Be a Brewer

It's been a bit of a heavy week for me - my old school reunion in Glasgow on Tuesday, golf and a CAMRA social on Wednesday, a walk in Upper Deeside on Friday, then Jo and I attended a "Be a Brewer for a day" session with 5 other local CAMRA members at Burnside Brewery in Laurencekirk, which meant an early start on Saturday morning. Here's Jo waiting for the morning bus in to Aberdeen:

We both got involved in stirring the mash, adding the hops, clearing the mash tun and all the other jobs involved in a day's brewing:

Tapping a Pin

Jo and I took advantage of the continuing great weather and took a drive over to St. Cyrus' Nature Reserve, just north of Montrose, on Thursday. A lovely long beach backed by tall cliffs:

My walk on Friday afternoon with 3 of my pals from our hill-walking group involved a drive out to a spot a few miles past Braemar, for a lovely hike out to Loch Callater:

It was the "Glorious 12th" - the first day of the grouse shooting season - so it was no surprise to us when we were passed on the track by a Range Rover with Prince Charles at the wheel. Three hours later he passed us again, going back, but this time in the passenger seat.

Tomorrow (Monday) morning, I'm off to East Lothian for golf and an overnight stay at Longniddry. I'm meeting up with 2 of my old school pals (one of whom hasn't been able to join the last few reunions) in Edinburgh on the way home. Wednesday is the gas service and a curry in the evening with the Masons and Kilgours. Thursday is my annual appointment with the cardiologist. On Friday, I have my first telephone consultation with the NHS physiotherapist. I had my knee x-rayed last Friday but I've been told it'll be 2 weeks before my doctor gets the results. I've no idea why it takes so long in this digital age. Then on Sunday, we're off to the Fringe again.

Post holiday recovery

The return from USA was fine - all went well until Father's Day when Luca and Gary came to visit. That evening, Luca started to feel unwell and yes, it was Covid. A day or so later, Jo became unwell and a couple of days after that, so did I. Of course, we think Luca gave it to us and Luca thinks we gave it to him! No matter, Luca recovered quickly but it took us a bit longer. 3 or 4 days of feeling pretty lousy and a slow recovery after that. Almost 7 weeks have passed and I can still feel it occasionally in my chest but there's no doubt we're a whole lot better than that first week or so. Now we await the autumn "booster" programme which will be almost a year since the last "booster" so there's no doubt that the immunity offered by the vaccination has waned substantially - although our recent illness will hopefully have boosted our immunity a bit again.

What else has been happening? Car problems mostly - 6 weeks away and we come back to problems with both the Volvo and the Astra. The latter seemed to be a battery issue which we thought a jump lead start would resolve - but it didn't and our local garage couldn't resolve it either so we had to take it in to the specialist electrical garage in Aberdeen and they managed to fix it eventually - at a pretty high cost. We now think it's time to ditch the second car. The Volvo problem - a broken spring in the suspension - was something the local garage were able to fix, thankfully.

We spent a couple of days in Yorkshire - Masham - and did the Black Sheep brewery tour with some other members of CAMRA's Investment Club - and it was a lovely little local B & B we stayed in. We've also been back to Clydebank for Jo to get assessed for another cataract operation, which will now take place on Friday 26th August. It's an early morning operation but they put us up the night before in the adjacent hospital hotel.

Another post Covid symptom that Jo suffered from was blocked ears but that has since been resolved after a visit to the doctor followed by a trip in to Aberdeen for microsuction ear wax removal, which went well.

I've had to restrict my golf this year to just once a week most of the time due to pain in my left knee, which I assumed was going the same way as my right knee and would eventually need replacement. Eventually I got in touch with our local practice and they are arranging for an X-ray to be done. Additionally, I saw the First Contact Physiotherapist on Monday who assesses and recommends appropriate follow-ups. Her view was that, in addition to the long-term arthritis issue, the pain I'm now experiencing may be tendonitis, so she's given me an exercise regime and Ibuprofen gel to see if that helps.

