This week's Graze Box contains:
The question now is, am I snacking on these instead of munching on crisps and biscuits, or as well as?
Ian R. Stewart Family Blog
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Graze Box
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
This week's Graze Box contains:
The question now is, am I snacking on these instead of munching on crisps and biscuits, or as well as?
This week's Graze Box contains:
The question now is, am I snacking on these instead of munching on crisps and biscuits, or as well as?
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Weekend with Luca & Yoda
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
The gruesome twosome were delivered over to us as a package on Thursday as Gary and Carole headed off for a long weekend in London. Poor Yoda really is a feartie and regularly seemed to empty her bladder in different places at unpredictable times - no major disasters but you do have to watch her - she's so timid.
Luca, on the other hand, is, as Gary has said several times, much more confident and capable of manipulating any situation with anyone. Of course, he gets spoiled rotten when he comes over to ours - not of my doing, I hasten to add.
I didn't see Luca much on Friday as I was at work in the morning, golf at Ballater in the afternoon, and out at one of our thrice yearly "Headbangs" in the evening. I cancelled my golf on Saturday, however, and we took Luca and Yoda down to Milton of Crathes as we had heard that the Deeside Railway Preservation Society were running train rides along the first mile of track they are restoring.
We arrived early for the 12:30 ride, so we bought our tickets then wandered down a bit of the adjacent Deeside Way, allowing both Luca and Yoda the opportunity to let off some steam. It's an old diesel locomotive they run, pushing carriages that used to take the Royal Family out towards their summer holiday home at Balmoral. They do have a steam engine as well, but only crank that up on high days and holidays when they know that visitor numbers are likely to be greater.
Having started walking westwards towards Banchory, we spotted the train returning to the station:
Hey Luca - we need to run back to the station in case we miss our train! So, back we headed:
We made it in plenty of time:
Our traditional thick cardboard tickets showed we were entitled to a seat in "3rd Class", but, as the only passengers on the train, we sat where the h**l we liked - and that was the Royal compartment at the front of the 1st Class section:
Apparently, my seat (next to Jo's) was where the Queen Mother always used to sit. The "inspector" came round and punched holes in our tickets - very quaint. He opened the driver's compartment at the front of the train and offered to let Luca sit in there - but he refused. He preferred to stay a bit further back.
When the journey was over we were allowed to go up in to the real driver's cabin, which was at the back of the train. The main purpose being to lift Luca up so he could pull the cord and blow the train's whistle - we did it, but I'm not really sure Luca knew what was going on - he didn't seem to correlate his pulling the cord with the sound of the whistle.
Back home later on, some gardening had to be done - Luca was the snail-remover-in chief:
On Sunday afternoon, we went to Malcolm Lodge's surprise 60th birthday BBQ. Jo drove there and spent a bit of time at the start making sure Luca was settled OK:
I think we were last over there at Malcolm's 50th, not long after they bought the property, and it's come on a lot since then - they've worked hard at it - here's the longer shot of Jo and Luca in the lower part of their garden:
Gary picked up Luca on his return yesterday (Monday) but he'll be back with us again briefly this afternoon for his usual Tuesday afternoon/early evening.
I finish with a tale of woe - my favourite - and very expensive - chair, is broken. It felt a bit odd on Sunday and today it appears as if the main right hand supporting bolt has sheared:
It's been reported and we now await their inspector's visit - but I'll miss my chair for a while it seems.
The gruesome twosome were delivered over to us as a package on Thursday as Gary and Carole headed off for a long weekend in London. Poor Yoda really is a feartie and regularly seemed to empty her bladder in different places at unpredictable times - no major disasters but you do have to watch her - she's so timid.
Luca, on the other hand, is, as Gary has said several times, much more confident and capable of manipulating any situation with anyone. Of course, he gets spoiled rotten when he comes over to ours - not of my doing, I hasten to add.
I didn't see Luca much on Friday as I was at work in the morning, golf at Ballater in the afternoon, and out at one of our thrice yearly "Headbangs" in the evening. I cancelled my golf on Saturday, however, and we took Luca and Yoda down to Milton of Crathes as we had heard that the Deeside Railway Preservation Society were running train rides along the first mile of track they are restoring.
We arrived early for the 12:30 ride, so we bought our tickets then wandered down a bit of the adjacent Deeside Way, allowing both Luca and Yoda the opportunity to let off some steam. It's an old diesel locomotive they run, pushing carriages that used to take the Royal Family out towards their summer holiday home at Balmoral. They do have a steam engine as well, but only crank that up on high days and holidays when they know that visitor numbers are likely to be greater.
Having started walking westwards towards Banchory, we spotted the train returning to the station:
Hey Luca - we need to run back to the station in case we miss our train! So, back we headed:
We made it in plenty of time:
Our traditional thick cardboard tickets showed we were entitled to a seat in "3rd Class", but, as the only passengers on the train, we sat where the h**l we liked - and that was the Royal compartment at the front of the 1st Class section:
Apparently, my seat (next to Jo's) was where the Queen Mother always used to sit. The "inspector" came round and punched holes in our tickets - very quaint. He opened the driver's compartment at the front of the train and offered to let Luca sit in there - but he refused. He preferred to stay a bit further back.
When the journey was over we were allowed to go up in to the real driver's cabin, which was at the back of the train. The main purpose being to lift Luca up so he could pull the cord and blow the train's whistle - we did it, but I'm not really sure Luca knew what was going on - he didn't seem to correlate his pulling the cord with the sound of the whistle.
Back home later on, some gardening had to be done - Luca was the snail-remover-in chief:
On Sunday afternoon, we went to Malcolm Lodge's surprise 60th birthday BBQ. Jo drove there and spent a bit of time at the start making sure Luca was settled OK:
I think we were last over there at Malcolm's 50th, not long after they bought the property, and it's come on a lot since then - they've worked hard at it - here's the longer shot of Jo and Luca in the lower part of their garden:
Gary picked up Luca on his return yesterday (Monday) but he'll be back with us again briefly this afternoon for his usual Tuesday afternoon/early evening.
