tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85223532024-03-07T23:26:35.320+00:00What you leave behind...THE ADVENTURES OF BOB.....THIS BLOG IS THE VERY PERSONAL AND INTIMATE STORY OF MY LIFE.
IT DOCUMENTS IN WAY MORE DETAIL THAN IS PROBABLY NECESSARY ALL MY GOOD TIMES,BAD TIMES AND THE IN BETWEEN TIMES TOO!
THERE IS ONE SIMPLE RULE WITH MY BLOG,ONCE IT IS POSTED,IT DOES NOT GET DELETED NO MATTER WHAT CHANGES IN MY LIFE.
HOPE YOU ENJOY.Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-15657094723472767452008-06-26T23:59:00.000+01:002009-02-10T04:53:42.893+00:00Bob Goes Down Under - 26th June to 14th July 2008<span style="color:#cc0000;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><em></em></strong></span></span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><em>PREFACE</em></strong></span><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The following is the story of my trip to Australia in the Summer to see Thomas and Kath.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">It is a story of self discovery for me and was a real eye opener in terms of what life is all about and what I want and need for myself.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I wrote this blog in a couple of notepads as I went along so what you are reading is exactly how I felt at the time and is written very much 'in the moment'.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br />It was a trip of a lifetime for me and I tried to squeeze in as much as I could when I was there and with 10 flights in 18 days and many 18 hour days it was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. In many of the pictures I look completely knackered and that is because I was, but I would not have changed a moment of it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I have split it into daily blogs as too much happened to document in one entry.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;">Day 1 - 26th June</span></em></strong><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">After a few months of working very hard doing lots of overtime shifts and two months of constant nighshifts to finance my trip to Oz and my other holidays, it was time to head down under.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I had came off of a nightshift, had a few hours sleep and then went to see my Mum's paintings that are on display in the library. Then bought a few bits and pieces that I would require for the trip.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I spent the evening getting organised and it was well after 1am before my head hit the pillow and I lapsed into a coma.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">At 4.45, I was dragged kicking and screaming out of the land of nod by my alarm, phone alarm and house phone all ringing at the same time. I turned off both of the alarms and answered the alarm call from BT and grunted a thankyou to the poor sod on the other end of the line who had the unenviable job of waking up grumpy bastards like me!</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I ate breakfast, showered and then called a taxi take me to the airport.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The driver was a nice fella and when I told him where I was off to, he revealed that he loved Aussie Rules Football and that he followed Hawthorn. He was delighted when I revealed to him that I was going straight to a Hawthorn game as soon as I stepped off the plane in Melbourne! I promised him that I would give them my support and told him that Thomas was a fan too.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">When I arrived at BA check-in, I immediately sensed that there was a problem when the girl behind the desk asked if I was staff and she looked perplexed when I informed her that I was not.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">She spoke to one of her colleagues and then told me that the flight had been overbooked. 'I have a flight to catch to Melbourne from Heathrow at 1230, so what does that mean exactly?' I asked with a sinking feeling in my stomach. She disappeared for 5 minutes and when she returned she assured me that all was well and I would be able to board my flight.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Thank God, I thought. Dodged a bullet there! She then asked me for my visa. 'Pardon?' said I. 'You do have a visa, don't you?' she asked as the sinking feeling returned. I sheepishly told her that I did not.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">What a fanny I am! I have been so busy lately that I had completely forgot to get one organised. </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I called Thomas and after he agreed that I was indeed a fanny, he reassured me that I could buy a visa at the BA desk. </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The girl behind the desk returned to help me and thank God that because of her professionalism ten minutes later I had purchased a visa and was now good to go.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The flight to Heathrow was uneventful and I arrived at the infamous Terminal 5 with several hours to kill before my next flight. A couple of coffees in Costa later and it was time to board my Quantas flight.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I ended up sitting beside a lovely Mother and Daughter who were returning to Melbourne after a 2 month trip round Europe. Nice people but they had as much trouble understanding my accent as I had understanding theirs so after a cuple of hours of speaking much slower than I am used to, I decided to watch a movie and a couple of episodes of the Simpsons from the in-flight entertainment menu.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The Quantas flight attendants did a great job of looking after us with frequent food and wine and I spent my time reading and listening to music. </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Eleven hours and 6, 000 miles later I arrived in Hong kong. </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Day 1 and the first part of my journey was over....</span>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-78214552872552373672008-06-25T04:48:00.001+01:002008-06-25T05:35:04.811+01:00Snowboarding with Ryan and East Kilbride Half Marathon 21st and 22nd June 2008I had promised Ryan a couple of months ago that we would go to the Ski centre at Bellahouston Park and he could teach me how to snowboard.<br /><br /><br />As you are all very much aware I am currently the best skier in the world, bar none, but I have been 'keen' to try snowboarding for a while now and Ryan was more than happy to have the opportunity to laugh at his old man.<br /><br /><br />He came over at lunchtime on Saturday and after we had eaten some lunch, we headed up to Bellahouston.<br /><br /><br />The centre was almost deserted, probably due to the crappy weather, which was good for us.<br /><br /><br />After deciding that I was 'goofy' and telling a small white lie to the man issuing the snowboard, "yes, I have snowboarded before, but I am still at beginner level". We headed outside and Ryan showed me how to fasten the bindings and gave me a brief tutorial on the art of 'boarding.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmZOIa81iIrlYMc68yCd1iRVyvzzHbOWLCiPdXZoCDXwRbPuETiU7R8g9uwg29xPbLgl8QKmWenamXs0upsEzAZBYx55y37Dv8k7mTeIjFn-lF8GesnKLDyLB3ArTH9dCvBGJIw/s1600-h/Picture+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214728906835997826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmZOIa81iIrlYMc68yCd1iRVyvzzHbOWLCiPdXZoCDXwRbPuETiU7R8g9uwg29xPbLgl8QKmWenamXs0upsEzAZBYx55y37Dv8k7mTeIjFn-lF8GesnKLDyLB3ArTH9dCvBGJIw/s200/Picture+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I managed to pick it up quite easily, despite falling over on numerous occassions with Ryan giving helpful hints in between laughing at me.<br /><br /><br />We moved onto the bigger slope, with Ryan continuing to snowboard effortlessly, while I had all the grace of a new-born fowl.<br /><br /><br />However, after a few runs down the big slope, I kind of got into it and as I have learned at skiing, sometimes you just need to go for it, which I did as you can see from the video clip below...<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygtEebHUh2FzrlP3ZXr3_ALLmBOfb5PRxaYlAoWAJGOQhnXZg4wuvTwMj_FfjBGXLQAazl8pCF3eo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />However, pride comes before a fall and my God, did I hurt my pride.<br /><br /><br />I started at the top again and decided just to let rip on the way down. It was going great until I reached the bottom and went over a bump. I flew into the air and just could not correct my posture and landed square on my ass. I heard a 'crack' as I landed and lay groaning for several minutes, knowing that I had done some damage.<br /><br /><br />I told Ryan that my snowboarding fun was finished for the day and hobbled into the clubhouse to ease my injured derierre into a soft seat.<br /><br /><br />We got changed back into our civvies and headed home.<br /><br /><br />When I got home, a look in the mirror revealed the damage that I had managed to do to myself.<br /><br /><br />Those of you who don't want to see a pcture of my bruised ass, please stop reading now.<br /><br /><br />You have been warned...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygWA8IrWbWIx6pyHe-epEA5z3oL81kGlDklJ5bKzM5YRrARjUoETUtwSCaga8Qmp8QlpXmw4WlqRqSiwtWZshxrXle6NXOeoKT3WIuE9_9KUar1v_7TIKjQBHAazZ-bQW19pYxQ/s1600-h/Picture+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214729335783474082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygWA8IrWbWIx6pyHe-epEA5z3oL81kGlDklJ5bKzM5YRrARjUoETUtwSCaga8Qmp8QlpXmw4WlqRqSiwtWZshxrXle6NXOeoKT3WIuE9_9KUar1v_7TIKjQBHAazZ-bQW19pYxQ/s200/Picture+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We ordered some chinese food and I booked tickets to go to the cinema that night to see <em>The Happening. </em>The food arrived just in time to watch Doctor Who then we watched the footie before heading over to the showcase just after 9.00.<br /><br /><br />The film was pretty good and it was cool just to spend time with my boy and eat popcorn while watching a good flick.<br /><br /><br />We were back at my flat just before midnight and had a good laugh watching <em>Ace Ventura </em>before I bailed out just after one o'clock and left him to watch the end of the film, but I advised him to go to bed soon as we had an early start the next day.<br /><br /><p>The alarm went off at 7.45 the next morning and after dragging sleeping beauty out of his pit we got ready and had some breakfast before Jim and Stewart picked us up.</p><p>Stewart and Jim were running the 10k and I was participating in the half marathon with Jim hoping to run it in under 50 minutes, Stewart was hopefull of a 42 minute run and I was remaining ever optomistic for the 'holy grail' of under 1 hour and 45 minutes for the half marathon.</p><p>I am in really good shape just now, but eating a chinese meal, large popcorn, large pepsi and staying up late before a big run is not recommended, so I was not going to bust a gut on this one.</p><p>We arrived with 5 minutes to spare and I told Ryan where to meet us at the end of the race, and that the other two would be finished an hour before me, then we headed off to begin the run.</p><p>Not a bad crowd had turned out, with most taking part in the 10k rather than the half marathon. However, it is not a patch on the Glasgow Half Marathon, which unfortunately I wont make this year as I will be cycling in Switzerland.</p><p>I managed to keep up with Stewart for the first couple of miles before he disappeared into the distance when I stopped for a water break. Flagged a bit around 5 to 7 miles as I trudged round the soulless town that is East Kilbride but a nice lycra clad bum of cute blonde made me refocus and I ran with her for a few miles at a fare old pace.</p><p>By the time I got to 10 miles I realised that I was making good progress. Dare I dream the impossible dream that I would break the 1 hour 45 and set a new personal best? One thing was for sure. My sore ass was feeling it as every step hurt just a little bit more.</p><p>Nevertheless, I romped home in a new pesonal best time of 1 hour, 41 minutes and 10 seconds!!! A full seven minutes off my previous best time, so I am chuffed to bits.</p><p>Stewart was a bit disheartened with his run being a minute outside his target time and Jim had a respectable time too. Ryan just looked totally unimpressed with our efforts!</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43lKF_SUAG7zKJaMEs-vP3T2ryMDulfjumivn3VjKRkDyvvQ6hdwKjfHXLaTYXlTXAv43mIlZiBBGuWDDfUXOTk3_5DdOSu3DeF5UGvpLjD9hz_MKnwgORMHFT3pLrGE5K15Hpg/s1600-h/Picture+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214730033488717394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43lKF_SUAG7zKJaMEs-vP3T2ryMDulfjumivn3VjKRkDyvvQ6hdwKjfHXLaTYXlTXAv43mIlZiBBGuWDDfUXOTk3_5DdOSu3DeF5UGvpLjD9hz_MKnwgORMHFT3pLrGE5K15Hpg/s200/Picture+016.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So that is you up to date for now on what I have been up to.<br /><br />I am off to Australia tomorrow to stay with Kath for a three week holiday of skiing, surfing, sky diving, binge drinking etc.<br /><br />Expect a blog entry to end all blog entries for that one!<br /><br />See you on the other side...Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-6465653812868047112008-06-15T23:29:00.003+01:002008-06-23T06:00:35.610+01:00Men's Health 10k and Lunch - 15th June 2008The second 10k run of the year was a bit more organised than the previous one at Greenock a few weeks ago. This was the Men's Health 10k run at Bellahouston Park and I would be running alongside Jim, Stewart and a few others from BMF.<br /><br />Belinda, Claire and Margaret turned up to offer support, however they were probably there since they were at a loose end as the running club had been cancelled due to the event<br /><br />We all met up, completely missed the warm up, posed for a picture and did the obligatory wait in the queue for the bogging portaloo and made it to the start line with seconds to spare.<br /><br />The run itself was one that I had run before with BMF through Bellahouston and then snaking through Pollock Park before we returned to the finish line at Bellahouston.<br /><br />I finished first out of our lot in a respectable 45 minutes and 17 seconds, hotly pursued by Jim and Stewart and followed by the others shortly afterwards.<br /><br />We collected our medals and goody bags and munched on our Tunnock's Caramel Wafers as we chatted about the race, before heading for home. We were meeting up a few hours later for lunch as organised by Stewart.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTICMhVWq9JAjEb1GP9U1y4UI7TubkIQEGiE9sWtVwQyqKNUQz7I750Fr_skwKt625jgM9yeABd9m7q8C-Q81j78F1GgXsAaGco7cm5KO2DUudqI1fSWmfMlT-T3lYSEhcCQ9dw/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214713904810282258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTICMhVWq9JAjEb1GP9U1y4UI7TubkIQEGiE9sWtVwQyqKNUQz7I750Fr_skwKt625jgM9yeABd9m7q8C-Q81j78F1GgXsAaGco7cm5KO2DUudqI1fSWmfMlT-T3lYSEhcCQ9dw/s200/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOan55fG-Hc3MQEF4AirolbeBjz1BXnITh6FCZzNXA1d8wSLycyvBi6khpri3_Pw3FRODnU5yfs8SEFfuubCdVeVzmYgl2xkpLWL8qqtroSJc3n37_ePgaEuEZXPQMcAXxTcHVA/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214713436477880610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOan55fG-Hc3MQEF4AirolbeBjz1BXnITh6FCZzNXA1d8wSLycyvBi6khpri3_Pw3FRODnU5yfs8SEFfuubCdVeVzmYgl2xkpLWL8qqtroSJc3n37_ePgaEuEZXPQMcAXxTcHVA/s200/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The venue was <em>Blas</em> in the West End, right opposite Kelvingrove Museum. An excellent choice as the food was superb.</div><div> </div><div>Also, the West End festival was on today which made for plenty of noise and spectacle as we finished off our food. As you can see from the pictures below.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfDKgKdUInl_BhERsPjnLhOD4jPvahFV1P_1wwzeXqEw2lSoJSlcs6rDAo6yJE3ddD6ado-FHI-0nY9C04ong0cv8ukVOZipUDGNr1P1di7wkEjK-0mTP9HbB2pYw5gQZKz7pSA/s1600-h/Picture+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214714829007127026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfDKgKdUInl_BhERsPjnLhOD4jPvahFV1P_1wwzeXqEw2lSoJSlcs6rDAo6yJE3ddD6ado-FHI-0nY9C04ong0cv8ukVOZipUDGNr1P1di7wkEjK-0mTP9HbB2pYw5gQZKz7pSA/s200/Picture+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwCnTsChBAhVqZ0YgbE80HTDV8WD39osqQSMKcwS7HUQ_KkzLay0h2HBpZHlU5jUNaylA-8BrF9P9undtx35f88cqJXwTMy8X93aD1VXAFvPuPPq8tXO8fL4wETMPidrawNsZPg/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214714836383660818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwCnTsChBAhVqZ0YgbE80HTDV8WD39osqQSMKcwS7HUQ_KkzLay0h2HBpZHlU5jUNaylA-8BrF9P9undtx35f88cqJXwTMy8X93aD1VXAFvPuPPq8tXO8fL4wETMPidrawNsZPg/s200/Picture+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8qz3k1_4u__XP7mNQx6y5KfP1_jlwamN717SYv-AIFrl77LBDJj3O78ydNRX0Pyeko8Y07AwPHsiQlpFBSI0AxiyLihTTJDRgE_J0lh1bHxU9jvDVYXrOPCG1okNKmoWwMgusg/s1600-h/Picture+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214716027851884658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8qz3k1_4u__XP7mNQx6y5KfP1_jlwamN717SYv-AIFrl77LBDJj3O78ydNRX0Pyeko8Y07AwPHsiQlpFBSI0AxiyLihTTJDRgE_J0lh1bHxU9jvDVYXrOPCG1okNKmoWwMgusg/s200/Picture+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_cYEkzcqxwetSgWZeh4Z8OJnyA2T5UH19VFTq5fLxbTv_rjN8l7QHEyEcDoWfQZF4h0Lb7I_awFBgNc8NI_zcPC-Nltgm6V0bn4wg_hoh9_XIa7iTTTZrUlWwaPn2vzxfQdDQQ/s1600-h/Picture+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214716038561146050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_cYEkzcqxwetSgWZeh4Z8OJnyA2T5UH19VFTq5fLxbTv_rjN8l7QHEyEcDoWfQZF4h0Lb7I_awFBgNc8NI_zcPC-Nltgm6V0bn4wg_hoh9_XIa7iTTTZrUlWwaPn2vzxfQdDQQ/s200/Picture+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfugkcF3_KWuwHEqBHUNceAfVvWubbJthuaO6msGAwuxY_7uVy-2QFqR6QU4-Maob-VndUab8an-2YlGjRBNsp15USlOJd5JRSjn09Vbo1_eR0iKlZCwntw4isKh0DFRx6jeRMEQ/s1600-h/Picture+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214717271385017842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfugkcF3_KWuwHEqBHUNceAfVvWubbJthuaO6msGAwuxY_7uVy-2QFqR6QU4-Maob-VndUab8an-2YlGjRBNsp15USlOJd5JRSjn09Vbo1_eR0iKlZCwntw4isKh0DFRx6jeRMEQ/s200/Picture+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0G0Ubmy6mxlI7tMR0yddB_8UPgmezJkrQ9oE8_h5CxRZ7x_Kpz0uUukc9c7XlSDbh4_sy1Q-EAOM9AbyBZ1kXSfK7wrUXROBFM6vmwWyTuKviu7YRJON6cuv7MrB7aHQ0clxZQ/s1600-h/Picture+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214717282787209458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0G0Ubmy6mxlI7tMR0yddB_8UPgmezJkrQ9oE8_h5CxRZ7x_Kpz0uUukc9c7XlSDbh4_sy1Q-EAOM9AbyBZ1kXSfK7wrUXROBFM6vmwWyTuKviu7YRJON6cuv7MrB7aHQ0clxZQ/s200/Picture+014.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /> </div><div></div><div> </div><div>Next week. The East Kilbride Half Marathon....</div></div>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-65781286106639514092008-06-12T12:59:00.001+01:002008-06-13T03:01:30.502+01:00Update<p>Hello, Blog fans!</p><p>Just thought that I would give you all a quick update on what I have been up to and what is up and coming.</p><p>Concentrated on me recently for a change and I am enjoying living life to the max just now, however even I must admit that I am doing a bit too much of everything. There just are not enough hours in the day and work continues to interfere with my social life!</p><p>I have made a couple of new friends over the last few months. Got pretty close with Susie and that's cool. No romance, just good friends. She's a kind of female version of me. God help her! </p><br /><p>May was very, very busy with a month of nightshifts, two weeks anual leave of which I worked several shifts in HDU, ward 23 and theatre recovery, lots of BMF classes and spending time with my friends.</p><p>I postponed my planned cycle from John O'Groats to Land's End until next year so that I could do lots of bank shifts and earn some money. I'm kind of kicking the arse out of things this year by having four holidays abroad, but I deserve it.</p><br /><p>June is just manic!</p><br /><p>Ten nightshifts, 2 dayshifts, 8 driving lessons, 10k run on Sunday and East Kilbride Half Marathon next Sunday, I moved to my new flat last weekend which I am totally chuffed with, and of course the biggy - Im off to Australia in a couple of weeks!</p><br /><p>I really can't begin to say just how much I am looking forward to going down under to see Thomas and Kath.</p><br /><p>Here is my itinerary so far...<br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />Friday 27th June - Arrive in Melbourne at 1930 and go straight to the AFL: Hawthorn vs. West Coast.<br />Saturday 28th June - Drive to Grampians<br />Sunday 29th June - Drive to Princeton / Twelve Apostles<br />Monday 30th June - Great Ocean Road To Torquay. Surfing at Apollo Bay / Bell's Beach. Skydive in Torquay.Drive Home<br />Tuesday 1st July - TBA<br />Wednesday 2nd July - TBA<br />Thursday 3rd July - TBA<br />Friday 4th July - Fly to Sydney (arrive at 1015). Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb (1545)<br />Saturday 5th July - Australian JBO<br />Sunday 6th July - Australin JBO<br />Fly back to Melbourne (2145)<br />Monday 7th July - TBA<br />Tuesday 8th July - TBA<br />Wednesday 9th July - TBA<br />Thursday 10th July - Yarra Valley Wine Tour<br />Friday 11th July - Skiing in Hotham<br />Saturday 12th July - Skiing in Hotham<br />Sunday 13th July - Fly home (2250)</p><br /><p>Also, there is the cycle trip in Switzerland in September and then the JBO to Spain in October and next year's skiing trip is currently being organised by Del. A week in a chalet with my friends, it's going to be good!</p><br /><p>Life is pretty good just now and I am fortunate to be doing all the things that I am. </p><p>You will like this, it made me laugh.</p><p>All of you who think I am a total geek, then please check out the link below. I have been Top Trumped by another Star Trek Fan Bob!!! </p><p><a href="http://http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=146668&in_page_id=34">http://http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=146668&in_page_id=34</a><br /></p>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-41579003180092684632008-05-31T23:59:00.001+01:002008-06-09T01:54:30.156+01:00Life Begins At 39!Today I reached the grand old age of 39!<br /><br />Normally to celebrate me clocking up another year, we go camping to Loch Lomond, however I wanted to do things a little bit differently this time and broke with tradition to do other things rather than get eaten alive by midges, 'borrow' firewood and binge drink round the camp fire.<br /><br />Something a bit more energetic was called for and that was to come first of all in the shape of a 10k run in Greenock with Jim Arthur and Stewart from BMF.<br /><br />We headed down around midday and after getting lost several times along the way, we found the destination which bizzarely was a house in the middle of an estate. We payed our £5 to register and joined the other 50-odd people who were taking part.<br /><br />The organiser explained that the course would start at a lampost and end at a bus stop accross the road. Not exactly of the kind of grand send off that I am used to at the Glasgow Half Marathon, but it was ok.<br /><br />As you can see from the 'before' picture below, we were bright eyed and bushy tailed at the start of the race, however with temperature in the mid 70's and the sun blazing down, we would not be looking as fresh for very long.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71KuPQ1uSerYTkQeOvGGIQb1Rs01MR6X_FrS4WxMpx4fn4HqlSDhlwmR1ArVgjSPan_1coAfUHMvnn5ZcWqT3BJrgDrzezPm6UO9z6y1cEL44Sd3kldzRA0-Uesd9oesPYsY7JQ/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208359833234374338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71KuPQ1uSerYTkQeOvGGIQb1Rs01MR6X_FrS4WxMpx4fn4HqlSDhlwmR1ArVgjSPan_1coAfUHMvnn5ZcWqT3BJrgDrzezPm6UO9z6y1cEL44Sd3kldzRA0-Uesd9oesPYsY7JQ/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />At exactly 2.00 we were off round the course with me trying my best to keep up with the Bellahouston Harriers, but a third of the way into it they were beginning to pass me. I am probably fitter than I have been for a long time just now, but I just could not catch the buggers!<br /><br />After the half was stage I decided to take my foot off the gas to try and pace Jim so that he would get a better time. Stewart was running with him giving him lots of encouragement to help him along.<br /><br />My contribution was to let him get as close as 10 feet away from me then shout at him to 'come on, hurry up'. After doing this several times I could see the hate in Jim's eyes!<br /><br />Anyway, I finished in a respectable 48 miutes dead with Jim and Stewart finishing just behind me.<br /><br />We headed back to the house for some water, juice and some 'light' refreshment (see below).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfJmhcsSUiNoiwdwRyZMKULZZWDKvMxXRdp-YuuNhUamNjdnotQs0Ot_GmdE2iZdExAFkUCSYFIVmCZPmBqMuXMZNCKvVVWbsJ6eqHinGmIm2DHuegPWh-Enb1tc7-YPsChGjsA/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208360245551234770" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfJmhcsSUiNoiwdwRyZMKULZZWDKvMxXRdp-YuuNhUamNjdnotQs0Ot_GmdE2iZdExAFkUCSYFIVmCZPmBqMuXMZNCKvVVWbsJ6eqHinGmIm2DHuegPWh-Enb1tc7-YPsChGjsA/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br />And as you can see from the 'after' picture below, we were not looking quite as fresh after running for an hour in the heat.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5_Fn-vshlTG7uzKqH2fictgyFS-JQHi4xU5t8L9Kt-ATiRP6HtfZLJ3KzebCuONFCKmGnqvmE-043NGWs7de8g7X5S2Xg9wHizapF_PtqbOyiVmqnsE_cuaEdxb324DHlkq6Gw/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208361022940315362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5_Fn-vshlTG7uzKqH2fictgyFS-JQHi4xU5t8L9Kt-ATiRP6HtfZLJ3KzebCuONFCKmGnqvmE-043NGWs7de8g7X5S2Xg9wHizapF_PtqbOyiVmqnsE_cuaEdxb324DHlkq6Gw/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Jim suggested that we head to the Uplawmoor Hotel for acouple of beers and 45 minutes later we were sitting in the beer garden with pints of Stella for Jim and I and a coke for the driver, Stewart.<br /><p>As we sat there, Ginger Baws and Nippy Sweetie rang from Australia to wish me happy birthday and it gave Jim a chance to chat to them to as he hadnt spoken to them since they left.</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk-OMCKyCSC3p6zNWlY12Xl1F6REkG2YUche9fKQSpvfX5liearnGvDHOqXiAXTi2uM5ey2po19AQnH-dyw6YLdc-Y-NW07a-QTjmuZXzmUfTVA8uBdIx7u1LUVWwTjF9lhH9GA/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208361607055867634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk-OMCKyCSC3p6zNWlY12Xl1F6REkG2YUche9fKQSpvfX5liearnGvDHOqXiAXTi2uM5ey2po19AQnH-dyw6YLdc-Y-NW07a-QTjmuZXzmUfTVA8uBdIx7u1LUVWwTjF9lhH9GA/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+004.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Stewart was kind enough to drop me off at home around 6.30 and I had a bit of a mad dash to get ready to go out that night.<br /><p>My friend, Susie was taking me out for dinner, then on to see her Sister in concert and then onto her other friends birthday party for a while.</p><p>She picked me up at 7.30 and we headed up to La Tasca at Silverburn to share some Tapas. Thorougly enjoyable, but the service was a bit slow. Does it really take 10 minutes to pour a diet coke? I don't think so!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmGD1boMJBoh2oF-zVcy5iGPa6qZhwkJ-YsIblcfQL35oiaiL8hX5PYDReyojI2nNxZ5uH733frv2UzCQ2momvHQ40lu_a8BtU6MbczOcYkWot7CfKxtFWN-U-5uQh-Loy0uY4Q/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208362676502724354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmGD1boMJBoh2oF-zVcy5iGPa6qZhwkJ-YsIblcfQL35oiaiL8hX5PYDReyojI2nNxZ5uH733frv2UzCQ2momvHQ40lu_a8BtU6MbczOcYkWot7CfKxtFWN-U-5uQh-Loy0uY4Q/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br />We left around 9.15 to make our way up to Barrowlands for her Sister coming on stage at 10.00. Princess Drama Queen got us there in plenty of time and it was into the Barrowlands to meet all her family and friends for the first time, with the exception of her Mum who I already knew.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv9ri0nSduYNvJP1BSalY3hCjkPxs1vUlsK8UWaXYqHfjAM0jPKlNav6FGiyTF3zsqmGhjLCd3fjFuVlp4-nlNV0N_3pbyZ91xFHl6pcBsqzHUOaba4sUSwZ2hkdnmY4jbOc54Q/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208363797489188626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv9ri0nSduYNvJP1BSalY3hCjkPxs1vUlsK8UWaXYqHfjAM0jPKlNav6FGiyTF3zsqmGhjLCd3fjFuVlp4-nlNV0N_3pbyZ91xFHl6pcBsqzHUOaba4sUSwZ2hkdnmY4jbOc54Q/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWnc24pczv_Qr8DHnuLtRDPdQOOFKo2I2q14v1CfOAnaF4lvy_BUoc2T2JjK-5arPGA5m3HN-JYt9TyqMR1EP63YdF9jXGPNEW8BQsNQe3uscq8pv2tvsELuR0Zpsg0kffybmFg/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208363806079123234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWnc24pczv_Qr8DHnuLtRDPdQOOFKo2I2q14v1CfOAnaF4lvy_BUoc2T2JjK-5arPGA5m3HN-JYt9TyqMR1EP63YdF9jXGPNEW8BQsNQe3uscq8pv2tvsELuR0Zpsg0kffybmFg/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />They all seem like I nice bunch and her Mum had me laughing by chatting away to me and exclaiming that there were 'loads of lesbians in tonight!'<br /><br />Susie's Sister, Jill came on stage just after 10.00. I had only previously seen clips that Susie had shown me from Youtube of her Sister singing with her group Speedway, but she was really good. See video clip below.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyJtHhxi4coRXwdU8d8gWJLogP-jq6cBJ5TtE3mpSBdDosOEQJp-vNnWRE4W6TEbyRNi-UdX0KpVJo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I particularly liked her cover of Apologise (by One Republic). Really cool.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw-gu7_PUN1ednNkWLRSPHP77Lf2TGEJxlNeklpbTVxV-res7oqLVIP0gmwwk3giWK6rerkGCghY5c' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zby9zKk1WXA&hl=" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /><br />I met her hot Sisters Jill and Diane after the show :) before we said our goodbyes and headed off to our next venue, Parkhead where Susies's friend was celebrating her 30th birthday.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjngBqhzwWGK0CNktybpO3aNAws6gYcM5YLAebCcs1Pw5k_OfXHx2Q0F3RDb_RrVnKxe2TCtWevlVbwnRXmJV_vZ48jBmj1r5ZJbSPq23aLrH6ErCbdoj3o4IQojzbEUERip2ytw/s1600-h/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208364549108465458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjngBqhzwWGK0CNktybpO3aNAws6gYcM5YLAebCcs1Pw5k_OfXHx2Q0F3RDb_RrVnKxe2TCtWevlVbwnRXmJV_vZ48jBmj1r5ZJbSPq23aLrH6ErCbdoj3o4IQojzbEUERip2ytw/s200/My+Birthday+-+31st+May+2008+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Her pal works on River Titty and even though I don't watch it, I recognised a few faces and it was nice to see that even soap stars can be drunken fannies just like me and my mates!!!