Holiday starts here

After a surprising easy drive we have arrived at our cottage - a new built thatched cottage in Galway.

The cottage is on a peninsula in the north end of Lough Corrib. Bit of a funny design though. Downstairs is open plan with two separate bedrooms and a conservatory out the back. Upstairs is a double bedroom on the mezzanine and a second sitting room, with en-suite, and doors onto the sun lounge. To me, it looks like the bedroom and the sitting room should be swapped. The views are amazing though...

Once we got settled in and picked rooms we headed into Clonbur for some dinner.
After getting back tot he cottage we went out for  a quick walk around the cottage. Since the cottage is basically in the lough the scenery is incredible.

Our token exercise complete we broke out the wii for some rabbid entertainment.

Royal Highland Show

Had the day out at the Highland Show. It was a bit of a laugh but I'm not sure how much Ciaran enjoyed it.
There was arts and crafts, livestock, live haggis, a trade show of mostly Scottish food producers, machinery and tools, tree climbing, and the competition entries for the Young Farmers competition.
This is a photo of a domesticated haggis. Naturally its much larger than the wild haggis found in the Highlands. For those people who don't know what a haggis is:
Wild haggis (Haggis scoticus) is a fictional creature said to be native to the Scottish Highlands.It is comically claimed to be the source of haggis, a traditional Scottish dish that is in fact made from the innards of sheep (including heart, lungs, and liver). According to some sources, the wild haggis's left and right legs are of different lengths (cf. Sidehill gouger or Dahu), allowing it to run quickly around the steep mountains and hillsides which make up its natural habitat, but only in one direction. It is further claimed that there are two varieties of haggis, one with longer left legs and the other with longer right legs. The former variety can run clockwise around a mountain (as seen from above) while the latter can run anticlockwise.The two varieties coexist peacefully but are unable to interbreed in the wild because in order for the male of one variety to mate with a female of the other, he must turn to face in the same direction as his intended mate, causing him to lose his balance before he can mount her. As a result of this difficulty, differences in leg length among the haggis population are accentuated. from Wikipedia

This is a Highland cow and calf. They come is a variety of colours though this brown seems to be the most common. For some reason this image is particularly associated with toffee

The Queen had some cattle entered into the livestock show. She even managed to win a  prize for her highland cattle, albeit fourth place. Is this a testament to the cattle or to the judges ensuring they don't get invited to the Tower?

Wandering around was good fun but I had the misfortune of spilling some sample curry on my shirt. Of course it was commented on by everyone. And then for the rest of the day whenever the wind would blow just right, that is when there was no smell of cow sh*te in the air, I could smell curry coming form my shirt.

Scrubs up well

Got Ciaran a new toy - a patio cleaner.
He loves spraying the hose and was itching to get his hands onto the pressure washer a few years ago when I last cleaned the slabs.
Of course, he now almost a  teenager and developing his 'Kevin the teenager' persona so he wasn't that impressed with it. I suspect if 'patio cleaner' was available on the x-box he'd be a huge fan.
In all honesty, he did  a really good job of it and the cleaner itself is a great time saver - using the jet nozzle used to take most of the day, but now he can clean it all in under 2 hours.
Guess it will be a regular job from now on!

Gala Day

Today was the Loans Gala. The Scout pack have a couple of stalls to help with our fundraising.
The Beavers, well the Beaver Leader, sells popcorn, the Cubs leaders, Dave, Shirley and me, sell ice cream, while Iain and Colin, the Explorer and Scout leaders man the smash the plates with a golf ball stall.

We had a mixed day. After some initial problems with the electricity supply (the amp they plugged into our extension cable was dodgy) we got the popcorn machine on and the fridge running. Naturally the ice cream tubs were too big to fit in, so only 2 could get in and that was with the door ajar. We did account for this and decided not to have cones, just tubs as it then becomes easier to serve when the ice cream gets softer and melts.
 Weather wise it was dry and clear but a bit cool, but still hot enough for ice cream. There was a good turnout as ever and we did brisk business. It stayed dry all afternoon and we sold out again this year. Literally 10 minutes after we sold our last 'flake' it started to rain, and within 10 minutes it was a complete downpour which ended the gala about 30-45 minutes early.
We tidies up as best we could but it was just too wet to bring the marquees down so we agreed to leave them till later. Lucky for us it did dry up a few hours later and we managed to get the gear packed away. However because I had to go back I really couldn't cook could I? So dinner in town as a treat!

Last night of Cubs

That's Cubs finished for another year.
We took them out on the Smuggler's Trail from Loans to Dondonald.