I finish with a tale of woe - my favourite - and very expensive - chair, is broken. It felt a bit odd on Sunday and today it appears as if the main right hand supporting bolt has sheared:
It's been reported and we now await their inspector's visit - but I'll miss my chair for a while it seems.
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Midsummer madness
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes, it may have been the Summer Solstice yesterday, but it was a wet one, and the rain carried on this morning, so they've decided to close the golf course, so no golf for me tonight - going to play squash instead. Of course, it's sod's law, it's stopped raining, but perhaps the course needs a bit of time to absorb the moisture anyway.
So, here I am, blogging again. I think we provoked Kelly in to action and her photo of the Koala bear in Adelaide city centre was interesting, but the narrative was - well, less than massive, let's say. Apparently the poor wee lamb has done something to her neck and she's getting a constant migraine now - hope you get it fixed soon, Kelly!
What else is new? Well, I've been preparing for our headbang on Friday night - there's going to be 9 of us there this time, squeezed in to Dave's front room.
I got my first ever (trial) box from Graze (http://www.graze.com/) today. Not bad, although whether I'll keep it up or not, we'll see. Must leave some for Jo to try when I get home - oh, and it's the Apprentice tonight - the UK version that is, with "SirAlan" Sugar - not the original American Trumpster, who was in Aberdeen again yesterday, touting the new course he's building and putting it forward for a future Ryder Cup and an Open.
We've got Luca for a few nights - and Yoda - as Gary and Carole go away for the weekend. We've all received our written instructions - seems like Ross has been singled out to handle Yoda. We'll take Luca with us to Malcolm Lodge's surprise 60th birthday party on Sunday.
So that's it for now.
Yes, it may have been the Summer Solstice yesterday, but it was a wet one, and the rain carried on this morning, so they've decided to close the golf course, so no golf for me tonight - going to play squash instead. Of course, it's sod's law, it's stopped raining, but perhaps the course needs a bit of time to absorb the moisture anyway.
So, here I am, blogging again. I think we provoked Kelly in to action and her photo of the Koala bear in Adelaide city centre was interesting, but the narrative was - well, less than massive, let's say. Apparently the poor wee lamb has done something to her neck and she's getting a constant migraine now - hope you get it fixed soon, Kelly!
What else is new? Well, I've been preparing for our headbang on Friday night - there's going to be 9 of us there this time, squeezed in to Dave's front room.
I got my first ever (trial) box from Graze (http://www.graze.com/) today. Not bad, although whether I'll keep it up or not, we'll see. Must leave some for Jo to try when I get home - oh, and it's the Apprentice tonight - the UK version that is, with "SirAlan" Sugar - not the original American Trumpster, who was in Aberdeen again yesterday, touting the new course he's building and putting it forward for a future Ryder Cup and an Open.
We've got Luca for a few nights - and Yoda - as Gary and Carole go away for the weekend. We've all received our written instructions - seems like Ross has been singled out to handle Yoda. We'll take Luca with us to Malcolm Lodge's surprise 60th birthday party on Sunday.
So that's it for now.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Friday thoughts
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Been hectic sports-wise this week, what with walking on Sunday, golf at Inchmarlo on Monday and again at Banchory on Wednesday, then some squash last night, and, with any luck, golf at Glenisla this afternoon. The forecast's not too good, but the day has started off very nicely and we may get lucky.
Spare a thought for poor Syd - his wife has got an inoperable brain tumour. It suddenly came to light last week and there's nothing they can do. She's been transferred from Aberdeen to Aboyne hospital and Syd's hoping she'll get home today, but it'll be a full time carer job for him - he may even need help eventually. In Syd's words, "it won't be months". Syd's 72 and Barbara is a couple of years younger - still plenty young enough, and active. You just never know, do you?
So tomorrow is the next stage in my tooth implant. He's asked me to book a long appointment, but he told me last time he wouldn't need to do any more cutting - hopefully it's just the final impressions.
That's about it for now. I've been planning the next instalment of Renshaw's Chronicles (http://renshawschronicles.blogspot.com/) and have been scanning a few old photos for the next episode to cover our period down in Corby, Northants - bet you can't wait!
Been hectic sports-wise this week, what with walking on Sunday, golf at Inchmarlo on Monday and again at Banchory on Wednesday, then some squash last night, and, with any luck, golf at Glenisla this afternoon. The forecast's not too good, but the day has started off very nicely and we may get lucky.
Spare a thought for poor Syd - his wife has got an inoperable brain tumour. It suddenly came to light last week and there's nothing they can do. She's been transferred from Aberdeen to Aboyne hospital and Syd's hoping she'll get home today, but it'll be a full time carer job for him - he may even need help eventually. In Syd's words, "it won't be months". Syd's 72 and Barbara is a couple of years younger - still plenty young enough, and active. You just never know, do you?
So tomorrow is the next stage in my tooth implant. He's asked me to book a long appointment, but he told me last time he wouldn't need to do any more cutting - hopefully it's just the final impressions.
That's about it for now. I've been planning the next instalment of Renshaw's Chronicles (http://renshawschronicles.blogspot.com/) and have been scanning a few old photos for the next episode to cover our period down in Corby, Northants - bet you can't wait!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Tuesday 14th June
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Half way through June and approaching the longest day and the weather's up and down like a yo-yo - one day lovely and another a bit dreich. I have to say, however, that I seem to have been fairly lucky so far - the weather hasn't really interfered with anything I've tried to do - yet!
We had a lovely outing at Blairgowrie on Friday, despite forecasts of potential heavy showers. I started to come down with a bit of head cold, however, and, typically, my voice gave out - this seems to happen at least once a year. I awoke on Saturday not feeling the brightest and decided to give golf a miss. It was the right call, as not only did we have Luca with us that day anyway, but Carole came over for lunch and the afternoon - plus it p****d down virtually all day.
We watched Soul Men at night - Samuel L. Jackson in a kind of soul version of the Blues Brothers - it was OK - there was enough humour and music in it to keep us interested - and awake.
