Belfast weekend (2)

We initially had lots of plans of things to do and places to see - Crumlin Gaol, Stormont etc - but soon realised that logistics were against us, but we were determined not to miss out on the new Titanic exhibition, so we walked down to the river on Saturday morning and across to the iconic building that houses the (permanent) exhibition:

We did, however, make a quick pit stop on the way, and popped in to St. George's Market, a vibrant place that used to house the Belfast Fish Market, but now has a huge variety of stalls, with food and entertainment too:

The sound of Belfast is still one of Police and Ambulance sirens, with the fairly frequent whirring of helicopters overhead. There are visual signs too, with many of the premises heavily barbed wired. On our way to the Titanic exhibition, the most obviously heavily guarded was this one:

These are the Royal Courts of Justice.

Some other sights on the way to the Titanic Quarter:

Not quite sure why Chaplin features here?

The Nomadic was a tender boat for the Titanic, but it's a separate exhibition and it seems everyone bypasses it now, although it's the last surviving vessel of the ill-fated White Star Line.

After a quick cup of coffee, we bought our tickets for the Titanic exhibition and were told it would take approximately one and a half hours to go round it. Secretly we both thought no way - we'll be out of here well before that. Blow me, over three hours later we emerged - it was engrossing. One of the final parts was a film of the wreckage (which was finally discovered in 1985). The clarity of the film, right down at the bottom of the ocean, was stunning - and moving. Personal items, like shoes, were clearly visible.

Back at the hotel, we had tea and scones in the lovely lounge on the first floor, sitting at the window overlooking Great Victoria St.:

We had a couple of beers and a wander in the evening before we could get a table at the very busy Deane's Deli Bistro (http://www.michaeldeane.co.uk/deanes-deli-bistro/) where we had a couple of lovely steaks. Would definitely go back if ever we were in town again.

Saturday done. Sunday to follow.

Belfast weekend

Before telling you about our weekend away, I'll start where I finished my last blog posting. Jo's tests at the hospital at Stonehaven on Thursday went very well - and she "passed" with flying colours. They now reckon there's nothing wrong with her heart and she can even come off some of the medication she has been taking since they diagnosed angina a couple of years ago. Result.

So what has been causing the chest pains then? Stress probably - and I think Kelly gets the blame for the most recent episodes!

So it was off to the airport on Friday morning for our short flight across the Irish Sea. We landed at George Best Belfast City Airport which is only a short distance from the city centre. Here's the general layout of the area:

The Lough, of course, goes out to the Irish Sea. The City Centre itself looks like this:

Our hotel was the Europa Hotel, right next to the Bus Centre and the train station (on the left above). It has the reputation of being the most bombed hotel in Europe/the world, having suffered 28 bomb attacks during "The Troubles". Despite this, it has hosted Presidents, Prime Ministers and celebrities by the score - most notably Bill Clinton who gave a stirring speech in support of the peace process at nearby City Hall in 1995. There's even a plaque in the hotel commemorating his visit:

Everywhere was just a short walk away for us - right across the street is the famous Crown Bar, which is a Grade A listed building, restored to its original Victorian splendour - at great cost - by the National Trust. Our room at the Europa wasn't ready yet, so we thought we would have a swift pint in the Crown. The place was mobbed - as it was on every other occasion we tried in vain to get in to one of the dinky cubicles (complete with doors) in the bar.

Our next stop was for a bite of lunch at the cafe in the grand City Hall, after which we wandered on and stumbled across a free Taste of N. Ireland exhibition:

Lots of goodies on offer here - what an unexpected treat. We headed down towards the river - it was getting pretty warm by now. This was what we found:

Back to our hotel - time to check in. We didn't spend long there as we had found out it was the once a year Culture Night that evening, when over 250 acts would be playing for free in the streets and pubs round the Cathedral area - music, dance, poetry, marching, even BMX style biking.

On the way there, we stopped outside the City Hall for a photo opportunity:

The Spirit of Belfast next:

We also looked in to the strangely shaped Bittles Bar:

There were a lot of what initially looked like quite scary sectarian posters and paintings on the walls inside, but on closer examination, it was all quite neutral - Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness together in harmony, for instance. Nonetheless, we moved on, anxious to get to the heart of the cultural action - and it wasn't hard to find. Busy, busy, busy, but a really nice atmosphere. We enjoyed  a group of Belfast hillbillies, who played rock music with folk instruments, wearing Confederate hats.