It was a bit muddy but not that bad considering the weather we've had recently. In fact the only one who got dirty as me because I slipped on one of the steeper bits. The worst bit was that it was seen by a few people and there was no way to pass it off as intended. Anyway it's hard to explain a muddy bum and still try to be cool.
 4 of our 10 cubs are going up to Scouts when we resume in August, and I'm not sure how many Beavers are coming up to us.
It was also my last night out as an Adult helper. I have been convinced to 'go uniformed' and should hopefully get my own neckie by the start of the new session.

Sunny Day...Finally

There was a strange yellow globe seen in the sky today - been so long it took a while before we recognised it as the sun.
We decided to use our NTS membership before it expires and headed off to Culzean Castle.

It as an absolutely beautiful day. We wandered around the grounds, took the castle tour, had a stop at the tea room, and then walked around the headland since the tide was out.

Sailing...

What a wet weekend!
We were away with the Scouts this weekend and we were essentially washed away. I have never seen so much rain, especially from the inside of a tent.
I had been in Aberdeen at a conference all week and did not realise just how wet it had been down here. By the time got home Friday night it looked all right. Granted I only had about 30 minutes in which to grab my gear and eat before I was away to Lapwing Lodge a Scout camp in Paisley, just south of Glasgow.

Since I was about 2 hours later than everyone else I manage to avoid the tasks of setting up the tents. The field was a bit wet - you could hear it in some places when you walked across it but it wasn't to bad. In short order my tent was up and the scouts were getting ready for bed. Not tired mind you. For the next 2 hours they "tried to go to sleep" while we, sitting outside, would let out an occasional "settle down".
Saturday morning started early - about 6 for some of them but most stayed quiet until about 7. Everyone up and washed while breakfast - cereal, bacon, sausage, french toast and juice. Tea and coffee for the grown-ups (who were all more subdued than the kids).
Once breakfast was done and the cubs gear cleared away we headed for the first for the days activities. Aerial Assault and canoeing.

We split into 2 groups with Dave and I heading off with 8 to hit the water. At this point it was still dry. After about 40 minute on the water it started to rain then the win picked up dramatically. By the time we finished our hour it was raining heavily and blowing a gale. The rest of the activities were cancelled due to the weather.
"Be Prepared" is the scout motto and fortunately we had an ace up our sleeve. We had arranged to have use of a mini bus so we were mobile. All we needed is an activity which would engage all the scouts and take enough time to keep them out of the rain. We decided on heading across towards Edinburgh and walking over the Forth Bridge. We would stop off at the climbing centre on the way to show them what they would be dong come October and have them bring swimming gear if we had time left. Naturally we told them none of this - just to bring their swimming stuff as we were off on a trip.
When we got to the climbing centre it was incredible. This is an artificial climbing wall built inside a disused quarry, with an skyline assault course off the ceiling, about 6 stories up.
We knew there was a height limit, so after telling them that we tried to get them ashot on the assault course. The staff we receptive and let a few of the smaller cubs through after checking the harness could not fall off. Those that didn't fancy it we took 'bouldering' downstairs. What an incredible trip.

By the time we got back to the camp it was still very wet. There was now standing water in the main tent which all the cubs were using, and the mini tent one of the junior leader was using was truly afloat. We managed to get them settled and finally got to sleep.
Sunday dawned wet. And windy, and oh so early. After breakfast we headed off to the local swimming pool for a few hours and then back to tidy the tents and pack the gear.
All in all it was a really good weekend but very very wet. I think the adults were bothered by the rain much more than the kids were

Monster Backlash

After all the training we have finally completed this years Maggie's Monster Bike and Hike.
I had hoped to complete the event in a faster time, given what I perceive to be my greater level of fitness this year. I did manage to compete the event 13 minutes faster than last year, and felt a lot better than last year when I was in agony with cramped calfs and thighs, but most of the time savings were on a quicker turn-around. Both the walk and the cycle were pretty much the same time as last year.
Fiona and I travelled up in the support van with the bikes. Walter, a retired colleague of mine, and friend of her mum's was driving. The landscape is breathtaking. Its hard to believe that all this is so close to one of Britain's largest cities. Since I knew we wouldn't get a chance to see much scenery during the event itself I was taking as many photos as I could.

Once we got to Fort William and checked into our hotel we headed out to the Pasta Party.  This is basically registration and the safety briefing for the next day. The only real surprising news was the count for the event. 1200 were expected but due to drop outs (perhaps caused by the extended bank holidays) not even 700 would be starting. After an early night and some drink back at the hotel we retired for the night, with an early start planned the next day.

