New Fences

For the second time in a week I have come home to a new fence.
After the storm damage from last year the back and side fences have been in a bit of a state.
The two exposed panels of the back fence were effectively completely destroyed, the shed protected the third one, while the side fence has been collapsing since we moved in. The storm finished off parts of it.
The main problem is the number of people I would have to liaise with in order to get the fences replaced.
The back fence, all three panels of it, is shared between 4 dwellings because the houses which back onto mine are not aligned with my one. The two sides are simple.

AB and CD are the fences needing fixing

Back in April the guy living behind me got in touch. Since all of his fence was down (CD+) he was in the process of organising a replacement and wanted me and my neighbour to contribute which we both agreed.
He then removed the carcass of the old fence and the posts in preparation for the new one, which would be "in the next 6 weeks".
I would check the back garden each morning before leaving for work to see if there had been any progress, but sadly no.
Finally when Fiona and I returned from Aviemore last week the new fence was finally in!

The only slightly annoying aspect is due to the woman who shares the other piece of the back fence (BC) with me. Since my shed and her shed have protected the fence she had no interest in replacing her part of it. If she did, she would have also had to include one other person. If he agreed then another would have to be brought in. You can see why it took so long to get it all sorted.

Since this woman wasn't having her fence replaced, the shared post couldn't be replaced. So an new post was added and the fence built. Since the guy behind was the customer its all nice and neat on his end. On my side however there is a small gap where the old meets the new.

Looking closer, the horizontal supports on the new fence actually meet with the edge of their side fence. That fence is leaning (which is a different issue) so this meeting is only at the bottom, leaving a single slat wide gap between the old fence and the nice new one.

During all this time my other next door, sharing the dodgy side fence was in the process of getting a friend to sort that one. Finally last Tuesday they arrived with the wood and trappings and by Thursday night when I got home all was installed.

What's even better, they dragged away the scrap fibreboard which was dumped alongside the shed, saving me a trip to the dump.
Sadly they have left the anchor rock from the old whirligig which Ciaran and I excavated last year.

Now they both need painting. I wonder if Ciaran has read Tom Sawyer?

Old style dining

This morning was a bit wet but as we were both shattered from yesterday's cycle and Fiona's leg isn't much better we've had an easy day.

We did have our grand dinner out on the "Strathspey Highlander". All week each time the train goes past the cottage we have been looking forward to tonight and it was no disappointment.
We had a return journey from Aviemore, through Boat of Garten and then to Broomhill, or Glenbogle to those familiar with Monarch of the Glen, on the steam powered "Strathspey Highlander". For those who know who Tomas the Tank Engine is, Donald and Douglas are both the same type of engine as the Highlander, and the Highlander is the sole surviving engine of this class.

The high point of the trip was dinner - a 4 course dinner is served.
With the food, the scenery and the company, it was a fantastic way to end our holiday.

Cycle cross

Today was the first time I was really glad I had the older bike with me.
It started off easy enough - cycle trail on crushed gravel but by the end of the day we also had tarmac cycle path,tractor tram lines, road, and complete forest trail.
We headed along the cycle path northeast into Boat of Garten and then north west into Carrbridge were we had our lunch.
Since there was an alternative route back we decided to take it, as it used the local path network. The trail was we marked but at one point it got a bit steep. I was glad of the mountain bike gears today.

We passed back through Boat of Garten and decided to continue on around Loch Garten. As we tried to decide where exactly to go, some idiot overtook the bus which was turning left. Luckily no one was turning right out of the junction, but we decided we really didn't want to be on that road.

That left us with the option of going back or using the forest path. In the spirit of adventure we headed off on the path. Again I was glad I had the mountain bike with me. Its not that there was any 'real' climbing, its just that the muddy narrow track really benefited from having wider tyres on it with a low gear ratio so that the mud didn't bog us down.
We finally made it back onto quiet roads and were able to make it back to the cottage.

In total 5 hours out, three hours cycling and 30 miles travelled.