We actually queued to get in to one of the pubs - The John Hewitt (a Belfast poet, not the Aberdeen footballer), where some of the "customers" would suddenly and apparently spontaneously, burst in to excerpts from your favourite operas. Great fun.

It was getting late and we still hadn't eaten. What to do? The only answer is:

Very good it was too - and table service.

Enough of day one - Saturday and Sunday posts to follow.

Belfast bound

The boarding passes are printed and we're Belfast bound tomorrow morning. We've got a couple of Belfast Passes which will help us travel round the city and also gives us discounts to various exhibitions etc - although not, I understand the new Titanic Exhibition.

Full story of our weekend in the next blog on Tuesday.

It's a short week for me as I was golfing at glorious Castle Stuart (between Inverness and Nairn) yesterday. It was a corporate day out - and I won the individual prize of a bottle of 18 year old malt, and our team also won the team prize of a return fourball there next year - very nice.

I was in the office early on Tuesday and also late afternoon, but, in between, I popped down to Royal Aberdeen and made my first appearance in our Seniors team this season. So that's golf two days in a row - and the latter, in particular is a long, tough walk, which tested my joints - and my Powacaddy battery, which expired on the 18th hole!

Six weeks tomorrow until my knee op. Today, Jo is back at Stonehaven hospital undergoing more trials on her heart etc, to see if they can get to the bottom of what is causing her discomfort in her chest.

Colin & Johanne are in Malta this week, but Colin sent me a sympathetic photo of a vehicle he spotted there:

Colin is going to need a new hip soon, I fear - the green shorts and the position of his legs as he took this don't help the look either!

Friday 13th

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes, it's that dreaded date again today - although I had my own Friday the 13th moment yesterday. I was leaving Fraserburgh after our morning Management meetings and driving south to Monifieth for an afternoon's golf. I was a little later than I had intended and not really concentrating on my speed and, sure enough, I got done by one of the hand-held devices.

The police car pulled out behind me from the side of the road where it had been lurking behind some tall hedges, and, within seconds, the blue lights were flashing and I had to pull in. "On the spot" fine - i.e. pay within 28 days or we prosecute - and 3 points on my (clean) licence:

Sod's law, the fine has just gone up from £60 to £100 - just my luck. I think I'm more annoyed with myself because I'm very aware of the number of fixed and mobile cameras up here in rural NE Scotland - and the heavy police presence seemingly constantly monitoring speeding motorists. When I get on to the dual carriageways south of Aberdeen, I always use my cruise control, but the country roads are not really suitable for that.

Still, it's my first offence for a long time - first this millennium, I think - not too bad when you consider the amount of driving I've done over the years - a bit less, nowadays admittedly.

Nothing else new really. Just counting down the weeks - 7 weeks today until my knee op, which means it's only 5 weeks on Sunday when I head off to Tenerife for my last golf (in a buggy) of the year. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing - especially when my golf has been so good for most of this year - just yesterday I beat all my mates again at Monifieth - but then I remember the pain I get when playing - especially if more than once a week. Maybe next year I'll be even better with my new knee? My work colleague Brian is having his knee replacement operation as we speak - hope it goes well for him - he's really been hirpling in recent months.

9/11

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes, it still sends a bit of a shiver down your spine when you suddenly realise what day it is - although here in Britain, the day and month are more commonly transposed to 11/9, but we've got very used to the American way of saying it.

It's always a bit like the Kennedy assassination in 1963 - where were you when ...? I recall both incidents vividly - I was 14 years old and heading off to Scouts when we heard about the former, and I was in our boardroom in Fraserburgh when Ross called me on the day of the latter.

We had been in New York just 8 weeks prior on our way to Scott and Lucy's wedding. In fact, we had been in the World Trade Center at that time. This is Jo, Kelly and Ross walking across the concourse with the twin towers dominating the skyline:

We were next back in New York in 2004 - just Kelly, Jo and I this time - and I, for one, was pretty spooked out when visiting Ground Zero, as it then was:

Scary times.

On the latter occasion, we also visited another spooky spot - the Dakota building where John Lennon was shot in 1980:

Back to the present - Fraserburgh again tomorrow, hopefully to see our new mackerel canning line running this time - then heading south to Monifieth for an afternoon's golf - if the weather behaves.

On Friday one of my colleagues, who has been limping about with a stick for the last few months since his knee arthroscopy failed, is having a knee replacement operation. I look forward to swapping knee stories with him in due course.

On Saturday, there's a CAMRA branch meeting in Ballater and, as it's only once in a blue moon that they hold their meetings in Deeside, I think it might be a worth a bus trip down.

