Category: Sketching

Time to go home – 26 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

It always come to this day.

Up at 6:15 to say ‘Cheerio’ to Jamie and Simonne and help them cram their rucksacks, bags, jackets and still sodden wellies into the car. Jamie just as efficient as ever had intended the drive south to start at 7:00 and it was 7:10 when they left. We sat for a while, then went back to bed for an hour or so to snooze before I made breakfast and we made plans for the day.

I’d already decided we were going out somewhere, anywhere, well not really ‘just anywhere’, but somewhere interesting or somewhere for lunch. We had to keep ourselves occupied, otherwise the house was going to feel empty. In the end, I chose the destination and I was sure Scamp would be happy with it.

We drove over to Cafe Bothy which has rebranded itself as Coffee Bothy unfortunately. I much preferred the original! Cafe or Coffee, the name is irrelevant, it was the food we were going for. It’s a busy place where you can never get a table right away, but the buzzer in Scamp’s hand buzzed after a much shorter time than normal and we had a corner table. Usually Scamp has Mac ’n’ Cheese and I have Sri Lankan Lamb Curry, but today I was making the big bold change to Mince ’n’ Tatties with Peas and Carrots but Scamp stayed resolute with her macaroni. As with all big changes, I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but the mince was just like my mum made and like Scamp showed me how to make and which I now make myself. In a word, delicious. Steamed carrots with a bit of bite to them and peas, well, just peas really, but fine for an addition of colour to the mince. This is also one of the few places you can get a two cup cafetière of coffee – decent coffee, Columbian or Java. Always Java for me.

After we paid and avoided the cream filled doughnuts, we went for a walk round the overpriced deli shop that is always an addition to cafe’s now and Scamp bought some fresh farm eggs. The farm is next door to the cafe, so the eggs are probably fresh. It was getting a bit dull and we felt that at 3pm it was beginning to get dark, but thankfully there was just enough light to grab some photos. PoD came from there and it was a shot of the Wallace Monument after a pylon and power cables were removed in ON1 and Lightroom. The colours in the trees really encouraged me to take the shot.

I bought myself a new computer mouse in Currys. It’s a Logitech silent mouse, not a squeak from it! My old Logitech Bluetooth mouse really need a new pair of microswitches, but they are difficult to lay your hands on these days. Anyway, it was probably as cheap to just buy a new one. It’s white, but that will never last, so I’m told!

Back home, the house did feel a bit empty, but after we’d turned the bed back into a sofa again the back bedroom looked like my room again. It’s just waiting now to get some stuff spread around it and it will feel like home from home!

We got a message from Jamie and Simonne saying they had a fairly uneventful drive south and they even sent us a photo of the house as it is now with its scaffolding in place. It even had a blue sky above it. The automatic headlights switched on in our car as we were driving home. By 4pm it was already evening!

The prompt today asked for ‘Remove’. My answer is a removal van owned and driven by The Man With A Van. Available for house clearances and disposal of unwanted goods in addition to removals, sometimes known as a Midnight Flit!

Cash only! No questions asked.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go to her FitSteps class, leaving me with the possible opportunity to start messing up the back room!

 

 

 

Climbing Higher – 26 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Today the climbers were off to Ben Lomond hoping to bag a Munro.

While the mountaineers were driving to Rowandennan to start the climb, we were happy to have and extra hour or two’s snooze.

The first thing we chose to do was have a quick practise of the Tango which I thought I had down pat. That’s all I’ll say at this time.

Afterwards we dragged ourselves out into the real world, and drove over to Tesco for the inevitable shopping. We did add a couple of extra things just for the visitors and just for fun.

In the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s hoping the sun might shine through the clouds. It did, but only on the distant Campsie Fells, but not on Cumbersheugh. A mist had come down just after midday, but then a breeze made it disappear, leaving water droplets on some of the weeds. One weed in particular had a spiderweb with wee beads of water. That became PoD on a dull Scottish day.

