More photos

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I was wrong - Jo did want to go to the beer festival last night - she had starved herself all day and had calculated that she could have 5 half pints last night and still stay within her daily limit - and she did. It was another good evening - a much more low-key, rural kind of beer festival - not at all like the hugely busy ones in Aberdeen and other cities - well worth a visit. Check http://iansaleadventures.blogspot.com/ for the photos.

Some images from our brief visit to Meldrum House on Thursday. Firstly, looking from the stable block towards the main hotel:



Then, looking the other way towards the stable block:



Inside the main hotel, there is a small cave bar:



That's all for now - lovely to see the sun back - shorts on this morning!

Friday's here

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Lots of other blogs updated, so this one's pretty short again. Tonight it's the second annual Macbethfest beer festival down at Dess. Shame for Jo - she just started on Weightwatchers on Wednesday - otherwise, she would have loved to come along.

We went to Meldrum House last night - couldn't see the rooms, but we at least got a good feel for the place and I'll be contacting the relatives to find out now where they want to stay.

That's about it - travelling a bit next week with a lot of golf involved - Fraserburgh Tuesday, Glenbervie Wednesday, Macrihanish Thursday and Newmachar Friday - with some work in between!

Wednesday wonder

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

What a shocker - scraping frost off the car on 12th May! Still the sun's shining now and it looks fair for tonight's golf.

Haven't got much to say really - all my weekend news is on the golf blog - although I did go in to Anderson's in Inverurie on my way home to look at chairs and bureaux. I spotted something nice in the corner, but there was no sign nor price on it. I asked one of the assistants - she told me it belonged to one of the manufacturers and was used to hold their brochures, with the two pull-out leafs showing the wood finishes they could do. It was a lovely piece of furniture and would have been perfect - but they don't sell it!

Oh - and another thing - I was trying out my new camera yesterday and took some photos, then took out the memory chip and went to slide it in to my laptop slot to transfer the photos, just realising at the last minute that it wasn't the correct chip for the slot. Too late - it was half in already and all my efforts to get it out only pushed it further in. Panic - headed off home and thankfully Ross was around and, with the aid of 3 wooden drinks umbrellas, of all things, he managed to manoeuvre it out. Whew!

Here's the first photo with the new camera, taken at breakfast yesterday, looking through the window out the back:



The camera has an interesting "sweep"/panorama effect - intended obviously for wide landscapes, but I was trying it out in the back room last night:



It works OK, but Blogger converts all the photos back to the same width, so you can't see the full effect!

Edinburgh trip

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

We took the train down to Edinburgh yesterday afternoon and went straight up Waverley Steps to the Cafe Royal, where Anne had booked us a table in the Oyster Bar - a place I'd always wanted to dine in, but never really had the chance. We were a touch early but they kept us going with drinks, olives, balsamic vinegar and some of the best bread I've ever tasted until they officially started serving at 5 pm.

We had a nice round corner table, which had an interesting plaque behind it - check http://iansaleadventures.blogspot.com/ for a photo.

It's a lovely place with fine wood pannelled, tiled and stained glass wall features:



After our early supper, we strolled down to our hotel, which was a discreet 5 star place called the Glass House, adjacent to the theatre. Anne had found us a deal on the internet and it really was lovely - top quality and a little different. Our rooms were on the 3rd floor and we had doors which opened out on to the roof terrace gardens. This is Jo stepping out to join me:



Calton Hill was right behind us:



Turning the other way, there was a lovely view all the way down to the Firth of Forth:



Les Miserables was great - much better than I remembered it from the time we saw it several years ago. We had a beer in the adjacent Theatre Royal, and who should come and sit at the next table, but several of the cast.

Colin and I decided we would also have a nightcap using the honesty bar on the 3rd floor of the Glass House - it seemed quite odd pouring your own measures and just signing for them.

