Category: Sketching

Going to town – 5 March 2018

Posted on by Zogman

P1040296Today we were going in to town, Caleta de Fuste.  Not driving or bussing, just walking.

Lighter breakfast than of late.  Omelette chef is amazing.  Tossing an omelette like it was a pancake.  Never seen that done before, but will try it when we get home.  It could get a bit messy, I suspect.

After breakfast we started the trek out along the new walkway with it’s wide pavement and cycle track that zig zags its way across the sand dunes to Caleta.  It didn’t take as long as I remember it, but there was new scenery along the way.  New apartment blocks had sprung up in nice bright colours.  New restaurants had replaced old supermarkets and finally they have torn down the fish restaurant and built a new one.  I hope they’ve also torn down the attitude that if your face doesn’t fit, you don’t get what you ordered, or at least that’s the way it seemed to us when we went there a few years ago.  We walked through the town.  Scamp got some money and we had a drink in The Trafalgar.  It’s an institution in Caleta.  It used to be run by an argumentative Londoner who was always getting in a fight with his neighbours.  He was full of stories and having a drink in there was an entertainment.  Today was much calmer.  We haven’t seen him for years.  Don’t know if he went back to England like he kept threatening to do or if one of those arguments boiled over into something more sinister.  Who knows.  Scamp wanted to go there because she remembered you got a mug of coffee.  I just wanted a pint of lager and I knew you got British beer on tap, so both of us were happy.

We walked back for lunch and stopped to photograph the camels.  There have always been two camels on Caleta beach.  I think I’ve only once seen people paying for a ride on them.  Don’t know how he makes any money.  Today he seemed to spend most of his time picking up camel crap.  What a wonderful job.

After lunch Scamp was going sun bathing and I was going for a walk along the sea shore away from the town.  It’s a bit rough, with lots of sand dune areas and boulders by the sea, but if you can find a place away from the wind, it’s great to just sit there and listen to the waves crashing.  Got a few photos, but nothing startling.  On the way back I got a painting done, more of a sketch really of the little restaurant on the island off the beach.  You get to it by crossing a bridge.  We may go there for sangria tomorrow.

Back at the hotel we met up again and I went for a swim.  Scamp had already been to the pool.  Unfortunately the water was getting cold by the time I was ready for my dip, colder than yesterday I think.  That said, I did a few crossings of the pool before I came out.

Dinner was Canarian tonight, although no little yellow singing birds were in evidence.  What was there was roast leg of goat and it was really, and I mean REALLY lovely.  Like a cross between beef and pork.  Not the tough, stringy meat you’d imagine goat to be.  If I see it on a menu again I’ll definitely try it.

Entertainment tonight was Bombay Dreams.  Not the curry shop unfortunately, but a Bollywood dance quartet.  Three girls and one very camp guy gyrating and hip wiggling across the stage.  About a quarter of an hour into it, I started looking for paint that had started drying.  It was that interesting.  Unluckily for me it went on for another half an hour with wailing vocals and drum ‘n’ bass rhythm and absolutely no content.  Dire, and not a Rogan Josh in sight.

PoD?  Oh, it must be the camels.  Or as the bloke who wanders around behind them, picking up their dung, describes them.  Shits of the Desert!

Tomorrow?  Perhaps, like I said, a jug of sangria between us on the island.

A daunder with St Mungo – 24 February 2018

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Bright day, so let’s head for Dunfermline on the bus, we said. They do say disasters come in threes, right?

Went for the bus and missed it by about three minutes. Waited in a cold wind for the next one which luckily was due in ten minutes. After a mystery tour of Condorrat and Westfield, thanks to roadworks, we reached the town centre only to find that that Dunfermline bus has been discontinued. Oh well, nothing for it but to head in the other direction and go in to Glasgow … again. We were in on Sunday for Sunday Social. Back on Monday for dancing, on Wednesday afternoon for dancing, and again on Wednesday evening for more dancing. I was in on Thursday to get my hair cut and here we were again on Saturday. We might as well move in to Glasgow for all the time we spend in our own house. Not a happy bunny, I harrumphed behind Scamp into Nero for a coffee. When we came out the black cloud had lifted. The sun was out and we had said that we’d go for a walk in the sun, so that’s what we should do. With a lightening heart I walked down Bucky Street with Scamp and even the Bastard Drummers couldn’t dent my new good humour.