Munro bagging

We did our "ascent" of Cairn Gorm today. That's my first munro bagged.
Its a bit of a con though - you drive your car to the base station car park (at 635m) then get the funicular railway to the top station (at 1097m) where our guide led us on a tour to the top at 1245m.
Naturally, the views were spectacular, when you could see it.

looking back at the top station

Due to the high winds (gusts of 65mph) weather was coming in and leaving quite quickly, though it was warm. A windproof jacket helps though.
Our guide, Sammy, was amazing. He provided so much info in such a casual way. We took a circular route up to the top, trying to avoid the worst of the wind.
We did make it to the top but couldn't see to much, and the descent was quite misty.
It was too windy to keep the camera at the ready and the mists rolled away too quickly for me to get the camera out and on in order to get a picture. I also think I need a new camera as I can't seem to get what I can see in some of these landscapes.

Thundering and Lightning

Yesterday we had a more lazy day and ended up at the funicular railway at Cairn Gorm. We are planning to do the "Walk at the Top" on Wednesday so we hope the weather will stay good.
We did wander about the area though and spent some time in the Camera Obscura

Now you see it...

... now you don't

Since we had a chance to see the road, today we cycled from the cottage up towards Loch Morlich. This was a bit more what I had expected - completely off the road but on well maintained cycle paths. It was steady climb from the cottage to the loch. But it was fun and we felt good. The weather was good - cloudy but warm. We headed into the forest park and while we were deciding which further path to take Fiona commented on an air plane passing, knowing I tend to look at them, since the RAF fly Tornado over the area. A few minutes later while we were still deciding which way to go we noticed a flash out of the corner of our eyes, followed by another "air plane". We decided to take the loop back and we just heading off when the heavens opened with thunder and lightning. To say we speeded up would be an understatement - neither of us wanted to be atop a mountain with lightning. We eventually stopped when we realised that the rain was not going to stop for a while and since it was now hard to see the path. Eventually it stopped enough for us to continue and we headed back as quick as we could. Luckily it was all essentially downhill, but now the paths were quite wet and our brakes were not great, but we made it. I did have one particularly close call with a sharp turn but no harm was done. Needless to say by the time we got back to the cottage we were soaked through.

Don't you dare put this picture of me on your blog!

The real frustrating part was that the weather was coming in from behind us. Once we arrived at the cottage and peeled off our wet clothes I happened to turn around and see blue sky. Less than an hour later it was glorious evening.

Kingussie Cycle

Our first full day in Aviemore. The cottage is great. It actually backs onto the Strathspey Steam Railway line - we're having dinner on board on Friday night.

View from the breakfast table

Since we brought the bikes we are determined to use them, unlike at Center Parcs.

Before we headed off last week I had googled the area and looked at a few potential cycles. Based on what it looked like we decided to bring the mountain bikes instead of the road bikes because it seemed to be mostly off road trails. That was not the case as today was all on road but with very light traffic. I was using my old bike, which is now Ciaran's. I remembered why I got a new one - the gears are not suited to riding on the flat and the tyres are not suited to the road. We persevered and with lunch stops and all we managed 30 miles.
Terrain wise it was a bit of a mixed bag. Since both ends of the cycle are along the Spey river, there is not much altitude change between the 2 ends. The hills seemed a lot bigger than the map says they were though. It was certainly easier cycling back along the more main road but less enjoyable as there was more traffic. I did make use of the range of gears but I think it would have been better with my usual bike.
Fiona seems to have hurt her leg though. That may affect what we can do this week. Lets hope is nothing serious.

Airshow 2012

Ciaran and I spent the day at the air show at East Fortune airfield.
We were lucky with the weather - the cloud base was high enough not to obscure any of the display. It did mean that when the rain fell, and it did fall, it had more of a sting when it hit.
In total there were 17 performers in the programme, with the display running for the best part of 4 hours. That included the Red Arrows who put on a 20 minute display.

