The drive home — with a walk on the way, to the summit of Broad Law, the highest point in the Scottish Borders at 2,760 feet. There was not a great deal to see on the way up, but the top is graced by this construction, a VOR beacon (that is, Very high frequency Omnidirectional Range — so now you know). Should every mountain have one? Well, probably not, but this one does.
I am days behind with my posts — and Tuesday 26th May was not an exciting one, I spent most of it in the flat in Dundee, trying to work but (as is the case most of the time these days) not exhibiting a great deal of mojo. The picture is one of those ‘what can I see out of the window’ moments. Let’s at least speculate as to why this specific chimney pot proved such an attractive home for the foliage. It’s something to do.
Today was a public holiday, although whether this was actually being observed in Scotland was a matter of opinion (Joe had a class at uni today for instance). Either way, on a sunny day, work didn’t seem like a priority, and I was certainly not the only one taking some form of outdoor exercise this morning. If you find this place on a map (the glen in question being Campsie Glen) you will be able to work out where I and this gentleman took it. But not at this specific point in time. I was just setting out, but he could be at any point in his day.
The players and hangers-on of Andreou’s FC (it’s a bistro in Arbroath, apparently) celebrate their lifting of the Angus & Mearns Amateur Football Association Cup, and if you think it’s rather sad to get so excited about such a local thing, well, you didn’t live through their remarkable 7-5 win over Kirriemuir Thistle this Sunday morning. It was 3-3 at 90 minutes, and on a warm day, the period of extra time was characterised by some rather knackered defending, but I didn’t care and, evidently, neither did they. Well done to them.
I have been to 95 football matches this season — a new personal record — but today was the last. For a few weeks, anyway.
Who knows how long The Child will stay in Dundee but for now the place is coming to feel familiar enough. I have developed a habit of ascending Dundee Law each time I come to the city. The view is excellent and the massive memorial on the summit certainly does its job. Making it up to the top from Joe’s flat, without a break, has become a good marker of whether I’m still fit enough for satisfaction.
My day was spent driving to Scotland. This took at least an hour longer than it usually does thanks to an excess of traffic around Edinburgh, of which, of course, I was a component part. Being whisked north by train instead does appeal but there are advantages and disadvantages to both modes of transport. (Anyway, the train pictured is travelling south.) As seen from Tebay services on the M6, a frequently-used stopping point on this particular journey — though not for rail passengers.
Particularly as I am posting rather late, I guess the owner of the red Range Rover has, by now, worked out what happened to his vehicle. I have no idea as to whether they deserved it or not. But it happened, and was duly documented (one presumes not only by me).
I wonder how geese judge the quality of their food. Are some particular types of moss more tasty or succulent than others, for example? Are these particular cobbles, found beside the dry dock in Hebden Bridge, considered a premium dining establishment or more of an emergency back-up, like the take-away kebab at 3am moment?
This is the second Canada goose in a week — but there are a lot of them about. And, to be honest, it was either that or the second heavy black cloud in a week, ’cause there are still a lot of them about too, unfortunately. But it is supposed to be getting more springlike in the next few days.
If this is a specific type of rose, I cannot identify it: Clare tried helping out by doing one of those ‘look for images that resemble this’ searches on Google and it just came up with the name of a company, proving how our informational sphere has been colonised (or something). Perhaps future Google image searches will find this picture and call this breed ‘Crinkly’ because that’s what it is. Which is why I took the shot: I like its crinkliness.
As seen from the little-used western footbridge at Victoria station. This picture features many of the same buildings as were seen last Monday — but, you know, a little closer up. And a crane. There’s always a crane.
Being 42 