Category: St Mo’s

Sunshine Sunday – 21 September 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A lovely morning with lovely sunshine pouring in the window while we had our usual fried breakfast (that’s really lunch) while we watched Laura Kuenssberg tearing strips of another political hopeful. She really is my hero. “Feart fae Nuthin’” as we say in Scotland.

Once that was past we settled down to read a book, play Angry Birds, read the BBC’s version of the news and avoid doing anything like work. With that said, Scamp and I did dig up our last potato bag which provided us with a lot more ‘tatties’ than we’d anticipated. Strangely, some of the strange blue skinned potatoes had some wee potatoes dangling from them. Possibly something to do with the hot weather and drought in late spring and early summer and the weeks long rain that followed as summer turned into autumn. Poor wee potatoes didn’t know what was happening and neither did we. Anyway, the larger ones were collected and became part of our Sunday dinner.

Scamp wasn’t at her best today. She’s had a sore throat for the past few days and now has a really painful sounding cough too. Hopefully, a couple of days of not doing much will get her back on her feet again. She made an apple pie for out dinner dessert, then complained bitterly that it wasn’t very good. I begged to differ, but was shot down in flames. I still say the sharp apples in the pie were perfect. Hopefully she won’t read this.

Later in the afternoon I went for a short walk around St Mo’s with two different lenses on the camera. Neither was completely successful, but they produced some pretty Bokeh, so I should be pleased. PoD went to a tree with multicoloured leaves. I have no idea what tree it was, but I think that autumn is coming in fast.

We watched a strange Azerbaijan GP. Not as bad as yesterday’s practice with cars crashing all around the circuit. This time it was stars who were making a mess of things. What is wrong with the teams this year?

No dance tomorrow. Apparently Kirsty is working at home all week.

Dancin’ – 20 September 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A much smaller class than we are used to.

Only three couples plus one solo dancer without a partner. She danced with Stewart.

I was a bit apprehensive about today. I’d heard all sorts of warnings about half-hour waits and queues of traffic due to extensive roadwork on the M8. As usual they were magnified out of all proportion. Yes there were roadworks, but only for a few miles. Nothing we hadn’t seen before.
Yes, there were road restrictions, but nobody had to wait in a queue. Just the powers that be trying to terrify us.

As a result of the poor attendance, the lesson was reduced from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. The class started with Tina Tango to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’. Then we went in to a quickstep, the Cameron Quickstep which we’d learned months, if not, years ago. With the help of Scamp and Muscle Memory, I managed to get round the hall fairly easily, if not elegantly. I do hope they repeat the lesson next week, because, with a bit more help from Scamp I’m sure I could master this one.

Stewart asked for suggestions of sequence dances that we’d like to go over in the second half hour. Queen of Hearts rumba was favourite for a reprise and after that the New Vogue Waltz finished of the main lessons. However, Stewart wanted to finish with House of Bamboo which I stumble through, but am beginning to remember bits of, just not in the correct order.

With that we were free to go. Again I expected more carnage on the drive home, but it was actually quite clear with everyone behaving themselves. I wish all the dance classes were as enjoyable as today’s.

Back home I should have been going out for a walk, but instead I got stuck in the puzzles again. They are quite addictive. Later in the afternoon I did manage a walk round St Mo’s and today’s PoD came from that walk. Just a bunch of Hawthorn berries hanging from a branch after a rain shower. I really must get out of the rut and walk further afield in these shortening days. Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner tonight was Fish & Chips x 2. Nice and easy and nobody needs to cook.

Tomorrow, maybe that walk.

A dull day – 19 September 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Not the best day this month. Cloudy and dull.

Scamp was out in the morning to FitSteps. I stayed home and read for a while, then when Scamp returned we solved the usual puzzles. Sometimes the prompts cause more consternation than good. Maybe it’s because they are generally aimed at puzzlers are aimed at Trumpland.

Scamp suggested we have Bacon & Borlotti Beans, a recipe we got from Jamie and Simonne and always a great fallback if you can’t think of what to have for dinner. We needed a courgette to go with the beans, and as I hadn’t wandered past the door today, I volunteered to go and source some, along with cheese which we didn’t need for the meal, but we DID need for tomorrow’s lunch. When I walked out, there was a fairly large bank of cloud that I guessed was full of water, so I increased my speed a bit.

I was testing a new combo on the new toy. I was using a fairly old and hardly used Sony 16-35mm f4 lens. Like I said, quite old and with a ‘slow’ aperture. It performed really well with the A7c, so I’ll try to give it a bit more of a challenge in the next few days.

