So, it's finally here

Yup it's Hogmanay.
Since the last post, one of the people I was talking about cutting out of our lives, has shown themselves up to be a really nasty piece of work, which means the guilt that I was talking about in the earlier post isn't even an issue now.  She's gone.  History.  We'll never be in touch with her again.

The only downside is that her husband is a really genuinely nice guy, so I have no issues with seeing him again, it's just that it's probably not going to happen now.  Then again, she does drive him to drink, and damn if he doesn't like his real ales, so he's obviously well aware of just what she's like.  The fact that he has lots of friends, but she doesn't, can't be lost on him.

Anyway, whatever happens, happens.

So here's some resolutions for the New Year.

1.  I've cut out the deadwood.  Don't let it grow back, and be wary of introducing more.
2. Try to cut the coffee intake down just a little.  I was drinking a shitload at work, and was usually on my fourth by about 10.00am.  Not good.
3. Keep the company of people who make me happy and who (hopefully) I in  turn make happy.
4. Get outdoors more, and actually get the tent I bought two years ago christened.  Even if it's just the wee campsite at Sallochy, just get it used.
5. Eat less crap.  Don't need to lose weight particularly, just need to not snack. Can't lose weight or my kilt won't fit!
6. Excercise.  Bit more running, and try and go climbing/bouldering at least once a month.  Even if it's just the wee traverse wall at the work.
7. (The easiest one) Cycle to work as much as possible.  Only bin it if there's snow/ice or the wind makes it dangerous.  Rain isn't an issue when I've waterproofs.

And that's that.  If anyone reads this, Happy New Year to you when it comes.

Thank <.. insert diety of choice .> that's over for another year

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas.  What I hate is how commercial it's all become.  It's all about separating you from your hard earned money.  It's not like we're not bombarded with adverts trying to do that the rest of the year, but at this time it's full on relentless.

Now that Christmas is over, the pre-Christmas "buy this or your don't love your family/friends" type ad is gone.  Now it's "you're house is obviously a pig sty, so buy a sofa, but you've only got till New Year" type of ad.

The pre-Christmas scrum in the shops in town are over, and it's three days after the big day, so most of the gift voucher spending should be over too.  That makes it reasonable safe to venture out again as you should be able to get about without the use of a chainsaw to cut a path through hordes of zombie like shoppers.

Roll on Hogmanay, when all I have to do is raise a glass to the (pretty shite) year that's leaving us, and welcome in the new beginnings and opportunities that the New Year will hopefully bring.

Favourite part of the holiday season

Today, Christmas Eve, is my favourite part of the holiday season.  It's the day I go to see It's a Wonderful Life at the cinema.  For me it's the best part of Christmas.  It's a million miles away from the commercial scrum that this time of year has become, and that's refreshing.

Before that though, I still have to ice my cake.  The marzipan was put on yesterday, so once it's iced, it's good to go.  The coeliac friendly cake for Karen was made yesterday, and it's all ready for her.  Dinner is pretty much sorted as well, just need to make a sauce, which will take me about half an hour, so that can wait till tomorrow.

I'm just waiting for the switch to flick on the tv ads, where they go from "last minute Christmas gifts" to "Sale starts Boxing Day".  When I was a kid, I remember the sales started in January, and if you had got any gift vouchers for Christmas, it was a case of being torn between buying that book that you really wanted, or waiting till the sales and maybe getting it cheaper.  Now everything is last minute discounts BEFORE Christmas, and big sales the day after.  It's all about parting you from your money now, and there's very little of the magic of Christmas left.

We have ways of making you enjoy yourself

So, with just over two weeks to go to THE BIG DAY(tm), the shops are in full SPEND SPEND SPEND mode, and the pubs are emphasising FUN and PARTY, and I'm thoroughly sick of it already.
Seriously, I'm looking forward to Boxing Day and some semblance of normality (sales excepted).

I've got two do's to go to, the main departmental one (which as per usual, I'll go to for the meal, then sneak off and meet a few colleagues who will also escape (or just not attend) in a pub of choice for a drink, where we don't have to be witness to people we work with pretending they actually like each other, and "dancing" like loons as they slowly (or rapidly in some cases) get wasted.

