reflection – Page 5 – My Photo Blog

The toon in the sun – 25 January 2017

Posted on January 25, 2017January 26, 2017 by Zogman

Well, almost. There was some sun for a while, then it got tired and went behind a cloud or two for a wee rest. It was there, though for a while.

Scamp had decided that we needed to go in to the toon today on the bus, because we were going for lunch. As it turned out, it was a good idea, but we weren’t sure where we were going. It was finally decided that we would go to my new favourite restaurant / pizzeria, Paesano. There, I’ve spelled it right first time without checking. I checked afterwards, but that doesn’t count. I had pizza (everything is a pizza there) with Salsiccia and Friarielli (Friarelli are a green vegetable like Broccoli but are only grown in Campania and they are in a category all their own). A pizza bianco which doesn’t have tomato sauce. I also had a side of lovely balsamic onions. Scamp had Burrata (a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream), Cherry tomatoes and Basil and a boring old Pizza Margherita. Lovely!

Afterwards we went for a coffee in ‘Nero and that was the extent of our stravaigin’ in the toon. Bus home too and the sun came out of hiding and started shining again for a while.

Not a lot to take photographs of today and I only took the one camera, the Oly 5. I liked the distorted reflections of the buildings overlaid on the internal details of 110 Queen Street and it’s my PoD. When I got home I’d left myself a reminder to glue the little metal cap on my Oly 5 (It fell of the other day). When I was doing it, I found a little metal circlip that had broken and decided to pull it off. When I pulled it off, it unfortunately took the plastic shutter button off with it! Oh dear, I’ve just broken what has recently become my go-to camera – of course the actual words I said were not “Oh dear”. The sentence was much longer and contained a lot of sweary words. However, I managed to find the offending article and also managed to clip it back in place. Then I glued on the offending metal cap with Araldite (other Two-part Epoxy Resin Adhesives are available). It still seems to be working. Moral of the story – If it ain’t Really broke, don’t fix it. It worked perfectly before without the little metal cap.

Looking cold for tomorrow, but hopefully we’ll be on a warm train for a change. Letting the train take the strain.

Out To Lunch – 10 January 2017

Posted on January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 by Zogman

This morning, over a cup of coffee, we discussed what to do with the day. We decided to go out for lunch because it was fairly bright. The reason we gave was that we needed to get some compost to plant up the spider plants that have been languishing in water on the back window sill and we could get that at a garden centre and most garden centres have cafés now. Devious, eh? We had to drive through the roadworks going on all round the ring road. Everywhere had closed signs and everywhere had diversion signs, sometime contradictory signs, but lots of them except where they’d be helpful. Well, you’ve got to use the “Twenty seven 8×10 full colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one …” (Alice’s Restaurant – Arlo Guthrie). After we’d manoeuvred our way through the barriers, I thought we would drive to the garden centre out by Killearn, but the weather that way looked very rough. Dark clouds and what looked like heavy rain. The weather closer to home had deteriorated too, so we changed our plans and went to Dobbies at Bearsden instead. As is usual in garden centres these days there are franchises and Dobbies now has an Edinburgh Woollen Mill within its shopping area. I got another warm winter shirt – you can’t have too many shirts. After lunch and after buying the compost, we drove home through brightening skies again.

By the time we got home the skies had cleared and blue sky was once again in charge. While Scamp phoned her Cumbernauld sister, I took the chance to get some photos over at St Mo’s. By the time I got over there, the sun was sinking, but the blue sky was still there. Just a few shots in the bag, but enough for a PoD and then some backup.

I think we’re driving Scamp and her sister to Glasgow Airport on Thursday and it will be a fairly early rise. It’s only her sister who is flying down to a funeral in Bristol, but Scamp’s going in to the airport with her to provide much needed moral support. Hopefully I’ll have an hour or so in Glasgow to get this week’s sketch done. Tomorrow, however, is free so far. Weather looks wild. Strong winds and the possibility of snow with more due on Thursday. Oh what fun, but the combination might provide some interesting photo opportunities.

The day after the day before – 12 December 2016

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Zogman

Morning came too soon today after a late night yesterday.