We walked right down Bucky Street, past St Enoch’s (it is St Enoch’s. I heard a wee wummin’ telling her pal on the phone to meet her at St Enoch’s and you don’t argue with wee weemin’ in Glasgow.) We walked on to the Clyde Walkway, stood for a while then walked downriver under the bridges and that’s where I saw the PoD entitled “Lady in Waiting”. As Scamp said, it couldn’t have been any other title. On under more bridges until we came to the Tradeston Bridge, known to Glaswegians as “The Sqiuggley Bridge”. Why do designers and Cooncil busybodies come up with names for bridges when they know fine well the general populace will christen it with a better name. Just build the bridge and wait for its name to appear. Saves time and money.

Back across the King George V bridge and up to Pulcinella for lunch which was decidedly second class. Not just compared to Tuesday’s food, just compared to anything I could have made. Not their finest hour.

After our lunch we walked up to Sausage Roll Street. Me to the book shop. Scamp to Bonmarche. Neither of us came out with anything. Came home on the fast bus and made a couple of coffees to warm us up when we got in.

Somb'di

Today’s sketch started out as a doodle and then this strange wee man appeared.

No plans for tomorrow. That’s not true, maybe I’ll get my bike out and see if it still runs. Yes, I know I said I’d do that before, but the sunny skies are bringing that day closer.

Visiting Herr Kutz – 22 February 2018

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Ok, this blog entry has been done on the 23rd for reasons that will become clear.

I set off this morning on the train in to Glasgow after Scamp kindly gave me a lift to the station. It was time to get my hair cut by someone who knew how to do it properly. The last time I had my hair cut properly, was last December or maybe November. I cut it myself in January, but as usual made a bit of a hack of it, just to keep it a bit shorter. This time I needed a bit of topiary. A bit of shaping, so it was off to the Nile Barber for some intelligent conversation and some humour as my untidy locks were snipped into shape.

It was the bloke with the beard today. He of the conspiracy theories and the liking for the Russian slant to the news. He says it gives a better balance than the BBC does. Now I like the BBC’s reporting, but while it’s not as sensationalist as some, there is a tendency to, as Morrissey said, ‘frighten you’.

Stop watching the news
Because the news contrives to frighten you
To make you feel small and alone
To make you feel that your mind isn’t your own
Spent the day in bed
Morrissey

Today he was a bit more down than I’ve heard him before, but when we had a discussion about the High School Shootings in America he became more voluble about the merits of Trump’s stance on arming the teachers. I must admit, when I first heard about DT’s proposal, I immediately remembered a line from Matt McGinn’s ‘Rap Tap Tap’:

Tak the straps fae a’ the teachers
Issue every wan a gun

Conversation drifted to legalising cannabis and then the explanation of his slightly depressed mood, when he said that he was ‘having some prostate problems.’ Poor guy. I know a couple of folk who have the same problems. Anyway, I enjoyed the conversation, and although I don’t agree with everything he said, his are intelligent and well though out arguments, always with a ‘middle ground’ stance.

Went for a walk down to CassArt and bought a couple of new pens and a wee sketch pad. St Enoch Nero provided, not only a coffee, but also a chance to do a quick sketch with my new pen, which turned out to be an old friend, a Pentel fibre tip which I hadn’t seen in years. Sketch was ok.

Nero St Enoch - Glasgow

Bus back home and listened to Dream of Gerontious on the journey. As usual, felt quite uplifted by it.

Dinner was roast chicken with baked potatoes and that’s when things went wrong. I’d also made sweet potato fritters which are also under suspicion.

About an hour or so after dinner, Scamp felt a bit sick and then was sick. That’s most unusual for her. I’m the one with the dicky stomach. The sickness and then diarrhoea went on for a good couple of hours and I was beginning to get a bit worried when it started to subside and she began to feel better and also get her colour back. She went to bed early feeling very tired. I decided to join her later once I’d cleared up.

This morning she was back to her usual self, ready to meet today’s problem!

TBC

Dancing and procrastination – 21 February 2018

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Computers, especially when connected to the internet (are any computers not connected these days) are the ultimate procrastinator’s tool.