The weather's been great since we came back - memories of the long hot summer in 1976. Drought conditions abound and there are now hosepipe bans in the south of England - just like there were nearly half a century ago when we lived in Hertfordshire. We remember the Government campaign to "bath with a friend"! If you don't believe me, Google it. Here's a photo of a recent walk we took along the River Dee which is very low just now:

On Monday Jo and I went to to Coull, near Tarland, to visit a recently established home brewery. It was quite interesting  but we never even got offered a taste of anything! It was another hot day , so when we came home, we had to have a beer on the balcony:

Next week, I'm off to Glasgow on Tuesday for another reunion with old school pals, including one visiting from Canada just now. Then on Saturday 13th, Jo and I are joining some of my CAMRA colleagues going to Burnside Brewery (https://www.burnsidebrewery.co.uk/) in Laurencekirk for a whole day's "Be a Brewer" session. On 21st/22nd August we're back at the Edinburgh Fringe again after an absence of 3 years.

I've also booked our flights to Australia (Jan/Feb) and America (May/June) for next year - at enormous expense. We've got the trip to Marbella in October first of all, of course.

That's all for now, folks.

USA holiday catch-up

I've been a bit remiss the last couple of weeks with updating this blog, but I'll try and catch up now - and hopefully not repeat some of the photos that have already appeared on Facebook. The last few days in Grants Pass before we flew out to Phoenix were fairly quiet - a bit of golf and a walk around the city center. The tourist board in GP have two main themes - Cavemen and Bears. Did you know they have as many as 52 of these around the town - all with different themes?:

Time to show the dogs - first the new pup Philly:

Then Cade's Shelby:

Sorry - none of the only male, Buster. He had a hard time, needing an anaesthetic before a couple of teeth were removed. Unfortunately, Shelby reacted adversely to this, sensing something different about Buster and now the two of them have to be kept apart.

Our journey to Phoenix was an easy one, although we arrived at the start of a major heatwave. Our first day was a new all-time record high for the area and the next day was another record - and so on for the first 5/6 days before settling down a smidgeon, but I think the lowest temperature we experienced during our 10 days there was 105 F (41 C). At night, it only dropped to 85 F (29 C). Our escape from this came via a few day trips plus judicious use of the AC and the pools - Jo particularly liked the little spa pool close to our apartment:

A few times we took the shuttle bus over to the adjacent grand JW Marriott hotel and enjoyed the use of their lazy river - Scott and Lucy too:

Grants Pass (3)

Our stay in Grants Pass is rapidly coming to an end - on Monday we fly to Phoenix and spend the last 10 days of our US holiday there. Scott and Lucy will be joining us for the last 4/5 days after attending Braeden's school graduation.

Last night, everyone got their best togs on - Lucy had arranged a professional photo session, which took place in All Sports park on a beautiful evening. We'll see the photographer's efforts later but here's a few I took:

Over an hour of posing and grinning and we were then ready for some beer and pizza so we headed to Wild River Brewery, where the food was good but the service was poor - particularly by American standards - and the ambience wasn't great either - the place needs a bit of an update.

We travelled to Ashland on Lucy's birthday and had a nice lunch in the Brickroom, followed by a stroll round the shops and a couple of beers, the last of which was at the new SKOUT taproom:

Saturday was cool and occasionally showery which was a pity as the main street downtown was completely lined with locals, sitting, standing, some in gazebos, to watch the Boatnik parade. We had our usual Saturday morning coffees at The Weekend with Lucy and Audrey running there and me cycling.

