It looks like we might have got away with it - although Unite announced their strikes today, they don't actually start until next Saturday - the day after we fly out!
Like the old photos in Jo's blog, btw.
Ian R. Stewart Family Blog
Friday, 12 March 2010
Thursday, 11 March 2010
TGiF - manana
It's been really hectic this week - I've been juggling schedules all over the place, trying to keep everything moving on smoothly to allow me to go on holiday in just over a week's time with a clear conscience. Who says men can't multi-task? I never understood this saying anyway as my personal experience is the exact opposite.
We've had some nice meals this week - even steak and kidney pie last night! Tonight was nice too - noodles - but I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have done as I got indigestion imploring certain parties to get their finger out and at least phone their customers back - grrr - I thought I was coming home to relax after a hard day, but it's as frustrating here as it was in Fraserburgh today. Oh how I hate having to chivvy you-know-who.
Anyway, it is getting milder now - we even had a smattering of rain today - although we need a lot more to clear the golf course to allow me to get a game on Sunday. The snow has been around for so long and the weather has been so bright with clear skies that mean the overnight temperature stays low and keeps re-freezing the lying snow.
Even in our street, there's noticeable signs of low long the snow has been around and how frozen it still is. The photo below is from our front rockery - the broom was there when I got back from Marrakech. I asked Jo if she had done it as a kind of harbinger of spring - when the broom finally falls to the ground, will that officially signal the end of winter? I think the groundhog was right.
On the common ground, the kids at number one, with their Dad's help, built an igloo, which still stands:
What else is new? Well, there's a quiz night at the golf club tomorrow - and I'm meeting Dawn and Barry at Pitlochry for lunch on Saturday. We agreed to meet up when our Dad's affairs were all sorted out. We'll go to the Moulin Inn - a favourite. Assuming there's no more snow, I'll go down the tourist trail over Glenshee. Jo can't make it as she's already arranged to go in to Aberdeen to meet her old school buddies for lunch. I originally thought I would be heading to the Central Belt as I thought I was getting a corporate invitation to the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield on Saturday, but it hasn't come through - I'm not concerned, however, as it means I can meet Barry and Dawn and still be back home in time to watch the match on TV.
We'll be watching the news keenly tomorrow. BA and Unite have not resolved their differences yet. BA's web site says that Unite are obliged to give them 7 days notice of any strike action, so, if they don't do this tomorrow, we should be OK to fly out next Friday - fingers crossed!
I didn't get any tickets in the ballot for Wimbledon this year, but Dave Williamson and I had a pact that we would both apply and whoever was successful would invite the other - and he was the lucky one. The tickets are for the Thursday - 2 days before I was planning to go down anyway for my annual trip to Lord's for the cricket. By coincidence, Crosby, Stills and Nash are playing at the Royal Albert Hall that weekend, so we've now got tickets for that too! OK - what to do on the Friday between the tennis and the cricket? Would you believe, it's the Henley Regatta that week - another possible box to tick.
It's funny how things sometime fall in to place - and also how often the "London Bus" scenario plays out. I've always wanted to go to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall - we tried a few years ago when Cream played their reunion gigs. Johanne has always wanted to go too and so we've been watching for a suitable opportunity, and it came along a couple of weeks ago, when we noticed that Jools Holland was playing there in November, so we bought tickets for the 4 of us - Kilgours and Stewarts. Now, I'm going there twice this year. It never rains but it pours.
That's all I can think of for now - have a good one, and keep blogging!
We've had some nice meals this week - even steak and kidney pie last night! Tonight was nice too - noodles - but I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have done as I got indigestion imploring certain parties to get their finger out and at least phone their customers back - grrr - I thought I was coming home to relax after a hard day, but it's as frustrating here as it was in Fraserburgh today. Oh how I hate having to chivvy you-know-who.
Anyway, it is getting milder now - we even had a smattering of rain today - although we need a lot more to clear the golf course to allow me to get a game on Sunday. The snow has been around for so long and the weather has been so bright with clear skies that mean the overnight temperature stays low and keeps re-freezing the lying snow.
Even in our street, there's noticeable signs of low long the snow has been around and how frozen it still is. The photo below is from our front rockery - the broom was there when I got back from Marrakech. I asked Jo if she had done it as a kind of harbinger of spring - when the broom finally falls to the ground, will that officially signal the end of winter? I think the groundhog was right.
On the common ground, the kids at number one, with their Dad's help, built an igloo, which still stands:
What else is new? Well, there's a quiz night at the golf club tomorrow - and I'm meeting Dawn and Barry at Pitlochry for lunch on Saturday. We agreed to meet up when our Dad's affairs were all sorted out. We'll go to the Moulin Inn - a favourite. Assuming there's no more snow, I'll go down the tourist trail over Glenshee. Jo can't make it as she's already arranged to go in to Aberdeen to meet her old school buddies for lunch. I originally thought I would be heading to the Central Belt as I thought I was getting a corporate invitation to the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield on Saturday, but it hasn't come through - I'm not concerned, however, as it means I can meet Barry and Dawn and still be back home in time to watch the match on TV.
We'll be watching the news keenly tomorrow. BA and Unite have not resolved their differences yet. BA's web site says that Unite are obliged to give them 7 days notice of any strike action, so, if they don't do this tomorrow, we should be OK to fly out next Friday - fingers crossed!
