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Isn’t it nice (horrible word ‘nice‘, but it fits) to be a passenger instead of a driver sometimes?  Not in a deeply philosophical way, but probably that too, no, just that Scamp very kindly offered to drive today. The journey to Perth was lovely ( better than ‘nice’).  Scenery was great with perfect autumnal lighting.  Got some tea (leaf tea) and coffee beans, had a walk along the river and then went for lunch to Howies new restaurant.  Not a lot, you see, but in a way, that’s the beauty of it.  We didn’t do much.  The last three or four weekends have been a bit of a blur:

• London for Notting Hill
• London for the 40th Wedding Party
• Skye

and they are going to contact me in three days, not deliver it then.  At first I was a bit annoyed, but then thought, well, what difference does it make.  Now if it’s going to take three weeks rather than three days, that will be a different story and I may have to write another, more pointed email to the Vodies.

Strangely, today I was taking some photos with my present 32GB iPhone and the message insufficient storage to save photo appeared.  Tonight I cleared out a few apps and a few music files.  Enough to release about 2.5GB.  Now I have to work out just how much of my music I can cram into 16GB (well realistically 14GB useable space) and still leave enough room for apps and photos.

Quarts and Pint Pots.

The day started late with a longer than normal lie in due in part to late getting to bed because I was updating this blog, at least that’s my excuse. When I’d breakfasted and checked my email to see if last night’s complaint to Vodafone had generated a reply (it hadn’t), I started work on a new painting.

It was an old square oil painting I’d given up on. I’d rubbed it down a few weeks ago and as a result it was quite dark. Since I didn’t have an oil based gesso, I was left with a muddy brown/green canvas. I couldn’t decide what to draw with, because charcoal would not show on the dark ground, and eventually remembered I had a box of oil pastels they did the job perfectly. So far, the painting is about two thirds finished and I’m quite pleased with it. It’s a combination of brush painting and painting knife work. Scamp, my honest critic has given it her seal of approval. We’ll see how it progresses.

At lunch (more delicious Fish Soup) I got an unexpected text from Vodafone, telling me they would phone me within 30 mins to discuss my complaint. Sure enough, about 20 mins later the phone rang and I got a full apology from Vodafone and as a gesture of goodwill, a £20 refund. Then I was asked if I still wanted an upgrade to iPhone 5s. When I told him I was, he handed me over to Customer Services and they negotiated a much more acceptable deal on a new iPhone 5s. I should have it delivered some time next week. Sometimes a complaint works. I realise that:

1. Not all complaints will receive as rapid a response as this one.
2. I could have held out for a bigger/newer phone, but that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to be treated better by the shop staff and get a slightly better phone for slightly more money.
   Afterwards, I did ask myself just how far I could have pushed them, but that’s not the way I work.

Went out later to get some chocs because we’re visiting tonight and to get some photos. Took a couple of slow exposure (not faked like yesterday’s) shots of a waterfall. Other than that, yes, I did get the chocs, and no I didn’t eat them, although I was tempted. Oh, yes, I also got ice-cream for Scamp too, because she deserved it. Soave’s in Muirhead do the chocs and ice-cream and both are excellent.

Oh, yes, one more thing. Many moons ago, early ’80s I think, as a family we visited Liverpool and Scamp bought me a tin pencil case. It’s red and has a cartoon picture of a girl on the front, along with the strange title “SEXY-GIRL For the TARA CLUB” on the front. I carry colouring pencils and occasionally a brush in it when we are going somewhere I might get a painting done. I saw it today in Pinterest that one had been sold for $100! Who would have thought it?

