Category: railway

Oops I did it again – 3 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

I blew up the computer again today. This time, knowingly.

First things first. Hazy got her belated birthday box today, delivered by Royal Mail a day late. That may be the last time we use this overprices but untrustworthy delivery company. Some poor bloke is intending to buy the Royal Mail. Good luck with that mate. Anyway, Hazy enjoyed her extended birthday! We had a good talk to her in the late afternoon.

It was a bright day for a change, but it looked cold outside in the morning so we just stayed inside looking out at it until lunch time when we were entertained by the local grey squirrel who was checking out all the local gardens, looking of anything it could eat.

After lunch I took the A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s and deliberately walked the long way round the house first to chase away the rat with the fluffy tail. I think also frightened the man at the corner of our block who was measuring up a neighbour’s garden for a new fence.

The good light had gone by the time I got to St Mo’s, but I did a walk round the pond to keep my step count up and took a few photos. I really need to get up and out early(ish) if I’m going to get any good light at all.

Scamp made a really delicious Fish Pie for dinner. Unlike Jackie’s fish pie with mashed potatoes on top, this one had sliced potatoes on top and a lighter sauce.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The PoD was intended to be Mr or Mrs Squirrel, but I blew up the computer again and it’s still struggling to get everything back into the big silver box, so the photos might not arrive until tomorrow. A bit like the Royal Mail.

I had decided to have one last try at installing the Paragon software, but for some reason the iMac wouldn’t restart after the installation. I’m guessing it’s because I’m running the show on an SSD and the software was designed to run on a ‘real’ computer. But because the internal hard drive of the iMac is junk, the SSD is a better choice.

The long term solution is a new iMac and although the prices can be eye watering, it’s my hobby, and I’m willing to pay for it. What I don’t want it to be is the constant struggle I’m having just now. At this moment the iMac is reinstalling the data from (yet) another SSD and will hopefully be finished in about an hour. Then I will let the whole thing cool down until we start the battle again tomorrow.

Hopefully we’ll get out tomorrow to get some potting compost and some pots for Scamp to take winter cuttings.

Dull! – 29 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp was out to the last FitSteps of the year. Stayed home and read more of The Black Loch.

When she returned from her exertions we filled a box with some of those plasticky things that look like white Cheesy Wotsits then put some bits of wood in and also some bolts and nuts to make the box look like it had something interesting inside before wrapping it up, taking it up to Tesco and posting it to someone as a little surprise. Probably not the surprise they were expecting. Just a little bit of fun!

In two weeks we’re hoping to last tea dance of the year and while we were in Tesco, Scamp tried to find me a Xmas jersey to wear at it. Most of them were awful, but I did find one I might pay money for. Only maybe though. I’ll see if the price will come down in the next few weeks.

With just enough light to see my way round St Mo’s, I took the A6500 and one lens for a walk. There wasn’t much of interest, except for a strange yellow glow in the sky from a very low sun. I clambered down a banking that led me down to the pond and got some shots from there of what looked like a bonfire being built in the pond. Surely not. After climbing back up, I was taking some photos of the reflections at the outfall from the pond when a gang of rowdy Mallards flew in and the shattered the peace. So I went home.

We watched another episode of Shetland and just when everything was looking a bit clearer, there was another twist in the story. I know we should have expected it, but there’s always a cliff hanger in these stories.

That was about it for today. Not a lot to report, really.

We might need an earlier rise tomorrow because the politburo at Brookfield need time to set up a Xmas Fayre.

 

At The Fort – 26 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

We drove to The Fort today. Our main aim can’t be divulged yet, but it was partly successful.

Scamp messaged Hazy in the morning to see how here mouth was. The reply was that she “slept ok. Her face was a bit swollen, but not too sore.” We were both glad to hear that.

We drove home via Tesco to get some veg for dinner and a carton of milk. Such an exciting day. Then it was home for lunch. First I was reminded that we need the boiler serviced, so I phoned the local heating engineers and got an appointment for the middle of December. Another thing  to tick off the ToDo list.

After lunch Scamp was intending to phone Jackie, so I put my boots on and went over to St Mo’s on a cold but sunny day to get some photos with the 16-35mm lens on the A7iii. One of them became PoD. I liked the colour of the light and the low viewpoint that had me crawling along the boardwalk. I thought the council plan to cut channels into the reedbeds and the marshy areas was going to be a disaster, but after a couple of years they have become a haven for ducks and the occasional swan. Also they are sheltered from the wind and create great reflections. For once I say “well done” to the council.

