Category: photography

It was a dancing day today – 14 March 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Drove over to Brookfield for the first dance class in ages.

Traffic was quite heavy this morning when we went to Brookfield. First worrying sign was that everyone still had their outdoor jackets on. While I was signing in, Stewart broke the news that the heating was off. Something had gone wrong with the Hive heating system and this in a big hall is not a good thing.

Stewart suggested we start with a House of Bamboo to get us moving. Not my favourite line dance, but at least it warmed us up. Next was a much more complicated ‘Hobie Quickstep’. I remembered the name, but couldn’t remember the actual steps. Scamp remembered part of it, but it was just a blur to me. Also, it went on for ages and I was getting really fed up with it. A new Waltz was next. It might be named Britannia or it might not. It was really just a bit of fluff to keep us on the dance floor and moving. The final dance was Rona’s Rumba, named for an enthusiastic dancer in the class, who passed away a few years ago now. This was one of Jane’s creations because she and Rona were great friends. We finished with two old favourites, Midnight Jive and the mental Fireball. I excused myself to go to the toilet instead of chancing the Midnight Jive because although it gets your heart pumping, it’s a bit of a nothing dance. Fireball is just a fun dance, in fact I wouldn’t even call it a dance. It’s just an attempt to be the person or persons who can shout “Oi !!” and “FIREBALL” the loudest.

With that we were done and returned the hall to the poor bowlers who must have been freezing sitting in an unheated room discussing this year’s competitions. Rather them than me.

The drive home was a nightmare with two lanes being squeezed into two and a crawl for about ten miles before everything started to thin out with no rhyme nor reason for the problem. Sometimes it’s like that and some day I’d like to view the motorway from a helicopter to try to understand the flow of traffic ( or the lack of flow ).

Back home I went for a walk to stretch my legs and got today’s PoD which was a Sycamore seedling pushing its green head out of the leaf litter in St Mo’s. I thought it deserved a photo. Walked home in the rain. By the time I got home the rain was going off! Sometimes life is like that.

For ages, since I got this new iMac I’ve had the feeling that the colour balance wasn’t right. Today I found out why.  I fixed two switches in the “Displays” part of “System Settings” Here they are for when I next need to use them:

Brightness set as suits the display.
Automatically adjust brightness – OFF
True Tone – ON
Colour Profile – Adobe RGB (1998)

Remember that ya Numpty!

No plans for tomorrow, but I might see if Alex is free next week.

 

Visiting Isobel – 12 March 2026

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It was a very windy and very wet day.

Scamp had intended meeting Isobel at Costa as usual, but a call from Isobel saying that she didn’t want to go out today because of the wind meant we’d go for tea and biscuits in Isobel’s house. It didn’t look as if I was going to get many photos today, so a blether with Isobel would be fine. Scamp had lots of photos to show her of the visit she and Shona had to Edinburgh. I hardly got a word in edgeways as Scamp and Isobel hogged the conversation. Nevermind, the coffee and biscuits made it worthwhile.

Drove home and picked up some apples and a cake for Scamp and a bag of scones for us both to share. By the time we got home, the weather had calmed down a fair bit, but squally rain showers made the chance of photo unlikely. However, after lunch the sky started clearing and I thought I’d risk a half hour walk round the pond to see if there was anything interesting to photograph.

Once round the pond and just as I was thinking that the cloud scapes were looking interesting, the first spots of rain fell. I got a few shots of the clouds before the heavens opened up and I got soaked. I did think of sheltering under the big pine trees, but by the time I reached them the rain had done its worst and I decided to walk home.

I dumped the photos in the computer after I’d changed my clothes and made a foolish mistake when I was uploading the photos. Thankfully I must have pressed the “Fixit” button and it seems as if it’s all but repaired. I’ll know for sure tomorrow.

Scamp made a really interesting Sweet ’n’ Sour dinner tonight. We must check the recipe and try it again some time soon.

The cloudscape made PoD and it looks as if it got through its problem.

I think Scamp is going to FitSteps tomorrow. Other than that, we have nothing planned.

A windy day – 11 March 2026

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Scamp was out in the morning.

Scamp and Shona were catching a train to Edinburgh, although Shona didn’t know that because this was a surprise visit. I wasn’t going although Scamp had offered me a seat on the train. I decided they would be better without me, and anyway I had some computer stuff to work on.