We had planned to go to Linlithgow today to get some fish, but after checking out the contents of the freezer, Scamp decided that we didn’t need any more fish, so it was time for a change of plan. It was quite a cool (i.e. ‘not warm’ as opposed to ‘fashionably attractive or impressive’) start to the day with a temperature of around 9ºc when we left at 11.30ish, but the sun was shining. An open day as we would say. Cold but bright. I had been moaning that I wanted a body warmer, waistcoat sort of thing, so we decided to head for Tillicoultry instead of Linlithgow because there are a lot of factory outlet type shops there and it’s a pleasant run. Got there and got the body warmer, not quite the one I had intended buying, but at least it will stop me moaning or craiking as my mum would say.

On the way to Tillicoultry I saw a sign for Gartmore Dam, and thought that would make a good place for a walk on such an open afternoon. We found the turn off without a problem and then noticed that it had recently been ‘Traffic Calmed’. Oh dear, what is this present fascination with these plastic and rubber blocks bolted to the road. On great long straight roads, yes, I can understand that these things work by slowing down the boy racers, but on twisty town roads they are simply a nuisance and an irrelevance. At the end of the previous racetrack we found the park and the dam. Two car parks, one either side of the dam. We chose the one on the left (not that it matters to you, I realise) and walked along the path through archways of trees. There were canoeists on the water, but they were vastly outnumbered by the swans, ducks and geese. It was three miles round the water and we decided that was a bit much for the time we had. We probably walked about a quarter of the way round and then walked back, but in that time one guy running with two dogs passed us twice!

So glad we don’t have a dog … or two!

So you think this blog writes itself eh? Well, let me tell you this is a time consuming project. Take today for instance. Up just after seven, when Scamp went off to work. Sat down worked through until 10.00 writing, editing photos, plugging them in to Flickr and the blog. Creating links, trying not to make too much of a mess! Still, it’s a great project and one I’m enjoying. Just, like I say, time consuming.

After all that was done I had breakfast and then started my new project – baking. Yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to enter the Bake-off, but a little bit of practise wouldn’t hurt. Today it’s scones. I made the dough too sticky, then the oven wasn’t hot enough, so I ended up with a soggy bottom or two and that’s not funny, let me tell you. Anyway, they weren’t a total disaster. A couple of them were edible.
So you think this baking is easy eh? Well, let me tell you, this is another time consuming project …

Since Scamp was cooking, I went over to St Mo’s and got a few photos. Some good ones of tiny wee toadstools. Must keep a look out for them in the next few days and try to get some some photos in better light.

Like I said, Scamp was on cooking duty tonight, so I didn’t have to worry about that. Tonight we were having a Lythe although you may know it better as Pollock. Murd had got a bucket full of the fish from some guys who were out fishing off Staffin Shore and he kindly gutted and filleted them for us. They are a lovely fish, really meaty and tasty. I’ve caught a few in my time, but rarely as big as this. Scamp cooked the fish in milk then served it with a cheese sauce and potatoes. Delicious.
So you think this cooking is easy eh? Well, let me tell you, it is if Scamp does it!

Back to the here and now.  Up early to get the Flickr photostream updated, get the blog patched together and flesh out the Day One.  By 9.00am it was light enough to get some photos in St Mo’s.  No animals around and no insect life in the way of damsels or dragons to photograph, so it was autumn leaves.  I make this promise every year that I won’t photograph the autumn leaves, but it always fails.  The colours this year seem extra vibrant and encourage me even more to record them.  I forgot to mention that along with the dragons and damsels, the swallows seem to have left us in the last two or three weeks, probably more like two weeks.  They were late leaving this year, probably because the feeding season for them had extended due to the warm days of September.  It wasn’t too warm when I left the house this morning.  The weather station said 7ºc.  It felt colder to start with, but warmed up quickly.

Went for a gym and swim in the afternoon when Scamp had her ladies round.  A bit of gentle exercise to test my ankle and hopefully not put too much strain on it.  Decided to upgrade my gym key to more machines.  Then I found that I’d left the key in my trunks when I went for a swim.  According to the girl on reception, they’re pretty indestructible.  It’s sitting in a cup full of dry rice on the heater now, hopefully drying off for my appointment at the gym on Thursday.