This was the second time I've been to the air show and I enjoyed it almost as much as last time 2 years ago. I say almost because despite the flying display being impressive, due to the fact that the runway is now unsuitable to land aircraft on, there are no static aircraft displays apart from the normal museum pieces. Since I seem to get to the museum about once a year, the pieces on permanent display are getting a bit familiar. Still though the flying display is worth seeing.
Ciaran did get to heft a Bren gun. His XBox seems to give him a scary amount of knowledge about guns.

The other aspect of the afternoon was the Army Surplus tent. Ciaran managed to find himself a camouflage jacket and a webbing set. Once we arrived back home he sat admiring himself in the reflection off the door.
The thing stinks to high heaven!

Cycling Success

Ciaran and I went out on the bikes on Wednesday. We did a simple run along National Cycle Route 7 from Troon into Eglinton Park. Nothing too dramatic, its something we do regularly - easy cycle paths and as its coastal is all pretty flat.
On the way back we did try to hook up with NCR 73 which ends in Kilmarnock, about 7 miles northeast of Troon.
Interestingly, but not enough for a visit, route 73 passes Dreghorn, where John Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tyre, and then founder the Irish company Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd, was born.

Sadly our attempt to get onto Route 73 failed. Although these cycle routes are great - the surface tends to be high quality and they are car free, but they are signposted quite poorly. Compounded with local footpaths and you can get quite confused, especially when the signs are only 3 inches square in some cases.
The line in red is my log from my Garmin. The blue line going diagonally through the middle is what we were looking for.
We were on it at the start until the bridge. I then had the great idea that if we didn't cross that bridge and continued south we would come across another path which would join with our usual route 7. We didn't cross the bridge, continued south and actually found the path, but its still under construction, so we turned around and headed back tot he bridge and crossed. We then headed south again on the path. Easy. Until we missed a marker saying sharp left choosing to stay on the good condition path. As we looped back and passed under the very distinctive bridge we had just passed we accepted we missed the turn and would have a look at the map once we go home. Continuing north, past the bridge we thought we could rejoin the path but unless we headed into Irvine main street we couldn't. So turn around again and back to the bridge and cross again heading south. Via not too busy streets back onto the cycle path.
Once we got home and looked at the maps we could see the mistake and remembered the junction.

Today we decided to give it another go. Fiona is away "Going Ape" so its boys on their own.
Started out not too bad until about 3 miles in when I heard a metallic boong coming form behind. I stop and see Ciaran picking himself up from the ground having failed to see the second bollard. It hit his handlebar throwing him off. Luckily we were not going too fast as it was a sharp turn onto the path, and he fell onto grass, but he was a bit surprised.
Apart from that it was a great cycle. We ended up doing 35 miles in 3.25 hours, ending up in Dean Castle park.

Well done to Ciaran! A tumble and away from his xbox! And no complaints.

The importance of being Earnest

Had a fantastic evening out at Culzean Castle at an outdoor performance of The Importance of Being Earnest.

It was great.

We arrived with some folding camp chairs, a blanket, some hot chocolate, and some assorted munchies. Unfortunately forgot the midge repellent but luckily didn't need the umbrellas.
The munchies didn't last too long but then you have to be quiet so we needed to make short work of them.

I only had a basic knowledge of the story so I didn't really know what to expect. The 9 roles were played by 6 performers, with a Michael MacIntyre look alike playing a female role.
It was all very well done and quite enjoyable.

Table Tennis and a Wild Walk

Up sharp this morning.
Fiona had a Bollywood dance class while Ciaran and I went to badminton. Now that I have some grip back its rematch time!
Once we had all finished our respective activities we met up for a session of table tennis.

Ciaran seems to have all the moves with an elaborate Chinese style grip, but in reality I think we spent as much time picking up the ball as we did playing, something which seemed common between all the tables and the short tennis courts alongside.

