’s woods. Couldn’t find much sign of life animal or vegetable, but I did see the wee pond reflecting a leafless tree and took some shots of that. It was one of them that made PoD. A photo of Bucky Street from the Concert Hall joined it on Flickr.

That was about the end of the excitement and the exercise for today, but I did achieve my 10,000 steps which I haven’t done for a long time.

Today was the shortest day and it felt like it too. From now on the days will get longer, the sun will shine bright and longer and that will cause the temperature to increase. Oh look! Another flying pig!!

Tomorrow I’m out for coffee with Val. A chance for some ‘tech talk’. Then in the afternoon we are hoping to visit Margie. Getting out and about for a change.