Category: weather

Chatelherault – 19 December 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Out on a photo walk with Alex.

I was due to pick Alex up at his house around 11am, but after getting up at about 4.30am to take some paracetamol to numb the pain from toothache, I wasn’t sure I’d be meeting him any time today. However, when the 8.30am alarm chimed out its merry tune there was no sign of toothache.

The early rise and the alarm were because we’d booked the man from Hannah and Howie to come and service the boiler. He was supposed to arrive between 9am and 1pm, and I was glad we’d set the alarm for 8.30, when he knocked on the door at 9.05. It only took him half an hour to do the service and report that nothing needed replaced this time, but maybe we’d need a gasket replaced at the next service, which should be in a year’s time. One thing done.

Scamp asked me to take her up to Tesco to get more messages, so I dropped her off and drove on to Motherwell, had a chat with Carol and Alex and I drove over to Chatelherault on the outskirts of Hamilton. While we were sitting in the car talking, an unusual bird swooped down not far from us. At first I thought it was a Shrike, but Alex though it might be a Jay, and when we got a good look at it, that’s what it was. Not very common this far north, but I think Hazy gets them in her garden.

It was a wild day with sunny skies one minute and torrential rain the next. We walked down past the Three Hard Men, the statues of David Livingston, William Wallace and Robert Owen cut from steel plate. I got a few shots, but wasn’t really struck on any of them. Alex, of course, got a cracker of a shot!

We walked further on to the old Avon Bridge where we saw a Kingfisher about a year ago, but the Avon Water was in spate, or probably more likely just running off a spate, but far too fast flowing for the kingfisher to show today. As we turned to climb the hill that would take us back to the Big House, we felt the first spits of rain. We’d both been watching the clouds rolling in and as there was no shelter, we just had to plod our weary way back through the rain. We got passed by about a dozen cyclists who must have been as wet as us, if not wetter. It was lovely and warm in the cafe though and we got a table without any problem.

I had just been given a tray with our two coffees and two scones when the woman at the till said the system had gone down. She took a note of our order and said she’d let us know when the system was back in business again. After our coffee and scone lunch, we sat and talked a while. People were being served again at the counter and it looked like the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again, so went back and paid for our lunch. The woman seemed surprised that I’d bothered to come back, but maybe it’s just auld guys like me who do that. Anyway, she gave me a wink and gave me a discount for being honest!

Alex suggested a walk to the Cadzow Oaks, the ancient oak trees that surround some earthworks. The oaks have been dated to the mid 15th Century. That kind of ancient. Some of the oldest living trees in Scotland. The earthworks are a mystery. Nobody seems to know their significance, and there is no clue to who built them. The oaks always make me think of the Ents that Tolkien wrote about. We both got a few photos of them, quite a few! One Ent photo made PoD. Then the rain threatened again and we walked back over the Duke’s Bridge to the car. I drove Alex home and we planned another outing between Christmas and New Year, probably to Glasgow if the weather behaves.

Scamp had been busy while I was away. There was mince cooking on the stove and a lovely smell of baked cakes from the oven. They were Dundee Cakes with a lovely mixture of fruit in them, as well as a measure of Black Bottle whisky. I’ve only had one, because although the paracetamol had done its job, I didn’t want to risk another early morning second dose.

Tomorrow, coincidentally, I’ve a dentist’s appointment to repair a broken filling, so I’ll maybe ask the lady dentist if she’ll have a look at my dodgy molar. Scamp is booked for lunch tomorrow at Calders. Hopefully I’ll be able to speak properly when she gets home, if my jag has worn off by then!

I saw blue sky! – 18 December 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We drove up to Costa today to have coffee with Isobel.

We spent an hour in a cold barn of a place with a really high ceiling that means any hot air collects under the manky glass roof and doesn’t warm those seated below it. Although, I think the air con was blowing cool air around us. We sat in this dismal place for an hour. Isobel eventually put her coat on. An hour was enough in the cooler and we parted to go our separate ways.

