High winds and torrential rain hit the U.K. at the start of the month, and up in Innellan we managed to get more than our fair share. The sooner we can get back to some form of normality with the possibility of returning to cruising can’t come too soon. Need to give my thermal long John’s time to recuperate.
Fortunately we did manage to get into the garden on a couple of days, when the rain abated and the sun ventured out.
We had an oak tree that had been damaged through high winds, so we decided to give it a dramatic haircut.
So with Judith on hand in case of emergencies, phone and first aid kit on standby. l climbed up the ladder with my trusty chainsaw, well aware of the dangers of operating a lethal weapon whilst teetering on top of a ladder. Images of tv reports of overconfident tree surgeons removing limbs and decapitations buzzed through my head. It’s times like this that you wished you had forked out for the correct safety gear, chainmail gloves, reinforced chainsaw proof leggings and visored helmet. But l come from the age before health and safety executives existed, when men were men and it was commonplace for the odd accident to happen whilst accomplishing great engineering feats.
By luck and taking it slowly l managed to complete our objective without loosing anything important, although l did a few splinters in the hand whilst trimming the off cuts. Be aware that no animals, human or otherwise were injured during the filming of this exercise.
The oak tree before it’s trim. Looks far small from this angle.
Trimmed down to size with the off cuts graded for future use in the wood burner. The local deer loved having all the new shoots from the tree to munch on. Temporarily gave them something other than my prized roses to eat.
We have taken to watching the deer munching on the the new oak shoots trimmed from the off cuts and trimmings. It’s a grand view to share coffee with.
The biggest bombshell this week, the claim that a member of the royal family ask Hari about the skin colour of the couples future children. Megan said she wasn’t present when this conversation took place. But she said that it happened when she was pregnant with their son Archie.
Later in the interview when Hari was asked about this he indicated that it happened right at the beginning. Did he mean the beginning of his relationship with Megan? But that was long before she was pregnant with Archie.
Yet Oprah didn’t ask the couple to clear this up and when she asked Hari to reveal what exactly was said during the conversation he said he was never going to share it.
At this point I was waiting for Oprah to say hang on so we don’t know what was said, who said it, or even when it was said. All we’ve got is this shocking, bullet claim, that a member of your family said something that might be construed as racist. But no one can be certain what it was, or how bad it was. Because you Harry the only witness won’t tell us.
Its nearly a Scottish Watergate. It’s the Salmond and Sturgeon watered down Gate.
Alex Salmond has accused Nicola Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code and misleading parliament. But presently the court is out on the decision, with the majority of people believing that even if she did, she wouldn’t resign. After all, she has a new country to establish through independence.
Frogspawn is coming on well
Heron and ducks cohabiting well together in our natural pond. Expected them to eat all the eggs, but amazingly, they are still present. In fact, there is a new batch in the pond this morning.
it's not only the birds that sing at this time of year....
Introduced a log barrier to slow down the flow of overflow water, necessary with the amount of rain we have been having recently.
All our daffodils are blooming along the bank.
Snow on mountain top of Arran this morning as we head along shore road to pick up the papers.p
Early morning sun rising under black heavy laden clouds.
Now l have to decide if l want to take it further and take the day skipper course. All hinges on whether or not l go down the route of buying a boat to go fishing on. It’s a big commitment. May be easier and more cost effective to just book with fishing charters.
Although living next to the coast, it is tempting to own a boat. The freedom to go out as and when you like.
The scales are busy. We will have to consider all the options available.
Watch this space!
Presently very busy redecorating our bedroom and bathroom. All the doors and skirting have had a fresh coat of F&B Estate Eggshell “Matchstick “ paint, whilst the floor and shower grouting have been freshened up.
Believe it or not. Last night we had a real downfall of snow. I say we l mean on the hills around us.
Fortunately being on the coast, we just had torrential rain. This is a view in the Arrochar Alps to the East of us towards Loch Lomond. Please be advised it wasn’t me on top of the mountain. We can only travel a maximum of 5 miles at present. Then again, if l had travelled by boat it would have been well under that limit.
For my wife this mothering Sunday. This little caption says it all.
Especially during these troubling times, the fear and worry. l will never forget the long hard clean days we have together.
Without Judith I don’t think I could have dragged myself through this reinvention of life without some kind of damage. She puts a smile on my face and in my heart.
Not doing very well, also missed the arrival of the new aircraft carrier. From all accounts they were checking to see if it could navigate up the Clyde for refuelling at Glen Mallan on Loch Long. The HMS Queen Elizabeth then disappeared at 5am the following morning.
You may not be on Twitter, but amongst the dross you can often find some remarkable snip bits. I have attached two links, and there are well worth a look. Both are amazing. If you are on Twitter, follow Michael Warburton, he has some amazing stuff on his page. Mind blowing. Just right for us oldies. A bit of nostalgia.
By the way, for those who are unaccustomed to Twitter. It’s is a 'microblogging' system that allows you to send and receive short posts called tweets. Tweets can be up to 140 characters long and can include links to relevant websites and resources.
Twitter users follow other users. If you follow someone you can see their tweets in your twitter 'timeline'. You can choose to follow people and organisations with similar academic and personal interests to you
One of the greatest ever moments on Parkinson came in 1982 when BUDDY RICH and ROY CASTLE improvised the hell out of it only to be joined by SAMMY DAVIS JR.
So you remember MICHAEL WINSLOW as the guy from the Police Academy movies right?
Well, he was that for sure.
But he was also a whole lot more.
Just check him out here killing it with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” on Norwegian TV.
It’ll blow your mind.
Going through the loft sorting things out and came across a box of photos and memories. Decided that it would be nice to make a memory board of all things relating to my dad, who is no longer with us. Something that could be put on the wall in my home office instead of being hidden away, out of sight.
Will have do one for mum next.
To end with, a funny. Well it would be if it wasn’t so appallingly true.
Comments
Post a Comment