Triple kayak

Just back in from event number one. We spent 45 minute in a kayak on the lake.
In our enthusiasm when booking we booked a triple kayak for 11:00 this morning. It was Fiona's idea that by booking things we would actually get up and do things other than just sitting about.
After a rushed breakfast we headed down to the lake making sure we were there the required 30 minutes early. It had been raining during the night but was dry when we left.
After a bit of confusion about the booking (the booking only had 2 names and the second one wasn't anyone we knew) we were told we would get wet so anything we wanted to keep dry got put into the locker, including the camera, so no action shots.
As the powerhouse of the group I had to get into the back. This meant stepping into the water and the sitting it the stern (already picking up those nautical terms). I had bought us all some water shoes - simple neoprene slip on shoes with rubber soles. For some reason I thought they would keep my feet warm. I was wrong. The water was freezing and about an inch deep in the kayak. Ciaran sat in front of me and Fiona at the front (the bow for those keeping score). After a push off we spent the next 45 minutes paddling on the lake. Really great fun but hard on the thighs and lower back. It rained a bit just short showers but didn't really affect anything.
We only realised just how wet we were once we finished and headed back to the cabin, by this time though it was raining quite heavy so who cares.

Fiona sporting the driest bottom of the three of us!

First day at Center Parcs

Arrived down at Center Parcs for about 17:00 after a fairly nasty drive. The weather was terrible with wind and rain. Visibility was appalling but it did dry up once we arrived.
Once we checked in and finally drove around to the cabin, avoiding red squirrels and ducks we quickly dumped the stuff in the cabin and started to get settled.

The cabin is quite nice. An entrance hallway with toilet means we can keep our wet gear and shoes out of the main living bit. An open plan kitchen dining room and sitting area has the 2 bedrooms and bathroom of it.

Fiona's pal Christine is also down this weekend with her family. They had the bright idea to order takeaway so Alan was sent off to Penrith to get Chinese while we dropped the car back in the car park for the week - its foot or pedal power all week inside the park limits.
Once we dropped the car off we descended on them for dinner and card games 'til late.
Great fun was had by all but Fiona who fared the worst at the cards...

End of Year 1

Tonight saw us have an end of session AGM for the Scout Group.
How do you get people to attend an AGM - offer food and hope for good weather.
We did both and actually had a reasonable turnout. Of course our AGM is not that big a deal - we got through it in about 20 minutes, but it was quite informal:



We got lucky with the weather though considering how bad its been lately.
Everyone seemed to enjoy it anyway.
Now for the summer. I have to go through the training I have already done and see about getting as many modules validated in as few exercises as possible. Hopefully I can arrange something for next session where I can get multiple aspects validated during the same exercise.
Hopefully "Akela", the Cub leader, will be able to validate, or at least witness them. Otherwise having to get the District Commissioner to attend will be a pain and a delay.
Otherwise I fear the Cubs will be getting a lot of boring activities.

New profile and a hydrodynamic fact

Been out on the bikes today.
Since yesterday was a write off with the wet and wild weather (we thought of doing a triathlon - swim, bike, run but found out pushing the bikes in driving rain didn't actually count as all three) we headed off to Millport (actually Cumbrae but no one uses the islands name, just the town)  late this morning.
It actually stayed dry apart from a few spits of rain as we arrived in Largs for the boat.
Once on the island we started what was planned to be 3 laps of the island.
Normally this is a fairly easy cycle with the following profile:

The profile looks impressive until you clock the Y axis and see that there is very little climb at all. In fact the only noticeable 'hill' is as you come into Millport itself where it gets a little bit steep. On the profile that's the incline at just about 9.0 on the drawing above. The other 'climbs' aren't even noticeable. This has a lot to do with the geography of the island. The road lies on the edge of the beach. On the western shore, the road lies on a raised beach, with cliffs just inland.
Since we were late starting out it was already lunch time by the time we got started. Naturally that meant stopping for lunch.
Suitable refreshed, we decided to change our normal route and go through the middle of the island, over the hill.
This meant instead of turning right after the 'climb' mentioned above, we would go left up into the island in a big loop, coming back onto our regular route just after the 9.67 mark above, adding about 5km to our lap.
The profile for this was:

As you can see, now our profile goes from 0 to 120m instead of 0 to 20m. A lot tougher. Also, on this new route, the 16km marker corresponds with the 11km marker on the original lap
But the view was worth it.

From our vantage point you could see (once the black dots faded) Little Cumbrae and Bute, with Arran and the Mull of Kintyre behind. Furthest out is Ailsa Craig.
The descent was quite exciting. Millport is great for cycling and walking as the low population means there are few cars on the road. Of course you need to be careful of walkers and animals. Luckily we met none but did miss the standing stones as we passed at around 30mph.
Tired but pleased but only having done 21km we did another lap, but the easy flat one this time. Sadly we couldn't manage the third.
Back on the 17.30 ferry. As we sailed back into Largs the weather which was alright all day started to get better and better. By the time the bikes were back on the car and the fish and chips eaten the evening turned into a beautiful one.