Scamp and I were going to Tesco to get a trolley load of messages which tested the suspension of the blue car. It was just a Monday morning shopping expedition with little to differentiate it from any other Monday, except, the sun was breaking through and a big triangular chunk of blue sky was in evidence! Miracles do happen, even in Cumbersheugh.

We drove home and unpacked the bags and then stashed them in cupboards, fridge and freezer until the bags were empty. Scamp was going to have lunch, but I wasn’t going to let the blue sky and sun get away lightly. I changed into boots and drove down to Auchinstarry to get some real outside photos.

A couple of landscapes were first on the list, taken on a walk along the canal towpath, then as I was crossing into the Plantation, the light was just scraping down the side of the Campsie Fells. Just as I took the shot a deer ran across the path and into my field of view, except that the fraction of a second it takes for the shutter to fire allowed the deer to get into the trees. All I saw on the shot was the white of its tail. Never mind, it was the landscape I was photographing this time, not the wildlife.

I crossed the River Kelvin on the bridge and turned right to head back to the car park and found PoD. It’s a snail complete with shell, paddling across the waterlogged path that used to be a mineral railway line taking coal to Glasgow. A nice low angle and a slow moving subject gave me ideal image for the PoD.

Drove home after visiting Lidl in Kilsyth and wishing I’d walked through the wee park where a bloke told me he’d seen a kingfisher about a month ago, but the light was failing by then and I had to leave the kingfisher for another day. I drove home and had a late lunch of a piece ’n’ cold meat.

Dinner tonight was more of yesterday’s Carrot & Lentil Curry. It had matured since yesterday. Not as sweet and with some extra garam masala, it was a bit spicier.

Watched the final part of Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 where the winning artist painted Dr Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE for the National Portrait Gallery. It was so good to see a portrait that ended up looking like the sitter for a change.

Tomorrow a bloke is coming to service the boiler and I’m hoping to meet Alex for a photo walk.

I think the sun is on strike – 17 December 2023

Posted on by Zogman

As you’ve probably guessed, today was another sunless day, and it rained all day too.

We both read for a while in the morning and the early afternoon too.

After lunch I started planning dinner, which was Carrot and Lentil Curry. It’s ages since I made it and I had to look up the recipe to make sure I was doing it right. I was, but grating two big carrots doesn’t half make your arm ache. I was contemplating transferring my Fitbit watch to my right arm so I would get the benefit of some extra steps, because it didn’t seem like I was going to get many outside steps today.

Once the curry was on the go and simmering gently, I started looking around for a photo. I tried some photos of the Christmas Roses at the back door, but they were battered by the wind and rain and not looking at their best. The plants in the hanging basket were a possibility, but they needed some focal point. Then I found a Lego Minifig of a weeman in a gorilla suit and that’s where today’s PoD came from. It’s entitled “In the jungle …”

The curry wasn’t really all that spicy, but we didn’t have much garam masala, probably not enough to add the authentic taste. However, it was warm and there was rice and flat bread to fill it out. More for tomorrow and maybe even the next day.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard about a surprise visit from the previous house owner’s son who was just passing. Probably been asked by his dad to go and have a wee look at what they were doing in the plastic wrapped house. Also, it seems that they might not need to have their wall taken down after all. That will make less of a dent in their expenses.

Not a lot else happened today, but what can you do when it’s windy, wet and sunless. Well, you could moan about it, but nobody would listen.

Finally got round to writing most of my Christmas cards and with a bit of luck I’ll get them finished tomorrow.

Scamp and I are booked for coffee with Isobel tomorrow. More gossip for the ladies and coffee for me!

 

Another dull day – 16 December 2023

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Today was dull. There is no other way to put it. Just plain Scottish dreich.

Scamp announced that today would be devoted to tidying up the living room and especially the dinner table. With that decided for us, I did my fair share of tidying up, considering that it was mainly my junk that needed to be sorted through into Keep and Chuck piles. It did make a difference to the overall feel of the house when we were finished.

After a plate each of minestrone for lunch, we went for a walk to the shops. We didn’t really need anything there, but it was good to get out in the fresh air for a walk. I brought my camera with me, but didn’t feel inspired to take it out of the bag. It’s so difficult to get inspired on these dull days with no directional light. Scamp got a poinsettia with the money that June had given her for that purpose, but I really went for the walk. Back home a hot chocolate did brighten the afternoon a bit, as did a wee bag of Maltesers.

