Bit chilly...

Our traditional winter visitors are back.  Devouring the hebe (under the mound of snow).

The fennel is making frosty christmas stars.

And I am learning the joys of ironing for warmth and typing in gloves.

Snow

So, yes, it's snowed some.  And now it's frozen.

Dinnet

Top of the field at home

Home

Coal shed icicles

To my neighbour

...shovelling the snow off your shed roof on to my flower beds is not what I consider nice behaviour. Helping to clear the lane does not entirely make up for the squashed plants.

On a nicer note, food is now so scarce the bluetits are more hungry than they are scared of cameras.

To the woman

riding a bike round the highlands for Children in Need on De a Nis just now:

Get a bike that fits you! You're folded double and hanging off the back of it!

GMC

No, not the american cars. This

81 people entered, maps gone to printers, beer delivery arranged...

Winter?

So, it appears the weather has skipped directly to winter, without passing autumn...

That's not frost, folks.

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 6

August: To Cork for a Wedding

After being married for six years I finally met the Irish half of his family. There are a lot of them. His aunt was getting married, which was the excuse for a family gathering.

We flew from Aberdeen to Dublin and drove down to Cork on the newly completed motorway. It's kind of like a Scottish motorway, you know, only two lanes each way, but with toll barriers. Can anyone tell me why it's cheaper to leave Dublin than arrive in Cork?

We arrived in Innishannon after 11 to find a large part of the family leaving the hotel bar. Which was lucky as we had no idea how to find the B&B and had to follow his parents along the little windy roads - the surfacing of which made Aberdeenshire look good...

The wedding was on the Friday afternoon so we went into Kinsale in the morning for a look around.

The wedding was held at the Innishannon Hotel, which is quite pretty and right on the River Bandon.

Are civil marriages new in Ireland? I heard quite a few of the cousins saying that they had never been to one before.

There was quite a lot of football talk, one of his cousins is a sports writer in Mayo, the groom (if I remember correctly) is related to a former Kerry manager and played for them himself, but the family is Cork. (Yes, we have one of the Cork names).

We were also reminded that my other half is the last of the male line... No pressure there then.

On the day after the wedding we went with his parents to Glengarriff, where his paternal grandfather was born. We stopped in Bantry to buy a picnic lunch, then visited his great uncle who still lives in the family house at the top of the glen, and went up to Barley Lake.

There was then a detour to see the tunnels on the Kerry road and a stop for fish and chips which left me in a state of stress as we were meant to be going into Cork in the evening to the bride and groom's house party. We were late.

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 5

August: Sailing to Campbeltown

Another trip in the boat. Long weekend.

Friday Port Bannatyne - Lamlash (Arran). Some wind.

Holy Isle, Lamlash Bay

Saturday Lamlash - Campbeltown. No wind. Saw Eleonora. Realised how near Northern Ireland is.

Attempted to anchor, but failed due to very soft mud and large quantities of weed. Provided amusement for Sailing Club. Gave up and used the pontoon.

Campeltown

Eleonora, Campeltown Bay

Sunday Campbeltown - Millport. No wind.

Millport Bay

Arran skyline from Millport

Monday Millport - Port Bannatyne. No wind. Mainland dominated by Hunterston power stations.

Arran in the morning

Hunterston

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 4

June: LAMM

My other half's partner injured himself, so we went and did the LAMM together. He was meant to be doing the A class, we did the C "for fun".

This year the event was in the Arrochar area, from a field just by the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, across the river from Fyne Ales (who supplied the beer).

The C course started from the Rest and Be Thankful Car Park and took in Ben Ime and Ben Vane on the first day. The mid camp was in upper Glen Fyne above the Lochan Shira reservoir, and was quite nice on the saturday evening, but a wet midgy drizzle fest on the sunday morning. The second day included Beinn Bhuidhe and finished back at the base camp.

Mid Camp Sunday Morning - pic from LAMM Photo Competition

We completed the course. That is about all there is to say about it. I had a very sore hip and my first experience of catching a toenail in the end of my shoe (disproportionately sore). Long live ibuprofen. We also made a bad navigational error in the clag on the second day and I can clearly understand how someone came to fall badly on the crags in the same area (above Glenfyne Lodge, control point on Newton Hill 422 coming down SE from Beinn Bhuidhe). We were probably on course, but got confused as to how far down we were and contoured around eventually relocating off a control 200m higher than and 1km west of ours.

Still, at least we got our beer for finishing.

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 3

March: Orkney and the North

A road trip in the van up the north east coast to Orkney and back down the north west coast.

Cromarty

Duncansby Head

The most NE point of the mainland

Italian Chapel

Lambholm, Scapa Flow

Yes, it is a Nissen hut, but a very very posh one

Ring of Brodgar

Hoy

Smoo Cave, Durness

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 2

June: Sailing to Arran

Want to take part in the Glen Rosa Race? My other half did and he decided that the best way to get there was by sailing from Bute, not on the ferry like everyone else. Alright, not everyone else - there is another Cosmic equally daft who also sailed there in her boat.