I wanted a photo of the wild geraniums that grow along the path at St Mo’s and got a few photos with those threatening clouds as the backdrop. That got PoD. Spoke to Susan Greenshields in passing, she was complaining as usual, but other than that, she didn’t say much, obviously not in the best mood today.

I walked over the back road to the Shops and found the groceries Scamp wanted. Before I left the house I’d chopped down some of the kale from what’s left of the raised bed because Scamp needed it for the dinner. I also planted some Red Kale in a pot in the garden. Hopefully it will grow well in some fresh compost and give us more kale to use in the kitchen.

I actually remembered what Scamp wanted from the shops, which is a miracle, especially because I’ve got so many things on my mind this weather.

Basically that was it for the day. Scamp made the dinner and it was really good. The kale was a lot fresher than it looked and it added that extra crunch to the meal.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go to Brookfield for a dance class, but as there have been warnings for weeks that work is being done on the M8 and it’s likely to continue until May at least, I’m not looking forward to the drive.

Dancin’ – 18 September 2025

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Out to Glenburn for a Tea Dance, the first in ages.

I struggled with the Sony A7c’s internal workings, attempting to make sense of the new system for allocating the twelve items I use most often. I finally got what I wanted and it does work quite logically so I’ll stick to it for a while until I’ve filled in all twelve boxes. That and the inevitable Wordle took up most of my morning. I think it took up almost all of Scamp’s time too. After a quick shower it was time to get ready for today’s dance, and I was looking forward to it for a change.

A fairly busy drive over to Glenburn and we were almost late comers. Thankfully there were a few stragglers arriving later than us, so we didn’t get a telling off or even worse Stewart’s well worn comment “You can’t just Waltz in here at any time, you know.” It really should have a “Boom Boom!” at the end.

The afternoon started with a waltz, as usual. Also, as usual, I made a bit of a mess of the first track. However, by the time we’d completed the second track, Waltz Nioli was again firmly in my repertoire. The next track was a Cha-Cha I think. It’s hard to keep a record of what we did in what order, but if it wasn’t the Cha-Cha, it was a Quickstep. All the right dances, but not necessarily in the correct order. Again, as usual, Stewart inserted a few sequence dances to encourage some folk on to the floor. We didn’t really need the encouragement, we were there to dance and would dance almost anything.

Tea time came quite quickly and Scamp was annoyed that the two other blokes at our table didn’t include me in their conversation. I wasn’t really bothered, they were just arseholes anyway. See, Hazy I can swear in the blog too!

The formula for the second half of the dance hasn’t changed in the past year or so, it’s always a very few Ballroom and Latin dances linked with a collection of Sequence dances. I used to call Sequence “Dancing for the Dead”, but now I realise the repetition in these dances actually keeps them fresh in your memory, especially the complicated sequences. It’s quite a clever way to memorise them.

I was keeping a watchful eye on the clock because we like to get away early most weeks, to avoid the school kids. We were a bit later today and the road was almost clear all the way to Cumbersheugh by the M8/M74/M73.

Back home I walked over to St Mo’s to try to get some low camera shots with the new toy, but the light was beginning to fade as the big black clouds rolled in. I did manage a few and the best of a bad lot was the low viewpoint shot of some fallen leaves on The Path. It’s always good for fallen leaves later in the autumn. It just filled a space today.

Dinner was a baked potato and prawns with Marie Rose Sauce (ie tomato ketchup mixed with mayonnaise).

For the first time in ages I thoroughly enjoyed the dancin’ today. We must do it again some time. Scamp is intending to go to FitSteps tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll find something to fill my time.

Now that’s a better day – 15 September 2025

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Not brilliant, but with enough sunshine to make it worthwhile going out with a camera.

We were up and out fairly early today, early for us anyway. Scamp wanted a lift to Tesco and after dropping her off, I drove over to Condorrat to the dentist. Half an hour later I walked out of the surgery with my broken tooth fixed. It still doesn’t feel like my own tooth, but I’m getting used to it. Just as I got to the car, I got the message from Scamp to say she was waiting for me in the Tesco cafe. I found an empty ‘Drop Off’ slot, where we loaded the car and drove back home. An efficient way to get ‘The Messages’.

Later in the day, while Scamp was deadheading some of the flowers, I went for a walk in St Mo’s, a shorter version of my usual walk, mainly because we were expecting to go to Kirsty’s dance class, but as it turned out, the class had dwindled. One of the men had pulled a muscle in his back, one couple were on an extended weekend holiday and another part time teacher was sunning herself in foreign climes. We decided that only four of us didn’t really make a quorum, so Kirsty agreed to cancel tonight.