Breakast this morning was very nice in the Observatory room and then Jo and I went shopping in John Lewis, Jenner's and Laura Ashley. We're still looking for a chair for me, plus a TV table and - a new idea - possibly a bureau style desk. We were partially successful, in that we saw a couple of possibilities, but we didn't actually order anything. The bureau in particular is proving to be a bit elusive - we may have to try the antique shops or Mother Hubbard's in Torphins. I may also have now gone off the original idea of getting a swivel recliner - we test drove a very comfortable easy chair in John Lewis - we both liked it, although Jo is a little concerned that it may be a little big - particularly if we take the storage footstool as well. This is what it looks like:



We had time to stop off for coffee at the rear of the Dome, below Rose St - a lovely spot:



After that, it was lunch with the Elgies - check http://bvetsfootballgroup.blogspot.com/ - then we all headed off back down to Waverley, with the girls, as usual, bringing up the rear:



So, we're home now and just chilling out this evening. Tomorrow, it's Aviemore for me - hope it stays dry.

Polling day

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Well, I've voted, but that's the only thing I'm going to cast today - the old adage about "ne'er cast a clout until May is out" certainly applies - at least judging by the forecast of another Arctic blast heading our way. If it's not ash, then it's the weather - and we were hoping for a really nice summer this year as we're staying in the UK for a change.

Dodged a bit of a bullet this morning on my way to Fraserburgh. On the road between Dunecht and Kintore, there was a line of static traffic in front of me - most unusual for that road - especially at that time of the morning. I spotted it from a way back and managed to make a U-turn and find another road to Inverurie. Just as well - the lunchtime news said it was a nasty head on collision and the road is still closed, several hours later. Apparently the accident happened at about 7:15 am this morning - just before I got there. Hope it's open on my way back tonight.

Nowt much else to report today - hope you're having a good one, y'all.

Midweek May week 1

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

It's a bit warmer than the weekend - but certainly not seasonal yet. I just hope it stays dry tonight for my Wednesday night golf - would you believe, I'm playing with our club pro tonight - will I beat him? I wish.

What else is new? Well, we had Luca round yesterday as usual and he was fine - until we tell him he has to go home. Does he have cruel parents or is it just that he has a Granny who tends to his every whim and who he can wheedle anything he wants out of? I think I know the answer.

After weeks of diligent research and a few store visits, I finally took the plunge last night and ordered my new camera. I'll be glad to see the back of my existing one, which was acquired in haste and which I've never liked - and it's now starting to fall apart. I'm still not ready for digital SLR's - they're still too bulky - you can't carry them around easily and I like wearing mine on my belt - that way, I tend to take it everywhere I go, which I wouldn't do if I had to carry it round my neck. It's a fairly high spec digital however, but small enough to wear, and with a few new features that I might enjoy. It's actually the Sony model that was recommended to me in the camera shop in Grants Pass, but they didn't have one in stock when I was there, unfortunately.

I've also finally started to read the 3rd book in the Milennium series by Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. So far, so good - I really like his style of writing - it's gripping - but you have to read the books in the right order. Jo eventually got round to reading the first one on holiday and I thought would want to start the second one when she got back - I'd loaned it to Johanne, who promptly returned it when we came back from USA - but Jo hasn't touched it yet - perhaps I'll pass it on to Colin, who's also been waiting to read it.

Well, that's me about done - off to golf now - then Fraserburgh tomorrow and Edinburgh on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning - we're having lunch with Colin and Linda Elgie, who we haven't seen since they moved back to Middlesborough a number of years ago. On Sunday, Keith Gray's picking me up and driving me over to Aviemore and we're back on Monday evening - it's all go round here!

May day holiday Monday

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Well, it is for some, but here I am, struggling away over a hot keyboard, blogging like mad - it's so quiet today - a lot of folk on holiday and no phones ringing or e-mail traffic - and I've got 6 blogs to keep up to date as well.

It's still bitterly cold for May - hope it gets a bit better for next weekend when we're off to Edinburgh for the theatre on Friday night, then it's Boat of Garten for me on Sunday/Monday.

We had a nice weekend, despite the cold - at least it was mostly dry. I managed to squeeze in my golf on Saturday morning before rushing home to change and head off down to St Columba's for Peter and Srie Hodgson's daughter's wedding.