On Sunday, the weather was lovely again as we completed the 11 mile stretch along the Deeside Way from Aboyne to Ballater - check out the details on my Hill-walking site - http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/.
Yesterday, I managed a round of golf at Inchmarlo, courtesy of Nigel Meany who was on a brief visit over here from Dubai. He's job hunting just now and was at an interview in Norway on Friday and popped over here for a few days.
So that's what I've been up to - what about Jo? She seldom blogs nowadays and when she does, it's with the same photos that I've recently published on my blog! Jo was swimming again yesterday, but complained to me last night that she had to curtail her exercise, having "only" done 34 lengths, instead of the scheduled 40. What with swimming twice a week plus regular walking, I reckon Jo's fitter now than she ever was - and it's keeping her a free member of Weight Watchers as she's still well within her target that she set when she first agreed to chum her pal Ann along.
It's only 4 weeks now until we take our short break at the Carrick at Loch Lomond - http://www.cameronhouse.co.uk/cameron-house/lodges/the-carrick.html. It's a full week we've got booked but we can only stay Friday to Monday as I have to return to work. We hope to catch up with Barry/Dawn/Mary some time that weekend - and we also hope that somebody will be able to use the extra days from Monday until the Friday check-out - Barry and Helen might be interested, but will wait to see what the weather's like.
After we get back from Loch Lomond, it's just over a week until we head off to USA. It seems they've been having unsettled weather this year as well, but I'm sure it'll be fine by then - and their definition of "unsettled" is a little different from our island climate!
Half way through June and approaching the longest day and the weather's up and down like a yo-yo - one day lovely and another a bit dreich. I have to say, however, that I seem to have been fairly lucky so far - the weather hasn't really interfered with anything I've tried to do - yet!
We had a lovely outing at Blairgowrie on Friday, despite forecasts of potential heavy showers. I started to come down with a bit of head cold, however, and, typically, my voice gave out - this seems to happen at least once a year. I awoke on Saturday not feeling the brightest and decided to give golf a miss. It was the right call, as not only did we have Luca with us that day anyway, but Carole came over for lunch and the afternoon - plus it p****d down virtually all day.
We watched Soul Men at night - Samuel L. Jackson in a kind of soul version of the Blues Brothers - it was OK - there was enough humour and music in it to keep us interested - and awake.
On Sunday, the weather was lovely again as we completed the 11 mile stretch along the Deeside Way from Aboyne to Ballater - check out the details on my Hill-walking site - http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/.
Yesterday, I managed a round of golf at Inchmarlo, courtesy of Nigel Meany who was on a brief visit over here from Dubai. He's job hunting just now and was at an interview in Norway on Friday and popped over here for a few days.
So that's what I've been up to - what about Jo? She seldom blogs nowadays and when she does, it's with the same photos that I've recently published on my blog! Jo was swimming again yesterday, but complained to me last night that she had to curtail her exercise, having "only" done 34 lengths, instead of the scheduled 40. What with swimming twice a week plus regular walking, I reckon Jo's fitter now than she ever was - and it's keeping her a free member of Weight Watchers as she's still well within her target that she set when she first agreed to chum her pal Ann along.
It's only 4 weeks now until we take our short break at the Carrick at Loch Lomond - http://www.cameronhouse.co.uk/cameron-house/lodges/the-carrick.html. It's a full week we've got booked but we can only stay Friday to Monday as I have to return to work. We hope to catch up with Barry/Dawn/Mary some time that weekend - and we also hope that somebody will be able to use the extra days from Monday until the Friday check-out - Barry and Helen might be interested, but will wait to see what the weather's like.
After we get back from Loch Lomond, it's just over a week until we head off to USA. It seems they've been having unsettled weather this year as well, but I'm sure it'll be fine by then - and their definition of "unsettled" is a little different from our island climate!
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
That was the summer, that was!
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - it was truly glorious on Thursday and Friday - everywhere by all accounts. It was still hot in the South East when I flew back from Terminal 5 late Saturday morning. We'd got a bit of a scorching at Lord's on Friday - our seats were out in the open, and whilst I'd slapped on the sun cream and kept my floppy hat on (as instructed by my doctors), my arms and legs got a little red.
It was a nice, short break - some cricket, some nice beers and a couple of great gigs - full details on my other blogs. As soon as I landed back in Aberdeen, I headed straight to my dentist's for the latest stage in my implant procedure. It was fairly straightforward this time - the surgeon removed a screw and put in what he called - I think - an abutment. Wikipedia describes it as "the part of an implant that acts as a connection between the implant and the crown". Check it out in this grisly close-up:
Not a pretty sight. I go back again on 18th June and he will create the final impressions then. I wonder if my implant will be in place by the time we go to USA late July? Don't want to scare the grandchildren too much - although Cade's braces may scare me!
I had the house to myself on Saturday night - Jo was down at the Town Hall listening to Banchory Singers with her pals. She said she thought I wasn't coming back until Sunday!
Golf on Sunday morning, afternoon with the Sunday Times and the TV, then we watched Gainsbourg - A Heroic Life - a biopic of Serge Gainsbourg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Gainsbourg). It was in French with English subtitles and naturally included scenes with some of his famous amours - Juliette Greco, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin to name but three. It was a little artistic and a tad too long for our liking.
Back to work yesterday, but escaped early to play my tie in the next round of the singles at Banchory. Today, I've been at Pittodrie on a course. I picked a casual shirt from my wardrobe this morning, but it was only later that I realised it wasn't mine - it was Ross's - thought it felt a bit big.
I arrived home to a slightly tired and mopey Luca, and I gave him my name badge from the course to wear on the way home - that was about the extent of our communications before Jo took him back to Inverurie. Still, he's back with us on Friday/Saturday.