After an early dinner we had a nature walk - 'What's out at dark'

It was quite interesting but apart from ducks and a glimpse at the badgers we didn't actually see anything. A woodpecker was pointed out fleeing from our approach, and the bat boxes were all empty. We did learn about the red squirrels - Whinfell is one of 6 red squirrel sanctuaries with paid 'wardens' who will actually cull any grey squirrel found - and ducks - the mallards will produce mainly males if food is plentiful and will have to be culled to ensure breeding and there is a set of albino mallards and their descendants on the lake.
The badgers have their own TV channel - there is a webcam feed into all the houses. We had seen it but never saw any activity and had only figured out it was a live feed on Tuesday.
Their sett and webcam is just down from where our cabin is and as we passed two badgers were out but low light and distance means blurry photos.
We also found out that the noisy bird outside our cabin is a partridge.

Field archery

Finally managed to make it out for 'breakfast' :
Personally I went for the 'savoury' option of ham and cheese with Maple syrup. Lovely.

We then spent a fantastic 90 minutes hunting with bow and arrow as we tried out field archery.
This is basically using a bow and arrow but instead of using the normal bulls eye style target foam animals are set our and you get point for the type of hit. Anywhere on the body give 5 points. Within a small ring gives 10 and inside a smaller ring gives 15. Any kill shot also gives 15 points.  You have three arrows per target and have to shoot around trees and bushes.

Poor Fiona managed to get around in 0 points but there also included the last 2 target which had penalties if you hit the wrong animal or the tree.
Ciaran finished with 30 points and I finished with 85, which included gelding a deer.
The winning score was 130 but the average for the course with first timers is 40. It was really great fun but the midges were a nightmare.
Dinner was at the American diner in acknowledgement of independence day. Old habits die hard.

Took three attempts before we managed to get Ciaran to look away from his food even a little. Look at the sauce moustache!

Lake district

Spent today driving round the lake district. 
We had lunch at Ullswater in a quiet layby watching the boats go by.

Had the unusual experience of cars coming speeding into the layby and one or two passengers getting out, snapping a few pictures and then jumping back into the cars and speeding off. We decided to describe it as 'extreme sightseeing' and decided we would try it out sometime.
Once we finished eating we sped off south until we got to Aira Force were we decided to stop and look around. This is a National Trust managed site containing an impressive waterfall and ravine.

One of the paths had a sign - Path closed due to fallen tree. Both Fiona and I presumed it was a tree simply blocking the path which they hadn't gotten around to cutting. Fortunately there were alternative routes to the top of the waterfall. One the way back down we passed the site of the fallen tree and understood why the path was closed. The tree was originally below the path and when it fell, presumable due to the heavy rain, it essentially ripped out the base of the path leaving an Indiana Jones style gap with Victorian style iron handrail
It also had a 'wish tree'. This is a fallen tree trunk which visitors have hammered coins into, instead of the usual tossing onto a fountain.

After leaving Aira Force we continued south towards Lake Windermere but the road got progressively  more windy and narrow as it climbed over the Kirkstone Pass.

At one point a side road appeared which Ciaran wanted us to take, though Fiona as driver was adamant we would not. She explained to Ciaran that often dodgy roads are fobbed off to tourists as 'Scenic Route' or 'Coastal Path' but any road which the locals called 'The Struggle' was not something she had any plan to drive.
We did get to try our Extreme Tourism by snapping our pictures from the car as Fiona negotiated the bends.
I think by the end of the day she was getting a bit annoyed by all our snapping but had to admit that Ciaran can take a nice photo, but is more reluctant to smile in them, unless you can sneak up on him.

After driving back to Penrith we stopped in a nice Mexican restaurant for a lovely dinner.

Tree tops

Up early this morning. Again its been wet overnight but isn't actually raining. We have our tree tops activity at 0930 so we have to be there early to get kitted out.I'm looking forward to it. We did something similar with Cubs a few years back which though frightening I know its safe.
When we arrive there is another woman there with her child so once all 5 of us are fitted out in helmets and harness we set off.
Rules are simple. Only 2 people on a platform and only one on a bridge at a time. There were about 10 bridges to cross with platforms between. Our harnesses are attached to an overhead rail.
We let the other 2 people head off first then Ciaran led with Fiona following and me bringing up the rear.

