Christmas is over, what next?

It took us three days to get to Scarisbrick from Aberdeen. We stopped en route to take in a few hills, first at Drumochter then at Skiddaw, then finally in the Forest of Bowland. We slept in the Van, which is partially converted by having a bed/storage box built into the back of it. It wasn't too bad, except for the first morning when we woke up to find more ice on the inside of the windows than the outside.
We got to Scarisbrick on Christmas Eve and fairly promptly went out to The Ship at Lathom for Ormskirk Network's Christmas drinks. He made a disgrace of himself and won the prize for the best slow fall off a stool.
Christmas Day didn't really start until after lunchtime. We had dinner in the evening, goose not turkey, with my dad and my brother and his girlfriend.
On Boxing Day we visited a friend to recover some of his gear that he hasn't seen since Greenland. I then spent the best part of the afternoon hennaing my hair, to little apparent effect.
Today we have been out to Crosby to see Anthony Gormley's men (known locally as The Goonies my brother says) since they're still there. The tide was in, but as we started back along the beach to the van it was beginning to go out so some more of the men were coming out of the water. Several were wearing Santa hats.
Tomorrow is my younger brother's wedding in the Parish church in Scarisbrick. We're back off up north on saturday to get to Bute via Arrochar for New Year with his parents.

EDIT: I've added a photo of me coming down Skiddaw. That is the small path!

Scottish councillors reject Trump's £1bn golf course | Golf | Guardian Unlimited Sport

Woo Hoo!

Out and About

This weekend we went to the SHR race at Meall a Bhucaille and the 'do' afterwards at Badaguish. He ran while I went up Cairngorm, Alpine style (cafe to cafe)with some friends from the Club. It was a bit damp and windy, but we had a nice day out.

On Sunday 10 of us went to Inshriach to orienteer on the Map of the Month, well technically the map of last month but the controls are still out. It was a lot of fun, chasing each other round the forest in the rain. Somehow I hurt my hip - no idea what I did but it suddenly started hurting and now I'm hobbling like an old man...

We stopped at Inverdruie for lunch, meaning to go to the cafe in the Rothiemurchus estate shop but it was shut. So we went to the diner over the way then bought some venison from the shop for tea. It was very good.

More opera

On Wednesday we went to see the Scottish Opera production of The Barber of Seville. I really enjoyed it - the casting was good, the funny bits were funny and the set was good. I think, that compared to the other productions we've seen this year, it is clear why this one was about £5 dearer. It's not hard to see were that money goes.

Before the show we went for dinner at The Square and took advantage of their split service to come back afterwards for dessert and coffee. I had an autumn fruit cheesecake for pudding, which was rather mauve, but so good.

Winter

It snowed in Aberdeen last night. Not very much but it was still there this morning. Now the sun is out and it's a clear east coast winter day. The wind has dropped thankfully. Hopefully it will stay that way so I can rescue the garden. I was blown off my bike last night on my way home when I got hit by the crosswind at the end of my road. Luckily there was no traffic and I landed on the long grass on the verge, so I bounced.

Opera

Last night we went to see a production of Carmen at His Majesty's in Aberdeen. I'm not a reviewer in any way, but I enjoyed it.

What interested me is the variety of people there. Opera is always supposed to be High Culture and not for the ordinary folk. I'm not sure this is true. The audience consisted mainly of average middle class types and students. Maybe this is because it was in Aberdeen. I expect the audience for an ENO production at Covent Garden might be different - or is that just perpetuating the prejudice?

Riverbend made it to Syria.

Daft things fell runners do for fun...

The first weekend in September was a busy one for the Cosmic Hillbashers. My other half went to do the Ben Nevis Race with two others. Some other Cosmics went to Applecross for the Bealach na Ba cycle race. Three Cosmics also went to the Braemar Highland Games, which include a popular hill race.

This week is...

...Offshore Europe week.
This means there are some extremely large tent/sheds on the AECC car park and many, many oil engineers from all over the world. My other half has to attend his company stand for two days, which required the purchase of a new suit this weekend.
It was interesting trying to get into the Park & Ride car park this morning, conveniently located, as it is, behind the AECC. The Police Traffic Wardens were out in force - standing about in the middle of the road, trying to direct traffic and look important in hi-vis jackets. Interesting to watch the people who hadn't paid attention to the rearrangement of lanes on the roundabout and were being funnelled into the exhibition parking instead of the council car park...