The reception was in the grounds of Crathes Castle in a marquee - it must have cost an absolute fortune. The meal was lovely - and a bit different - Moroccan lamb and couscous was the main course - and I thought it tasted pretty authentic.

Here's Jo and I in the marquee, sipping champagne and knocking back raw oysters - or at least I was:



On Sunday late afternoon, we went round to Peter and Srie's, where they were - rather bravely we thought - holding an all-day barbeque for all the wedding guests. We did try to get in to the spirit of things, despite the bitter cold, and ate our food outside, but eventually, we all retreated to the warmth of indoors. I captured the moment outside first of all as proof:



That's about all for now. Jo's got her usual Monday afternoon swimming today - I don't think I'll stay in the office all day, so I might pop in to Bannatyne's for a little while later on - it's been a long time since I used my membership there.

Friday at last

It's the last day of the working week and they say that it's going to get a lot colder for the holiday (for some) weekend. Hope it stays dry at least - got 3 games of golf lined up - a tie this evening, medal in the morning, then a game at Inchmarlo on Sunday morning - and, of course, we've got a wedding to attend tomorrow afternoon/evening.

I'm feeling slightly better today - got a bit of a voice back as well. I got the hot toddy treatment again last night - must be working. Tough call on TV last night - do I watch the Fulham or the Liverpool Europa League semi-finals, or should I sit through the Leaders debate instead? I settled for a bit of a compromise - I watched the first half hour of the Fulham match, by which time they were one down, then switched to BBC to watch the final round between BCC - when it finished, it was back over to see extra time in the Liverpool match.

I must be a bit of a jinx to the English teams - Fulham actually scored two goals when I wasn't watching them, and Liverpool were also winning but went on to lose on away goals when I started to watch. Anyway, did I make the right choice? - I'm not sure - Jo and I watched the debate with interest for about 20 minutes, but after that it was the same old, same old - there was so much repetition. David Dimbleby did seem to allow them a bit more freedom than the very strict rules and time limits imposed at the 2 previous debates, however, but you could still sense he really wanted to let rip at them - he got his wish later in the evening on Question Time.

So that's it for now - have a good weekend y'all.

Still silent

Haven't shaken off this little bug yet - or is it delayed reaction to the holiday, or perhaps hay fever? Anyway, I'm all congested and, when this happens, I usually lose my voice - that's what happened last Saturday when we were at the church's annual Malaysian evening - and it happened again yesterday. I don't think I did myself any favours, though - I had several review meetings with underwriters and bankers yesterday which necessitated me talking non-stop for several hours - eventually my voice just packed up again. Hope it gets better before we go to Peter and Srie's daughter's wedding on Saturday.

It probably sounds worse than it is - it didn't stop me playing golf again yesterday, although I started coughing as soon as I put my head on the pillow last night - Jo insisted she get me a hot toddy - I think she wanted to knock me out so I didn't disturb her sleep!

What else have I been up to? Well, I did eventually see my Dentist for a check-up on Tuesday - no problems thankfully.

Remember the daffodils we paid for in the honesty box just outside Fettercairn when coming home from Glasgow last Friday? Well, here they are, thriving away in our house:



That's all for now, folks.

Bad start to the week

Got in to the office this morning - still feeling a little under the weather with my head cold - and I was sitting at my desk when my PC alarm went off reminding me I had a Dentist's appointment in 15 minutes! My Dentist is in the south of Aberdeen in Holburn St and here I am sitting in my office at Bridge of Don.

I jumped in the car and, predictably, ran in to rush hour traffic approaching Market St. I tried to phone my Dentist, but had to leave a message on their answerphone. I arrived there about 10 minutes late - "Ian Stewart to see Mrs Bachoo" - "I'm sorry, Mrs Bachoo is not in today" - what?

Their computer showed the appointment had been cancelled - although I hadn't been notified. Apologies all round and appointment re-scheduled for tomorrow - when I was supposed to be in Fraserburgh - ah well, nothing else for it, I guess.

So that was an hour out of my day straight away.