Salsa at night, but again, being careful and only doing one class.  I felt that was enough.  No point in just sitting around all the time, but I need to just add a bit of gentle exercise.

This morning the sky in Skye looks a lot better.  High level cloud and so far it’s dry.  I think we’re heading for Portree ( the big city).  Who knows where after that.  I need to catch up on my sketching at least.

So we park at Duntulm watching the sea when some english idiots squeeze their black people-carrier reg KF15 CDN right between us and the fence, completely obscuring our view. Some people are born ignorant, some have to learn. They walk among us.

We drove round to Uig again.  It’s a sort of ritual with us when we go to Skye.  We drive round the top of the island to Uig, then down the west side.  Sometimes we drive up Quiraing and on to the high road to Uig, but somehow, all roads lead to Uig.  Today, for a change we drove into this thriving metropolis and stopped for a while to watch the world go by.  After the excitement of Uig, we drove back down to Portree and then couldn’t decide where to have lunch.  We weren’t going to the bakers again, that was definitely not on the cards.  Good scones, but dodgy, watered down coffee.  Even Murd agreed about the coffee.  So, what about a drive down to Sligachan and have lunch there.  Drove the nine or ten miles down entranced by the views of the Cuillins (why don’t spellcheckers understand Scottish words like Quiraing, Sligachan and Cuillins?).  Tried a multiple exposure shot of the river to process later in Photoshop into a fake slow shutter speed shot.  Took a load of shots of the constantly changing cloudscapes on the peaks.  Such a wild looking place.  Unfortunately the lunch bar at the hotel was closed for the season and, as it was Jackie’s Fish Pie for dinner, we didn’t really want to spoil our appetite with a full lunch, so we headed back to the Capital City of Portree.  Had lunch in the cafe, just the ordinary cafe, not the Arriba one.  Scamp was desperate to see inside the newly reopened SYHA hostel run by our niece Jac, daughter of Jackie – confused?  Don’t be.  Met Jac and had a look in the hostel that used to be a chip shop!!  After that we headed back up the road for that fish pie.

We had an hour or so to spare when we got back so Scamp trusted me to go for a walk down at the slip by myself as long as I was careful.  But I’m always careful, am I not?  Anyway, it was quite cold there.  Bumped into Murd who was taking the dog for a walk and a wander for himself.  He was talking to a bloke from Newcastle who was travelling around in a van.  The bloke thought Murd with his boiler suit on was in charge of the parking at the slip.  They easily slid into conversation and were best mates by the time he left.  I’m not sure if he was there on purpose to make sure I was being careful or whether it was just coincidence.  Anyway, took a few photos of the gloaming light on the water and on the cliffs at Applecross across the water, then went to the ‘beach’ where I met two blokes who were looking for the dinosaur footprints.  I told them where I had been told they were, currently under about a foot of water.  They found ‘another one’ and got some photos of it.  They seemed happy.  Who’s to say they weren’t right.

Fish pie and a wee dram were calling quite insistently now, so it was time to go.

“My wife is coming.”
“She has a jacket.”
“It is a sheep. ”
“What’s her name?”
“It is Lorenzio.”
“Ok. I’ll let her through. ”
A little snippet of conversation outside Eilean Donan Castle. It’s amazing what you hear some times.
Having said that, he was Spanish and I wonder how I would have dealt with that if I was in Spain with my limited grasp of the language which runs to “Two beers” and “Where’s the toilet, please?”

Earlier we sat having breakfast at the hotel, watching the clouds rolling across the mountains and the light changing on their lower slopes. I did think about grabbing my camera, then decided that watching it was better than photographing it. Maybe my brain cells will retain it for longer than the hard disk would.

The drive up to Skye was eventless and through some beautiful scenery. We stopped for coffee and a scone at Eilean Donan Castle, the famous biscuit tin. That was where the Spanish lesson came from.