The other do is the one I prefer.  There's a few of us in a lottery syndicate, and we always go for a Christmas lunch and drink, just the five of us.  This year, it's been hi-jacked, as someone who can't make the main do has been invited - which is fine - and has then asked others along - which is NOT fine.  I've even been asked "Are you going to Bobby's do?"  WTF!!  It's not his, it's ours, and it's been hi-jacked.  I'm seriously considering not going, as it's going to be a pain having to smile, joke and laugh with people I don't want to be in the company of.

Like I said, roll on Boxing day.

Planning the resolutions

I don't normally do New Year resolutions, as lets face it, most people (myself included) find it hard if not impossible to stick to, and so with that in mind, my resolutions for the 2014 are going to be practical and do-able,

I'm in the planning stages at the moment, but watch this space.

Bit windy

The weather in Glasgow is a bit.....blustery today.  Winds of up to 95 miles per hour expected, no trains running at all, and part of the glass roof of Central Station has come crashing down, resulting in the station being evacuated.  Not that it makes much difference since there's no trains anyway.

It was torrential - and horizontal - rain when I left the house this morning.  Standing at the bus stop, a car was crawling along the flooded road, when a flatbed truck undertook it and soaked everyone standing at the stop.  On the upside, I now know that the waterproof trousers I bought for hillwalking, do what they're supposed to.

It's just over a week to go till the work Christmas night out.  Hope the weather isn't as bad as this.

In lue of a proper post....

.....here's a pic of one of my cats with a wee woolly bunnet on.

Wonderful weekend

Just back from having a fantastic three days in Inverness.
Visited Culloden, Fort George, Spynie Palace, Elgin Cathedral and Urquhart Castle on the banks of the absolutely stunning Loch Ness.
Inverness town was really nice. The hotel gave us a suite instead of a standard room, which was great.
There's so much to see round the area, we'll have to go back sometime.

Simpler times

Posted on Twitter the other day that in some ways I miss the simpler pre-internet days.  What surprised me was that someone favourited and shared it, which was nice.
Unfortunately with only 140 characters, you can't expand on your thoughts too much, so here's a longer take on that post.

I miss the simplicity of pre-internet life.  Don't get me wrong, I love being online, and I love all the advantages that it has - information at the push of a button.  Going for a walk and need a map?  Walkhighlands and print the route map/description and off you go.  Email and messaging, so much better than waiting days of not weeks for a letter that may or may not get lost in the post.

But, here's what I miss.

The anticipation of having ordered something and waiting for the mail.  That movie/album you FINALLY managed to track down and order is winging it's way to you.  When you get it, there's the excitement of unwrapping it, removing it from the sleeve and playing it.  Now, that same movie/album is just a download away, and that's if you don't stream it.  Why bother with the physical tangible item when you can just download or stream?  Because it's JUST NOT THE SAME.  It's reduced movies and music to an almost disposable medium.  People just won't have record collections any more.  I don't have the physical space for my vinyl and hi-fi in the house at the moment.  It's all boxed away.  OK, so I've got rips of most of the albums, BUT, I miss playing my albums.  I miss the ritual of taking a record out it's sleeve, placing it on the turntable, put the needle on the record, and that initial silence with maybe a pop or click, before the music starts.

It's all symbolic of peoples need to have things NOW.  And while life is a whole lot more convenient now, is it better?  People are living life through a computer screen, instead of going out and actually living it.

So step away from the keyboard, close the laptop, and instead of looking at a photo of a mountain online, go outside and see one for yourself.  Yes it might rain, yes you might get cold and wet, but that's life, and you'll get to experience the simple pleasure of coming home, cold and wet, and huddling in a blanket to thaw out, maybe with a wee dram in your hand.

Now that's living.

One step forward three steps back

Real life has a habit of getting in the way.  By now, I had fully expected to have dragged my sorry carcass round (at least a small section of) Pollok estate, in my (triumphant?) return to running, but so far it's not happened.  Real life and the weather - ok, mainly the weather - have put paid to it, but not in a bad way, as it's all been stuff I've been out doing, like visiting the RSPB nature reserve at Lochwinnonch.
Anyway, that's the backward steps, and while it's not really a step back as I didn't start anyway, I was psyched up for getting out again, so I'm claiming it as a fail.