By the time I got back, the telephone conversation had finished and it was time to chop up the veg to make Butternut Squash Soup which would be the main course of tonight’s dinner. Scamp made custard that went so well with the apple tart of a couple of days ago.

We watched the final of The Great British Bakeoff. I got the winner totally wrong, but I think Scamp backed the right horse.

A quick practise of the new Quickstep that we’re hoping to unveil on Thursday at a tea dance. Still a few rough edges to remove, but effectively it’s there.

We may go shopping tomorrow and hopefully there will be enough for a quorum at the British Legion for the last waltz of the year!

No Snow – 24 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

When I woke around 6am yesterday’s snow had disappeared. All of it, just gone!

The rain during the night must have been torrential because there was no sign of the snow that was still lying when I went to bed last night. The temperature had risen during the night, but not significantly, so it must have been the rain. It’s a strange climate we live in these days. I blame Global Warming … and Kier Starmer.

It was a usual Sunday. Solved Wordle in four and found the Pangram. Struggled a bit with Angry Birds, but completed the day’s test. What Now? Well, there was the Las Vegas F1 GP to watch and we did watch Verstappen collect his fourth championship in a row.

Scamp decided that there was too much sitting around going on and we needed to get out and go for a walk. If that walk also mean shopping, then so much the better. So that’s what we did. We walked down to The Shops. Not a soul had moved their cars, but I shouldn’t complain, because we hadn’t moved ours either.
We picked some veg and fruit and a bag of Jam Donuts, then we headed back up the hill. Scamp offered to take the message bag home if I wanted to go for a walk in St Mo’s. I took up her offer.

Almost immediately I found my PoD. It’s just a man-made hill that creates the start for the BMX track. I used a low angle and a wide angle lens to make it look even higher. I knew you’d like to know that!
Not a lot of interest to see today and the wind from Storm Bert was beginning to ramp up. Plus there were jam donuts waiting for me!

Back home it was lunch time and today dumpling was the star. Scamp had Egg and Dumpling, I did too, but I added a slice of bacon to it. It’s the saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the dumpling I like. The jam donut was lovely too with a cup of coffee.

Both Scamp and I were baking today. She was making an Apple Tart and I was making Bread. It’s a long time since I’ve made bread and it showed with the strange football shaped loaf that came out of the oven. Too much butter and a dough that was too wet. Scamp’s apple tart was delicious with the crisp shortcrust pastry.

We spoke to Jamie later had heard that he is safety officer for his office at work and they are being inspected this week. I know how you feel, Jamie. I’ve been there and done that and came out of it alive. You will too.

Storm Bert is blundering around outside the window and will be doing so until about midday tomorrow, all being well. I don’t like wild wind, so I think I’ll just go to bed and read for a while before I go to sleep.

Another fairly early rise – 21 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Well, it was before midday. That’s early for us.

Scamp had managed to get an appointment to see the doctor about the tremor in her right hand. After examining her and checking her arm movement he told her to make an appointment to get some blood tests done, to rule out the possibility that it was her meds that were causing the tremor. Luckily we managed to get an appointment in the afternoon to get the blood letting done.

I also spoke to one of the receptionists about the results of the ECG I had done last month and found out it was normal, which is good. It must be the first time I’ve been described as ‘normal’. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or a slur! You’ll be happy, Neil. You were the one who convinced Scamp to set a date to get some awkward things done we both used “Neil’s Rule” today

Back home it was coffee time and also time for a slice of dumpling. A dumpling Scamp had made yesterday. Partly cooked in the slow cooker and partly nuked in the microwave. The smell yesterday was a powerful reminder of ‘clootie’ dumplings my mum used to make by tying the mixture up in a cotton tea towel and then boiling the dumpling in the pressure cooker, the biggest pot she had. I never liked the thick skin on the dumplings, but I do now. Isn’t it funny how your tastes change as you get older.

Scamp had a piece ’n’ egg for lunch and I had a smoked fillet of mackerel. It was lovely at the time, but it does repeat quite a lot and comes back on you, tasting more and more oily every time. I’ll maybe give it a miss the next time I’m looking for something ‘different’ for lunch.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s but couldn’t find anything interesting to photograph, then as I was about to walk home I saw today’s PoD through the trees. Someone managed to push a shopping trolley about half way across St Mo’s pond. The ice on the pond isn’t really very thick, but the water underneath is at least waist deep and very cold. Maybe the contents of the empty bottle gave them Dutch courage to try this dangerous game.
Don’t try this at home kiddies!