The climbers returned after their trip to the peak of Ben Lomond. Munro bagged! Simonne had some beautiful photos taken from just below the peak but the photos from the actual Trig point were covered by mist and rain. It’s Scotland. It’s like that. They just had time for a quick shower before heading off to dinner with Andrew, Cat and the kids.

Dinner was Monday served on Wednesday, ie Pasta. Actually Penne pasta and a very nice sauce with three types of tomatoes: baby tomatoes, blitzed plum tomatoes and passata. Don’t know what I did right but we both enjoyed it and I doubt if I’ll be able to make it like that again.

While they were off eating again, we drove to midweek dance class with Kirsty and a chance for me to prove that I didn’t have it down pat after all. Despite all Scamp’s encouragement, I just couldn’t confidently get it right every time. Finally I asked the teacher to lead me through it and it worked. That doesn’t mean she is better than Scamp, just she explained it differently and probably hauled me round with more confidence. After that we got the entire Tango to work almost every time.

Today’s prompt was “Dangerous”. I could have drawn almost anything to fulfil today’s prompt of ‘Dangerous’. In the end I settled for a lion. A pretty dangerous beast by all accounts.
With that said, according to the BBC, it is only the 10th most dangerous creature in the world. The Mosquito is the biggest killer with Humans in second place. Makes you think!

We drove home through driving rain again and when Jamie and Simonne returned we sat and talked for an hour with a wee drink to mark what was really the end of a great week. Unfortunately Jamie was driving tomorrow, so he had to abstain from the drinking.

Tomorrow will probably be another early rise, but a sad one.

Off to the capital – 24 October 2023

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Today we were going all posh!

We were all booked for lunch at The Kitchin in Edinburgh today and as we would be having a glass or two, we weren’t driving. None of us were.

We took a taxi from the house to the railway station and caught the train to Edinburgh (posh day, posh name for Embra!). Got off at Haymarket and walked up to our usual Nero. Suitably refreshed we walked up the Grassmarket because Simonne hadn’t been there before. Then on to the West Bow with its crowds of tourists and quirky shops and houses. Marvelling at the queues of Harry Potter fans waiting to get in to the HP shop. From there we walked down the newly reopened Playfair Steps to Princes Street.

Round the corner from Princes Street we found the tram stop that would take us to Leith. This was the first time any of us had been on the trams in Edinburgh. It’s a very comfortable, if slow way to get around the city and we enjoyed the ride. Scamp had done all the research and told us we’d be getting off at The Shore. From there it was only a short walk to The Kitchin. I could list all our choices from the menu, but instead I’ll just post a menu and let you guess! Not long after we were enjoying our ‘amuse bouche’ someone asked us if we were enjoying our meal. I thought it was one of the many waiters and turned to reply and there was Tom Kitchin himself!! I think Scamp was dumbstruck. This was the first time I’ve seen him mingling with the guests in the restaurant. In fact this is the first time I’ve seen him in the restaurant.

The food was just as lovely as you’d expect it to be in a Michelin star restaurant and with the ‘paired wines’ we were taken on a journey through the vineyards of the world by the sommelier. The same one we’d had the last time we had been there. Eventually we’d eaten our fill and sampled the wines and it was time to go.

The weather had been dull when we arrived, but when we headed for the tram stop the sun was shining and it being late afternoon by then, that lovely golden light appeared. That’s when I got today’s PoD which is The Water of Leith and the floating hotel, Ocean Mist.

We took the tram back to St Andrews Square and walked over to the station and the train back to Croy, then a taxi with a wisecracking driver took us home.

While Scamp, Simonne and Jamie watched Masterchef I sat and drew my reading of today’s prompt – ‘Shallow’. The story that goes with it is: “Those who are interested in scuba driving are generally recommended to spend some time paddling in shallow water. At least, that what I was told by a friend one day. A friend who doesn’t even swim! I think he may be joking with me.” Total fantasy, but it filled the comments box!