That gave me enough time to process the photos I’d taken in St Mo’s. Not a bad haul and the PoD went to a bunch of Antirrhinums poking their bright pink heads out of a break in a fence, like a trio of runaways. It made me smile and it’s now on Flickr.

We may go on a trip to Glasgow, tomorrow. Looking for the elusive trainers. Maybe a walk up to WEX to see what they have to offer too.

No excuses – 14 September 2025

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Today we didn’t do very much. I’ve no excuses for this, it was just the way the day turned out.

It was a normal Sunday. Watched Laura Kuenssberg tearing strips of poor undefended MPs and other politicians. It was fun for a while watching them squirm, but you knew they were lying because their lips were moving. That took all the fun out of it.

After lunch I went for a walk over to St Mo’s. There wasn’t very much over there to photograph, but I did get out for a walk which was good … until the rain came on. As usual, the rain waited until I was at the furthest point from home, then it started. I didn’t mind, because I had my big orange Rab jacket on and it’s fairly waterproof and the rain was fairly light for most of the walk home.

PoD was an old favourite of mine, the view down the avenue of trees that takes you down past St Mo’s school. A bloke with an umbrella was kind enough to walk into view just as I was crossing his past. I waited a few minutes and got my Photo of the Day and he never felt a thing.

Dinner was a rump steak for me and potatoes with ratatouille for Scamp. Rice and prunes was the dessert.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard that he and Simonne are considering going away for a week some time soon, not sure when yet. This time Vixen gets to go with them which should please her.

Thanks for the hint Hazy. I’ll tell you how I got on with it once I work my way through it.

Dentist tomorrow to get a broken cap on one of my teeth fixed. Oh what fun!

More shopping – 11 September 2025

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Yesterday was window shopping and a touch of ‘real’ shopping.

Today was back to reality shopping in Tesco. Scamp had made a fairly large shopping list and we just worked through it, managing to find most things, but with the usual few missing items.

We’d intended to have lunch, but I’d a bit of stomach cramp so we postponed it. Then Scamp’s pal, Annette, arrived. Now I’m not being sexist here, but two women discussing things can lead to “Three’s a crowd” so I took my stomach cramp upstairs and read for a while. After Annette went home I did trust my stomach with a couple of slices of toast and a cup of tea. That seemed to settle things down. I’m blaming a pot of Kefir yogurt for the problem. The last time I had some, it had exactly the same effect. I’ll be more circumspect in future.

The weather today has been hit and miss. Sometimes the sun shines for an hour or more and sometimes it only lasts for a short while before the driving wind sprays everyone with showers. I caught a couple of those showers today. I also missed one by sheltering under the trees when I was out for my constitutional over St Mo’s then on across the football park and back home. Sometimes I extend the walk to include the path to the shops, but I was keeping a weather eye (literally) on those big black clouds that were rolling in from the north-west.

I went out with a different camera/lens combination today. A Lensbaby Sweet 35 lens for closeups and a Tamron 70-180mm zoom. Both on the A7iii. The Lensbaby gives dreamlike effects and the Tamron is an almost ideal short telephoto. Both worked very well, but the Tamron won the day with another shot of a Bird’s-foot Trefoil behind a chain link fence. This one has a much better background than the original. PoD sorted!

We couldn’t decide what to have for dinner, but in the end Scamp had an omelette and I had a fry-up. For me it was a bit of a test to see if my stomach was back to normal and it seems as if it is … touch wood.

We watched another boring episode of Masterchef. Thankfully it’s coming to an end soon. Good riddance I say!

Tomorrow is a cooking and maybe a baking day. Crawford & Nancy are coming to dinner. Whoever is free will probably be making the starter (possibly soup), Scamp is intending doing the main course and I’m booked for the dessert. We’ll see how it goes.

Shopping – 10 September 2025

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Not Tesco shopping, but looking for books, trainers and prezzies!

We drove to The Fort in the outskirts of Glasgow. A vast array of shops selling almost everything imaginable, but mainly clothes, shoes and jewellery. I was looking for a specific book, ‘Wild Houses’, but didn’t end up buying it. I applied three rules I got from the English teacher I had at college more than forty years ago. She told us to:

  • Read the entire first page, because it provides the ‘Hook’ that keeps you wanting to read more. If the book fails that test, reject it.
  • If it passes the first test, select a page from around the middle of the book and read about half of that page. If you’re still interested, the book is worth buying.
  • If it fails the second test, don’t reject it out of hand. Take a note of the title and author and test it again in six months or so.