I've got the long drive to Fraserburgh to face tomorrow and Thursday, but I'm away at Blairgowrie golfing on Friday, so can't complain. Got to cram it in now - it's only 2 weeks until the longest day! I've got my memory stick set up for the drives to the Broch - I've been recording Sounds of the Sixties every Saturday for a number of years and I save it for one of the drives north the following week. I'm also now recording Sounds of the 20th Century, which is broadcast on Radio 2 on Thursday nights, and this entertains me on one of the other days I have to travel. It's a programme of music and news clips, without commentary, from each of the last 50 years of the 20th century - one show for each year. I think it's 1959 I'll be listening to tomorrow.
So that's this blog up to date now - must rush - got other blogs to do!
Yes - it was truly glorious on Thursday and Friday - everywhere by all accounts. It was still hot in the South East when I flew back from Terminal 5 late Saturday morning. We'd got a bit of a scorching at Lord's on Friday - our seats were out in the open, and whilst I'd slapped on the sun cream and kept my floppy hat on (as instructed by my doctors), my arms and legs got a little red.
It was a nice, short break - some cricket, some nice beers and a couple of great gigs - full details on my other blogs. As soon as I landed back in Aberdeen, I headed straight to my dentist's for the latest stage in my implant procedure. It was fairly straightforward this time - the surgeon removed a screw and put in what he called - I think - an abutment. Wikipedia describes it as "the part of an implant that acts as a connection between the implant and the crown". Check it out in this grisly close-up:
Not a pretty sight. I go back again on 18th June and he will create the final impressions then. I wonder if my implant will be in place by the time we go to USA late July? Don't want to scare the grandchildren too much - although Cade's braces may scare me!
I had the house to myself on Saturday night - Jo was down at the Town Hall listening to Banchory Singers with her pals. She said she thought I wasn't coming back until Sunday!
Golf on Sunday morning, afternoon with the Sunday Times and the TV, then we watched Gainsbourg - A Heroic Life - a biopic of Serge Gainsbourg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Gainsbourg). It was in French with English subtitles and naturally included scenes with some of his famous amours - Juliette Greco, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin to name but three. It was a little artistic and a tad too long for our liking.
Back to work yesterday, but escaped early to play my tie in the next round of the singles at Banchory. Today, I've been at Pittodrie on a course. I picked a casual shirt from my wardrobe this morning, but it was only later that I realised it wasn't mine - it was Ross's - thought it felt a bit big.
I arrived home to a slightly tired and mopey Luca, and I gave him my name badge from the course to wear on the way home - that was about the extent of our communications before Jo took him back to Inverurie. Still, he's back with us on Friday/Saturday.
I've got the long drive to Fraserburgh to face tomorrow and Thursday, but I'm away at Blairgowrie golfing on Friday, so can't complain. Got to cram it in now - it's only 2 weeks until the longest day! I've got my memory stick set up for the drives to the Broch - I've been recording Sounds of the Sixties every Saturday for a number of years and I save it for one of the drives north the following week. I'm also now recording Sounds of the 20th Century, which is broadcast on Radio 2 on Thursday nights, and this entertains me on one of the other days I have to travel. It's a programme of music and news clips, without commentary, from each of the last 50 years of the 20th century - one show for each year. I think it's 1959 I'll be listening to tomorrow.
So that's this blog up to date now - must rush - got other blogs to do!
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Flaming June!
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Not so far, it's not - but the weather forecast for Banchory for the next couple of days is wall to wall sunshine and 23 C - and where am I going to be? - down in London! Ah well, hope it's as least as warm there and I can enjoy Friday's 2nd Test Match against Sri Lanka in the sun - although I don't expect we'll see anything as exciting as the finish to the 1st Test Match in Cardiff on Monday.
I played my first Seniors match of the season for Banchory at Deeside yesterday afternoon - and very nice it was too, despite us getting duffed. More golf tonight, then an early morning drive up to Fraserburgh in the morning before heading back to the airport for the plane down to London.
I bought a couple of cheap holiday books on Sunday - on offer in John Menzies - but I've really been enjoying reading Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. It's quite a big tome but I've been making no effort to race through it - in fact, I'm savouring reading only short excerpts at night to try and make it last a while. It's written just as if Keef was talking to you - fun reading.
Talking about holidays, would you believe we've already got something fixed up for USA 2012? We got confirmation this morning of an exchange week next July at Stoneridge Resort, Idaho - http://www.stoneridgeresort.com/. It's in Blanchard, which is northern Idaho, and it's 627 miles from Scott and Lucy's - a little less than they travelled last year (and this year) down to Newport Coast, CA. Nearest airport is Spokane, Washington. This is a map of North West USA, with "A" marking Blanchard:
Incidentally, check out my Headbangers blog (http://banchoryheadbangers.blogspot.com/) for a rare sighting of an old school-mate of mine appearing on Top of the Pops in 1976!
You may have noticed on my blog that it's now been viewed 9,200 times - keep logging on and we'll get to 10,000 soon!
Lastly, spare a thought for poor Johanne Kilgour, who had to retire from teaching many years ago when she contracted Parkinson's - one of the youngest ever to do so. She and Colin went to Bruges for a holiday, but Johanne had a nasty fall on the first full day there and they had to return home, with her looking heavily battered and bruised. Externally, she appears to be looking a bit better, but she's still got internal injuries and now she's building up fluid in her feet/ankles. Poor girl doesn't have her troubles to seek.
Not so far, it's not - but the weather forecast for Banchory for the next couple of days is wall to wall sunshine and 23 C - and where am I going to be? - down in London! Ah well, hope it's as least as warm there and I can enjoy Friday's 2nd Test Match against Sri Lanka in the sun - although I don't expect we'll see anything as exciting as the finish to the 1st Test Match in Cardiff on Monday.
I played my first Seniors match of the season for Banchory at Deeside yesterday afternoon - and very nice it was too, despite us getting duffed. More golf tonight, then an early morning drive up to Fraserburgh in the morning before heading back to the airport for the plane down to London.
I bought a couple of cheap holiday books on Sunday - on offer in John Menzies - but I've really been enjoying reading Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. It's quite a big tome but I've been making no effort to race through it - in fact, I'm savouring reading only short excerpts at night to try and make it last a while. It's written just as if Keef was talking to you - fun reading.