    

Tomorrow I think we will take it easy after todays excesses. Jamie and Simonne, however, are hoping to be out climbing again.

Right on time – 21 October 2023

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We got a message from Jamie this morning just after 9am to say they were just leaving the hotel and they should be with us before 12noon.

Right on time the white Volvo appeared outside at 11.50. That’s Jamie. Always on time. After we’d decanted all the bags, rucksacks, jackets and boots, Scamp took the wee Yew tree they’d brought out into the back garden. Then we heard the stories about the floods they’d encountered on the way up and I was even more pleased that they’d decided to break their journey north.

After lunch which was a bowl of tomato soup, we drove to Colzium and walked the same route Scamp and I had walked last week. The burn was even higher today, of course because of the week’s rain we’d had and the big red acer at the top of the avenue in front of the big house was even brighter red, if that was possible. A photo of it made PoD.

Back home, Jamie and Simonne were getting ready to go into Glasgow to meet Chris and Yvonne for dinner, but found out that Uber don’t seem to like Cumbersheugh. Or more likely, the taxi drivers in Cumbersheugh discourage Uber drivers from picking up in the town. So it was the local taxi that took them into Glasgow!

Dinner for us was delivered from Bombay Dreams later in the evening after an irate phone call from the driver asking me to open the house door and turn the light on so he could see where the house was. I did as he asked and then he appeared very apologetic saying he’d been in the wrong street! Easily done in Cumbersheugh because when it was build it was numbered by writing all the numbers down on pieces of paper and sticking them at random on house doors. At least that’s how it seems. Who would be a delivery driver in Cumbersheugh?!

We watched Strictly on catch-up. Well, Scamp watched Strictly and I glanced up occasionally from my Inktober sketch. I don’t think I missed much.

The sketch prompt today was “Chains”. I tried steel chains and paper chains and neither of them interested me much. I eventually chose a key chain. The prompt asked for “Chains”, plural, but being a poor pensioner, I could only afford one on my key, and an imaginary one at that! That was my excuse.

Tomorrow we might all go out for a walk somewhere, or maybe we’ll point the hillwalkers at a local hill and let them get on with it!

 

Still Wet, Still Windy – 20 October 2023

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I could write, “For details of the day see yesterday”, but I won’t.

It started like yesterday, with wind and rain, but things needed to be done. Scamp was off to FitSteps until the phone rang and it was Kirsty hoping she’d catch Scamp, which she just managed to do. The message was that today’s class was cancelled because too many folk had called off. I must say it sounded like the most sensible answer, but I think Scamp was disappointed. Can’t blame her.

So where to start? First thing and easiest to set up was the tomato soup. Just a case of tipping the roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic and peppers into a pot adding a tin of tomatoes a cup of water and a litre of stock. Bring it to the boil and simmer for 30mins. Next was to thaw out the stew and dust it with flour, salt and pepper and leave it to dry out a bit and once the soup had had its 30mins, we drove to M&S for fripperies like fruit and bread, then Tesco for breakfast stuff and essentials like tonic and ice lollies. Got to get your priorities right.

Back home it was time to fry off the stew in the big wok and, once it was nicely browned, pitch it into the Instant Pot with carrots and onions and some stock, set it to slow cook for about 4 hours. Sit back and enjoy a Ginsters lunch. I know they’re not good for me and that they give me heartburn, but they do taste great. Scamp had a fried egg sandwich. Much healthier I’m sure. Simonne phoned to say they were on their way, so we were all running to schedule.

I kept thinking (hoping) it was getting lighter outside and that the rain was getting lighter, the way you do when you know you’re just lying to yourself. I eventually decided that an inside photo was the way to go today and took today’s PoD which is a bunch of carnations sitting at the kitchen window with the rain splattering on the glass.