I had to forego the usual dram at dinner time to make sure I was legal to go for a drive at night to try to capture the Northern Lights, but the lights were out tonight. Scary drive though. Driving in pitch black on a single track road with passing places populated with the island’s sheep. I think the cloud cover was too heavy tonight and I don’t think it will be any better tomorrow. Rain is predicted. However, I’ve had a wee dram now and it, combined with paracetamol has stopped me thinking about the occasional jerk of pain from my ankle.

By the way, Lorenzio was wearing a sheepskin jacket.

Left at just after mid day for the drive up to Skye. It was bucketing down. Hardly taking time to rain. By the time we got to Stirling it was easing off a bit and when we left the motorway for the Callander road Scamp said she could see blue sky. Sure enough, the clouds were lifting and the rain was easing off to an intermittent drizzle. For some reason, police were stopping south bound cars for what looked like a spot check at Tyndrum. Don’t know why that was, but there was nothing on the north bound side. Stopped at Rannoch Moor to get some photos and walking across the long grass by the river, I saw (and photographed) a dragonfly. The climate is very strange this year. Dragonflies in October? Unheard of. Immediately after that I fell and twisted my ankle. I thought it was much worse because I heard a definite ‘click’ as I fell in a pot hole. Thought it might be broken, but although it’s plenty sore, there’s no swelling yet and I can move it. Silly auld bugger. Still, I got the shot I was aiming for, so it’s all right. Sitting in the ‘bunkhouse without bunks’ at the Loch Leven Hotel. Actually very nice looking, and the bunkhouse, which looks like a converted out building is fine. May go for a walk later.

Went for a walk under the Ballachulish bridge and got some shots of the low sun. It was cold, but not freezing. Decided to go along the path to Bishop’s Bay. The path was quite gloomy through a pine wood, but opened out onto a rocky headland. A woman we passed said we should risk the slimy rocks because the views over the top were amazing. So, I’ve got a dodgy ankle which is giving me gyp. I just stayed on the save ground. Nah, don’t be stupid, there’s photos ready for the taking there! Up and over the (not very) slimy rocks and through the oak trees at the top to see the glorious view up the loch. One of those places where you could just sit down and enjoy the light and the colours. Unfortunately, Scamp hadn’t risked the (almost not) slimy rocks, so I had to grab a few shots and go back down to meet her before she got worried that I’d broken my ankle this time. Memorable.

Dinner in the hotel at night and a nice pint of micro brewery (actually nano brewery) IPA and a great waitress with a bit of a sense of humour playing vinyl albums because that’s what they do on a Wednesday. Glad Scamp booked this hotel.

As usual, click the photo to see larger images.

I was up early this morning, just after 7.00, trying to finish off yesterday’s marathon file management work. Eventually got it sorted. Now I’ve got to work out the code to keep it working the way I want. I’ve got a few ideas about how to progress, but they’re a bit clunky. There must be an elegant solution just waiting to be found.

Got fed up sitting in the house watching the rain, so I went in to Glasgow on the train after I finally got parked at the station. That place is a nightmare. I’d hate to have to drive there each morning to get to work. Actually, I’d just hate going to work now 🙂 Thankfully I don’t have to. Got the Pentel brush pen I was looking for to use with #Inktober. Then I got three water brushes in Millers or whatever it is now for less than the cost of one anywhere else. I’m presently writing this on the train on the way home, still looking for that elegant solution.

Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas for dinner tonight, and it actually worked. I’ve given up any ideas I had of going on Bake Off. It’s Masterchef for me now. That way I’ll be able to tell that fat, baldy bastard Wallace to shut his fat face, and cook Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas as my signature dish!

Oh, yes, and the elegant solution I was harping on about? I found it. It was a simple one line rule in Hazel and I could have used it yesterday and saved my wee NAS drive from almost going into meltdown.

I’m fed up with the rain now. Turn off the taps please.

More mono stuff below for Inktober.