I sat down to write today’s blog almost 45 minutes ago.  In the intervening time I’ve read what Trump is up to this week, checked the status of my latest 28 Drawings Later sketch on FB, written an email to one of the coffee-drinkers, drunk a cup of tea and eaten two biscuits AND, only now started to write the blog.  The procrastinator’s delight.

Dancing today and for once I think I am making progress with the Waltz.  I even managed the rise ‘n’ fall for a while before it all went to pieces.  Jive was another story.  Not a good story.  I recited the words Knee, Step, Kick, Hitch, Back Step, but none of them were delivered quickly enough to my legs.  Maybe they should be connected to the internet. Maybe that would help.  No, it would just give me another excuse to procrastinate.  We couldn’t get in to the dance studio which is downstairs in a pub basement.  Two blokes were laying carpet on the newly screeded stairs, so we went for a walk until the contact adhesive they were using cured.  That’s when I found today’s photos.  Two pieces of graffiti and one ‘ghost sign’.  A ghost sign is an old sign that has been covered up for years and only recently been revealed again.  That or an old piece of signage that’s been painted on (usually) a brick wall.  That’s what today’s was.  It’s a bit of urban archeology.  Today’s PoD was the sketch of King Smiley.  Rough and ready, I was hoping it was a sketch that the artist would return to later to paint, but I think that is a bit unlikely.   We finally got down the part finished stairs to the dance studio where we did our version of the waltz and the jive then found we couldn’t get out again an hour later at the end of the class because they were laying a much bigger piece of flooring on the landing and there was no way of crossing the wet adhesive without getting firmly stuck.  We finally exited through the Fire Exit, although if H&S ever check that fire exit, the pub will be condemned with immediate effect.

Sketching

After we came home I sat down to doodle something for today’s entry and started sketching my foot, then my leg then me sketching my foot, then my …  Well, you get the idea.  I thought it was a clever idea and was pleased with the final drawing.

Salsa tonight was helping with two beginners classes.  I’m much happier helping with these classes, even Shannon’s class, than with Jamie’s grumpy Thursday class.

Tomorrow I think I’ll go in to Glasgow to get my hair cut and maybe get an outdoor sketch done.  Depends on the weather, and the state of the procrastination, of course.

 

Foodies – 20 February 2018

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Today we had a light breakfast before getting a taxi to the station, then the train to Embra.  Today was Foodie Day!

When we got to Embra we found the bus stop for the No 34 bus that would take us to Ocean Terminal.  With diversions, because Leith Walk is partially closed, it took about 35 minutes to cover the 4 miles.  The train journey from Croy to Edinburgh only took 45 minutes.  This was the X3 of Lothian buses.  However, we were in no hurry, because we had plenty of time to find today’s destination.  Had a cup of coffee in Ocean Terminal which is really just a great shopping mall with an entrance to the Royal Yacht Britannia, Mrs McQueen’s old boat.  We weren’t going there today, we were going for lunch at The Kitchin Restaurant.  It has been booked since November, such is the waiting list.  I was thinking “it better be worth the wait”.  It was.

Nothing to look at from the road, there’s a notice on the door telling customers to enter by Commercial Quay, round the back. Inside it was dark grey paintwork with discrete little areas like booths, but more open.  The food was superb.  Just what you’d expect from a Michelin star restaurant.  I’d recite what we had, but I can do better than that, and show you the menu with our selections highlighted.  Just click it to see it better.  It’s not a link to Flickr this time, just a link to the image.  My starter was from the Vegetarian menu because we were able to mix and match between menus.We also took the matching wine pairing and that really was an eye opener.  Truly an unforgettable lunch and not a potato to be seen 😉

After lunch we walked along and got a No 16 back to Waverly and it only took about 20 minutes and that because of traffic.  Got the train to Croy and a taxi home.  Strangely enough it was the same taxi driver we had in the morning!  Really, that’s the barest of bare bones of the day.  Too much to cram in to this blog post, you need to hear about it rather than read about  it (ask about the amuse bouche Oh yes, and the bread Hazy!)  A really memorable meal and one we’d do again once we’ve saved up enough to go back DV.