The bed for the visitors was still to be made, so we got that done and the remaining obstacles were removed to the front room, leaving the room quite neat and tidy.

Next task was to blitz the soup and decant it to another pot. It was looking good, then Simonne phoned to say they were almost at Scotch Corner and were going to break the journey because the traffic was really bad and there had been a number of accidents. I think we both felt relieved to hear that. It’s a long journey in normal weather, but much more challenging with so many weather warnings across the whole country. We got a message later to say they’d arrive at Kendal and were going for dinner and a pint! Well deserved I’d say.

So we had some of the soup for starter with some Giovani Rana pasta to follow. Not the best we’d had from that range, but still better than Tesco.

Today’s prompt was ‘Frost’. I could not decide what to draw for Frost. Then, lateral thinking again, I found a picture of Robert Frost and tried another fifteen minute sketch. It worked.

We’re now expecting the visitors tomorrow, just as I predicted in Thursday’s blog! Some of us had these skills and some haven’t! Oh yes, and I did have heartburn thanks to the Ginsters, and I’ve taken my Gaviscon!

Windy & Wet – 19 October 2023

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Windy and Wet sort of sums up the day.

Today we woke to rain on the back window and a blustery, gusty wind at the front. It wasn’t going to be a nice day, that was for sure.

I think we lay too long this morning because everything seemed to happen in a rush after that and before we knew it, it was time to get dressed to go out to the tea dance at Glenburn. I wasn’t looking forward to the drive over the Kingston Bridge and then onto the M77 before navigating the labyrinth of streets that take us around the north of Paisley to the community centre where the dance is held. I needn’t have worried, because the roads were fairly clear for once, a combination of warnings on the TV and radio about high winds and torrential rain, and the fact that the schools were on October holiday. So we arrived in plenty of time to a nearly empty dance hall.

People did trickle in during the first quarter of an hour, but the floor did look a bit empty, compared to what it usually looks like. We danced Waltz Nioli to two waltz tracks and made a reasonable fist of it. Then a sequence dance, any one, they’re all mostly the same. Next up was a Cha-Cha which we finished, but that’s about all we could say about it. We tried to do the Tango we’d learned last night at Kirsty’s class, but I’d forgotten the steps right at the end. I don’t know if that would have improved it at all, but later, when we got home we did have a look at the video of the steps Kirsty had demonstrated and we’d danced through a couple of times. Suddenly it all fell into place. More practise needed for next Wednesday. It would have been rather a dull tea dance if it wasn’t for David and Carol injecting a bit of humour into the proceedings. I enjoy their company and sense of humour.

Drove back home by the usual M77, M73, M80 after we’d navigated the labyrinth again. Even the motorways were a lot less congested than usual.

Back home I decided I needed a walk in the park to clear my head and to get a couple of photos. Actually I got seven, but very few of them were worthwhile, which strengthens my argument for taking a break from “one photo a day” for a while. PoD went to a low viewpoint photo of some of the leaves that had been shaken from the trees by a combination of wind and rain.

Today’s sketch was finished just after midnight last night. A ten minute sketch that took about fifteen minutes if the truth be told. The prompt was ‘Plump’. This one was a bit of a struggle. I couldn’t think of anything that would fit the prompt, but then I remembered Tweedledum and Tweedledee from Alice in Wonderland and the brilliant Matt Lucas characters. Fifteen minute sketch and done!

Lots of things to do tomorrow, mainly preparing for the visitors to arrive. Hope the weather is kind to them.

Windy – 18 October 2023

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It was a breezy old day today.

We have been bombarded with warnings of extreme weather from Storm Babet from now until the weekend. We seem to be on the edge of it with a yellow warning in place for heavy rain in the next few days. The wind did get up later in the day, but earlier it seemed quite normal.

We spoke to Hazy in the morning and heard about Neil’s chest infection which has kept him off work today and given Hazy the opportunity to get her nurse’s uniform on. We discussed the progress of Nelly the split rock’s new split that seems to be progressing really well.