I do hope the rest of today - and the week - goes better than this. Outlook is promising - lots of high pressure around. Golf at the weekend was good - even managed to get the shorts on again yesterday - and I'm hoping for more opportunities this week. I think Inverurie must have some kind of strange micro-climate, judging by what Gary said in his blog about the weather being wet and miserable.

Bennachie was one of the next walks on my list - I see Carole's beaten me to it. Jo and I still have to go back to Meldrum House and sort out accommodation - perhaps this week.

Weekend blues

I've got a head cold - all go "aah" - so feeling a bit sorry for myself this morning. Jo and I had gone down to Glasgow on Thursday evening and we picked up Dawn - who can't drive yet - and headed off to the Red Deer at Auchenkilns for some supper with Barry and Helen.

The journey down was fine until we hit the massive roadworks just before Cumbernauld. It's just a forest of road cones and the lanes are separated by these red and white monstrosities, with a speed limit of 40 mph, policed by average speed cameras. We were in the outside lane and I started to look to move over to the inside lane a couple of miles before we got to the turn-off to Airdrie at Auchenkilns - but it never came and we ended up having to go a couple of miles past the turn-off and try to work our way back through the unknown territory of Mollinsburn etc. After a few wrong turns and a slight detour through Cumbernauld, we finally found our way. It appears that you have to make a very early decision to take the inside lane if you want to turn off towards Airdrie - probably about 5 miles before - all very well for the locals who know this now, but very confusing to strangers.

Anyway we had a nice meal and afterwards I took this photo in the Red Deer:



We stayed overnight at Barry and Helen's and, in the morning, I drove Jo over to Mary's and then headed in to Glasgow for a couple of meetings. When I got back to Elderslie Brian was home and we had a nice chat whilst the girls pored over family history - again - it's Jo's obsession just now.

The drive home was slow and painful for the first part - congestion through Glasgow with the roadworks at the Kingston Bridge, followed by the long haul through cone forest. What made it worse was there were two police motorcyclists, driving side by side, all the way through the roadworks, after which we assumed they would turn back - but they didn't - they kept going all the way to Stirling, doing exactly the speed limit - bah.

A bit of excitement on the national radio news - Banchory got a mention - apparently there was a power failure and 600 homes had no electricity. We phoned Ross, but there was no problem at home - it must have been at the other end of the town.

Jo and I listened to last Saturday's Sounds of the Sixties as we drove home. It was a special edition, with the second hour dedicated to the memory of the first proper rock and roll tour in the UK, exactly 50 years ago, featuring Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, at the end of which there was a tragic road accident which killed Eddie Cochran at just 21 years old. It was very entertaining, featuring music clips and interviews with some of the musicians who backed them up, including Joe Brown, who told some amusing anecdotes. It was, as Jo remarked, much more entertaining than the show of the same tour we had seen at the Fringe last year.

Last stop on the way home was just before Clattering Brig where we stopped and bought a bunch of daffodils. The stall wasn't manned but there was an honesty box, in which there was just one pound coin, so we helped ourselves to a bunch and doubled their day's takings!

This morning looks a bit grey, but the rain seems to have stopped - at least for now - so I'll go and shower now and keep my fingers crossed that it stays dry for the golf at least.

Blogging again

If you're viewing this by the e-mail thread, check out the new blog I've opened - http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/. If you're viewing my blog (http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/) on the web, then you'll see it on the sidebar anyway.

The football blog has details of Friday night's activities, but the less said about my golf on Saturday, the better.

The Sunday walk/climb convinced me that my cardio condition is beginning to have more effect, or be more noticeable - at least judging by the way Colin raced up the hill ahead of me yesterday - I always thought we were roughly comparable in terms of fitness levels, but obviously not. I had to keep stopping to recover my breath as we climbed - my heart rate climbs so quickly nowadays, then comes back down just as fast, it seems, when I stop. It will be interesting to hear what the doctor says at my annual medical in a few weeks' time.

I slumped in a chair when I got home and vegetated in front of the TV and the Sunday Times - armed with a glass or two of wine, of course - lovely. Today, I don't feel too bad - a little stiff, but not as bad as our last training walk just before we went on holiday - I was sore for days after that - trudging through the deep snow was no fun on that occasion.