Tonight’s sketch is a coloured pencil sketch of an orange.  I described it thus:  “Oranges make great subjects because after you draw them you can eat them and destroy the evidence of your mistakes!”

Orange

Today’s PoD was a view of reflections on the Water of Leith.

Tomorrow?  Auld claes and purrich I’m afraid!

 

Walking, Dancing and Backups – 19 February 2018

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I’d fully intended going to the gym today, but although there was a smir of rain in the air this morning, I decided that to avoid Gems, I’d go for a walk instead. It was the right decision.

<Technospeak Alert>
In the morning I finally got my wee 2-in-1 tablet computer sorted out by using an old memory stick to boot into Windows PE and from there run a backup program to restore a backup I’d made way back in 2016. I thought it might be a bit basic, but all the apps I need are on it and I’ve even worked out how to use Microsoft Gallery to import my RAW pics. I got truly fed up with having to manipulate the EXIF data on the photos to allow Lightroom 5 to work with the RAW files from the Teazer (Panasonic TZ 70) so now I’m going to use the free and very good RawTherapee to do the heavy lifting of the RAW processing. I’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks. Right JIC you can come back in again.
</Technospeak Alert>

After successfully got rid of the baggage that Win10 leaves behind, and after lunch too, I went for a walk down by the canal.  The weather had cleared up nicely and the air was much warmer than I’d anticipated.  It actually felt like spring was in the air.  I know, there another cold snap due in a few days, but it’s Scotland.  There’s always another cold snap due in a couple of days, even in June … Especially in June!!  I even saw a hairy caterpillar, but it wasn’t caterpillaring around, it was just sitting there.  Maybe it was sunbathing, yes, that’s it.  It was sunbathing in its fur coat.  I took its photo anyway, just for the record.  Caterpillars in February!  Who knew?!  The photo at the top was my favourite of the lot I took, so that’s why it made PoD.

We went dancing at night and just for fun I asked Alexa what the travel time was to the STUC just before we left the house.  She (it?) said 25 minutes.  Twenty five minutes later I was walking along Woodlands Road looking for a parking meter that actually worked.  Glasgow council, you do realise that it’s not enough to plonk new parking meters by the side of the road?  You know you have to maintain them too, and occasionally empty the coins we commuters cram into them every time we need to park?  Duh!  So Alexa translated my speech into text, sent the text to somewhere in California accessed a database from there, checked my commute and returned the data which was turned back into speech and spoken to me in a very human sounding voice, and got it spot on right!  All of that within about five seconds.  Brilliant waste of technology, but still Glasgow council doesn’t seem to know how to operate its parking meters.  If it was up to them, high speed internet connections would be done with two shiny tin cans and a piece of coloured string.
Dancing was ‘interesting’.  We did one rueda move that didn’t have a name and seemed to confuse everyone.  Tonight’s move was ‘Stormtrooper’  Great name.  I hated it.  Then as I saw how it was working, I began to like it and later  in the night when I’d almost perfected it, I thought it was great too, just like its name.  That’s what a good teacher can achieve.

Just my glasses

Tonight’s sketch was just a 15minute shot.  A placemarker of a pencil sketch.  It’s a bit rough, but I don’t have a lot of time on a Monday.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we’re off to Embra, to Leith in fact to go for a fancy lunch.

Coffee – 15 February 2018

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Most days seem to revolve around one topic, and so it was today I was booked for coffee with Val and Fred.

Although the coffee, or to be more precise, the chat that came with the coffee rather than the vile stuff Costa calls coffee, the chat was the king. CDs passed round, book returned to the library of Fred, replaced with a DVD to watch. Drawings and paintings by Fred and I were critiqued by everyone. Val’s computer problems were discussed by me and him, because Fred just grunts and shakes his head when technology rears its ugly head. Memories of old Glasgow were trotted out along with names that have not seen the light of day for years. Thompson’s for coffee and tea, Epicures the deli. Dino’s the best pizza shop in the town and the wee hole-in-the-wall newsagents across from Dino’s where Val remembered buying his Italian newspaper on a Saturday morning. It was strange all three of us walking down old Buchanan Street together in our imagination, although we were years away from meeting each other, back then in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Sometimes talk and gossip lag for a while when it’s a coffee day. Today wasn’t like that. I think we all walked out feeling better than when we walked in. I know I did.