One of the things Fiona gets annoyed about when we cycle is the fact that I can roll as fast as she can cycle at times. When we get a descent I can keep rolling long after she has to pedal to catch and keep up with me.
I think I have finally understood why. My 'bulbous bow' modifies the way the air flows around me, reducing the drag I experience, similar to a large ship. In a ship in water there is a significant performance improvement on ships with the bulbous bow over those with out. Of course, I have to haul this up hills so it should all balance out.

Loans Gala Day

Absolutely Exhausted!
Just back in from the Loans Gala Day where the Scout group had stalls. The Beavers were selling popcorn, the Cubs Ice cream while the Scouts were smashing plates and others similar games.
It was great fun and we had a good day but since we were there at 0830 this morning to set up the tents (for us and for the beer tent)  and then had to wait until the beer was all gone before we could dismantle the tents again.
At least it was dry for the event though it was a bit wet earlier.
Now for an 0700 start tomorrow as our tents are being hired out...

Olympic Fever

Took the morning off to see the Torch relay go past the end of Fiona's street.
A few of her pals and some assorted children made the trip also.
It was a lot of build up for what was literally a fleeting visit...

Smugglers Trail Preview

Fiona escaping the elements

We are taking the Cubs out on the Smugglers Trail next Tuesday evening so we decided to have a shot tonight to see what condition the route was in.
This trail leads from Troon beach up through Loans, and over the hill into Dundonald. Its the route the smugglers used when their ships full of duty free tea, brandy, wine , rum and tobacco were quietly unloaded in Troon. Its amazing the things we preserve.
Anyway the walk itself is a fairly easy 4km and the path is in good condition. I don't think any of our current batch of Cubs will have any problems.
Of course, despite it being dry and bright all day it did start raining as we headed out but that's life. Since we plan on making the Cubs walk in the rain we felt duty bound to continue.
Apart from some cows and nearly getting 'tagged' by a buzzard we encountered no one else.
Once we got to Dundonald castle we simply turned around and headed back. Its funny, its almost always faster going home than going out.

In a nutshell

Spent a good part of today away with the Cubs at Heads of Ayr Farm park.


While we were there I got the most definitive answer to that age old question: Why can't I do [insert task from your own life] anymore?

Now I'm off to an 80's theme birthday party. I'm pretty sure something will break.

Walking again

Went out for a 'stroll' today.
My ankle is still quite sore and limiting what I can get up to but it has been improving.
We went out to Culzean so Ciaran could collect some rocks. He's still got that amateur geologist interest in collecting stones from the shore.
While he was scrambling Fiona and I decided to have a wee rest here and look out over the firth of Clyde towards Arran.
Sadly you cannot see Arran due to the rain clouds rolling in which we got to experience first-hand for ourselves a few minutes later.
Cue quick walk to the tearoom and an overpriced pot of tea.

Busy Day

Ciaran and I spent the day in Edinburgh.

from wiki since we were not allowed to take pics

At his suggestion we went to see Mary King's Close. This had all sorts or rumours about it. A close ( in this sense) is a narrow street running between rows of buildings, essentially an alleyway. The story I heard when living in Edinburgh was that this street was abandoned in order to contain the plague. The buildings at either end were collapsed and the residents left to starve. The only access was from the basement of the city Chambers, which had been built over the original site. All the talk was of ghosts so I was looking forward to a visit on a Friday the 13th!
The first thing I learned was that what I had heard was almost all false.
There was plague, but the close was actually quite an affluent area, and at one point the second widest street in Edinburgh (not saying much at only about 10 feet).
The geology is important. Edinburgh (the old town) is built on a glacial crag and tail. The castle sits on the crag and the High Street (Royal Mile) runs down the tail. Naturally buildings face the street, with more joined on behind them. These ones behind are taller as they sit lower, off the tail with narrow closes to provide access. The closes are quite steep as they run down off the tail to normal ground level. As more and more people arrived (80000 by the 18th century), these buildings got higher, eventually being as much as 8 storeys high. Then they wanted to build the Royal Exchange and decided to flatten some of the buildings by vaulting over the closes. The people were all moved out as its illegal to live underground in Scotland. The Exchange was built and it later became the City Chambers. Due to the vaulting the lower levels of some of the buildings and the actual street level of these closes were retained. The tour allows you to go through some of the buildings and walk along the close.The end result is quite well preserved snapshot of poorer life in the 18th century.
It was interesting to hear how people lived at that time. There were bands of affluence. The lowest were the poorest of the poor - squalor and filth. As you went up the money increased but the very top were also poor as the thatch let in water! Due to the narrowness of the close, and the height of the buildings very little light made it down into the close so the dominant smell was fish oil used in the candles, sewage from the chamber pots thrown out the door, and the smell of people and animals in close quarters.
Sadly no pictures as there are restrictions on pictures around government buildings and as this is actually underneath...