No snow yet here, but we are getting worrying weather warnings for Friday and Saturday. Maybe someone should tell the weather fairies that it’s still Autumn and not Winter for more than a week.

No FitSteps this week because the teacher has a bad cold. I think Scamp may be intending to meet Isobel for coffee at Costa.

 

 

Another bright but cold morning – 21 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We had hoped to go out somewhere this Friday morning, but I’d ordered a bottle of rum that was arriving some time today, but before 10pm. Amazon can be so exact with its timings these days!

To accommodate Mr Bezos, and because it was still quite cool outside, We waited until about 11.30 when thankfully Mr B sent an email to say that the delivery would be between 3.45 and 6.45pm. That is a lot more helpful than ‘before 10pm’. So, we’d about four hours to make the most of. We settled on a walk along the canal to Twechar and back. Then maybe a visit to Lidl in Kilsyth. Done!

Off we went. It had been a dry week with hardly a hint of rain, so no boots needed, walking shoes or trainers would suffice. We parked at Auchinstarry quarry where the ambitious ones were intent on scaling the heights of the practise face of the old quarry. The more confident, or just less cautious, climbers attempt the heights of the more difficult (so I’m told) face of the arc of the main quarry where a wrong footing will catapult you into the cold deep waters of the quarry itself. Untold wrecks are allegedly submerged there and many are the tales told about what they contain.

We weren’t going climbing. Too old and sensible for that, besides the clanging of the carabiners would drive us crazy. We were walking anti-clockwise from Auchinstarry, around the old mineral railway line to Twechar then back along the canal footpath back to Auchinstarry. A distance of about 3.25 miles, mainly on the flat, but with a couple of hills. I think we only met a couple of folk on the way to Twechar along the old railway. On the way back on the footpath beside the canal we did have to give way to a few bikes. It was on the way back we realised that the cool east wind that had been on our backs on the outward leg was now in our faces. Also, there is very little to shelter us from the wind on the canal path, while the lower mineral line still has a lot of bushes that act as wind breaks. The upshot is that we should have gone clockwise today. Never mind, we saw a heron steely eyed stalking along the far bank of the canal and further on, Mrs Mallard out with the chicks. PoD was a photo of a house that sits on the far bank of the canal and provides some lovely reflections in the canal itself. It was taken with the new toy, the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS.
It took us an hour and a half to complete today’s walk and that included time ‘wasted’ taking photos and a wee rest spot on the way back from Twechar. Thankfully the cough I’ve had for the past week or so seems to have gone (fingers crossed and touch wood) and I felt fine, during and after our walk.

We drove down to Lidl for something for lunch and a few odds and ends. After lunch Scamp went out to plant some Antirrhinums and I found that the basil I’d planted earlier in the week had started sprouting. Dinner tonight was a tub of Chilli that Scamp found in the freezer. While not the strongest tasting meal we’ve had, it filled a space.

My Dark Matter rum did indeed come as promised, just after 5pm and because it was alcohol, I had to give the guy my year of birth! Maybe it’s because I look so young. There you are, I finished this blog with a funny!

I believe there are plans to go shopping tomorrow. That will be fine, because the sunny days have apparently gone for a week or so.

More fillings today – 18 October 2022

Posted on by Zogman

The Muesli must have been mighty or the Crunchy Nut Flakes may have crunched it. Either way, my new tooth appeared broken.

I was just finishing my breakfast when I felt that something wasn’t right in the fang department. I can’t imagine it was my breakfast that did it, but something had. My previous dentist did say that I was one of those people who grind their teeth in their sleep. Maybe that’s what happened here, but whatever it was, a small piece of tooth or filling fell on to my tongue. I phoned the surgery just after 9am and got an appointment for 2pm, a cancellation. That was a pity because we’d agreed that today was the best day of the week and we were heading for the Far East. Thankfully we hadn’t ordered the tickets last night, so all was not lost, but it was still a bit of nuisance having the appointment right in the middle of the afternoon. But beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.

We changed our plans and drove to Auchinstarry, parked at the car park where they are building a gigantic play park with a castle on the top of a hill. They’ve been building it for about a year now and seem to have got stuck. We didn’t want to go to the castle we were going for a walk along the canal. For once we decided to go anticlockwise round our usual walk and started on the old mineral railway, then crossed over to the new soulless straight tarmac path that used to lead you beside a burn, but now takes you straight through the trees to join up with the mineral line again. I much preferred the old path with its puddles and bends and the sound of running water. This manicured path is no fun at all. I think I can find another route that will be more scenic and won’t have tarmac.