<br /><br />The party went on until just after 1.00 and then we headed for home with Susie dropping me off not long before 2.00.<br /><br />I had a really good birthday doing something a bit different, which was cool. However, it had been a long day and I was glad to climb into bed.<br /><br />I contemplated briefly going to the running club but decided to have along lie instead.<br /><br />After all, a man of my age needs his sleep!!!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-29925639657919270682008-04-27T09:41:00.033+01:002009-04-08T23:19:24.998+01:00Skiing in the Swiss Alps - 19th to 23rd March 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXatbvTfZsO_ei2jMYgGB5zei_cyd4AKRXeRO0oje9k_VQlTjrasdZaVakPoMWO43oXHrSMQb-ZroVfkXrdL0BHKxLC-pQY50VGAYhQQtnW1KJBtF7docnp1cSVWsmEJohX6vYbQ/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+006.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207801491780861362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXatbvTfZsO_ei2jMYgGB5zei_cyd4AKRXeRO0oje9k_VQlTjrasdZaVakPoMWO43oXHrSMQb-ZroVfkXrdL0BHKxLC-pQY50VGAYhQQtnW1KJBtF7docnp1cSVWsmEJohX6vYbQ/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+006.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Del and Estelle had very kindly invited Jim and I to stay at there new home whilst we were over in Switzerfrance on what has now become our annual ski trip to the Alps.<br /><br />A four hour drive down to Liverpool airport lay ahead when Jim picked me up. This turned into almost a six hour drive as we got lost and ended up in Manchester and Jim's car was running on fuel vapours as we arrived at the airport with not very much time left until check in closed.<br /><br />We made it, just. However, no harm was done and a short time later we were airborn, playing cards with Jim ordering two double vodkas, a beer and munchies each!<br /><br />Del met us at the airport and by 9.00 were at his beautiful new house to be greeted by Estelle and given a quick tour. Sam and Lea had long since went to bed so we would have to wait until the next day to see them.<br /><br />Del had a beer machine in his kitchen which took a bit of a battering as we chatted away before finally going to bed at 1.00 for a nice early start in the morning.<br /><br />The next morning we were up at 6.00. After a quick breakfast we were on our way to Engelbert and a couple of hours later we were in the gondola to Stand and straight on to a red run down to Trubsee.<br /><br />We carried on doing various red runs for a couple of hours before stopping for lunch at Trubsee and of course, a couple of beers too. After studying our piste map we decided to take the cable car over to Jochpass for some more red runs.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMYBZhLsXuQQw-C5Fgpgh8rbU98HPRKu6zYLp0M2mvci_geTSzNyOST0u9dmEkNJCdZpsZh5YRi5A8HGpFUxtb4B2cjl2jIY04PNLsTM3eN8HyYYaWO_edn07xzIjRCpgEy8Vnw/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+007.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207805743798484450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrMYBZhLsXuQQw-C5Fgpgh8rbU98HPRKu6zYLp0M2mvci_geTSzNyOST0u9dmEkNJCdZpsZh5YRi5A8HGpFUxtb4B2cjl2jIY04PNLsTM3eN8HyYYaWO_edn07xzIjRCpgEy8Vnw/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+007.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It was time for my trusty Action Cam to be strapped to my baldy head to get some interactive skiing footage for your pleasure! Please see below...<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyru-wP9ea3PHIBlTVtgatyV18LErAPmK5yE0FIeKQ6VgKjQ05zxuimSHN2wkjolxgxlFZrEoWa1_k' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />To finish the day off, I suggested that we head up to one of the highest points at Jochstock. As we got higher up in the cable car the weather really closed in to the point where we could not see the ground or even the cable car in front of us and suddenly it did not seem like such a good idea!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dytPEj6PjwMJrutkbpXsmXX95gIR7oyplI2xNZXaCVi-hBFN5bDKshDoYdyysbrlivbYGhkbyeH9zI' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />We need not have worried as the run was pretty straightforward and none of us died, which is always a bonus!<br /><br />After returning our hired skis and having a lecture from Uncle Del about why we should invest in our own skis, we headed back to Del's place for a couple of hours sleep before heading out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkf9ab1BWaw9mD7QB80-vzLXDiM5N7XX6g1Conk-VrJd4k5661hWybnxYVkACj9eHWQ_s0SiJ9ZPZgxX10cO_zYdNhue_WH-Xiy3Syy9mbKCwOyDAftgI6Wcb3O8KOTD_rNGo_Q/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+020.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207811597838908930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkf9ab1BWaw9mD7QB80-vzLXDiM5N7XX6g1Conk-VrJd4k5661hWybnxYVkACj9eHWQ_s0SiJ9ZPZgxX10cO_zYdNhue_WH-Xiy3Syy9mbKCwOyDAftgI6Wcb3O8KOTD_rNGo_Q/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+020.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We ended up in some of Del's haunts in Switzerland including the Piano Bar and Reilly's which were pretty good, but only spoiled by the fact that the Swiss have not banned smoking in bars yet. I had forgotten how bad it is having to stand in a smoke filled bar. It is awful! Thank God that we do not have to put up with that shit in this country any longer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8RNDSzMT-5u5wxd_lm7fHpj_-kLZG9FBGrPHwmd4k_x-9moN4cRXO093Yr58cp8bS9OVRSfZogssH91i3d5mzNdizee9MWe8y-toiipYNCk_aZ7QZjiBME4QS_duKMkR3sdZcA/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+019.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207809338686111218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8RNDSzMT-5u5wxd_lm7fHpj_-kLZG9FBGrPHwmd4k_x-9moN4cRXO093Yr58cp8bS9OVRSfZogssH91i3d5mzNdizee9MWe8y-toiipYNCk_aZ7QZjiBME4QS_duKMkR3sdZcA/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+019.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The three tired bunnies were home for 2 am and rolled into bed for a nice long lie in the morning. That is except for Del who would be up bright and early to change dirty nappies. Nae luck, Del!!!<br /><br />Friday was just a big lazy day and I was glad about the decision to have a day off skiing, even though I had initially been disappointed that we would only be skiing on two days. However, it was a victory for common sense!<br /><br />Del, Estelle, Jim, myself and the kids went for a long walk, including a trip to the swing park for Sam to have some fun. We then headed into the town and it was good to see some familiar sites from when I had last been there for Del's wedding.<br /><br />It was slightly disappointing to see that 'Jakie's Corner' had gone. Mind you, after our exploits when we were there, the town mayor had probably called for urgent action to stop it happening again! <a href="http://startrekfanbob.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_archive.html">http://startrekfanbob.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_archive.html</a><br /><br />We then headed over the newly constructed bridge into Germany. Del and I chatted about recent events and my friend, Le Dobber gave me lots of advice as only Del can! However, he did make a lot of sense and I guess he isnt as much as a big arsehole as he seems! Sometimes!!!<br /><br />Back at the house, Del informed Estelle that we were going out again tonight. I missed it, but Jim informed me that Mr Stevenson would have some serious making up to do to Mrs Stevenson!<br /><br />So off we headed into France this time, with Del taking us to some nice bars where fortunately, this time a smoking ban was in effect. Much more civilised! We did not stay out too late as we had an even earlier start the next day and further to drive to get to the ski resort.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSB4H9hty2AFNDVXpn6hDch6gomqZa1l27bllW6vSI9CNQpvLo3-Zkmq499m35pSCrEw9Nnxsa6kRjTjsOiZ0AlPFUNa-PLTDo9vFUX1Lv4lpfz3jnr232T9J7FLC6rqOe3pNIQ/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+022.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208084826478411282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSB4H9hty2AFNDVXpn6hDch6gomqZa1l27bllW6vSI9CNQpvLo3-Zkmq499m35pSCrEw9Nnxsa6kRjTjsOiZ0AlPFUNa-PLTDo9vFUX1Lv4lpfz3jnr232T9J7FLC6rqOe3pNIQ/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+022.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Saturday morning was a 5.30 start and after the three of us had breakfast we were on our way to pick up Kevin. It was good to see the big baldy twat. I like Kevin. Even though he can come across as big loud-mouthed arsehole, he is actually a really nice guy.<br /><br />Today's weather was much better for skiing. Not a cloud in the sky with the sun doing its best to heat us up. The drive to Flumserberg took a couple of hours and as soon as we arrived it was straight into the hire shop for skis.<br /><br />Jim and I were in and out within 15 minutes however, Kevin was misdirected by a shop employee and got stuck in a queue behind a large group of people who walked in behind Jim and I. An hour later a very, very unhappy Kevin emerged from the shop, threw down his skis and berated the shop staff whilst the three of us supressed our laughter!<br /><br />Anyway, after Kev's dummy was returned to his pram, we made our way up from Tannenheim. First of all in the gondola and then in the cable cars until we reached Prodkamm.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrz8lvBxrMS_19NXElXEy87CpG3Wq77Bl7qnKcwsAWqgF7qUihw13HYawlw8Z7tG1xAzUEAbnUF8a4AC3CmZQ9rAw3iCUikddbxkYn09V-ad-dejqvTD4encOWj8g87lTXET28Q/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+023.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208155491575332386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrz8lvBxrMS_19NXElXEy87CpG3Wq77Bl7qnKcwsAWqgF7qUihw13HYawlw8Z7tG1xAzUEAbnUF8a4AC3CmZQ9rAw3iCUikddbxkYn09V-ad-dejqvTD4encOWj8g87lTXET28Q/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+023.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mXBLk5PZcWaKPsD1dAXDhO5Ge9DC4Uf-Wr81PS8lUf7KaKqHDH0ZTE6numV_HIcW0POf6E5wRw24edBi6qFwkEvHQCQuFRNLLnl-JpjkvMIx7HYkYep4BMIeQw9lbe71kI-8HQ/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+024.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208155500165266994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mXBLk5PZcWaKPsD1dAXDhO5Ge9DC4Uf-Wr81PS8lUf7KaKqHDH0ZTE6numV_HIcW0POf6E5wRw24edBi6qFwkEvHQCQuFRNLLnl-JpjkvMIx7HYkYep4BMIeQw9lbe71kI-8HQ/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+024.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Del had told me that Kevin was an accomplished skier, but even I was suprised at how nimble the big guy was as he left us trailing on the way down the red runs. As you all know, I am the best skier in the world and even I had trouble keeping up with him!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3K_FW4aYKmYYT-f0347aztD-Bm6PxlVe_D5IeWVMWEdyGn9kzvOnqe4CeYMZr-wB27QfbcdYQtwNSvsi0BSTRw8ton4Kn2gt-nMLdyJjBlVTtLoMXHCqTSvhrCJgGQ51wMTCNA/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+031.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208161195291901522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3K_FW4aYKmYYT-f0347aztD-Bm6PxlVe_D5IeWVMWEdyGn9kzvOnqe4CeYMZr-wB27QfbcdYQtwNSvsi0BSTRw8ton4Kn2gt-nMLdyJjBlVTtLoMXHCqTSvhrCJgGQ51wMTCNA/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+031.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_9MBKEzIGBhWQy1nw2mb1p4ZUsPvndEp5W099fLOCBdMNS7zTE2NQEou62Acf3pFwydtbep9xIDZ-UYr6A8dkUbxHZ0QF8rNsrfNtx58z7KAAIk2VTS7kX46T1EJjCiC3e7KRg/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+028.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208161199586868834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_9MBKEzIGBhWQy1nw2mb1p4ZUsPvndEp5W099fLOCBdMNS7zTE2NQEou62Acf3pFwydtbep9xIDZ-UYr6A8dkUbxHZ0QF8rNsrfNtx58z7KAAIk2VTS7kX46T1EJjCiC3e7KRg/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+028.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The scenery was breathtaking! I thought it was a lot more picturesque than Morzine trip last year. I donned my action cam again and went interactive with my fellow skiers.<br /><br />One of my favourite things about skiing here is the ability to actually ski right to the bar, take your skis off and order a cold, frosty one. Its fantastic! Of course, we used this facility to the max during the day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8PQ75WQ_NgoACXmfgbyfVVE9qAVVhJ927DCvJCJJhO3wb1Ekg6_P3GIfPVX6SFg0OjuxCoYmsu2zco2u-uyJ8K-FUcE77IrruUOuQBwbiZV6hmQL2sun3frszg7JUkifuqiRYA/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+027.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208163798042082930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8PQ75WQ_NgoACXmfgbyfVVE9qAVVhJ927DCvJCJJhO3wb1Ekg6_P3GIfPVX6SFg0OjuxCoYmsu2zco2u-uyJ8K-FUcE77IrruUOuQBwbiZV6hmQL2sun3frszg7JUkifuqiRYA/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+027.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2GgxF9wqjnK1IddaRKk8IwKFlaU-7rBbyg704sXatrz8XdiMU0_eiRkSwIs-1L1C7rRwz_e930_q7o3VJ7G_zomHx3eMQtbh1jXPrLTRQQcZCIeGoDdLNyFkIvb53NjzS4hOfw/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+029.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208163802337050242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2GgxF9wqjnK1IddaRKk8IwKFlaU-7rBbyg704sXatrz8XdiMU0_eiRkSwIs-1L1C7rRwz_e930_q7o3VJ7G_zomHx3eMQtbh1jXPrLTRQQcZCIeGoDdLNyFkIvb53NjzS4hOfw/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+029.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For lunch we made our way up to Maschgenkamm which had spectacular views which we enjoyed while we were dining. I bulked up with a massive bowl of pasta bolognese, chips, a pastry, beer, coke and some water. Its hungry work being the best skier in the world, dontchya know!<br /><br />We were going to need our strength, post-lunch as we decided to attempt a black run. I have done little bits of black runs before, but skiing one in its entirety was new for me. Kevin probably had the good sense to say, thanks, but no thanks!<br /><br />I'll sum it up briefly by saying it was very hard, very steep, very fast and at times, very scary. You can see for yourself below in the video clip from my action-cam, which has been heavily edited using Window's Movie Maker to remove most of the times we all fell on our asses!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxshouvOripeNJJ2AKfnYdLKa_tSojUMNCk_tTWTrJ-iQGlYvebIPMO6csjR4EmxvjAiw0WXO_cqrE' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Ten minutes later and we were at the bottom and I was totally chuffed with myself. It was good to feel alive!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRdvu0zquUUfpTKYU-m1X2l7kT_dqhx1zmYeVx6EIbky6Ymwgom2fhJLHz8p8RZjieMQjYhAQxoIrnIMwHufHjcCdu2x2XndI8vr4kHn8HNGQNcDh09sbO3rQhsb1Yo-TKf5VoA/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+032.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208168952002838162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRdvu0zquUUfpTKYU-m1X2l7kT_dqhx1zmYeVx6EIbky6Ymwgom2fhJLHz8p8RZjieMQjYhAQxoIrnIMwHufHjcCdu2x2XndI8vr4kHn8HNGQNcDh09sbO3rQhsb1Yo-TKf5VoA/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+032.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Kevin rejoined us and we completed one more fast red together before Del decided that he had had enough fun for one day. Jim, Kevin and I got one more red under our belts before retiring for the day.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyW3BJx4pGO-zRqZGsWgITBngrHi5Nmp1UdKMdNWWPdTY7cMo1S_-XYIN9vaxRGP_otSr0BUPu9vWc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />We arranged to meet up in Del's favourite Irish bar, in Germany that night before going our seperate ways. Pizza was ordered and after a beer or two, we were showered and hot to trot.<br /><br /><br /><p>We walked the short distance into Germany to the Irish theme bar. The only Irish theme that I could see was that it sold Guinness, nevertheless it was good. Apart from being in another country that had not yet had the sense to ban smoking in bars. Del explained to me that cigarettes are so cheap over there that everyone smokes. I just do not get it.</p>Kevin and his girlfriend joined us shortly after we arrived and we drank and chatted before fatique set in and it was time to head home. We said our goodbyes before walking home.<br /><br /><br /><p>The next morning was Easter Sunday and Sam had been up early to hunt for eggs, which he had found long before Jim and I emerged from our pits.</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78lR4O5cKrS0iJF42xvHk18w4BbOs2vv2LdJPeKYcQf_1El7gaqdaP6F698ofQNbl5tLoRbMuw8djw2awJarSQOR4ycGn1fgdIpNTjNlMClsvZ-caKRUcww1CITjr__aCKoxdfg/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+034.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208173521848041122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78lR4O5cKrS0iJF42xvHk18w4BbOs2vv2LdJPeKYcQf_1El7gaqdaP6F698ofQNbl5tLoRbMuw8djw2awJarSQOR4ycGn1fgdIpNTjNlMClsvZ-caKRUcww1CITjr__aCKoxdfg/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+034.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LmrUGLw_BoTnt1-IYQ8-E8nnF-aJZJg8LSckSiV08ZV00ZGKFAipk3N2n4p4vMt-no_3WlfRyXqnM71JCTSChDr-1G1ZbgCjsPdRzHnWUa5t8Femt5hjDxV4czXcsJVFdvvrKA/s1600-h/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+035.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208173526143008434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LmrUGLw_BoTnt1-IYQ8-E8nnF-aJZJg8LSckSiV08ZV00ZGKFAipk3N2n4p4vMt-no_3WlfRyXqnM71JCTSChDr-1G1ZbgCjsPdRzHnWUa5t8Femt5hjDxV4czXcsJVFdvvrKA/s200/Skiing+in+the+Swiss+Alps+-+19th+to+23rd+March+2008+035.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><p>Today was a day of waiting for our flight which was not until the afternoon, so we watched Manchester United play in the Premiership and chilled before it was time to go.</p><p>Hugs and kisses for Estelle and the kids and then we were off. Del drove us to the airport and after checking in we browsed the duty free shop with Jim desperately looking for tat for presents.</p><p>By 8.00 we were back in Liverpool and after retrieving the car, we had the urgent, outstanding problem of finding a petrol station PDQ! </p><p>After 20 minutes of driving around aimlessly we finally found one and then were on our way up North, with no wrong turns this time Jim managed to get me home for around midnight. </p><p>A top few days away, great skiing and in the company of people I care a lot about.</p><p>Thanks guys!</p><p>Just a wee footnote. I have removed the comments facility from my blog as some ignoramous was leaving comments anonymously, which I think is the height of ignorance.</p><p>You can of course get in touch to pass comment, criticise my storytelling/skiing abilities and generaly tell me what a fantastic guy I am at my email address.</p><p>The people that matter know it!<br /></p>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-63586078959321557132008-04-07T22:22:00.000+01:002008-04-08T00:21:33.564+01:00I spent an overdue day with Ryan on Sunday.<br /><br />He wanted to go karting again and so off we went to Clydebank on the train around 1.00 arriving with a little time to spare before we hit the track.<br /><br />The good thing about going there at the weekend is that you are garaunteed to have more people to race against and that was the case as nine of us clambered into the karts for our two sessions of twenty laps around the track.<br /><br />As is always the case, Ryan left me for dust leaving me to battle against the drivers of my calibre. I might be coming along nicely with my two driving lessons a week on the roads, however, I think it would take considerably more karting sessions before I would be able to beat my boy! Never mind.<br /><br />As we left the karting, I realised what a nice day it was. Cold, but the sun was trying it's best to heat us up and so I suggested to Ryan that we head down to Balloch to get some fresh air in our lungs.<br /><br />Half an hour later we were strolling through Balloch Park. It gave the two of us a really good chance to chat and put the world to rights.<br /><br />Ryan is growing up so fast and often says things that make me realise that in many ways he is wise beyond his years. Sunday was no exception when he said something to me in particular that had me in tears. Albiet, not that hard to do these days...<br /><br />I am so incredibly lucky to still have him in my life after splitting up with Fiona and I truly, truly count my blessings. It scares me how much I love him. To see him grow, evolve and have such a zest for life makes me incredibly proud that I have played a big part in his life.<br /><br />Now as he is slowly but surely becoming an adult our relationship is changing. We talk with each other on a different level and I love it.<br /><br />I have the easier job to be honest, with Fiona having the short end of the stick and putting up with all the teenage stuff. I hope that she realises that it is a challenge that she won't be facing alone even though I am not there.<br /><br />Anyway, so eventually we found ourselves at the four monkey puzzle trees in the park and so we got a nice lady who was out walking her dog to take a picture in front of one of the baby ones before slowly walking back to the Balloch House Hotel.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyhwrGtw8YYBws4lyvD_Nmd8dCMSjdj77WdZV9NF-ilDZoh8yAhHB72uQJw7K5YysGeMHhuBN2DZ589GAnEh1S7qhCvB5T-bLk2xKRd6dKmFA7k1FEwMPKzLSXYQl0DSMv6Y6Tg/s1600-h/A+day+with+Ryan+-+6th+April+2008+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186633269105642322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyhwrGtw8YYBws4lyvD_Nmd8dCMSjdj77WdZV9NF-ilDZoh8yAhHB72uQJw7K5YysGeMHhuBN2DZ589GAnEh1S7qhCvB5T-bLk2xKRd6dKmFA7k1FEwMPKzLSXYQl0DSMv6Y6Tg/s400/A+day+with+Ryan+-+6th+April+2008+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I tried to convince him that the Tullie Inn would be a better option for food but he was not having it. So after some slow service from a terrible waitress who thought that smiling was illegal and slamming your meals and drinks on the table was part of the job (no tip for you, love), we tucked into our meals of Sea Bass for me and gammon steak for Ryan. Followed by a nice dessert of chocolate fudge cake and ice cream. Fortunately I have lost some weight recently!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBH8Wo0RlKBtB2j_xX2j89xrWrrEOZuQOa4e9_-aBAe_BciIFuKWdpM-7g5Ug-vnxQxd_qOMQtQKvYfGv6Jm2rNQAQyCd7KByXi_0iZRT8SDvz9Ne7nr57a7Xi_jheZXQLRY9Yw/s1600-h/A+day+with+Ryan+-+6th+April+2008+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186644809682766706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBH8Wo0RlKBtB2j_xX2j89xrWrrEOZuQOa4e9_-aBAe_BciIFuKWdpM-7g5Ug-vnxQxd_qOMQtQKvYfGv6Jm2rNQAQyCd7KByXi_0iZRT8SDvz9Ne7nr57a7Xi_jheZXQLRY9Yw/s400/A+day+with+Ryan+-+6th+April+2008+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were going to go for another walk after dinner if we had time, however the train to Glasgow was just arriving so we decided to head for home.<br /><br />Some good banter with each other on the train and a sing-a-long to some music topped off a perfect day.<br /><br />Ryan, I know that you read this from time and even though I tell you often and I told you several times on Sunday, I just want to say it again, I love you much, much more than you will ever know and it means the world to me when you say it to me too.<br /><br />xxxBob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-7245396397481613142008-02-18T12:28:00.003+00:002008-02-19T11:04:33.443+00:00JBO to Riga June 2007<strong><em>THIS BLOG ENTRY IS BEING WRITTEN RETROSPECTIVELY AND IN RESPONSE FROM CONSTANT BADGERING FROM KEVIN TO DO IT.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>ALL EVENTS WERE DOCUMENTED BY ME IN MY LITTLE NOTEPAD AT THE TIME AND THEREFORE FOR THE MOST PART ARE PRETTY ACCURATE.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>I, OF COURSE HAVE RESERVED THE RIGHT TO EMBELISH ALL STORIES AND LEAVE OUT IMPORTANT DETAILS AS I SAW FIT.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>I DISCOVERED THAT I COULD UPLOAD VIDEOS STRAIGHT TO MY BLOG RATHER THAN THROUGH YOUTUBE, SO GET THE POPCORN OUT FOR THIS ONE.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>DAY 1</em></strong><br /><br />Our annual Jolly Boy's Outing (JBO) was heading to Eastern Europe again. This time our destination was Latvia's capital city, Riga and all the usual suspects were in attendance with the exception of Hammey who could not make it. However, we had some new blood in the shape of Frank Phinn's Bother, Gary and Del's work colleague, Manfi.<br /><br />With the imminent departure of Thomas who was emigrating to Australia with Kath, the decision had been made to turn the JBO into a stag weekend in his honour-even though he wasn't getting married! This was a closely guarded secret with Gingerbaws not supposed to find out until we reached Riga.<br /><br />Jim Arthur had organised the obligatiory T-shirts emblazoned with 'Gingerman Goes To Oz' on the front and a Superman style 'G' and with our stag names on the back. All for the bargain price of ONLY £33 each!<br /><br />Wearing your pants outside your trousers was optional!<br /><br />Therefore the full list of dobbers in attendance were:<br /><ul><li>Me - Sir Wanksalot.</li><br /><li>Thomas - Boaby Muncher.</li><br /><li>James Arthur - Bitch Slave</li><br /><li>Del - Le Dobber</li><br /><li>James Snelling - Portrush Pig</li><br /><li>Kevin - Gobshite</li><br /><li>Frank Phinn - Fatty Phinn</li><br /><li>Gary Phinn - Dug Baws</li><br /><li>James H - Emperor Tim</li><br /><li>Manfred - Swiss Piss</li></ul>We were flying out from Liverpool and Jim Arthur had volunteered to drive Thomas and I down there. Portrush Pig was making his own way there from Crewe and Gary Phinn, who I had never met before, was making his own way down from Scotland.<br /><br /><p>I had spent the evening in Dumbarton with Susan in a growing state of boyhood excitement at the upcoming weekend and she was, no doubt, probably glad to see the back of me when Jim and Thomas arrived to pick me up at 11.30.</p>We chatted briefly outside Susan's house but as we were being devoured by midges we said our goodbyes and headed off. Thomas had bagsied the front seat beside Jim, however being in the back of the car wasn't such a bad thing as I managed to get a couple of hours kip on the way down.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF86fs3JVnC9SDou8ktstBu-eXfMcPe3AxDxxEdO95sxvtELodb_kmEk5B308zBxB-yK-3TmhFotDZSfnzko1qnJgYO-pi26IMgZXR0oV44GVLYMWTMZ__3wNnze8t8lJO9oiJQ/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168276148975097282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF86fs3JVnC9SDou8ktstBu-eXfMcPe3AxDxxEdO95sxvtELodb_kmEk5B308zBxB-yK-3TmhFotDZSfnzko1qnJgYO-pi26IMgZXR0oV44GVLYMWTMZ__3wNnze8t8lJO9oiJQ/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We arrived at Liverpool's John Lennon airport at 0400 and made our way to the bar for a fry up breakfast and our first beer of the day. Gary appeared and joined us as we waited for the plane to embark.<br /><br />We were getting worried that Snelling had not made it as the time to board the plane arrived, and after some urgent texting from Thomas we discovered that the Portrush Pig was a step ahead of us and was already sitting on the plane.<br /><br />We easily found the big guy on the plane (well he is kind of hard to miss) and pretty soon after take off the drinking began in earnest in what was going to be a very long day.<br /><br />Ryanair, who we were flying with were shite! Their lumenescent blue and yellow livery was giving me a headache. They made Sleezyjet look posh, but that's what happens when you decide to do it cheap and cheerful I suppose.<br /><br />A few hours later and we had touched down in Riga and upon turning on our mobile phones Thomas announced that Del and Co's flight had been cancelled due to bad weather and there was a possibility that they might not be joining us at all. However, as more details came in, it turned out that they would be flying in from Zurich instead, which meant the Scottish lads would have a drinking headstart.<br /><br />By 1200 our group had arrived at the Reval hotel, which was lovely and after dumping our stuff in our rooms we made our way to the hotel bar and ordered vodka and Red Bulls all round to kick-start the drinking.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L5D-sX6raY4mVe-BrZSY5ga0Ui4_6LqUf8U1jND7i8EwlPFGS-xI3uUKBsZRP-aUMFqHieRALb07CMckujwF4IGuoSlrJlse7kVVmpsFAecBIZVh2RFSfB_TnoskArNnefHTXg/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168277446055220690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L5D-sX6raY4mVe-BrZSY5ga0Ui4_6LqUf8U1jND7i8EwlPFGS-xI3uUKBsZRP-aUMFqHieRALb07CMckujwF4IGuoSlrJlse7kVVmpsFAecBIZVh2RFSfB_TnoskArNnefHTXg/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p>The Switzer- France boys arrived about an hour later and after a quick catch-up, a couple of drinks and the first slaggings of the day everyone headed to their rooms for a shower and to adorn their stag T-shirts and some of us put their kilts on too.</p>Thomas was delighted to be having a surprise stag weekend. Unfortunately we had an early casualty. Gary had fallen asleep in his room and in totally unacceptable stag protocol, would not be joining us for the evening.<br /><p>Anyway, the weekend stag rules and punishments for breaking them were announced. They were: </p><ul><li>Own names not allowed - individuals to be addressed only by stag names on back of T-shirts. Failure to do so means you have to drink '2 fingers of beer'.<br /></li><li>There would be two referees for the weekend (Boaby Muncher not allowed to be one of them) who would have yellow and red cards to inflict punishments as they saw fit.</li><br /><li>Yellow card - 2 fingers of beer.</li><br /><li>Red card - down drink in one.</li><br /><li>Argue with ref's decision - down drink in one.</li><br /><li>If two ref's disagree on punishment then group has a vote on punishment. </li><br /><li>If person moans about punishment - they must suck on baby's dummy until told otherwise.</li></ul><p>The decision was made that we should stand up one by one and announce our stag names in a loud and clear voice with a cheer going up from the group as each person took the floor and more or less shouted their names out. The staff in the hotel looked less than impressed.