Wee hillwalk

Today we took a trip to Muirshiel Park near Largs.  It's a country park with quite a few signposted walks, including one up a hill called Windy Hill.  We opted for Windy Hill, as from the visitor centre it looked like there was a trig pillar at the top.  Turned out it was a cairn and not a trig, but it was a good wee walk with a nice view at the top.

Once we got back down, we headed into Largs for a curry at the Star of India, which I can recommend.  They do a really nice set meal for £6.95.

Cairn at the top of Windy Hill, Muirshiel Park

So that was Christmas then

A............nd that's a wrap.  Christmas 2011, thank you, it was good.

After heading over to my mum's first thing, we went over to Richard and Sarah-Jane's for dinner.  There was a between course walk to the park to feed the swans, then back for dessert and some drinks, before heading home to veg out and watch telly, eat sweets and have another beer.

The kilt got an airing, and I found out that it is better protection against the elements than trousers, as I was the only one who's legs weren't soaked after getting caught in the rain after feeding the swans. Result.

Anyway, roll on tomorrow and the sales.  I've got HMV vouchers and I'm not afraid to use them.

Crimbo do - the aftermath

And there I was thinking that not much had happened.  There was a couple of things I saw, but nothing major, but here's the breakdown from the corridor gossip the morning after the night before.

1 - lecturer in psycho mode.  After looking stressed/freaked out, a lecturer hides in a corner with a drink and starts looking angry.  After announcing he's leaving as "this is not my sort of place, I don't feel comfortable here" he's spotted at the bar with not one but two drinks.  Proceeds to get pished and have a good time.

2 - admin lassie absolutely blootered, staggering about with a drink in each hand telling anyone who will listen, about the "sleazy b*stards who keep groping her arse on the dancefloor.  She then proceeds to name them before falling over twice.  Once in the venue and once in the street.  Horribly hungover the next day, and eventually threw up.

3 - married academic caught snogging single admin girl who (rumour has it) is involved with another (married) academic

4 - lots of really bad dancing, which, due to the amount of booze sunk, the perp think is the best dancing ever done.  The highlight being one academic (do you see a thread here) dancing like a condemmed man who hasn't been strapped into the chain before they've turned the current on.

5 - possibly the weirdest one of the night. Male academic walking round in one of the admin girls' high heels.  This is not the first time he's pulled this particular party trick.  Is there something he's trying to tell us?

Anyway, that's it for another year.  Thank God.

New dress code for work

Actually the post title is a lie, we're just off out for the work Christmas lunch today.  It's at the Corinthian, so bearing in mind the bar prices, there's a good (every) chance I'll be leaving asap after the meal and sloping off somewhere a bit cheaper.

'tis the season

Well the Crimbo season is upon as, and that means for some the annual binge/purge night out, when they go to the pub with colleagues from work that they normally wouldn't associate with, and after binging on so much booze that they either (a) fall into the "You're my best mate you are, I've always liked you" mode, or (b) they tell them exactly what they think of or (c) really screw up and tell the one person they have a wee crush on that they really fancy them, which might lead to a shag, or it might not, but either way will leave them waking up the next day thinking "I did WHAT?  With WHO?  OMG kill me now", before staggering out onto the street, where the next morning, the results of all the purging is there for all to see in the various shapes and sizes of pavement pizzas that can be found littering the streets.

If it's been a particularly chilly night, the pavements can resemble the frozen pizza aisle on Iceland or Farmfoods.  If it's been an afternoon bash, then you may be lucky enough to witness the local pigeons tucking into a warm meal of freshly boaked pavement pizza.

All of the above can be enjoyed best if you pace yourself with the booze while everyone else is throwing it down their necks like it's going out of fashion.

Is Blogger trying to tell me something?

After posting, I occasionally click on the "next blog" button on Blogger.  Now, either Blogger is trying to tell me something, or there's (excuse the pun) a hell of a lot of Christian blogs out there, because the hit rate for me landing on a "I live my life for Jesus" type blog is probably in excess of 50%.

Should I be worried about this or is this pretty standard?  Are the Christians out to save my soul without knowing if I need saving?  Who knows.

Here endeth the thought for today

Finally....

....set up the 360 and started playing Assassins Creed.  Ooooh nice :-)

Watch the birdie

Just found a roll of film in the cupboard.  Time to dig out the slr and head into Pollok park to get some photos old school style.  Will the tension be too much when I have to wait till I finish the roll, then get it developed, before I find out it the pics are shite or not?

Anyway, as I type this, I'm re-watching Bronson.  Too be honest it's a movie I didn't expect to like, but I absolutely love it.  It's totally theatrical, and not at all what I was expecting. (I thought it would be a bit more like A Sense of Freedom)

Fill your head with rock

On Thursday, I braved Hurricane Bawbag to go and see Bonafide at Stereo in Glasgow.  It was a great gig.  the venue was a basement with a cracking atmosphere.
Anyway, when the drummer threw his sticks out, I got one (first time in almost 30 years of gig going!).  When we were leaving, the band were at the merch stand, so I wandered over and got my ticket and the stick signed.

Signed Bonafide ticket and drumstick

When they get as big as AC/DC, that's my retirement sorted :-)

*ouch*

On Saturday, we went ice skating to Braehead.  I've only just started back after a gap of about 4 years.  I was getting seriously frustrated that I couldn't do things that I used to be able to do without thinking about it, and ended up going arse over tit and landing on my shoulder.  It's the first time I've ever gone on my arse skating!
Let me tell you, ice is hard.  My shoulder is still stiff and achey, and reaching for things just plain hurts.

On Saturday night we headed out for a really nice meal at Merrylee Road Bar and Kitchen.  First time we'd been there, but it won't be the last.  Really nice food in excellent surroundings.

Sunday we should have gone in-line skating, but ended up going to Linlithgow Palace instead.  For some strange reason, the gps took us home a different route to the one it took us out!
If you've never been, the palace in set in a really nice park with a small loch full of geese, swans, ducks and other aquatic birds.  The walk round the loch took about an hour.

Linlithgow Palace