Category: Urban Sketching

Lazy day / Dancing night – 7 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

7 Nov

After the long walks these last two days, we both settled down to a sunbathing day today.  The furthest we were going to go was the pool, or should I say the pools.  The pool with the bar in it, yes in it, not just next to it, but in the img_3545-2-flickr-2pool itself, which means that you can swim up to the pool, have a drink and swim away again.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it all went ‘swimmingly’ today Winking smile   Both Scamp and I had a swim in the pool and when we both tired of this aquatic activity, we baked in the sun for a while more.  It was while Scamp was swimming she shouted to me that there was a dragonfly dipping into the pool.  It was actually a mating pair that was laying eggs in the swimming pool.  I don’t think there is much chance of those eggs hatching any time soon.  If the chlorine doesn’t kill them, the filters will grind them to a pulp.  Such a waste of time.  I got a fairly decent ink sketch done while we were sitting by the pool

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

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

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

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

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

Thunderstorms, Blazing Sun and Airies – 5 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

5 Nov

This morning we had breakfast – a lighter breakfast than yesterday and retired to the pool. 

There are two pools one for each main building.  Both buildings have the same ground plan, but one has the restaurants and the reception in addition to apartments while the other is entirely apartments.  Ours is the second one.  This means that our building is a bit quieter than the other.  Unfortunately, half of our pool is currently being renovated so we don’t have the ‘swim-in’ bar which is perhaps a blessing in disguise. 

We grabbed a couple of sunbeds after breakfast and we sat and read for an hour, then got a sketch done,  before I decided to find out just how cold the water was.  It was quite cold, but I was prepared for that after last year’s cool pool in Tenerife.  Once you’re in it’s not so cold, and once you come out again it’s lovely and warm.  I read a bit more while I was drying off and then went up to the room to get yesterday’s blog finished and the photos processed.  When Scamp came up she said it was starting to rain and as we watched the clouds roll in, we heard the first peal of thunder.  Oh dear, there goes the day.  We waited a while and then went for lunch which for me was a thin steak, a hamburger, spinach and potatoes.  Lovely.  By the time we came out the rain was off and the sun was out again.

After lunch we went for a walk in the direction of the airport.  For those of a binary persuasion, this was Left along the front, not Right like yesterday.  We walked on and on until we reached the airport.  Not the actual airport building, but the very end of the runway which was almost within touching distance.  The sound of the airies taking off is surprisingly loud this close up.  It was actually worse further away because the buildings shielded us from the sound of the engines as the plane thundered along the runway and it was only when it rose above them that you heard the roar.  Actually it was worse than that because for a couple of seconds the plane lifted in silence, then the roar began.  Those of a mathematical and scientific frame of mind will tell you it’s all to do with the relative difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound.  It does look strange. 

While we were sitting a (French?) family decided to scramble down a steep ramp to the sand.  First the mum and wee boy tentatively edged down.  Next the dad, much braver, pushing the empty pushchair just ran down it.  The front wheels of the pushchair caught in the soft sand at the bottom and stopped dead.  Dad didn’t.  He did a clumsy sort of cartwheel before landing on the sand.  It was one of those things you see happening, but are helpless (with laughter?!) to stop.  The only injury was to the poor bloke’s dignity.

We watched a few airies taking off and then headed back with more than a few stops to rest our weary legs.  The promenade is mainly flat, but it is quite long and it takes its toll on the feet.

After dinner we went to see if the singing duet would perform any songs worth dancing to, but Scamp declared them unsuitable (both the singers and the songs, I think).  Since the dance floor was littered with weans running about while their parents watched from the audience, it was probably a good decision on safety grounds.  We retired to the waiting G&T in the room.

Sat on the balcony under the stars with a couple of G&Ts. 

The Ba’s Burst – 29 October 2016

Posted on by Zogman

29-oct

I heard that today in the congested and now quite tacky shopping centre in Dunfermline.  While Scamp was off looking for bargains in Debenhams, I was trying to get my iPhone to burst into life with no success and I overheard a snippet of conversation between two blokes.  One asked the other why he was in town today and his pal replied that he’d offered to take his wife for a walk in the country, but ; “If there’s no shops then the ba’s burst.”  I liked that way of saying that there was no point in taking the conversation any further.

Previous to this we had walked through Pittencrieff Park which for once was almost empty of people.  Loads of squirrels though and a few dogs intent on chasing them, but not too many people.  It was very dull and damp and not conducive to a walk in the park, so I don’t really blame the folk for staying in the warm.  We went into the warm of the glasshouse and I got a few flower photos.  Now flooers used to be a sign of failure to get a decent photo, but these flooers were beautiful living blooms and gave the possibility of creating a shot.  I notice a lot of American photogs talk about ‘making’ a photo rather than ‘taking’ a photo.  I think it was Ansel Adams who started using that term many years ago and to be honest, how many times do we simply ‘take’ a shot?  More often than not we ‘make’ or ‘create’ the shot either by post-processing or by posing the subject the way we want them or it to be seen.  These were ‘made’ photos of flowers.

Previous again, we had chosen to bus to Dunfermline today after yesterday’s long drive out west.  It’s a relaxing run across country to the middle east and out into Fife and one I don’t mind doing on the bus, especially as this is a real express with very few stops.  However, the driver had forgotten to switch off his microphone and we were treated to all the squeaks and rumbles from the springs in his seat, at least I hope it was from his seat.  We were also given a chance to hear the bloke behind’s choice of music through his less than effective noise cancelling headphones.  Worst two things about Public Transport are the Public and the Transport.  I know I’ve said that before, but I thought it sounded so good, it was worth repeating 🙂

img_3479-flickrToday is day 29 in Inktober and today’s sketch of Pittencrieff House was done in the open air again.  The house was built by Sir Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff as a simple laird’s house with two stories and an attic around 1635.
Drawing the windows was a nightmare as no two windows are the same size and no two windows line up with each other.  Only the attic windows share a top line.  Not surprising given the age of the building.

I did get the iPhone started again while we were having a cup of tea each before heading for the bus home.  After holding down the home and power button for about 10 seconds, it grumbled into life.  I still don’t know why it went in the huff.  Maybe “the ba’ was burst”.

My web host apologises for the later arrival of this blog.  Apparently there were issues with the server last night and the admins were looking into it.  It’s a bit like when there’s a hole in the road and the council are looking into it.  They’re looking into it, they’re not doing anything about it, just looking.  Well, I’m looking too.  I’m looking for a new web host.