Monster Day started at 0600. After packing up and having breakfast we headed off. Unfortunately our lovely hotel was at the start of a long winding one way street that brought us, eventually, the wrong way. By the time we got to the start area we were beginning to press for time. Limited parking made it even worse. By the time I had finished my final bike check the others had already left for the start line and locked the support vehicles. A frantic call to support brought them back but Fiona and I missed the start by over 5 minutes. We never saw any of the others again apart from Leanne who we caught at the first water stop 10 miles in. The three of us then continued for the rest of the cycle.
This year the weather was amazing, but still a bit breezy. The scenery was incredible but I really couldn't stop to take photos. The reduced number of participants was quite noticeable on the road.

One of the things we will have to practise more for next year is our off road cycling. Fiona and I had only done road cycling and that's not good enough for this event. Also off road bikes would have been better but I don't like the gearing. Fiona was quite frightened by some of the terrain and we took it quite cautiously. The most frustrating aspect was both of our bikes wouldn't go into the lowest gear after the first hill. The first climb was fine but after that all both of us got was clicking. I was able to push the chain onto the correct cog but Fiona couldn't. This obviously hampered her ability to go up some of the climbs.
After a few hair raising descents we finally finished and had lunch in the transition area. After changing into walking gear the three of us headed off for the hike part.
Initially Leanne walked faster and pulled away from us in the first mile. Then Fiona missed a turn at an un-marhsalled junction and we feared Leanne had done the same. Sure enough we soon saw her heading off in the wrong direction. We called out and guided her back onto the true path. The three of us then decided jst to walk together from then on.
The walk itself was quite pleasant - it was a lovely day, and I had good company. It was quite warm though, and the sun was quite strong.

Again this year we never saw Nessie - in fact the loch was very quiet all day.
Once we finished and had something to eat we met back up with Walter and headed back down the road, finally making it home just about midnight.

Things we learned:
There is a reason why off road bikes have fatter tyres;
Suspension on a bike is a good thing;
Road cycling is no practice for off road cycling ;
Watching for route markers is a good thing;
Walking poles make walking much easier. I didn't find this out myself, but Fiona swears by it;
There is always next year!

Less than a week left...

It's been a hectic past few weeks. With Maggies Bike and Hike less than a week away we have now had to  accept that we really cannot train any more and have to tackle the 30 mile cycle and 10 mile walk in our current condition.
I do have to admit though that I'm over a stone lighter than this time last year and feel a lot better. We're confident that we'll finish but in what time? I know its not a race, but I am competitive so I'd like to do better than last year. That time there was a stiff breeze from the north east which did slow us down.
Just like the stiff wind on Friday when we did our last planned big cycle - a lap of Bute. What was a lovely morning while I loaded up the bikes turned into a chilly misty day with a stiff, 10mph northerly breeze by the time we got to the ferry. We headed across anyway assured that as we were doing a lap we would be hindered and helped. Sadly the hindering seemed much more effective than the helping. We had some great down hill stretches with the wind behind, but some nasty climbs with a headwind. Luckily, the last mile and a half was on the flat with the wind behind, coming right off the water. Wonderful feeling to be blasting towards the end at high speed.

at the top of one of the hills with a strong headwind

So far this month we have cycled just under 100 miles and walked over 30 miles. This works out at just over3 Maggies events. The time for all this was under 21 hours for a total of 10 'workouts'. From a pure mathematics point of view, we should complete the Bike and Hike in about 6h50m. That would be a cool time since last year I took 8h20 in total - 4h40 for the bike ride and 3h40 for the walk, plus a 1 hour lunch break at the transition between bike and hike.

It not too late to sponsor me - http://www.justgiving.com/tuvnel-2011 and thanks to those that already have.

Sponsorship Request

I’m looking for some support.

I’m part of the NEL team participating in the Maggie’s Monster Bike and Hike. This is a 30 mile cross country cycle from Fort William to Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands followed by a “10 mile” hike ( the event says 8 miles, but the route when plotted is closer to 10 because they keep us off the road and have a nasty switchback) to the Bronze finish at Invermoriston. That’s the plan. I do have the option of continuing for another 12 miles or even a whopping 33 more miles for the Silver and Gold finishing points as some of the rest of the team are doing.

This is all happening on the weekend of 30 April and is in aid of the Maggies Cancer Caring Centres which do a wonderful job supporting cancer sufferers and their families.

Here comes the point -  I am looking for sponsorship. We each have to raise at least £400. As I cannot physically accost you guys for sponsorship, as I’m doing to anyone who comes near me, I am asking that you go to our Just Giving website (http://www.justgiving.com/tuvnel-2011) and make a donation.

As we are competitive, I ask that you mention me in the comment that you leave – I get credited with your donation.

If you are a UK taxpayer please tick the Gift Aid box as Maggies can recover the tax you have already paid and add it to your donation.

Please donate on the website. Via paypal or credit card. Any amount – it all helps.