After the close we headed up to the castle. It definitely impressive but I still think I prefer Stirling Castle. This is definitely a military castle, with the focus on the war history. Still very interesting and the Scottish crown jewels and the stone of destiny are there. I do have to admit that we were killing time. Our train ticket restricted our travel time to be outwith normal commuting time. So we had to wait until 1800 before we could get a train home.

We finally headed for the train, getting back to the station at about 1750, to find out that the quick train was still off limits until 1830. We could get the slow scenic train at 1755 but it took almost 40 minutes longer. Since we had another train once we got back to Glasgow I decided to wait for the quick train.
What to do for half and hour? Why climb the Scott monument of course! Just the thing to do with a sore ankle.

We started up to the first platform. Spiral staircases will make you dizzy of you go too fast. after some pics on that level on to the next one. And then with an almost audible pop of a cork in a bottle I was on the highest platform after coming through what was a worryingly narrow final few steps. All 287 steps. After squeezing around the platform it was back through the eye of the needle and back down. This time my sore ankle was on the inside of the spiral where the weakened ligaments had to contend with a narrow wedge of step.
Back in time for the train. As Wallace (of Grommet and not "Freeeedommmmm" fame) would say, a Grand day out.

Leftie

Got a phone call this afternoon.
Ciaran fell at school and was sent to hospital.
A green stick fracture of the distal radius.  A broken arm in old money.
There has been some bullying since he started secondary but this was just horseplay. He was chasing someone and slipped, fell and rolled a few times.
He will be in a short cast for at least 4 weeks but since its a short cast its not over his elbow just his wrist and forearm.
Luckily its not too sore, at least not yet, but it will restrict him.
Just now he's somewhat off balance so I've been keeping a close eye on him while we were at cubs as he begins to realise just what he cannot do.
His Oboe exam tomorrow is off and he's quite upset about that but he should be back up and running before his next camp in May.
No model making or painting.
Critically, and this hasn't set in yet and I expect a howl of frustration once it does, he can't hold his controller. SO NO XBOX!!
I may actually get conversations out of him again...

Bare Essentials

I was doing my first 'official' activity with the Cub Scouts tonight as part of my validation of the training already completed.
It was on Fire Safety, prompted by our smoke alarms going off 2 weeks ago while we 'cooked' pancakes.
Calling on my years of providing customer training and doing presentations I put together an instructive, interactive session with handouts and homework.
It was kept lighthearted as fire can be scary to 9 year old, but focused on the seriousness of it all.
I decided to start with explaining the concept of the fire triangle and the idea that if one of fuel, air or ignition are removed you cannot have a fire:

• Bagherra - So there are three things which you must have if you are going to have a fire. Anyone know what they are?
• Cub1 - Logs? or wood?
• B - Yes that's 1. You must have fuel. Another?
• Cub2 - Matches?
• B - Very Good. Matches are a source of ignition. Or you can rub sticks together, or lightning bolt, or electric heater, or lots of other ways. Whats the last thing?
• Cub3 - Marshmallows! You have to have marshmallows with a fire. We always do.

 No matter how prepared you think you are you cannot prepare for the thought processes of a 9 year old sugar fiend.

You can only make them stand outside in the rain while you explain why they have to wait there until they get the all clear.

Leap Day

Its a popular tradition that on Leap day woman can propose marriage. The tradition varies, but in Scotland if a man refuses he is required to pay a  fine of a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss.
Given that we had the Honeymoon Suite in Kinross and all the teasing I was disappointed not to be even asked...

Curling Weekend

We 've been away in Kinross for the weekend for Fiona's NHS curling weekend.
Of course, it being a leap year my mum has me warned that the traditional tables may be turned.
Initially I scoffed but when we arrived at the hotel and I found out we had been booked into the Honeymoon suite I became a bit nervous.
I have to admit though, it was the biggest hotel room I have ever been in, and the biggest bed I have seen that has not been in a Historic Scotland restoration of a medieval castle.
Friday evening started with drinks in the bar, followed by a meal across the road in the other hotel. A small mix up with Fiona's new phone (after handing her phone to someone to read a message they wrote a cheeky reply but didn't send it. As Fiona tried to delete it I misunderstood and thought she was trying to send it. Oops) and then back to the bar for more drinks. Sadly, our lightweight status was noted.
Fiona curled on Saturday while I watched her first match and then after buying a single raffle ticket, headed off to watch the rugby back in the massive hotel room.
At 1700 I was asked by text if I had bought a raffle ticket. After responding that I had I was grumpily told to come over to the rink with the ticket to collect my winnings - a bottle of whisky. This is on top of an Irish victory. A good afternoon.
We then spent the early evening in the pool and steam room before meeting up in our room for pre dinner drinks. Then dinner, with weird and unsettling conversations about men's tanga pants, and then back to the room for post dinner drinks.
Sunday was tourist day. After a good breakfast we headed around Lock Leven, stopping in at farm stores, nature trails and bird sanctuaries. We even discovered a good full day cycle trip for the summer.