After we said “Cheerio”, Scamp and I drove to Tesco and bought a few odds and ends to feed our visitors who are hoping to arrive on Saturday after a long drive..

After lunch, we turned the sofa in the back room into a bed, stripped it and put on fresh sheets. We also completed the transformation of the back bedroom from a dumping ground into something that people would want to sleep in. Still some hoovering (Dysoning) and a bit of dusting to do, but the transformation is nearly complete. I even washed the window so the chilli plants could look out!

With that done, I felt it was time to go out for a walk in the wild outdoors and took the A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s. While I was out, Scamp started the prep for tonight’s Smoked Fish Curry. It’s a really old recipe from a book bought in Woolworth’s! That will give you and idea just how old it is, and it was originally for Egg Curry, but it works really well with smoked fish too.

There wasn’t much to see in St Mo’s but I did get a little cameo of an aspen leaf pierced by a reed spike and that was PoD sorted. Inktober prompt for today was Saddle. Instead of the obvious horses saddle, I drew my bike saddle. I’d completed a fairly rough pencil sketch last night, but wasn’t sure how to finish it. I tried using black ink from a brush pen, but that just didn’t look right, so I redrew it in pencil and then drew over it with a couple of ink pens. That left it as a line drawing to which I added some texture and shading … badly. Still, it fitted the brief and it’s up on Flickr now.

Dancing tonight was busy, busy, busy with six couples vying for a space on the dance floor to show off their Tango skills. It was a short dance, but with enough interesting moves to make our feet do a bit of thinking. I really like Kirsty’s style. She dances the man’s part, then the woman’s part, then to finish she enlists one of the good lady dancers to be her partner for the couple dance. What was a complicated set of moves, suddenly becomes a lot easier.

I think we may be going out into the wild weather tomorrow to go to a tea dance at Glenburn. Let’s hope we don’t get blown or washed away!

Tea for Two – 17 October 2023

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We were off to Troon today for afternoon tea.

Thanks to John and Marion we had a voucher for Afternoon Tea at Lochgreen House. We got it for our Golden Wedding and had hoped to use it sooner, but this year has been what Jackie would call a “Bourach”. A mess, a muddle, a shambles. Everything we planned had to be altered or something got in the way and the afternoon tea got pushed further and further back. Eventually we made the decision to have it either last week or this week. Even then it was going to be tight. Our final decision was made yesterday when we brooked it for today.

It was a foggy start to the day and the fog didn’t really lift until we were out through Glasgow, on to the M77 and climbing up into the Fenwick Moors. From there to Troon was clear and we parked down near the beach where there are usually hosts of wind and kite surfers, but wind surfers need wind and there was none of that today. Only the Glasgow folk, “down on the beach with their coats on” as my dad was keen to tell you. We, too, went for a walk along the path between the beach and the grassy foreshore, but eventually we found a path through the dunes that took us down to the beach. Where’s the fun of going to the seaside if you don’t get sand on your shoes?

It was a short walk, because we’d still to drive to the posh Lochgreen House. We arrived right on time and were seated in a booth and had tea, or hot water for Scamp, then we were served the three layer platter with hot food in the bottom, sandwiches in the middle and scones on the top. The scones being served with clotted cream and strawberry jam. I could almost see myself reaching for the Gaviscon when I saw that big quenelle of clotted cream!

Scamp played her vegetarian card and had a Goat’s Cheese Quiche, Vegetable Tempura and a Finger of Fish, not to be confused with a fish finger. I had Haggis Bon-Bons, Ham Quiche and a Sausage Roll that had never been near Greggs! Those were the hot foods.

My sandwiches were Chicken and Tomato, Coronation Chicken and Roast Beef with Mustard and Lettuce. Scamp’s were Egg Mayo, Tuna and Goat’s Cheese.