Hill Walking at River Stinchar and Cornish Loch

Despite our cycle yesterday, our evening at the Talent Spot, and a big mac at 2315, we were out walking this morning. A short 'taster' walk in the Galloway Forest park. Unlike last week, its cold today, never getting above 4 °C at any time.
The six of us set off in good time, 1 camera, 6 phones, 3 GPS between us.
Beautiful though rugged landscape, much tougher than the walking part of the Bronze Maggies event but good fun.

Cornish Loch Panoramic looking from the West

We only walked for 5.5km in just about 2 hours.
I logged the walk with both my new smartphone using the iMapMyrun android app and my garmin cycle gps. I had to reset the cycle computer as it kept pausing as we weren't walking fast enough for it and it took a few minutes for the phone to find the GPS satellites. However both finally tied closely with the 'real' walked GPS we also had with us (another boy toy).
after lunch back in the cars, we headed for the nearest tea room which was in Straiton and then home.

Troon to Eglinton

What a glorious day! The sun is shining in the clear blue sky, and there isn't a breath of wind.
That was last weekend.
Sadly, I put my back out on Wednesday morning and could only look out.
This weekend, with my back back in working order, is of course, overcast, cool and windy.
Fiona and I headed out for a Maggies training cycle. The plan was to find the route through Irvine and get as far as Eglinton Park. Normally we lose the cycle path as it goes through Irvine, though we never really looked that hard.
After a couple of wrong turns we go to Eglinton Park - its been years since I was last there. We originally planned to head across the park and join the cycle route back through Dreghorn, before looping back to Irvine but time didn't allow. Instead we settled for a short loop within the park and headed back.
We had an unusual sight. At one point there was a commotion of seagulls, with no obvious cause. Then a bloke arrived in a yellow bib with a huge leather glove, and 2 huge birds of prey. The 2 birds would flit from branch to branch as he walked along the path, with the terrified gulls keeping well out of the way.
The run home was easier then the run out, as this time we had a good idea where we were going.
Of course, we are both starving when we got in. Just enough time to heat some soup and a quiche before we head out to the young farmer's talent spot in Paisley tonight.

End of an era

After a long service, and a easy retirement, I'm finally consigning my aged laserjet 6l to the scrap heap.

DeskJet 6L 1998 - 2011

It just won't print properly any more - the letter are faded and even after a good cleaning and a new batch of toner (branded HP toner let me tell you) it didn't get any better.
Of course, the new toner makes what does print look much better - crisp and nice dark black, but the bits that weren't printing before still aren't.
Step in new Samsung printer. Cheap deal on Amazon. I need a laser because I don't print enough to justify the dry ink wells an inkjet would leave me with.
This is a USB one and of course I have thrown out the spare cable I had (I had decided that I would never use an A to B data cable) only two weeks ago. Luckily I remembered the belkin 4 port card I had removed from the old pc - i was just about to order a powered hub as I had no slots left.

The new pretender...

On the Ice Again

Another incident on the ice.
This time it was deliberate.
After about a year of 'threats' Fiona brought me to an open day on the ice to try curling Sunday afternoon. As I have no gear for this I think she expected me to fall flat on my arse (as I have done a few times already this winter)
So, armed with my slip on trainers, I picked up a broom from the rack and ventured onto the ice. The grip from the trainers was quite good so good I couldn't slide at all. We walked down the rink towards the far end where the stones were sitting.
After being shown what to do and how to balance, I was let loose. Its really more energetic than it looks. watching, its all calm and smooth as the player releases the stones from this smooth glide. However, as I wasn't sliding it was just a launching action, with my knee then slamming into the ice.
All in all we spent about 30 minutes playing shots, with only one or two of mine being so wild as needing to be stopped before interfering with the game going on alongside.
By the end Fiona had to begrudgingly agree that for a beginner I wasn't bad, certainly better than she expected.
I had a good time but am not ready to take it up as a sport. It is harder than it looks though. Apart from the balance and ice and all, there are muscles hurting today that haven't been sore for years. My knee is bruised (I was offered ice for it but joked that that was what caused the problem in the first place), my thighs are sore from pushing, and the tendons across the front of my foot are tender.

