Yes, it's been lovely this week - makes you think of Spring - but it's still early enough in the year for a few weather shocks yet. What is really encouraging is the longer days. I came home early today and Jo had neighbour Isobel in for her weekly chat, so I decided to jump on the bike and head west a bit.
I didn't get very far when I thought about going to the driving range at Inchmarlo to hit a few balls. I hadn't played since Tenerife in October and although my knee has been feeling good, I haven't been tempted to try it out - until today. I hit a bucket of balls (50) with no reaction at all - an encouraging sign. It's less than 4 weeks until I go to Dubai for a week's golf, so I need to get some more practice in soon.
I have been frustrated, however, in my attempts to get 2 tickets for Ross and I to go and watch Aberdeen in the League Cup Final (Gary's working that day and can't join us). I'll try again tomorrow, however.
This Saturday, Gary and I are travelling through to Dingwall to see Thistle play Ross County in a crunch match which could go a long way to determining who has to go in to the play-offs for relegation - Ross can't make this one.
The rest of this week has been one of dealing with some redundancies we're unfortunately having to make. Throw in a Board meeting and a meeting with our Bank and it's not really been a barrel of laughs.
The really good news, however, came on Tuesday when Jo got the all-clear at hospital. I took her in for her mammogram and subsequent breast examination, but they were very happy that there was nothing sinister there and they didn't need to do a biopsy. The pain she has been getting and the thickening in the tissue has apparently been brought on by nerve irritation between the ribs.
That same day we heard the good news about Julie's pregnancy. That took me by surprise, I must admit. Grannie Dawn? Doesn't sound right.
I managed one of my irregular visits to Bannatyne's yesterday. Not having done anything other than eat and drink for several days, I was badly in need of it. I know cycling is good for my knee rehabilitation, but the exercise bike is no substitute for getting out on a real bike. It's not that I can't do it, but 30 minutes on an exercise bike is so tough mentally. There's no respite - you've just got to keep pedalling and pedalling, going nowhere fast. I did a bit of weights work as well, then a little splash in the pool, steam room and jacuzzi.
Oh - and Kelly FaceTimed us on Tuesday evening when we were in Inverurie. My, Miller is fairly coming on - he looks a big strong boy. It reminded and encouraged me to look again for suitable flights Down Under, but nothing doing yet, I'm afraid.
So I think that's my week so far.
Ian R. Stewart Family Blog
Thursday 27 February 2014
Monday 24 February 2014
Saturday afternoon in Pitlochry
The cafeteria at the Killiecrankie Visitor Centre was closed so we decided to head a few miles up the road to Blair Castle for coffee. The gates were open but there was a sign saying the castle was closed at this time of year. Naturally we assumed that this meant we could have access to the grounds only, but we were to discover that the restaurant and shop were both open as well, which was very convenient for us.
Tea/coffee and a nibble - I had mincemeat crumble - and very nice it was too. This was what the castle looked like when we arrived:
By the time we'd had our coffee, they were hustling us out of the building and the coaches had gone:
We discovered that they had only opened the castle gates and the restaurant and shop for the coach parties, and that we had just crept in under the radar. By the time we left, the main castle gates were closed again and we had to leave by the tradesmens' exit.
We just had time for Jo to pose on the bridge of the burn:
We didn't have time to do the walk up to Hercules Gardens:
We timed our departure nicely - just in time to drive down to Linn of Tummel to watch the idiots scheduled to bungee jump at 1:30 pm. We'd never seen this crazy act live before so it was interesting to watch. The set-up is very professional and there's been a substantial investment made in the platforms and walkways etc:
I hadn't charged my camera battery and I was starting to get warning messages, but I managed to get this distant shot of the first bungee jumper:
As we left Linn of Tummel, we spotted a sign with some lyrics from a well-known tune on it:
Time now for a beer or two, so we headed off to one of our favourite places - the Moulin Inn, where we managed to see the second half of the Italy - Scotland match. Then it was back to our hotel for an hour or so before heading out again, down the hill to the Auld Smiddy for a quick beer then to the Prince of India for a curry. We left it a bit late and had to scamper along to the theatre again to get in seconds before Neil Oliver took the stage:
On Sunday, we had planned to have a little walk around Dunkeld, but it was very wet so we parked the car quickly and had a quick look at the Dunkeld Ell, the National Trust property in the town square:
So that was our weekend over. We drove home via Perth and stopped at the Glendoick Garden Centre for coffee and a scone and were still home well before 2 pm - in plenty of time for Lucy's weekly FaceTime call later in the afternoon.