On the drive back we stopped off in North Queensferry to view the bridges. The rail bridge is spectacular but looks oddly narrow. I had never appreciated that before. It is twin trackked but always seemed much broader. When you see it from end on it looks quite narrow.

3 more weeks

After being told at A&E that it should have only taken 2 weeks to recover, after 4 weeks of hobbling around I finally get concerned enough to go back to the doctors about this ankle. Apart from being damned sore and still quite swollen, I can't even walk on uneven surface without going over on it.
After having a look my GP says it will be another 3 weeks at least and possibly as much as 6! He also says that despite A&E saying that using an ice pack after 48 hours after the injury was ineffective, he's suggesting 10-15 minutes 3 times a day. He's also prescribed a 4 weeks course of anti-inflammatories as I can't take ibruprofen for that long.
At least I don't have to go back to hospital or have it in a cast.
This has got to be a sign of aging!

The devil you know

I didn't take too many pictures at Christmas this year - a few of the storm surge at Troon harbour, a couple in Dublin.

But when I was uploading them into Picasa it managed to recognise Fiona as a friar but not me as a demented doctor from Christine's Hogmanay party.

An omen of the future?

...Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

Something is going wrong.
Nerve impulses travel at about 115 m/s (almost 260mph) for muscle. Pain receptors fire a lot slower - 0.6 m/s (not even 1.5 mph) though touch is about 75 m/s (nearly 170mph)
I can understand why the command "go left for that shot" would have my shoulders twist first and then my feet. Of course the gap between "first" and "then" is quite small due to the distance involve, a paltry 1.72.
So can anyone explain why the first I knew my feet hadn't got the message to move was the searing pain from my crumpled ankle? Had I been less annoyed about missing the shot I may have noticed the fact that I could feel the the sides of my trainer pressing into my calf but by then the pain would have kicked in.

At least its not broken. One of the disadvantages of sport so far from where you live is the hassle in getting the carcass back home. This time I was lucky. Since its my left foot and with stout boots I was able to drive home without too much discomfort. Pop it in gear and hope nothing gets in your way.
The real trouble was Friday. I could not move the thing at all. So off to hospital for xrays. The nurse told me as she wheeled me into the examination room that they were allowed to tease me if the bone wasn't at least chipped.
I got teased.

At least I had help at home. You'd think. All my subtle "coffee or tea" were met with "coffee, thanks". The one phrase that seemed absent was the "I'll get that. You rest that foot" Ciaran gave me grief for not getting out of his way quick enough and after I cooked dinner and did the dishes Fiona offered to press down the pedal on the bin since it looked like I winced the last time.

School Concert

Just back in from the Christmas Concert. Ciaran was performing with the Wind Ensemble.
Talk about mixed emotions.
I got a phone call just after 1400 from the school - Ciaran was complaining about feeling ill. He has been off his food for the past few days and I had sent him to bed early Monday night which he did without arguing. He said he was feeling hot with an upset stomach but conceded it may have been nerves. He actually went back to class for the end of the day.
He was nervous when we arrived for the start but said it was more about the heat and we didn't suggest it may be butterflies.
The concert consisted of choirs, brass band, Ciaran's wind group, a fiddle band, and the local BB drummers.
I have heard the combined schools orchestra practice and they were pretty good so I'm not sure what we were expecting but after noticing about 10 spelling mistakes in the programme, including Ciaran's name, the year, "Bach" I was not inspired.
I was right.
But its not really fair to be critical since I don't play or sing. One of the choirs sang Fur Elise - I didn't even know there were lyrics for that. At least you could hear them. The other choir was accompanied by piano, bass and drum, but were virtually drowned out by the music.
The wind ensemble didn't have a conductor so the music teacher who was also playing an oboe was bobbing up and down, like a snake charmer, keeping time. They did sound good though. I was nervous for Ciaran as I don't think his breathing method is right and he was getting redder and redder as the pieces progressed.
The drummers were fantastic - they put on a  good show with spinning drumsticks and playing each others drum. The only other highlight was "O Holy Night". Two girls sang this and it was beautiful.
The last weird thing was the raffle. In order not to delay our leaving they decided not to announce the winners and have the usual come up and collect your prize. Instead they drew the prizes during the second half and we had to check the results ourselves on the way out. Naturally massive jam on the way out.