The good stuff is that the guitar lessons are still progressing and - just as, if not more, improtantly - are still fun.  There's also a new karate night started up on a Tuesday, so that's a plus.

The other things going on are a crown that's fallen out, but I've a check-up on Thursday, and have called to make sure it gets popped back in again, and oh yeah on the subject of Thursday, I'm taking part in a one-day strike.  I think though that by the time I'm out the dentist and at the picket line, it'll have dispersed.  Anyway, the weather is probably going to be mince, so maybe that's a good thing.

Karate and getting to a calm place

The last couple of months I've been struggling to get to karate practice.  Thursdays are out as I've had no option but to change my guitar lesson to a Thursday night, as the teacher had a change in circumstances, Saturday mornings are out, as there's an issue that I would rather avoid, as there's a junior who is..... disruptive, won't listen and thinks they know it all, despite having only been going a few months.
There's a Tuesday club starting up next week, so that's all to the good.  In the meantime, there's the Wednesday club, that due to work I've been only attending sporadically.  The overall result is that I've been near to throwing in the towel, but I thought that I'd give it another go today in preparation for the new Tuesday club, and do you know, it's been a real tonic.

Before lunch I was a bit strung out.  I'd been really busy, and one of the systems we use to place orders was playing up, so stress levels were high by lunchtime.  Cue the karate class.  Great session today.  I'm now in a very calm serene place mentally, and nothing is going to be allowed to change that for the rest of the day.

First munro bagged

So, on Friday, we headed up Ben Lomond.  We were good to go, the weather wasn't.  Once out of the treeline, there was low lying cloud creeping up the hill, and we couldn't see the summit.

Regardless, we trudged onwards, only to reach the top and be rewarded with what would have been a stunning view if it wasn't for the cloud.  What we got instead was this.....

The weather may have been crap, but the upside of this was that the hill wasn't mobbed with people.  There were a fair few on the hill and at the top, but nowhere near as busy as it would have been had the weather been better.

Things of late

Not been up to anything post-worthy of late.  I've actually managed to get back to the Wednesday lunchtime karate a couple of times, which is great.  I've really missed it, and although I've been de-motivated, and on a couple of occasions, I didn't go, because I felt like I couldn't face it, I seem to have got some kind of martial arts mojo back, which is great.

While this was all (not) going on, the only thing that I was really enjoying (hobby-wise) was the guitar lessons, which I'm still totally into.  As well as going over what I need to for the lessons, I'm also looking out for things that I think I might be able to have a go at.  The latest being Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden.  I was chuffed to bits this morning, when I managed to pick out the little section just after the initial intro, but just before (and during) the first verse.  It's do-able at the level I'm at, just.  I need to knuckle down and practice it.  A lot.

Productive weekend despite the weather.

With weather predictions for Sunday being stormy, when I got up on Saturday morning, and saw it was nice, there was only one thing for it.  Paint the garden seat with the weatherproofing stain that I'd bought but not been able to use because of the weather, and then put the new felt on the shed roof.
A word of warning for those attempting to put felt on a shed roof.  Felt paste, isn't like any other paste I've encountered.  Think treacle, and you're getting close.  I did manage to get some on a pair of shorts, and my legs (sitting on the shed roof on drips that I never noticed).  After two days, the stuff I got on my hands has finally washed off - it stains like you wouldn't believe - but I've still got a patch behind my knee that seems to be putting up a valiant effort not to come off.

After all that hard work, it was off to Pollok park to see the Highland Cattle Show, before walking to Shawlands for a beer, and then returning back past the Highland cattle, and home again.

Sunday, was as predicted, stormy.  We headed out in the car to the David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre, where we discovered that the statue of him fending off an attacking lion was designed and paid for by Ray Harryhousen the man famous for his stop motion animation of monsters in numerous movies.  Turns out his wife was Harryhousen's great-granddaughter.

The Memorial is a really nice place.  The grounds are beautiful, and the museum is really interesting.  Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Friday the 13th

Ok, I don't usually go for Friday 13th being unlucky, but so far today, I've cycled into work - I did manage to avoid the rain - and forgot my work keys, so I had to wait for someone else to show up and unlock the room, and after getting showered and changed, I noticed that my jeans have managed to get dust on them from the pastel chalks I was trying out last night, so I have a lime/yellow left thigh today.