Tea/coffee and a nibble - I had mincemeat crumble - and very nice it was too. This was what the castle looked like when we arrived:
By the time we'd had our coffee, they were hustling us out of the building and the coaches had gone:
We discovered that they had only opened the castle gates and the restaurant and shop for the coach parties, and that we had just crept in under the radar. By the time we left, the main castle gates were closed again and we had to leave by the tradesmens' exit.
We just had time for Jo to pose on the bridge of the burn:
We didn't have time to do the walk up to Hercules Gardens:
We timed our departure nicely - just in time to drive down to Linn of Tummel to watch the idiots scheduled to bungee jump at 1:30 pm. We'd never seen this crazy act live before so it was interesting to watch. The set-up is very professional and there's been a substantial investment made in the platforms and walkways etc:
I hadn't charged my camera battery and I was starting to get warning messages, but I managed to get this distant shot of the first bungee jumper:
As we left Linn of Tummel, we spotted a sign with some lyrics from a well-known tune on it:
Time now for a beer or two, so we headed off to one of our favourite places - the Moulin Inn, where we managed to see the second half of the Italy - Scotland match. Then it was back to our hotel for an hour or so before heading out again, down the hill to the Auld Smiddy for a quick beer then to the Prince of India for a curry. We left it a bit late and had to scamper along to the theatre again to get in seconds before Neil Oliver took the stage:
On Sunday, we had planned to have a little walk around Dunkeld, but it was very wet so we parked the car quickly and had a quick look at the Dunkeld Ell, the National Trust property in the town square:
So that was our weekend over. We drove home via Perth and stopped at the Glendoick Garden Centre for coffee and a scone and were still home well before 2 pm - in plenty of time for Lucy's weekly FaceTime call later in the afternoon.
Saturday in Pitlochry
After breakfast we needed cash so went to look for a hole in the wall. It took ages to find a parking space and when we did, across the street was a barber's shop:
Would you like to have a shave or a haircut here?
None of us had ever been to nearby Killiecrankie, so we thought we'd give it a go. It's not far from Pitlochry and there's loads of walking/cycling tracks so we could have walked, I suppose:
We weren't sure about the weather forecast, so the car it was. Our first stop was the Visitor Centre, which should have been closed at this time of year, but it also houses the Highland Fling Bungee (http://www.bungeejumpscotland.co.uk/home) and a stag party had just arrived, so we got in on the back of them to learn all about the Battle of Killiecrankie etc.
We heard of the Soldier's Leap and there was a slab to commemorate it:
Walking down the trails from the Visitor Centre, we first of all came across the sign, then the Leap itself - 18 feet from a standing start from rock to rock, across the raging River Garry:
Colin and I would have done it, of course - but the girls couldn't have made it over, so we decided to walk on instead. It was a pretty mild day by now and, as we posed for a photo looking down the river towards the Pass of Killiecrankie, a big yellow thing appeared in the sky behind us, adding a slightly ethereal quality to the photo:
The riverside walks were lovely but we didn't know where and how far they went. We hoped they would loop us back to the Visitor Centre but, after a while of walking back south again, we thought it was wise to backtrack.
The road and rail run parallel to the path, with the latter on a large viaduct at this point:
and it still wasn't even lunchtime. More to follow.
Would you like to have a shave or a haircut here?
None of us had ever been to nearby Killiecrankie, so we thought we'd give it a go. It's not far from Pitlochry and there's loads of walking/cycling tracks so we could have walked, I suppose:
We weren't sure about the weather forecast, so the car it was. Our first stop was the Visitor Centre, which should have been closed at this time of year, but it also houses the Highland Fling Bungee (http://www.bungeejumpscotland.co.uk/home) and a stag party had just arrived, so we got in on the back of them to learn all about the Battle of Killiecrankie etc.