Worst storm ever! *

* ever refers to the past 10 years, and if the way the weather is going is any indication, until the next storm.

Yesterday saw Scotland battered by extreme winds causing damage and disruption. There are still 50000 homes without power as the power companies try to repair downed lines.
In the far north gusts reached 138.5 mph but at work the wind stayed in the 30- 50 mph region all day - with gusts up to almost 80mph.

Wind Speed and Wind Gust data for 08 Dec 2011 from Prestwick Aiport (wunderground.com)

The drive home was interesting. At least traffic was light, but then the police had advised everyone not to travel at all. Hard to observe when you are 30 miles from home.
It certainly took its toll on my arms holding the car in its lane. The route home brings me past Whitelees Wind Farm, the largest onshore windfarm in Europe. Guess what the weather was like there?


Luckily I have not heard of anyone who has been hurt or suffered major damage, so at least there that. And all the snow from earlier this week is gone, but likely due back tonight...


The only damage I suffered was the demise of my fence. While I was painting it this summer I noted that it was quite fragile. I was using a sprayer and was afraid I would punch a hole through it!

The fence though didn't fall down though. It looks more like the mass of air hitting it blasted a hole in it.
Naturally, my insurance doesn't cover storm damage to fences.
.

A week in uniform

Thats my first week in Cub Leader uniform completed.

In the past week I've appeared in public for the first time in uniform at the Remembrance Service, surprised and confused my pack by taking my oath in front of the pack, and had my first of many training sessions.


11 Nov - Baptism of fire.
Dave was away on a Beaver's camp so I was left on my own representing the Cubs at the Remembrance Service. After having Fiona stay up late sewing badges onto my shirt, and having Ciaran show me how to fold the neckie we arrived at the service to be asked if I wanted to know how many badges were in the wrong place. I think everyone there mentioned that they had never seen me in uniform before. We had a solemn service and then a quick march to the monument for the wreath laying.

13 Nov - The funny handshake
Tuesday saw me arrive for our cub night in uniform. Despite it only being a shirt, and me being involved each week for the past 5 years, it did feel different. It certainly threw the cubs. Dave, having missed Sunday, didn't bother to ask and simply identified the badges that have to be moved. After a normal evening's activities we gathered for the flag break ceremony and Dave surprised me by asking was I ready and then launching into the oath, followed by the traditional Scouting left hand handshake. Dave had been told to get photos...

20 Nov - The training begins
I spent 5 hours today in a training session, covering just 3 of the 15 training modules I have to complete in the next 3 years. No one menti0oned the training when I signed up for the uniform. I knew there would have to be some training, but I was thinking knots and how to set up tents (pitch apparently) and indeed two of the modules are 'Practical Skills' and 'Activities Outdoors' but I didn't expect topics like 'Administration' and 'Working with Adults' to be required. And there's more than just attending the training - it all has to be verified. Naturally some will be verified on a nightly basis as we manage the cubs but each module has a minimum list of tasks which have to be completed and assessed before we get the tick/done.

WOHFTF 2011

I'm just back in from a brilliant weekend - the annual WOHFTF (We're only here for the food) curling weekend.
This is a curling competition held in Stranraer with a fair amount of eating and drinking thrown in. Of course I don't curl so I was really only there for the food, but I have been inducted as a WOHFTF groupie.
Every November Fiona, her curling pals, and the entourage (in total there were 17 of us) head off to the North West Castle in Stranraer where a weekend event is organised. The hotel was the first in the world to have it own indoor curling rink.
The hotel runs competitions throughout the curling season (October to April) where you get 2 nights full board with entry to the group stage of the curling. You also get to use the pool etc and get a buffet lunch. Normally the group will have at least 2 teams entered, so in addition to their placings in the overall competition there is the private rivalry between the teams. The curling is bookended by lots of fine eating and drinking.

