The journey over was easy enough - although Gary was still deeply stressed at take-off and landing - particularly when we bounced a couple of times on the tarmac at Tenerife. Here he is in one of the more relaxed moments in flight:
Kelly and Craig met us at the airport and we picked up our hire cars and drove to the villa, which is magnificent. The keg of draft Beck's by the pool was soon getting big licks.
Dinner was really a late lunch on Friday - pizzas and wine. Saturday was a little drizzly and so we decided it might be a good idea to take the drive up north to the capital Santa Cruz. We eventually found a car park, which turned out to be the football stadium's main parking. We then strolled down the hill towards the Ramblas pedestrianised shopping district. This was us at the top of the hill in front of the town hall:
We had lunch at a pavement cafe and then walked further down the street towards the port. Here's a nice one of Gary, Carole and Luca:
Dinner was barbeque, courtesy of Scott - excellent it was too. We had thought that our TV had Setanta but that proved to be false and so a swift decision was made to drive down to Las Americas and find a bar that had the Scotland match on - although why we bothered, I'm still not sure.
Today (Sunday) is Scott's 36th birthday, so he and Lucy have gone off for lunch - I'm picking them up in a few hours. The rest of us are just chilling today.
Blogs have gone quiet recently - is everyone going off the idea? I know Lucy uses Facebook - is that an alternative, or it an addition, to the blog? I've tried Facebook, Bebo etc but don't quite get them - they don't really suit me. I've even tried Twitter, but couldn't really be bothered with that either.
One new piece of technology I am experimenting with is Spotify - like I-Tunes, but you don't download, you just listen - like a musical library. Not bad so far.
Scott and Lucy were taking my car down to Glasgow to visit the relatives, so I naturally assumed that I would be taking Jo's car to work - I should have known better. Jo wanted her car - why? - "shopping" she said. OK - that means you have to drive me to work and back? "OK". Well, how tense was the journey? Jo doesn't know the roads and was on edge with all the traffic. We got there in the end, but I think we were both glad when the journey was over.
I brought home a pool car, so she didn't have to pick me up yesterday - but she's going to have to do it today. I think she would have preferred driving to Fraserburgh and picking me up - she asked me if I was working there today - nope - Aberdeen. I got asked the address of where I work this morning and we've agreed she will pick me up at 4:30 pm - fingers crossed.
I played squash doubles last night, but we were late starting because Keith was delayed at work when it was reported that a fire had broken out on the rig he's responsible for. Thankfully, it was quelled quickly so he was able to make up our four, but we were much later than planned.
When I got home, it was Ross' turn to get stressed out by his Mum - guess she was having a bad day? They were at Jo's computer and she was trying to download photos and videos from her new camera. She had installed the software that came with the camera - something that is guaranteed to irritate our in-house IT nerd. He immediately, and huffily, removed it and showed Jo how to read and transfer the files from the camera.
They all survived well yesterday - Scott and Lucy had an afternoon nap but the boys kept going. They seemed quite at home - Cade remembered the plastic soldiers and soon he had them all over the stairs again. We walked them along to the shops at tea time and Scott and I went in to the Douglas for a quick beer with Colin, Keith and Malcolm - we watched the Wales - Ireland match.
Everyone slept well and got up at a reasonable time this morning. Scott joined me for golf - we played with Syd, and Scott did very well - particularly when you consider that he hadn't played since last summer. Here he is playing his approach to the 14th:
Scott and I had bacon and egg butties at the golf club and then we drove over to Inverurie to join everyone else - Gary was making Mother's Day lunch for the girls.
So tomorrow, I'm in Jo's car and Scott, Lucy and the boys head down to Glasgow in my Volvo.
Half an hour early as well. I just managed to get there in time, with Ross and Jo following on. It was a lovely morning and we had tea out in the back:
It's been a very difficult week at work - especially yesterday. We had put the workers at our canning plant on to a 3 day week last month and said we would review the situation about now. Well, we've now done that - Michael has just returned from his round the world tour of major customers and it was gloom and doom all the way. Not only is everybody cutting back, but we're also losing orders to Polish competitors and we're having difficulties in getting customers to agree to increase selling prices to compensate us for the increased price of fish that we've just bought for the year ahead! Triple whammy!