Talking about holidays, would you believe we've already got something fixed up for USA 2012? We got confirmation this morning of an exchange week next July at Stoneridge Resort, Idaho - http://www.stoneridgeresort.com/. It's in Blanchard, which is northern Idaho, and it's 627 miles from Scott and Lucy's - a little less than they travelled last year (and this year) down to Newport Coast, CA. Nearest airport is Spokane, Washington. This is a map of North West USA, with "A" marking Blanchard:
Incidentally, check out my Headbangers blog (http://banchoryheadbangers.blogspot.com/) for a rare sighting of an old school-mate of mine appearing on Top of the Pops in 1976!
You may have noticed on my blog that it's now been viewed 9,200 times - keep logging on and we'll get to 10,000 soon!
Lastly, spare a thought for poor Johanne Kilgour, who had to retire from teaching many years ago when she contracted Parkinson's - one of the youngest ever to do so. She and Colin went to Bruges for a holiday, but Johanne had a nasty fall on the first full day there and they had to return home, with her looking heavily battered and bruised. Externally, she appears to be looking a bit better, but she's still got internal injuries and now she's building up fluid in her feet/ankles. Poor girl doesn't have her troubles to seek.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Last posting in May
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - tomorrow's June - can you believe it? Where's the year going? Only 3 weeks until the longest day - then it's all downhill from there!
You may have read from my other blogs or on Facebook about the incident we had on the golf course at the weekend - that was unwelcome and I hope there's going to be no more of it. The youth of Banchory have always traditionally spent weekends and evenings in the summer down by the river, getting up to the usual teenage high jinks - it's almost a rite of passage. Sometimes it's spilled over a little from the area down by the Dee bridge, but this is the first time we've seen anything this far up - in the middle section of the course.
Next week is CAMRA's big annual event - the Beer Festival at Pittodrie - and I spent a bit of time last night distributing the latest quarterly newsletter round Deeside (and Fraserburgh). The Festival was originally due to be held this week, but Aberdeen Football Club took a late booking for a Rod Stewart concert and so the organisers of the festival had to hastily make arrangements to put the festival back a week - not an easy task, given that it takes the best of a year to organise the event.
This change of date has rather messed up my plans for attending the festival - it used to clash with a regular annual golf outing we went on to Blairgowrie, but I managed to persuade the organiser of the golf outing to put his event back a week this year so that it didn't clash with the beer festival - and he agreed. All was well until Rod the Mod's concert changed matters - I can't pull out of the golf outing now, having got the date changed just to suit me, but it means I won't be able to go along with our usual crowd to the festival on the Friday night. I'm planning to work behind the bar on Thursday and Saturday - perhaps I'll manage to take some time off to allow myself a few beers?
When I found out about the changes in dates, I also then arranged my annual trip to Lord's for the cricket - and it's this Thursday that I'm going down - ash clouds permitting, of course. I'm taking in a Nils Lofgren gig at Cadogan Hall on Thursday evening and then on Friday night, Donovan is performing Sunshine Superman (and his greatest hits) at the Royal Albert Hall, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra - something to look forward to. I fly back on Saturday morning - too late for golf, but I've got my next appointment on Saturday afternoon with the Dental Surgeon who's trying to put the smile back on my face by filling the huge gap in my grin.
So that's about it from me. If you're viewing this from the blog itself, you'll notice that I've removed some of the archive photos from the sidebar of my blog, so I thought I would just add one old photo to the main body of this posting. It's from a year ago when we went to Edinburgh to see Les Miserables (again) and briefly met up with our old friends the Elgies, who are now back in Middlesborough, but happened to be in Edinburgh the same weekend as us:
Yes - tomorrow's June - can you believe it? Where's the year going? Only 3 weeks until the longest day - then it's all downhill from there!
You may have read from my other blogs or on Facebook about the incident we had on the golf course at the weekend - that was unwelcome and I hope there's going to be no more of it. The youth of Banchory have always traditionally spent weekends and evenings in the summer down by the river, getting up to the usual teenage high jinks - it's almost a rite of passage. Sometimes it's spilled over a little from the area down by the Dee bridge, but this is the first time we've seen anything this far up - in the middle section of the course.
Next week is CAMRA's big annual event - the Beer Festival at Pittodrie - and I spent a bit of time last night distributing the latest quarterly newsletter round Deeside (and Fraserburgh). The Festival was originally due to be held this week, but Aberdeen Football Club took a late booking for a Rod Stewart concert and so the organisers of the festival had to hastily make arrangements to put the festival back a week - not an easy task, given that it takes the best of a year to organise the event.
This change of date has rather messed up my plans for attending the festival - it used to clash with a regular annual golf outing we went on to Blairgowrie, but I managed to persuade the organiser of the golf outing to put his event back a week this year so that it didn't clash with the beer festival - and he agreed. All was well until Rod the Mod's concert changed matters - I can't pull out of the golf outing now, having got the date changed just to suit me, but it means I won't be able to go along with our usual crowd to the festival on the Friday night. I'm planning to work behind the bar on Thursday and Saturday - perhaps I'll manage to take some time off to allow myself a few beers?
When I found out about the changes in dates, I also then arranged my annual trip to Lord's for the cricket - and it's this Thursday that I'm going down - ash clouds permitting, of course. I'm taking in a Nils Lofgren gig at Cadogan Hall on Thursday evening and then on Friday night, Donovan is performing Sunshine Superman (and his greatest hits) at the Royal Albert Hall, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra - something to look forward to. I fly back on Saturday morning - too late for golf, but I've got my next appointment on Saturday afternoon with the Dental Surgeon who's trying to put the smile back on my face by filling the huge gap in my grin.
So that's about it from me. If you're viewing this from the blog itself, you'll notice that I've removed some of the archive photos from the sidebar of my blog, so I thought I would just add one old photo to the main body of this posting. It's from a year ago when we went to Edinburgh to see Les Miserables (again) and briefly met up with our old friends the Elgies, who are now back in Middlesborough, but happened to be in Edinburgh the same weekend as us:
 |
| Leslie Mason, Colin Kilgour, Colin Elgie and yours truly. |
Friday, 27 May 2011
Lucy 38!!!