Fiona and I arrived just before 1900 on Friday evening and once we had checked in we met up with the others in the dining room. After dinner and retiring to the bar we had a fairly early night, with the teams anxious about the next days play.
As Fiona was on ice at 0830 she left me to sleep, so after breakfast I headed down to the rink to see how they were getting on. As is common with curling rinks, the viewers gallery overlooks the short end of the rink, and there is a bar. They won so they then held the post match discussion. It seems curling is a very social sport. It is customary after  a game for the winning team to buy the losers a drink and discuss the match.
After the game it was out for a walk through the shops of the village - this is also the custom it seems. After some retail therapy it was back for lunch and the next match. While Fiona curled and won again, I was up preparing a training plan for my cubs - there is a lot more to this Bagheera business than anyone let on. Once Fiona was done we headed off for a swim (really a sit in the sauna and jacuzzi) though we did actually do about 3 lengths each. Then it was dress for dinner. And then veg out with the rest of the wine...
Sunday morning  was low key - after breakfast we planned on a drive out to Port Patrick but eventually decided that by the time we got out there it would be near enough time to come back, so we just walked around the harbour in Stranraer. It was a lovely still morning and the sea was like a mill pond:

After our walk it was back in for lunch and Fiona's third game. Since this wasn't that long after breakfast she decided to only have the soup and dessert and left he main meal plated up for after her game. The rest of us just ate again.

Once we were done and checked out and all the rest, we went in to check on the game's progress. It was almost over with our team losing when some clever play turned it around.
That was them into the semi finals.
After a quick turn around it was out again onto the ice. I have to admit this was the first match I've actually watched from start to finish and I do have to admit that once you have a vested interest it becomes more exciting. At this point the gallery/bar was filling up as the others players finished their games and watched. This was a close game with great shots and strategy by both sides. Fiona and the teams came through this close game in the front and were now into the final. After the customary drink with the opposition it was back out onto the ice for the final and another close game, with both sides evenly matched. After Alan's final shot the opposing skip realised they were now too far behind to catch up and they 'shook hands' the formal method of conceding defeat. Again the round of drinks and then the prize giving for an exhausted team.
The best thing about the victory is that they are now invited back to play in the champion's weekend in March - another weekend away.

Stirling Castle

Spent day 2 of the midterm at Stirling Castle.
What a place!

We got lucky with the weather. After yesterday's downpour to day was reasonably dry and bright, but there was a stiff breeze which was bitterly cold in Stirling. The peaks to the north are already snow capped.
It sits on top of a glacial crag and completely dominates the local area.
A lot of time and effort (and money) had gone into restoring the castle over the past number of years and it seems to have all been worth it.
One of the more impressive features is the Great Hall. This has been restored to its original look of 1500.

Royal Palace (left) and Great Hall at Stirling Castle

This meant removing the conversion from a hall to an army barracks, restoring the ceiling beams and whitewashing the outer walls with "Royal Gold" lime wash. The final results are impressive.
The audio tour also had lots of historical info presented as 'overheard' conversations between the Queen and her advisers. Cheesy French accents aside (reminded me of Allo Allo) it was quite entertaining.

Fighting a chill wind at Stirling Castle, in front of the Foreworks

Like many of these places there is just too much info to take it all in in one go and we'll have to come back again some time soon. Hopefully it won't be quite so cold and windy so we may get a chance to see the battlements.

Washed away, almost...

Rear of Burn's Cottage

It's school holiday time so naturally the weather is miserable. I cannot remember the last time it rained so persistently for such a long time.
But as it is school holidays we have to do something other than xbox all day, and when Ciaran suggested watching DVDs it wasn't appreciated too much. The other suggestion - take the ferry to Arran and go gorge walking - also wasn't likely to happen but it did suggest going outside wasn't altogether out of the question.
The new Burns Museum was a eventual winner. This Burns is the one of "Auld Lang Syne" at New Years and "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose" from my Leaving Cert fame. I have to admit that I am not a great fan but as a local boy done well he has a huge following here generally, and in Ayrshire in particular.
The new museum was opened in January this year and despite it being so close and us being just down the road for the Eddie Reader concert we had never been.
It was really quite an interesting visit. Unlike most poets who only become famous after they die, Burns was already popular during his lifetime so once he died people did start to collect and preserve items of his. So the museum is full of his original notebooks and the like. It was actually quite interesting.
The weather though was terrible. By this time it had been raining all day, but getting heavier and heavier. The new building is across the road from the Burns birthplace cottage but it was so wet we had to drive across. Once we go there we got soaked getting from the car to the cottage and from the cottage to the gift shop. By the time we got out of the gift shop we were already soaked so we didn't really notice the run back to the car - but the car did steam up as the 3 of us dried off!

Two new names

I have been given two new names this week. These are different from the other names I get called which I tend to just ignore.

The first is Bagheera. This is the panther from The Jungle Book.

This is the name traditionally given to assistant Cub leaders. This is down to the original connections between Kipling and Baden-Powell. When Baden-Powell was developing scouting for younger boys he based it on Kipling's Jungle Book stories, specifically "Mowgli's Brothers". The leaders still take their names from the main characters in the story.

It seems Akela is fairly confident that my application will go through. I certainly got that impression from the interview I had on Wednesday night. I now have study modules to work through...