180 degrees

Not had a good day today. Actually, it was better than it could have been. It certainly was one I'd not look forward to repeating.
On the drive in the moor road was slushed up. It had been fine the night before driving home late but enough snow had fallen and the temperature was just above freezing to melt it all to slush. there was also a nice strong wind blowing.
I was taking it easy. The car is quite light and the combination of high winds, ice and slush/water on the wheels is not something to ignore.
I was managing at my own pace. The guy ahead disappeared before I got to the bottom of the first climb. By the time I got to the top I could see cars behind and by the tie I go to the top of the second climb I could see a train of 4 cars behind me, being led by a 4x4.
"If he wants to go faster he can overtake" I thought to myself as I settled into the descent into Eaglesham.
All of a sudden i was spinning clockwise into the middle of the road. A nice gentle spin leaving me sliding downhill broadside into any oncoming traffic (luckily for me there was no traffic), now going backwards down the "correct" lane given the direction the car was facing before slamming into the ditch and sinking into the mud.

skid marks in the snow show how I ended up there

The queue of traffic all stopped and the 4x4 driver came over to me and told me to go sit in his car. "In 2 minutes you are going to start shaking" and sure enough I soon realised what had just happened and what hadn't.
Phone call to the RAC and wait for the van to come rescue my "ditched" car. As I put my phone down a passing car stopped - traffic police on their way south to drier roads for some high speed training. They took control of the situation allowing the 4x4 to continue on its journey.
Standing at my car observing that no damage was done to the car, the roadside furniture or the farmers fence we could hear a vehicle approaching at high speed. " He's going too fast for these conditions" said the police man "If he loses it where I did he'll end up right here" said I. After a moments consideration he suggested we cross the road. His partner then moved the unmarked car to the top of the hill and put the flashers on.
Luckily it was dry, though cold. While we waited for the RAC the officer suggested that if the van couldn't get grip to get the car out, they had a land-rover that might do the trick. He phoned back and arranged for it to come out.
A few moments after the RAC arrived the land rover showed up and between them we pulled the car out of the ditch and got me driving again.

Even the land rover had some bother getting grip

I'm still not sure exactly what happened.
I wasn't going too fast - it was the same steady pace I held the rest of the way.
I wasn't intimidated by the guy behind - he never came close enough to annoy me (he said he was actually backing up the woman behind him who was too close to him).
I'm guessing a gust of wind caught the car - the spot is where the ridge on the northern edge of the road drops away and the southern edge is open down to the loch - and hit with enough force to nudge the wheels which would have been mostly swamped with slush.
Anyway, no harm done, nothing damaged but my pride (and some minor scratches to the rear of the car)

Mud mud mud

Finally got a nice enough day to get out on the bikes.
Just went for a short run around Troon, but avoiding a moderately busy road. This meant cutting back into Fullerton Woods. I checked the map and there was a path we could use. I presumed it was the same quality as the other paths in the park.

We thought the hard bit was over, the mud was just after this bit

It was slightly more off-road than we are used to That wasn't  a problem though and we simply got on with it. The problem came after a slight dip.
This dip was flooded and filled with the thickest mud I have ever encountered. I don't know how we all managed to keep cycling through it (though I did shout at Ciaran to keep going) but we made it through t the other side where the path joins the more established paths.
As we cycled I kept flicking the brakes to try and get some of the thick mud off but to no avail.
When we finally got home we had to get the power washer out and hose the bikes down.
Still, it was good Maggie's Training

Happy Burn's Night

To everyone who's having a Burn's Supper  I hope your haggis is spicy.

We were out bowling with the cubs, our belated Christmas visit, so we didn't have out own supper this year.

We did however go out to see Eddi Reader on Sunday night, at the Brig o Doon House Hotel, in Alloway, and she performed a few Burn's songs and there was a haggis, neeps and taties supper, so all was not lost.

It was actually a really good night.
I had only heard a couple of her songs before this - "Perfect" from when she was with Fairground Attraction, and "The Patience of Angels" from her solo career. Since those days she has taken a real interest in the poems of Robert Burns (something she was into as a child) and not she probably does more than anyone to promote Burns. A good half of the numbers they performed were Burns pieces, but everything was fantastic - she has an incredible voice - what a range.
It was witty as well. A lot of funny  stories about her experiences and the history of the songs between songs.

It was a good performance. they played for about 50 minutes then went off for a 40 minute break. During this break we were treated to a plate of haggis with neeps and taties (diced turnip and mashed potatoes). I don't usually get haggis (well usually once a year with the cubs) and as ever I enjoyed my portion.
The band came back on and played for another 40 minutes. At that point Eddi pointed out that they wee supposed to stop and go back upstairs and wait for us to encourage them back down. She then said that she was getting too old for the stairs and if we didn't mind they would  just stay put and play another two ("or three if we pick a  short one") which is exactly what they did.

The concert was titled "Burns, Candlelight & Eddi Reader" and billed as "An intimate evening with renowned Scottish Singer / Songwriter Eddi Reader paying tribute to the bard" and it certainly was. The venue was a medium sized function room with about 12 or 15 round tables seating between 10 and 12 people. It was packed though - apparently sold out with the hour of opening and forcing another night to be added.

First cycle of the year. Verdict: long way to go.