As it happened, I dropped the pair at the station then headed over to the butcher’s in Muirhead. I was looking for some decent stewing steak, an equal quantity of mince, some fish and a couple of beef olives. I could have shopped closer to home, but I trust the Muirhead butchers because they had never let me down.

Back home I assembled my cables and drives to decant February’s photos but couldn’t find the connector to fit the iMac. Eventually I gave up and sat down to work through Wordle and was surprised when I finished it in three guesses.

The next thing on my list was to order some coffee from Henry’s coffee company. Another small company I’ve used for a couple of years. Recently they have been waiving the delivery cost if you spend more than £30 and delivering to our door. Unfortunately I noticed they now use Royal Mail for their parcel deliveries and that is not good. Royal Mail are one of the worst companies I’ve ever used. They lose orders, deliver the wrong order and generally just make a hash of everything. I may have to resort back to a collection system. At least I’ll know it’s my coffee that I’m drinking.

I did think I might go out for a walk with a camera in the afternoon, but one look out the window made the decision for me. Horizontal rain is not my idea of fun, nor is sleet, nor hail and all three flew past my window as I watched the day go down the drain. I eventually did manage a dry half hour round St Mo’s and the PoD I got was a photo of a Salmonberry which are apparently related to Brambles.

No real plans for tomorrow, but it seems to be wet and windy.

Out in the morning … Early! – 9 March 2026

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First stop was at Andrew’s shop at 10am, where he took us through the changes that have been happening in the world and explained the reasons for not listening too closely to the Doom & Gloom merchants, but equally not to believe those who say it will all be over in a few weeks. It’s the middle ground we need to listen to, not the hot heads. We left the shop feeling that we’d learned something today, even if he wasn’t wearing his wildly coloured socks!

Next stop for Scamp was a bit of shopping. New bed sheets to start with and coloured sheets to boot! What is the world coming to? Just to wrap things up, she added new pillows to her list of ‘Must Haves’. There simply was no stopping her today.

I did think she might want to go for a drive somewhere but she settled for Torwood Garden Centre for an early lunch. It wasn’t even midday, so it was a scone and a coffee each, then a walk round some of the flowers. In addition, we took a serious look at a new plastic greenhouse for the garden, but we couldn’t quite agree on which one to choose. Big decisions like that need time to make ther correct choice.

Back home I went for a walk in the rain with my squeaky old lens and got some more photos of the mating frogs and the Ribes sanguineum, the Flowering Currants. The flowers won.

Kirsty’s class has finally worked out how to deal with the Quickstep and today’s task was to dance a new waltz instead. It’s called the Blackwood Waltz and has a few tricky bits, but basically it seems to be a lot of units we’ve already mastered, but in a different order! Scamp thinks we’ve conquered it. I’m not so sure.

On the way home tonight, Scamp suggested a fish supper for a late dinner. Brilliant idea. It went down a treat!

No real plans for tomorrow, but we may take a wander past the partly demolished building in the centre of Glasgow that was almost completely destroyed yesterday by a fire in a vape shop. I’m thinking I’ll take my squeaky lens to a camera repairer in the town to let them have a look at it.

Bob the Builder – 8 March 2026

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… just for one day!

We had a busy day ahead of us today. We were taking Shona to Monklands to have an ultrasound. After that we were taking her back to her new house to get her bed assembled then have new curtain poles and curtains fitted. Luckily the existing fittings for the curtain poles were still there, so that saved us a fair bit of work. The bed the council had provided was pretty poor and I can see me having to strengthen it in the near future. She’s hoping to get other bits and pieces of snagging finished soon and she’ll be able to move in permanently. As usual I’d only brought some of the tools with me, but by luck we had enough to get all the work done in a couple of hours. We left her smiling from the front door of her her new house.

We drove back home and I went for a walk in St Mo’s partly to get some photos and partly to straighten my back which was aching with stretching up to fit the curtain poles and the curtains, all five of them. Scamp and Shona did all the clever stuff and I did the climbing up the ladders. I knew where I was heading for to get today’s PoD. I’d seen the Flowering Currant bush yesterday and thought it would make a fine photo. However, when I checked the camera, the power was down to 6% which is nowhere near what I was hoping. I took what I could get and walked home. Back home I discovered that the battery I was using was swelling. Never a good sign, so it will need replacing very soon. I don’t think I’ll risk recharging it, just in case.

That was a hard day, hopefully tomorrow will be easier when we go to meet Andrew in Falkirk.

A day in the Toon – 7 March 2026

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Today we caught a slow bus to Glasgow.

I was taking my dodgy 24-105mm lens to Wex to see if anyone in the shop could tell me what was going wrong with it. About three weeks ago it started making a screeching noise when I half pressed the shutter button. I’d hoped that someone in Wex would know what was going wrong with it. Actually, there were two lenses with exactly the same problem, but to simplify things, I just asked about my favourite, the 24-105. It’s hardly been off the camera since I bought it and was quite expensive, even second hand. However, although the guy in the shop said he could hear the noise, he admitted he didn’t have the depth of knowledge to say what was causing the noise, but he did suggest that I take it in to A. J. Johnstone next week, because it isn’t open on weekends. So, sadly I took it back in my trusty rucksack and Scamp and I walked down into Glasgow looking for somewhere to eat.

We ended up in Wagamama. Scamp had Prawn Raisukaree Curry and I had Pork Belly Ramen and we both had a couple of dips to share. First time in Wagamama for ages, and we both enjoyed the lunch.

Went for a walk down Buchanan Street after that a bit hesitant as there was a lot of noise coming from the steps outside the Concert Hall, lots of shouting and chanting. It’s amazing how your attitude changes to these things with what has been happening in the world in just over a week. PoD was a separate and much quieter group of mainly men wearing saffron robes. They seem to be becoming more regular in Glasgow streets this year, certainly quieter.

We got another slow bus home. Just a normal X3 that was obviously taking its time to avoid arriving too early.

Back home we watched the first F1 GP Qualifying of this year with a few thrills and spills. The first one being the most surprising. Looks like being an interesting race.

That was about it for today. Lovely sunny, but cool day. Hoping for another of the same tomorrow.

An explanation – 6 March 2026

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I’ve been struggling to add in all the things we did on our spring break and we’ve spoken to both of you individually since we arrived home, so you have a fair idea of what we’ve been doing. With that in mind I thought I’d cut to the chase and take them as read. After all, it was a holiday and we didn’t really do all that much, except drink watered down beer, eat some cold food and go for walks along the coast. So my plan is to start fresh from today and get back to Blogging. Here goes.

Today Scamp was out at her usual time to go to FitSteps class. One of the last FitSteps classes she is likely to attend, because Kirsty is abandoning the classes as the numbers are dropping away and it must be heartbreaking to run a class for only three people. I don’t think Scamp is exactly pleased about it, but she appreciates the predicament Kirsty is in. There are other FitStep classes Scamp could go to, but she likes the Friday morning class, but it’s just not practical. Kirsty is still committed to the Monday evening dance class, so I can’t get out of it that easily 😉, it’s just the Friday morning class that’s disappearing at the end of the month.

After Scamp returned from FitSteps we walked over to Condorrat to post a card to somebody or some people who deserved one, but on the way we had intended dropping in at Broden’s bar for a Friday lunch, only to find that the door had its shutters down as did the pub that it’s connected to. We’d even decided on our lunch which was to be Mac ’n’ Cheese for Scamp and Fish ’n’ Chips for Scamp. Instead we walked home to get a sandwich each. Nice though they were, the just weren’t as good as hot food. The last time we were in Broden’s (probably known to you as The Masonic to you) we discovered that it was under new management. One of Scamp’s Witchy spies had heard that it was closing but we thought it was just a rumour. Hopefully it’s just closed for refurbishment. Fingers crossed.

Scamp was doing some rearranging of her plants in the last few days and I hoped I could avoid work by going for a walk in St Mo’s. I got a few photos of frogs in St Mo’s pond and one of them made PoD. I thought I’d avoided some gardening work, but Scamp dragged me kicking and screaming to the back garden to prune the big Buddleia bush that grows beside the back fence. I have to admit that it looked better for its Short Back and Sides.

We may take a broken lens in to WEX in Glasgow tomorrow to see if it is repairable. It sounds like its had some water ingress that’s causing rust. If it can’t be fixed, it’s going to be more pocket money leaving my pocket.

 

Flying to Fuerteventura – 21 February 2026

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An early rise of around 5am, then waiting for the taxi to take us to the airport in a cold, wet Glasgow.

I’d packed my rucksack with all five different polythene bags, each holding different articles and cameras I’d need for the trip, but when we got to the security checkpoint I was told I didn’t need to open my bag, the new machinery could read what was in the bag. Brilliant, but I did have to go through the usual ‘frisking’ to make sure I wasn’t carrying anything dangerous on my person. Luckily, I wasn’t, so it was straight through to one of the extortionate cafe’s to have breakfast. We were really early, but better that than rushing at the last minute to get to the terminal in time.

Basically it was a pleasant, but long five hour flight down to Fuerteventura, then a wait for our cases to be offloaded and finally a taxi to the hotel. We’d paid extra to get a high floor with a sunny balcony, and that was exactly what we got plus a Nespresso coffee maker!

We spent most of the day wandering around the gardens and a quick jaunt onto the the sandy beach. A good start to the week.

Today was a Benylin day – 19 February 2026

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I woke in the morning about 7am, but rejected it as a bad dream and went back to sleep.

Later in the morning, I got Scamp’s breakfast for her, then went back to bed for a second time. Scamp then suggested I take some Benylin and a couple of paracetamols and just like that, I slept for another two hours. I finally broke surface, had a long hot shower and felt human again.

From there on until now I’ve been living on a diet of Benylin and paracetamol most of the day. I’m due a final dose in about an hour. That’s not to say that I haven’t been doing anything else. I walked down to the shops to get some sweeties for Scamp to thank her for being my nurse maid and because it’s Thursday which my long term readers will understand.

On my way back home I noticed an old barbecue lying beside the path on the way to St Mo’s. I’d seen it lying in the bushes beside the path for months, if not years. It looked like somebody had taken the time to drag it out and left it beside the path. I had a look inside it to see if there was anything photographable there, but immediately rejected the idea. I don’t know what was in there, but it was black and looked like coal. I’m sure there is someone who would welcome one of these devices for their patio. One careful owner (the others kicked it to bits).

Dinner was fish risotto cooked in the oven. A nice, easy dinner you don’t have to do anything with.

Both Scamp and I still have a cough, but we’re feeling a lot better than we were.

My thanks go to George Rieveschl, the man who invented Benylin.

No plans or tomorrow.

Old Friends – 18 February 2026

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Today we drove over to Condorrat to meet a couple of old friends.

I have exchanged Christmas Cards with Elizabeth for a long, long time, but this year I forgot, and I think she forgot too. It’s a growing old thing. Anyway, when this year’s card arrived she suggested in it that it would be good if Scamp and I could come and visit her and her daughter, Fiona. I was delighted, and offered them a few ‘clear’ days and Elizabeth chose today. As time went on, I wasn’t sure if I should cancel, because Scamp is just recovering from a heavy cold and I’m just starting one. However, we went, and had a great time. Remembering names from the past, both pupils and teachers. Not all were good and not all were bad, but we only made a point of remembering the former! We spent a good couple of hours there and agreed that we should do it again some time.

As we were leaving, Fiona presented us with two jars, one full of Apple Jelly and another full of Thick Orange Marmalade. I haven’t opened either of them yet, but I’m sure they will taste as lovely as they look. That is where the PoD came from today. It started off as a dull day, weatherise, but later, just as we were leaving, the sun shone for an hour or so. Another sign that Spring is on the way.

Other than that, there was little to say about today. But dinner was one of Scamp’s specialities, Chicken Milanese. Chicken battered flat with a rolling pin, dipped in egg yolk and fried in a frying pan. We had chips with ours and the whole thing just worked.

We watched Masterchef the Professionals tonight. It’s amazing how a couple of simple changes can make a considerable difference to a show. None of that ridiculous shouting that used to go on. Long may it continue, but it’s early days yet.

I had a phone consultation with the doc today and it appears that my Ferritin levels are a bit high, but nothing to worry about. I’ve to get another blood test in six months.

PoD is done and it’s getting near my new bedtime, so I’m going to take some Benylin and go to bed.

Maybe going dancing tomorrow. Depends on how we feel.