Spoke to Val when he phoned me out of the blue in the afternoon. It was good to hear from him and he sounded a lot more like himself. Still not fit enough or confident enough to go out for coffee, but a fifteen minute conversation made me feel a lot better. He certainly has had a hard time these last few weeks.

Later in the afternoon we got a message from Hazy to say that both their parcels had been delivered and that they had been divided up. Neil chose a brass cross and will give his mum and dad the other one, while Hazy has another cat too look after, albeit a ceramic one!

I couldn’t find a subject worthy of photographing, but then I found lots of subjects hanging on the Christmas tree. A wee Santa got the chance to shine today. Taken with the LensBaby 35 distortion lens, it looked quite good surrounded by the Christmas lights.

Dinner was Borlotti Beans and Bacon and was really such an excellent dinner for such a dull, cold, windy day. Great choice, Scamp.

We watched the final of Strictly in the evening and I must say it bolstered my opinion that the show is past its ‘sell by date’. How the worst contender of the final three managed to lift the trophy, I’ll never know. I don’t think I’ll watch the show next year, it is too depressing.

Tomorrow we have no plans. Hoping against hope that the sun may manage to shine for a short spell, but not convinced that it will.

Steak Pie and Macaroni Cheese – 15 December 2023

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Scamp was off to FitSteps this morning. The last one of this year.

While she was away, it was my job to post the parcels to the boys and girls.

First I had to write the addresses on all the boxes and then humph them over to the post office in Condorrat. It was supposed to be 8ºc this morning, but that didn’t take into account the wind chill and it was chilling. Condorrat post office is a tiny wee place and it was crowded today with folk carrying big parcels, me being one of them. However, the woman who was in charge was efficient at getting through the queues of folk waiting to send parcels out to other folk. After answering a load of questions I got all three parcels posted off. Hopefully everyone will like what’s in them, and there are a couple of surprises.

I took a few photos on the way back home, mainly boring tree photos and a few of the bright red berries that no animal wants to eat and no birds do either. The bright red colour seems to signify ‘Danger’ and they all steer well clear. I imagine they are poisonous to all flesh, so I kept my distance too, but they did brighten up the trees. One of them became PoD.

Cup of coffee when I got home and we were ready to go to Brodens for lunch. Last week we were the only folk in the restaurant for a while. Today it was jumping, but our table was marked as reserved. Steak pie for me and macaroni cheese for Scamp. Good filling food. Then we walked down the road. We had intended to go down to the shops for some things, but then decided it was a bit cold for that, so we went home instead.

Scamp though it would be a good idea to put up her new automatic lights on the tall fence. I grabbed my trusty staple gun and proceeded to staple some cable ties to the fence, then we could use them to hold the wires of the long string of lights. Just as I was nearly finished, I managed to drive a staple through the fleshy part of my thumb, just shy of my nail, thankfully. Lots of blood, but nothing an Elastoplast couldn’t cope with. It was sore at the time, but now it’s settled down. Dafty! I think Scamp got a bigger fright than me. The lights look very pretty all different colours. We checked tonight and they went off after their 6 hours.

I did some post processing afterwards and Scamp sat and read for a while. We watched the final of the Portrait Artist of the Year and the right person won, for once. So unusual for us to pick the winner.

No real plans for tomorrow. Every year, June buys Scamp a Poinsettia at Christmas. Lately she just gives Scamp the money to buy one. Tomorrow I think we might go and buy June’s poinsettia.

Good news – 14 December 2023

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A phone call brightened my day today.

I had a morning phone consultation today giving the results of a “Stool Test”. That’s a euphemism for a ‘poo test’ which is also a euphemism, but I won’t drop down to that level! You know what I mean. I had the test done a just over a week ago because my red blood levels were low and today’s phone call from the doctor was to tell me that everything was normal again, apart from a slightly low iron level  reading, but that can be countered by eating more green veg and the occasional rusty nail. That was good because a Whisky and Drambuie mixture (which is called a Rusty Nail) is my favourite drink of the moment!  But seriously, that was a weight off my mind. Even better, the sun was shining!