So, a day of rest today, then squash tomorrow, hopefully, and golf on Wednesday.

Not much else to add really - perhaps Jo and I might meet at Meldrum House on Thursday, on my way back from Fraserburgh. When I was last there, we said we would go back at the end of March when they had finished the rooms - we have to decide where we, and all the Lesinas, are going to stay. We'll check with Carole and Gary first, of course.

Talking of Gary, perhaps I shouldn't have wound him up so much. Did my last blog look like blatant favouritism towards Lucy? - probably. OK - this time, I'll just have a go at Jo and Kelly for not blogging more often - they definitely don't have the same excuses!

Is There Anybody Out There?

As Pink Floyd once famously sang ....

Never mind - I'll carry on solo blogging, even without reciprocation. Having spent 3 weeks with the Lesinas, I'll forgive Lucy - she's a pretty busy little girl, keeping her house, job and boys all in order - but the rest of you? Bah!

We seem to have recovered from our journey back very quickly - it certainly helped to arrive back to such lovely weather at the weekend - golf in shorts already - great! I went for a couple of hours kip on Saturday afternoon but then got up and watched the Masters virtually until the close.

I awoke at the perfect time of 7:40 am on Sunday morning and since then it's like I've never been away. I hardly slept at all last Wednesday or Thursday at Lucy's as I was felling pretty ill and I certainly didn't sleep overnight Friday on the plane, so how have I managed to recover so quickly? What happened to all the sleep I missed and the effects of jet-lag? Will it all still catch up with me, or is it a myth that we need so much sleep? Perhaps I should ask Jo, who planned to stay up a bit longer than I did on Saturday, but, in the end, crumbled and retired to bed for a solid 15 hour stretch!

The Masters was great - I again stayed up until the bitter end on Sunday. It looked wonderful on large screen HD TV. It was, however, a bit odd seeing the first 2 days in "real time" - Thursday in Grants Pass and Friday at LAX - then watching it on Saturday and Sunday evening here.

Monday I was back in our Aberdeen office at the usual time, then played squash in the evening, but we had a bit of a disaster - the flooring rose on one side of the court and it became unplayable. I've since reported it to the owner - I do hope we haven't done any permanent - or extensive/expensive - damage to his court.

Tuesday was up in Fraserburgh dealing with the Union again. It's tough telling lower paid workers in our canning business that they can't get any pay increases as we're losing business all over the place to foreign competition which has considerably lower labour costs than ours. Fortunately, our chilled businesses don't have to face up to the same overseas pressure - logistics just don't allow it - our competition here is from other UK manufacturers and there's a bit more of a level playing field.

When I finally got home about 6:30 pm, Luca was still there - although Jo was about to take him back to Inverurie. He was strangely reluctant to even look at me, let alone talk to me. I know it had been a month since I'd seen him, but, come on, he knew who I was! OK - resort to Plan B - chocolate! Ah - that's better - suddenly we're best pals again!

Nice to see the wee man anyway - although it did rather put an end to our plans to go and see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which we had noticed was still on at the Belmont. There was a 5:30 pm showing last night, but not tonight or tomorrow and it finishes on Saturday. Don't know if I could face the prospect of driving back from Fraserburgh tomorrow after work, then going to the late evening showing, back home at midnight then back in to Aberdeen early on Friday morning!

Tonight will be the first chance I get to play midweek golf - looking forward to it - weather looks quite promising.

Tomorrow (Friday) it's a 20th anniversary celebration football match, followed by a curry at the Derbar. Hopefully, I'll still manage a round of golf on Saturday morning, then, on Sunday, it's the second of our training walks - this time up Clach na Beinn - first time ever.

So that's me up to date now - what's happening in your world?

USA family photos

Check out the updated sidebar I've put on the blog - http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I've been taking "official" family photos at the end of our holiday at Grants Pass ever since 2002 and I've put all 9 to date in the sidebar.

There's been a few changing faces, but I'm probably the only one whose hair style hasn't changed over the years!