Worse still, there was a lot to do and so it was a quick breakfast and start the baking for Scamp’s Gems party. For me, that was bread first. Hand made. Kneaded and set to prove in a warm kitchen. While the dough was rising, Scamp went to buy Tesco while I made the scone dough. Unfortunately I made the beginner’s mistake of forgetting to put the oven on, so I faffed around for a while while the oven heated, with the result that the scones didn’t turn out quite as well as I expected, but that’s just the way things are. If you’re making them for yourself, they turn out fine every time. When you’re under pressure to produce, that’s when mistakes creep in. By comparison, the bread looked very good and behaved exactly as it should, rising perfectly. I’d a bit more things to do, a bit of furniture moving and adjusting, but after that was finished and I’d had a lunch of sorts, I made my excuses and left before the festivities could begin.

I drove in to Glasgow to make my final purchase from an actual shop for Christmas. With that complete, I was free to wander and take some photos. I took a few of reflections in the 110 Queen Street building. I’m sure it deserves a better name than a postal address. Something like the bendy glass building would be more Glasgow than 110 Queen Street. The kidney building would do because it’s kind of kidney shaped. Answers on a postcard please. Along the way I picked up the new – old Dylan album from 1966 allegedly from the Albert Hall, but actually from the Free Trades Hall in Birmingham, but still reminiscent of that era when Dylan truly was God on Wheels. Picked up Jackie and drove home.

Salsa tonight. The Kizomba is finished for us for now. Great night with three new dances, the best named dance was Oti Biscuits. I kid you not!

Tomorrow we are hoping will run at a more leisurely pace. We will see.

Walkin’ on Sunshine – 1 December 2016

Posted on December 1, 2016December 1, 2016 by Zogman

What a difference a little bit of sun makes and we had a fair bit of the big white ball in the sky today. The grey had gone for a wee while at least.

We made the most of the sun by getting the bus in to Glasgow. Actually, we took two buses in to Glasgow. Scamp went in early and I fitted the new wipers to my car. Surprisingly, it only took me a few minutes. Sometimes it pays to buy the posh, Bosch wipers because they are so much easier to fit than the cheapo alternatives. After fitting the wipers, I just managed to catch the bus, a different bus, in to Glasgow. On the bus I discovered that I’d left my Kindle at home. Worse than that, I’d left my headphones in my other jacket, also at home. With nothing to distract me, I sat in the front of the bus and soaked up some of that sun.

I went to Millers art shop to get a couple of pens. Before that I got myself an emergency pair of earbuds from HMV. Skullcandy were always the cheap end of the market as far as I was concerned until I had the same problem I had today and had to buy a cheap pair of earbuds and succumbed to Skullcandy. They were brilliant. They are much better than my Sennheiser pair which are way to harsh and tinny sounding. After this spending spree, I met up with Scamp and we went to lunch at The Italian Kitchen in Albion Street. It was outside TIK that the reflections on the Herald building attracted my photographic attention. After lunch we went our own merry way again. Anyone watching would be wondering if we had fallen out, but that wasn’t the case, it was just about giving each other space.

I wandered around the city centre to get some more photos and even got a sketch of sorts done from the GOMA, then I wanted a look at a 21” iMac in the Apple shop. The newly designed Apple shop, where there are no sales counters. The Apple shop where a sales person was hogging the 21” iMac I was wanting to look at while she sold an iPhone. Now I realise that the purchase of an iPhone is important, but wouldn’t it be a much better idea to have a sales desk where this transaction could take place. It’s a bit of a barn of a place and it gives you an idea of the way Apple want things to go.

No Genius Bar
No sales desk, as I’ve mentioned
No Techys desk
No place to queue or sit while you wait to speak to a Techy

The other thing I noticed about this newly designed Apple store is the proportions of different machines on display. Lots of space given to iPads and iPhones acres of deskspace given to Apple watches and entire tables given over to Macbooks of various kinds. Only five desktop computers on display, and that space itself being used as a sales point It looks looks as if Apple don’t want/need to sell desktop computers any more. Not a comforting thought.

Just managed to sneak on the X3 as it was about to leave and it turned out that Scamp was on the previous one, so we were running along behind each other heading for Cumbersheugh! How sweet.