At Twechar we crossed over to the towpath for the Forth & Clyde canal and walked back to the car park avoiding all the pensioners on their electric bikes. I think we were passed once or maybe twice by cyclists on ‘real’ bikes. Yes, I’d like to try an electric bike, but No, I don’t think I would buy one. They look heavy and I’d have nowhere to store one. My Dewdrop will do me. I just have to get it out more and cycle. That’s my biggest problem.

We drove home and had lunch then I went to see the dentist lady. She was apologetic and said that the chip off the tooth I’d brought to show her was indeed a filling and she could fix it on the spot. It took less than ten minutes to clean out the cavity and pack in the new filling. I just hope it lasts longer than the previous one. It certainly felt like my mouth my tongue was investigating as I left the surgery.

When I got back, Scamp was working in the back garden, planting, digging and moving tubs around. I dug over a bit of ground where the old clothes pole had been and planted three of my Teasel plants there. The ones I’ve grown from seed. Scamp claimed a bit of the space for an Astilbe plant, or maybe two. I quite enjoyed the hour or so of gardening, but it was getting cold later. So cold that Scamp brought in three of her pelargoniums to over winter on the bedroom windowsill.

I’d got a few photos in the beautiful autumn light, nearly all on the way back from Twechar and one, with a reflection of the trees at Strone Point, became PoD.

The prompt for today was “Scrape”, and I was struggling to find something that would cover that guide. What I eventually drew was a hand holding a paint scraper. It wasn’t the best sketch ever, but then again it was a very vague prompt. I did think of drawing somebody reaching in to the bottom of a barrel to scrape it, because I think the folk who make up these prompts are indeed doing that!

It the weather holds, we may go travelling east tomorrow. If not, we won’t!

 

 

An injured dog – 3 July 2022

Posted on by Zogman

This morning, Scamp suggested a walk along the Forth & Clyde Canal. I agreed.

We drove to Auchinstarry and got what was probably the last space in the car park. I’d decided to bring two cameras with me, one with a macro lens and one with a medium long zoom, to reduce the need to change lenses out in the wild. That meant I needed the new rucksack. Actually, it worked out quite well, because although there were patches of blue sky, there were also a lot of heavy looking rain clouds. Having the rucksack meant I could carry my rain jacket but be free to walk with just a jersey and trousers. Boots, of course were mandatory for both of us and of course, Scamp chose to wear her rain jacket, just to make sure it wouldn’t rain.

Lots of folk walking dogs or walking in family groups and loads of cyclists. I couldn’t blame them, it was a lovely morning. I’d only seen a couple of hover flies in St Mo’s during the last few weeks, but there were literally clouds of them along the canal. I think the reason for that is the cow parsley and hogweed flowers are out along the side of the towpath and those flowers are very attractive to hover flies. I’d put the 50mm macro lens on the A7, but it was having a hard time focusing on the insects because there was a stiff breeze which made the big flower head bob about a lot. I wished I’d packed the long, heavy 105mm macro instead. But I carried on regardless and did manage a couple of shots that were sharp enough to keep.

We walked as far as Twechar where we left the canal tow path and crossed the road on to the old railway line and walked it. There are some lovely landscape shots to be had there and I decided I’d remove the macro lens and stick on the kit lens instead. I was half way through the transfer when a cyclist appeared heading the way we’d come. He said he thought I’d an injured dog when he saw the brown and dull green rucksack. Scamp told him “No, it’s just a man who always needs to change things!” He laughed and said that was perfectly all right! I apologised and we went our separate ways after I’d taken a few landscape photos.

For the last four or five years a great amount of work has been going on to improve the flow or the Garrel Burn. It’s finally finished and although the path I used to walk has not seen a great improvement, it would appear that the burn now meanders rather than flows through the wetland. We walked part of it on our way back to the car. Maybe next time we’ll take the Wibbly Wobbly Way and see what improvements there are.

We went home via Lidl to get a chicken for dinner and came home with about £50 worth of chicken, bread, cherries, kitchen scales and a bottle of gin. How I wish we had a Lidl rather than a manky Aldi in Cumbersheugh.

We watched an action packed British F1 GP with dangerous looking crashes and the lead changing hands with every second that passed. Glad to see that Max isn’t having things all his own way.

Spoke to Jamie and heard how the roof problem is still on hold until the bats survey is complete. Glad we don’t have bats in our belfry. Also got advice on completing the mandatory LF test for boarding the ship. Thanks for that Jamie.

PoD was a picture of an, as yet unknown bright pink plant growing by the side of the railway path. If anyone recognises it, an ID would be appreciated.