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - no hiding place - this time next year, Lucy will be entering her 40th year! Happy birthday, girl! Here's an old one of her when we lived in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. We had 2 fabulous summers in a row - 1975 and 1976, but I suspect this one was taken in 1977 or 1978 as Gary was a little boy then. Our neighbours were Ray and Chris Barrie from a couple of doors along and their children, Sasha and Karl, were similar ages to our two:
Good - Blogspot allowed me to upload this, so perhaps I haven't reached my limit after all.
Have a good one, Lucy - see you in August.
Yes - no hiding place - this time next year, Lucy will be entering her 40th year! Happy birthday, girl! Here's an old one of her when we lived in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. We had 2 fabulous summers in a row - 1975 and 1976, but I suspect this one was taken in 1977 or 1978 as Gary was a little boy then. Our neighbours were Ray and Chris Barrie from a couple of doors along and their children, Sasha and Karl, were similar ages to our two:
Good - Blogspot allowed me to upload this, so perhaps I haven't reached my limit after all.
Have a good one, Lucy - see you in August.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Thursday update
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
I just tried to update the sidebar archive photos on my blog and was told by Google that I couldn't do it as I had exceeded my photo upload limit! - but I was deleting one and replacing it? Bah!
Watched The Apprentice last night after golf - I enjoy the analysis of what went wrong (or right) with the task - it's part of what I do at work, so I find it interesting - and the characters are generally so odious - I guess that's why I always look forward to it.
So far this week, I've played squash once, golf once and been to the gym once. Tonight it's squash again - twice in one week - unusual for this time of year. My body will be sore tomorrow.
Forgot to say we watched Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps last Saturday. I had thought I might enjoy it, but Ross merely pulled a face when I told him what the DVD was, so our expectations were immediately lowered - and he was right! Much better - although gloomier and tragic - was the previous Saturday's viewing - Telstar - the Joe Meek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Meek) story.
So, I've now booked our accommodation in Australia and Singapore next year - we're there during the Adelaide Festival (http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/), which should be fun. We've also finally decided on a date for our golf trip back to Turkey next year - I think! It's been a long drawn-out battle trying to get 7-8-9 guys to agree a mutually acceptable date, but I think we're almost there. Of course, I narrowed the options a bit by taking an extended break Down Under - and a little later than we did this year.
This Saturday it's the Champions League final. I had initially proposed bringing a few friends round to watch it but was told, in no uncertain terms, not to bother, but to go to the pub instead - so that's what I'll be doing!
Next week I'm off to London for my annual cricket trip to Lord's, and also to take in a couple of concerts - Nils Lofgren and then Donovan - the latter at the Royal Albert Hall again.
My pal, Gary Grant, has just recorded a slightly politically charged single and it's available on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0IfIum_B0w. Ross will probably enjoy the sentiments!
I just tried to update the sidebar archive photos on my blog and was told by Google that I couldn't do it as I had exceeded my photo upload limit! - but I was deleting one and replacing it? Bah!
Watched The Apprentice last night after golf - I enjoy the analysis of what went wrong (or right) with the task - it's part of what I do at work, so I find it interesting - and the characters are generally so odious - I guess that's why I always look forward to it.
So far this week, I've played squash once, golf once and been to the gym once. Tonight it's squash again - twice in one week - unusual for this time of year. My body will be sore tomorrow.
Forgot to say we watched Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps last Saturday. I had thought I might enjoy it, but Ross merely pulled a face when I told him what the DVD was, so our expectations were immediately lowered - and he was right! Much better - although gloomier and tragic - was the previous Saturday's viewing - Telstar - the Joe Meek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Meek) story.
So, I've now booked our accommodation in Australia and Singapore next year - we're there during the Adelaide Festival (http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/), which should be fun. We've also finally decided on a date for our golf trip back to Turkey next year - I think! It's been a long drawn-out battle trying to get 7-8-9 guys to agree a mutually acceptable date, but I think we're almost there. Of course, I narrowed the options a bit by taking an extended break Down Under - and a little later than we did this year.
This Saturday it's the Champions League final. I had initially proposed bringing a few friends round to watch it but was told, in no uncertain terms, not to bother, but to go to the pub instead - so that's what I'll be doing!
Next week I'm off to London for my annual cricket trip to Lord's, and also to take in a couple of concerts - Nils Lofgren and then Donovan - the latter at the Royal Albert Hall again.
My pal, Gary Grant, has just recorded a slightly politically charged single and it's available on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0IfIum_B0w. Ross will probably enjoy the sentiments!
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Lazy Sunday afternoon
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - it feels like the famous Small Faces 1967 track - remember "cor blimey Mrs Jones, how's your Bert's lumbago?" - as I while away the hours alone at home. Ross is asleep and Jo's at church/coffee and there's no golf today. I should have been up Lochnagar but had to pull out at the last moment as I didn't feel too great and my knees are acting up a bit again. I was concerned that I might hold the other guys back so I pulled out.
As a consolation, I did go a walk up Scolty - it was nice and quiet early in the morning, and I enjoyed the peace. Here's a panoramic view I took from the top:
Yes - it feels like the famous Small Faces 1967 track - remember "cor blimey Mrs Jones, how's your Bert's lumbago?" - as I while away the hours alone at home. Ross is asleep and Jo's at church/coffee and there's no golf today. I should have been up Lochnagar but had to pull out at the last moment as I didn't feel too great and my knees are acting up a bit again. I was concerned that I might hold the other guys back so I pulled out.
As a consolation, I did go a walk up Scolty - it was nice and quiet early in the morning, and I enjoyed the peace. Here's a panoramic view I took from the top:
Friday, 20 May 2011
Kelly 32!
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - I've outed her - our little "Thunder from Down Under" - is 32 today. Kelly knows how to celebrate - she won't need any advice from us - it's evening in Oz now and no doubt she's hitting the town again.