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8Kbtm7_FVivSXWucjyov8RkahXQ3jydfPC4L8HuaJRQ2oJxtcF9Df51LZ2GCBlgKKVyifZGp1aqX4s9RH55-jg7vUoP7ge6aO39YxJuwAigCG43ZlyHB7T_scf6ApO5kGpSrBQ/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168278558451750370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8Kbtm7_FVivSXWucjyov8RkahXQ3jydfPC4L8HuaJRQ2oJxtcF9Df51LZ2GCBlgKKVyifZGp1aqX4s9RH55-jg7vUoP7ge6aO39YxJuwAigCG43ZlyHB7T_scf6ApO5kGpSrBQ/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><br /><p></p>It was time to venture out and so we made our way into the streets of Riga. we did not have a tour guide this year as we had previously at Del's stag, we were just going to have to wing it this time.<br /><br />We found a nice bar in the square of the old town and sat outside for a beer. I was getting dog's abuse for wearing white trainers with my kilt and was subsequently red carded. Silly punishments were being handed out by the refs for the slightest 'crimes' and every time that a yellow card offence was committed the group sang 'two fingerrrrrssss' to the tune of 'Goldfinger'. Fannies!<br /><br />It was warm and sunny in the square as we moved from bar to bar, happily ripping the pish out of each other as we went. A local approached me and asked to take a picture of the back of my Sir Wanksalot T-shirt, God only knows why but it looks like I had become a local tourist attraction!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho49obog2CGAZ1O9bqNLeywidsDFC9rFu36KBC12w54GXxh0u9DMmwY01nZn6D9jYgXqyXKBP-qespZQNAhKj_34AowumjathfZobepZrhPsvFtKG0OBpeY8zOec92JdlBAbD4Ig/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168283154066757138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho49obog2CGAZ1O9bqNLeywidsDFC9rFu36KBC12w54GXxh0u9DMmwY01nZn6D9jYgXqyXKBP-qespZQNAhKj_34AowumjathfZobepZrhPsvFtKG0OBpeY8zOec92JdlBAbD4Ig/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p></p>Gobshite beat me over the head repeatedly with a menu in one pub, much to my annoyance - a sure sign that we were all starting to get pished and the day was still young.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF43bkVRrqqKWRpOdD_Fc0FqtUcuOhI0xWLR7kpgejifSpptaaPDrWwWMzNn2_CrnJtws1CBH1pc4Wmwz2ZaJWRVrUR0wNlQW3unsXjxMu5ePmLs-Ri1mSz6eVqiXRhU87OMb0g/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+020.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168280306503439858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF43bkVRrqqKWRpOdD_Fc0FqtUcuOhI0xWLR7kpgejifSpptaaPDrWwWMzNn2_CrnJtws1CBH1pc4Wmwz2ZaJWRVrUR0wNlQW3unsXjxMu5ePmLs-Ri1mSz6eVqiXRhU87OMb0g/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+020.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Some food was needed in an attempt to soak up some of the alcohol, so we ended up in a place called Steitu Haoss. Can't say that I honestly remember what the food was like or if it was any good, but it filled a space.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtG4moTCdTcjxZ7mP5xJhyphenhyphen7CWOoPUeXkyt_-TNCjBkcwH9N7P8Gf8d2Z7es15NyA9njxiPfiOn3xMBo0jf00uxjErwRyfsZp6BStEVGdy1YUag9NcGca5fUS2CCzTFY6aMurymw/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168281212741539330" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtG4moTCdTcjxZ7mP5xJhyphenhyphen7CWOoPUeXkyt_-TNCjBkcwH9N7P8Gf8d2Z7es15NyA9njxiPfiOn3xMBo0jf00uxjErwRyfsZp6BStEVGdy1YUag9NcGca5fUS2CCzTFY6aMurymw/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We then moved onto a wine bar where, much to our amusement, Gary had woken from his slumber and had decided to join us to much abuse and then we were onto an Irish theme bar which was pretty good too.</div><div><br />After frequenting several more 'establishments' we ended up in a club which, much to our delight had a table football and a mini tournament was soon underway.<br /><br />We stayed there for a couple of hours before deciding to head back to the hotel which had a very smart rooftop bar called the Skyline Bar. We met another stag party from England and after a bit of banter we challenged them to a wrestling match.<br /><br />However, the bouncers who were obviously sensing trouble quickly intervened to stop the contest before it had even began. I think we would have taken them, but we'll never know...<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw2NZdStyrxFWp3st5ltv6r34pxsWXoDjCZnLEez0TQi95_dRdZZwU3MlIMSXFknfuOVmKpTvpHaUE' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />It was after 0200 by now and people were dropping like flies. I had been drinking for 21 hours by now and the sensible thing to do would have been to go to bed, but that wasn't going to happen.<br /><br />The die-hards amongst us, Thomas, Del, Emperor Tim and I went down to the hotel casino while everyone else rolled back to their rooms in drunken stupours. </div><div><br />Thomas and Del gambled a little and lost a little bit too, I think. I had enough sense to realise that I was a bit to pished to have any chance of gambling and winning and therefore Emperor Tim and I just watched the proceedings. When Del took a picture with his camera and was immediately surrounded by burly bouncers who made him delete it, it was definently time to leave.<br /><br />We made our way back to the rooms and outside mine and Jim's room, Del and Thomas discovered that there was an ice cube dispensing machine on the wall and came up with the ingenious idea that we should 'rush' Jim as he slept and throw ice cubes at him.<br /><br />I thought that this was taking things a bit too far, however once the decision had been made to do it, I happily joined in grabbing as many ice cubes as I could. I opened the door and the three of us jumped on top of an unconcious Jim Arthur and rub ice cubes all over him.<br /><br /><br />Jim was not happy!<br /><br /><br /><strong><em></em></strong><strong><em>DAY 2</em></strong><br /><br />I woke at 1200 and did not feel too bad, but then again I was still pished. After a shower, Jim and I headed to McDonalds for some breakfast and I had the best McD's that I have ever had. It actually tasted nice!<br /><br />The plan today was to go quad biking and Jim decided that he needed a new jacket for it so we trudged around for the best part of an hour to eventually return to the first shop we looked in to buy one that he had saw there.<br /><br />Back at the hotel, the group had gathered in the bar and were decidedly less boisterous than they had been the night before with some more than others looking decidedly fragile!<br /><br />We were picked up from the hotel at 2.00 for the half hour drive to our destination. When we got there a dozen bright yellow quadbikes were lined up and ready to go. You could see a glint in everyone's eyes.<br /><br />The man in charge explained that he would get the BBQ going while we were on the quadbikes and that we should just help ourselves to bottles of beer. Drinking beer while driving a quadbike? What could possibly go wrong?<br /><br />Everyone wisely decided to curtail their drinking until after their turn on the quads. Next he produced disclaimers for all of us to sign basically saying that any accidents or death were not his fault, which was reassuring. </div><div></div><br /><div>He then produced white disposeable boiler suits for each of us to protect our own clothing. Much to everyone's amusement, Portrush Pig had brought his own along and slipped into his little black number while we laughed at him. He even did a 'calendar' pose for us, carrying two tyres but unfortunately he refused to strip down to the waist as he probably knew that any pictures taken would end up on a gay dating website.<br /><br />The BBQ was started while we were given a quick tutorial on how to drive the quadbikes. Unfortunately since there were so many of us we were split into two groups with the first group of Del, Thomas, Gary, Frank and James H going first 'on safari' for twenty minutes before returning for a couple of laps around the dirt track.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C7y-_0us_AOVyVYzGm3plpN5REdml8ggTNIoF07lUjcdmSQiQeH1leEzzb6zw8-uEjA4koh6X5w75ThAJGF7d6ft9ec5TGRjaCNcrVKcAwFOtyEMQc_q1qXKssf-OPTn7a2cXA/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+041.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168284790449296930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6C7y-_0us_AOVyVYzGm3plpN5REdml8ggTNIoF07lUjcdmSQiQeH1leEzzb6zw8-uEjA4koh6X5w75ThAJGF7d6ft9ec5TGRjaCNcrVKcAwFOtyEMQc_q1qXKssf-OPTn7a2cXA/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+041.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div>Now it was time for me, Jim Arthur, James Snelling, Kevin and Manfred to head out. I had attached my Action Cam to my helmet ready to record the race and the young lad who was leading the group just looked bewildered at why I had a camera on my head.<br /><br />It did not take long to figure out that there was not too much skill involved in driving a quadbike - accelerate, brake and try not to fall off - that's about it!<br /><br />We raced each other off into the countryside with the young lad pulling us up several times when we were getting a bit too boisterous with our driving. We were screaming along as fast as we could with the exception of the Portrush Pig who's severe weight disadvantage meant that he could not keep up with us. We had to stop several times to wait for him to catch up with us, which caused much hilarity.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGEdQH7fayUOtZJZmelEP8XlX_ts65Xg_cFqidK7JBhIxiL1U0zliYo_4qkTP4o_MRBeOWj1tJUzCkZC-67KvUXD3vhyphenhyphen6DneRdKrarHbFhIW_l_pVkZHMmutUfjaXtfVzGrEiVg/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168285743932036658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGEdQH7fayUOtZJZmelEP8XlX_ts65Xg_cFqidK7JBhIxiL1U0zliYo_4qkTP4o_MRBeOWj1tJUzCkZC-67KvUXD3vhyphenhyphen6DneRdKrarHbFhIW_l_pVkZHMmutUfjaXtfVzGrEiVg/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+047.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><br />There were a group of locals camping in the forest who had a camp fire going and were swigging away on their booze. They shouted a bit of Latvian abuse as passed them so we stopped a safe distance away and let Piggy catch up. We did not want to leave him there incase they ate him!<br /><br />After that it was plain sailing as we zoomed back to base and had a couple of laps around the dirt track before pulling over to join the others for some dodgy BBQ food.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyYNU3vyufxHgcHvxw-j8UquOBwjXk3ZG6lTc-yG3VIHrXKt9pWNnXXZqxZBR5g8brE2yV_AXNqPDw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />After a short break it was time for some racing around the track. I was loving it and was getting a bit gallus when I set the fastest lap time of 21.46 seconds and made the mistake of thinking that I was Lewis Hamilton when in fact, I was more like Ozzy Osbourne.<br /><br />I took great plessure in lapping as many people as I could. However, it was almost inevitable that I was going to come a cropper. Which I did.<br /><br />As I screamed round for the umpteenth time, thinking to myself that another couple of laps would do it before I retired gracefully, I took the last corner a bit too sharply and in a split second I felt myself summersaulting through the air. I landed in a heap with my right hand taking the brunt of the impact and as the quadbike landed upside down on top of me, the brake lever gouged deeply into my left leg.<br /><br />I lay there for what seemed a long time but probably wasn't, knowing that I had done some damage but I was unsure how bad it was. I looked up to see Kevin running towards me and the look on his face told me that it must have been bad. Del and James pulled over to see if I was ok, but despite me saying that I was, the blood running down my leg told a different story.<br /><br />Kev told me later that the guys had thought for a couple of laps that I was going to come off and when I finally did the guy in charge just startred to laugh in a 'you signed the disclaimer, so tough shit if you are dead' kind of way.<br /><br />The guys righted the quadbike for me and advised me to retire 'gracefully', but being the fanny that I am I climbed back on and after a few careful laps I opened up the throttle and proceeded to set a new lap time of 20.89 seconds!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-py2PpEPbtGg7z4g95lNqAZye5l2eU-uMdA9w8F-vzwXV1OzvKorMDq_J1XTBKn-Mz-ZxTx9mnbPpNkgCUFdw1Hd4vo2j6lXJwjA4v_IGaF5sG-G69WV2VW_XBVjGhIvlZwa7wQ/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+052.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168286461191575106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-py2PpEPbtGg7z4g95lNqAZye5l2eU-uMdA9w8F-vzwXV1OzvKorMDq_J1XTBKn-Mz-ZxTx9mnbPpNkgCUFdw1Hd4vo2j6lXJwjA4v_IGaF5sG-G69WV2VW_XBVjGhIvlZwa7wQ/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+052.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br />When I finally gave up I got some first-aid from which consisted of hydrogen peroxide poured into my open leg wound. It didn't have any noticeable effect except bleaching some of the hairs on my leg a few shades lighter.<br /><br />We headed back to the hotel and after a quick shower we were out again. The streets were a lot quiter tonight as it was a public holiday and finding in decent bars that were open was hard work. However, we eventually found one that sold food too and had a half decent meal before moving on.<br /><br />We used a technique that we had learned last night of going into strip bars where the first drink is free (but you are expected to pay the girls to dance with you) and then leaving as quickly as possible before the bouncers (or the strippers) decided to kick seven shades of shit out of us.<br /><br />Eventually we ended up in the Skybar again and drank as we chatted, acted like dobbers and watched a beautiful sunset over the city. Meanwhile, Fatty Phinn lapsed into a drink induced coma in his chair and being the good mates that we are we ripped the absolue pish out of him making him dance in time to the music, ably assisted by his Brother as he sat there blissfully unaware.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwqYTP7vgZ5zsQ9Lk346uxMIoB5X9jzw6zqTfDReHkYoMq23DLPYl3QYecZ6sr_FvQ4csRwnzk0_Vo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Elsewhere, things were getting a bit out of hand with Jim and Thomas spitting drinks over each other. It was never going to have a happy ending and when Jim poured a Long Island Iced Tea over Thomas and Thomas responded by ripping Jim's brand new shirt off him, a line had been crossed.<br /><br />Jim dissapeared and I informed Thomas that Jim didn't look very happy and had went back to his room to change. We went to find him but he was nowhere to be found so we returned to the Skyline Bar to find Jim sitting there with a clean, unripped shirt on. He played down the whole incident saying that he wasn't pissed off. I wasn't convinced as I know that I would have been.<br /><br />We made our way down to the Voodoo Club, the hotel's nightclub and soon realised that the place was full of prostitutes and their Russian Mafiaesq -type pimps. A wide berth was made of them so that we didn't end up sleeping with the fishes so we just danced away and drank somemore before getting to bed around 0300.<br /><br /><strong><em>DAY 3</em></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I woke up at 1000 with an aching head and an extremely sore finger from the day before's crash. The finger next to my pinky on my right hand was swollen and bent to one side. The guys were convinced that it was broken but an x-ray when I got back home said that it wasn't.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thomas, Del and James Snelling arrived to give technical support as we tried to transfer yesterday's quadbike Action Cam video footage to my Creative player so that we could watch it on the TV in the hotel room.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thomas asked if I had brought the AV cable for the Action Cam so that we could just watch it straight from the camera without all the hastle of transferring it. I had not and they were quick to tell me that I was a fanny because of it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We left it transferring and went to McD's for breakfast and then to the local market to buy gifts before returning to the hotel room to watch the now transferred quadbike footage. There was laughter all round at the Portrush Pig's slowness, however everyone agreed that it would have been even funnier if I had still had the camera rolling when I crashed!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We headed downstairs to be picked up for todays event - paintballing!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We were driven to the outskirts of the city to a dissused factory that had derelict car wrecks scattered around covered in multi coloured paint from past battles.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC6XL0kJNXihr6T94c9Ans2lAB_dvHG1HyV8DoXj4n60NPezT1Je4z_PNOFD5euUUtjPly6IIA3hvCEn55rpn8lAOnEo7QMQsF5dbGn1t6HpiQAun9DOtfEkApg53zKOUfXLxcA/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+085.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168287908595553890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC6XL0kJNXihr6T94c9Ans2lAB_dvHG1HyV8DoXj4n60NPezT1Je4z_PNOFD5euUUtjPly6IIA3hvCEn55rpn8lAOnEo7QMQsF5dbGn1t6HpiQAun9DOtfEkApg53zKOUfXLxcA/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+085.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We were issued with army style boilersuits and safety masks before being given a safety briefing and had the rules explained to us. There would be two minute games and when you were shot you had to raise your hand to let everyone know that you were out of the game.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT922S7u2XMJkUnHQlyseokzNrUnbaIv_SqSMCJqzb36EaW8bKIVddqd6CSZjKw5hGc3JjHOAvFuzodGJMaZVuFWhsY5DTB-77mhw4guD9rLouDGIWARxX5NnCzNwMJg7E6MIq0w/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+081.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168287238580655698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT922S7u2XMJkUnHQlyseokzNrUnbaIv_SqSMCJqzb36EaW8bKIVddqd6CSZjKw5hGc3JjHOAvFuzodGJMaZVuFWhsY5DTB-77mhw4guD9rLouDGIWARxX5NnCzNwMJg7E6MIq0w/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+081.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We were split into two teams and after a bit of debate we decided on Scots versus Switzerfrancers. Jim Arthur had, probably sensibly, decided not to take part and took to the roof of a van with the event organiser, to film us. Why no-one shot such an ample target as he stood there, I will never know.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyxqVYeDWsgkACihQfFZaN3A_NQrqqY1sfsYYD_Hq83kkHIVfQxx8qEvpvuCHLupikGMYbz7XgbRqc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzluvcWKlJPz02aZbL2GmfGNT7IgYEsh7c-QfiPC0nv8zGLUdDpuYSTFD0oJvuzQtek_wWGlNkFlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The first game began and quickly turned to farce as a dangerous mix of excitement and testosterone made of my team shoot each other rather than the enemy team.<br /><br />It was bloody sore when I was shot and I quickly regreted only wearing shorts and a shirt under my boilersuit. I made a mental note to myself that if I ever did this again I would wear something with a bit of padding for protection.<br /><br />Early on, I was shot on the exact same spot on the inside of my thigh, a couple of inches from my manhood. This had me clenching my butt-cheeks in fear for the rest of our time there.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrLFQaL-gCgjDmehe-6NiZdcr6QigaCUeHUhap-u4RxapWXDM65Gc4T9uHbprA2n-_utOg5dk132E' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dycvbTFuZE-hdKo1eOFv_mFsqPCGShODURPl7iR2UijIkH0O3__L_jMJVl9tXZp2Xge-nQwq0dLbq8' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Buying ammunition was as cheap as chips and we all reloaded a couple of times with multi-coloured bullets in between battles. Jim must have been loving watching us running around like twats from his vantage point as he had a great view of some comic moments including Dug Baws falling over barrels as he ran arond like Rambo! (see clip below)<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxr8duerRPmmn7GkLmM7TYh0XD6RXZy_xjbdFkDwcF31fH6sYIyGXzaZEbCzrsfJ8Qk0TXOLg6goK4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I had my Action Cam on again for some font line footage. The thought that having a video camera strapped to my safety helmet would make me a more conspicous target was lost on me. Click below to see the same clip as above filmed from the Action Cam (and hear me screaming like a little girl when I got shot in the ass!)<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlb_n1K3ZfG30QIoABtikWJUA-I5wsNkQiWh39D46gEjDR9g7WucQu-kvdn7Edcx1Jx0_piuvJxiI' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />We headed back to the hotel and recounted our war stories over a beer. After a quick shower we headed into town with Thomas being made to wear the 'Beverly Hills 90210, Jason Priestly' stag T-shirt. We had dinner in a place called the Amsterdam Bar, but the food was awful.<br /><br />A good venue needed to be found for the JBO Kangaroo Court and so we made our way to Dickens Bar which was basically meant to be a traditional style English pub, only it was in Latvia! It even had a dartboard, so after a few games of darts and too many 'Bullseye' jokes to list here, the court was in session.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOk0w7pc3iR8YWbnLaEHW828Kr00USP_k4oykRWdk8uglgPhtdRcDc3fMZgv2D8V_fJI49spCx-Tzone1ewi0si9gVcUq4dLbAtrw8jdzXTIAfmMW5cP18_HCWg0nRgKWBpMwUfQ/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+092.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168289128366265970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOk0w7pc3iR8YWbnLaEHW828Kr00USP_k4oykRWdk8uglgPhtdRcDc3fMZgv2D8V_fJI49spCx-Tzone1ewi0si9gVcUq4dLbAtrw8jdzXTIAfmMW5cP18_HCWg0nRgKWBpMwUfQ/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+092.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><br /><br />Punishment pints were ordered from the bar and Zambucha shots to get us warmed up. Gobshite had been taking notes over the last few days of peoples crimes and misdemeanors and charges were read out one at a time with the chant of 'GUILTY!' coming from all of us as each charge, no matter how ridiculous , was announced by Judge Gobshite. Pints of beer were downed in one, by the guilty ones i.e., everyone.<br /><br />The dissapointing meal from earlier on had left everyone hungry and so we went to TGI Fridays. The staff were not very happy about serving us in our inebriated state until we ordered one of everything from the food menu and suddenly we were made to feel very welcome!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrHSQd39F6m6wM9rtVuYMtmufcbhTpY_EcCI3JBNWe_67EyuTbdt64-M5b-aAOompbYgQe0wXj6sKxDKL_0W22gMCdGzmD9KlddhMmxDT2w4EXkRnV3_PizeEoHJoa5W-_OjWuA/s1600-h/JBO+to+Riga+2007+094.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168289695301949058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrHSQd39F6m6wM9rtVuYMtmufcbhTpY_EcCI3JBNWe_67EyuTbdt64-M5b-aAOompbYgQe0wXj6sKxDKL_0W22gMCdGzmD9KlddhMmxDT2w4EXkRnV3_PizeEoHJoa5W-_OjWuA/s400/JBO+to+Riga+2007+094.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The food was lovely and since this was our last night here the drinking was stepped up again with our behaviour in TGI Fridays leaving a lot to be desired as you can see from the video clip below<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwT-PSYwdFWKmQ6QrN-XtnxAc6DWdttjon212dISzV2tlJ_XH40GOZI3vgDOHEFfV8bGEXUFeU8FkY' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The staff were glad to see the back of us as we moved elsewhere and we found ourselves back in the square again. Thomas still had his Jason Preistly T-shirt on and the hunt was on to find a replacement as tradition dictates that the stag T-shirt must be swapped for a new one, the more outrageous and ridiculous looking, the better.<br /><br />We weren't dissapointed as, after a lot of negotiating, Thomas managed to persuade a young barmaid to swap her tiny pink top for our Jason Preistly one. Looking suitably stupid, Thomas rejoined us to a huge cheer.<br /><br />An American called Billy Bob hooked onto us and bought us all a beer and we chatted away with him for a while. Meanwhile Emperor Tim was challenging locals to an arm wrestling contest, which he lost.<br /><br />Sensing that things could easily go pear shaped we headed back to the hotel at 0130. A few gave up and went to bed while the remaining knobheads (including myself) carried on until 0330.<br /><br />When it was time to go back to our rooms we were too tired even to storm the room and get Jim Arthur with ice cubes again...<br /><br /><strong><em>DAY 4</em></strong><br /><br />Jim's alarm went off at 0730 and boy, did I feel rough when I awoke.<br /><br />After showering, we headed to the hotel restaraunt and tried to eat something substantial before the long journey home.<br /><br />We said our goodbyes to the Switzerfrancers and headed to the airport to the longest check-in queue that I have ever seen. We eventually boarded the plane and settled down to 'enjoy' the flight with ever increasing hangovers.<br /><br />Back in Liverpool, we picked up the car and headed back up the road, stopping just before Carslile for a late lunch. Jim had sensibly stopped drinking quite early on, the previous night and luckily for us, was feeling ok for the drive. Thomas and I just wanted it to be over. </div><div></div><br /><div>I went for a kip in the back of Jim's car, just as I had done on the way down to Liverpool and obviously the last few days had taken their toll on me physically AND emotionally as the picture below shows. Thomas snapped me lying in the fetal position, sucking my thumb!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6uC7LopIaOzVWewFGh5yttS8BYcP2RJyDH77rnfI2NDpG2Aj3LrNOCokktQ9eQtGtvGVY-JZ1w9s8cCCK3CD2C-4Y3mnYXqQ0tnOjS1nLvOTiHHJNcfvYGL2HcN4w1Su9t0KJA/s1600-h/IMAGE_011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168644064463607442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6uC7LopIaOzVWewFGh5yttS8BYcP2RJyDH77rnfI2NDpG2Aj3LrNOCokktQ9eQtGtvGVY-JZ1w9s8cCCK3CD2C-4Y3mnYXqQ0tnOjS1nLvOTiHHJNcfvYGL2HcN4w1Su9t0KJA/s400/IMAGE_011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As we crossed the border from England to Scotland, the sun emerged from the gloom and shone brightly.<br /><br />It was good to be home!<br /><br />Click on the link below to view all the pictures from the JBO<br /><br /><a href="http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow/viewer.html?c_album=5921933">http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow/viewer.html?c_album=5921933</a> </div></div>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-64429811339947883822008-02-10T21:36:00.000+00:002008-02-17T11:40:15.933+00:00Skiing and Snowboarding in the Nevis Range - 10th Febuary 2008We recently have had Craig and Ryan at snowboarding lessons on the dry slopes at Bellahouston Park with the plan being that we would take them up North for a go on real snow if and when the weather permitted. By chance, over the last couple of weeks, Scotland has been having the best skiing weather for about 20 years. So we booked to go away for the day with Glasgow Ski Centre and the destination was the Nevis Range. Also, Susan and I had bought our own ski boots and new googles the week before and we were eager to break them in!<br /><br />It was going to be an early start as the coach was leaving from Bellahouston Park at 0615, so we decided to have Ryan stay overnight at Susan's. We picked him up from Fiona around 8.00 on Saturday night and headed over to Dumbarton where we bought a couple of pizzas and settled down to watch <em>Hot Fuzz </em>on the movie channel before packing the kids off to bed for a few hours sleep before what was going to be a very long day.<br /><br /><br />The alarm went off at 0415 and after a bit of a struggle we got the kids downstairs for some breakfast and then headed off just after 0530. At the ski centre we picked up our skis, poles and the kid's snowboards and made ourselves comfortable on the coach waiting for everyone to embark and by 0630 we were on the way.<br /><br /><br />The two and a half hour journey was uneventful but it was nice to see some of the sights again that I had passed whilst doing the West Highland Way last year. The slopes in Glencoe looked fab as we passed and we would have been happy to stop there as the slopes were covered with fresh snow and the Nevis range was still an hour away, but it was not to be...<br /><br /><br />We eventually arrived at the Nevis range just after 0900, just in time for the gondola to the slopes opening. Since it was a large group of us buying ski passes we managed to get them for a reduced rate and being a Paisley boy, this pleased me no end. It was only then that we discovered that they had given Craig two right boots for his snowboard and Susan swooped into action to make sure the girl from the ski centre hired replacement boots from the hire shop at the Nevis Range, free of charge.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_nMnqi0TQnDDSP970jDhL41speshDwfwBtoizKHST0__AvH6riXS-V7GQsf33Cdx18y5lxQpJ66eUuUbsUrN3_AurpCDIA4LdagazQqMM1lIx8E1iMIgggv7vGvPDqEmROD3gA/s1600-h/pistemap05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_nMnqi0TQnDDSP970jDhL41speshDwfwBtoizKHST0__AvH6riXS-V7GQsf33Cdx18y5lxQpJ66eUuUbsUrN3_AurpCDIA4LdagazQqMM1lIx8E1iMIgggv7vGvPDqEmROD3gA/s400/pistemap05.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />With our hire equipment sorted, jackets, hats, gloves and salopettes donned, we headed to the gondola for the fifteen minute climb to the top with the grass slowly being replaced by snow that had fallen overnight.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kLLNhAz-JXQdJSe2yljO3fbPbYGyoTaor_DJkBXKSPRyLd4XtinQAoRf2O7PDWzCycwiE5lBWSTD2wB4JK7VRwg9eADOsiw4qVdyVaEJ-z8m752-1fIa_svmKH-vU0oAlYz5DQ/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kLLNhAz-JXQdJSe2yljO3fbPbYGyoTaor_DJkBXKSPRyLd4XtinQAoRf2O7PDWzCycwiE5lBWSTD2wB4JK7VRwg9eADOsiw4qVdyVaEJ-z8m752-1fIa_svmKH-vU0oAlYz5DQ/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After an apprehensive start, the boys took the bulls by the horn and we decided to head up the chairlift to the top of a blue run to see how they would get on in a kind of 'do or die' scenario. They didn't die!<br /><br />We had been warned by the ski centre that skiing in Scotland would be very different from the skiing experience that we had in France last year, where on some days I had been able to ski without a jacket as it was so mild. Not so in Bonnie Scotland. It was frickin Freezing!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIvKWDtJo7cNwkFVY3XoBjb3TGWlWcqIvGyhbD42iOiVPPK9kNQ9h3dVzc-aYBNzQIRkpW2ay-2lY1XIAh0VAh1_lRaCQ5MKjUuDFNEroOwkPTWqe9jujRpFEuOPk0gI7gZKPaQ/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIvKWDtJo7cNwkFVY3XoBjb3TGWlWcqIvGyhbD42iOiVPPK9kNQ9h3dVzc-aYBNzQIRkpW2ay-2lY1XIAh0VAh1_lRaCQ5MKjUuDFNEroOwkPTWqe9jujRpFEuOPk0gI7gZKPaQ/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1bNOFXmiDyWkZs3IFbHQErYGdEzPNkqSPus-JGThe2DrtzJmysC7iak54pwPdDXDT8mTCtORc5lVPzDExI-RiXOgoNSEtgMu7P-tP24sWt7QZdIU7UZo3CHagCNXJxT5ukkRBQ/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1bNOFXmiDyWkZs3IFbHQErYGdEzPNkqSPus-JGThe2DrtzJmysC7iak54pwPdDXDT8mTCtORc5lVPzDExI-RiXOgoNSEtgMu7P-tP24sWt7QZdIU7UZo3CHagCNXJxT5ukkRBQ/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY1nVydoVa3vGNJLQnw3DEsoIFtlzrDi9HENjGVot3Gu7fITLjveFxBPRMNVNaVjQbt0MIbLt3r47T_vjFQKT_rH32ckp6Q_Hqb7cGsJg2RMewdbtW_KnxHUZKg6r1dYgG7Txmg/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY1nVydoVa3vGNJLQnw3DEsoIFtlzrDi9HENjGVot3Gu7fITLjveFxBPRMNVNaVjQbt0MIbLt3r47T_vjFQKT_rH32ckp6Q_Hqb7cGsJg2RMewdbtW_KnxHUZKg6r1dYgG7Txmg/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A few runs up and down the slope in sub-zero temparatures with me buzzing around all three of them to take video footage on my Action Cam strapped to my head was enough to piss off everyone into breaking for an early lunch around 1130. So we headed back to the restaurant for hot drinks and our packed lunch which Susan had made up the night before and tried to thaw out.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGHyaRefv1ovcVP63RR___K0jrluZ3-XkpES-PaR8UUIsd7Ly2Mq0lVK6iVyhiqaNm1BU_NQ4Rf_07ELOAhd7tFUwGAk0NFaUGnrxgU6xGRTDEm_FQvCyEOHHvwhNqGxomSW7Zg/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGHyaRefv1ovcVP63RR___K0jrluZ3-XkpES-PaR8UUIsd7Ly2Mq0lVK6iVyhiqaNm1BU_NQ4Rf_07ELOAhd7tFUwGAk0NFaUGnrxgU6xGRTDEm_FQvCyEOHHvwhNqGxomSW7Zg/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGC_txGpfbNOgZv5-yH00XijSQQ0WXzp1IDtfg_ZO4FdWVTMT2TBKkhKcxmKtFjnmmyfnH7cM-Xx7tmTw1_hbOrJRjS430x166NGtw64AGJWlRm_5juwLWpryQnTp6bD7ZDw1Zw/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGC_txGpfbNOgZv5-yH00XijSQQ0WXzp1IDtfg_ZO4FdWVTMT2TBKkhKcxmKtFjnmmyfnH7cM-Xx7tmTw1_hbOrJRjS430x166NGtw64AGJWlRm_5juwLWpryQnTp6bD7ZDw1Zw/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsflv_RyC-tdL5ap5OLlWz5M54vuh3akCjM8Ge3R69yAq3Twdcb9eWjsfTKy1KC9LuEKIWdbE6I9RqgSyjCBUmPvOR9TPSDH9rOzx-ZDr0mys74EH6MhLkuW8SqprnRPybabxmtg/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsflv_RyC-tdL5ap5OLlWz5M54vuh3akCjM8Ge3R69yAq3Twdcb9eWjsfTKy1KC9LuEKIWdbE6I9RqgSyjCBUmPvOR9TPSDH9rOzx-ZDr0mys74EH6MhLkuW8SqprnRPybabxmtg/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1VhDlRh6mQ3ZavBbCXaJzfJVao748Egui6SNjzUHl_lNg1OxJz6smHTRQqYwuC44vi5CoSV4ck3o9fg8nmmVUmWOs-b9SGtkjj6Y4H14I7UtfejtIN0E_dQbD6TFlzGvTKk6rA/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1VhDlRh6mQ3ZavBbCXaJzfJVao748Egui6SNjzUHl_lNg1OxJz6smHTRQqYwuC44vi5CoSV4ck3o9fg8nmmVUmWOs-b9SGtkjj6Y4H14I7UtfejtIN0E_dQbD6TFlzGvTKk6rA/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We headed back up the chairlift and completed several more runs before Susan and Craig had the good sense to call it quits. I persuaded Ryan that we should go for another couple of runs so that he could get more practice in and not at all because I wanted to go down the slope as fast as posssible!<br /><br />Susan asked us to be back at the restaurant for 330 so that we could get the gondola back down to the coach in plenty of time for it's 430 departure. So off we went up the ski lift and we spotted a snowboarder digging a ramp into the fourth and fifth pillar of the chair lift which was even more of an incentive for me to go fast and jump it.<br /><br />The weather had really turned now with a gale force wind driving the snow which had begun to fall heavily, horizontally into our faces. I suggested that we went down the other blue run and let Ryan lead the way so that I could film him. Visibility was down to about 20 feet and so when Ryan asked which way to go and I mentally tossed a coin we soon found ourselves descending an off-piste run.<br /><br />Not exactly how I wanted to break him in!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBtcyrXMrO4ig61NmCZFoLQXAn1mfbN1v_R9U6Y_ABb9ptXKHmDsyU_QRCJ3aQteGCrWVPsmBwITWcu9qu1bZ9fnCMAF9RM-z301zNJwisNHhnUnK0Dk52o2tFOI2EBZHFLoalg/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBtcyrXMrO4ig61NmCZFoLQXAn1mfbN1v_R9U6Y_ABb9ptXKHmDsyU_QRCJ3aQteGCrWVPsmBwITWcu9qu1bZ9fnCMAF9RM-z301zNJwisNHhnUnK0Dk52o2tFOI2EBZHFLoalg/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We managed to survive and returned to the restaurant at 335 and discovered that Susan and Craig had already left and were on the way down in the gondola. Susan had already text me to tell me this and to ask me to pick up the rucksack that she had forgotten to lift, and I had assumed that she had taken. However, poor network coverage ensured that I would not get these texts until several hours later and only discovered it when we reached the coach where Susan was sitting with Craig as she asked "do you have the bag?".</div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">Chaos ensued as I hared it back up the gondola at 4.00 to retrieve the missing bag and it was only as I was at the half way stage that I remembered that the gondola's last run was 4.15. Thoughts of them switching off the gondola and me swinging in the gale force wind suspended above the ground overnight ran through my head, but I needent have worried as there were plenty of people still waiting to descend as I arrived at the top, again.</div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">With the bag safely retrieved, I descended again and in a shock, horror revelation to people who know me well, I was the last to arrive. The coach set off immediately for the two and a half hour journey back to Bellahouston Park.</div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">By the time we had returned our hire equipment and were ready to head home it was 8.oo and since I was working the next day, Susan dropped me off at the flat before taking Ryan home and then heading home herself.</div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">I used the next several hours 'constructively' editing and posting this video for you lovely people to view.</div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">Hope you enjoy it as much as we did...<br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x4qnkD8YcBw&rel=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed> </div>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-33161307469988650242008-01-02T16:49:00.000+00:002008-01-29T20:17:03.999+00:00Hogmany 2007This year ended with me in a much better place than I was at this time last year. It has been a bit of a rolercoaster and memorable for a lot of the wrong reasons.<br /><br />Looking back, I have managed to get rid of all the idiots and downright nasty bits of work who I was romantically linked to recently and with hindsight I can see all the mistakes I made were in many ways my own fault for being too accepting of certain people at face value. Even when I began to realise their true intentions and what kind of people they were I still buried my head in the sand and put up with an unbelievable amount of crap that the person that I am now would not even consider tolerating.<br /><br />If 2006 was my "Annus horriblis" then 2007 was the year that I finally grew up and realised who I am, warts and all and discovered that I am not too bad a person who deserves a bit of happiness and has found it.<br /><br />Anyway, I seem to remember that I promised a somewhat more cheery story, in my last blog so let me tell you about this years Hogmany...<br /><br />My December rota was pretty good with me having seven days off in the middle of the month, in for three shifts then off for another week. Fantastic!<br /><br />Christmas was wonderful. I loved spending it with Susan and the family. Christmas day was a long one of eating, drinking and opening presents. We ate the food over the course of the day and had present opening sessions at different times, rather than all at once with Susan's Brother-in-law offering to take me down to the golf course for a couple of beers in the afternoon which broke the day up nicely before we returned to the madness and ate some more and opened the rest of the presents.<br /><br />I had put a lot of thought into Susan's presents, as she had done with mine with the result that we were both chuffed to bits with each others gifts.<br /><br />We had a few more days together before I returned to work on the 29th for four day shifts in a row, which unfortunately included Hogmany and New Years Day. You can't have your cake and eat it I suppose.<br /><br />After work on Hogmany, Susan picked me up from work with the boys in the car already kilted up and ready to party. It was back to the house for a shower and to get changed into my kilt before we headed to Cardross Village Hall for the Celidh.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMq9GKWkbcG1p8Cx9Zm5f9Mo34OWHnG8OznP80LpFOnEIo6deFMf_Whiwnemjr57S7wsGoMnGssf3LGmxbk927gGInUtgGSnp6-qlUlrBSD4phYChu8tVczFHrIzNg8p5ngml9g/s1600-h/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMq9GKWkbcG1p8Cx9Zm5f9Mo34OWHnG8OznP80LpFOnEIo6deFMf_Whiwnemjr57S7wsGoMnGssf3LGmxbk927gGInUtgGSnp6-qlUlrBSD4phYChu8tVczFHrIzNg8p5ngml9g/s400/Skiing+and+Snowboarding+at+Nevis+Range+-+20th+January+2008+001.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Jacq, Rod, Georgia and Sara were already there along with the rest of Jacq's family, many of whom I was meeting for the first time which was a bit disconcerting and I felt as though I was getting sussed out. Quite rightly too.<br /><br />A couple of beers and some 'get to know you chat' later and I felt a lot more comfortable which was just as well as Jacq's 8 year-old niece decided that it was time I was up dancing. I was pulled onto the floor for the Dashing White Seargent with me being told by an increasingly frustrated child that I "was doing it wrong". I should really have warned her before hand that I simply cannot dance.<br /><br />Jacq's lovely Mum Ada, took me under her wing and showed me how to do a few moves and I seemed to muddle through. Just about.<br /><br />It really was a great family night with the dancing broken up with games for the kids and a great buffet too and before long it was almost midnight. Jake was flagging so we decided that we would stay for half an hour after the bells before heading home.<br /><br />2008 arrived in style with a bag piper marching round the hall to cheers and the raising of glasses. I got a bit emotional missing my friends who I wasn't with for the bells for the first time in years.<br /><br />We headed home and with the kids asleep in the back of the car, Susan offered to take me back to the flat rather than get a taxi as I had planned to do and by 1.20 I was first-footing myself! I waited to hear from Susan that she had gotten home safely before crawling into bed for four hours sleep before my 12 hour shift in the morning.<br /><br />I am looking forward to this year with a lot of things planned and a lot to do this year including, buying a house with Susan down Dumbarton way, getting back into my keep fit after a too long Winter hibernation, some ski trips up North, THE ski holiday to the French Alps in March :), this years JBO which I think is to Bratislava, Summer holiday in the sun and a holiday to New York in the Autumn.<br /><br />Cannae wait...<br /><br />Happy New Year!!!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-21412450356472917362007-12-14T15:25:00.000+00:002007-12-15T07:37:33.031+00:00Christmas Come Early...This is one of my stranger and personal, blog entries.<br /><br />Santa delivered an early Christmas present to me in the post this week. After being married for nearly 10 years, I finally got divorced from my former wife Evelyn.<br /><br />I am sure that some of you reading this will probably have forgotton that I was still married and maybe some of you did not even know at all!<br /><br />I was with Evelyn for a few years, but only with her as a married couple for a record breaking 8 months! However, let's not troll through the story again as it's old news.<br /><br />The one thing about the whole experience is that it most certainly started me on a downward spiral of bad choices and mistakes in my personal life and made me the person that I am today. The most positive things to come out of the ten year aftermath are having Ryan and Susan in my life.<br /><br />A special mention has to go to Jim Arthur (who supplied the picture below) and Brian Ward who were there for me and with me through some tough, tough times and I thank them for that.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTVynzzGPHB5tsS8SkwvWy44MzkEchRlW6n9Oc58f_F_6PjYaz1sPtNWtVvtisF5ZjpAhxG5OD2NQkRTMQlXzV0DtNxH-nosJLwfaC4-c52O-1Uhr2R6k_0tj5cYJrDId6wbOGA/s1600-h/Evelyn%231.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTVynzzGPHB5tsS8SkwvWy44MzkEchRlW6n9Oc58f_F_6PjYaz1sPtNWtVvtisF5ZjpAhxG5OD2NQkRTMQlXzV0DtNxH-nosJLwfaC4-c52O-1Uhr2R6k_0tj5cYJrDId6wbOGA/s400/Evelyn%231.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />As for Evelyn? I wish her luck in her personal life. She has just become a Mum for a third time and I am sure that she will excell at Motherhood. It's in her nature.<br /><br />As for me? I am glad that it is all finally over and I can draw a line in the sand.<br /><br />So here it is. Only took ten years, thousands of pounds and a bit of heartache...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHWSkEDoE21Y8TybU-7muXyK7Eiz6-jy_ogpE_MuDObLi-jSv30WeBODaSntFtXGgSDr39IlM0snjsz-IqeVmIvyBAtHxr-WyifmiZrdIsz7VQuQZIsO5tb_TunjFxiaHgGCg3g/s1600-h/Evelyn%232.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHWSkEDoE21Y8TybU-7muXyK7Eiz6-jy_ogpE_MuDObLi-jSv30WeBODaSntFtXGgSDr39IlM0snjsz-IqeVmIvyBAtHxr-WyifmiZrdIsz7VQuQZIsO5tb_TunjFxiaHgGCg3g/s400/Evelyn%232.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Normal service will be resumed in the next blog entry, when I will return to talking pish and telling "funny" stories.<br /><br />See you then!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-53907580354963493122007-11-10T23:58:00.001+00:002008-04-07T23:22:27.114+01:00Bill Bailey In Concert - 10th November 2007When I was buying tickets for us to go and George Michael in concert, I persuaded Susan we should go and see Bill Bailey in concert. Unfortunately, the Glasgow gig was sold out and so we decided to travel to the Newcastle gig and make a weekend of it.<br /><br />Susan had never heard of him, but I assured her that he was really funny and that she would hopefully enjoy the show. I had seen his <em>Part Troll</em> show on DVD and his appearances on <em>Buzzcocks </em>and <em>QI</em> always make me laugh outloud. So fingers crossed!<br /><br />We set off on Saturday morning for the three hour drive and arrived in Newcastle where my navigational skills managed to get us lost several times, testing even Susan's patience to the limit before we finally made it to the hotel.<br /><br />We were staying at the Tulip Inn and very nice it was too. We checked in and after we had asked the receptionist how far it was to the Newcastle Radio Arena, where the gig was tonight, I was surprised to hear her say that there were quite a few people staying there who were going to see him too. A good sign, I thought.<br /><br />We went to the room and got ready as quickly as we could before heading into the town with a very nice taxi driver who helpfully gave us tips on the best places to go for dinner. We ended up in Chinatown which was absolutely hoaching with football fans who had just been to see the Newcastle derby and were in boisterous mood!<br /><br />We stayed away from really busy areas that had places like <em>TGI</em>'s and similar pubs and after a bit of sussing out ended up in a restaurant called <em>Landmark </em>which was really quiet but they were obviously expecting to be busy as the waiter hummed and hawed before finding a table. We ordered a nice bottle of Chianti and chef's buffet selection follwed by delicious aromatic crispy duck. Fantastic!<br /><br />Time was getting on and it was getting near showtime so we payed the bill and headed out into the cold, night air. As we walked down the street we realised that we hadn't been charged for the wine. I suppose that there would have been time to go back and pay for it, however that was never going to happen! And off we went, £27 better off than we should have been.<br /><br />We were at the venue early enough to have a drink before taking our seats which were just to the right of the stage with a cracking view. The place was packed and there was easily 10,000 in the crowd.<br /><br />Bill took to the stage at 8.00, strolling on to Justin Timberlake's <em>Sexyback. </em>It would have been nice to hear the opening section of the show, however a problem with the soundsystem meant that we couldn't make out a word he was saying and as the rest of the crowd laughed away, our side of the Arena were left getting more and more frustrated.<br /><br />I was just about to make my way to the front to complain to someone when Bill's voice boomed through the speakers to a huge cheer from all of us. Bill went through his routine switching from stand-up to singing and playing a variety of musical instruments as he went.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRIpHlPR_q1KhwAI0_rIuLt81iOqVQJwhfhyphenhyphenXH5SX98DMBjrn_3bOx6yErqgrd4ye3AQjEqNXv1c0U7ld7bTV0dKWmUC3alg_uIwXKH1Y2yOdeNceWn4FWr4vmJPzbBrJBfuhew/s1600-h/Bill+Bailley+In+Concert+-+10th+November+2007+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRIpHlPR_q1KhwAI0_rIuLt81iOqVQJwhfhyphenhyphenXH5SX98DMBjrn_3bOx6yErqgrd4ye3AQjEqNXv1c0U7ld7bTV0dKWmUC3alg_uIwXKH1Y2yOdeNceWn4FWr4vmJPzbBrJBfuhew/s400/Bill+Bailley+In+Concert+-+10th+November+2007+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK65VBU6EcqRFd8SW3eqXFahCOQOYaG-xEoHS85MNpsAuZ7-SezMJQGFEHhs19ZIco2_EdbXoiQ3rKJm6jC83ZmGxLb1xoGLmD_qz7zjRCuhsxxd5QvRBlNyeHRhPA5u8EOo3eTA/s1600-h/Bill+Bailley+In+Concert+-+10th+November+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK65VBU6EcqRFd8SW3eqXFahCOQOYaG-xEoHS85MNpsAuZ7-SezMJQGFEHhs19ZIco2_EdbXoiQ3rKJm6jC83ZmGxLb1xoGLmD_qz7zjRCuhsxxd5QvRBlNyeHRhPA5u8EOo3eTA/s400/Bill+Bailley+In+Concert+-+10th+November+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />If I'm honest, I would have to say that the show wasn't <em>that</em> funny and the look on Susan's face told me that she thought he wasn't very funny at all and to my amazement she actually fell asleep a couple of times! So during the interval I went to the bar and got us some more alcohol to make up for it. <p></p><p>After the show, we headed into the town for a drink but decided after a couple to return to the hotel where it was a bit more civilised and after a wee nightcap we headed up to bed.</p><p>The next morning we were up fairly early and after breakfast we decided to head to the Metro Centre to do some Christmas shopping. Susan dislikes shopping as much as I do however after treating ourselves to some new clothes it didn't seem so bad!</p><p>We returned to the hotel to pick up our bag and then headed for home. All in all a pretty good weekend, well except from Susan thinking that the show was a bit pants. </p>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-17992705638678361012007-10-21T22:41:00.000+01:002007-11-09T13:39:38.042+00:00Lake DistrictCraig, being on holiday from school coincided with Susan and I celebrating seeing each other for one year, so we had booked a trip away for the weekend to stay in Cumbria, with Jake in tow.<br /><br />We headed off on Friday morning with the kids in the back of the car happily watching DVD's while we chatted and listened to music. Three hours later we were arriving at our destination, Stanwix Park in Silloth which is just over the Scottish border, past Carslile.<br /><br />We got ourselves organised as quickly as we could and then we headed to the swimming pool for an hour before getting some dinner. A night of ten pin bowling and a couple of games of pool followed before we finally headed back and put two very tired boys to bed.<br /><br />Susan and I shared a bottle of wine whilst listening to music before discovering that it was 2 am and we had crashed out on the couch. We stumbled into bed hoping that the boys would sleep late...<br /><br />We woke at 7.30 with the two boys still snoring but decided to get up sharp and make the most of the day. After breakfast we headed out to explore. Susan had bought two buckets and spades for the kids and so we found a nice sandy beach for the kids to run around.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnIjMizSD6JOK7cFtnVOP2FvTC_k7kbYsq5lmyWvRO4RTTWJOaOCeL7WsHfkQn0bOpWBtIWqPaQa4yLjO9kAxt5MYBs_3-_X8TaSrJDHaPjDffagsWw8xjop8H1L_ZpcYOyjqbQ/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnIjMizSD6JOK7cFtnVOP2FvTC_k7kbYsq5lmyWvRO4RTTWJOaOCeL7WsHfkQn0bOpWBtIWqPaQa4yLjO9kAxt5MYBs_3-_X8TaSrJDHaPjDffagsWw8xjop8H1L_ZpcYOyjqbQ/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+026.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_M5cESR07_J8ri-cj8HZE-t-yPg2D2W8mIdqugTLgSSJZf0233Lde27zmZoc8wn123KkyoCOvlUvCj3P8o0BfeSD3TqZvtfMgxn6WkoUjwzPIv77RqsDvNUUpJg9_ixLvDlbXPg/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+027.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_M5cESR07_J8ri-cj8HZE-t-yPg2D2W8mIdqugTLgSSJZf0233Lde27zmZoc8wn123KkyoCOvlUvCj3P8o0BfeSD3TqZvtfMgxn6WkoUjwzPIv77RqsDvNUUpJg9_ixLvDlbXPg/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+027.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Craig needed a bit of coaxing to go on to the sand as he was worried that the tide would come in quickly and wash us away but eventually we made it down and I built a small housing estate with the Spiderman bucket complete with village pond, recreation centre and drop in hostel for homeless people!<br /><br />When the tide had gone out it had left a large pool that had some fishes in it and hilarity ensued as we ran around it trying to spot the fishes that kept swimming to the other side every time that we got near them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybvfVmojLBKvRDhAZuu60OPil0mHCUVJn2NGbydpmYdwzsim5YEA8glkmysXBbyH8iGQ6ngNoR2hVR6rUL-nVwznAcmiEPMqfp3f-FWyMixFDSGIm4XbJG9VrRJ7aec-l0Rr6tg/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybvfVmojLBKvRDhAZuu60OPil0mHCUVJn2NGbydpmYdwzsim5YEA8glkmysXBbyH8iGQ6ngNoR2hVR6rUL-nVwznAcmiEPMqfp3f-FWyMixFDSGIm4XbJG9VrRJ7aec-l0Rr6tg/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCBOZ0_-tGRrnrWT9Z2V9fhAsp9-cEPrl2qIouQh9X2Ya1RoYPXhd6rfwZBuJpCRQdOoe7Dicka_Q47HLdHzjZDb8bzS5L0Ge8Me_CecqGJ8f_Ho6BGH9UXf1B0cH09P2cSah2g/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCBOZ0_-tGRrnrWT9Z2V9fhAsp9-cEPrl2qIouQh9X2Ya1RoYPXhd6rfwZBuJpCRQdOoe7Dicka_Q47HLdHzjZDb8bzS5L0Ge8Me_CecqGJ8f_Ho6BGH9UXf1B0cH09P2cSah2g/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After having an ice cream we set off again and decided to head down towards Lake Windermere. The scenery was gorgeous and the closer we got to Windermere we saw lots of very climbable hills with loads of folk paragliding from the top of one of the peaks. Susan and I vowed to come back for a spot of hillwalking/climbing and maybe a shot of the paradlider!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5mvIQxC4veIx9slRGCdLOqx8-WmzNoTFCjZDoZBTRyTc6SSRcvoLWF6MqNwVD0v9XAzP4hgVIjeanay0WpPp6x_o46JR4tx00bDAXK2i-O0sOLnGns2UGEHwydKUhv3pQ_W3Og/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5mvIQxC4veIx9slRGCdLOqx8-WmzNoTFCjZDoZBTRyTc6SSRcvoLWF6MqNwVD0v9XAzP4hgVIjeanay0WpPp6x_o46JR4tx00bDAXK2i-O0sOLnGns2UGEHwydKUhv3pQ_W3Og/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We finally ended up in the beautiful village of Ambleside and after a look around, decided to take the kids to Beatrix Potter World which, by the time we got there was just closing however dissapointment was averted by a quick trip to the toy shop instead!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEAJhnBXfoECo__RvhwXVVq_s6bHzLdvpZ2lKFYnM2V3diUFXpGDmXj3rw7Wo1jKntLX1Ag46IMVajpKbi3TIwTm_f4he5THiVnMaY_V3tWvakXgedRP8Nu6xKvZgDrodzYIJdA/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEAJhnBXfoECo__RvhwXVVq_s6bHzLdvpZ2lKFYnM2V3diUFXpGDmXj3rw7Wo1jKntLX1Ag46IMVajpKbi3TIwTm_f4he5THiVnMaY_V3tWvakXgedRP8Nu6xKvZgDrodzYIJdA/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInOQu0As4Kl4YAqqTxX2_hqY1tvZgeFD7ed3WUkxXurhbYjwR1zTnw7-6I-EKomN70TyQvF-ZbND4XRuqNf0KProeTP7DyIFh9UjBnlwl9MPDkKYuUx5KZ_Q8NquB5vZPwwr2CQ/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInOQu0As4Kl4YAqqTxX2_hqY1tvZgeFD7ed3WUkxXurhbYjwR1zTnw7-6I-EKomN70TyQvF-ZbND4XRuqNf0KProeTP7DyIFh9UjBnlwl9MPDkKYuUx5KZ_Q8NquB5vZPwwr2CQ/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Since we were beside a lake a decided to hire a boat to take out for a while but unfortunately when I returned I discovered that my docking skills need some improvement as you can see below!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1fhPnhTBLwOjN5yPySszZYQNKeIOu9_UobcpX7DvF_TBcVMwPDXMfVZsvEzSlzFY2rtVHhyphenhyphentB7U600r-bB-RQS9Uie9CKvyVv1EBW65Gs3uwsjLol0qLbNAkoy-i6hlZv9GmNA/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1fhPnhTBLwOjN5yPySszZYQNKeIOu9_UobcpX7DvF_TBcVMwPDXMfVZsvEzSlzFY2rtVHhyphenhyphentB7U600r-bB-RQS9Uie9CKvyVv1EBW65Gs3uwsjLol0qLbNAkoy-i6hlZv9GmNA/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I of course made that last part up and Im sure that if the owner of the boat ever reads this he will have a chuckle to himself as he remembers how his poorly secured, brand new boat fell off the trailer as he towed it through Ambleside High Street on a Saturday afternoon.<br /><br />Or maybe he wont!<br /><br />We went for a chippy and drove along for a couple of miles to find a nice spot where we could eat while we watched the sun set. As you can see from the pictures below, the view was outstanding.<br /><br />Back at the resort, another game of ten pin bowling and pool followed and the boys kept each other entertained giving Susan and I the chance to relax with a drink while we watched England getting beaten by South Africa in rugby World Cup Final.<br />We headed back, knackered and were soon all in bed.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1QzRNnCdUNOZXh3nOa23xDRCFv7VCA8DUSDoUGtWP_1D2_VCQgMQT-sIy435a55IjrFgaH6Axsae_tRLne4usZi7dMxhlvFFZGUeCmIkY4dGxJL7uPApieqZV4KUYZ2q1v7_pA/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1QzRNnCdUNOZXh3nOa23xDRCFv7VCA8DUSDoUGtWP_1D2_VCQgMQT-sIy435a55IjrFgaH6Axsae_tRLne4usZi7dMxhlvFFZGUeCmIkY4dGxJL7uPApieqZV4KUYZ2q1v7_pA/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqaJfEMAtpurw5Rb_DF-1G3qqskUkTDqL8HNDIkC9M_HdhYE0bD8WWyLiJ4f0dwG-arwSzWcCIA_nhGMSfHiSoQvkdeZq8-MVTsaJDkDu65CBW8zATpIvUREG_2olEv9tObrG3Fw/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqaJfEMAtpurw5Rb_DF-1G3qqskUkTDqL8HNDIkC9M_HdhYE0bD8WWyLiJ4f0dwG-arwSzWcCIA_nhGMSfHiSoQvkdeZq8-MVTsaJDkDu65CBW8zATpIvUREG_2olEv9tObrG3Fw/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAH05M2XuJbZb2S8rljmg_ci1IeVKWrO4daYdSwzi16RYOBBRa7rRpQu-jo4gVE-XeUd_LMOG_6t0ylt0ZLOi5T4OYIp2RcK36OYXBDUEtF3exVSQahwCtFIh9M4Ea7XJaI6RrA/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAH05M2XuJbZb2S8rljmg_ci1IeVKWrO4daYdSwzi16RYOBBRa7rRpQu-jo4gVE-XeUd_LMOG_6t0ylt0ZLOi5T4OYIp2RcK36OYXBDUEtF3exVSQahwCtFIh9M4Ea7XJaI6RrA/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We were booked in until Monday, but unfortunately Craig was back at school by then, so today would be our last day. We headed to the pool again and this time Craig found himself a pal to play with and when Susan took Jake out to get ready, I had a nice wee 15 minutes to myself in the hot tub, which was cool.<br /><br />After packing up and checking out we drove North, taking our time to enjoy it as it was another beautiful sunny day and we were in no hurry to get back home.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG5qYrhDKbJKen0GWO4JicN60CtsPdVge7tE-9ONggLcRSj8yvQ8vrwJvA-80_elF-dNdNamK6F67mMm0eHUPGhzg6-S0TtsIaaY1X5XD4SOXlR_gWJe7yRYsS9Rh2hjK1AMeiw/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG5qYrhDKbJKen0GWO4JicN60CtsPdVge7tE-9ONggLcRSj8yvQ8vrwJvA-80_elF-dNdNamK6F67mMm0eHUPGhzg6-S0TtsIaaY1X5XD4SOXlR_gWJe7yRYsS9Rh2hjK1AMeiw/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We had a short stop off at Hadrian's Wall which was good to see after hearing all about it in dull school lessons 25 years ago.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmHngTtVugQu50tB2rvIwImFQdPXsuL8BL_QOQqw0tjq1AWIgbG338Xq1jwFByqAGGXWTUZdQ3zrAgMI9f9WJQABVJpNT-aXNxGvWZna-sfrc4gejetYCY1gz8J9cF2WXIUZO8w/s1600-h/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrmHngTtVugQu50tB2rvIwImFQdPXsuL8BL_QOQqw0tjq1AWIgbG338Xq1jwFByqAGGXWTUZdQ3zrAgMI9f9WJQABVJpNT-aXNxGvWZna-sfrc4gejetYCY1gz8J9cF2WXIUZO8w/s400/Weekend+in+the+Lake+District-19th+to+21st+October+2007+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A couple of hours later we were back in Dumbarton and stopped off for dinner before all four tired bunnies went home and had an early night!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-51786058463814092422007-10-06T23:35:00.000+01:002007-11-07T20:18:44.717+00:00Climbing Ben LomondFriday was a beautiful, sunny, autumnal day and so we decided to climb Ben Lomond the next day. Unfortunately the next day was cloudy, damp and miserable. Nevertheless we set off early in the hope that the weather might clear as the day went on. It never did!<br /><br />The carpark at the base of the Ben was pretty busy indicating that there were plenty of other eejits willing to ascend 3,600 feet so that they could have a fantastic view of.....clouds.<br /><br />I was really disappointed to see that the Forestry Commission had been hard at work decimating the trees that used to shroud the path on the way up to the 'proper' start of the walk, indicated by a small sign bolted to a stone. I know that it's sustainable forest and all that jazz, but it looks shit now and I it will be decades before it gets back to the way it used to be. It's a real shame.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7X7gAqn4uxFgSDd9RVHcoy4MwHkaiC5j3Dc0eZNQQSWr9wUuGEKvbhVx4CpdZ_eE7B6vJcfp4_8pomWwvs64cpMx1OcPuRdGhczurYERn8xV94PUeYEE7SC4cvFzWKrsPAq48Hg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+#3+(1).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7X7gAqn4uxFgSDd9RVHcoy4MwHkaiC5j3Dc0eZNQQSWr9wUuGEKvbhVx4CpdZ_eE7B6vJcfp4_8pomWwvs64cpMx1OcPuRdGhczurYERn8xV94PUeYEE7SC4cvFzWKrsPAq48Hg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+%233+(1).jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />This was my fourth time up Ben Lomond, but to my amazement it was Susan's first. She just hadn't got round to bagging this munroe yet and I was happy to be with her on her first trip up there.