We heard of the Soldier's Leap and there was a slab to commemorate it:
Walking down the trails from the Visitor Centre, we first of all came across the sign, then the Leap itself - 18 feet from a standing start from rock to rock, across the raging River Garry:
Colin and I would have done it, of course - but the girls couldn't have made it over, so we decided to walk on instead. It was a pretty mild day by now and, as we posed for a photo looking down the river towards the Pass of Killiecrankie, a big yellow thing appeared in the sky behind us, adding a slightly ethereal quality to the photo:
The riverside walks were lovely but we didn't know where and how far they went. We hoped they would loop us back to the Visitor Centre but, after a while of walking back south again, we thought it was wise to backtrack.
The road and rail run parallel to the path, with the latter on a large viaduct at this point:
and it still wasn't even lunchtime. More to follow.
Sunday 23 February 2014
Events of the last week
Been a busy time - both at work and socially - since my last post. First of all work - going through a tough time and we've announced some changes, which include some redundancies and the closure of the admin facilities at our Aberdeen office - we're centralizing things in Fraserburgh, although production in Aberdeen carries on as normal.
My contribution to the cuts is to go part-time from April onwards - 3 days per week. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in practice - I need to ensure that I don't end up doing the same work for 40% less salary. I have to ensure that my extra 2 days per week are kept for me time and that I don't get sucked in to doing work then.
We started this process last Tuesday in Fraserburgh, but I'm determined that all the detail and the bad news will be complete by the end of this week - it's never good to let these things rumble on.
On Wednesday, I worked from home as I had a Webinar to do. This also gave me the chance to go cycling with the boys again on Wednesday morning (details on my cycling blog).
Thursday was Fraserburgh again, but on Friday we headed off to Pitlochry in the afternoon for the Winter Words Festival that we've attended for the last few years. We - and Colin and Johanne Kilgour - were staying at the Pine Trees Hotel, which was basically a grand old house - spacious and quiet - perfect! Here's Jo and I on the first floor settee as we were about to head out for the evening:
It was pretty near the town centre, with the only drawback the hill you had to climb on the way back. Not quite Mount St. Banchory, but similar. On the way down the hill, it was pretty obvious that Spring was just around the corner:
As well as the snowdrops, there were crocuses too.
We walked down over the famous dam and fish ladder to the theatre to see Mike McCartney - Paul's younger brother. Colin and I chatted to him afterwards at the book signing:
We took a slightly different route back - over the railway line. Twa auld biddies followed us:
We had a nice bar supper at the Old Mill Inn, then a nightcap back at our hotel:
Fun day. More photos etc on my other Headbang and Ale Adventures blogs. More to follow.
My contribution to the cuts is to go part-time from April onwards - 3 days per week. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in practice - I need to ensure that I don't end up doing the same work for 40% less salary. I have to ensure that my extra 2 days per week are kept for me time and that I don't get sucked in to doing work then.
We started this process last Tuesday in Fraserburgh, but I'm determined that all the detail and the bad news will be complete by the end of this week - it's never good to let these things rumble on.
On Wednesday, I worked from home as I had a Webinar to do. This also gave me the chance to go cycling with the boys again on Wednesday morning (details on my cycling blog).
Thursday was Fraserburgh again, but on Friday we headed off to Pitlochry in the afternoon for the Winter Words Festival that we've attended for the last few years. We - and Colin and Johanne Kilgour - were staying at the Pine Trees Hotel, which was basically a grand old house - spacious and quiet - perfect! Here's Jo and I on the first floor settee as we were about to head out for the evening:
It was pretty near the town centre, with the only drawback the hill you had to climb on the way back. Not quite Mount St. Banchory, but similar. On the way down the hill, it was pretty obvious that Spring was just around the corner:
As well as the snowdrops, there were crocuses too.
We walked down over the famous dam and fish ladder to the theatre to see Mike McCartney - Paul's younger brother. Colin and I chatted to him afterwards at the book signing:
We took a slightly different route back - over the railway line. Twa auld biddies followed us:
We had a nice bar supper at the Old Mill Inn, then a nightcap back at our hotel:
Fun day. More photos etc on my other Headbang and Ale Adventures blogs. More to follow.
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