I didn't get any tickets in the ballot for Wimbledon this year, but Dave Williamson and I had a pact that we would both apply and whoever was successful would invite the other - and he was the lucky one. The tickets are for the Thursday - 2 days before I was planning to go down anyway for my annual trip to Lord's for the cricket. By coincidence, Crosby, Stills and Nash are playing at the Royal Albert Hall that weekend, so we've now got tickets for that too! OK - what to do on the Friday between the tennis and the cricket? Would you believe, it's the Henley Regatta that week - another possible box to tick.
It's funny how things sometime fall in to place - and also how often the "London Bus" scenario plays out. I've always wanted to go to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall - we tried a few years ago when Cream played their reunion gigs. Johanne has always wanted to go too and so we've been watching for a suitable opportunity, and it came along a couple of weeks ago, when we noticed that Jools Holland was playing there in November, so we bought tickets for the 4 of us - Kilgours and Stewarts. Now, I'm going there twice this year. It never rains but it pours.
That's all I can think of for now - have a good one, and keep blogging!
Monday, 8 March 2010
Another week - 8 days until next hols!
For Sunday's adventures hill-walking, read the football blog. Yes - I am sore today.
We had Skyped Kelly first thing in the morning and Lucy phoned in the evening, so that was nice. We had watched the Hurt Locker on Saturday evening then awoke this morning to discover that it had scooped the Oscars. I thought it was pretty good - atmospheric - but the jury's still out for Jo - and Gary didn't think much of it either.
It was Fraserburgh for me again today - the first of 4 planned days there in a row. Luckily, I'm now off the hook on this one as my meeting there on Wednesday afternoon has been re-scheduled for Aberdeen instead - that's a bit of a relief. I'm back tomorrow, however - unfortunately for a funeral. The former factory manager of our canning plant (Peter White), who had retired (early) in September, died last week after undergoing a number of operations in hospital in recent weeks - how tragic. The church will be mobbed - the whole town will be there.
I've decided my knee has now made sufficient recovery for me to chance a game of squash again tomorrow - hope it holds up OK - and that my aching legs ease up a bit too.
I've got a lot to do in the next 8 days at work - going to be busy.
We had Skyped Kelly first thing in the morning and Lucy phoned in the evening, so that was nice. We had watched the Hurt Locker on Saturday evening then awoke this morning to discover that it had scooped the Oscars. I thought it was pretty good - atmospheric - but the jury's still out for Jo - and Gary didn't think much of it either.
It was Fraserburgh for me again today - the first of 4 planned days there in a row. Luckily, I'm now off the hook on this one as my meeting there on Wednesday afternoon has been re-scheduled for Aberdeen instead - that's a bit of a relief. I'm back tomorrow, however - unfortunately for a funeral. The former factory manager of our canning plant (Peter White), who had retired (early) in September, died last week after undergoing a number of operations in hospital in recent weeks - how tragic. The church will be mobbed - the whole town will be there.
I've decided my knee has now made sufficient recovery for me to chance a game of squash again tomorrow - hope it holds up OK - and that my aching legs ease up a bit too.
I've got a lot to do in the next 8 days at work - going to be busy.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Birthday aftermath etc
Our headbang at Gary's on Friday was good - see Music blog for details and photos. They even bought a cake for me and we had it in the early hours of Saturday morning. When I got home, Jo had left out my presents - chocolate featured of course, but I also got the book I wanted - Jack Bruce - Composing Myself - and a pile of M & S socks:
Do these look like socks I would wear? I didn't think so at first, but Jo pointed out to me that the vivid fluorescent colours are only on the soles - and you won't see them when I wear them. In fact, she bought them because she is having problems matching up my pairs of socks just now - grey and blue are regularly mixed together, and there's a whole pile of single socks downstairs!
Saturday was nice - Gary, Carole and Luca came over, and Dawn came up as well. Luca was looking forward to my birthday cake and he put the candles on. It was supposed to be 6 silver ones and 1 white one, but Luca decided all 12 from the packets should go on:
Chocolate featured heavily in my other presents - no chance of losing any of the weight I put on last week in Marrakech then before we go to USA.
Luca was a bit shy with Dawn at first, but he soon relaxed with her - especially when she started reading to him:
Carole was going on a Hen night, for which the dress code was black and bling. She wouldn't let me take her picture without make-up, but I eventually got her later - a little reluctantly and with Gary as shield:
So today's the first of our planned monthly training walks prior to our September 4 day walk on the West Highland Way. Wish me luck - Clach-na-Ben will have to wait until the next time (April 18th?) as there will still be too much soft snow up there, so it's the bus out to Potarch, then walk back with a detour up Scolty.
Do these look like socks I would wear? I didn't think so at first, but Jo pointed out to me that the vivid fluorescent colours are only on the soles - and you won't see them when I wear them. In fact, she bought them because she is having problems matching up my pairs of socks just now - grey and blue are regularly mixed together, and there's a whole pile of single socks downstairs!
Saturday was nice - Gary, Carole and Luca came over, and Dawn came up as well. Luca was looking forward to my birthday cake and he put the candles on. It was supposed to be 6 silver ones and 1 white one, but Luca decided all 12 from the packets should go on:
Chocolate featured heavily in my other presents - no chance of losing any of the weight I put on last week in Marrakech then before we go to USA.
Luca was a bit shy with Dawn at first, but he soon relaxed with her - especially when she started reading to him:
Carole was going on a Hen night, for which the dress code was black and bling. She wouldn't let me take her picture without make-up, but I eventually got her later - a little reluctantly and with Gary as shield:
So today's the first of our planned monthly training walks prior to our September 4 day walk on the West Highland Way. Wish me luck - Clach-na-Ben will have to wait until the next time (April 18th?) as there will still be too much soft snow up there, so it's the bus out to Potarch, then walk back with a detour up Scolty.
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