<br /><br />The climb took us about three hours with the cloud cover increasing the further up we went until half an hour from the summit the visibility was down to about 20 feet which was a bit unnerving as I was aware of some of the sheer drops that we were strolling past.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6zNA0E23bPU58xKZRoS7_bXdmabSlO3PdgnoUgDa2U0kXzdEiDeGtbReCpeuqF8-bmh9RMh1M3xhqhNEZqmQ2gJUC_6gVbE9QFsgjtoCbQ60df_1mERkxdTrmlcVYGNafaHbXQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+#3+(3).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6zNA0E23bPU58xKZRoS7_bXdmabSlO3PdgnoUgDa2U0kXzdEiDeGtbReCpeuqF8-bmh9RMh1M3xhqhNEZqmQ2gJUC_6gVbE9QFsgjtoCbQ60df_1mERkxdTrmlcVYGNafaHbXQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+%233+(3).jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />At the summit it was absolutely freezing and so we only stayed there for 5 minutes with the rest of the poor sods who had been daft enough to climb up too, offering to take our picture. The look on Susan's face told me that she had had enough 'fun' on the summit and so we started to hot-foot it back down as quickly as we could without plunging to our deaths!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SurLzlfmTpVR1SLEKsO4NRUpQS9AZ-XpRK6NGJ7ofZu3LSziNRGuuNMW0QIiE-eB1T3JEPGkjc_7cDDWFZm7AmcjHFAS2hvZznLm0RfDDvP7WcQIHYMg4zLPQpjA14S9AntWew/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+#3+(5).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2SurLzlfmTpVR1SLEKsO4NRUpQS9AZ-XpRK6NGJ7ofZu3LSziNRGuuNMW0QIiE-eB1T3JEPGkjc_7cDDWFZm7AmcjHFAS2hvZznLm0RfDDvP7WcQIHYMg4zLPQpjA14S9AntWew/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+%233+(5).jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A couple of hours later we were back in the car and on our way to The Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha for lunch.<br /><br />Job done!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-89975511712592491192007-09-16T23:16:00.000+01:002007-11-07T20:22:59.665+00:00Visit to Tarbatness LighthouseMy Aunt Marian and Uncle Dick have a holiday home up North which they come over from Los Angeles to for a couple of months every year. They own the two cottages at the bottom of the lighthouse at Portmahomack on the North East coast of Scotland.<br /><br />They kindly invited me to visit them for a weekend in September this year and I gratefully accepted the invitation. To my shame, I have not visited them when they have been over, for years so some time spent with them was long overdue!<br /><br />The journey up to Inverness on the train was uneventful but it was great to sit back, listening to music while the beautiful scenery rolled past outside. A few hours later my train pulled into the station in Inverness and as I disembarked I spotted my Aunt and Uncle waving to me from along the platform.<br /><br />It was great to see them and as Uncle Dick drove us along we chatted for the hour long drive until we reached the little fishing village of Portmahomack where we stopped off at the wonderfully named Carnegie Hall for some lunch. Uncle Dick wasted no time making his feelings known because I am still not divorced and as he stated his case with vigour Aunt Marian gave him a look that only a wife can give and that conversation quickly came to an end. I had a chuckle to myself at the two of them.<br /><br />After lunch we made the short drive along and the familiar sight of the red and white stripes of the lighthouse came into view.The lighthouse sits on the peninsula with the Dornoch Firth on one side and the Moray Firth on the other. The lighthouse was engineered by Robert Stevenson and is the third highest in Scotland, standing at around 40 metres. It became operational in 1830 and was eventually automated in 1985. According to local folklore the land that the lighthouse was built on was once the meeting place of witches and previous to this it was the site of a Roman fort.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSikWRJw_C_wmoNmhHSO2-Ht1aMHnwoYxoXgQNLcDNpe1K19LrrprDcQhnurYJaenWa_DJDXZszu3jC2hZHEwb0_A2VMboP80ea2DGlCgEKDRVCrvwq2slvtjzsVBkoWq24rbFmA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(17).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSikWRJw_C_wmoNmhHSO2-Ht1aMHnwoYxoXgQNLcDNpe1K19LrrprDcQhnurYJaenWa_DJDXZszu3jC2hZHEwb0_A2VMboP80ea2DGlCgEKDRVCrvwq2slvtjzsVBkoWq24rbFmA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(17).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I settled into my cottage and phoned Susan before heading next door to their cottage where we drank wine and chatted for several hours. Later on I spent the best part of an hour relaxing in the hot tub with a nice glass of wine and a view out of the window down over the nature reserve to the tip of the peninsula.<br /><br />Before dinner, we headed out to the area that they have called the "sitooterie" where they 'sit oot' and watch the sunset. We enjoyed more wine and had a cigar as the sun disappeared behind the Sutherland Hills, with the midges trying their very best to spoil our fun.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB-U-my16_YyPvtqT6qzPvwQ1P0RQt_XVJ4c5icxp-eyIcRN_wsYPctKQur86oEMGuIWNc7aDAZXPDdgVytCmeOgONzLSxJAwEEUhH_v2oblARIoMZA2asj0FaMbFERCK5dAskg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(22).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB-U-my16_YyPvtqT6qzPvwQ1P0RQt_XVJ4c5icxp-eyIcRN_wsYPctKQur86oEMGuIWNc7aDAZXPDdgVytCmeOgONzLSxJAwEEUhH_v2oblARIoMZA2asj0FaMbFERCK5dAskg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(22).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKagCnOSqIvO8n3_g7V1hxW35E4m92C5hsB74W9m0IxSwz59GYbTbEncum5L0WRVU0E96BHftupz6Drl0JZXuEIMA52Pw74B7YZjld7n-V0QlWCiEGhsndS4Qgc8zApWTUozunew/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(23).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKagCnOSqIvO8n3_g7V1hxW35E4m92C5hsB74W9m0IxSwz59GYbTbEncum5L0WRVU0E96BHftupz6Drl0JZXuEIMA52Pw74B7YZjld7n-V0QlWCiEGhsndS4Qgc8zApWTUozunew/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(23).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The next day we went for a walk along the beach with Uncle Dick deciding that he had went far enough after a couple of miles but Aunt Marian and I carried on over the rocks of the beach and once we had found a nice spot we stopped for a chat in the warm sunshine.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT00-xd10jbY4SO6c767388Nb7EOIVexsVFUmLbLtnk3x_n4Nm_nEycuYbtk36566cV8VQVBgT-UaZIQ-05thzlWnTtYb5AidRvVY0Lb9kwTzsRLuhbBZOf_IF6dCei-WvhFVAOQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(7).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT00-xd10jbY4SO6c767388Nb7EOIVexsVFUmLbLtnk3x_n4Nm_nEycuYbtk36566cV8VQVBgT-UaZIQ-05thzlWnTtYb5AidRvVY0Lb9kwTzsRLuhbBZOf_IF6dCei-WvhFVAOQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(7).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbR0nP1vi3MKdn9Tf8Ses1KImCaHVE8ODuNgcO1tY6PJAM_FbsWLT9ifcpcbT9QwxjLWilxivyzQznEMQTgTM6HUzNKJUNWNFF1cNtJKmzPcC_jbBCz0w4tsYLQ1jGqqngtF9rQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(9).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbR0nP1vi3MKdn9Tf8Ses1KImCaHVE8ODuNgcO1tY6PJAM_FbsWLT9ifcpcbT9QwxjLWilxivyzQznEMQTgTM6HUzNKJUNWNFF1cNtJKmzPcC_jbBCz0w4tsYLQ1jGqqngtF9rQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(9).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKICVlzocxulL6VwD0gcN_AiiEYknjXGjoO9hNedc8YOt3HxxpW-MMps0MHuqncUJ_J1BNK390-jyS10Zu6CQj6VSdq32QzgdjoSzh4sAC6L5KIuV8SJsI7S9bLl98Pn4PuaF6Rw/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(10).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKICVlzocxulL6VwD0gcN_AiiEYknjXGjoO9hNedc8YOt3HxxpW-MMps0MHuqncUJ_J1BNK390-jyS10Zu6CQj6VSdq32QzgdjoSzh4sAC6L5KIuV8SJsI7S9bLl98Pn4PuaF6Rw/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(10).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After a while the silence was broken by the sound an engine coming closer and closer and the two of us looked expectantly to the sea for the boat that we thought was going to sail past at any moment. However, to our surprise a man on an off road motorbike roared into view as he bizarrelly was trying to motorcycle over the rocks on the beach. He paused briefly for a look around and definently had a "this isn't a very good idea" look on his face. I had to agree with him. Nevertheless he carried on and after 5 minutes we had lost sight of him and we decided to head back.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X3g_ijAioc7jxaDBXRWgGsh24KhXfjz6gKZZGyBnCJ1jwnT3rY4iEiUYA5DBhExw_qseIO2Pc3DP00VfJCzXO9EfVDfwxyfCTd3d55xMmrId8-34XFWBVn6unJ5AA2ACaJe-zQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(11).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X3g_ijAioc7jxaDBXRWgGsh24KhXfjz6gKZZGyBnCJ1jwnT3rY4iEiUYA5DBhExw_qseIO2Pc3DP00VfJCzXO9EfVDfwxyfCTd3d55xMmrId8-34XFWBVn6unJ5AA2ACaJe-zQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(11).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, chatting, eating nice food and drinking wine, but all too soon the weekend was over and it was time for me to return to civilisation. I forgot how much I enjoy spending time with my Aunt Marian and Uncle Dick and I will be back to see them next year, hopefully with Susan and the boys.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQoiQXe8UG_sjk8BMiJiPv4PSevBdiU5UFjngJ20f5Go0_NKneRkAia7wyENVPsqUstkQt_1-tMs5K-mc1-MnpxNh26PakyEvhOrWgW95O6ue9ieGJHxa_6J9H-_PjBZV21oRwQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(15).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQoiQXe8UG_sjk8BMiJiPv4PSevBdiU5UFjngJ20f5Go0_NKneRkAia7wyENVPsqUstkQt_1-tMs5K-mc1-MnpxNh26PakyEvhOrWgW95O6ue9ieGJHxa_6J9H-_PjBZV21oRwQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(15).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Thankyou both, very much. I love you loads.Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-51243843603912861482007-08-30T22:49:00.000+01:002007-11-07T17:46:48.509+00:00Dumbarton CastleSusan took the day off of work and since we were at a bit of loose end after lunch, we decided to tick off one of the "things we have still to do" boxes and take a trip to the top of Dumbarton Rock to see the castle.<br /><br />We have been meaning to do this for months, however we just had not got round to it until now.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvv3kO6NChxg6HJMF7mfR9lu0vS5a7MTb6iP3TgCXmsTjYaNfvu7-77Ca5Ng9Ro-Tz5mIY_F3-Uw1famX-Dc6aQz4TOuqW3L0QADPH_2RJYtrhdqpy_WVz7Wzv5tClcMOZ5Emcg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(38).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvv3kO6NChxg6HJMF7mfR9lu0vS5a7MTb6iP3TgCXmsTjYaNfvu7-77Ca5Ng9Ro-Tz5mIY_F3-Uw1famX-Dc6aQz4TOuqW3L0QADPH_2RJYtrhdqpy_WVz7Wzv5tClcMOZ5Emcg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(38).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Susan had been up here many, many times since her Grandfather used to be the custodian of the Castle a long time ago and her best friend, Jacq got married to Rod in the Castle a few years ago.<br /><br />However, it was my first time up the Rock.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfwKomIWE9_B1SrVOwGQxa8GgAug949gd3z2dDxlQYcHbRFaVa734dr7XKb62Jd86E78F65-pIspDePC0I9TJFYWWtmdYZo9AGKPE_RB068EDUrHLa26vfj7iZho6nHBLwABotg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(34).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfwKomIWE9_B1SrVOwGQxa8GgAug949gd3z2dDxlQYcHbRFaVa734dr7XKb62Jd86E78F65-pIspDePC0I9TJFYWWtmdYZo9AGKPE_RB068EDUrHLa26vfj7iZho6nHBLwABotg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(34).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A steep climb up a lot of stairs brought us out looking out over the River Clyde with views to the left up towards the Erskine Bridge and to the right down to Greenock and the Arrochar Alps in the distance.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkeO2LA9F3k9f80y3ovKJ-xlvCdhZNTSmsZ9venMppSBPLAZC7JWm7JqIyjZnbEwivrc36Ug_rEmWwQNol6EwHY41qX3oN760skzsWwD6d6tUHeHYB-MQRbK91JPNORXZ9IRNgA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(32).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkeO2LA9F3k9f80y3ovKJ-xlvCdhZNTSmsZ9venMppSBPLAZC7JWm7JqIyjZnbEwivrc36Ug_rEmWwQNol6EwHY41qX3oN760skzsWwD6d6tUHeHYB-MQRbK91JPNORXZ9IRNgA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(32).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5V5BUcKBPTzE2fqJYEQsDp2c5vOJ90kECwaNS_ZQfcxIDGq5t6t8CcRc2JaULIcXu1pSu43MS9YSVamhTo9Ge5_FfkH4GqbhQYvAgEsOcl7xJ4S5MG-fnTnlciBU-gwnz6S_Q/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(33).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5V5BUcKBPTzE2fqJYEQsDp2c5vOJ90kECwaNS_ZQfcxIDGq5t6t8CcRc2JaULIcXu1pSu43MS9YSVamhTo9Ge5_FfkH4GqbhQYvAgEsOcl7xJ4S5MG-fnTnlciBU-gwnz6S_Q/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(33).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A short walk along the path leads to a dead-end but gives you a look down the vertical cliff face known as <em>Rhapsody </em>which is generaly considered to be perhaps the world’s hardest traditional rock climb, with the grade of E11.<br /><br />After a quick look around we walked back along the path and ascended more stairs to the top of the Rock past the French Prison and up towards the Duke of Argyll's Battery, where Susan took the opportunity to straddle a canon!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrh1dJ2IdZRpu4WmTCzI6ETUgTw7P2HgoC0KwH4aCU5ubkJVnGPGUfs61aBio1rzetOA9eQCkBIy4OODS5zskZmWZczFXZvdV_vdsndSX9_Rbsw3hvTWk49sPKcPJifHlX42vCQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(39).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGrh1dJ2IdZRpu4WmTCzI6ETUgTw7P2HgoC0KwH4aCU5ubkJVnGPGUfs61aBio1rzetOA9eQCkBIy4OODS5zskZmWZczFXZvdV_vdsndSX9_Rbsw3hvTWk49sPKcPJifHlX42vCQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(39).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The view from the top is fantastic and it's a real shame that more people don't come for a visit. So do yourself a favour and check out the link below and come and see a little bit of history for yourself.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57SboAHuNJiS6ngaUgrXZKmMzlgMQ-W3K2eL3Aaxbm_9tdt81_MYLff6qSH1TfLtelwNkpUZru82thMbp4ONqIejnxADjUj6mZONRr7DyWwXg9ihuSZy5Qk-T5XaTHUC1ejndpg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(31).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57SboAHuNJiS6ngaUgrXZKmMzlgMQ-W3K2eL3Aaxbm_9tdt81_MYLff6qSH1TfLtelwNkpUZru82thMbp4ONqIejnxADjUj6mZONRr7DyWwXg9ihuSZy5Qk-T5XaTHUC1ejndpg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(31).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dumbarton/dumbartoncastle/">http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dumbarton/dumbartoncastle/</a>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-71504643051579778632007-08-27T23:49:00.000+01:002007-10-12T14:56:42.308+01:00GoodbyeThe day that I have been dreading for a long time finally arrived.<br /><br />Thomas and Kath were emigrating to Australia with a three month tour of South America on the way.<br /><br />I am truly delighted that my friends have finally achieved their goal of living and working in Oz, however with them gone it is going to leave an enormous hole in my personal life and the lives of everyone in the group.<br /><br />However, there was still time for one last night of fun and the unlikely venue for this was One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow where they were staying overnight before heading off the next morning.<br /><br />Susan and I headed up about 8.00 and were just about last to arrive as usual.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigp0qLMJZ3gGl0mLPCABzpq_wfSKsW4fvUiqyEK8WXKbZ9ewNr8sn4r0cyMY7OSR5wLiYhsJH07XPF0Q161O_v8enX1jve7V2uhbURTAfPDAMKGVgyeyXKHs6axMxLYInD8ybm-w/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+%23%231.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigp0qLMJZ3gGl0mLPCABzpq_wfSKsW4fvUiqyEK8WXKbZ9ewNr8sn4r0cyMY7OSR5wLiYhsJH07XPF0Q161O_v8enX1jve7V2uhbURTAfPDAMKGVgyeyXKHs6axMxLYInD8ybm-w/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+%23%231.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A heavily pregnant and excitable Ann waved from the window as we arrived and after saying our hello's, champagne was ordered from the bar and we raised a toast to our friends.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpvxOJVylt_bNz7zAySiQwqrrq6OQIpbbd4WNd2LcBo3ttkKG7htoi6K_gxeWZk0972MQ1hlq9uOz3QRx-hbn58tJOM5BYMSEzMXXGfwg3Rtt9CBIG0llxRzGP5C4wXwiMhTYGw/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpvxOJVylt_bNz7zAySiQwqrrq6OQIpbbd4WNd2LcBo3ttkKG7htoi6K_gxeWZk0972MQ1hlq9uOz3QRx-hbn58tJOM5BYMSEzMXXGfwg3Rtt9CBIG0llxRzGP5C4wXwiMhTYGw/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The patter soon flowed as did the drink and when we ordered pints of Kronenburg and the barman presented them to us in metal tankards, Thomas asked where his Bendy Bully was to a very unimpressed barman. I was pissing myself laughing as Susan just shook her head in a "why me?", kind of way.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrD6e0BM9bajOx22yz62LC_ABykcbq9dLNO2obc4I_LfwfbNZn9yFN5UaR_Fu9z5xutBC9JuR5hw_Ei-rToTMGykgvZfmtUzix41CzPHccOZBZw69V7xycaOtPAvogtxfEPdlBQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(1).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrD6e0BM9bajOx22yz62LC_ABykcbq9dLNO2obc4I_LfwfbNZn9yFN5UaR_Fu9z5xutBC9JuR5hw_Ei-rToTMGykgvZfmtUzix41CzPHccOZBZw69V7xycaOtPAvogtxfEPdlBQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(1).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxmK7Bd80QbXrfe5CuTOXncOAr_XLXVk_VkruWJkhEDB_onyiXp3o297LMQa6-tJcNhnNsE5IJLl6aRughkjjbKhau6OJDHdCyH6GIi_oSoWx3Gdxz8R1tXh8xmARjefqav5Rvg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(3).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxmK7Bd80QbXrfe5CuTOXncOAr_XLXVk_VkruWJkhEDB_onyiXp3o297LMQa6-tJcNhnNsE5IJLl6aRughkjjbKhau6OJDHdCyH6GIi_oSoWx3Gdxz8R1tXh8xmARjefqav5Rvg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(3).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />As a going away present and as part of Freebay, Thomas presented me with his camping knife/saw. A retractable 8 inch blade with razor sharp teeth.<br /><br />I was so chuffed that I forgot where I was for a minute and the look of horror on Susan's face told me that perhaps one of Glasgow's poshest establishments wasn't the right place to be waving a big knife about!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5MG-ZdcGnYtw8AfV3-X_dWA2KSg1G8Wlhvs09ECKMeOHR7TvqCATqwQ1VzEmivWuw1gzR45wIy2T7E2x3jUuQtqeswzpXS2KSXqN8cZpTrTt8GbR3soVHNuw-cgLo8cA-jdaEg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(4).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5MG-ZdcGnYtw8AfV3-X_dWA2KSg1G8Wlhvs09ECKMeOHR7TvqCATqwQ1VzEmivWuw1gzR45wIy2T7E2x3jUuQtqeswzpXS2KSXqN8cZpTrTt8GbR3soVHNuw-cgLo8cA-jdaEg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(4).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRziJ6XTMvpFlQpB5vxmLhBBAgp6G9ZChFfIh-IEcgXhCT-vN0QwfHuxXrE4CvwtGNXfKyj42ajbQV6oqgsX73yFg5ZWvhAwTaBp4SrdjwXDE0SpPkOxDq0WiP7RiXmIZE90fixA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(6).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRziJ6XTMvpFlQpB5vxmLhBBAgp6G9ZChFfIh-IEcgXhCT-vN0QwfHuxXrE4CvwtGNXfKyj42ajbQV6oqgsX73yFg5ZWvhAwTaBp4SrdjwXDE0SpPkOxDq0WiP7RiXmIZE90fixA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+1+(6).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We spent the night recounting old tales of fun and shennanigans and as it got late Susan suggested that maybe she would head off and leave me to kick the arse out of it with the guys, but I decided against it as I the night had been fab and that's how I wanted to remember it.<br /><br />I hugged and kissed my friends and lost it a wee bit as we left, if I'm honest. I blubbed like a little girl on the way back to Dumbarton with Susan giving me her shoulder to cry on, as usual.<br /><br />And that's it. They're gone and I'm happy and sad at the same time. I read they're travel blog every day and I can only imagine how good it is.<br /><br />Thomas and Kath, I love and miss you both very much.<br /><br />Your friend,<br /><br />Bob.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.getjealous.com/gingertommy">http://www.getjealous.com/gingertommy</a>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-33154593886273992712007-08-27T11:35:00.000+01:002007-10-12T13:43:48.773+01:00Summer Annual Leave 2007Much to my delight and to the dissaproving, shaking of heads of my friends I recently had three weeks annaual leave from work for the second time in a few months!<br /><br />On Saturday 4th August I kicked things off by going to see St. Mirren's opening game of the new season against Motherwell at Love Street with Jim, James, Thomas, Del, Hammey, Robert, Jim Muir, Tom and Estelle's Dad (who was over visiting Scotland for a few days).<br /><br />We met in the Wee Barrell pub however, the guys had been drinking for a couple of hours already and were already being a bit arsey (what else is new?).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAr54nl1wEeoQFpoV69lp-pG1-WHoWQHhAAM9ty9JLwavQTRfEz58NfUiw-bsAovakdcO-fU7qEbWmU1KZAISZT3vieIL2sa8_0D-AkTz5N0THViRQ9Hrl2SMMlsEl-A7yL6zVA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAr54nl1wEeoQFpoV69lp-pG1-WHoWQHhAAM9ty9JLwavQTRfEz58NfUiw-bsAovakdcO-fU7qEbWmU1KZAISZT3vieIL2sa8_0D-AkTz5N0THViRQ9Hrl2SMMlsEl-A7yL6zVA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After watching a rather drab game we all headed home to get ready for Thomas and Kath's leaving party that night. The venue was Gabriel's in Paisley where their friends and family had gathered to say goodbye and have a drink and a laugh and to wish them well.<br /><br />There was beer, a buffet and a karaoke so there was something for everyone. The usual suspects went up to sing with Snelling singing Chocolate Salty Balls and Del's crowd pleaser was Bohemian Rhapsody. I even had a shot at my usual numbers and I couldn't have been that bad since the Karaoke host asked me if I would be interested in joining the company and hosting karaoke parties. I politely responded "no thankyou" rather than being honest and telling him that I would rather eat my own pubic hair!<br /><br />Highlight of the night was when I sneakily put Robert Stevenson's name up to sing Mr Mister's Broken Wings which he had famously murdered in a pub one night several years ago when we were camping/walking along the Fife Coastal Path. As the DJ shouted out his name, he muttered that he hadn't put his name up and Jim Arthur sussed out what I had volunteered him to sing instantly. Fair play to him, he gave it his all and got the biggest round of applause of the night!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigh4_WSeViVvdfMIDGKaRSQUso2I1NE24HG0Mc9zJ5iZTvx2nkrstERQ2FAoS8jcwkczPPDRcfcaqjAahUtLz2qE2iY8UMADSbeamn_Wth-1oNwNUTswzd1Tt8C382MH8-krfhow/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigh4_WSeViVvdfMIDGKaRSQUso2I1NE24HG0Mc9zJ5iZTvx2nkrstERQ2FAoS8jcwkczPPDRcfcaqjAahUtLz2qE2iY8UMADSbeamn_Wth-1oNwNUTswzd1Tt8C382MH8-krfhow/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeuHjQL-S5VwGG3uoLbO4XZmdxhIZ950az4km85ZuUaKkScbnq2XJKNbYoFpI1MzWq37Dn6cKff5nQ0HwcccDq7zhMxtEVtIwWIHE71ktvzISmZjueBxy0VoAxIbUfJpfPzXhCg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeuHjQL-S5VwGG3uoLbO4XZmdxhIZ950az4km85ZuUaKkScbnq2XJKNbYoFpI1MzWq37Dn6cKff5nQ0HwcccDq7zhMxtEVtIwWIHE71ktvzISmZjueBxy0VoAxIbUfJpfPzXhCg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After the buffet, the DJ paused proceedings for Susan McKinnon to make a short announcement wishing them well and presenting them with a scrapbook that we had all contributed to by writing a short story or memory about them and also our favourite photograph of them. It was an inspired idea and they looked emotional reading it. Laughing and smiling as they read it with Snelling's mock front page of the Evening Times with the headline about them emigrating to Oz, a smaller story about millions of pounds mysteriously disappearing from RBS (Thomas' former employer) and a small picture of the Portrush Pig with a Pineapple in his gob with the headline, "Handsome Man Eats Pineapple", stealing the show!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg8tImK-dUThtpY9fkU5fIt7hxXeI3cwPL-7HsX-DlyHNi-MY8RWqlMNWcKbLhIWFmD3xSvc0hEyA6I2fyPS0vA6rTKKxtvd5mDEbgD9676h1hGjKDGAyS1f1mKdDGWPPKyGsoA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg8tImK-dUThtpY9fkU5fIt7hxXeI3cwPL-7HsX-DlyHNi-MY8RWqlMNWcKbLhIWFmD3xSvc0hEyA6I2fyPS0vA6rTKKxtvd5mDEbgD9676h1hGjKDGAyS1f1mKdDGWPPKyGsoA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After the event at Gabriels, Susan ran Del and Estelle back to where they were staying for the weekend and I found myself hosting an impromtu party at my flat. At 3.00 I decided to be a party pooper and end the night by calling taxis for everyone. I had an early start the next day and I knew it would take a while for taxis to arrive, but by 4.00 they were gone and I was tucked up in bed.<br /><br />On Sunday Susan woke me from my slumber to make sure I would be ready in time for today's events. Rod and Jacq had kindly asked us along for a champagne cruise on Loch Lomond followed by lunch in the Marina at Cameron House. The rain didn't dampen things at all, but my fuzzy hangover made me forget to take the camera out of my pocket and take some snaps. Lunch was fab and the fresh air and a couple of glasses of wine chased my hangover away.<br /><br />Then it was back to Dumbarton to pick up the kids and then onto the caravan at Rosneath, where Jacq and Rod had invited Susan, the kids and I to stay with them for a couple of days.<br /><br />After settling in, we had a fab night of good food and wine and after a battle Craig, Jake and Georgia finally fell asleep leaving us to chat late into the night.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8EmIH6__Oo3URnD-ttjYkbRX8DDzNWVOiGkyezbcJR23GPr0mW6DjExbHxZN4dzqxVbne5W448zosiMlvtYCriBwjmNU0xgKB6How-MUGDiv3zB4vUfik28NeZ-9PpQhGyBOfA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8EmIH6__Oo3URnD-ttjYkbRX8DDzNWVOiGkyezbcJR23GPr0mW6DjExbHxZN4dzqxVbne5W448zosiMlvtYCriBwjmNU0xgKB6How-MUGDiv3zB4vUfik28NeZ-9PpQhGyBOfA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The next day Rod took us out on his yacht, <em>Taeping </em>which is berthed right infront of the caravan. A quick lesson in the basics of sailing was given and off we went down the Clyde Estuary.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51VZvMlQ9MZNduSZtG0pS_jyzXki1KBywzQtU3_r41SwKEwmgTmhp4s3LQyHMk5kuGVBt0ocQPBsfsoCAnu1uPLa1y-NHepr6S8wD2wfAqD_kK8fHfZqaScN7lJjCtnWe1mitFA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51VZvMlQ9MZNduSZtG0pS_jyzXki1KBywzQtU3_r41SwKEwmgTmhp4s3LQyHMk5kuGVBt0ocQPBsfsoCAnu1uPLa1y-NHepr6S8wD2wfAqD_kK8fHfZqaScN7lJjCtnWe1mitFA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JdXe91uUXmtC4-Y_0IAEYvS2NDfB58uRvKmGG-k3blQI-lKqa_r2NVBNZD8XJUqBewKmUGDui4A1XoHOoog5X5T9HlHHgQOOdJmHqlSCY1e_HGDXZ6lB_C2U3YjCwvtJUPitMA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JdXe91uUXmtC4-Y_0IAEYvS2NDfB58uRvKmGG-k3blQI-lKqa_r2NVBNZD8XJUqBewKmUGDui4A1XoHOoog5X5T9HlHHgQOOdJmHqlSCY1e_HGDXZ6lB_C2U3YjCwvtJUPitMA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+014.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I have to admit that I absolutely loved it although we were only out for a couple of hours. Trying to keep your eye on three excitable kids under 8 years of age and an excitable adult aged 38 wasn't easy for Susan, Jacq and Rod!<br /><br />I hope to do a bit more sailing pretty soon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DmVxMTX0bupZbf2YKXUfk-Nub0cng5iqEACaCbH-7Pejx2kf_WTWn443pbPPqZK4UakbJd0Xtqf9UJO8K-3O5XXKvvXIo2HxIypOX5xbYpTonwn6UkdwZMg5Vqn80MCvzM8ZNg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DmVxMTX0bupZbf2YKXUfk-Nub0cng5iqEACaCbH-7Pejx2kf_WTWn443pbPPqZK4UakbJd0Xtqf9UJO8K-3O5XXKvvXIo2HxIypOX5xbYpTonwn6UkdwZMg5Vqn80MCvzM8ZNg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc939DL9e9Y81skbiQFLoYsEKSKmw4cfuJzKyLL7vgnOQjkmkCiz8nHGdTJaBHGMieouqGVc-4lzNZRovToZeMKOO__7sV_erJjpefJScdpkf5uqzvKkoj4xEfsq5Z_VdZM-4faw/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc939DL9e9Y81skbiQFLoYsEKSKmw4cfuJzKyLL7vgnOQjkmkCiz8nHGdTJaBHGMieouqGVc-4lzNZRovToZeMKOO__7sV_erJjpefJScdpkf5uqzvKkoj4xEfsq5Z_VdZM-4faw/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+016.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYFZ21TKw54hioXdxCrLVbXWssKtSecEnwUxiOtNM9EpRWUbT7O7296mwUXPI2P6U3NIfUoXCX35wA0sTxm-rhlW3-S3jihp-M54UUGwKzexj0MTDjpaxf77w_noO8bY-VKMA-g/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYFZ21TKw54hioXdxCrLVbXWssKtSecEnwUxiOtNM9EpRWUbT7O7296mwUXPI2P6U3NIfUoXCX35wA0sTxm-rhlW3-S3jihp-M54UUGwKzexj0MTDjpaxf77w_noO8bY-VKMA-g/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVudsviUwC0LHHP6Ro2IolHM468s04CWcAtC5x6E2RlmwZfL9UpdrmEpeJAr7nfs-tlMahCiil3jAuUBWPcBZxqcP6nxZs_9dE-wFCzoHQUDjCWCwi08QrwqZem6bpXHoKOWI0oQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+018.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVudsviUwC0LHHP6Ro2IolHM468s04CWcAtC5x6E2RlmwZfL9UpdrmEpeJAr7nfs-tlMahCiil3jAuUBWPcBZxqcP6nxZs_9dE-wFCzoHQUDjCWCwi08QrwqZem6bpXHoKOWI0oQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+018.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Later in the week, with the weather greatly improved, we headed off to Balloch Country Park and spent the day just doing much of nothing with the kids.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrwBzN0VDEiZ3NKTpEmaFF8bT5gA2dB1yDM3WCySfZvmpPDyP_Hwuo1BVF5XPTjE917mNPt202KxF2vqezm_RQR_kqolFT_WWeEiAiYPOSMDT8yS7aHhzz-Vz-AfXatPble5Nhg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrwBzN0VDEiZ3NKTpEmaFF8bT5gA2dB1yDM3WCySfZvmpPDyP_Hwuo1BVF5XPTjE917mNPt202KxF2vqezm_RQR_kqolFT_WWeEiAiYPOSMDT8yS7aHhzz-Vz-AfXatPble5Nhg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63FKW6LUslG_sidIvgjZTk0qwa3fekSePGJHHtECpktk0xYpQBQGzUOTiPs0kHIF1nik8EFYYfWeHNI_6FlCRJbMecHrQcO2v9R3Gh6UJ_8s2kfxOcM1tBtCcGNU8nRxkvn6jtA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63FKW6LUslG_sidIvgjZTk0qwa3fekSePGJHHtECpktk0xYpQBQGzUOTiPs0kHIF1nik8EFYYfWeHNI_6FlCRJbMecHrQcO2v9R3Gh6UJ_8s2kfxOcM1tBtCcGNU8nRxkvn6jtA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Susan and I were delighted to discover two enormous Monkey Puzzle trees in the gardens of the park. These are our favourite type of tree. Sounds bizzare but I am always amazed that more people don't have them in their gardens. They're funky!<br /><br />That's why I bought one for Susan for her Christmas. It's only two feet tall at the moment and we will be using zimmers and urinating in our underwear before it reaches maturity, but it's the thought that counts!<br /><br />Anyway...