Jamboree!

This summer I went to the 21st World Scout Jamboree at Hylands Park in Essex. This year is Centenary Year for us Scouts and the Jamboree celebrated this big style. 40,000 people were in camp and a further 42,000 came as day visitors.
I went as a member of the International Service Team - 8000 scouts aged over 18 who go to the Jamboree to work. I was working on the design and build team, which was responsible for the build and take down of the Jamboree site. During the Jamboree, however, we were responsible for the flags, banners, monuments and signposts around the site. The main job was to raise and lower the 160 nation flags and the World Scout Flag each day.
The most memorable experience for me was Sunrise Day on the 1st August - when the World Organisation of Scout Movements celebrated the Centenary. We held flag break at sunrise, timing it to ensure that the World Flag was raised at local sunrise - 5.17am. For me, this was something really special and a great honour to be part of.

This really annoys me

The G2 on the ongoing rows about the HPV vaccine.

I was given the rubella (german measles) vaccine aged 11. As far as I still understand it was on the premise that one day I would be married and have children, and, if during one of those pregnancies I caught rubella it would affect the baby.

I don't understand how this situation is different. It protects against a future chance of infection. The method of infection isn't important to me. It's a matter of protecting the child now against something that might occur in the future.

Busy busy busy

I've been very busy recently. And so, somehow, again, a whole month has slipped by...
I've been busy Scouting, with the Centenary Camp to take our Cubs to and helping Aberdeen Network get on their feet and start running. I've been down to Gilwell for the pre Jamboree kit distribution weekend.

I've even tried to do a little work on my thesis (!) in preparation for Summer School next month.

A message from The Great Architect

God writes in BD?

Non-believers, thanks for nothing. Eternally grateful I don’t think. Don’t bother invoking My help the next time it all goes pear-shaped. If you WANT it to go pear-shaped you can always buy some of that expensive design software from the Gehry Corporation, can’t you? You snivelling distracted heathen dabblers.

Architecture and I go back a long way. Ask your old pals the Freemasons. Who created the universe? I did. Who am I? The Great Architect. I didn’t ask to be called that. I would have preferred Tecton, Master of The Galaxies. Or The Omnipotent Spatial Masterplanner. Almost anything else to be frank, I’m just not that keen on The Great Architect. Makes me sound like the managing director of Jehovah + Partners, some turgid outfit doing modular housing in the Thames Gateway.

Which reminds Me. I know an interventionist God is a bit passé these days but the next practice using “+” instead of “and” in its name, or deploying a row of lowercase bullshit with “:” in the middle... well. Upon them will be visited a most calamitous vengeance. And this is not Arb speaking here — I am God, so watch it.

Architects have traditionally been accused by their victims of playing Me, which is ridiculous. If people stopped to think for a moment about the logistics of social engineering they would realise it is money, not architecture, imitating Me. And in terms of infrastructure I think you’ll find the righteous paths are chosen by the county council.

While I think of it, I’d like to take this opportunity to disown a poem currently circulating on the internet in which God’s Architecture is a snowflake. In no way is this architecture. Snowflakes are essentially a feat of engineering. Obviously I take credit for that too. A snowflake conforms to My laws of physics.

One of the questions I sometimes ask Myself is how should architecture serve Me? Unfortunately, I’m dealing with defective software here. In My experience, which is pretty extensive, architects are overwhelmingly secular. It goes with concepts like urban and rational. These days, when one of you is outed as a believer — Quinlan Terry for example — they’re treated with pity and derision. Firstly for being God’s Architect, secondly for not being Gaudi or Pugin. So what? I’m allowed only one architect at a time? In My mansion is an infinite volume of epic space. Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.

You won’t, though, will you, because the smart thing these days is sustainable paganism. I may not be revered any longer, but you’re all perfectly relaxed about this new green religion. Oh, brilliant — Earth worship. I thought you’d done with that, ages ago. Please. The Earth is just a big fat clod. Yet apparently it must be appeased, and feared. “O wrathful Earth, do not choke us all or boil us. O great Gaia, spare us and we will mend our ways. And could you put in a good word for us with your mate the sun god Ra? Or whatever he’s called this week?” You thick ants.

I acknowledge there has been some cracking architecture done in My name throughout the ages. Temples, churches, supermosques. Lovely. Houses of Me. Thanks. Good job.