We've now told the workforce in IFC that the 3 day week will have to continue for a while and, in addition, 60 jobs will now have to go. It's been a few years since we've had to do this, and it's never easy - I just hope we can get through this year OK.
It was another lovely evening for the drive home from Fraserburgh last night and this helped to take my mind off things a bit - that and my music (last Saturday's Sounds of the Sixties). I phoned Jo to tell her I would need a large G & T when I got home!
Talking about "SotS", I've tried for 3 years in a row now to get a request in for Colin's birthday - I know he and Johanne listen to it every Saturday - but failed each time. Maybe it was my request that Brian Matthews should play the rather slow and lengthy Dylan song "Visions of Johanna" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i6NOfD48Gk) from the Blonde on Blonde album?
Anyway, Kelly and Craig are now on their way to Tenerife and the Lesinas have started their long journey over here - looking forward to seeing them all in the morning. First of all, Jo and I are going to the Milton for dinner tonight for her birthday - I bought her a new camera, but, typically, she was trying to use it upside down and then couldn't switch it on this morning! Mind you, it was early!
This was last year's flowers - did I do any better this year? Perhaps Jo will let us know?
Jo seems OK today and I don't feel too bad. Even Ross was feeling better, although he stayed off work again because he didn't sleep at all last night.
I decided not to go to Pittodrie tonight after all, but just watch it on TV instead. I phoned Keith and we arranged to meet outside the hospital to visit Jas, who had his hip op on Monday, but we both managed to get lost - Keith actually went to the wrong hospital - Foresterhill instead of Woodend!
Jas was fine, although obviously still hirpling with the help of a zimmer frame:
Here we go - with the Lesinas due to arrive this weekend, it's par for the course that some kind of bug seems to have arrived at Arbor Court. Ross has been off work for the last couple of days and Jo's not feeling too good now - and I'm not quite sure. Let's hope it all comes to nought.
It's a factor of getting older that most conversations are about illnesses, hospitals and funerals. Right now, I have 3 friends in hospital - Robert Strang-Steel had a stroke a few weeks ago and is paralysed and still in Woodend Hospital, unable to speak; Jas Bhagrath got his new hip yesterday - he's also in Woodend; and yesterday I got a text from Dan Corbett telling me he was in hospital in Argentina having suffered a mild heart attack on his walking holiday there. What next?
Still nobody has responded to my request about how many hold bags are required for Tenerife - right now we only have 4 booked - is it going to be a bunfight to see who gets these places?
As commented yesterday, one of my presents from Jo was a CD of all the hits from 1949 - the cover revealed the following events took place in the year of my birth:
and here's some of the hit recordings from that year - Syd will remember them all!:
I had a lovely day as the endless series of parties to celebrate my 60th reached the next stage at the golf club today (check the golf blog for details - http://bsvgolf.blogspot.com/).
After the elongated lunch, the family came back to Arbor Court for a cup of tea before heading back south - first the Hughes girls:
Then, Barry and Helen, who had travelled up to Glenshee for some hill walking before spending the night in Ballater:
I caught Jo in an apparently glum moment:
Luca had been a bit bemused by all the crowds but had stayed awake all afternoon and, by the time, he was leaving in Ross' car, his eyes were out on stalks:
Colin came round to watch the Man U - Liverpool match at lunchtime and Jo disappeared soon afterwards - she's still not back. She decided to chum Ross over to Inverurie where he was going to pick up Gary and go over to Peterhead to look at a potential new car.
Lucy called - their clocks have changed already so they're just 7 hours behind us just now. I've said I will pick them up next Saturday morning.
Weather has been really nice today and I hope it holds for tomorrow morning's golf, which precedes my 60th birthday lunch. Yes - I know - the celebrations keep on going - I think this is the last, however - it's Jo's turn next weekend.
Poll over - only 1 person (of 4) thought Kelly and Craig were completely sane - 2 thought they were barking mad and 1 more thought they were slightly deranged. What difference will that make? - absolutely none!
Got my birthday footy tonight - 2 games! Beach at 5:30 and then DATA at 7:30 - different groups of players in each, with just a handful playing in both matches. After that it's beer and curry - could be a slow day tomorrow!