Tomorrow we have no plans.

 

 

Maybe one more good day – 6 June 2022

Posted on by Zogman

We went for the messages and I posted a parcel. Those were the highlights of another sunny, warm day.

I phoned Jim Dickson’s garage first thing this morning and Scamp’s wee red car goes in to the car hospital on Thursday to have its rear box replaced. No, that’s not a euphemism, it’s the last part of the exhaust system. The bit furthest from the engine. It’s hanging on by a thread at present, so hopefully after Thursday it will be a quieter wee red car.

With that done we drove to Tesco to get the messages. Just the usual things plus a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin. While Scamp was filling the trolley, I paid for, and posted a parcel to Hazy. We piled all the messages into the boot of my car and drove off to Calders garden centre to get some compost. We were also going to get some chopped bark to act as a mulch on the plant pots. The bark forms a layer that stops the water evaporating in the warm sun we’re expecting to stay with us for months, well, weeks. Or to be more realistic, a few days. It didn’t matter, anyway, because they only had a massive bale of the stuff. We bought the compost and left the bark.

Back home and after lunch Scamp was working in the garden and I went out in the car to get some photos up on Fannyside Moor. Unfortunately my parking space had been taken over by two workies lorries because they were repairing a damaged power line. It looked as if they were going to be there all day, so I changed my destination to the Luggie, but I’d forgotten that part of the road was being resurfaced and there was a diversion. As usual with NLC there was one sign pointing left before the roadworks with a bit sign “DIVERSION”. After that, nothing. No indication of how to get where you wanted to go. No more diversion signs. They should have put up one big one that said

YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN NOW MATE!!

Finally found my way to the station car park at Greenfaulds, got parked and went for a walk along the Luggie Water. Every year at this time some trees beside the water get covered in creepy looking webs, not spider webs, but ones created by Ermine Moth caterpillars. I remember that name because when I used to fish on the Clyde and a hatch of Ermine Moths came on, the fish wouldn’t look at anything other than that particular insect. The Netherburn folk used to call them Herman Mofs. More like Herman Munster!

It wasn’t the caterpillars that got PoD, it was a quick shot of a couple of ants crawling over an unlucky Water Avens wildflower. It’s the wild version of a Geum.

The other remarkable thing was a bright red railway engine, stuck at a signal just before Greenfaulds Station. It had a nameplate that read “Christine” and a message “Hans-Georg Werner – Thank you & Good Luck” After some research I found out that this was a retrial present for Hans-Georg after he left his post as CEO of DB Cargo UK, and Christine is his wife. The engine was covered in pictures of gliders, apparently he is a glider pilot in his spare time. It’s amazing what you find after one chance photo.

I suggested we water the garden because it was such a warm day and the flowers, especially, need the extra moisture. It’s quite a relaxing thing to do on a warm evening.

Tonight we had a traditional Monday dinner of pasta with tomato sauce. I had the basic pasta dinner, but Scamp had some salmon left over from yesterday, so she used that with the pasta. I had some anchovies with just a little bit of Scamp’s salmon.

Maybe we’ll manage just one more warm day before the weather breaks. Scamp is booked for coffee tomorrow morning and we’re both visiting Margie for more of her stories in the afternoon.

The long way home – 19 April 2022

Posted on by Zogman

It has to be done and it’s always a drag, no matter how you travel.

After a morning trying to resist repacking the bags, I gave in and just saw staring into space for a while. One last walk round ‘The Policies’ and then Simonne was ready to squeeze us and our luggage into the car. Vixen knew something was up and was really fidgety, hardly leaving Simonne’s side, so she came too in her crate.

She dropped us off at the train station after some clever manoeuvring round back streets of Stowmarket to avoid being held up at the level crossing which has a reputation for becoming a bottleneck. We said our goodbyes and dragged our stuff onto the platform, only to be told that the train was delayed by 3mins. Given that we only had 8mins to change platforms at Peterborough, that was a bit worrying. However, the driver made up that 3 minutes easily and we actually arrived at Peterborough ahead of schedule.

On the train to Edinburgh after a mix up when whoever was reading out the sections of the platform for the different carriages got them round the wrong way. We found our seats and were fed and watered all the way to Edinburgh where we’d just missed the earlier Glasgow train. Taxi was waiting for us at the station and we were soon home.

A long day, a bit fraught at times, but listening to Alan Cumming reading “Baggage” lightened the load.

PoD was a picture taken from the viaduct crossing the Tweed into Berwick on Tweed.

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day.