Except I’m not corporeal, am I? I’m everywhere and nowhere baby, as per Jeff Beck’s classic party floor-filler, Hi Ho Silver Lining. So at the moment, yes, I’m definitely “at home” in, say, Ely Cathedral. Gorgeous nave. But I’m actually “in” social housing too. You know, that haunting stuff you recoiled from, guiltily, when you glimpsed it the other day out of the train window. Don’t even bother pretending you didn’t. I am God. I AM your conscience.

I know Mies van der Rohe once said I was in the details. And I know he’s everybody’s favourite modernist autocrat. But to be honest he was more interested in the luxury end of the market than theology. No, I am in the POINT of a building. I don’t just mean spires either, you scuttling idiots.

Anyway, listen, take care.

Starchitect talks sense?

Frank Gehry blogs for the Guardian about designing a new Guggenheim for Abu Dhabi.

The talking sense part? This paragraph:

"I'm really excited by the level of intelligent engagement by the local leaders in Abu Dhabi although there's still a big discussion to be had about the planning of new buildings. What they want from the architecture, by me, by Zaha Hadid and others, is a "string of pearls", stretching to the water to form a new "cultural quarter" to attract tourists; but, there's a bit of tendency to want a nice new building from each of us without enough thought about how they'll all hang together. I'd like to be more involved in the urban planning, but that's a lot to ask; you can't just say, especially when you've just arrived, hey, I'd like to redo your city."

So often it appears that these starchitects don't have enough concern for context. Or perhaps they're not allowed to. I suspect the practices are handed a plot and have very little input on its surroundings. We see that in competitions we've entered at work - someone else has done the masterplan and we get given a plot number to design a building for (especially with housing developments).

Gehry ought to be concerned about the setting of his building. A poor setting will detract from it and poor access will deter visitors. His client won't be happy.

PMA

I think I've figured something out.

Now I've passed my driving test I can drive. I think to myself "I've passed my test that means I can drive".

Before I'd passed the thought was ore like "I haven't passed my test - I can't drive".

Maybe Linford Christie was right about that Positive Mental Attitude stuff after all...

I read books as a kid...

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

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Lutyens' Cathedral

The model of Lutyens' RC Cathedral design for Liverpool is finally restored and going on display at the Walker Art Gallery. The Guardian have included an article about it today in the G2.

I was going to post about it, but Andrew Cusack has beaten me to it. While his post is good, I don't agree with what he and some of his other readers have to say about Gibberd's design.

Gibberd's cathedral has to be seen from the inside. I suggest Andrew Cusack's readers (and the rest of you) start here.

I think that the Lutyens' design would have been completely out of scale with the city and probably outgrown by the modern liturgy. Adrian Gilbert Scott's pared down version would not have done justice to the original scheme and, I think, suffered the same liturgy related issues. I suggest there would be problems with an older style building and the modern liturgy because of the vast numbers of churches having their interiors reordered these days - I've worked for a practice where that was our bread and butter. Gibberd's in-the-round design allows for a more modern approach to the acts of worship. Many Anglican and Catholic congregations are seeking this approach rather than the 'old fashioned' sanctuary and high altar at the far end of the church. I think this is a Good Thing - more inclusive worship.

I hope to get down to Liverpool to see the model at some point before April, however it is rather far away these days. Perhaps I'll have to wait until it is installed in 3XN's Museum of Liverpool in 2010...

Sarah skiing home

Sarah skiing home
Originally uploaded by Don Sean.

It did snow.

So, last night - late last night - we went skiing in the field at the back of our house!

Windy weather

As I've been commenting on other people's blogs, it's really not been windy up here. We've missed out on all the gale force and hurricane type fun. In fact, for January, the weather's been fairly nice....

I just wish it would snow. My skis are still new and shiny and untouched. And I need the practice before Ski Alpine in March.

Pass Plus

I finished off the last two hours of my Pass Plus last night. It isn't tested as such, but the instructor has to mark on a form whether you've Achieved or Exceeded the required standard. I got all As - but he did say that they're told to mark harshly...

Driving

Today I will be doing a Pass Plus course. However, Sunday night's drive home almost did away with the need for it. I drove from Southport to Gretna, up the M6 in the pouring rain. A big achievement for me!

So, we will see how well today goes. I wonder how many bad habits I've picked up in the last couple of months...