Hoping for another sunny day tomorrow, but today was good, so I shouldn’t be greedy.

Lazy day / Dancing night – 7 November 2016

Posted on November 7, 2016November 11, 2016 by Zogman

After the long walks these last two days, we both settled down to a sunbathing day today. The furthest we were going to go was the pool, or should I say the pools. The pool with the bar in it, yes in it, not just next to it, but in the pool itself, which means that you can swim up to the pool, have a drink and swim away again. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it all went ‘swimmingly’ today Winking smile Both Scamp and I had a swim in the pool and when we both tired of this aquatic activity, we baked in the sun for a while more. It was while Scamp was swimming she shouted to me that there was a dragonfly dipping into the pool. It was actually a mating pair that was laying eggs in the swimming pool. I don’t think there is much chance of those eggs hatching any time soon. If the chlorine doesn’t kill them, the filters will grind them to a pulp. Such a waste of time. I got a fairly decent ink sketch done while we were sitting by the pool

We had booked for the Asian restaurant tonight and so we settled for a light lunch to protect our appetite. After lunch it was back to the hard work of sunbathing again.

Later in the afternoon the sun had moved round and our sunbeds were in shadow so we went back to the room and sat on the balcony for a while. I got itchy feet and headed over to the lava rocks to see if I could capture any photos of butterflies. I managed a couple and that was my lot.

The Asian meal was delicious although it was a buffet and Scamp’s not keen on food that’s not piping hot, so she was a bit disappointed. I thought it was all lovely. My favourite was deep fried Dim Sum. Scamp’s fave was the Tuna – no surprise there. We had intended going for a walk and possibly a drink after the meal, but when we left the restaurant we could hear a violin playing. At first we thought it was piped music, but it turned out to be a live musician playing an electronic violin. Very clever stuff and of course that put paid to any chances of a walk, so it was ‘cooncil cocktails’ tonight. Like I said, the bloke was really good, playing classical, pop and jazz. We listened for his full set.

After the violinist had left, we went to hear the duo singing. Different duo tonight, different songs, slightly better mumbled English lyrics, but best of all, we got to dance! We did one Bachata and one Salsa. Not our finest, but better than nothing. There was a German (?) couple a bit older than us sitting in front of us and they seemed to think we had done alright. They seemed to dance Ceroc rather than salsa.

We actually watched the full show tonight – Best of Shows it was called. More like Least Worst in my opinion. Blokes with balloons up their jumpers seem to get a great laugh here. Possibly a Teutonic sense of humour. I think it was the show that put the tin lid on things. We went back to the room and off to sleep. No nightcap on the balcony tonight because we were both tired out after such a lazy day!

Down Glasgow Green – 5 June 2016

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Zogman

It was such a beautiful day, we just drove down Glasgow Green and wandered through to the McLellan arch and back along the river on the park side this time, not the Gorbals side like we did a few weeks ago. That was a bit strange. It seemed to be Ladies Day on the river with only a very few men out rowing. We’re sitting in the People’s Palace now. Near the door to get the benefit of the cooling breeze. We usually avoid these seats because of the cold draught. Not today.

After that gentle exercise, we drove home and while Scamp did a bit of sun worshipping, I went out on the bike and cycled down to Auchinstarry (because I reckoned I wouldn’t get parked – I would have) and from there along the canal which is where I was and photographed Mrs Mallard and her seven wee ducklings out for a paddle. I simply couldn’t pass up that opportunity now, could I? From there it was all uphill. Up the first tough climb from the canal to Twechar itself, then the long slog up to the Drumgrew bridge. I stopped off there for some water. This was the first stop from the canal at Twechar and I’m quite proud of it. Had a wee rest in the garden after my run. My legs are sore tonight, but I enjoyed it. May go in to Glasgow tomorrow to get a UV filter for the new lens. Saves me using and losing the tiny wee lens cap. Best make good use of the sun as it looks like drizzle on Tuesday. Oh dear!

An EARLY start – 24 May 2016

Posted on May 24, 2016May 25, 2016 by Zogman

Drove in to Glasgow just for a walk and to get some stuff for the hols. Didn’t even go to the art shop!