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJ01TzEyysDmuGokkiJ8piwkHZVX9jVZodITjSFpfcqiHdA4I1-7KbrymhMg5q7Yj_nLgwQ2TzSf3KiTFDYREr-FBCP-iHuyJZ4f7whDSEgrlwWrvx43cTKSfStVOUycUx6AeKg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJ01TzEyysDmuGokkiJ8piwkHZVX9jVZodITjSFpfcqiHdA4I1-7KbrymhMg5q7Yj_nLgwQ2TzSf3KiTFDYREr-FBCP-iHuyJZ4f7whDSEgrlwWrvx43cTKSfStVOUycUx6AeKg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKMO7q_IeExzLnKjps0HP7QzI_V5vV7EYTEEVnqMfBPCwZKwzZxIHoO_y0XP-YCFJz7cDfSHs1IJxagTlQKjXNImSBYdRLrL-4Q8r8mW8AlwDMzGWkpVQ9czHt-miJ1Dmq-u9gA/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKMO7q_IeExzLnKjps0HP7QzI_V5vV7EYTEEVnqMfBPCwZKwzZxIHoO_y0XP-YCFJz7cDfSHs1IJxagTlQKjXNImSBYdRLrL-4Q8r8mW8AlwDMzGWkpVQ9czHt-miJ1Dmq-u9gA/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+033.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />By Friday we decided that we needed to do something a bit more energetic and since I needed to go to <em>Niche Optical Tailors</em> for the THIRTEENTH time to hopefully collect my new glasses in perfect condition, we decided to walk from Paisley to Glasgow.<br /><br />A nice stroll for the first couple of hours and a power walk through Pollock had us in Glasgow within three hours! After lunch and a beer in the Merchant City we headed to the opticians where amazingly my glasses were ready and this time were imperfection free.<br /><br />Susan and I shook our heads in disbelief as we listened to the owner speaking to a couple next to us trying to justify that sometimes when lenses are cut there are "engraving marks" left in the lenses in purpose!<br />The same bullshit that they hit me with.<br /><br />Come to think of it I will probably do a blog entry detailing everything that happened so as to put potential customers off of having to deal with their shocking customer service. Hopefully when someone Googles Niche Optical Tailor they will find my blog entry instead. Their website is as pish as their service!<br /><br />Watch this space.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7CCvrAoNmcDApUzcpkkblhG2o3f7EBmcYJIA_Mzr3xviHEeKJetbXyxP6HPRfEuUx3PxGlcD1WhBjInEx_dEwp_Hg4FiSYfLiJI_0YjnJ3lVt3iZAS8nN2vLF3rQrNROlx5R-A/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+062.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7CCvrAoNmcDApUzcpkkblhG2o3f7EBmcYJIA_Mzr3xviHEeKJetbXyxP6HPRfEuUx3PxGlcD1WhBjInEx_dEwp_Hg4FiSYfLiJI_0YjnJ3lVt3iZAS8nN2vLF3rQrNROlx5R-A/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+062.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Saturday arrived and Gingerbaws and the Fizzicks Teacher came round to try and get my pc back on track.<br /><br />Ever since Virgin Media took over NTL, I have been unable to record live TV on my Media Centre so the two boffins arrived to fix it for me.<br /><br />Many hours of trial, error, frustration and laughs followed as they tried to rectify the problem. Eventually conceding that the cable box wasn't going to play ball and the way forward was to use the TV's inbuilt Freeview system.<br /><br />Robert went home and got a small TV arial that he sold to me for £1! However we upped the ante a wee bit and bought a bigger arial from Argos which didn't work as well with the TV as the small arial, but probably would have been able to send signals to Mars. Thomas happily bolted onto my veranda, with Robert filming a video disclaimer on his mobile phone incase it fell off and hit someone on the head!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEX__H0cfOTONhF7qvOkDGIgLUiu6cFErMYMMZrPryVoJr6Pf78jBO5xohJOmrNoazM98pUlHORCwXNrbnG7g5Z4MEWdbyvSexhHvOlJXdK1bKoWj4Bug06ZRHzq4S9_FDj82Cg/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+063.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEX__H0cfOTONhF7qvOkDGIgLUiu6cFErMYMMZrPryVoJr6Pf78jBO5xohJOmrNoazM98pUlHORCwXNrbnG7g5Z4MEWdbyvSexhHvOlJXdK1bKoWj4Bug06ZRHzq4S9_FDj82Cg/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+063.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHzUQfrKlNxoMpmM02edEvOyu-S82UB-3qPju6_hG-p9WYS-6ESklx2E0FBNCnPV2mVCNw55_eHYznVJ7DMAQa7N50AYiBSlqCwUyLEh0BtO8PXTbrhBPVuzG5n83w5cYFnzmwQ/s1600-h/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+064.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHzUQfrKlNxoMpmM02edEvOyu-S82UB-3qPju6_hG-p9WYS-6ESklx2E0FBNCnPV2mVCNw55_eHYznVJ7DMAQa7N50AYiBSlqCwUyLEh0BtO8PXTbrhBPVuzG5n83w5cYFnzmwQ/s400/Summer+Holiday+August+2007+064.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Jim and Hammey joined us later on and we hit Paisley for a few beers, unfortunately Robert decided not to accompany us, but we partied on without him!<br /><br />Sunday arrived with a hangover.<br /><br />However, a trip to the fabulous Kelburne Country Park near Largs with Susan and the Kids blew that away.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7CsWw4ezEX9svWwZIN-ab9RM3QcOBD7TIT8FlTOCUb8G-Vo8iN7PdSHieQ7TIeuPlDSFSwXVSYB6isSE3PLc0EYHxfW9CMUkfSRP-ucdX4ZIbgs4n3XhEh0XxEI1EM4u4j-WCg/s1600-h/P8190002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7CsWw4ezEX9svWwZIN-ab9RM3QcOBD7TIT8FlTOCUb8G-Vo8iN7PdSHieQ7TIeuPlDSFSwXVSYB6isSE3PLc0EYHxfW9CMUkfSRP-ucdX4ZIbgs4n3XhEh0XxEI1EM4u4j-WCg/s400/P8190002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj893jdfwZa2e6_H20j5VV3W-aK8NKGeOvkwYGjHaBFgQkTNr1ZuI78W8sT7stOsZrMh5yZjTWufKdRWFIdqVXSbrr0ls1AYN1VIECGoVkyIzYW3XoE_Ptnr1NuHBRu8w8Gi3cBhw/s1600-h/P8190006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj893jdfwZa2e6_H20j5VV3W-aK8NKGeOvkwYGjHaBFgQkTNr1ZuI78W8sT7stOsZrMh5yZjTWufKdRWFIdqVXSbrr0ls1AYN1VIECGoVkyIzYW3XoE_Ptnr1NuHBRu8w8Gi3cBhw/s400/P8190006.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />It's the first time that I had been there and I can totally recommend it. It's a fabulous place.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRg4Tzwg0ZKbYiVQuLDUs1Dnq64DyzCuTztAmiKKmJ2pL-0QV6bFM1Kl5XGMjIEH8fenO7Qqjw7FVYRhGETHdis3kqtHHIXXGQ9zngUQzj6CZjwKOVvy5sN3wrozBF7au_rKCqFQ/s1600-h/P8190007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRg4Tzwg0ZKbYiVQuLDUs1Dnq64DyzCuTztAmiKKmJ2pL-0QV6bFM1Kl5XGMjIEH8fenO7Qqjw7FVYRhGETHdis3kqtHHIXXGQ9zngUQzj6CZjwKOVvy5sN3wrozBF7au_rKCqFQ/s400/P8190007.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8niiWiNNLC_UVpUU30vfN1SjnsMSjkbJSD_uVwy6HST_71DzgwA6Z_9dzNycWkaTyJnJwDw7JEV-0ni_dv6O4VIMK4dUm-S4nyBGKVHERtOGC5ckMvpzC76FDgkshsH9LbrHCHA/s1600-h/P8190009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8niiWiNNLC_UVpUU30vfN1SjnsMSjkbJSD_uVwy6HST_71DzgwA6Z_9dzNycWkaTyJnJwDw7JEV-0ni_dv6O4VIMK4dUm-S4nyBGKVHERtOGC5ckMvpzC76FDgkshsH9LbrHCHA/s400/P8190009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />So that was my holidays. Had a ball spending it with the people that I care the most about.Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-30943868110655358372007-07-26T23:02:00.000+01:002007-10-12T11:24:44.575+01:00West Highland Way - 22nd July to 25th July 2007<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl8qymr8VzUOqncA1WCcX1Dsm17Ybqo5-GLFKsEP9fFwdN0Gkl1r3lT-rlYpbCl3bNW7kXWGrH1FleDDC4O1GKkgeNrFtqodbxM-4_AhoQvpvEfitu3LAc7lyuFj7KRy2w-kG6A/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+057.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl8qymr8VzUOqncA1WCcX1Dsm17Ybqo5-GLFKsEP9fFwdN0Gkl1r3lT-rlYpbCl3bNW7kXWGrH1FleDDC4O1GKkgeNrFtqodbxM-4_AhoQvpvEfitu3LAc7lyuFj7KRy2w-kG6A/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+057.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">DAY 1-MILNGAVIE TO ROWERDENNAN (27 MILES)</span></em></strong><br /><br />With Susan away to Gleneagles with the kids to relax for the week, I decided to do something a bit energetic!<br /><br />I had, foolishly I admit, attempted to cycle part of the West Highland Way a couple of months ago to see if it would be possible to attempt the whole distance in a day or two. I had found a couple of entries in google by people that had claimed to do it and of course as we all know the internet is entirely accurate!<br /><br />After a bit of research I soon realised that the hardest part would be the section between Rowerdennan and to where you can get the ferry to Ardlui. To cut a long story short, I ended up carrying the bike at least half of the 25-odd miles over rocks, up and down hills and coming off the bike on several occassions - the last of which broke my front brake, camera stand, and my spirit!<br /><br />Since then it had left a bitter taste in my mouth that I had not made a serious attempt at The Way in my life. I had only ever attempted to walk a small part of the WHW with Jim and Del over a decade ago, when getting pished and having a laugh was our main priority. Therefore, we only walked from Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy which is a distance of 14 miles, and that took us 3 days!<br /><br />Anyway, Sunday morning came and contrary to the weather forecast I was greeted by glorious sunshine and after a shower and a big fruit salad for breakfast, I was off to get the train to Glasgow and then on to Milngavie. I arrived at the start of the WHW at exactly 10.30 and was raring to go!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1Pm9ism8PyuOXdvsrNL5b75X2_rv_v-gtXmEWSyiu5Y80iUHryT2OrODDfecGcAfffSh6C9TpswPBN65JQZffliaTbXdHY2fxO9Fp_wCJnpm-ld81BBmJmAkETXsy407jYOIeg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1Pm9ism8PyuOXdvsrNL5b75X2_rv_v-gtXmEWSyiu5Y80iUHryT2OrODDfecGcAfffSh6C9TpswPBN65JQZffliaTbXdHY2fxO9Fp_wCJnpm-ld81BBmJmAkETXsy407jYOIeg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I asked a passer-by to take the obligatory "start of the walk" photo and as I prepared to set off, a man sitting at Costa Coffee started talking to me. It turned out that he was going to attempt to cycle the entire route so I gave him a heads up about the shitty section between Rowerdennan and Inverarnan and explained the difficulties that I had a couple of months prior on my bike. In fairness, I did tell him that it was possible but it would probably suck out his will to live! He laughed and thanked me for the advice and I headed off.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3c7fR2hoICDLnUCULCEurEkHfYhkmhGgfi0pV6QSvgbwYHildML-fHPbX7roLvhpKk9JTv7_MO4Du9aBCSFI1BMJZK-LTZExVJcQOYD2kAPOQAVIE8_x9XdQ1A7pChYOtCFcnQ/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3c7fR2hoICDLnUCULCEurEkHfYhkmhGgfi0pV6QSvgbwYHildML-fHPbX7roLvhpKk9JTv7_MO4Du9aBCSFI1BMJZK-LTZExVJcQOYD2kAPOQAVIE8_x9XdQ1A7pChYOtCFcnQ/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I headed through the pretty but unexpiring Murdoch Woods and onto Carbeth a few miles on. By 1.00 I broke for lunch and was enjoying a Brie and Tomato Wholemeal Hoagie with Tomato and Basil washed down with a pint of Stella. I used the opportunity to charge up my Creative MP3 player, which so far had been playing one good song after another, even though it was on shuffle.<br /><br />A rather dour faced waiter raised an eyebrow disapprovingly when he spotted my creative plugged into the wall as he collected my empty plate. "That'll be 10p for the electricity, Sir" he said, po-faced. "I'll take it out of your tip then!" I jokingly replied. My, how he laughed. I left soon after.<br /><br />Feeling as recharged as my MP3 player, I began the next 7 mile stage which would take me to Balmaha and promised myself a Magnum and a Star Bar when I got there.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBbgNfBQNF6SQNuZx0p_Zoo9rFD_-rxK9QfCO35TKvEqnyMq_roFv4LpFExagGX5Xdo7AKo-MCgYe9dDRu5N4ZovtLGOgUt9kObyAwgruqiIHLQavLUqJ2_k8ScKW9cSBD02wKg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBbgNfBQNF6SQNuZx0p_Zoo9rFD_-rxK9QfCO35TKvEqnyMq_roFv4LpFExagGX5Xdo7AKo-MCgYe9dDRu5N4ZovtLGOgUt9kObyAwgruqiIHLQavLUqJ2_k8ScKW9cSBD02wKg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+005.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I plodded on and found my legs getting heavier with each step. Matters were not helped when I reached Garadhban Forest to find that there was a massive diversion in place due to the Forestry Commission harvesting trees. At least an hour was added to my travel time and it was 4.00 before I finally emerged at the other side of the forest and Conic Hill was visible. The annoying thing is that I did not see or hear one tree being felled and due to it being a Sunday I doubt that there was any work going on. Just goes to prove that rules are for fools!<br /><br />I was feeling sore, hungry and a bit disheartened. I sat down in the middle of the path, took my boots off and tucked into a nice fruit salad that, thank God, I'd had the sense to bring with me.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQLdz-pBe69xOINslJbJQ4rZUJcNdqEJtDu4gw4QtZaYEZ50ICMXmHNQjFreGuU6wldXEFF6-aGmYBvA189V_hvfifeJP6ZyQ0089zj9g9wKPN2AOeWjsNi3Ps4TF9D5PJ3XdKg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQLdz-pBe69xOINslJbJQ4rZUJcNdqEJtDu4gw4QtZaYEZ50ICMXmHNQjFreGuU6wldXEFF6-aGmYBvA189V_hvfifeJP6ZyQ0089zj9g9wKPN2AOeWjsNi3Ps4TF9D5PJ3XdKg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GGZV5sC7Cl3uVHQQVr94gbgyjPcUZOpv8BrptAd3Um79b63vzZFE3N_fDDhDCzmJO4OlIbPYT2Kyi0huA1gUTctuGlVyxy3PmCDm2yHXGsxz27GCsGG7Gn0pwiq-3FENyX1lMg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GGZV5sC7Cl3uVHQQVr94gbgyjPcUZOpv8BrptAd3Um79b63vzZFE3N_fDDhDCzmJO4OlIbPYT2Kyi0huA1gUTctuGlVyxy3PmCDm2yHXGsxz27GCsGG7Gn0pwiq-3FENyX1lMg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />This gave me enough of a boost to make it to the top of Conic Hill by 5.00 where I stopped briefly to take in the view of Ben Lomond. As I decended the hill fatigue made my feet drag and occassionally I would stumble over a rock which hurt my aching joints even more. Couldn't help but get annoyed at myself for my lack of fitness. Too much red wine and fine food has taken the edge of my fitness and made my trousers a bit tighter to wear than usual! The WHW and a return to my British Military fitness would help get me back in shape and just as well as it is only 6 weeks until I run the Glasgow 10k followed immediately by the Half Marathon. I won't be setting any new records that day, but at least I'll get two medals and two Tunnock's Caramel Wafers! What more could you want?<br /><br />Never have I been so happy as when I arrived at he Oak Tree Inn at Balmaha. I sat down and ordered a nice meal of Chicken Breast Fillets, potatoes and veg, a jug of water and a pint of coke to try and rehydrate myself. It tasted fantastic and that together with the knowledge that I only had 8 miles to go to tonight's destination, Rowerdennan, gave me a huge boost.<br /><br />As I was eating dinner, a fella at the table next to mine started to play a mouth organ. He was fantastic! The staff turned off the music so that he could be heard and the kids in the restaurant stood mesmerised, watching him play the blues with their wee mouths hanging open in awe. I thought to myself, that if I hadn't been diverted round the forest then I would have missed this. So, there you go. Everything happens for a reason!<br /><br />I paid the bill and left the Oak Tree Inn, went over to the village shop and bought myself that Magnum that I had promised myself. Of course, they did not sell Star Bars. Don't get me started!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71EChypC9XMxyDcQTxZUTz4037YO527HeEnxMc4HxeLFht_e0bErDMrndxgeN70XRH7h3Ccm3TfTsexNzzOc8kg29_OkClyyV7tL4U0JvPo2NoDNsxJUwGrYiAcNV8uzs5_OXPA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71EChypC9XMxyDcQTxZUTz4037YO527HeEnxMc4HxeLFht_e0bErDMrndxgeN70XRH7h3Ccm3TfTsexNzzOc8kg29_OkClyyV7tL4U0JvPo2NoDNsxJUwGrYiAcNV8uzs5_OXPA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+013.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Then it was off to Rowerdennan on a beautiful Summer's night. My footsteps shortened the further on that I trudged and I found it hard to keep focused. I recieved motivational messages from my loved ones to keep me going. Susan text me to say, "I love you, you can do it". Jim asked "How are you doing mate?" and Thomas sent the inspirational, "I'm in the beer garden on my third pint. Where are you, ya daft c#nt!?"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrOYi1cZmQHHco5I6Dy-fk7iXpU3jMI4UJNolVutMPMCiasrqMlwd0qeicJyEQAEQe9CRKF6b3Gp5dZu4KasL9cc-KWjjwvPG_DSXDd3aSqQh6KIiUHRZkta_L5DleXmBBZwVuA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrOYi1cZmQHHco5I6Dy-fk7iXpU3jMI4UJNolVutMPMCiasrqMlwd0qeicJyEQAEQe9CRKF6b3Gp5dZu4KasL9cc-KWjjwvPG_DSXDd3aSqQh6KIiUHRZkta_L5DleXmBBZwVuA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+017.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFHuauRBBFPFLdI2TZuXzODJGetA0_OnmDdR2LjSeYAKZXxfUXgEOATN2rJoOtqmPGJl6zA0xS7TSjDqz0Q3UFqvtkYIFD_NlBvU_PFrlFkTl8z-IKnB-5gieK-9AEvOUAEJUyA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+018.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFHuauRBBFPFLdI2TZuXzODJGetA0_OnmDdR2LjSeYAKZXxfUXgEOATN2rJoOtqmPGJl6zA0xS7TSjDqz0Q3UFqvtkYIFD_NlBvU_PFrlFkTl8z-IKnB-5gieK-9AEvOUAEJUyA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+018.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKzveP871X2rycHRa3vLbvTTq6-RoGvbQH9_04sQnHgGrrDizGoS4hOBiMRepYNCEC1OozqdTBfrIs1WSajljGtW-JkqDa8KPmqvEtN9bEP4FxGirkqofnnEJ0ZZvxCaDVnr5Ng/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKzveP871X2rycHRa3vLbvTTq6-RoGvbQH9_04sQnHgGrrDizGoS4hOBiMRepYNCEC1OozqdTBfrIs1WSajljGtW-JkqDa8KPmqvEtN9bEP4FxGirkqofnnEJ0ZZvxCaDVnr5Ng/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+019.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-Gkf8-D0HUq5Lsr0OxwLMXoZYftXE92-sKIZ9c9YTP7rHLo_ZFOfC5aM8yB-HrdGeRjP6z8y0jtUg2zMqBTV2jHU8dYcq1nFFJpyMfJJJ8uOgSZ3aCRSOyQi5r6a7B6v1wFKvQ/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-Gkf8-D0HUq5Lsr0OxwLMXoZYftXE92-sKIZ9c9YTP7rHLo_ZFOfC5aM8yB-HrdGeRjP6z8y0jtUg2zMqBTV2jHU8dYcq1nFFJpyMfJJJ8uOgSZ3aCRSOyQi5r6a7B6v1wFKvQ/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+021.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />The welcome site of the Rowerdennan Hotel appeared and I had a quick pit stop at the Clansman Bar for a pint of water, 2 packets of crisps and 2 Mars Bars.<br /><br />The fella who was playing "100 great guitar classics" when Jim, Thomas and I were camping here a few months ago was performing again. I still thought that he sounded pretty good, if a little bit cheesy!<br /><br />I left and walked the short distance to the Scottish Youth Hostel (SYH) and arrived at 10.30. Exactly 12 hours after I had set out this morning. I did not even have the energy to go for a shower, instead I had a quick wash and brushed my teeth before falling into bed.<br /><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">DAY 2-ROWERDENNAN TO TYNDRUM (26 MILES)</span><br /></em></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmgqudP0BhXjHNk_TsyWcrS4tw_ucrkTOWr4pa0zqG08DiD-RlNwELV6u-yo-9hm5lhCxBJizYvGkrGUyt9EaXqFF_ZOEZ1C-eu9xl9__fpmXW23Zdige__LABnQSHXLMSG7ZSw/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmgqudP0BhXjHNk_TsyWcrS4tw_ucrkTOWr4pa0zqG08DiD-RlNwELV6u-yo-9hm5lhCxBJizYvGkrGUyt9EaXqFF_ZOEZ1C-eu9xl9__fpmXW23Zdige__LABnQSHXLMSG7ZSw/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+022.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I know you get what you pay for, but the bed in the SYH was absolutely shocking, squeeking at even this slightest movement and therefore I had the worst sleep that I have ever had and everytime that I woke up (which was frequently) I prayed for daytime to arrive so that I could get up and get going.<br /><br />I woke, again, at 6.30 and with breakfast starting in one hour I decided to get up and go for a shower and I must admit that I felt a good deal better for having a nice hot shower.<br /><br />I went downstairs for breakfast but the selection was pretty poor, including the worst bowl of porridge that I have ever tasted! I thought I was going to be sick eating it and I'm sure that the lady that had served it to me saw me gagging as I ate it.<br /><br />I sheepishly returned it to the counter asking if she minded if I had breakfast cereal instead as "my stomach was a bit delicate because I was in the pub last night". I know that she could see through my tissue of lies!<br /><br />I looked at my notes and maps for today's route and decided that if I was to have any chance of completing the walk in four days as planned then I would have to do some lateral thinking. I went to main reception and asked the manageress if it would be possible to have my rucksack taken to Tyndrum using the TravelLite service. She happily organised it for me and I arranged for my bag to be transferred from Tyndrum to Kingshouse the following day, to give me a fighting chance.<br /><br />I purchased a couple of essentials for the journey, bottles of water and ComPeed blister plasters. I asked the manageress how long she thought it would take me to walk to Tyndrum. She raised a Spock-like eyebrow, "two days" she said. "That's not the answer that I'm looking for" I replied.<br /><br />I went back to the room, rubbed Voltarol Gel on my aching limbs, Sudocream on my chaffed inner thighs, took a Brufen and a Piriton and put the blister plasters on my mangled feet. I was like a walking pharmacy!<br /><br />I made my way outside after leaving my rucksack at reception for transfer, into another beautiful sunny morning. I gave Susan a quick call who gave me lots of encouragement for the journey ahead and by 9.00 I was off, happily listening to music and taking in the beautiful scenery. Despite the path being surrounded by trees, when a view of Loch Lomond came into view it was spectacular.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZixMn3nBS64dPaosbCfWTaOd3WdPtT36rhCGX8_PScQY0Z90zbIOu55ktWt4YsAw0FdL2VATHrr-2BnFXBAGRNo8eHvsRpe5wdVQaYYyA2jxMdNHI8a5fepGt1k_p4usn9dRKg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZixMn3nBS64dPaosbCfWTaOd3WdPtT36rhCGX8_PScQY0Z90zbIOu55ktWt4YsAw0FdL2VATHrr-2BnFXBAGRNo8eHvsRpe5wdVQaYYyA2jxMdNHI8a5fepGt1k_p4usn9dRKg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+025.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The going was fine at first along the gravel path before changing to terrain that I was all too familiar with from my previous attempt to do this section of the WHW by bike. I wondered how the fella that I had met at the start of the walk yesterday had faired if he had indeed attempted to traverse this section on two wheels rather than two legs. I never saw him cycling back the other way so I guessed that he must have managed it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_pnCoDAqpXICFN1pt0SNBV9tJb-WpiAkr6qE2sFiLo5NgSs_m_tgMhS4SmBOwZpHEnBIZujcqjxO7xS_IzvKwlUxm0Y65a2_Jrm45I5fHJcICiz25PmGtHFirQBobg5qd31VIw/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+032.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_pnCoDAqpXICFN1pt0SNBV9tJb-WpiAkr6qE2sFiLo5NgSs_m_tgMhS4SmBOwZpHEnBIZujcqjxO7xS_IzvKwlUxm0Y65a2_Jrm45I5fHJcICiz25PmGtHFirQBobg5qd31VIw/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+032.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />By 11.30 I was at Inversnaid Hotel enjoying a sandwich, chocolate muffin and a pint of coke whilst sitting in a big comfy chair. Mid-day came and it was time to hoof it once again. I had to drag myself reluctantly out of my seat and put my blistered feet back into my boots.<br /><br />I will not make the same mistakes again that I made this time. I am going to invest in a pair of walking shoes rather than boots which would be ideal for a challenge like this and most importantly put ComPeed on the most sucseptible areas of my feet before I started the walk as you WILL get blisters if you don't.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mA5sXkHRMzZK08Uc0zgl9kZuYxYhLZaLMU7UT5OsXxLx0WgoPzRqIivvmIJzdYPm_AVSgNKLNs7tj6pJxiE2BU3ZbsGrYh9jhlKq2_SAt9QuHW5Xg_DO48d7audLJojEr4T0xA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mA5sXkHRMzZK08Uc0zgl9kZuYxYhLZaLMU7UT5OsXxLx0WgoPzRqIivvmIJzdYPm_AVSgNKLNs7tj6pJxiE2BU3ZbsGrYh9jhlKq2_SAt9QuHW5Xg_DO48d7audLJojEr4T0xA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+033.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I set off at a cracking pace and actually got a bit of a second wind and was able to run for short distances. This helped to eat up the miles and it would not have been possible if I was carrying my rucksack.<br /><br />The remaining clouds disappeared and the sun let loose on my baldy head. I reached into my pocket for my buff to protect my bonce, but my heart sank when I realised that it wasn't there and that I had lost it.<br />This was not good. Strong Sun + Baldy Head = Big Tomato Heed!<br /><br />I was told by a passing walker that it would take me 3 - 4 hours to get from Inverarnan to Inversnaid, but I managed it in 2 1/2 and so I rewarded myself with a toasted sandwich and a half hour break.<br /><br />By 3.30 I was on my way again doing my usual of asking anybody who was walking towards me from the other direction how far and how long it would be to my next destination and desperately hoping that the guy who told me it was 8 miles to Tyndrum was right and other guy who said it was 12 miles was wrong!<br /><br />When I met a walker with a map it turned out that I still had 13 miles left to go. Not 12 and certainly not 8! There was nothing to do except get the marching head on and go for it. The route follows the River Falloch and it was strange not to have Loch Lomond by my side as it had been for the last 2 days.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93EEAutHjkxyED3t2-xtOdocB5NOI2ZIC60FqY1n29zmu-DZs4U6QUVRalLYBPd5cfsXvQLHUgQ7IADap6tOqC1Cw6hDT1qSYZxqj__-2pbUsp0gzrPXLbXodjUGVI2jDE0Agew/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+034.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93EEAutHjkxyED3t2-xtOdocB5NOI2ZIC60FqY1n29zmu-DZs4U6QUVRalLYBPd5cfsXvQLHUgQ7IADap6tOqC1Cw6hDT1qSYZxqj__-2pbUsp0gzrPXLbXodjUGVI2jDE0Agew/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+034.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The scenery was amazing and I gratefully stopped as often as I could to soak it up and to take pictures. By 6.00 I met a couple walking from Tyndrum who cheerfully told me that I still had 1 3/4 hours to go to reach my destination.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuS0FvoHyN7xDsv45PCRVTXOX82s-UYaCl3xdyX6ziYAhgNFl7R-uus1CtVIE_4F3Sv3H2Ah_qgdWHUSEcOEzLyxC1FWX_BRnet1-WCMfugr4PuNvHHbRDSzTuO5DDKEkyE0Icg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuS0FvoHyN7xDsv45PCRVTXOX82s-UYaCl3xdyX6ziYAhgNFl7R-uus1CtVIE_4F3Sv3H2Ah_qgdWHUSEcOEzLyxC1FWX_BRnet1-WCMfugr4PuNvHHbRDSzTuO5DDKEkyE0Icg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+039.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I trudged on and with my footsteps becoming shorter I realised that tiredness was kicking in again. The weather was beginning to turn with thick, dark clouds rolling in and clinging tightly to the top of the mountains. Rain was approaching.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMwa4AoVa9RpoPsJ87tMzQwpcnG8EdhaXE9CqqQn_-9Y9bSZyVOJz2bkvp0KaHJca1QMwGgtofz05eO7WprKTCZZ5bxrjZiTHMNk1RWZintHtMjLfjTeDwqXnLDq9CnhqThWm2Q/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+041.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMwa4AoVa9RpoPsJ87tMzQwpcnG8EdhaXE9CqqQn_-9Y9bSZyVOJz2bkvp0KaHJca1QMwGgtofz05eO7WprKTCZZ5bxrjZiTHMNk1RWZintHtMjLfjTeDwqXnLDq9CnhqThWm2Q/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+041.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />On final approach to Tyndrum I made a schoolboy error and took a wrong turning. At times, the signs to show you the way are either hard to see or not there at all, but I to be honest the sign was probably there but I was too tired to notice it.<br /><br />I exited the path and startred to walk on the pavement beside a busy main road. I knew instantly that this did not look right but my common sense glands were turned off and so I proceeded down the road for a couple of miles.<br /><br />Eventually I saw a house up a small lane and I chapped on the front door. The sound of someone coming downstairs came from within and after a minute or two a little old man opened the door dressed in his pyjamas. He said apologetically that he was just out of the bath, as if it was him that had bothered me and I said that I was sorry to trouble him and asked if I was going the right way to Tyndrum. My heart sank as he pointed in the direction that I had just came from and said it was about 2 1/2 miles up the road. I thanked him and walked back down the main road with my shoulders slumped.<br /><br />I was now seriously pissed off and realised that it would be well after 9.00 before I made it to the Tyndrum Lodge Hotel, by which time they would have stopped serving food and I really needed a good meal to set me up for day 3.<br /><br />A serious review of the plan was needed and so, somewhat reluctantly I decided to try and hitch-hike to the village. I did not think that there would anyone willing to stop and give me a lift and that I would probably end up walking back anyway, but to my surprise the third car that I stuck my thumb out at pulled over into the lay-by.<br /><br />I hobbled up to the car and got in whilst asking the driver if he could drop me in Tyndrum. To my delight, the car was being driven by a Patrick Stewart look-alike, except that he had a beard and moustache. Just think of the future Captain Picard in the episode "All Good Things..." and that's what he looked like.<br /><br />I can sense that you are losing interest!<br />3,2,1... you're back in the room!<br /><br />Anyway. I told him of my navigational mishap and that I was staying at the Tyndrum Lodge Hotel and asked him if he knew it. "I do indeed", he replied. "I used to own it". We chatted for the ten minute drive and he told me about the history of the area before kindly dropping me off at the front of the hotel.<br /><br />I thanked him and hobbled up the stairs to the reception desk. I checked in, collected my bag and made sure that I was still in time to have a meal before going up to my room. The room was pretty good and was certainly a huge improvement on the SYH that I had stayed in the night before.<br /><br />I stripped off and as I gingerly took my socks off it revealed horrendous blisters on both of my feet and peeling off the ComPeed plasters took a couple of layers of skin off too.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcGSnnPssKM8v252mPQ-IyV6rnZvVKMclZLEy1B_LTufSyAwb_w8Ped0VCE9wgyxrtUQmfxjO6Uu4AA6L9Rbrfu9M7HO41ADHBeXSNcksnTmm9WsmabGSiNWh3WdEBEPVv6dfDg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+042.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcGSnnPssKM8v252mPQ-IyV6rnZvVKMclZLEy1B_LTufSyAwb_w8Ped0VCE9wgyxrtUQmfxjO6Uu4AA6L9Rbrfu9M7HO41ADHBeXSNcksnTmm9WsmabGSiNWh3WdEBEPVv6dfDg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+042.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />I had serious doubts that I would be able to walk the next day and decided that all I could do was see how I felt in the morning. If my feet were too sore then I would retire gracefully and if there was any chance that I could carry on walking, then I would.