COSTA CLYDE

I had another trip down the Clyde to the sailmakers in Largs today.  The Ayrshire farmland was covered in frost when I set off but the day turned out bright and sunny.  So at midday I stopped opposite the island of Arran and had a coffee from my flask ("Thermos" to North Americans) at the roadside.

Ailsa Craig is a conical shaped island in the lower Clyde - last sight for emigrants leaving Scotland for the New World.

 Lady Isle off Troon

The island of Arran

TIMBER PONDS ON THE CLYDE

 I had to drive to Largs today to pay a visit to a sailmaker ... not to have a sail repaired but rather it was to discuss the possibility of making a new replacement cover for our gazebo.  I bought this garden gazebo 2 years ago and it has served us really well.  However the material is perishing as it is rather thin and has been exposed to the sun as it sits in the south side of the house.

The drive back to Glasgow was lovely as I followed the shore of the Clyde all the way back up the motorway.

 On the edge of the river between Port Glasgow and the city of Glasgow are these bits of old wood sticking out of the water.  They look like they have been the posts for an old wharf or something but ... no ... they are what is left of a timber pond.  When timber arrived in the Clyde destined for the shipyards or sawmills instead of holding it all in a log-boom they build enclosures - a bit like a paddock - in the shallow water along the shore and held the timber in there.  These are the rotted remnants.

This sign explains how it dates back to the beginning of the 18th century when timber was being imported from North America and Europe.

GRANDCHILDREN UPDATE

Here are a few miscellaneous photos of the grandchildren as taken by John and Alastair over the last 4 weeks.

Ishie and Alastair are out walking in the woods on the edge of Glasgow.  That is the city in the distance.

 John took this photo of Ishie and Alastair peeping over a gravestone.

Alastair took this photo of Indy in Vancouver, now 13 months old and starting to walk and talk.

CASTOREUM

Beavers have been around a long time.  They have them in the UK, for example, in Argyllshire.  I thought I knew all about beavers from learning about them in school.

     Castor canadensis

 Sculpture: Canadian Parliament Buildings

However, what I did not know was this:

Melvyn Bragg, BBC In Our Time, said today that "Aesop's Fables presented the myth about beavers sacrificing their own testicles to hunters in the erroneous belief that the testicles were the prize. In fact it is the castoreum in the anal glands which was sought by hunters. Castoreum contains salicylic acid from which aspirin was developed; it is also used as base for perfumes, and in the USA is still used as a food additive."

Source: The Medieval Beastiary

Furthermore, Wikipedia states:

"Within the zoological realm, castoreum is the yellowish secretion of the castor sac in combination with the beaver's urine, used during scent marking of territory.[1][2] Both male and female beavers possess a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands located in two cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail.[3] The castor sacs are not true glands (endocrine or exocrine) on a cellular level, hence references to these structures as preputial glands or castor glands are misnomers.[4]"

...and that ....

"In the United States, castoreum as a food additive is considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be generally recognized as safe,[11] often referenced simply as a "natural flavoring" in products' lists of ingredients. While it can be used in both foods and beverages as a vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavoring,[12] the annual industry consumption is around 300 pounds.[13]

Castoreum has been traditionally used in Scandinavia for flavoring snaps commonly referred to as "Bäverhojt".[14]

Castoreum is also used in small amounts to contribute to the flavor and odor of cigarettes.[15]"