Sunday is golf at Newburgh and I have the possibility of golf at Royal Aberdeen on Tuesday and Castle Stuart on Wednesday, immediately prior to us going to Belfast on the Friday. That's about all my immediate plans for now, I think.

Holiday home

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

When I got back from Fraserburgh yesterday - and Jo had finished her tea and scones with the girls - we walked up to Inchmarlo to view the lodge that we are planning to book for the Lesinas and Steele-Stewarts over Christmas/New Year. The lodges are probably about one third of a mile on from the Inchmarlo Golf Centre, making it about a mile or so from Arbor Court - but it's a very nice tree-lined walk - especially downhill!

They gave us a golf buggy to drive up to look at the Lodge - No. 31. It's one of only a few 3-bedroom lodges available and it shares a building with another 3-bedroom lodge, which faces a different angle. There are 3 bedrooms, each with twin beds, downstairs at ground level - one of them has an en suite and there is a separate bathroom as well. The lounge and kitchen/dining room space are upstairs:

taken from the kitchen area looking towards the balcony

taken from the lounge area looking towards the kitchen

looking out at the south facing balcony and Scolty Hill beyond

looking back from the balcony doors towards the stairs and kitchen

entrance to the east

external view - no. 31 is on the right of building as you look at it

So, there you are. Just over 14 weeks to go. Taking this lodge also means that anybody else who wants to stay in Banchory overnight can do so at our house - we'll have plenty of room.

Staying in holiday vein, Jo and I last night finally got round to viewing the DVD we got from Marriott when we bought the additional time with them this summer when we were in Lake Tahoe. The whole concept of time-share has changed and you no longer buy fixed weeks at one resort - it's now all points based and you can use them for different periods in different places - and include cruises, flights and excursions if you want. Need to start thinking about next year soon - although the Lesinas might be having a lot of visitors in 2014 - Lucy's friend Lorna is planning to go over in July, and Gary, Carole and Luca later in the year.

On to medical matters now - I noticed in the business press that Smith & Nephew have introduced a new knee joint - probably a little late for my operation:

Looks like a piece of kit, doesn't it?

At work, the large new mackerel processing line being installed in our canning plant is suffering the usual teething problems. I had rushed up yesterday, hoping to see it in full operation, but the snagging list isn't quite done yet.

Closing, I noticed that all the windows in Ross' flat were wide open at 7:30 am this morning - perhaps the aftermath of the weekend parties?

Weekend

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

We had Luca overnight on Friday, so we walked up to the High St. with him on Saturday morning, stopping for a coffee on the sun deck at the rear of the Douglas. We also stopped off at the War Memorial on the way back and played running games with Luca - well Luca and Jo did, as I watched. The two of them sat down on the wall to rest:

Back home, Jo prepared Ross' birthday lunch - roast beef and Yorkshire puds - and then they lit his cake with 30 candles:

Gary was a late arrival. He had completed the half marathon at Aberfeldy in the fabulous time of 1:37 - 10 minutes faster than his first attempt at this distance. His drive back up the road wasn't very comfortable, however, and he had to stop a few times - throwing up and then sleeping - but he got here eventually and soon recovered after a hot bath and some food.

Ross had initially indicated that he was going to have a quiet night in, but we live in a small town and the jungle drums told us today that there was a party after all! He is still living alone - the guy who was going to be his flatmate has proved to be elusive - but he's now going to have his friend Harris' half sister coming over from America for a while to stay with him, so that'll at least cut his outgoings a bit.

Today, the weather was even nicer and, after golf, we sat on the balcony for a while:

That's all for now from me. Fraserburgh tomorrow.

Ross 30!

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

How did this:

turn in to this so quickly?:

Happy 30th, Ross - look forward to late lunch today - and perhaps a beer or two.

Knee replacement

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I've been told I'll be called in about 10 days before my op to have a pre-assessment, and I've been directed to a web site to read some more about it - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00389

Just 8 weeks to go.

Tomorrow I'll be picking up Luca from school for a sleepover to allow his Dad to leave at the crack of dawn on Saturday and head for his half marathon at Aberfeldy - and his Mum to do her horsey thing. Gary will come back to ours mid-afternoon and we'll have a late lunch/early tea with Ross to celebrate his 30th birthday.

What happened to the last week?

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I didn't realise it had been over a week since my last blog posting - where has the time gone? I guess I've been pretty involved with end of season golf tournaments - it was the last night of our weekly Quaich competition last Wednesday (came 2nd again - to somebody 15 years younger than me), then it was the annual Terry Edmonds' Memorial competition at Aboyne on Friday (2nd again!) followed by our biennial weekend at Boat of Garten (yes, you've guessed it - 2nd again!).