Two scones each, one fruit, one plain with that clotted cream and strawberry jam finished the platters, but there were six cakes to finish off too. Unfortunately, we were full by that time and asked for them to be boxed to take away.

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon in beautiful surroundings, waited on hand and foot.

Because we had some time to spare, we drove down to the big car park we usually go to and walked over the Ballast Bank to let our lunch slide down. It’s usual for us to walk over the top of the Ballast and down the other side, then take the narrow low path along the edge of the water if the tide isn’t in. That takes us back to the car park. We found a seat half way along the low path and stopped to look out to the sea. I took a few photos and then recognised a couple of folk walking towards us. They materialised into Ronnie and Millie from Brookfield. They had been dancing at the ballroom in Troon and, like us were stretching their legs with a walk in the fresh air. I think we might be going to that ballroom soon too, some Tuesday afternoon.

Drove home through the usual 4.30 rush. Thankfully we didn’t attempt the Kingston Bridge, but stuck to the M74/M73. Longer journey but much less stressful. Back home we had two cakes each. That leaves two to share tomorrow.

PoD was the view when we were climbing up through the dunes to get to the beach.

Today’s prompt was “Demon”. The demon here is The Demon Drink. As fearful a monster as any, and just like a genie, as long as he’s kept trapped in the bottle you are safe. However once you twist that cap and release him you are opening a Pandora’s box or am I just getting carried away now? Anyway, it let me splash on lots of red paint!

That was a lovely day. Good weather, good food, good company and great fun. Must do it again sometime. Now, where’s that Gaviscon?

No plans for tomorrow.

 

Just a Monday – 16 October 2023

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Shopping, taking photos and a very short bit of gentle gardening.

Some days when I’m writing this blog I look back on the day that’s almost finished and ask myself “What DID we do today?” This was one of those days.

Wordle and Spelling Bee took up about half an hour of the morning, then I started messing about with a bit of software I’d downloaded. It’s called SyncTime and I’ve got the ‘Lite’ version which is another way of saying ‘Free’ version. I have lots of tutorial videos, mainly dance related on two different computers and I want to synchronise them, but hadn’t really looked into solutions for the problem until recently. SyncTime seemed to be just what I was looking for, but it’s especially ‘Lite’ on explanations. I spent most of the morning trying to work out what was happening. Now I have a better idea of what I’m getting myself into, I don’t think SyncTime is the solution. More investigation (or time wasting) required. I’m sure Scamp would agree with the bracketed description.

Lunch was soup and then we went out to ‘get the messages’. Just a 15min walk to the shops, but it breaks up the day. On the way back I took a detour to St Mo’s and Scamp walked home after she eventually got across the road. There is work being done on one of the dual carriageways just now and that means the traffic on the other roads in the town is a lot heavier than normal. Crossing the road becomes a dangerous pastime, because everyone is in a hurry, pedestrians included.

There wasn’t much to see in St Mo’s and although I did get a couple of shots, I wasn’t really impressed with them. They filled a space and that was all you could say about them. I really think that the 365 as it was is coming to an end. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s becoming truer every year. It keeps getting more difficult to find fresh subjects to tackle. That doesn’t mean the blog will be closing. It’s a pain too, but if I have a dull day I just write wee stories like this one!

After I’d shortlisted two photos and processed them, I went out into the garden to pot up three different basil pots. The first was a new one we bought in Lidl yesterday and it was seriously pot bound. The second was a pot of basil we got in Tesco and had on the kitchen windowsill for too long. I think the poor plant had exhausted all the nutrients in the soil. It too was pot bound. The third was a wee pot I’d grown from seed, but it wasn’t making much ground. There were about ten separate seedlings in the pot, but all clumped together. They were separated and planted into new soil then dumped in the birdbath to soak up some rainwater. The other two were just transplanted into bigger pots to give their roots some elbow room and then they too were given a soak in the birdbath. I left them for about half an hour before I brought them in to the kitchen again. I hope the new compost gives them some energy.