Jo slightly mis-read my writing on the back of the photo from our Norwegian holiday featured on her blog - the place is called Trollstigen - check http://www.trollstigen.net/index2.php and watch this video to see if it brings back any memories (not Lucy as she wasn't there):
Thanks to Gary and Kelly (I think!) for their offerings - the Jags connection and the knackered knees have given me some more food for thought.
I gave Rob a note of some of my favourite ales - Sierra Nevada, Bridgeport, Betty Stogs, Pitchfork (RCH), Young's etc - and he has responded with the following thoughts about potential ingredients/recipe:
"Grist of pale malt with a touch of wheat. Keeping this simple unless you want some small additions of light crystal or amber malt. Hops for max fruitiness...Bramling Cross, Cascade, and Willamette. Not sure yet how we would divide these up between the bittering and aroma additions."
We finally got our home scanner to communicate with Jo's PC - I did the initial work, but Ross had to finish it off as I couldn't figure out what was causing a communcation error - so expect to see loads of old photos scanned on her blog now.
Had another game of squash doubles last night and went to the pub to watch a bit of the Man U match afterwards. I didn't rush home because I knew Jo was out for tea with her old work colleagues and I wasn't expecting her home until late, but when I got back at half time in the match, Jo was already home - communication breakdown - talking about which, those two great talkers, Jo and Ross, somehow continually manage to fail to communicate basics - Ross had no idea Jo was going out for tea last night, despite the fact that he was home at lunchtime as usual. How can people say so much and reveal so little?
I've been in touch with Rob at Deeside brewery about plans for the day brewing my beer, and I've given him some ideas of what I like. Just one problem - a name - any suggestions? Can't really use Stewart - there's already a brewery in Edinburgh that goes by that name.
Spent the last 2 days catching up again - yesterday in Aberdeen and today in Fraserburgh. Got through a lot, but it's a pretty depressing picture to come back to - sales are very poor in both businesses, particularly the canning side - it's going to be a very tough year and I wish we weren't having to go through all this nonsense again.
I did manage a game of squash last night and another is planned for tomorrow in a vain hope to shed some of the excess kilos. My weight had risen to an all-time high before I went away and I shudder to think what it is now. I'm due my annual medical - and also another fitness assessment at Bannatyne's - perhaps I should wait a bit before doing either?
I've got my 60th birthday football match(es) on Friday night, followed by beer and curry - I'm not sure if the beneficial effects of the little exercise I can now manage on the football field can get close to outweighing the detrimental effects of the afters.
Some good news last night - Kelly thought of a birthday present for me - she bought me 2 tickets for Neil Young at AECC on 24th June.
Tonight and tomorrow night are TV nights - Champions League second leg matches - should be good.
Time to start thinking about the next holiday - have you all thought about what bags are going to be put in the hold? We currently have 4 paid for - if we need more, we should book before we go - let me know how many pieces you are each going to take with you.
I got the following interesting present from Gary and Carole - no, sorry, Luca - yesterday:
I forgot to mention that Jo made a wonderful meal for us - pork tenderloin - it was yummy - and the presentation was beautiful - I wish we had taken a photo.
We had a nice time at Banchory Lodge last night for the Fish Dinner. We met up with Michael and Frances Salter - we hadn't seen them for years. Michael's retired now, although he's still President of the Chamber of Commerce and has a few non-exec Directorships which keep him going a few days each month. They've just bought a new property in Dunning, not far from Gleneagles - they're going to let it out for the summer but then possibly move in over the winter. They've got 5 grandchildren now, the latest of which just arrived on Thursday - it made us feel quite inferior, with us only having 3 - come on, you lot, you're not trying!
Btw, Frances can still talk the hind legs off a donkey - even Jo could barely get a word in edgeways!
This morning was nice and bright although a little cold after Tenerife, and I enjoyed our golf. I spoke to Kelly, who wants us to save up copies of the front page of the Saturday Times - apparently because of some Pizza Express offer!
Just now, I'm watching FA Cup footy and waiting for Gary, Carole and Luca to arrive for dinner.