Finally got out on the bike for a short run today. Only 7.5 miles but it was so cold and damp - my ears were freezing. I also had to borrow Fiona's helmet (she off curling all morning and afternoon if she wins) as mine is still a mess.
Anyway, the bubble is now burst and I should be able to cycle lots from now on...

No Cycle but Shed mended

Still no cycling ( but at least I've been at the gym and few times and squash and badminton are back on). today though perfectly still was a no cycle day due to the thick fog. driving was eerie enough - cycling would have been crazy.
I did sort the shed though. Since the trees cam down the shed has ben leaking. I supposed damage was done by the rees but it was actually the trees preventing the damage.
 What's happening is that when it rains the water falls off the roof and onto the top of the window, and then leaks in. Since the shed is lined with insulation the shed is now very damp withh the water coming in, but not being able to escape due to the sponge like fibre wool.
We sorted it by placing a piece of old lino over the window, up under the eaves. the rain now comes off the edge of the roof and onto the lino where its directed away from the window. Once everything dries out I'll look at sealing the window.

Fiona joins the team

Training for Maggies hasn't been great so far. Its been to cold to go out on the bikes - its dangerous.
today was the first possible day but by the time we got everything ready we noticed that the shed has been leaking (since the trees came down) and my helmet was full of mould. uuuggh!
quickly cancel the cycle and look for a new shed. Ciaran doesn't seem that disappointed.
Though I haven't been training well, I have convinced Fiona to join the team, since once I got started, she would probably be doing the training with me anyway!

Maggies 2011

Back to work in the morning and the official diet starts.
Since I have again entered the Maggies Monster Bike and Hike this year, I have 3 and a half months to get my bulky carcass back into shape. (well, a shape other than round)

Fortunately, Fiona and I are training with the wii. With this mornings first weigh in, some how my target was set up so I have 4 weeks to gain 2 stone - never trust these computer things.

Beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

finally.

Now that I've finished work (not back working until 10 jan and not back in the office until 12 jan), all the shopping is done (or won't ever be done), Ciaran has arrived, and the wrapping is about to start,
I finally feel like its Christmas. The carol service the other night helped, but the bad weather affecting deliveries has meant the the christmassy aisles of the shops are all empty and being turned back into normal aisles. me being sick and then in wales at the start of the month didn't help either.

Perhaps the sight of North beach frozen with me now not needing to leave the house for a few days just moved me enough?

Carol service

Fiona and I went out to the carol service at Ayr Cathedral. Her friend David was the organist and they just have a new digital organ.
What a lovely evening! I normally I don't like singing at church - the old choir used to be a few wifeys who would try and outdo each other with how high they could get leaving the congregation mouthing down towards the bass end. This choir was good with all the high notes, but also had bits for us to sing at a more amateur level.
Starting with an organ solo while we lit our candles, in total there were seven readings, 9 musical pieces by the congregation, and 8 by the choir - all in all a good balance.

It was also my first time in the new cathedral.  The old cathedral (both were built in the 1950's) was closed a few years ago and the seat transferred to St Margaret's. It was quite different from a usual Sunday. Troon church is a Grade A listed building, designed by Reginald Fairlie in 1911, while the cathedral is much more modern, almost industrially so, with it plain white walls.

But it does have a cool organ.

Worst Snow in 40 years...

... and I missed it all.
I flew out of Glasgow at 0630 on Monday morning. The taxi ride from Troon was quick with the driver commenting on just how warm it was that morning. The flight to Cardiff it self was quite pleasant in a small Dash 8 and we made good time. The weather was beautiful - as the sun rose it was clear with good visibility
As we lined up for final approach we could see bright white cloud which turned out to be quite thick ground fog. We made our approach and at what seemed the last possible minute the engines went into full power and we entered a steep climb - the pilot rapidly climbing to 4000ft. We circled for another 90 minutes while we waited for it to thin and landed on the second approach. At least I would have something to tell people about!

What a difference on the ground. Cardiff was quite fog bound with the resultant overcast and cold damp feel. At almost 2 hours late we headed direct to the customer for the first of 5 training and discussion sessions with local and remote staff. It went quite well. By the time I take over this business stream in the new year I would like to think our order intake is already above target.
As an bonus we were staying in the Hilton in Cardiff, just opposite Cardiff Castle. As usual, there was no time to see anything but after dinner we took the long walk back t the hotel and passed through the Winter party which was being held - Ferris wheel, ice rink, mulled wine but we had an early start again on Tuesday. Headed up to the room where I finally saw the news reports about Glasgow and Scotland. Hard to believe all the disruption caused in such a short time.
Tuesday morning Andy and I met at 0600 for breakfast to find that the breakfast doesn't start til 0700. We were early enough to go back to his room and order room service so at least it wasn't a second day of no breakfast. How he's going to account for "room-service, breakfast for 2" on his expenses is something I look forward to hearing.
Andy's son Ian is coming across for Bristol this evening so there is just enough time for a quick lounge in the pool/sauna before the three of us head out for a meal and back to the hotel for a drink.