On the subject of plants, Hazy. ‘Nelly’ is definitely splitting. I’ll try to remember to send you a photograph of her tomorrow. Looking very healthy!

Sketch prompt was Angel. I thought of drawing the Christmas tree fairy until I realised that a fairy and an angel are two different things! So it was a different angel. She stands over the old Hutchesontown Library in Glasgow. She has stood there since 1906. Everytime I see this angel I think of the Paul Simon song “Call me Al”, and I “see angels in the architecture”, but it’s the architecture of Glasgow. I always liked this sculpture and she fits the prompt perfectly.

PoD turned out to be a yellow leaf caught in some weeds.

Tomorrow we may go out for a spin.

A walk in the woods – 15 October 2023

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Another bright day that really deserved to be appreciated from outside the window.
A bright day, but a cold start. When I was making the breakfast it was 2.1ºc. That’s kind of cool, too cool for my liking. However the heating had kicked in and the house was warm. Thank goodness for the Hive.

We decided on a walk in Colzium estate in Kilsyth. My reason for wanting to go there was to see the colours of the Acers, but I was a bit disappointed by how few of the trees were showing off their colourful leaves that usually brighten this month. However, all was not lost because one tree at the top of the main avenue was a burst of colour. I grabber a couple of photos, one of which was vastly over exposed, but back home one touch of the computer keyboard and it became PoD. The washed out colours came back as did the detail in the leaves. Technology can be amazing when it works.

We walked on round the Big House and up the drive to the Tak Ma Doon road, then down through the trees to the main path that follows the Colzium burn up to the wee narrow bridge at the top. On the way I got another interesting shot of one of the many waterfalls the burn splashes down on its way to the more gentle stream through Kilsyth itself. I got one good shot of the waterfall and three that the camera thought were more interesting, Shots of branches and leaves. The first shot, the one I took, not the camera is available to peruse on Flickr.

We crossed the bridge and walked down the other side of the burn to the road at the bottom. There’s a cafe on the other side of the burn and we went there for a coffee each and a cake to share. There were two big family groups who had nabbed all the seats, but we weren’t bothered. We walked further down and found a whole line of unused seat on the rise above the bandstand. A perfect place to look out over the estate and enjoy the coffee and the cake and a chance for a selfie!

When we were walking back to the car we met a bloke who asked if I’d taken any good shots. Then he told me he’d spotted a kingfisher beside the Colzium Burn where it runs through a park in the town. He admitted that he hadn’t brought his camera, but I will make sure I take mine the next time I’m in Lidl!

Back home, lunch was tea and toast for Scamp and Brie, Apple and Honey on brown bread. Our own apple too! Lovely and probably much better for us than the usual Sunday fry-up.

Scamp was desperate to cut the back grass, so I kindly let her, then John next door knocked on the door and asked if he could borrow our strimmer. His had broken down halfway through strimming his front grass. I didn’t mind, because I’d volunteered to strim our back grass and that would put off the inevitable.

Unfortunately, John brought the strimmer back and I gave in and strimmed the edges at the back garden. Then I cleaned both the mower and the strimmer and gave them a liberal spray with WD40 and put them away for the winter. It’s unlikely we’ll get another chance to cut the grass this year.

Dinner tonight was Sea Bream with Potatoes, Peas and Sweet Corn. Perfectly cooked by Scamp, of course.

Spoke to Jamie later and discussed plans for next week. All seems to be in order down south and the pair are still keen to get some serious walking done. We’ll just watch!

PoD was indeed the first shot of the day, the beautiful colours of the Acers. The prompt for today was “Dagger”. I drew a Dirk, a Thrusting dagger, Wikipedia calls it. It’s Scots name is Sgian Dubh, meaning Black Knife. This sketch is loosely based on my own Sgian Dubh which I only wear with highland dress at weddings.

No plans for tomorrow, although clearing a bedroom will be on the cards I fear!