We sailed from Bute on the friday and went straight to Brodick and anchored in the bay. Our fellow Cosmic had also anchored there after sailing from Kip, and we had dinner on their boat. They have a barbecue mounted on the cockpit rail and being 33' to our 26', room to use it.


Glen Rosa (Goatfell) seen from the sea


Our boat, Brodick Bay

On the saturday we went ashore in the morning. I went into Brodick and the runners went to register. Glen Rosa is quite a long race timewise for the length of it, being unmarked and over rough ground. It was an SHR Championship race this so attracted quite a crowd. There was also registration on the ferry and a special bus laid on.

I went back in the afternoon to see the finish. The finish was at the top of the Brodick Castle garden, and I was glad to have my Volunteer Card as it's £5.50 to get into the garden there.

After the runners had recovered and rehydrated, we had ice cream and then returned to the boats for another bbq tea.

On the Sunday we sailed back to Bute. To begin with off the coast of Arran we hardly had any wind, but after using the motor to get out into the middle of the Clyde we found some. At one point we had the boat doing 7kts. We also saw the Navy out playing with their new(ish) toy round the Cumbraes.

Things I have done this year and failed to blog: Part 1

May: Sailing
We chartered a boat from Isle of Skye Yachts with his sister and a friend from his Day Skipper course.

We had several plans in mind, but being wind dependant ended up choosing a circumnavigation of Mull. Our route was as follows:

Ardvasar (Skye) - Rhum - Tobermory - Loch Spelve (Mull) - Iona - Bunessan (Mull) - Staffa - Treshnish - Coll - Eigg - Doune (Knoydart) - Ardvasar
(Overnight stops in bold)

The first day we were quite ill - I was very envious of my sister-in-law's constant vomiting as I felt like death on a stick but wasn't actually able to throw up at all. In the end I wedged myself into the 'Gin Seat' at the back corner of the cockpit and went to sleep. Hence we went into Tobermory marina. We used moorings at Coll and Doune, but anchored everywhere else.

Drama of the week was snagging the anchor in the Treshnish Isles. We stopped for lunch and thought we were far enough away from the tripper boat pontoon, but clearly not as we caught on one of their seabed chains. Luckily, it wasn't too deep and it was sunny - so in he went and freed the anchor manually.

Anchoring at Eigg was a bit interesting. When we stopped we had 0.0m reading beneath the keel and we were rather close to the ferry slip. However, it was low water and the ferry doesn't run every day. Eigg is quite interesting for being one the first community buy outs and for having its own power generation scheme.

I'd recommend Doune. There's a restaurant there, but no road. If you don't fancy walking a mile(ish) from the nearest one, it's best to sail. The food was plentiful and delicious.

Loch Spelve

Our boat, Iona

Staffa

Stromness

From our holiday in March. Pier Arts Centre, Stromness.

Sea Cliffs

While my other half and his friend went climbing I amused myself taking photos of the pretty flowers (casually forgetting I had one of their ropes on my back...).

Hybridisation in action

Last year we had two types of aquilegia. This short Columbine type with big flowers



and this tall traditional type with small flowers.



This year we also have a medium height type with medium size flowers.

Dave Gorman

Just been to see Dave Gorman's stand up show. Very funny and worth the £20.

The message of the show tonight:

Turn up on time and don't use your phone.

(He made us promise not to publish any spoilers, but I think that ad lib bit's okay.)

Who needs Norway?

This week I are mostly

hatching this...

Best description of race rules ever...?

Aboot i'runnin' aboot:

Fit ye're tryin' ti dae:

Ti ging roon on 53 mile “Fling” roadie alang i' Southern pairt o' the West Highland Way fae somewye ca'd Milngavie ti Tyndrum afore yir time runs oot. An' it's nae jist i' folk running themsels, there's i' club competitions an' a', an' a special een far ye hae four folk, een aifter the ither. Now a'body's got ti be ower 21, nae swikin'. I' “Fling” is mint ti' be deen athoot only help at a'. The folk that's pit a' this the gither'll drap aff buggies that you've made earlier, as lang as ye mind ti pit on yir proper race number, a' the wye alang the roadie at the checkpoints. Kitbags wi' little ticketies on'll be teen ti' the end o' the roadie at Tyndrum near 'at afa fine Green Welly Stop, an' bussies, thit ye've got ti' hae said yer gahn on (and pit yer haun in yer pooch) afore the day'll tak ye a; back to Milngavie far ye can get the trainnie. Course, if ye wint ti hae yir ain folk helpin' ye, that's yir ain look oot.

Club Competition

Ur's nae end ti the number o' chiels ye can hae in yer clique. Fooiver lang it taks fur the first three (M or F) gahn by themsels fae each club'll be added igither on a bittie paper ti gie i' club’s time, so ere's nae need for folk runnin' ti dae onything ither than pit their ain name doon, as lang as ye pit doon fa' ye're wi. If yi wint ti be richt clivver an'pit in mair than wun (M or F) team it's nae skin aff oor nose, jist mak sure we ken a' aboot it and fa' yir spikkin' aboot.

Fae Born2Run Click fae english