My book fell at the first fence. It just wasn’t for me.

Scamp and I were both looking for a comfortable pair of trainers. My old ones are worn right down and no longer waterproof. I tried in three different shops and didn’t find anything I was willing to pay good money for. Scamp had the same problem.

That meant Books and Trainers were a waste of time and money. Thankfully she did find the prezzies she was looking for, so we didn’t go home empty handed. When we arrived at The Fort around 11am, there were spaces on every row in the carpark. When we left, just after midday, there seemed to be none. People were prowling around actively searching for parking spaces. This was on a Wednesday, usually a quiet shopping day. I dread to think what it’s like on a Saturday afternoon!

We drove home and I admit I was being a grump. Maybe because I’d a near miss with a less than interesting book or a pair of too expensive trainers, or maybe it was just the mood I was in, but the drive home was in silence.

I went for a walk in the afternoon. I got halfway round one of my usual walks when the rain started. I didn’t mind, really. I had my Famous Blue Raincoat on and despite its tears and patches, it kept me dry. Dry enough to get a few shots of a little wee hoverfly that sat patiently for me. That became the PoD.

Dinner tonight was the best fish ’n’ chips I’ve had for ages. Scamp made it and it was way better than any food from a chip shop. Thanks, Scamp.

We’ve no plans yet for tomorrow, but it looks like it will be wet.

 

 

A dull day – 9 September 2025

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A day that threatened rain that never quite arrived.

The highlight of Scamp’s day was ironing. It’s not something I’m likely to turn my had to doing. I know a lot of folk who like ironing. I’m pretty sure Jamie does it. I jokingly say that I make sure I burn the first item of clothes and never get asked to do it again. There’s no truth to that story, well, not a lot of truth, anyway.

My contribution to work in the house today was driving over to Tesco for ‘The Messages’. Even then, it was just enough to fit in a ‘Bag for Life’ and no more. Just the essentials today, no alcohol on a ‘School Day’.

When Scamp started the ironing, I laced up my boots and went for a walk over St Mo’s and back through the woods. This is the first day I’ve been for a walk through the woods since the big storm, months ago. I don’t think anyone walks through the woods now. Too many fallen trees blocking the paths that used to lead to the ponds and the great Horse Chestnut trees that are still standing. I need to find some other paths to follow.

I did get a few shots in the afternoon, but it wasn’t until I came home that I found my PoD sitting in our garden. It’s a Berberis bush carrying its bright red berries. They look very inviting, but according to Wikipedia some of them are poisonous.

That was about it for the day. I emailed a couple of photos from the wedding to Simonne because the originals had disappeared en route. It’s this thing about Apple vs Microsoft again. Microsoft won’t allow Apple images to be read on their system, and vice versa for Apple. Why can’t they just agree to work with each other. As my mum used to say, “That’s how wars start.”

We may be going over to The Fort tomorrow looking for birthday prezzies, I believe.

We went shopping – 7 September 2025

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You know it’s been a dull day when the highlight is “We went shopping”.

Some days are like that. You can have days when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you manage to capture fifty photos, each one better than the last. Then there are days where you manage to grab half a dozen shots of butterflies and are satisfied with that. Today fell into the ‘satisfied’ category.

We went shopping, as I mentioned and that got us out of the house for half an hour or so. Just the usual shopping for lunch and dinner. Mainly essentials.

Jamie and Simonne were on their way back from yesterday’s wedding but were stopping off in Glasgow to meet up with a couple of their old friends. They arrived back at the house around 5pm. By then I’d been out for a walk across the football park behind St Mo’s and had hardly taken the camera out of the bag. I did get just over 100g of brambles on the way back.

I made a hash of getting Simonne’s SD card to work in the new computer. Why do the different companies insist on sticking to their own formats. It would be so much easier for everyone if they just took the sensible approach of one size and one format fits all. Anyway, in the end we got the photos she wanted, although I’ll have to work out how we make a heart shaped background for one of them.

For dinner, Scamp and I had Chicken Milanese with our own potatoes and Scamp’s speciality, Rats, which of course is short for Ratatouille. Jamie & Simonne shared a pizza. We all had Passionfruit & Raspberry Cheesecake for dessert while we watched Lando Norris being humiliated by being given a derisory second place as compensation for having had a slow pitstop. Poor guy was very noncommittal in the interview.

We’re expecting the young ones to be leaving early tomorrow to take the road south. Hope they have a problem-free journey and arrive home safely.

Us? I think we might be going looking for the elusive bread bin again, with maybe the chance of dancing Cha-Cha in Kirsty’s class later.