Hope no-one thinks it's a fashion statement!

That's 2 -1 in favour of F13.

Then I find out that the friend I was supposed to be meeting for lunch can't make it as he has a meeting to go to, 3 - 1 to fate.

EXCEPT - it's chucking it down, so missing lunch with him means not getting soaked, so I'm claiming that as a win.

3 - 2 to fate then.

Largs Viking Festival

On Saturday, the annual Largs Viking Festival kicked off.  As we'd never been before, we decided to go along and check out the opening parade.

Vikings in the main street of Largs

Giant Viking at the Viking Village on the seafront

Some beer I picked up from the food tent 

(It would have been rude not to)

Me, ready to defend Largs from the Viking hordes

All that defending Largs is tiring.  Time for a wee sit down

The fair maiden, rescued from the Vikings.

There were lots of things happening on the sidelines.  There was a rubber duck race in the local burn, a drumming group playing, pipe bands, lots of bikers on Harley's, trikes and Goldwings.  Then there was the Viking village and the Scots village, the food, drink and crafts stalls, the birds of prey, the list goes on.

It culminates after a week with the burning of a longship.  I'd love to be there for that, but we have a ceilidh to go to.  Ah well, there's always next year.

Back outdoors

Last week I took Friday as a day off work, and we headed off to climb Dumgoyne.  It's a wee hill not far from Milngavie (just outside Glasgow), and while it's not very high, it's a steep wee bugger.
We'd started this hill before, but when we got the plateau that leads from Dumgoyne to Earls Seat, it was blowing a gale.  You could literally lean into the wind and not fall over, so on that occasion we decided that heading back down was the safest thing.
This time round, the weather was fine, and there was practically no wind.  We headed up, and when we came to a split in the path, opted to go right, along the path that wound gently and slowly up round the hill to the top, rather than taking the steeper direct route.

Karen had been suffering lately from a bad back, so we took it fairly slowly, and had a stop about half way up, so that she didn't come a cropper again.  On the plus side, this gave us plenty of time to enjoy the views.

Once we got to the top, we had a wee stop for a coffee and a sandwich before heading back, this time taking the steeper direct route, which turned out to be substantially shorter than the route we had taken.  Ah well, you live and learn.

Once back down at the bottom, I did the tour of the Glengoyne Distillery, and accidently bought a bottle of the 10yr old.  Nice wee reward to myself.

Ready for the off.

Top of the world

At the summit

Prize for getting to the top

Clip of that old fashioned organ from the Pollok Family Fun Day.

Is the Fringe dying out?

Took an afternoon off work on Tuesday, and headed through to Edinburgh, where the festival and Fringe had kicked off.

First thing that struck me was that despite all the bodies on the Royal Mile, it seemed unusually quiet for that time of year.  The wee square next to the church, that usually has lots of stalls, seemed to have less stalls than usual.

Someone joked that there was more people handing out flyers for shows, than there was people to give the flyers to.  It wasn't that bad, but it definitely looked like there was less bodies than in previous years.

Back at work I was talking to someone else who had been through on the Monday, and they said they had been thinking the same thing when they were through.

Anyway, numbers of bodies aside, it was a fun afternoon/evening.  Pics to follow.

So much for that idea

In a couple of weeks, my wife has a sign language course to do.  It's over a Saturday/Sunday, so, to amuse myself, I was planning on walking the first part of the West Highland Way, to Drymen, camp overnight, and get the bus back on the Sunday.

Found a campsite in Dymen that's only £5 per person per night.  Gets dodgy reviews on Trip adviser, but it's only for one night, so I thought what the hell.  Then it would just be a case of walking there, pitching the tent, and strolling into Drymen for food and beer.

The plans all went belly up, as I discovered that there's only one bus to Glasgow on a Sunday, and it leaves Drymen at 1915.  Seriously, I'd have to hang about Drymen for about 12 hours after packing up the tent, just to wait for a bus.  Not happening.

Looking for a Plan B now.  It may involve cycling somewhere.