Actually, that’s only half the story. I woke about 4.20am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I think it was all that sitting around on one train, then on another train, then on one more train. Hardly walked anything at all, so I just wasn’t tired, so I got up and dressed and went over to St Mo’s to grab some of that early morning light. It was a good decision. Got some nice captures of closeups with that lovely light. There was a bit of mist on the pond, but if I’d been just a little bit earlier, it would have been better – never happy. Used the macro lens for the closeups and as usual was impressed with the sharpness. See if you can spot the reflection. You might have to go to the Flickr feed to spot it.

In the town I was listening to the bloke playing the sax. When a photog started taking his picture he began to ham it up and I decided I’d have a piece of that too. I liked the close cropped shot. When we walked through the St Enoch’s centre there was a boxing promotion with a ring set up. Ricky Burns did a bit of shadow boxing and I managed about 6 shots of him. The mono was the best. I liked the gritty feel of it. I felt he looked like a boxer.

So that was a long day, but even now I don’t feel tired. It was a great start to the day and the rest wasn’t all that bad either.
Repairs day tomorrow. Doctor and Dentist – a glutton for punishment!

On Reflection … 22 April 2016

Posted on April 22, 2016April 23, 2016 by Zogman

It wasn’t a bad day. Up a bit earlier than normal today to take my niece and her mum to a hospital appointment. Rather than sit in a crowded carpark waiting for them, I thought I’d just drive in to Glasgow. Followed my nose and relied on guesswork to get to where I was going. On the way I passed a Chinese supermarket and went in to see if I could find Dried Fenugreek Leaves because I’m sure the Indian chef who took the cook school I went to had listed them as one of the main ingredients in pakora. They had loads of dried an fresh herbs and veg, but no fenugreek, dried or otherwise, so I left empty handed, but I’m going back there some time for some Chinese curry mix like Jackie made for us in Skye.

I got parked easily up on St Mungo Avenue in Glasgow and walked down past Queen Street station and looked across past the College of Building and Printing as-was, now Glasgow Metropolitan and liked the light on the old sandstone building (top middle). On through George Square where I caught the wee man looking bemusedly at his iPad and down Queen Street to peruse the bargains at Cass Art. There were none – bummer. Walked back up and admired the reflections on the new office block, not for the first time. Managed a few shots, but then a crowd of school weans arrived out of the GOMA (Gallery Of Modern Art) clutching sketch pads and pencils and proceeded to sketch everything in sight. I put my camera away, knowing I had my PoD in one of the reflection shots. I’d just sat down with a coffee in Pret when my phone rang and I knew the Outpatients were ready for their lift home, so back up the hill again and back home via the hospital.

After lunch which was fried bacon, potatoes and egg (not the healthiest perhaps, but very, very tasty) Scamp wanted to go shopping. I decided my calling was more cycle related and put the bike on the rack on the car and got going to Auchinstarry. I’d decided it was warm enough for shorts. It was, but only just. Today was not as warm as yesterday or Wednesday with clouds massing over the hills. Colder, but ideal for another go at another time lapse (That technique is becoming a bit ‘old’ now that I can remember its name – time for something new). Cycled along to Dumbreck and set the camera up on the Gorillapod on a fencepost and fired off a 100 frame, 10 second interval movie.

Then changed lenses and did another 100 frame, but 5 second interval movie. That was enough for me. I was getting cold standing around so I packed up and headed for home.

I was just fitting the bike on to the rack when the first splashes of rain appeared on the roof of the car. There was that delicious earth smell you get when it rains after a long (for Scotland) dry spell. It rained all the way home, but when I drew into our street the road was dry. Got the bike in to the house and the raindrops appeared on the window. It must have followed me home.

So, on reflection, it wasn’t a bad day!

A wet day in the Toon – 12 September 2015

Posted on September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 by Zogman

combo As with most Saturday mornings, this one started gently with a long lie in. This was partly because I’d been to a retiral dinner on Friday when much drink was taken.
The weather this morning was, as predicted, wet. I think it was partly Scamp’s fault and partly mine. She because she had watered the garden on Friday and Thursday because it was so dry. Me, because I had washed my bike on Friday. Both these acts were completed using the hose. That self same hose that we bought in April and hadn’t used since then, because it had rained almost every day. We had broken the dry spell by using the hose! Broken the ‘spell’ that is!