On Sunday we all took a drive out to Waters Creek and went for a hike there. It was Philly's first outing and it was all too much for her - she had to be carried the last bit, initially by Cade until he slipped and twisted his ankle, whereupon Scott took over:

On Monday - Memorial Day - after a very early start at Applegate GC for Scott and I, we drove over to Rich and Jen England's to watch the finale of the Boatnik weekend festival. Their house has a grand river view and a huge decking area. There was a (very) brief fly past of a Jet Fighter and then the jet boat race started - 18 boats with a Le Mans style start - 4 legs up and down the river to Robertson bridge. They were so fast, I only managed to (just) catch one with my phone:

On Tuesday it was back to work for Scott and Lucy whilst Jo and I headed back to Table Rock to do the Lower trails this time:

Wednesday was a day to relax until the evening photo shoot and today (Thursday) is heading the same way. Sleep was a little disturbed last night - after the usual loo visit, trying to get back to sleep, first there was Braeden's 4:15 am alarm, then after that, the neighbour's dogs started their morning howling session, followed by Jo fumbling around, apparently trying to get in to Lucy's bedroom when she was looking for the bathroom in the dark!

USA weeks 2 & 3

This week - on Wednesday - saw our highest temperature yet when it hit 90 F - warm enough for Jo and I to hit the pool - the first time it's been used this year. This coming weekend brings Memorial Day - traditionally the start of summer. There are celebrations planned in Grants Pass - Boatnik (https://www.boatnik.com/) - but the weather forecast isn't particularly good. There's a front passing through and we're expecting some rain and temperatures dropping down, maybe to the 60's, before it begins to heat up again at the start of the week.

Hard to remember everything we've done these last 2 weeks - I've been a couple of short cycles and we've played a few short rounds of golf - plus one of pickleball (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqLRRNOpe8U). Those on Facebook will have seen photos of much of what we've been up to but I've kept a few back for this blog. Here's a few from our day at the ghost town of Golden:

USA - week one (part 2) - Grants Pass

Nice easy taxi ride to the airport and baggage check-in and security were a breeze so we had tons of time to spare - more than enough for a pretty full breakfast. The flight was on time - in fact, a little early, almost catching out Lucy and Scott who were picking us up. Back at Delsie Drive, we met Audrey for the first time and saw Cade and Braeden, like their parents, for the first time in 3 years.

It was Braeden's 18th birthday so he had the job of blowing out the candles on his cake:

Incidentally, the glass of red wine is mine - 21 is the age when alcohol is permitted in USA. Lucy had kept a bottle of Black & White for the occasion, so we toasted Swanson Renshaw - father, father-in-law, grandfather, grandfather-in-law, great grandfather and great grandfather-in-law to all present:

Incidentally, to get to his birthday cash, Braeden had to punch his way through these:

Tina, the "fat cat", doesn't normally come near anyone, but she made a beeline for me and then Jo:

Of course, we saw the dogs as well - puppy Philly for the first time, Buster, looking his age, and sturdy Shelby. 

USA - week one

 All went well in the run up to our flights - Covid tests passed and all paperwork completed. The following morning, we were all packed and ready for our 4.45 am taxi to the airport. Checking in and security etc were no problem and the flight to London was fine - and punctual.

We had time at Terminal 5 to visit the BA lounge which allowed us to catch up with breakfast. The new Business Class cabins on board the 777 were smart, the food - and drinks - were good and the flight smooth and timely. We even managed a few hours' sleep - making up a bit for the early rise.

Holiday preparations

Just over a week to go until our scheduled flights to USA - trying to get everything in order to try to make sure that we don't stumble over a missing piece of paperwork etc. We've booked our Covid tests for next Thursday so we're now trying to steer clear of people as much as we can - a kind of self-imposed isolation. Sometimes it can't be avoided - for instance, Jo has a hospital appointment next Tuesday and I'm trying to get an appointment for ear wax micro suction. I think I had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago and that was followed by a build up of wax blocking the ears. I've been self treating it but only been partly successful so I've now reverted to the medical professionals. I don't fancy taking a long haul flight with ear problems.