Wednesday is more leisurely. Instead of training we are discussing proposals before another application training session this afternoon, so we don't have to be in quite so early. As its bright enough I finally get a picture of the castle right outside my bedroom and Andy is charged with taking some pictures as we drive.
We finish the day with time to spare and head for a leisurely trip back to the airport. The airport itself is quite quiet. The shops are slowly closing and the one bar is closed. We get some food while we wait for the check in to open. So far everything looks good. Looks can deceive. But in all fairness it wasn't that bad. Our flight out should have left Glasgow at 1400 but by 1800 still hadn't left. The check in opened and we were assured that the flight would go so we went through security and went down to the pub to wait. At about the time we were due to board it took off from Glasgow, and made good time. It turned around quite quickly and we finally made it back into Glasgow just after 2300. Luckily the taxi driver was waiting (though not where I was waiting) and despite a few hairy moments the drive home was straight forward.

Another trip survived. Seen a hotel other than that one in Aberdeen. And missed a huge amount of disruption.

Night Photos

Last night saw the combination of four items - bright moon, clearish skies, camera with me, and some time to play.

Given the opportunity I decided to try some night photos with my normal, carry with me camera.

I think the first thing is that  need to find out more about taking these type of photos.
Of the ones I got I've had to enhance in order to see anything, and that just seems to bring the brightness way up, until you loose the sense of how dark it actually is.

 

These two shots are only a few degrees out from each other, but in the second one the lights of Kilmarnock, about 6 miles away, really dominate the picture.

The other aspect of taking these pictures is simply how cold it is. I think I will need to read up on the process and try again once all the criteria are matched.

Churches and Whatnot

Just back from 2 days in Aberdeen where we had our latest club meeting. It was a quieter trip as it was Ming and not Alick along this time, but workwise, it went very well.
We had a good turnout and with 6 presentations we had good lively discussion.

We left the office earlier than usual yesterday to visit one of our contacts who runs an analysis lab from an renovated church. Ideally we would like to set up a joint training course with him, but personally, I would be happy just to be instructed on these machines I'm supposed to teach others to use.

 As we spoke to him he got more and more excited, so once I've settled back in I'll have to write a detailled proposal to try and get something off the ground.
Best thing for me though is the idea of working in the former church.

Bonfire night

The Loans Scouts had their Bonfire and Fireworks tonight. Since no one had contracted food poisoning at the 60th last year, I was again manning the barbecue. Again, thanks to Campbells meats, we had a great selection on the burner.

Pity we couldn't control the weather. All morning it had been scattered but very heavy showers, with a few of hail. By the time I arrived to prepare at 1600 the rain was on again, and the plan was to run the BBQ in the hall itself and hope the extracter fans would cope with the smoke. That was the plan... Sadly there was too much smoke coming off the old BBQ that the extractor fans simply couldn't cope and at the last minute we had to move outside. Fortunately it had stopped raining and actually remained dry for the rest of the evening.

By 1830 the bonfire was well ablaze, the food was ablaze, and the fireworkswere about to start.

Though I tried, it was simply too difficult to get a good shot of the fireworks, especially from where I was standing. though I did actually get to see them this year.

The camera can actually capture them, but there is no background, and often nothing other than the firework burst - so the pictures are really quite samey and boring.

Plus the open door, and the light coming from the hall inside would wash the image out.

Once Troon started their display I was in a better position, but due to the distance it was harder to get shots in focus with the burst, like this:

After the fireworks most people settled back into the BBQ with David's mulled wine and simply ate meat products til there were none left.
Back home with a litre of mulled wine by 2100. Job done.

Got the edge

Fiona got me a Garmin Edge 500 cycle computer for my birthday and I've finally had a chance to day to give it a whirl. Although she bought me the one with the cadence sensor as well, I haven't had a chance to attach that to the bike.
this is a cool gadget!
In addition to the normal speed, distance, time,and then the averages, with the heart-rate monitor I get all my cardiac info, once I attach the cadence sensor, I will get that data too. But since the device is a GPS receiver, I get elevations, directions and mapped locations. This means that i can finally add my Whitelees cycles from last year onto the mapmyrun site. Of course, I will have to repeat each of the cycles, but that's probably good practice for this years Maggies run which I've entered again.

Went for a short run this afternoon, just to have a quick look. Its a cycle I've done before so I can compare with the last time.
Despite not having been ot in about a month, I managed the 9.5 miles a total of 3 minutes quicker (I know, not much but I feel good about it), and now I have some data to download into the Garmin analysis tools and mapmyrun.