Remember the story about the car chase and police roadblock, followed by a good beating up issued by the local cops? Well, I think this must have been the incident:
You'll all be aware of Ross' car problems. Well, this morning, yet another one appeared - this time a high powered Jag. It's apparently only temporary until his Merc is fixed.
Here it is - or at least part of it - slightly blurred, as it was taken through the window:
All went well on the return journey from Tenerife and I got home in good time - Jo had made soup and apple crumble - great! Nice to be back home again - especially nice to get back in to my own bed. I never understand why European hotels supply those long thin pillows - bolsters Jo called them, but they're not as hard as this suggests, although they do give you a crick in the neck.
I slept well although my mind awoke not long after 5, but my body didn't want to move, so I lay there until about 7:45. It's going to be a quiet one today - no specific plans during the day, but I may nip out for a pint of real ale and watch the first half of the Man Utd match about 5:30 - but I've got to be back sharp as we're going to Banchory Lodge for dinner - Jo has bought us tickets for a special Fish Night dinner there - should be good.
I also received a CD of hit songs from 1949 - the year I was born - not that I would have remembered any of them then, but there's quite a few interesting ones that I'm looking forward to hearing on my car CD on the way to work on Monday - Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Shore etc.
Did you know that NATO was formed in 1949 and that clothes rationing in Britain ended then? Southern Ireland became a republic and Mao Tse-tung was elected chairman of the People's Republic of China in that year. Siam was renamed Thailand and George Orwell's nightmare vision of the future, 1984, was published - strange to think that we're now a quarter of a century past that date.
I'm looking forward to returning to Tenerife with everyone in a few weeks - the climate is great - nice temperatures - never too hot - it's an island after all, and it does get some weather passing through. The north of the island attracts a lot of cloud and wind - especially around Mount Tiede, which still has fresh snow on it - but the south is usually pretty sunny, although less attractive and some of the holiday developments are pretty grotesque. Our villa sits up high and we look across towards the island of La Gomera. I took this picture but it was a bit too bright and you can't quite see the sea and the island properly - although you can see the road work going on below the villa:
Lucy and the boys sent me this short birthday greeting:
This week's Deeside Piper also contains another rant from Roxanne - this time she's hitting out at the councillors for the apparent omission of Banchory and Aboyne from some of the Scottish Government's advertising of Scotland's Homecoming year - is she bitter or what?
I paid a quick visit to our villa yesterday - it's big and there's lots to do there - the kids will love it - and some of the adults will appreciate the draft beer served at the pool bar:
There is some road building going on below the villa and it could be noisy during midweek days.
Just a quick one - my golf blog is up to date and I don't have time to do both just now.
I'm hoping to have a look at the villa we're staying at in a few weeks today. Btw, has everyone got their passports in order - including Luca?
The answer to the pensions arithmetic poser is, of course, 50% - yes that's what you need to save every year for your retirement! Nobody's doing it, so what's going to happen?
Forget the golf, we had some real life drama on Sunday morning as we drove to Amarilla. A car screamed up from behind us with a police car in hot pursuit – we noticed that there was a blockade of police cars at the roundabout ahead, but the getaway somehow managed to get round the roundabout and was about to head back down the autopista when one of the police cars skilfully nudged him on the rear wing and effectively steered him off the road.
Immediately, the place was a swarming mass of police officers and the scene became like a “Police Camera Action” clip – guns were pulled and the criminal immediately put his hands up – there was a real fear in his eyes – “don’t shoot!”. He was hauled from his vehicle and given a severe kicking by the police. We had stopped to watch all this drama and I took my camera out of my holster before my brain kicked in and I realised it wasn’t a very good idea to film police brutality in action!
Maximum Rhythm 'n' Blues
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It was billed as a Night at the Flamingo, featuring the Alan Price Set and
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IC XI - Dan's Ode
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As is now traditional, Dan prepared a little ditty about our holiday.
Previously he had composed a poem and recited it, but last year he set it to
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halloween 2009
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Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. We had a Halloween party with Cades
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Halloween 2009
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It's Halloween again, a time where all children enjoy dressing up. Unless
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We went to the Oregon caves yesterday. The caves were pretty good but the
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Saturday 29th August
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Ross has finally got to the bottom of what was stopping the computer reading
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