I’d grabbed a photo before I went in to the meeting. I just like the seedy decay of the broken down back of the Town Centre. With a wee bit of work there’s a world of colour and detail there just waiting to be found. Well, I like it anyway and that’s why it’s PoD.

Crofthouse - Braes, Skye

Today’s sketch was from a photo, but not one I took. It was one I searched out in Google Street View. I think it might be Braes, just south of Portree a dead end road that finishes in a turning circle where the sheep stare at you with derision as you 3, 5, 7 point turn, careful to avoid hitting them. They know you’re not a local. Locals would drive over them. Anyway, that’s today’s picture. Hopefully I’ll slap some paint on a bit of cardboard tomorrow for a wee change.

After a bit of discussion, we agreed not to go to salsa tonight. Five hours of dancing this week was enough we thought and if the weather fairies are to be believed, tomorrow is to be dry and clear so we’ll be driving to Larky to reunite me with my reading glasses and loosen £30 from my wallet for the pleasure, so no driving tonight then. Sounded good to me. Also it allowed us to have a wee glass of Rhubarb & Ginger Gin. Sounds even better to me. We’ll see how things go.

Dancing Day – 14 February 2018

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Wednesday has now become dancing day.

Today started with driving Scamp to her hospital appointment and surprise, surprise, there was a space in the car park for once. Sat with a coffee and a 2 for 1 doughnuts in the cafe reading my latest Hazy find, ‘Sourdough’. You were right H, it’s a great antidote to the heavy and sluggish ‘Rotherweird’ which was Rather to Weird for me. It’s now languishing in the ‘Maybe Later’ folder on the Kindle. Sourdough is much lighter and funnier. Thanks again H.

Drove from there in to Glasgow just before lunch time to go to Waltz and Jive classes. Before the class we went for lunch at Paesano, and the No 3 (anchovy and olive) was as good as ever, as was Scamp’s No 1 Sugo (no cheese) apparently. The only thing missing was a glass of red wine, but you can’t have drive and wine in the same sentence. If you do, it could lead to a sentence of a different kind. Waltz was a bit of a problem for me with two left feet. You see, in Salsa the man always leads with his left foot. In Waltz, the man generally does so to, but occasionally he leads with his right, and that’s where the problem comes in. My left foot KNOWS that it always leads, so that’s what it does. Here’s a quote from Robin Sloan’s Sourdough:

When you walk, you look forward, not down at your feet, because you are confident they are where you expect them to be, obeying your commands. That’s a pretty cool feature.

Well Mr Sloan, that may be true, but not if you’re trying to dance Waltz with Salsa trained feet. It is not at all a ‘cool feature.

The Jive was much better. I think we cracked it today. Well, most of it anyway.

Came home and then decided we’d go to the beginners salsa classes to give my left foot its head if you know what I mean.
Jamie G wasn’t there so we were getting Will who is quite stylish an has the enviable skill of being able to dance as a guy or a girl. I’m sure Jamie G can do it too, but he doesn’t offer to do it in class. Will had no problem with it, although some of the guys in the class found it a bit off putting to start with. Jamie returned in time for the second beginners class and it was fun as usual.

Have you seen this man?

I did a quick selfie with a photo from PhotoBooth on the iMac. That worked in two ways:
1. No squinting in a mirror and trying to draw at the same time.
2. The screensaver kicks in after 5 minutes, so that gives me a timer.
So, one sketch in three sessions, i.e. 15 minutes. Not a bad likeness I’m told by Scamp, although I think the right eye (my left) is too big. Other than that it’s not too bad.

Today’s PoD was taken walking over the walkway between the carpark and JL in Glasgow and is a silhouette of the city centre architecture under a wild sky. I like it.

Tomorrow I’m booked for coffee with Fred and Val.

Larky – 13 February 2018

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First things first, I was feeling a lot better when I got up this morning. That said, I didn’t rise until about 11am!