MapMyRun.com

Mapmyrun took the data with no problem ( after installing the web utility) Despite saying it wouldn't work with Chrome, it seemed to and imported the route and the data. Since I changed the route slightly I let it import as a new route. The Garmin recorded the normal data, plus heartrate and calories.

Garmin's Training Center

The Garmin Training Center Software seems quite bare. I know Andy at work has an Edge 300 and uses something else. I must find out what and have a go with it.
You can plot various data against time or distance and that seems quite nice, but so far it looks like mapmyrun will be the logging tool of choice.

Birthday Kindle

My parents bought me an Amazon Kindle for my birthday.
I  have been keen on getting one for a while - I tend to reread books so having books which I've already read with me isn't a problem. Plus the sci fi geek issue comes forward - these devices are very similar to Star Trek's Padds. The Kindle even has built in wireless for automatic delivery of content. i can order books from Amazon and they are on the machine when I get home.

Of course, the big issue is the usability. As someone who regularly spends 50 hours a week working in front of a monitor and then goodness knows how much personal time, I know something about eye strain. Similarly, as some one who has written more than my share of technical documentation for the "paperless office" I know that it is difficult to replace the ease of printed material.
 after using this for a few days I have to say I am very impressed. Since it uses e-paper there is no back light. The screen is an off white with dark text, the same as any paperback you might have. It is the back lighting which causes most of the eye strain so that problem is more or less resolved. The other failure for the paperless office is portability. The kindle is wirelessly enabled through email. You can send documents to the machine simply by emailing them to its unique email address (or use the USB cable...). If you email them you also get the option of having them converted to Kindle's internal format (I've tried with pdf's and I wasn't impressed, but they are heavily formatted) although the Kindle will support most office formats.

Reading on the device is actually quite easy. There is no real glare off the screen. The unit is also light enough to hold with one hand, with pagination buttons on both sides to cater for those lefties still out there. Battery life is supposed to be good - 4 weeks with wireless turned off - and the default setting is to go into sleep mode (with an image screen saver coming on) rather than being turned off. Sleep mode will also kick in if you haven't turned a page for a set number of minutes.
Organising books is a bit basic - they all appear in a simple contents list. You can add categories, and then display categories which can simplfy the display list. Sadly, you cannot nest categories, but books can be memeners of more than one category.
The last issue with paperless office is note taking. The Kindle has a keypad for making notes and the 1984 stories all show that people do use the notes tool, but i haven't tried that yet, as I'm still  only using it for leisure.
Certainly, after a week I'm well impressed.

New Boiler - Days 48 and 49

New boiler finally up and running

It was an early start on Monday. The company delivering the extra pipework for the gas line said they would deliver between 7:30 and 9:30, and he showed at 8:15. As I was signing the docket, the first of the Scottish Gas guys showed up. He came in and I showed him the job, along with the written specific instructions the sales guy originally left. I then explained about the gas feed problem and the agreed solution. At this point he said it looked like an easy job and he would get started. His colleague arrived abut 20 minutes later (having phoned to explain he was running late). Once the 2 of them were there one got horsed into extracting the old boiler while the other started to rip out the existing pipework in the loft and airing cupboard. It seems that due to the mess of the original pipework, the guys putting in my bathroom 2 years ago bypassed the storage tanks and fed sink toilet and shower from the main supply. This meant that basically all pipework in the loft could come out, which meant a fast job. Soon the two of them were fitting the new boiler while Ciaran and I had to go out. By the time we got back (well, actually out back and out again) there were 4 guys with associated truck parked outside the house. The Gas guys were joined by an electrician and a brickie. It seems the brickie was late and this held up the others who had to wait for the flue to be fitted and sealed with concrete.
By the end of day 1 the new boiler was in place and wired, though not piped for gas. All the old stuff was out and the new gas line was mostly in place (just the bit that needed to be buried was left as they didn't have the correct tape with them).

The 48 day delay - instead of running the pipe in front of the door can't you just bury it?

Just some of the recycled Copper

Day 2 started with an estimate of being done by 1230. While one finished burying the gas main, the other competed fitting the boiler itself. Once gas was available they did a powerclean of the system and cleaned all their mess away, leaving the rubbish to be collected by a third party.
Everything was signed off by 1300.

As a final shot I was advised to collect the copper waste and sell it to a scrap merchant. Since so much came out of the house it would be worth the effort. So Ciaran and I spent the afternoon going through the bags and picking out the copper, getting just over 32kg (including the hot water tank) and sold it all for just over £4 a kilo.

After being given such a hard time by the company before any work had even taken place,  have to say that the professionalism of the tradesmen present was fantastic. The care they took of their work and of my house was refreshing to see, especially since I got the distinct impression that their management weren't that bothered.