It's 10 years since Kelly graduated from the University of Aberdeen. Here we were on a side street somewhere near Marischal College after the graduation ceremony (hosted by Kirsty Wark):
Just a few weeks later and we were all off to USA for Scott and Lucy's wedding. Here's the girls at Patrick Creek, where the ceremony was held:
Think they're related at all? We travelled a bit that year - New York, then Florida, Denver, San Francisco, Crescent City, Patrick Creek and Redding. We had to do the cable car thing in Frisco:
Going back to the Millennium year, I found a photo of Kelly at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in L.A.:
That's what she'll be doing in Adelaide tonight! Have a good one, pet - wish we were with you!
Yes - I've outed her - our little "Thunder from Down Under" - is 32 today. Kelly knows how to celebrate - she won't need any advice from us - it's evening in Oz now and no doubt she's hitting the town again.
It's 10 years since Kelly graduated from the University of Aberdeen. Here we were on a side street somewhere near Marischal College after the graduation ceremony (hosted by Kirsty Wark):
Just a few weeks later and we were all off to USA for Scott and Lucy's wedding. Here's the girls at Patrick Creek, where the ceremony was held:
Think they're related at all? We travelled a bit that year - New York, then Florida, Denver, San Francisco, Crescent City, Patrick Creek and Redding. We had to do the cable car thing in Frisco:
Going back to the Millennium year, I found a photo of Kelly at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in L.A.:
That's what she'll be doing in Adelaide tonight! Have a good one, pet - wish we were with you!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Mid-May update
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
I thought I'd better bring my blog diary up to date again - it's been 12 days now - not easy to remember everything that's happened in that time - if I don't do this frequently, I've got no chance!
My last post told about the builders arriving to cut a hole in the wood roof to our porch. Have they been back since? What do you think? Will it ever get fixed?
I went for my latest blood test and saw the Doctor on Friday to get the results - the good news is that I can now come off the iron pills - thank goodness for that! I had another visit to the Medical Centre the same day to see the Doctor who has been looking at and treating the skin blemish on my nose. It certainly looks better since he froze off the crusty brown skin, but he tells me I've got 2 things going on there. I wish I'd asked him to write the names down - they were unpronounceable. Basically, one of them has the possibility of turning cancerous if I'm not careful, but the other one is just a kind of warty thing that's randomly attached itself to the original growth. Factor 50 for me, he says, especially in USA and Oz.
Let's think - what else goes wrong with your body as you get older? Well, nose hairs for one. Billy Connolly does a wonderful skit on the whole ageing process and his take is far better than I could ever manage, but, thankfully, I don't appear to have got the ear hairs he talks about yet. Nose hairs are a pest however - I've taken to just pulling them out - it used to be painful at first, but I'm getting used to it. Sometimes they're dark, sometimes white - occasionally 50:50 - weird.
We had the first of our bi-annual (not biennial) trips to Boat of Garten last weekend - great fun and very lucky with the weather, as you can see from my golf blog.
It was another golf club Committee meeting on Monday - I'm starting to get the hang of things now, and how it all works. I still think there's too many round the table and there's a lot of hot air, and division of responsibilities is pretty woolly too, but it's getting a bit easier. I've had my first official complaint as House Convenor - let's hope I can resolve matters amicably.
When I was at Boat of Garten, Gary was fulfilling a life-long ambition - and probably one of mine and my Dad's - of playing on the hallowed turf/mud of Firhill. Carole and Luca went down to watch as well. For those that haven't seen it, here's Gary in action in one of his matches in the tournament:
Did he chop the guy in red down after this? Gary denies it!
Luca got his face painted when he was there - and then got his photo taken with Simon Donnelly and Paul Cairney (whoever they may be, you might well be asking?):
This Sunday, weather permitting, we're planning to walk up Lochnagar - my first Munro - if I make it! We tried last year, but visibility was so poor there was no point in going on - and I was struggling anyway with my cardio system - let's hope for better things this time.
And, as you probably gathered from Kelly's blog, we're trying to get the internal flights and accommodation sorted out for our trip to Oz next year, which I'm hoping to follow up with a return golf trip to Turkey - if we can agree a suitable date.
At work yesterday, I received an unusual call from a man representing Tekno Model Trucks (http://www.tekno.nl/). They wanted our permission to feature one of our old trucks in their Historic Range and are going to be sending me a contract for us to sign, allowing them to make 150 replicas (1:50 scale). As it happens, I have a photo of said truck in my room:
Takes all sorts, doesn't it?
I thought I'd better bring my blog diary up to date again - it's been 12 days now - not easy to remember everything that's happened in that time - if I don't do this frequently, I've got no chance!
My last post told about the builders arriving to cut a hole in the wood roof to our porch. Have they been back since? What do you think? Will it ever get fixed?
I went for my latest blood test and saw the Doctor on Friday to get the results - the good news is that I can now come off the iron pills - thank goodness for that! I had another visit to the Medical Centre the same day to see the Doctor who has been looking at and treating the skin blemish on my nose. It certainly looks better since he froze off the crusty brown skin, but he tells me I've got 2 things going on there. I wish I'd asked him to write the names down - they were unpronounceable. Basically, one of them has the possibility of turning cancerous if I'm not careful, but the other one is just a kind of warty thing that's randomly attached itself to the original growth. Factor 50 for me, he says, especially in USA and Oz.
Let's think - what else goes wrong with your body as you get older? Well, nose hairs for one. Billy Connolly does a wonderful skit on the whole ageing process and his take is far better than I could ever manage, but, thankfully, I don't appear to have got the ear hairs he talks about yet. Nose hairs are a pest however - I've taken to just pulling them out - it used to be painful at first, but I'm getting used to it. Sometimes they're dark, sometimes white - occasionally 50:50 - weird.
We had the first of our bi-annual (not biennial) trips to Boat of Garten last weekend - great fun and very lucky with the weather, as you can see from my golf blog.