First stop today was Tesco for some messages. I also deemed it appropriate to get a bag of Jam Doughnuts. I felt I’d earned it. I bumped into Fred who told me that Val seemed to be on the mend. That cheered me up too.

Back home, after lunch I got started making tonight’s dinner which was Minestrone soup which had lots of green cabbage in it, but no rusty nails. It’s a good workout for the arms, chopping onions, carrots, leeks, cabbage and half a lemon. they are all bunged into a very big pot with some water, salt and pepper. The whole mixture is brought to the boil, then left to simmer for an hour or so.

While it was simmering and Scamp had promised to keep an eye on it, I took a few odds and ends to the skips and tossed them in. I’d half intended to go for a drive to take some photos, but:

A. There was hardly any useful light by then.
B. I had a plan for a photo for later.

With that in mind, I drove home instead.

While I was out, Scamp had been wrapping parcels and filling Jiffy Bags with the contents. All very neatly done. I think I’m going to be taking them to the post office tomorrow, but I’ll keep you posted (Ha, ha ‘posted’ get it?).

For most of the remainder of the afternoon I fought with Microsoft 365 trying to work out what I was doing wrong and what was causing a ‘Trust Error’. Eventually I gave in and went online to Mickysoft chat line and was told it was probably the browser that was causing the error. Sure enough, I changed from Firefox to Chrome and everything went smoothly after that. Well, as smoothly as any Mickysoft program can work.

Just before dinner, Scamp got a garbled message from a woman at British Gas, attempting to explain how they were going to fix the problems with the Smart Meter not connecting to the billing system. It sounded like a load of waffle to me. She even said that if all else fails, they could return us to the old system where we would be have no on-line connection to the company.  A bit of a backward step?  Surely not!!!  This only came about after Scamp contacted the Ombudsman’s office again and asked what BG were doing, because we had had no response from them.  It’s amazing the power you have that you didn’t know you had!

The soup was a bit thick, but tasted remarkably good, given that there is no stock in it, just veg and water, basically. I’ve only just realised that I forgot to add crushed macaroni into the mix for an extra half hours cooking. I think that would have made it even thicker, so leaving it out was a worthwhile accident.

Today’s PoD was the photo I had planned for today. It’s the traditional Fairy Nuff on the tree. She doesn’t get out much, but when she does, she looks really regal.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending going to the final FitSteps class of the year. I might put another layer on my painting, or I might just go to Condorrat to post the parcels.

Wrong day – 13 December 2023

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I decided I’d go with Scamp to meet Isobel, but there was a problem.

We got a phone call from Hazy this morning. Just a quick call to see how things were. She also suggested we should contact the Ombudsman again since we had heard nothing from them for over fortnight now. It was a fairly short phone call, partly because the cats were misbehaving again.

Scamp and I drove up to Costa on a cold but clear winter day and I dropped her off outside, then went to find a place to squeeze the car into. When I walked in to Costa, Scamp was on the phone and Isobel was nowhere to be seen. It appears that she got her wires crossed and thought that Scamp had said it was Friday they were meeting, not Wednesday. After some discussion, they agreed to leave it until New Year. Probably best.

With that done, Scamp asked me to drop her at the train station and she’d get the train in to Glasgow instead because she had some important business to conduct. After I dropped her off, I drove over to Stirling because she wasn’t the only person with important business that needed sorting out. Unfortunately neither of my articles were available and I was just about to do a solo photo walk when my phone rang. It was Scamp asking for a run home from the station. I explained where I was and that I was on my way back to the car, so could pick her up a bit later. We agreed an hour would give me plenty time to get back to Cumbersheugh and give her enough time for a coffee and a cake. So that’s what we did. I stopped at Tesco on the way to get stuff for lunch, then picked her up at the station.

Lunch for me was half a Ginsters Christmas Special Chicken and Stuffing pasty thing. Not very substantial, but I wasn’t really all that hungry and Scamp had already had coffee and cake in Glasgow. The sun was still shining, so I took a camera over to St Mo’s hoping for something interesting to take. There wasn’t much of interest, but I stood watching a man and a boy flying drones. Amazing height they reach quite quickly, these tiny flying machines. Still, they wouldn’t make much of a picture. What did make the Picture Of the Day was a purple lost glove hanging on an artistic park bench painted pink. I thought the glove and the bench made a good colour combination, plus it was bright and cheerful. We need Bright and Cheerful these days.

Scamp built the Christmas tree today and started adding all the new and old decorations.  We’d brought some decorations back from our summer cruise to Croatia. They are now on the tree.  It’s looking quite delightful. I’m sitting her finishing the blog in the dark and the lights are lovely.
Dinner was fish ’n’ chips. Home made variety. Very nice indeed.

We were dancing at Kirsty’s class later. We thought we were going to start the Foxtrot or maybe reprise the Tango, Waltz Nioli and Quickstep, bit Kirsty had other ideas. It was three different sequence dances. Just good fun dances we did. Lots of folk in the class tonight and we were definitely kept busy. No more classes until next year!

We watched the semi-final of Portrait Artist later and wonder what is in the heads of the judges. They chose two awful paintings and one decent one. Heaven knows what they’ll paint for the final.

Early shout tomorrow because I’ve a morning telephone consultation with the doc about my review results. After that, maybe shopping.

 

 

Back to dull again – 12 December 2023

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One good day and then back to dull grey skies and rain. Scotland the Grim.

Scamp was going out to meet June and Shona. I reckoned I would be surplus to requirements, so I left them to it and stayed home in case a parcel arrived. I felt that was a reasonable excuse / reason, even if Jamie had sent me a message to tell me it wouldn’t arrive until afternoon. What I did attempt was a watercolour wash over a rough sketch of a house. It was a tutorial I saw on the December issue of Urban Sketchers. It looked good when the tutor did it. Not so good on mine. I left it to dry and went to look for something to photograph, preferably inside, because it was raining.

Scamp arrived home later looking drookit and we had toast & beans for lunch. Not long after lunch the parcel arrived. It’s sitting in the living room now, looking at me and silently inviting me to slit the sellotape and look in, but I know better than that. Scamp would not be a happy bunny if I did that. I may do as she suggested and cover it with a table cloth and pretend it’s a low table until the big day. Thank you Jamie and Simonne!

Dinner tonight was Spaghetti Carbonara the way Val told me to make it. No cream! Just two eggs with one additional egg yolk, beaten up with grated parmesan. A slice of smoked bacon cut into thin strips and fried in a pan (I added mushrooms, but it’s probably better without) while your spaghetti is boiling. Once everything is ready, pour the eggy mixture into the pan with the bacon, drain the spaghetti well and add to the eggy, cheesy mixture. Grind on some pepper and mix the spaghetti with the egg mixture. You can do the cheffy thing where you flick the egg mix over the spaghetti if you want to look as if you know what you’re doing. Serve immediately. Spaghetti Carbonara the Val way.

Today’s PoD is an old favourite of mine, Christmas Cactus. A two frame focus stack to get back and front in focus.

Thank you again Jamie and Simonne for the parcel. I wonder what’s in it!

That was about it for today. Tomorrow, Scamp is out for coffee again, this time with Isobel. I may go with her or I might return to my painting.

Two go for a walk – 11 December 2023

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The morning broke with the promise of a fine day, but would it last?

As we watched the clouds break and the sun begin to shine, the decision was made. We would go for a walk. I chose Drumpellier as the likely destination. I know Scamp likes walking in the woods and I do too. It’s usually a place where I can be sure of getting a photo or two, so suited and booted for a walk in the woods, we set off.

By around 10.30 we were walking between the two ponds that make up Lochend Loch. We were walking counterclockwise today, against the normal flow of pedestrians. We took our usual route, choosing the second path that offered us an entrance to the woods. It’s a long straight path that takes you deep into the woodland, then there’s an almost 180º turn and another slightly shorter path before we turned off as we usually do to climb up the long slope to the crest of the hill then down the other side. Every now and again we’d come across a handful of seeds scattered by someone on the side of the path with magpies and the occasional crows making a breakfast of them. We’ve often seen these seeds and wondered if it’s just folk like us, or maybe folk working in the park who put these seeds down.

There are a myriad of paths and trails all the way through the woodland. Some are obviously deer trails and some look as if they are ramblers trails, but we generally keep to the main paths and each of us has their favourites. Today we walked a shorter and less strenuous route than normal, then I suggested we add on a walk round the cricket ground. It’s strange to think that an industrial place like Coatbridge would have a cricket ground in a corner of the woodland, but it’s true. We walked back down the road that would take us back to the loch and from there, back to the car park.

We needed some ‘messages’ and I suggested Morrisons as a change from Tesco. That’s how we came home with three bags full of stuff. Scamp was delighted to find that Morrisons stocked her old favourite fruity sauce. I was delighted to find a bargain bottle of whisky. We both bought more than we really needed, but a change is as good as a rest, some say and we needed a change from Tesco.

I finally bit the bullet and drove up to the town centre to get my hair cut. I swear it took the girl less than five minutes to give me a number 3 on the sides and a number 4 on the top. Then trim my terrifying eyebrows. Worth the £7.90 she asked for, so I gave her a tenner!

While I was out, Scamp had put her fancy new Christmas lights round the wee tree Jamie and Simonne brought from their garden. The clever thing about them is that you set the start time for them, then they stay on for six hours and automatically switch off after that time.  So smart!

I got a few photos today, but my favourite, and PoD, was a view over Lochend Loch with the sky reflected in the still water.

Cleverly, Scamp had turned the chicken stock from yesterday into a small pot of soup by adding more veg. That was dinner tonight with an M&S pizza to fill a wee space if we needed it.

Tomorrow I think Scamp may be meeting June, Shona and Ian. I’m intending to stay at home incase a parcel arrives.

 

In the Toon – 10 December 2023

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Just a flying visit today. It was dull, it was wet and it was miserable. It was Scotland!

I was taking a lens in to WEX to sell it on to some lucky girls or boys who really needed an 18mm f2.8 Samyang FE lens. I imagine they will be clamouring to be the first to get their hands on it, even with the mark-up WEX will put on it.

I took a crowded train in to Queen Street and walked up Bath Street and down the other side in the rain, handed in my boxed lens and got the paperwork, then I was back over the hill again to the city centre in the rain. I walked down Buchanan Street heading for George Square and on the way I took a few shots. Then I thought to myself, “Why bother. You’ve delivered the lens. Just go home.” Sometimes it’s sensible to listen to yourself. I turned in to Queen Street station and had 3 minutes to get through the crowds and on to the Edinburgh express. First stop Croy. I thought the train going in to Glasgow was busy, but this one was rammed!

Phoned home to see if Scamp wanted anything in Tesco, got a negative to that and then drove home to a lunch of bacon and egg washed down with a cup of coffee. I expect my jacket is still dripping!

Two days ago I photographed a poor wee rose bud clinging to its broken branch. It got PoD. Yesterday I cut it down, smashed the end of its stem to let the poor thing take in some water and carefully placed it in a rose vase on the kitchen window sill. It took about fifteen shots to get what I was looking for, but eventually I was happy with the result and today it got PoD for the second time.

Dinner tonight was an experimental Chicken Poached in Chicken Stock with Roast Potatoes, Baby Mushrooms and Multicoloured Veg. Served with a Chicken and Pea Jus. I think Scamp has been watching too much Masterchef the Professionals! It was delightful. I could almost hear that presenter’s breathy delivery with Gregg shouting in the background OH MATE!!!

We watched the sad end of one person’s journey in Strictly. The show is becoming a parody of itself. Not funny anymore, results predetermined. I give it one more season before it’s completely kaput.

Spoke to Jamie and thought he sounded more upbeat than of late, even if their wall might need repaired, but glad to hear that work can now begin again for a week or so.

No plans for tomorrow. I think it might rain!