<br /><br />After a quick but relaxing hot bath, I went down to the restaurant for dinner. I decided to have the carvery as I could not be bothered waiting for them to prepare food from scratch. However, this worked to my advantage as they were just about to close the cavery and so the chef served me enormous portions of food just to get rid of it. An ice-cold pint of Tennents Lager washed it down nicely. Lovely!<br /><br />Half an hour later, I was back in the room and was struggling to keep my eyes open as I watched the evening news so I climbed into bed and pondered if I would be able to carry on the next day, The walk to Kingshouse would be the shortest distance to walk out of the four days and so I could probably afford to take my foot off the gas a little bit.<br /><br />A good night's sleep might make the world of difference...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><em>DAY 3-TYNDRUM TO KINGSHOUSE (19 MILES)</em></strong></span><br /><br />I emerged from my coma at 07.30, feeling good. After a good look at my poor wee feet, I decided that I would be able to carry on with the Way. A full Scottish Breakfast, 3 slices of toast, 3 glasses of fruit juice and my usual morning tipple of a pint of water and I felt great and raring to go!<br /><br />After relaxing in the lounge for a while and reading the papers I headed to the Green Welly Shop and treated myself to a new Buff, new walking socks and a belt to keep my trousers up as I think I have lost a few pounds over the last couple of days!<br /><br />Back in the hotel room I had a coffee, packed my rucksack and gently applied fresh Compeed to my blisters before putting om my new walking socks. I was hot to trot!<br /><br />I checked out of the hotel and left my rucksack for TravelLite to take to the Kingshouse hotel for me. Outside it was another beautiful day. I had really lucked out with the weather so far and I cheerfully plodded on listening to some fine tunes as I went. I deliberately took my time as I wanted this to be an easy, stress-free day before the the big push to Fort William tomorrow.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs-vcBpfQ_UNjdu7730dQPKGQinKZkv37CEVYKqA_-RHfYtBrZLaxHJhFCu7tcjBtWsoOIZprCNSBmERStgcnKKRuRPTsfGc48kPfBLere4yebxxfrJyiUXKvoeGSjA9WUOEeiw/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+043.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs-vcBpfQ_UNjdu7730dQPKGQinKZkv37CEVYKqA_-RHfYtBrZLaxHJhFCu7tcjBtWsoOIZprCNSBmERStgcnKKRuRPTsfGc48kPfBLere4yebxxfrJyiUXKvoeGSjA9WUOEeiw/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+043.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkVNnZB4Dz2Zcb9owIomNpwTS-nv5eu3J6XK2uO9DQlvzi1EvbBwgRGjb67tPZWnH0gWEB1iQVqwJFEaan_XWlKi18j6zw8Fn6xuV0d7SVQL4G9fxVZ_QwFjQU-N-30a_Zk5YQw/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+046.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkVNnZB4Dz2Zcb9owIomNpwTS-nv5eu3J6XK2uO9DQlvzi1EvbBwgRGjb67tPZWnH0gWEB1iQVqwJFEaan_XWlKi18j6zw8Fn6xuV0d7SVQL4G9fxVZ_QwFjQU-N-30a_Zk5YQw/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+046.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />In less than two hours I had walked through the glens, along the old military road to Bridge Of Orchy. The last time I was here was with Jim and Del when after our triumphant 3 day, 14 mile hike, we got pished in the hotel!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWTZKubtORe8ZkyooPQKKjRVST78tA2EZk7YSZqjSw0kEIVnF0Wxq_vyG8D0l7TUZbl9J0t0eKiATSZEdbwW4XNXLzzrPAzIkfQyRGkeLknoWlfQcEoOvASFxXY3f7-vCmBSY_Q/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWTZKubtORe8ZkyooPQKKjRVST78tA2EZk7YSZqjSw0kEIVnF0Wxq_vyG8D0l7TUZbl9J0t0eKiATSZEdbwW4XNXLzzrPAzIkfQyRGkeLknoWlfQcEoOvASFxXY3f7-vCmBSY_Q/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+047.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I entered the Bridge Of Orchy Hotel and ordered a pint of coke, pint of water and a packet of crisps and sat down to relax. When in through the door walked the fella that I had met on day 1 who was attempting to cycle the route.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9HNvBfc9raryDXYBMKa5U9hOuskVnTtYqQK0lcac1oUcjeX0_EPcnX9yeI-hc_SAJ-BrCZbxY_JCfvJfPDQZgKqo8AapKxPuqh41q7dUn4HMBAJSsCNRts3hl-dIpvom5fdgRQ/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+048.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9HNvBfc9raryDXYBMKa5U9hOuskVnTtYqQK0lcac1oUcjeX0_EPcnX9yeI-hc_SAJ-BrCZbxY_JCfvJfPDQZgKqo8AapKxPuqh41q7dUn4HMBAJSsCNRts3hl-dIpvom5fdgRQ/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+048.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />He introduced himself as Dan and we got chatting. He told me that he was doing this cycle for charity for an orphanage in Thailand and when he made it to Fort William he was going to climb Ben Nevis before cycling onto John O'Groats.<br /><br />I told him about my ascent of the Ben last year and advised him that if he wanted to make it a bit more challenging and rewarding that half way up he should take the left turn off the tourist route as it is a much better climb with less walkers to slow you down.<br /><br />He seemed impressed that I had made it to Bridge of Orchy on foot in the same time that he had cycled the route, but I reminded him that I wasn't carrying a large rucksack, tent, sleeping bag and a bike!<br /><br />He had wisely taken my advice and had not attempted to cycle from Rowerdennan to Inverarnan, but instead had taken the ferry at Rowerdennan to the other side of the loch, cycled along the road and rejoined the Way at Tyndrum.<br /><br />We said our fairwells and parted company again and I walked the 2.5 mile journey to Inveroran where I stopped for a short brake before the final 9.5 miles to Kingshouse, which I reckoned I could comfortably walk in 3 1/2 hours.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQdmyKuoxd8TnyKpk5O8adka5mdWGAiIx-w4kLK1C3HIigfIL90dWG4OMuEs_kN43VvOpyaFjikCuKxLH_qColCcH7KisBX1HuhsszvqNJJ2hExI0vWtOlzIpXbFjKII8xeaohA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+049.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQdmyKuoxd8TnyKpk5O8adka5mdWGAiIx-w4kLK1C3HIigfIL90dWG4OMuEs_kN43VvOpyaFjikCuKxLH_qColCcH7KisBX1HuhsszvqNJJ2hExI0vWtOlzIpXbFjKII8xeaohA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+049.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Walking through Glen Coe is something a bit special. Words or pictures can't do it the justice that it deserves. It's beautiful.<br /><br />I walked at a moderate pace, stopping frequently just to take in the view and take photgraphs. I even turned off my music for an hour just so that I could hear it too.<br /><br />All that could be heard on Rannoch Moor was the wind blowing gently and the occassional bird swooping by, probably wondering who the hell I thought I was to be in his territory.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOt7RJ_JbJZYAyVzmdeAuHWDF6O_7XvjZWu3KPlurbVgAu3UY55ud1W2Nl4XiNy0FYESUyj7P9FSyD8K4LQOJzMEAJKLxffRkR9_q7CDxnx5BTEJFgAtahy5zXPixDo-TB04EAg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+065.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOt7RJ_JbJZYAyVzmdeAuHWDF6O_7XvjZWu3KPlurbVgAu3UY55ud1W2Nl4XiNy0FYESUyj7P9FSyD8K4LQOJzMEAJKLxffRkR9_q7CDxnx5BTEJFgAtahy5zXPixDo-TB04EAg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+065.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />If you are only going to do do one section of the WHW then Tyndrum to Kingshouse is the one to do.<br /><br />I walked on along the old military road where the Way maintains a lower line around Meall a Bhuridh however, within a mile, it reaches the summit (1500 feet/450metres), from where I had a commanding view down past the White Corries Ski Centre before I started the descent to Kingshouse.<br /><br />Susan phoned and we chatted for a while as I failed miserably to explain how beautiful it was here. She would have loved it. Lack of network coverage had made texting and calling problematic today and I realised how much I was missing her.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJldC8yiyybJTfxM15kXyAaHOm77OboJMej-8Hpyy6k8boF0BTX_xfH83f23T2LzbO7Ed73EAVzrmu7v9gkmFkgQEVE25hgIAHVn-GybAZO-_zci0a3dFh_Rw9uUIVaq1xgfTLg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+067.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJldC8yiyybJTfxM15kXyAaHOm77OboJMej-8Hpyy6k8boF0BTX_xfH83f23T2LzbO7Ed73EAVzrmu7v9gkmFkgQEVE25hgIAHVn-GybAZO-_zci0a3dFh_Rw9uUIVaq1xgfTLg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+067.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />By 6.45 I had checked into the hotel. Piece of cake today. 8 hours walking (19 miles) with probably about 2 hours worth of breaks included in that time. If I had gotten the finger out of my ass this morning then I could have easily made it to Kinglochleven which would have made day 4 a lot less of a strugle, but I was happy with my progress so far so it did not matter.<br /><br />I showered, shaved and changed and made my way to the restaurant where I thoroughly enjoyed a lovely bowl of homemade Carrot Soup, chicken breast fillet on a base of tagiatelle, pint of water and of course a pint of Stella. I was totally chilled.<br /><br />Bizzarely, there was not a single TV in the hotel which was a bummer as Still Game was on and that would have just topped off a perfect day. However,there was free internet access available so I caught up with some emails before heading back to the bar for a wee nightcap.<br /><br />I went outside just before I headed back to the room to take in the view of Buchaille Etive Mhor which stands at 3,345 feet in front of the hotel, as the sun set. Beautiful.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnC5aDpREk7HW91w6Bdv0zJ2p_3hJo-3OjD5ud60utiQt4ibbloWXQBMAYhirLPDUR0IVYxmydCNV3L0CdG3d_Cqqi6LDKmpTKHuXyiwv8rAC4cjAA4kpXw_S-EfM3Rf8LTS21g/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+068.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnC5aDpREk7HW91w6Bdv0zJ2p_3hJo-3OjD5ud60utiQt4ibbloWXQBMAYhirLPDUR0IVYxmydCNV3L0CdG3d_Cqqi6LDKmpTKHuXyiwv8rAC4cjAA4kpXw_S-EfM3Rf8LTS21g/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+068.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Although I still felt pretty fresh as I was aware of how much of a challenge tomorrow would be so I decided to get a good night's sleep. My train back to Glasgow from Fort William was at 5.41 and I would be carrying a fully laden rucksack so I was going to have to push myself a lot to complete it in time. Tomorrow, lunch would be eaten while I was walking and there would be no beer or water stops!<br /><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">DAY 4-KINGSHOUSE TO FORT WILLIAM (23 MILES)</span></strong></em><br /><br />I awoke at 0530 and struggled to get back to sleep because of the sound of the rain battering against the window but managed to doze off again until the Hong Kong Phooey theme tune started to play from my phone at 0700 and I leapt out of bed.<br /><br />The now daily routine of washing, brushing teeth, applying ComPeed, rubbing in Sudocream and Voltarol gel, taking and anti-histamine and a brufen were carried out before packing my rucksack for the last time.<br /><br />I headed down for another full Scottish breakfast and was tucking in when I had to laugh at a Frenchman who asked the waitress in a kind of 'Allo 'Allo accent what was a "Scottish Breakfast". I felt like warning him that it tastes great but it will take a few years off your life, but I didn't.<br /><br />I ate as quickly as I could. Time was pushing on and I should have been on the way by now. I had a train to catch 23 miles away and had 9 hours to get there and there was still the Devil's Staircase to be climbed and no-one would be carrying my rucksack for me today.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-Mvwa8cJ1bydKysn5jgPn2DBYga0q2GPYStqDtQ5i-WX4Zyv6uRjkn_vDMNdjHUhwJpIvbMaV4kpuVs2YhW4DMhUcKWpIuXWYYCgZC7FejcbBAAmqn5lxbfLTe4sTJ3b7-VGBA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-Mvwa8cJ1bydKysn5jgPn2DBYga0q2GPYStqDtQ5i-WX4Zyv6uRjkn_vDMNdjHUhwJpIvbMaV4kpuVs2YhW4DMhUcKWpIuXWYYCgZC7FejcbBAAmqn5lxbfLTe4sTJ3b7-VGBA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+054.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I had checked out and was on the way at exactly 9.00. The weather had improved slightly with just a light rain falling from the overcast sky above compared to the downpour that had woken me earlier in the morning.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCR17uNYyEbM2QV-rP47TzbLvZd2Kqrx9AmP4cmvN6jHrIkory56pEQ-cnfWaHEt3yCCOhMZMgIcs5Z-KNgxnB_X16sul73xGMONezwjyX5H98VnLWol6YsVa9tOc4ceOhG1iEQ/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+069.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCR17uNYyEbM2QV-rP47TzbLvZd2Kqrx9AmP4cmvN6jHrIkory56pEQ-cnfWaHEt3yCCOhMZMgIcs5Z-KNgxnB_X16sul73xGMONezwjyX5H98VnLWol6YsVa9tOc4ceOhG1iEQ/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+069.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Shortly after leaving Kingshouse the decent out of Glen Coe begins and the zig-zag path of the Devil's Staircase becomes increasingly steeper. I passed by a large number of American Tourists who were in their 60's and 70's. Fair play to them. I hope that I will still be able to do this kind of thing in 30 years time.<br /><br />At the summit, I placed a stone on the Cairn for good luck before pressing on. This is the highest point of the walk, at 1,850 feet however, the view all around was pretty obscure by the low lying cloud which was a shame as I would bet my life that it is spectacular.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pvyAlY-pI7DXs8qVQiCkdTUaSm6czf-CohbLzKS-5vjDKb9GJxI4nZXWS5dT_3SVEfdhbK_Ul2eLVVR1m6P93lCkc9l6guTIlb3Uqi1lD9q2HinXv8EAER1lWEodGzEU9E5QMw/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+072.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pvyAlY-pI7DXs8qVQiCkdTUaSm6czf-CohbLzKS-5vjDKb9GJxI4nZXWS5dT_3SVEfdhbK_Ul2eLVVR1m6P93lCkc9l6guTIlb3Uqi1lD9q2HinXv8EAER1lWEodGzEU9E5QMw/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+072.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Bang on schedule I arrived in Kinlochleven at 12.00 and sat down to take a look at my map. To my surprise, Dan cycled into view and he grinned as he spotted me. He had been camping overnight and was just heading off on his journey to Fort William.<br /><br />We chatted briefly and he joked that he was sure that I was getting a taxi between each stage of the Way. "If only", I replied. Then he was off with a crazy idea of taking his bike half way up Ben Nevis to do some wild camping. I'm looking forward to an email from him to find out how he got on.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzm-HJhNU11ChDy9-QcQMpSxsOAYid114NJzIk6kP0Cg_13vTCSLz9qu5gAV84RE35tC8w4Snlq71p9Y2pwWnf_IOB1XGjRMVmGkLAmvvCGpP3BY44_OpWOBZfE2VltO7WOeEYg/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+074.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzm-HJhNU11ChDy9-QcQMpSxsOAYid114NJzIk6kP0Cg_13vTCSLz9qu5gAV84RE35tC8w4Snlq71p9Y2pwWnf_IOB1XGjRMVmGkLAmvvCGpP3BY44_OpWOBZfE2VltO7WOeEYg/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+074.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />By now it was 12.15 and I had 5 hours left to complete the last 14 miles to Fort William. I can't put into words how sore my feet were by now. I was getting tired and time and again I tripped over boulders and went over on my ankle due to lack of concentration.<br /><br />When I had a comfort break, the colour of my urine told me that I was seriously dehydrated. My water bottle had long since emptied so I had to refill it from a mountain stream hoping that the sheep who was watching me from further up the hill had not just peed into the water!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgy1c9RoBUyz5qRkCDtWYKR2Cr1lKCFwd3oPePBeNcijNgpiJF6NqSssvvE1A4QraWuX89qmQX1xd-gnR2k_3-qIOp8a2yENodIn5Hy52jDVBspp-1UZqjuYOPrf4wBfwL29R6w/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+079.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgy1c9RoBUyz5qRkCDtWYKR2Cr1lKCFwd3oPePBeNcijNgpiJF6NqSssvvE1A4QraWuX89qmQX1xd-gnR2k_3-qIOp8a2yENodIn5Hy52jDVBspp-1UZqjuYOPrf4wBfwL29R6w/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+079.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />The sun broke through the clouds and after eating a Mars Bar on the move I tried to pick up the pace, jogging whenever I could to eat up the miles and at 4.45 I turned a corner and Ben Nevis came fully into view. I asked a couple who were walking towards me how long it would take to get to Fort William and they cheerfully replied "about an hour". The train was in 56 minutes so that wasn't good enough!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Nb8yIydaPEWe0yZLnGQeYB4Ka8jelktXQ9TS7Wc4_NSRDYfSm1h9hOXuTSKNrZ7AthZbduuUMYUhcb7A5AwQATz8RRhvGZOjP2d40EQx3ourZrxvYbrH6ElB0KZRM6-uohqc1w/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+080.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Nb8yIydaPEWe0yZLnGQeYB4Ka8jelktXQ9TS7Wc4_NSRDYfSm1h9hOXuTSKNrZ7AthZbduuUMYUhcb7A5AwQATz8RRhvGZOjP2d40EQx3ourZrxvYbrH6ElB0KZRM6-uohqc1w/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+080.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I put on my best march/jog and was at the base of Ben Nevis by 5.00. At this point the Way stops being a dirt track and runs alongside a busy road. I hurried along as best I could with every footstep hurting like hell.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnptgTpk1rItkcRhCJwLgdPWK9a4c5D7IY11-NYExc39b52rAmlHMBeCuavp6LHgxUfL5fInHc1OIpOJ5Ve1Qer01BU7C88Ves4sB6Fs_MDNDtYQJFEksTLhsICIj7M-PXEdSaA/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+081.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnptgTpk1rItkcRhCJwLgdPWK9a4c5D7IY11-NYExc39b52rAmlHMBeCuavp6LHgxUfL5fInHc1OIpOJ5Ve1Qer01BU7C88Ves4sB6Fs_MDNDtYQJFEksTLhsICIj7M-PXEdSaA/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+081.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />At exactly 5.20 I turned a corner and saw the sign that I have been longing to see for 4 days...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNlt8ucCgf2DhQQ5zXU3V70VPUhvc6jMVlpSzD-xSKpQqaFQ1vtO-SOU5JBT1pdhcDSnAtMwDATSxZdmyvc-diO7qzh65-2-MaH4iIW1zVuvzjAZaX8EKbTK7ar6cJgytz_Md1g/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+083.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNlt8ucCgf2DhQQ5zXU3V70VPUhvc6jMVlpSzD-xSKpQqaFQ1vtO-SOU5JBT1pdhcDSnAtMwDATSxZdmyvc-diO7qzh65-2-MaH4iIW1zVuvzjAZaX8EKbTK7ar6cJgytz_Md1g/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+083.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />I was grinning like an idiot and quite proud of myself for achieving my goal. That's another box ticked on the "things to do before I die" list! I briefly posed for a picture taken by an obliging German tourist before hoofing it down to the train station at 5.30 and was sitting on the platform with all the other tourists waing for the train to arrive with 5 minutes to spare.<br /><br />As I climbed aboard the train, Susan called to congratulate me. Can't believe how much I missed her. As we departed I must admit that there I felt a wee tinge of sadness that my adventure was over. Never mind, even on the train the view outside was still amazing.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXEAyZ3vHxeTDM5sDykq4pBMiQiHI1T-7J3uO4T-hZ_fNzToAqUkQjzdjG8E8uq4wpXotsd3NwEyPRLqJWocEXPeu_uJ97UBxm6v1Ag17Rb8-qYHBZMFcGNL8MVCyVXYqvE0g7w/s1600-h/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+086.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXEAyZ3vHxeTDM5sDykq4pBMiQiHI1T-7J3uO4T-hZ_fNzToAqUkQjzdjG8E8uq4wpXotsd3NwEyPRLqJWocEXPeu_uJ97UBxm6v1Ag17Rb8-qYHBZMFcGNL8MVCyVXYqvE0g7w/s400/West+Highland+Way+-+22nd+to+25th+July+2007+086.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />When the man with the buffet trolley came past I ordered myself two bottles of Bud and asked him to open both of them at the same time. I assured him not to worry as they wouldnt be there for very long. "Have you just done the Way?" he asked, "does it show?" I asked him back. "Yes, it does to be honest" he laughed.<br /><br />An uneventful 3 1/2 hour journey had me back in Glasgow and by 10.00 I was in my flat with my rucksack unpacked, cats fed and lying in a nice hot bath listening to some fine music with a nice glass of red wine. It was one of those baths where you keep topping it up with more hot water because you don't want to get out!<br /><br />I climbed wearily into bed at 11.00 thinking back on my trip and knowing that I will do it again next year. The only differences will be that I will be doing it with Susan and we will both have on ComPeed blister plasters before we even leave Milngavie!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-21848869004763554782007-06-17T23:51:00.000+01:002007-08-18T11:16:10.804+01:00George Michael LiveAs part of Susan's birthday, we went to see George Michael in concert at Hampden Park, Glasgow.<br /><br />I am not the biggest fan of his solo work, especially his more recent offerings, I am more of a Wham fan! However, I think that an artist that big is worth going to see, and I am glad that we did.<br /><br />We were running late getting there as we had been at Louden Castle country park that day and by the time we made it to Mount Florida, the traffic was a nightmare. After a lot of driving around, we finally found a parking spot about a mile away and as we walked to the National Stadium we could hear the support act, Sophie Ellis Bexter belting out <em>Murder On The Dancefloor, </em>which is a shame as I would have quite liked to see her.<br /><br />There was a real party atmosphere with people sitting on the grass having a few drinks before going to watch the concert. I spotted a few T-shirts with <em>Choose Life</em> proudly displayed on the wearers' chest. Made me laugh as I had one of them back in the middle of the 80's!<br /><br />Upon entering Hampden Park, I was impressed. It is the first time I have been there since it was refurbished and it looks great. If St Mirren get the finger out next year then perhaps I will be be here again for the Scottish Cup Final. Here's hoping!<br /><br />There was time to grab a hot dog and a beer before fighting our way through the crowd to find a good vantage point. Just after 8.30, George took to the stage and the crowd went nuts!<br /><br />After 25 years in the business, he certainly knows how to milk the crowd and I must admit I was swept along with it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLWcCdVD8LWOp-jE1mUTvWuLpEThyphenhyphenxnvStNY2D_ScL1FblFt1v3-FB3QY5Ufh7-OCG2GXlJrl5Zqb7wiQH3YWu_MSxR9Y0zWjbuQW-YWB5JcIA-6509We9ID3fpXVGRKKTvGTMw/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLWcCdVD8LWOp-jE1mUTvWuLpEThyphenhyphenxnvStNY2D_ScL1FblFt1v3-FB3QY5Ufh7-OCG2GXlJrl5Zqb7wiQH3YWu_MSxR9Y0zWjbuQW-YWB5JcIA-6509We9ID3fpXVGRKKTvGTMw/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_AIDHDDXKKTgfGpCtV4pcqe4lOdSeQarByYWQQr2-I7szhynrYlbbMwwR1BBvy1KEd_MWRo29nDi4ahqb1inMrTjxuJLOsDUpwzXPk-QjbhmtfQsvu1CwiZ-uXOtjq09vbiAnQ/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_AIDHDDXKKTgfGpCtV4pcqe4lOdSeQarByYWQQr2-I7szhynrYlbbMwwR1BBvy1KEd_MWRo29nDi4ahqb1inMrTjxuJLOsDUpwzXPk-QjbhmtfQsvu1CwiZ-uXOtjq09vbiAnQ/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+016.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />The stageshow was fantastic and at some points he was only 20 metres in front of us, thanks to a runway that looped out from the main stage. He belted out hit after hit and we all sang our hearts out. Not even the midges or really bad hayfever spoiled it!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQruX80vKeCe4JtNrEvb4EFDMX2XCrU27bfS-Z43oql225xNY8c6-OkTSBQUlDWY7zppJXJNq9wQnWSrLbIfoGPUbHGKrIArtTF_FEds5g7WlaTlzDSI1fHDY5o9wE54vHB1tSg/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQruX80vKeCe4JtNrEvb4EFDMX2XCrU27bfS-Z43oql225xNY8c6-OkTSBQUlDWY7zppJXJNq9wQnWSrLbIfoGPUbHGKrIArtTF_FEds5g7WlaTlzDSI1fHDY5o9wE54vHB1tSg/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+021.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamTIZNjw2uN31s3sJnexlY55rXkFbvN2pWSEZUF64wKx1G4-t7fdhPzwB-cdFBhzQcwt3uOXxXCvNsY8imenZSqoHiikQ0NNqZy7NA8-uUXULeDhyphenhyphenoQs85fWuZhrU1r9ywT7M5g/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamTIZNjw2uN31s3sJnexlY55rXkFbvN2pWSEZUF64wKx1G4-t7fdhPzwB-cdFBhzQcwt3uOXxXCvNsY8imenZSqoHiikQ0NNqZy7NA8-uUXULeDhyphenhyphenoQs85fWuZhrU1r9ywT7M5g/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+002.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xRZW7W7pf3zZd4dputjDtUNooJasfFWjcGkbpD4fvc3xtFh1OghnEH59Cz-3TYH7M8sIqOsuiLuBzUGQNOFgs78pR8nsUFsCneBYw1vhm2Ihw8I3Ipnf3c3u88dxWIs5YnVN1g/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+020.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xRZW7W7pf3zZd4dputjDtUNooJasfFWjcGkbpD4fvc3xtFh1OghnEH59Cz-3TYH7M8sIqOsuiLuBzUGQNOFgs78pR8nsUFsCneBYw1vhm2Ihw8I3Ipnf3c3u88dxWIs5YnVN1g/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+020.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g8XMwnQXPj9qSQ65buvwoYSZE_2Wp7L6nmM19nP6Uh5o2M9kB3wV4c2vdkzdGo4CqX3S7z8dWy1V5JqnZlCSwiXFfwlzFIO8HtmllS0yWnHfwH1GhYUrFf7ZvRpZVKtP_dVofQ/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g8XMwnQXPj9qSQ65buvwoYSZE_2Wp7L6nmM19nP6Uh5o2M9kB3wV4c2vdkzdGo4CqX3S7z8dWy1V5JqnZlCSwiXFfwlzFIO8HtmllS0yWnHfwH1GhYUrFf7ZvRpZVKtP_dVofQ/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+025.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />He took a break half way through the show, promising to be back in twenty minutes. When his time was up, he burst back onto stage in full LAPD outfit to sing <em>Outside. </em>The crowd loved it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD4HGhVCDh0M8oCmRmt48nCQfHX1z967JumazPDWczAQTtIstINgai1-qGoHTLDcNoqmfftw71ppDKVujbKhsfbDShdizPeKnGreOHTqbynmMKWOOMTv8iTRbIY7QxiU9fl4sVA/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTD4HGhVCDh0M8oCmRmt48nCQfHX1z967JumazPDWczAQTtIstINgai1-qGoHTLDcNoqmfftw71ppDKVujbKhsfbDShdizPeKnGreOHTqbynmMKWOOMTv8iTRbIY7QxiU9fl4sVA/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+008.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />He really went for it in the second half of the show with some real crowd pleasers like <em>The Edge Of Heaven</em> and <em>Careless Whisper</em> and came back for a second encore to sing <em>Freedom</em>. Annoyingly, spouting anti Tony Blair propoganda at the start of the track. Give me a break, George!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4owlHzhKVwxZlirpL-iPwJjPbIM-bzUGlyQGAY4nVgInj3th19dSx4WgsHy3XUUAwWbOhhC_77FnNAxXzoTDrLNj5ZW4Uzh_7RuZ51n7cbgk0la1pPh9_DvXtH7vgJQpFFUUyfA/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4owlHzhKVwxZlirpL-iPwJjPbIM-bzUGlyQGAY4nVgInj3th19dSx4WgsHy3XUUAwWbOhhC_77FnNAxXzoTDrLNj5ZW4Uzh_7RuZ51n7cbgk0la1pPh9_DvXtH7vgJQpFFUUyfA/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+006.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRSFKEoEfutAgP5No-sWKdYKrg1KbAo6W2GMcv_og1txyKCYOnEuiGoUvK-yMvbfcWX6wh2lwvqcLRNyDa2ccW7eGKsMfwiRBT-Bg44AjV8gC7qRisYUf_gZQOTaa5FtQjGOt7g/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRSFKEoEfutAgP5No-sWKdYKrg1KbAo6W2GMcv_og1txyKCYOnEuiGoUvK-yMvbfcWX6wh2lwvqcLRNyDa2ccW7eGKsMfwiRBT-Bg44AjV8gC7qRisYUf_gZQOTaa5FtQjGOt7g/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWKFTWWrui9XKixVZQOhJhrxaKj2yQwJQU5hP8KLJE7ArOYUYX1RST_Odiq6DifpNDO36tWit4_vl1qVx4BOsYlIrhy6frrUkn0BmLhtdytAIMwC985pqykMU-XZTYuApgLMeDQ/s1600-h/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWKFTWWrui9XKixVZQOhJhrxaKj2yQwJQU5hP8KLJE7ArOYUYX1RST_Odiq6DifpNDO36tWit4_vl1qVx4BOsYlIrhy6frrUkn0BmLhtdytAIMwC985pqykMU-XZTYuApgLMeDQ/s320/George+Michael+In+Concert+17th+June+2007+019.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Anyway, that is my only criticism. Well that and the fact that he never sang <em>Club Tropicana!</em>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-34731402749323122082007-06-13T11:31:00.000+01:002007-08-20T15:02:40.361+01:00Mum's PicturesMy Mum has some of her drawings and paintings on display in Johnstone library at the moment. It is not the first time that her work has been exibhited. She has previously had her work on display in Paisley Art Gallery and Museum.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji02_hyphenhyphenxSUtiIXJXOzR_Xb_wDDG_qAHS3Db49SnazHXVyW11FqHaVHb1Cv_UP_logsCFCBMmKZYbdU5_COiW1h-Ywb-nNuHZll-l90TCDEginCMIbKN6pOIDVNk2NmRtjfyqeGGw/s1600-h/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji02_hyphenhyphenxSUtiIXJXOzR_Xb_wDDG_qAHS3Db49SnazHXVyW11FqHaVHb1Cv_UP_logsCFCBMmKZYbdU5_COiW1h-Ywb-nNuHZll-l90TCDEginCMIbKN6pOIDVNk2NmRtjfyqeGGw/s320/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGxNHTZozFA3QNFwMO1w-DRBGj-gL4JRcF8SrmGAyYpDA8aehHvhpF4ugDAI65BEqtsVe2g1ZdVzRMFf2dZfi-hLMqaaArYXQC42e5U9oBavt3NYJrP_ka1-klqB3VOsnLtPatg/s1600-h/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+001.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGxNHTZozFA3QNFwMO1w-DRBGj-gL4JRcF8SrmGAyYpDA8aehHvhpF4ugDAI65BEqtsVe2g1ZdVzRMFf2dZfi-hLMqaaArYXQC42e5U9oBavt3NYJrP_ka1-klqB3VOsnLtPatg/s400/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+001.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />She had a phone call from the library to inform her that someone wanted to buy her painting of Rod Stewart (below). However, as she really likes this one she said it was not for sale. A short while later the library phoned her back, and a long story short, she has been commisioned to do another one!<br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O4FlrGyWD_gfk3PvwRKjREF2G3vadFjUcHNS1_gNpi-yKrOmSHYakC0xTj7Nv0HsctmcREloo663LMSK-uwcUAbQnsL2nmKK9G4c42nFI2stbW_aal-zHcqj0-4hDdd5YEBI4w/s1600-h/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+002.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O4FlrGyWD_gfk3PvwRKjREF2G3vadFjUcHNS1_gNpi-yKrOmSHYakC0xTj7Nv0HsctmcREloo663LMSK-uwcUAbQnsL2nmKK9G4c42nFI2stbW_aal-zHcqj0-4hDdd5YEBI4w/s400/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June+2007+002.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />The picture below, by my Mum is in the hall of my flat and I think you will agree that it is pretty good.<br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietuileF7icHvvATW9TsB9dEnHxtSdt5mTj_vkY8GAeAbdLzmws4ut5QKFklwFHqvN4QyfySHUyI3ipaFTN43aDamifS9C7HVOLA2o-2jIRI_ZYL0fuBnItLvEwHjDOFgaFG6wTA/s1600-h/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June%232007+001.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietuileF7icHvvATW9TsB9dEnHxtSdt5mTj_vkY8GAeAbdLzmws4ut5QKFklwFHqvN4QyfySHUyI3ipaFTN43aDamifS9C7HVOLA2o-2jIRI_ZYL0fuBnItLvEwHjDOFgaFG6wTA/s400/Mum's+Pictures+-+13th+June%232007+001.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />My Mum thinks that she is 'alright' at drawing and painting. However, I think she is much more talented that she gives herself credit and I am very proud of her,<br /><br />I love you Mum!!!