It was another golf club Committee meeting on Monday - I'm starting to get the hang of things now, and how it all works. I still think there's too many round the table and there's a lot of hot air, and division of responsibilities is pretty woolly too, but it's getting a bit easier. I've had my first official complaint as House Convenor - let's hope I can resolve matters amicably.
When I was at Boat of Garten, Gary was fulfilling a life-long ambition - and probably one of mine and my Dad's - of playing on the hallowed turf/mud of Firhill. Carole and Luca went down to watch as well. For those that haven't seen it, here's Gary in action in one of his matches in the tournament:
Did he chop the guy in red down after this? Gary denies it!
Luca got his face painted when he was there - and then got his photo taken with Simon Donnelly and Paul Cairney (whoever they may be, you might well be asking?):
This Sunday, weather permitting, we're planning to walk up Lochnagar - my first Munro - if I make it! We tried last year, but visibility was so poor there was no point in going on - and I was struggling anyway with my cardio system - let's hope for better things this time.
And, as you probably gathered from Kelly's blog, we're trying to get the internal flights and accommodation sorted out for our trip to Oz next year, which I'm hoping to follow up with a return golf trip to Turkey - if we can agree a suitable date.
At work yesterday, I received an unusual call from a man representing Tekno Model Trucks (http://www.tekno.nl/). They wanted our permission to feature one of our old trucks in their Historic Range and are going to be sending me a contract for us to sign, allowing them to make 150 replicas (1:50 scale). As it happens, I have a photo of said truck in my room:
Takes all sorts, doesn't it?
Friday, 6 May 2011
Nag, nag, nag
From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/
Yes - I've been nagged to do another blog posting, and, as I haven't updated the family one this month (although my other blogs have been), I thought I had better do something now. With 7 separate blogs running, I don't intend to update them all on a daily basis - usually only when there's something to report - and I don't have much to add just now really.
Since my last posting (last Monday 25th April), this is what I've been up to in the evenings:
Yes - I've been nagged to do another blog posting, and, as I haven't updated the family one this month (although my other blogs have been), I thought I had better do something now. With 7 separate blogs running, I don't intend to update them all on a daily basis - usually only when there's something to report - and I don't have much to add just now really.
Since my last posting (last Monday 25th April), this is what I've been up to in the evenings:
- Monday - New Members' night at the Golf Club
- Tuesday - Joe Brown at the Music Hall (check http://banchoryheadbangers.blogspot.com/)
- Wednesday - golf
- Thursday - nowt
- Friday - pub
- Saturday - John McDonald's 60th party at the Legion
- Sunday - nowt, bar Sunday Times and TV
- Monday - nowt again
- Tuesday - golf at Fraserburgh, followed by supper at the Redgarth Inn, Oldmeldrum
- Wednesday - golf
- Thursday - nowt
So that's almost 2 weeks in my exciting life - that and work. I did pop in to Inverurie yesterday on my way home from Fraserburgh, to drop off some fish. Carole was in, hoping to catch some shut-eye before her all-nighter counting votes from yesterday's election. I didn't stay too long - just long enough for a cup of tea and a Hob-nob, and for Yoda to completely cover my dark blue sleeveless sweater in a thick layer of her white coat - will it ever come off?
The election results were stunning for the SNP - well, for Alex Salmond, really - but fear not, good folk in foreign parts, this doesn't mean independence for Scotland quite yet - it was more a smack in the eye for a Labour party, complacent in their traditional role as the party of Scotland, and for their smug leader, Iain Gray, who, I suspect, won't be in that position too much longer.
Going back to last Saturday, John McDonald's 60th birthday party was quite a do. There were 150 guests at the Legion and the theme was Black & White. There were loads of guests dressed in classic gangster gear, plus some Arab dress, but the best outfit of the evening was surely the woman who came along in full Beetlejuice regalia, including so much make-up that we couldn't make out who she was! Our table was very conservatively attired, however.
It's 10 years since John was seriously ill in hospital with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphona. I remember visiting him in his isolation ward in the hospital and having to get dressed up like a spaceman to enter his little bubble. John's only alive today because of the success of the stem cell transfer he got from his brother, so the evening was a fund-raising event for the Anchor Unit cancer charity.
One thing we have learned from the experience last Saturday was never to give John McDonald a microphone! He did go on a bit. One of his surprises was the arrival of their son, Simon, from Sydney - John hadn't expected it at all - he was gobsmacked. Here's John, Leigh, Lorraine and Simon:
At our table:
 |
| Dan Corbett and Andy and Margaret Gore |
 |
| Jack Simpson, Colin Kilgour and Dave Williamson |
 |
| Jo and Frances Simpson |
Apologies for the bad timing of the photo, Jo - I should add that it was about the only glass you had all night!
If you're thinking there's a disproportionate number of men at our table, then let me explain. Johanne wasn't well enough to come, so Colin came on his own, whilst Jayne had a prior engagement, leaving Dave to attend solo as well. Dan has been on his own for a while now.
So this weekend's the first of our trips to Boat of Garten this year. It's sod's law that the long, dry, sunny spell has finally broken and we've got a little bit of rain now. So far, it seems quite light - like summer rain - let's hope it doesn't get any worse for Sunday/Monday.
Gary's got his big day at Firhill this weekend as well. How his Grandad would have loved to have played on the hallowed turf/earth like Gary is going to. Check out http://www.ptfc.co.uk/downloads/firhill_cup_2011_teams.pdf - scroll down and check the Garthland team (black tops).
And it's Braeden's 7th birthday on Sunday - can you believe it?
This morning I was a bit later leaving as I had another blood sample to be taken at the Nurse's, so I was still at home about 7:45 am when I heard this drilling and banging. I thought it was next door, but Jo told me it was Bob the Builder (aka Deeside Construction/Destruction) who she had called in to hopefully sort out, for once and all, the mystery of the leak from our balcony down to the wooden roof to our porch. They removed some of the timbers then disappeared within 10 minutes - who knows what, if anything, happens next.
That's me pretty much up to date now.
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