In between we had Luca with us on Saturday as Gary went over the hill to compete in the Stoney Stomp (www.stoneystomp.org.uk) - just the run bit - and didn't he do well, finishing 6th. This weekend he's off at the crack of dawn to run in the Aberfeldy half marathon, whilst we look after Luca again. It's Ross' big 3-0 on Saturday so we're planning to have a meal together when Gary returns from Aberfeldy.

When we had Luca last Saturday, we took him for a walk to Tease to see his Uncle Ross. On the way, he wanted to climb up the grassy knoll at Corsee Road - you know the one that used to have "Bonnie Banchory" on it. He climbed up:

then posed at the top:

then, of course, I had to climb up, so Granny Jo had to follow:

on this occasion, she had almost got to the top when she started sliding down again on her knees. Eventually Jo did get there:

Luca was a little less certain on the downward descent:

The only other news I have is that I've finally fixed a date for my knee replacement operation - it's Friday 1st November - just after I get back from Tenerife. I guess I'll have to miss the Stonehaven Beer Festival this year.

Hansons home

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes, we survived our weekend with Brian & Mary - and so did they! It was golf, golf, golf - with a bit of beer thrown in - for Brian and I, and it seemed it was chat, chat, chat for Jo & Mary. If only my legs had as much stamina as their tongues!

Three consecutive days in shorts for Brian and I - Aboyne on Friday afternoon was very pleasant, and, although it rained overnight on Friday, and again on Saturday afternoon, we escaped it all when we played at Banchory on Saturday morning - and Sunday was much nicer after some early mist.

We met Jo & Mary on Friday evening at the Potarch Hotel for some supper, and we all had fish and chips. Brian and I suffered on Saturday morning, however - I'll spare you the details, but we were walking very carefully on the golf course.

On Saturday night, Brian treated us to a curry at the Derbar/Mohammed's - and it was excellent - the best we've had there for a while. Here's the girls:

It was a profitable weekend for Brian - in the 2 team tournaments we played at Banchory, he won a dozen balls for getting nearest the pin at the 3rd hole (almost a hole in one!), then we came 2nd in the team event on Sunday, winning £25 each. Here he was in action on Sunday:

Brian had just bought a new car last week:

Good fun - although Mary left her bag and purse behind at ours!

That Friday feeling again

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes - another week's work almost complete. A few hours in the office then home for lunch. Mary and Brian will be there, so we're planning to head down to Aboyne for some golf this afternoon - weather permitting - then meet up at the Potarch Hotel for supper.

Golf at Banchory on Saturday and Sunday - two tournaments that Brian is playing in with me. I'll be ready for a rest on Sunday. I can almost feel my legs - especially my knee - groaning now.

Nothing much to report on the medical front, despite Jo being back at the Doctor's for a follow-up on Wednesday, and me having my annual check-up with the cardiologist last night. They still haven't quite got to the bottom of why Jo has been getting these pains in her chest/ribs, and it's really just more of the same treatment, plus regular monitoring.

Nothing much has changed with my heart either. I still have AF, of course - always will have - it never goes away - but there's been no great change over the last year. The cardiologist says my heart is still strong - it's just the irregular rhythm that presents the risk of stroke, particularly as I get older. They play the statistical game and they reckon that 65 is about the time that I will need to consider changing from my existing daily baby aspirin on to a stronger blood thinner.

Until now, this has usually meant taking Warfarin, but I have an aversion to this after what happened to Mum when she had her fall. They couldn't get the coagulant to work in time to operate. My cardiologist says that by next year I should be able to get my GP to agree to prescribe the new drug they now have to replace Warfarin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabigatran). It's more expensive, but a number of NHS areas are now prescribing it, so I'm hopeful my GP can be persuaded to do so next year as well.

Warfarin requires regular monitoring of blood and can interfere with other drugs. The new drug doesn't require any monitoring and no reactions with other drugs have yet been recorded. It usually doesn't need a coagulant antidote as it doesn't cause bleeding like Warfarin does - although they do say that if you do bleed, there's currently no antidote to stop it!