Ciaran and the other 2 scampered off while Fiona and I were taking it more sedately.
All went well until about half way in. The bridge was a single line with another single line about chest height.
Fiona headed across making it look easy.

I then started off. Got about halfway across when my grip started to fade. I figure I was holding on so tightly that I strained the tendons in my forearms. Then the panic kicked in. With no grip if I fell there was no way I would be able to haul myself back up onto the line. I started to tremble which started the line shaking which didn't make it any easier. Apparently I went sheet white. When I tried to lift my leg to step tot he right I was shaking so much that I couldn't get my foot onto the line. That was when I was able to lift my foot.  I don't know how I did it but I managed to continue and make it to the platform where Fiona was still waiting. After that the rest was easy (well easier) but my grip was effectively gone in both hands. Finally made it to the finish and back onto ground where Ciaran was smugly waiting.

I have to say I enjoyed it but I was scared. Even though I knew I couldn't fall ...
Annoying thing was my complete lack of grip for the rest of the day. Couldn't hold my fork at lunch. At three we had a badminton court and I could barely hold the racquet though as the session progressed my grip did get a little better. I did lose the racquet a few times it almost hit Ciaran.
Back for dinner. Ciaran strikes again - chicken curry. Great little chef.
By after dinner drinks my grip was slowly returning so we headed out to the pool where they also have an outdoor pool which is warmer then the indoor one and a rapids pool which is great fun.
Big kids really.

Driving range

Had a bit of an easy day today.
We had planned to go out for breakfast but by the time we (Ciaran, a typical teen) got up and were ready to go there were waiting list at the breakfast/brunch places. Ended up just getting a French stick and heading back to the cottage for lunch.
We then booked some badminton for tomorrow and field archery for Wednesday. We also had a look at the tree trekking which we are doing tomorrow. This in in training for Fiona's 'Go Ape' later this summer - she wants some prior experience to show the others up.

It doesn't look so bad.


We then headed out for a  wander up to the outdoor activity centre. We had hoped to book segways but they were all booked so we couldn't try that but found the gold driving range. Apart from some pitch and putt 25 years ago I have never tried golf. Nor has Ciaran. Fiona had received some lessons but hasn't played in years. After selecting clubs and collecting balls we had Fiona demonstrate.

She is an excellent tutor but in the "do what I say not what I do" mode. Ciaran then had a go and started blasting balls out to the 100 yard marker. I had my turn and apart from them initially going well off to the right I was also hitting 150 yards on most.

Fiona then explained that she had mostly hit her instructor and gave her remaining balls to Ciaran who was blasting them out like a machine gun. Once Ciaran finished his double bucket he was keen enough to go get another bucket.
After dinner, another Ciaran special of pork stir fry, we headed to Christine and Alan for an evening of rummikub. We also found out that it seems every version of that game had a slightly different set of rules.

Saturday Night

After lunch we headed out on the bikes to see what cycle tracks there are. In all I'm a bit disappointed with the cycling. The map and publicity suggest great cycling but apart from using bikes to get from a to b there's no real place to cycle.
We did ask at the bike hire centre for suggestions but apart from the local roads, which there was no maps available of, only the paths on site were available, but these would all be suitable for road bikes.
The reality was a little different. The designated paths were all in good condition, but there just wasn't enough to have a decent cycle, and too busy to really do laps on. The other paths were not really suitable for road bikes with tree stumps and deep ruts, though that was also due to the amount of recent rain.

Fiona not impressed with the off road prospect

We did have one particularly 'exciting' stretch where Ciaran, not appreciating what the sign saying 'No through Route' meant, passed it on what turned into a very muddy path.

Spent the end of the evening with Christine and her lot in the pool. This was great fun as there are slides, flumes, a canyon ride and wave machine.


Ciaran cooked tonight. He made jambalaya which was really good. He has a habit of cooking while away and has promised to cook at least 3 meals. If they are as good as tonight we will be well fed.

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.