We had sort of planned to go to Perth today, but that was back in the middle of the week when the weather was much better. Today, we decided, we’d just go to Glasgow on the train for lunch. Seemed like the best way to deal with such a dull day.

Went to Zizzi’s in Exchange Square for lunch. Scamp found out just how hot red chillies can be and my pulled pork pizza was more like a teased piglet pizza. Really, I should have taken a shot of it and sent it to the Zizzi management to see if they could identify the actual pork without the aid of a microscope or DNA analysis. I think this may be the last time for a while we will be gracing their premises. I realise that times are tough in the restaurant sector, but if you advertise the pizza as pulled pork, then that meat should be its prime topping. That said, the Italian sausage was tasty, but, I’ve just checked the menu on Zizzi website and there is mention of crispy prosciutto and that wasn’t in evidence either. Maybe the pig ate it then ran away. I’ve written a complaint to Zizzi head office.

Bumped into Ruth from Salsa – she was going to a refugee rally in George Square. Hardly recognised her. She’s a shadow of her former self, but in a good way. She seemed a bit put out that we were walking away from the rally. It’s our choice, our life, our day.

On the train back, we were sitting beside two loud americans ex-teenagers. They drawled on and on in loud voices discussing the education system in Scotland and its failing. Why are american teenagers and ex-teenagers so annoying. Empty head and empty talk full of jargon and little else. I was tempted to put on the Ned voice and drawl back at them: “Hey mate. Ur youse americans? So ur ye jist here tae git a bit o’ ejicayshin? Cause you’re baith talking’ pure crap man. See me, ah’ve dun the ejicayshin thing an ah can tell when sumdi’s talking’ shite, an youse ur.” Scamp would not have been pleased and would have maintained a stony silence for the rest of the evening.

Top left picture is of my favourite building of the moment taken with the 9mm lens. Processed in Tonality Pro. The processing suited it in my opinion. Top right is a religious zealot who regularly preaches in Buchanan Street. I think he got more than he bargained for today when he took on the man on the right. Bottom right is the same building as the first one, but with a bit cleaner processing and a different viewpoint.

It was a no’ bad day in the Toon.

Summer comes to Scotland – 3 June 2015

Posted on June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 by Zogman

It’s been a sunny day (with some showers of course – it is still Scotland!). Went to Stirling and felt overdressed in the warm afternoon sun. By the time we came home there was no time to take any photos as I was on cooking duty – voluntarily I must add. Pizza for dinner ( the unhealthy option, but very tasty). Dancing tonight. One hour of the utter hell that chooses to call itself Kizomba. Actually it’s just two self-centred girls showing off to each other and us and along the way teaching us the odd step of what could be and interesting and very sensual dance. The dance itself is good. We’ve tried it a year or two ago with a real teacher. His grasp of English may not have been great, but boy could he put his point across. These two are just amateurs pretending they can teach. I really feel sorry for the ones in the class who have never had the opportunity to see it danced by a real, talented teacher. Thankfully, this was our last class. After a 25 minute lecture on how to move and ‘musicology‘, if felt like giving up the will to live. I almost walked out, it was so bad. Never will I attend any of the classes by these self-styled teachers again. Fin!

After the Kizomba Katastrophe I really needed Jamie G’s salsa class to lift my spirits, and it did! When I came out there was a mayfly sitting on the windscreen of the car. Of course, I didn’t have a camera, but I did have my iPhone. Unfortunately it took so long for the camera app to load and focus, the mayfly took off and left me with a blank windscreen. Then I saw the reflection on the roof of the car. The red roof acted like a Claude mirror and reduced the reflection to the kind of monochrome although mine was a red monochrome as seen here. Drove to the end of Park Road and saw the wonderful view of Glasgow Uni against a glowing sky and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This time the iPhone worked perfectly, as all good Apple products should. The weather folk say the magic fairies are whispering that summer has gone again for a few days. Oh dear!