April update

It's been a long time since my last post, so here goes now with some photos from the last month or so. Jo and I made our long-planned trip to Peebles - this time for more pleasant reasons than our emergency trip following Barry's collapse. We had been booked in to the Tontine Hotel, where Helen and Barry had stayed on that fateful weekend. It's a nice hotel in a great location, right in the centre of Peebles High St, with the River Tweed just behind. Here's a night photo of the hotel:

We had driven to Peebles in lashing rain from Glasgow onwards - we had taken a slight detour to go and see Barry in hospital in Clydebank after his triple bypass. There was some pretty bad flooding in the Borders but we got there safely and had a very nice meal in the hotel restaurant that evening.

Fortunately, it was dry when we awoke on Tuesday morning so our plans for a short walk before lunch could go ahead. We made the short trip out to Eddlestone, parked the car and walked in to the grounds of Barony Hall Hotel:

There are a number of woodland walks around there and we wandered along some of the trails and then back to the hotel to have a look at the Polish map of Scotland. It's a large relief map created by a former Polish prisoner of war as a thank you to his Scottish hosts:

After a walk round the grounds there we headed back down the long driveway to the village for lunch in the Horseshoe Inn, a lovely gastropub. Later, back in Peebles, we took a river walk, crossing the bridges over the Tweed. Jo was taking her own photos by now:

Then it was time for our afternoon Prosecco cream tea in the hotel. In the evening, we paid a quick visit to a former CAMRA Pub of the Year, the Bridge Inn, then it was back over to the Crown Hotel for something to eat.

It was raining again on Wednesday morning, but we took a stroll along the High St. before we left Peebles, going past the County offices and a local mural:

We had arranged to have lunch with Ross in Edinburgh on our way home, but we took a slight detour and went to have a quick look outside Rosslyn Chapel, famously featured in the Da Vinci Code film:

For lunch with Ross, we drove to the Gyle, where we could find somewhere to eat with easy parking.The it was home again.

Barry's been making good progress on the longish return to full fitness.

Gary and Luca came over for Jo's birthday and we all went to Luca's favourite restaurant, the Derbar:

Lucy sent Jo a warm top to snuggle in to - it'll be very useful when we can no longer afford to heat the house:

Banchory's town centre postbox is again bedecked with a knitted top - this time the theme is Easter:

Spring?

February has come and gone and we're now in to what they call meteorological spring. Despite the short-lived storms and consequent power cuts, we've had a very mild winter - so far, at least. One constant reminder of the storms will be the devastation to the forests - the debris will remain there for years - there's no way they have the time nor manpower to clear them all. The focus has been on clearing the main walking/cycling/riding trails and the rest of the fallen trees will just lie there to rot.

Stormzy

We've just emerged again after another weekend of power cuts. First there was storm Malik which came to us from Denmark, closely followed by storm Corrie. We lost all power and communications at 9 am on Saturday morning and the early indications were that SSE would manage to restore it by lunchtime Sunday, but as we got nearer to that target, it moved dramatically further away to midnight on Tuesday. We decided it might be best if we just went away for a while so I booked us a room at a Holiday Inn in Edinburgh for tonight (Monday).

Xmas

First of all, Jo's flowers for Christmas and our 49th anniversary:

For the second year in a row we didn't buy a real tree but Jo made a nice display of the various artificial ones we have, including the one for the front room:

The rest of the room was a little less decorated than usual - a reflection of the times we live in:

The Inverurie Stewarts arrived on Xmas afternoon and we had a lovely meal then opened the presents - Carole seemed very happy with her raspberry beret:

OK - let's try again Carole - this time with eyes open:

Here's an alternative angle on the family photo I posted on Facebook:

God forbid, but we may need another winter lockdown if we're to get through these jigsaws:

Boxing Day - Gary was all primed for the traditional Banchory Fun Run, but he hadn't told Luca he'd be doing it this year too. A few grumbles at first but he managed fine:

This week, there's Luca's 15th birthday on Thursday and on Friday (Hogmanay) we have Colin and Johanne Kilgour coming over for dinner. Normally Anne & Leslie Mason would be there too but they'll be with Anne's brother in Crail this year. That's about it for now. I'll close with an image of Banchory I saw on Facebook. It's not a perspective I've seen before: