Saturday 25 August 2018

LISMORE COLOURS

Iain and I have been to Lismore, an island opposite Appin in Argyllshire.

Waiting for the ferry at Appin

Late evening sun, Appin pier.

 Evening reading in the conservatory



 EARLY AUTUMN COLOURS









Sunday 19 August 2018

WORLD PIPE BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS ('THE WORLDS') 2018

Iain and I spent a pleasant Saturday afternoon in Glasgow Green at the Annual World Pipe Band Championship.  Lots o' bands from all over the world.

The practice of putting on rock concerts and the like is now being perfected in Glasgow ... and I am here to say they do it very well: big screens around the park; litter bins, toilets and food areas all very well laid out and kept tidy.  Trailers with merchandise for sale are also arranged well although having said that Iain did not find one (that he was looking for) that sold electronic bagpipes.  However I did see a 'digital bagpipe' sign ... whatever that is!


 



There were lots of young people in evidence both playing and listening.  You could see the older brigade (pipers) putting the young charges through their paces as they warmed up in the practice area.  So piping seems to be alive and well these days.


We bumped into a few folk that we knew although most of the piping fraternity of our aquaintance are long gone.  It's funny ... I find I am still looking for them!  The ones we got to know were ex-military; always beautifully turned out and carried themselves very erect!















Wednesday 15 August 2018

BACK TO SCHOOL

Ishie (11.5 yr), Alastair (10 yr) and now Harriet (5 yr) started school today.

It is Harriet's first day and Primary School and Ishie's first day at Secondary School.  Alastair will now be in his last year of Primary School.

Indy is also back to school  this week in California.  He is in Grade 2 (aged 7 yrs).

Meanwhile Dad is heading off to do the Nursery run with one less child; only Ellie now.  She is OK with all of this "School is for the big kids. I'm a little girl."  She will be going next year.


She is a real 'clothes horse' meaning that she is very fussy about what she wears and it always has be a dress.

Ishie has a brand new blazer. She looks very smart!

Ishie 11 on the deck with Alastair, 10 years old.

Alastair has combed his hair.  I just thought I would record the fact to mark this rather rare phenomenon!

Harriet getting ready for her first day at school.
 
 Ah ... the joys of getting them out the door every morning!


* * * * * *
Finally... Alastair and Mairi in 1985.  Alastair is 9 and Mairi is 10 years old.







Tuesday 14 August 2018

GRANDMA HITS THE MALLS

School starts tomorrow so Ishie and I had a bit of a blowout...by hitting the malls for a couple of hours.

It was pouring rain and where better to be than in a covered car park at Braehead heading for the shops in the mall that sell jangle jewellery, T shirts and loadsastuff made in China, Indonesia, India that fills every window, rack and display cabinet.

I was amazed at how cheap some of the garments were! And the quality was well... middling... but not certainly not rubbish. However a question that occurred to me was: where does the stuff that isn't sold end up?

Wandering around with Ishie amongst the T shirts was actually quite fun; some of the 'artwork'  caught my eye!

 WHEN THERE'S NO FREE WIFI


 CAPUSSINO


 WINNIE THE POOH HOT WATER BOTTLE COVERS


A NIGHTIE THAT ISHIE BOUGHT

WILD CHILD

FORGET ABOUT YOUR WORRIES AND YOUR STRIFE



Sunday 12 August 2018

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL BOOTH STORY

Iain and I went through to a show at the Edinburgh Festival this week. The city was alive with visitors all enjoying the good weather and street life. Edinburgh certainly is a great setting for wandering around, having a coffee, taking in a show, and for us... heading back to Waverly Station and the train home again. 






We went to see Gyles Brandreth doing his 1 hour show "Break a Leg". It was terrific!  Early in the show he asks "Is anyone here a visitor?!"  From the front a voice " Yes... from Bel Air, Maryland". 

Brandreth who clearly enjoyed the chance to  ad lib is a walking encyclopedia e.g. he tells us all about one famous person from there: John Wilkes Booth.  

Now I know a thing or two about this chap (I share the same surname and, I have now discovered, date of birth!). He is the man who, on April 14, 1865, assassinated President Lincoln.

What I did not know was that he was born near Bel Air, Maryland; was the second youngest of 10 children. His father, Junius Brutus Booth, was a well-known actor...."

It occurred to me that Gyles might not know the story of the doctor who treated Booth for his broken leg. I asked him afterwards at the book signing ... No, he did not know it so I briefly mentioned that, being a man interested in words and language, he might search on line for the story....

... which is this: Dr Samuel Mudd was the doctor whose farm John Wilkes Booth went to after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. He set his broken leg, unknowingly becoming an accomplice. He was wrongfully accused and tried and convicted as a member of a conspiracy. Though he claimed to be innocent, he was still convicted and suffered immense hardship. His wife worked tirelessly to get him released. (He was eventually pardoned by Pres. A. Johnson.)

And what I thought Gyles would enjoy discovering is: from this we get the expression used in this sentence: "You had better not do that or name will be Mudd."



Sunday 5 August 2018

'BLUEBIRD' FLIES AGAIN

Iain and I had a day out today.  We headed to Rothesay to see a boat 'Bluebird' which has been restored.

Donald Campbell used to test his jet-engine hydroplane  'Bluebird' to see how fast she could go.(He broke eight world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s.) He died on January 4 1967 aged 45 when it flipped into the air and disintegrated as he attempted a new water speed record on Coniston Water in Cumbria. (He had set himself a target of reaching 300mph.)

In 2001 Campbell’s body – with his race suit intact – and the wreckage of 'Bluebird' were recovered from the depths of the lake.

The restored boat came to Bute this weekend on a low-loader from South Shields where  Bill Smith, an engineer, has since been lovingly restoring the boat to her former glory.

Here are some photos I took today on my iPhone.  




Quite by chance Iain and I arrived at exactly the moment the first test run was about to take place.  I simply held up my iPhone and managed to capture the start.  There is silence ... then the noise of the jet-engine  Va ro-o-o-o-m echoes across the lake! Wow!  (Takes me back to the days when I watched hydroplane races on Lake Okanagan at the Kelowna Regatta and also Lake Chelan in Washington State.)


Above is a video of 40 seconds at the start (with Iain in the foreground)





and a shorter one of 16  seconds at the end of the test run.




Saturday 4 August 2018

WATERING THE 'MINGOS

It has been hot.  My little helpers have been out with the watering can. These 2 plastic flamingos in the garden have given us hours of pleasure.  They arrived last year via the Amazon delivery van in a box the size of car tyre having been sent from Florida by Alastair. 



I am sure all this watering will help them survive the winter!









It's been a wonderful summer for being out in the garden.  A couple of chairs, a rug or two and .... you've got a playhouse.  Add to that half a packet of Oreo's and some toys and they are set for the afternoon.


Ellie ... or she says of herself  "Ellie May" ... May being her middle name.

She and Harriet were with me today but Harriet was in bed ill with a tummy bug.  Feeling very hot I asked Harriet if I could spray some perfume (well  actually 'toilet water') on her to make smell nice and keep cool.  No...

So I turned to Ellie and said "Will I spray some on you?"  "No" she said. "I don't have any bugs in my hair!"


Lastly here is Ishie who was here yesterday. She was baking with her friend Anna.   She's 11.5 years old.  While baking is not her most favourite thing she is getting very good at using the food mixer and attending to pots or the frying pan  on the gas hob unit.  She loves making 'traybakes' using melted chocolate ... but oh!!! how the kitchen cupboards and floor get covered in it!