The second is "Juror #6". It have been called up as juror in an assault, GBH and attempted murder case. They are hoping that it will only take 4 days but after day 1 yesterday, a short day as the Sheriff like to get away quick on a Friday, only the first prosecution witness has been done, and the second prosecution witness will have their cross starting Monday morning.

Ardal O'Hanlon

We went to see Ardal O'Hanlon in Kilmarnock last night.
He was absolutely brilliant.
There was only one passing reference to Father Dougal and no mention at all of "Thermoman" for which I at least was very pleased.
I haven't seen him in much recently (he was a teacher or something on an episode of skins) and was surprised at how much older he looked, but then Father Ted was a long time ago.
Absolutely fantastic show - two 45min sessions which completely flew.
Well worth catching if you get an opportunity.

All Dressed Up

Fiona and I have had a lovely weekend away in North Berwick at her cousin's wedding.
The wedding was great - a traditional Scottish wedding with all the trimmings and the weather was incredible, especially considering how wet it was the day before and this morning.

One thing that was impressive was the cake. One of the groom's pal's wife made it as a present. It seems that there is quite a number of people who make really cool sugar figures for cakes and she was one of them. It seems the bride got a telling off for adjusting her hair colour without consulting the baker.


Being a wedding I had to do that suit thing.
Those that know me know I don't normally do suits or ties. Button shirts are also not that usual but that has been changing. Luckily (for me anyway) work does not require me to wear a shirt and tie so I tend to dress casual upping my game to business casual if I am meeting clients. So, a new suit was required as I wasn't prepared to go kilted.
Dashing though I may be, I don't think its going to be a regular thing...

This morning also started out nice so we spent the morning walking around the harbour and earwigging on the children's science lecture at the bird centre. The guy doing the science demo (a baking soda volcano to point out the 2 volcanic plugs in the village) was absolutely brilliant.
But then it started to rain so we headed to the Museum of Flight. Last year when we were here for the air show Fiona never got a chance to see Concorde. The very first one is on permanent display here. I promised I would take her again (expecting it to be the air show) but she saw that coming and swerved. Since it was miserable by lunch time she agreed. We got absolutely soaked but I think she enjoyed it...

Garden Conversion

after the weeds have been cleared

I have finally decided to do something about the state of my back garden.
The people here before me put down wood bark as a way of keeping the weeds down. Sadly its just not very nice - it looks dark, its mostly damp, and it disappears at a surprising rate given I never see any on the path and its an enclosed garden. I don't understand why its so patchy even though I have topped up the amount of bark a few times already.
Grass would be the best solution, but the poor quality soil would mean I should get topsoil and turf it. If I was going to that effort then I should do the front also but there are buried cables and old tree roots to consider... Of course, I would also have to cut it.

While walking around the garden centre with Fiona I saw some nice granite chips which I thought would make a nice replacement for the bark. This thought coincided with one of the nice days we had. Due t the horrible condition of the bark we don't like to sit out on it  but that corner of the garden tends to get the afternoon sun. A plan was hatching.

removing the old membrane

Ciaran and Fiona measured out the garden and Ciaran then designed a suitable garden for me. Sadly his design was a bit beyond my plans for the moment - water features, split levels and £2500 worth of gas barbeque seems a bit much for 30m² back garden.
I figure if I get the chips delivered mid week, Ciaran and I can have the old bark and membrane lifted and cleared, and the fence painted, new membrane down and the chips added without really stretching ourselves. After all, it is our holidays.

After checking the website I decided that 2 tonne of chips will be enough to cover the garden.

We start out by clearing the weeds. Fiona and I had cleared the worst of them a few weeks earlier but they grow like weeds.

Once that was all done we tackled the bark. Luckily I had a good supply of charity donation bags that we used to pack all the rubbish away. We ended up with a full car load of fragile plastic bags full of bark, stone, and weed roots. I have never seen so many roots at once. Some of the garden looked like a plate of spaghetti had been spilled.

new membrane down

We then took the opportunity to give the fence a quick lick of paint. Sadly the fence is so fragile it won't take too much pressure so it wasn't a great paint job but it does look a bit better. As I share the boundary fences with 4 other houses there is no chance of getting all 5 households to agree to replace it any time soon.
The sheets of membrane were then rolled up and dumped into the bin.

At this point Ciaran noticed what appeared to be a ring of some sort. As he investigated it turned out to be the old anchor for the rotary clothes dryer. The previous owners didn't move their old one, just cut it off level with the top of the concrete and lay the membrane over it. we then decided to remove it, something easier said then done, especially with sandy soil and no levers. As we couldn't get a good grip of it I finally got some old CAT5 cable which was laying about and hauled it out with that. The power of the internet. Of course, we now have a huge hole which we filled with some attempts to level the surface. We also have  a stonking great big lump of concrete that I cannot lift to get into the car and if I could I wouldn't be able to get it back out!