The predicted snow didn’t arrive here today, thankfully. After a restful night, I got up and got showered and made a plan for the day. Last week, I’d dropped my reading glasses in Arta the dark dingy hole we now dance in on occasional Sundays. I managed to avoid standing on them, but found I’d scratched one of the lenses, right in the middle. Sunday past, I dropped them on the path outside the house and luckily one of our neighbours found them and handed them in. Thanks Scott. Then that Sunday afternoon I dropped them on another dance floor in Paisley, scratching the other lens. Plan for the day was to take them to the optician in Larkhall and get them fixed.

Drove to Larky on a bright, very bright, sunny day and was told that I’d just missed the uplift, so the glasses would be back on Thursday after 1pm. Since Thursday afternoon is booked for coffee with Fred, I imagine it will be Friday before we are reunited. I can survive with a pair of ‘readers’ until then.

Instead of driving straight home, I took a fancy to a run down to Millheugh to see what was happening at the salmon ladder they were building. The answer was ‘not a lot’. Work seemed to have stopped, and after talking to a bloke who seemed to be taking it upon himself to clean up the grassy area of Millheugh next to the Avon Water, there won’t be anybody near the place until ‘the better weather’. That means Easter at least. Stood talking to him for a while. Took some photos of the run off from the Lade that used to carry water to the Bleachfield Works, but now is just a silted up piece of slow running water that’s being clogged by broken walls and tree roots. Another example of cooncils not caring enough to maintain things. No, it won’t make a good photo opportunity for councillors in the local press, but it still needs to be done. The bloke said he was supposed to be meeting a councillor today, but he was late. “Yes,” I thought, “extended lunch no doubt.” We said cheerio and headed back home.

That was about the extent of our travels today. Nice to see Larky again, but sad to see houses going up everywhere. I suppose that’s progress to some.

IMG_4583- blog-1

It’s another house that became the subject of today’s sketch. It’s on Skye, but I couldn’t tell you where. I found it on Google Street View a year or two ago. It’s very grand and baronial with its little round tower. Somehow I don’t think it was built by a local.

PoD was the bottom water shot from Millheugh.

Tomorrow it’s Hospital for Scamp’s appointment, followed by Waltz lesson and then Jive lesson, hopefully with the chance of a cup of coffee somewhere between the three. Maybe Salsa at night because we missed out on Monday’s. Depends on the weather, although now doesn’t seem to be in the forecast for tomorrow.

Sudoku, Salsa and Snow – 11 February 2018

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Lots of planning today, but not a lot done really. Mainly planning for storage of stuff, when the real solution is a good clear out. That day is getting closer!

Today we had committed ourselves to going for lunch/dinner at La Rambla in Paisley. Three tapas for just over a tenner is a bargain. The only problem is the laid back, i.e. horizontal attitude of the serving staff. I don’t think any of them have been to a catering college to learn how to serve tables. A half hour wait for food is quite normal. Apparently one of the ‘managers’ was complaining that he didn’t understand why people were coming up to the bar to order drinks. Didn’t these people realise there was table service? Eh, no mate, there isn’t. Maybe there is meant to be, but it’s just not happening. Try putting yourself in our shoes. Try being a customer, a thirsty customer and you’ll see how it’s essential to go to the bar and buy your drink there to avoid desiccation. I’m not altogether certain that there are any kitchen staff. I’m beginning to think that it’s the waiter and waitress that take the order, cook the food and serve it. The drinks waiter is a joke. I saw him trying to take away a half empty glass of wine from a customer, then stand and wait at the table while she finished it. Maybe that’s what he thinks a waiter does, wait. Anyway we finally got served an my food was really good as usual, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing back to La Rambla again for tapas, or anything else except dancing.

Dancing was good. Shannon was DJ and worked hard to get the dance floor filled. Came out to find that it had snowed and the streets were icy with melted, then refrozen snow. As we got neared Cumbersheugh the lying snow got thicker and thicker. Had trouble encouraging the Juke up the hill and then the fun of skidding about into a parking place. Don’t think Scamp was impressed. Actually the snow was much easier to walk on than the pavements of Paisley.

PoD is the green blobs. Taken in St Mo’s by the fading afternoon light before the snowfall. Sketch is of my Saturday and Sunday Sudoku. It’s a bit of a page marker, but it’s done.

Tomorrow? Finding the car and then working on a plan to get it down the road and parked again!