In other news, Ross was round last night and he was telling us his flatmate (who has paid his share of the rent) is finally back in Banchory and is planning to move in over the next few days. That'll mean a bit of a change to Ross' lifestyle - he's been on his own in the flat for a couple of months now. He did have a temporary lodger for a few days however - a girl who worked in the Douglas, but had a bad time with her violent boyfriend, who made the local news when the police came to take him away - http://www.deesidepiper.co.uk/news/local-headlines/police-present-at-banchory-square-1-3053870

To finish, it was Barry's 59th birthday yesterday. He's looking forward to getting his bus pass next year! Here's he and Helen earlier on this year:

Has he changed much since they were married back in 1994?:

Fringe weekend then back to work

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

After working from home on Friday morning, we set off to catch the train at Stonehaven at lunchtime, first of all picking up the Kilgours, who were joining us for a weekend's Fringe-ing in Edinburgh.

We had a mini-crisis trying to get in to the apartment we had booked. Entry was by a couple of keys and a password, which I didn't appear to have. All was eventually sorted after a couple of frantic phone calls, so we then headed back up town to check out where our first show was.

Walking up Leith Walk, we came to the big roundabout at Picardy Place and spotted a statue I had never noticed before:

On George St., it was called Johnnie Walker's Guest Night, when the Radio 2 DJ interviewed a well-known celebrity - tonight it was the impressionist John Culshaw - and he was very good at it, although the "interview" lacked a little fluency in places.

We had time for dinner at a Thai restaurant - http://www.phuket-pavilion.co.uk/index.html - and then went for a couple of beers before our late show - Bangalore Rock, which, surprisingly, didn't feature even the slightest flavour of Indian or Eastern influences. Tight band, however.

On Saturday morning, we had brunch at Cafe Marlayne on Leith St., then walked towards the Royal mile to take in some street shows, then picked up an unplanned show, which turned out to be very good - Lead Pencil. When we came out, we spotted another Sherlock connection at the University:

Music next - http://www.johnhunt.org/festival.html. Sort of like Seasick Steve, but it was warm downstairs in the Jazz Cafe.

We made a quick stop at the BrewDog bar in the Cowgate then off to the next show - A Brief History of Beer - this was what we called our "Jesus" moment, recalling a cringeworthy solo show of the same name a few years ago. Some interesting facts, but the fast-paced Star Trek presentation was all wrong - but it was a free show after all.

We found a nice little bistro with an outdoor walled garden and had dinner there before our last show of the day:

Hardeep Singh Kohli was very funny early on when talking about growing up as a Sikh in Glasgow, but when he moved on to the subject matter of his show, which was titled Hardeep is Your Love - even now, I can't get the Bee Gees' damned tune out of my head - he rambled a bit and seemed to lose the thread a little.

On Sunday we had nothing planned. We took breakfast outdoors at a little cafe just off the Royal Mile then just wandered up the temporarily pedestrianised High St. and took in some of the free street shows:

Colin, Jo & Johanne watch the slack wire performer from a vantage point.

We then stumbled across Gladstone's Land (http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Gladstones-Land/), which gave us an opportunity to use our National Trust membership cards for the first time for a while.

Coffee and scones next at The Hub (http://www.thehub-edinburgh.com/), after which we wandered up to the Castle, where Colin took this photo:

I should explain here that Jo is trying to tell Colin to raise the lens higher to take in the Castle ramparts. I decided I had to take over:

From up here, we could see out across the Firth of Forth to Fife:

The stands for the Tattoo on the Castle Esplanade are pretty permanent-looking fixtures nowadays, unlike my memories of Mum taking me there many years ago, sitting in rickety seats, blasted by the cold wind:

From the highest point of the town, we walked down various flights of stairs to the Grassmarket. It started to rain so we thought we'd best take shelter and watch a show - https://www.facebook.com/theyeariwasgifted. We knew it was a one woman show in a small venue, but perhaps didn't quite realise quite how gay the theme was - and how small the audience would be. We almost doubled the attendance! It was pretty good, however.

We caught the train home and were back in the house by 7:30 pm. Tea, toasted cheese, plus some old episodes of Corrie - nice to be home.

On another note, Jo goes back to the Doctor's this week. She was there last Wednesday to see about the recurring pain she gets in her ribs/chest area. The GP actually gave her 2 hours of her time, testing everything she could. She reckoned there's nothing wrong with Jo's bones and she wanted to also try to eliminate any heart issues, other than Jo's known angina, which is being treated. Jo's now been put on Omiprazole, which is an anti-ulcer drug (I used to use it too) to counteract any indigestion issues confusing the picture. Watch this space.

Continuing on matters of health, I'm back to the cardiologist for my annual check-up this Thursday.

St. Andrews for me tomorrow and we have Mary and Brian coming up for the weekend on Friday, but that's about all for this week, I think.