The new membrane then went down. This was the first test of Ciaran's measuring as we had bought just enough to cover the area. Naturally I had forgotten to consider the overlap and we were a bit short, but there was some left from fixing the path at the front of the house so we were fine. Ciaran was relieved that his numbers were right.

serious rabbit problem

Thursday morning the stones arrived in 1 tonne bags on pallets. Luckily the driver managed to get them down the drive which meant we didn't have too far to haul them.
Ciaran was chief lugger and I was on loading. It took only a few hours to move them all onto the membrane and then we managed to level everything out reasonable quickly after that.

This is when I realised my mistake with the gravel order. I naturally overcomplicated it.
A bulk bag would cover between 10m² at 40mm depth and 12m² at 50mm depth. I converted these to a volume and then used my garden area to determine how deep the layer would be. Since the minimum depth would be 30mm I ordered 2 bags. Had I been less clever and just used the info provided - 10m²or 12m²at at least 40mm depth I would have realised I needed at least 2.5 bags to give around 40mm at their worst case scenario. The whole area is covered, but its only a single stone thick in some places. The end result is I'll need to get another bag to put down at some point. The current plan is to wait until next spring. Since its just sand underneath I feel the stone may compress the ground  a bit and then I may want more than just an additional single bag. In the meantime we have moved the picnic table of the drive an onto the 'patio' .

Then the table was christened with a cold beer.

all we need now is weather

All the way home

Finally made it back home tonight after getting our ferry from Larne back to Troon.
We were a little early for the ferry so we spent some time at the beach outside Larne.
The ferry trip back was quite busy with a number of pipe bands that were over for the 12th. I think the 3 of us were a little nervous but in all fairness there was no trouble. There was a noticeable security presence though.
By the time we got back home I had driven 1200 miles, so so much for my walking holiday or having Fiona drive but the three of us seemed to enjoy it. Ciaran and Fiona are both still talking to me and I'm still glad they are both around.
Success all round

Walk like an Egyptian

No trip to Ireland is complete without a trip to Forbidden Planet for Ciaran, but today we also managed to see replicas of some of the treasure found in King Tut's tomb.
Looking at the craftsmanship of these items you get some idea of the lavish lifestyle the very rich had, and of the skill of the people keeping them in the lifestyle they became accustomed to.
I don't know how much of what was found was shown here but just the complexity of how it was all stored is amazing.

We all know that the mummy had the mask, but I never knew there were 3 more nested coffins before the granite sarcophagus, and then that was placed into a set of four nested gold shrines.
This was a very interesting day and we were lucky we caught one of the last days it was in Dublin.

As it happens, Ciaran didn't find anything of interest at Forbidden Planet and seems to have outgrown the need to simply spend his money, just to have spent it on something.

Rock of Cashel

Headed back to Dublin today with the now traditional stop in Cashel.
The Rock is being preserved at the moment so externally its not as impressive due to the scaffolding, at least from some angles. It seems there are very few of these types of structures still upright, and water is their particular poison. A protective roof has been placed over the chapel in order to keep some of the moisture out of the building.

Again our tour guide was brilliant. A local man he kept us captivated for over 90 minutes as he walked us around the site.

Weekend in Cork

Had a great weekend down in Cork with Jacqui and Dara and their 2 girls. They have done some amazing work on their house and the view over Crosshaven marina is incredible.
Saturday evening was a quick tour of Crosshaven followed by fish and chips and then my first pints of the holiday.
Sadly Dara had to travel on business but the rest of us had a great day on Sunday at Fort Camden which involved stairs, face painting and a small cafe.
The fort is being restored by a local conservation group and looking at the work they have carried out in the past year gives great hope for its future.

Kylemore Abbey

Today was our last full day in the cottage and we spent most of it at Kylemore Abbey.
This has been a wedding present, famine relief work, a money pit, a royal hunt lodge, a convent and girls school. The nuns are still there but the sschool has now shut down as its getting too much for the nuns to cope with.

We did our now standard tour of the house and the tea room but spent a lot of time walking around the Victorian garden.
The original garden was left and became overgrown. one of the nuns started to restore it and now a team of students work alongside the full time staff to restore the huge garden.

What was really impressive was to see the class divide. Within the garden was both the Head gardener's house and the bothy for the garden staff. The Head gardener had this lovely house for himself and his family. It was bright and spacious with a beautiful view over the garden. The bothy was in behind the shed, with windows looking out onto an earth bank with 5 or 6 living in less space than the head gardener has for breakfast.

It was dry inside, but dark, cramped and the turf smoke really couldn't get out.

When we got back to the cottage we had another Rummikub session but I was strictly limited to a minute per turn by the other 2.