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-16709530506760884812007-05-20T23:55:00.000+01:002007-08-18T10:47:42.853+01:00Francis Patrick Samuel Ward's First Holy Communion - 20th May 2007My Godson, Francis Patrick Samuel Ward had his first holy communion recently and I was fortunate to be there to share in this important day with all the people who love him...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nJBceENyH3lZaNaSHwq9esfEyNSfHbweXlB1U2M2aTXw_aY_xq9gDr1sQWIhi-3cDVycdym2Jms45Jj9fBrULc6POhiwhrIe_92I_T-gcs2DlMhgTXGJ03FG_RqXoXc5DTLlzA/s1600-h/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nJBceENyH3lZaNaSHwq9esfEyNSfHbweXlB1U2M2aTXw_aY_xq9gDr1sQWIhi-3cDVycdym2Jms45Jj9fBrULc6POhiwhrIe_92I_T-gcs2DlMhgTXGJ03FG_RqXoXc5DTLlzA/s320/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSs_rzxw3nukDszbs__-N8gu9bPBfCrvvr9loer_CwoijwOHTIKtyqLxWf_OG8c0xSWsVHJBti1egCkn_p-i7mcjiNCbHQXjEBq1H4UQBft-cVvrhd6ahDNmzVHbucR1IZ1SSNQ/s1600-h/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSs_rzxw3nukDszbs__-N8gu9bPBfCrvvr9loer_CwoijwOHTIKtyqLxWf_OG8c0xSWsVHJBti1egCkn_p-i7mcjiNCbHQXjEBq1H4UQBft-cVvrhd6ahDNmzVHbucR1IZ1SSNQ/s320/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxUWQSLqq6A3k9GvP-l7MBLZmoPLs75KauNksZ3-lxX_KqBXgu0mS19iZ8w1f5nRmahmVgWN9p6TPD0BwBiGXdMDuvwdG9YBOXWf0vN55ZR5Szv8f_XG33kAmSRebzm2qKuHN1A/s1600-h/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxUWQSLqq6A3k9GvP-l7MBLZmoPLs75KauNksZ3-lxX_KqBXgu0mS19iZ8w1f5nRmahmVgWN9p6TPD0BwBiGXdMDuvwdG9YBOXWf0vN55ZR5Szv8f_XG33kAmSRebzm2qKuHN1A/s320/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; 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TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU_uB5xM1QzW_CmTc03b_7sP4wS7FKKDWFBsBvBOom1W80_D6Lb0bkmEKQdrmHiudZhFf1uvI99eXUiBMEYOaB-VplwxTU8r8vkNuxWnaufmLQUEu_Raya3D9feuuX_2ZYUCwHA/s1600-h/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU_uB5xM1QzW_CmTc03b_7sP4wS7FKKDWFBsBvBOom1W80_D6Lb0bkmEKQdrmHiudZhFf1uvI99eXUiBMEYOaB-VplwxTU8r8vkNuxWnaufmLQUEu_Raya3D9feuuX_2ZYUCwHA/s320/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+025.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; 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TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovQNSlaIJ_Kp-9N-gwN_QyDZjnerNdboP-xRjzMJgEP76_eeLigLbxAZY91jSgk9zfJIUWJUSuZmYF9P8M_mNePs9R9vqzV7OgEzhZL8UdmhZmT4eI33TEO_DHld7nJBJvFGE_g/s1600-h/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+049.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovQNSlaIJ_Kp-9N-gwN_QyDZjnerNdboP-xRjzMJgEP76_eeLigLbxAZY91jSgk9zfJIUWJUSuZmYF9P8M_mNePs9R9vqzV7OgEzhZL8UdmhZmT4eI33TEO_DHld7nJBJvFGE_g/s320/Francis+Patrick+Samuel+Ward%27s+First+Holy+Communion+20th+May+2007+049.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-58313275328145371172007-04-29T23:26:00.000+01:002007-05-15T11:56:51.132+01:00First Camping Trip of the YearLater in the year than usual, we had our first camping trip. Usually, we have been camping in the sub-zero temperatures of February or March where hypothermia is considered to be "just part of the fun".<br /><br />Anyway, the weather had been fantastic of late so off went Jim, Thomas and I to Rowerdennan. It wasn't to be our usual destination, but a new one that Thomas had discovered last year whilst walking the West Highland Way with Kath and if he ever finishes writing that blog entry then perhaps we will discover how he actually found it :).<br /><br />The plan was to meet in Glasgow, get the train to Balloch, indulge in some sociable binge drinking and then cycle to the camp site. I had stayed at Susan's the night before so I intended to join them at Dumbarton East. However, as so often is the case with me, things did not quite go to plan.<br /><br />Since we were cycling about 25 miles to the campsite, I decided that a smaller, more lightweight sleeping bag would be easier to carry than the one that I have at present. Long story short, by the time I bumbled about with Susan at Loch Lomond Shores and picked a suitable compact sleeping bag which had an "L" on the label (more on that later!) the guys were past Dumbarton East and well on the way to Balloch. Susan offered to give me a lift straight to Balloch since my bike was in the back of her car anyway.<br /><br />Fifteen minutes away from Balloch and Susan's Mum called to inform me that I had left my tent back in her house. To save me wasting valuable drinking time, Susan dropped me off at the Balloch House Hotel where Jim and Thomas were deep into their first beer of the day, and volunteered to go back to her house to get my tent for me. Don't know what I would do without her :).<br /><br />We chatted away and caught up with all the gossip and 40 minutes later, Susan returned with my tent and joined us for a while before leaving us to get on with it.<br /><br />It was a warm sunny day and the lure of cold beer ensured that it was a good couple of hours before we finally started cycling to our first port of call which was Drymen and it took us the best part of a couple of hours to make it there. Another beer inside us and it was time to think of what provisions we would need to see us through the night. An almost instant decision was made to forgo buying any food and just have dinner in the Rowerdennan Hotel. This left ample room to buy more beers, a wee mixture of cans of Bud and Stella and a bottle of Rose just for good measure.<br /><br />We stuffed them into our bags and carried onto Balmaha, where the Oak Tree Inn would have the pleasure of our company, but only after we had to stop and repair Thomas' flat tyre. After one or two it was time for the big push onto Rowerdennan and an hour and a half of hard cycling later we made it to the campsite.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnOJXqpml22LDSTOtvWq4NMYA885ozgqejZDQ25GEW2HWY4xIWejhsJQlsQXxm4w0n7-dtHpQHPOXfn8rzazJKGB8Xho1e7K8fFCHqS7i6LUKWPLdC6Aypocd8AVsMNSDX5NFeQ/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnOJXqpml22LDSTOtvWq4NMYA885ozgqejZDQ25GEW2HWY4xIWejhsJQlsQXxm4w0n7-dtHpQHPOXfn8rzazJKGB8Xho1e7K8fFCHqS7i6LUKWPLdC6Aypocd8AVsMNSDX5NFeQ/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><strong><em><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></em></strong></a></div><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Jim and I put our tents up and Thomas tied his hammock to a couple of trees. I unpacked my new sleeping bag and discovered to my annoyance and to much hilarity from the other two that "L" does not stand for a "Large" sleeping bag but the "L" means that the bag has a zip on the left. So tonight I would be sleeping in a kid sized sleeping bag that zipped on the left!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXMTTDFir_Nu45-gkts1leyhjajCS2kJLoecH619rFg4IQ86ttUI8aHXYI2A_Waynz3lY9dnk1hDZfHah1uMjZKNKG-hkCmzHm22yI2QPWcQYcfclJOgxjAxL9yPQTpqaxDJGOw/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXMTTDFir_Nu45-gkts1leyhjajCS2kJLoecH619rFg4IQ86ttUI8aHXYI2A_Waynz3lY9dnk1hDZfHah1uMjZKNKG-hkCmzHm22yI2QPWcQYcfclJOgxjAxL9yPQTpqaxDJGOw/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+1.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFd1zZQ_y97d0H4qma3tOzj0CXN2X8sXW_Fz10XJhNwm0KUTFToFPOgoNJDFDsSwXwafERbpB2CScY36uf4R4fjfIkXUlK_ql5T8AhyphenhyphenGa2qAZZgkQzUFES8fM5OFL6nWOS8Gu1Xw/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFd1zZQ_y97d0H4qma3tOzj0CXN2X8sXW_Fz10XJhNwm0KUTFToFPOgoNJDFDsSwXwafERbpB2CScY36uf4R4fjfIkXUlK_ql5T8AhyphenhyphenGa2qAZZgkQzUFES8fM5OFL6nWOS8Gu1Xw/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+004.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5TwG6Pf67QeUFVBXNKT29G0JB4fY4TtZ0bXTQOhmZqMP7VO4TvQ9oFo4HOX7MDNQykn4ZkqizQ1z1zJcGp-QeuwPm3eyelV0wsv_KnU2E7d_wtL7q-Eru0UL79Zts_MyZPUpEw/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5TwG6Pf67QeUFVBXNKT29G0JB4fY4TtZ0bXTQOhmZqMP7VO4TvQ9oFo4HOX7MDNQykn4ZkqizQ1z1zJcGp-QeuwPm3eyelV0wsv_KnU2E7d_wtL7q-Eru0UL79Zts_MyZPUpEw/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+006.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">After a couple of cans from our stockpile at the campsite, we set off for the hotel to get some food. We were tired and hungry and in need of some relaxation. As we got to the hotel we could see that a wedding was in full swing and I the guys commented that I could crash it later on if I was in the mood (regular blog readers will understand!).</span> <p></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">We grabbed a seat in the bar and ordered food and drink. A musician was setting up for his one man show and things were looking up until the food arrived and he started his set. Thomas and I had ordered chili con carne and it was obviously just been pinged in the microwave rather than cooked from scratch. The musician started playing his guitar and his backing music and although he wasn't terrible we decided to make a retreat outside with our beers to escape his "100 great guitar classics" routine.<br /><br />Despite it being pretty chilly outside we decided to stick it out, since as you can see from the picture below, it was a beautiful night. A short while later the wedding guests made there way round to near where we were sitting and a fireworks display began from the side of the Loch.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1XoLaMfsZ1tULji5o5TjWC3Rj-MTKr9OLFz1bMZLyKAp7sgzg5bI-LQ9NXMDLEcpHT9ifyjohF7_KVAMW-U56Fk9J8hWk5LNseewPvE5UASGbJz8BZdMWXu87unDdM4_YYcf7g/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1XoLaMfsZ1tULji5o5TjWC3Rj-MTKr9OLFz1bMZLyKAp7sgzg5bI-LQ9NXMDLEcpHT9ifyjohF7_KVAMW-U56Fk9J8hWk5LNseewPvE5UASGbJz8BZdMWXu87unDdM4_YYcf7g/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGkY2sHnF_cFFhX-GOl2nLwW1Ds_nQXADg_sfYkNpHA11cpQEDkIjed3vTLrw6DXIKlnfuxpRjciLzg3TKAMP3maKtP-zAfrrEC-pxf6WCiy9clWETVhZ_yG3HRXRIUu0TaDHlg/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGkY2sHnF_cFFhX-GOl2nLwW1Ds_nQXADg_sfYkNpHA11cpQEDkIjed3vTLrw6DXIKlnfuxpRjciLzg3TKAMP3maKtP-zAfrrEC-pxf6WCiy9clWETVhZ_yG3HRXRIUu0TaDHlg/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+008.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">After</span> moving inside to heat up for a while,</span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#000000;"> it was time to call it a night and we cycled back to the campsite. Since I was the only one with a light on my bike I was supposed to lead the guys to safety. Unfortunately the two slow asses got left behind with the result that Jim hit a rock and fell off his bike landing on his wrist that he broke on a previous cycle trip a few years ago. Ooops!</span></span><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">After a</span> <span style="color:#000000;">wee nightcap in my tent we turned in for the night. Despite my sleeping bag barely covering my belly button I managed to fall asleep pretty quickly, probably due to a combination of too much cycling and too many beers!</span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">I awoke at 4.00, absolutely baltic. It was freezing and my poor choice in sleeping bag and lack of warm clothing was totally pissing me off. I could here Jim snoring away in his tent and Thomas arguing with someone in his sleep. </span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">We finally emerged from out tents, tired and sore around 8.00 and the site of the sun rising over the Loch and the thought of a hot breakfast were an incentive to get cracking.</span></p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NadmxEX2UQYs-cuaIyMvQ2evyu-kOHWt5PIYoHgOktY0bc2mX8FQU3XgnpQo1gf4W_ceeXRLw8HhSpZh2ad6EH8siu3A8otpDMr41F2SCZyXr9DogW6JtMq7ru5rW4YOjFtzww/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NadmxEX2UQYs-cuaIyMvQ2evyu-kOHWt5PIYoHgOktY0bc2mX8FQU3XgnpQo1gf4W_ceeXRLw8HhSpZh2ad6EH8siu3A8otpDMr41F2SCZyXr9DogW6JtMq7ru5rW4YOjFtzww/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+012.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p></span><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSp4Kaok0DGFFFujbb1AvPSVWcurKmq9kBVDpq1NVInFFjlupiPoPoUF_d5NgDjDVvScPdk29lMWqJ1XRJiXda0ju9yXj4o1R6rH0-awEb-uUUQPrDjH83CZYJR851URU4SkMyg/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSp4Kaok0DGFFFujbb1AvPSVWcurKmq9kBVDpq1NVInFFjlupiPoPoUF_d5NgDjDVvScPdk29lMWqJ1XRJiXda0ju9yXj4o1R6rH0-awEb-uUUQPrDjH83CZYJR851URU4SkMyg/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+013.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />On our return from a good Scottish fry-up breakfast at the hotel we packed up our stuff and cycled back to Balmaha. Arriving there at 11.30. Too early for the pub so a breakfast Bud for each of us was pulled from Thomas' bag and we sat drinking our cans like the scumbags we are, on the grass.<br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As we sat there, a car with a boat in tow passed by and I asked the guys if they had a boat what they would call it. My name was a no-brainer, "Enterprise", Thomas plumped for, "Pearl Necklace", and before Jim had a chance to choose his name we were throwing suggestions at him like, "HMS Cheesy Wotsits" and the "HMS Monster Munch". We eventually decided that his boat should be called the, "HMS Pringles" and in a quick trip into Bob's world, I amused myself by suggesting that he would have empty Pringle tubes stuck to the sides of his boat to use as torpedo launchers. I laughed hysterically at myself, while my friends just shook their heads in pity!</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Another stop in Drymen and then we were on our way to Balloch. Full speed ahead.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOh9gBrzgEUn1yrW34uvhEbz4RZ7j3w56XV-_CATdSkISoNdG0TUZGx9lLxJhs9EYcpMfjLq_Gzcr4_w-WfkBUavs-jjdH9xhafHj_hX3wPb3SQcpXHoHaS7i_LLdzxOKNvRYSg/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOh9gBrzgEUn1yrW34uvhEbz4RZ7j3w56XV-_CATdSkISoNdG0TUZGx9lLxJhs9EYcpMfjLq_Gzcr4_w-WfkBUavs-jjdH9xhafHj_hX3wPb3SQcpXHoHaS7i_LLdzxOKNvRYSg/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+014.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />The scenery is fab and</span> <span style="color:#000000;">we kept up a good pace through the countryside. Passing, what is my favourite bit of topiary (see below). You are just driving along the country roads, turn a corner and there it is. Very cool!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIblhKSGGfzAcUpNFgLRMGhz5-YT2IQHobpUf7KO6qlN7xBHo-HOlGv1y2Hh8pPstIO5qDJbuQzL6Y50suJ74LyjxOJ0wf0ETyycJMDtok1HvTJMCqGPmje2WTBQ1FAew98CZHQ/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIblhKSGGfzAcUpNFgLRMGhz5-YT2IQHobpUf7KO6qlN7xBHo-HOlGv1y2Hh8pPstIO5qDJbuQzL6Y50suJ74LyjxOJ0wf0ETyycJMDtok1HvTJMCqGPmje2WTBQ1FAew98CZHQ/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+003.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">After</span> <span style="color:#000000;">a good long cycle up and down various hills, stopping at many pubs and having a laugh we were back where we started, at the Balloch House Hotel for a slap up meal before getting the train back home.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePXf6j6-yg1wnw8LAuFjLkxREpLU-ywtQsAmi6SJQ0QcgqC8lHt8HZnDsKZfCXQodO_ZE8SpvjBI0WvP4AkRnEycW22mDsSu5lHbO_gMRvKuUTrAbopiQEpb-s7Fxth-HKsuQWw/s1600-h/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePXf6j6-yg1wnw8LAuFjLkxREpLU-ywtQsAmi6SJQ0QcgqC8lHt8HZnDsKZfCXQodO_ZE8SpvjBI0WvP4AkRnEycW22mDsSu5lHbO_gMRvKuUTrAbopiQEpb-s7Fxth-HKsuQWw/s320/Camping+at+Rowerdennan+28th+to+29th+April+2007+002.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Another top weekend!<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><p></p></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-26326735680749065272007-04-22T23:51:00.000+01:002007-05-17T23:40:14.228+01:00Dirty Weekend Up North!Susan and I had taken a couple of days off to go down and see Brian and Fiona but unfortunately they had to cancel on us so we decided to spend a couple of days up North instead.<br /><br />We left early on Friday and headed East, then up to Inverness. We had a short stop-over at my Aunt and Uncle's holiday home at Portmahomack. It has two cottages that sit at the bottom of a lighthouse and as you look out towards the peninsula the Dornoch Firth is to your left and the Moray Firth to your right. On a good day you can see dolphins leaping out of the sea and there are seals on the beach, but not today. We are going up to stay there for a weekend in August when my Aunt and Uncle come over from America.<br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPm4ftGg4FwttITbRHx5fVqCzY9iyTqF_3meguNyDH1MawHttAZZbEUAlrK2H0EwZi1uGFrlUtVnJ6xg1m4OtbirnlpUH2vk984f0fpe9DFu9FjN7Cfygmk6J03rj_gMmSITDvA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+041.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPm4ftGg4FwttITbRHx5fVqCzY9iyTqF_3meguNyDH1MawHttAZZbEUAlrK2H0EwZi1uGFrlUtVnJ6xg1m4OtbirnlpUH2vk984f0fpe9DFu9FjN7Cfygmk6J03rj_gMmSITDvA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+041.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJv1RG1O2k8ERS2TLp3lRJfFIMOQaEjZbs4Wr9j3yxz7na8jm36alhnq5FdyAv-7jhV8KHHzmoxPnUuyNy7VN3rmob28ghtVZ7fQOvVXYdRMNllK-_lQ7VhR_qhBJnss_yzNScMg/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJv1RG1O2k8ERS2TLp3lRJfFIMOQaEjZbs4Wr9j3yxz7na8jm36alhnq5FdyAv-7jhV8KHHzmoxPnUuyNy7VN3rmob28ghtVZ7fQOvVXYdRMNllK-_lQ7VhR_qhBJnss_yzNScMg/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+039.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD3gOIz-Bd1u3R15RJQmJ4Kc1akDEQryry64M6QaVTEVSvDzy5ifTAPRpyE0Kn0k-c2eo8MfnYW0y9RxBKFDKZ3UwqwUqJQmcwT7jTznyBU8UBERnZ5sa9GYCI4kpKFC2STRlAg/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+040.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD3gOIz-Bd1u3R15RJQmJ4Kc1akDEQryry64M6QaVTEVSvDzy5ifTAPRpyE0Kn0k-c2eo8MfnYW0y9RxBKFDKZ3UwqwUqJQmcwT7jTznyBU8UBERnZ5sa9GYCI4kpKFC2STRlAg/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+040.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoUpWEYkjXXo3a2yMZ-lnMvGpLs3imXlwp1xe5aQ4DYs1r2xw_Xytuq7wXjJjlcTi7dW9A1K-BUAKSqBF0kZerGT8ZPfT5EUym87vojtNlakDy0SuO993xu_YP43nEu2UiHwWAQ/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+043.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoUpWEYkjXXo3a2yMZ-lnMvGpLs3imXlwp1xe5aQ4DYs1r2xw_Xytuq7wXjJjlcTi7dW9A1K-BUAKSqBF0kZerGT8ZPfT5EUym87vojtNlakDy0SuO993xu_YP43nEu2UiHwWAQ/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+043.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A couple of hours later we were in Ullapool on the West coast and had booked into the Harbour Lights Hotel that looked onto Loch Broom. Very nice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8cnjtcGno52s33BCy_3jUwwiM_cO0cgwEhvyZ1LrY-vr-lIwO8ZKeHhxdvVIsohX37uRdkyW-WqTpIZwwtkrP22eNLC0-K9AiPy373ZszXWiZQXEhuquSjWz5Bn5gdPtstz6zA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8cnjtcGno52s33BCy_3jUwwiM_cO0cgwEhvyZ1LrY-vr-lIwO8ZKeHhxdvVIsohX37uRdkyW-WqTpIZwwtkrP22eNLC0-K9AiPy373ZszXWiZQXEhuquSjWz5Bn5gdPtstz6zA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4qJOSWQQDotyaZTr7b6pjvVcIpdXxR6K6uh0wpHbaDDYgr3lAsCd9PkJxQC3BtdLxeaDb8SbQKOopCoggF87he8u9Uar6A_7GppL_jYVG-S8H6KEjB75alZ3KpDcZeDP8_iVtw/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4qJOSWQQDotyaZTr7b6pjvVcIpdXxR6K6uh0wpHbaDDYgr3lAsCd9PkJxQC3BtdLxeaDb8SbQKOopCoggF87he8u9Uar6A_7GppL_jYVG-S8H6KEjB75alZ3KpDcZeDP8_iVtw/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />As we arrived at the hotel, we discovered that unfortunately some other guests were arriving to check in at the same time. We were lucky enough to be staying in the same hotel as a bunch of big hairy bikers who were away from their wives and girlfriends for the weekend. The looks on their faces as they saw Susan told me that there was going to be trouble ahead, and I wasn't wrong...<br /><br />Anyway, we booked into our room, spent some time together then got showered and headed downstairs for some dinner. The meal was nice and after we had finished our three courses, we headed through to the lounge and had a seat beside the coal fire. It took me three cups of coffee to get myself "unrelaxed" enough that we could head into town for a drink.<br /><br />Unfortunately, we ended up in the same place as the bikers. One of them came up to us and was chatting away, but as the night went on more of them joined in and were showing Susan a bit more attention than I was happy with. She tried to play it down with them, but by this time they all had their beer heads on and were not backing off.<br /><br />Things came to a head when I went to the toilet and returned to find one of them trying to give Susan his phone number. Another arsehole was trying his luck too and I told them in no uncertain terms to "fuck off". I did think for a brief moment that they were all about to lay into me and I was up for that, but Susan saw sense and escorted me out of the pub and back to the hotel. I was seething.<br /><br />We opened a bottle of red wine in the room and got back to our happy place before finally falling over around 2.00.<br /><br />Breakfast the next morning was an experience as our new friends were sitting a couple of tables away. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, but I don't suppose it helped that I was growling at them.<br /><br />We decided that we needed to blow the cob-webs away and go for a cycle. We bought a book from the tourist information office and found a cycle route that was nearby.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7ybvq2Wh6TyRxS3rOG1JYfuBZb4uFuXzy1j-h9i2bVte88lFLzpoDtgBU_Xk7Sdz-Cn-l7ZDF41SeFk52twJ7aU2ckSmNnEJthnPy6rn508Hr_jiGFmgxfCLmSlYIbGoobzSRA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7ybvq2Wh6TyRxS3rOG1JYfuBZb4uFuXzy1j-h9i2bVte88lFLzpoDtgBU_Xk7Sdz-Cn-l7ZDF41SeFk52twJ7aU2ckSmNnEJthnPy6rn508Hr_jiGFmgxfCLmSlYIbGoobzSRA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPneKav48epXc2AtX87JBNfTRt55L_Cupe8_H7VG5OXij7xz4ZbPBwGQytm-z7yDB-WfoeknnmPpqMzl1WIpm2FUABNvnhfQyMGc-OQROmf8aqqkzBSuS7R1xF-ODB-yR2jmSlzw/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPneKav48epXc2AtX87JBNfTRt55L_Cupe8_H7VG5OXij7xz4ZbPBwGQytm-z7yDB-WfoeknnmPpqMzl1WIpm2FUABNvnhfQyMGc-OQROmf8aqqkzBSuS7R1xF-ODB-yR2jmSlzw/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We headed up a steep hill that ran past a quarry and were thinking of heading back when we turned a corner and saw Loch Achall in the distance. We carried on cycling round the to the side of the Loch and even though it was raining the scenery made it worthwhile.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YS-Er3GjwSdvVlJxqhN2FwbGh6Sshtyq_JPSSbHgtLu74fj9yBsOYir2rYBkJNNz5xFP6QyK7PD80j9If8oyZLzUwlqoHSRsHtQQhIF7Trk3Z1AOXhLDNeMiozanDR0f7r-RbQ/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YS-Er3GjwSdvVlJxqhN2FwbGh6Sshtyq_JPSSbHgtLu74fj9yBsOYir2rYBkJNNz5xFP6QyK7PD80j9If8oyZLzUwlqoHSRsHtQQhIF7Trk3Z1AOXhLDNeMiozanDR0f7r-RbQ/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Jg1nhqaJVfkpTce7eGloeh1QvU6G3wFgwcpmjjE6pU7wWtd186Gp9n_THoEqjZASgJ3LsYvOJRUQobWLlzSu0G-pHnueC-_uRkfWkh_NzCp1RWJV6mQrnIFeNfQsrVORFAcV2A/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Jg1nhqaJVfkpTce7eGloeh1QvU6G3wFgwcpmjjE6pU7wWtd186Gp9n_THoEqjZASgJ3LsYvOJRUQobWLlzSu0G-pHnueC-_uRkfWkh_NzCp1RWJV6mQrnIFeNfQsrVORFAcV2A/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+014.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6eU_4SMCwcd8FB_3-MD__w4Sj9c1t5_8QOFnwvF-xu5b176uaMeSExyooLK46mxRJGgY70zfZV9fhKZQNeAHCDuwBu6HBd-8sTTCe4aPtQk7n4uTa_LUqOTczH4oIpLabvJOTA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+017.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6eU_4SMCwcd8FB_3-MD__w4Sj9c1t5_8QOFnwvF-xu5b176uaMeSExyooLK46mxRJGgY70zfZV9fhKZQNeAHCDuwBu6HBd-8sTTCe4aPtQk7n4uTa_LUqOTczH4oIpLabvJOTA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+017.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />We returned to the hotel and got showered and ready to go out. A night in town with our new friends did not sound very appealling so Susan suggested that we take a trip to Nairn. As I looked at the map I noticed how close it is to Burghead, where my mate, Mark lives. I suggested to Susan that we pop into see him as we have kind of lost touch recently.<br /><br />As we drove down I phoned his mobile several times but could not get a hold of him. I sent a text to my friend Jim asking if I had the correct phone number but by the time Jim got back to me we had already been driving around Burghead for half an hour and were on the verge of leaving. As a last resort, we stopped the car and I rolled down the window and asked a man standing outside a pub, "do you know Mark Langlands?". "Yeah", he replied. "He's standing at the bar in there". He dissappeared for a minute and emerged with a bemused Mark who took a minute or two to get over the shock. His face was a picture!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVxqtKG6SBU122BZx5yXDv5XWgg4sWF1Ol7u2ZIlDEXzuT40-rkkIQGcq6OZmA_1yBATEH8zjE2T46W-7Vprr9LJTmw4KrCbIKwHOcINcGCx07qgLMioagHjMnGYVM7f01pks4A/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVxqtKG6SBU122BZx5yXDv5XWgg4sWF1Ol7u2ZIlDEXzuT40-rkkIQGcq6OZmA_1yBATEH8zjE2T46W-7Vprr9LJTmw4KrCbIKwHOcINcGCx07qgLMioagHjMnGYVM7f01pks4A/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+016.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />We went into the pub and I had a couple of beers as we chatted and caught up with old times. Mark took us round the corner to show us his new house and suggested that we stay overnight as his girlfriend would not be in from work until about 10.00. It didn't seem fair on her to come in from work to find two strangers sitting in her living room, especially when she would be up for work at 05.30 the next morning, so we declined.<br /><br />We headed back to Ullapool and had a chippie on the way. It was late when we returned so we crawled into bed and watched <em>Wayne's World</em> on TV, until we fell asleep.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIppjWYx0rQ8tY7GHZhONzqbTXdGkZlrJUvu3ll71zvS1ru4GuyvGMIKVFqRN92ronkdFX8p1pEJIXLCoxDaRTWZMKeXlvNCEBzQkF8QTIYPcKY2RhEmXqMUF6rzHlKG2JFIIA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIppjWYx0rQ8tY7GHZhONzqbTXdGkZlrJUvu3ll71zvS1ru4GuyvGMIKVFqRN92ronkdFX8p1pEJIXLCoxDaRTWZMKeXlvNCEBzQkF8QTIYPcKY2RhEmXqMUF6rzHlKG2JFIIA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+019.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The next morning we were up early for breakfast and our friends were there again, all looking a bit worse for wear. We checked out and started the long drive. We weren't in any hurry to get home so we decided to visit some of Susan's favourite places on the way.<br /><br />We went to Pitlochry and Susan showed me the loch that has "steps" for the Salmon to make their way up so that they can avoid the dam. Very cool.<br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeAVFAAxUClxcGS2sJL9gpqxFBEEBrHj0qRTTysiysyAar9QQU2zfo9f82QlLbVISNTERCyahC8Q8ADWgKrnvKQ-7noWiDcoRi7ZWrCktmRO1UkoXqn-mm7j1ILJDzPPlPUjbPA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+023.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNeAVFAAxUClxcGS2sJL9gpqxFBEEBrHj0qRTTysiysyAar9QQU2zfo9f82QlLbVISNTERCyahC8Q8ADWgKrnvKQ-7noWiDcoRi7ZWrCktmRO1UkoXqn-mm7j1ILJDzPPlPUjbPA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+023.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />Then we went onto her favourite place, Kenmore where we stopped for lunch and shared it with the local duck family. It's absolutely beautiful and I can understand why it means so much to her.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsrdD86etg60_zqL10m4sxKaq_HQIjM4ex_d5kZgdJjeIJcGlGfKDnd1qWBa_vcIqCfieUNhMVE__zwh9t-dxmfpolildbrQwgqnpohXwVDsvmw5CH850tzJLxRPGLH_AhyphenhyphenfbQQ/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsrdD86etg60_zqL10m4sxKaq_HQIjM4ex_d5kZgdJjeIJcGlGfKDnd1qWBa_vcIqCfieUNhMVE__zwh9t-dxmfpolildbrQwgqnpohXwVDsvmw5CH850tzJLxRPGLH_AhyphenhyphenfbQQ/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+045.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9id8cg77kNZwKQOsTQTOuQRsSVL4EeVdEkmuTNQItush7hb_bvLFtJ1hdxIcbq3HKnDbPv8zJ8fF-rCURhQGLNo4DPjza-k1hzAHkxNzSdrjYLp-wu0pOpDIFA6nwWLEeiqqDHA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+044.jpg'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9id8cg77kNZwKQOsTQTOuQRsSVL4EeVdEkmuTNQItush7hb_bvLFtJ1hdxIcbq3HKnDbPv8zJ8fF-rCURhQGLNo4DPjza-k1hzAHkxNzSdrjYLp-wu0pOpDIFA6nwWLEeiqqDHA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+044.jpg' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;'></A> <div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div><br /><br />On then to Gleneagles where Susan has a holiday home. She gave me a wee tour of the hotel. Very nice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XUtvhHNMS6NLSJl1I75E3Ba97aZgyJWAuumlBcvOghL879rnJ1mIJ3JlqsttSNVlWykCDurrLCybyG_nCS7BLfzLIKWjKfAo3MD-mSW0k8P2hccuOHI3Ofi8Q_tqxGwXPMPlBw/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XUtvhHNMS6NLSJl1I75E3Ba97aZgyJWAuumlBcvOghL879rnJ1mIJ3JlqsttSNVlWykCDurrLCybyG_nCS7BLfzLIKWjKfAo3MD-mSW0k8P2hccuOHI3Ofi8Q_tqxGwXPMPlBw/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+047.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWNNKdFcwvtHrNGgdx6lWKhsJlvgE4UL1wJBLU_MqVFLYDmq97QKt3B4MszH_q-Dr8LzUgFtBRXce7DuzaufAiexzN18JW9W3s5VGZ5ikga5nIQV40scxT0ebLpB8NQ2iluKfmA/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+048.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWNNKdFcwvtHrNGgdx6lWKhsJlvgE4UL1wJBLU_MqVFLYDmq97QKt3B4MszH_q-Dr8LzUgFtBRXce7DuzaufAiexzN18JW9W3s5VGZ5ikga5nIQV40scxT0ebLpB8NQ2iluKfmA/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+048.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O16eWnQ_SA5NMBPn_-AJuxeAN6SI3bSxodHQln8pDMXdl7x63DpOCpoU6FEbhWU6H0mas798NMAFlxFFXbgMjPtQ2ZBQM_Wq8ZPk1qa2CI1LqagP33LWi6NqFp_Eqn2iiwEG4Q/s1600-h/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+049.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O16eWnQ_SA5NMBPn_-AJuxeAN6SI3bSxodHQln8pDMXdl7x63DpOCpoU6FEbhWU6H0mas798NMAFlxFFXbgMjPtQ2ZBQM_Wq8ZPk1qa2CI1LqagP33LWi6NqFp_Eqn2iiwEG4Q/s320/Dirty+Weekend+Up+North+-+20th+to+22nd+April+2007+049.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><p>Back home then to reality. Im sorry that we never got to see Brian and Fiona but I am glad that we had a fab weekend, nevertheless.</p><p></p>Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8522353.post-40679812520839565882007-04-04T22:58:00.000+01:002007-05-17T23:45:02.331+01:00Lionel Ritchie in Concert and Cycle to Irvine 3rd/4th April 2007Off to another gig tonight. This time it was Lionel Ritchie playing at the SECC in Glasgow.<br /><br />I'm not his biggest fan, but I love all sorts of music and I was happy to be going to see an artist, who let's face it, is a living legend.<br /><br />The show was polished and at times a wee bit cheesy, but he was superb and had the crowd eating out of his hand. He played all of his hits, old and new, including The Commodore's songs.<br /><br />Highlight for me was <em>"Easy"</em>. Great song.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLuXA3_kdIJgvV8mUigW-Maqy7Uq-8IoQ5oy9K4uHc12m25OJDlzwtFCpBMyTY8fSJKSv_Zw5SsF1JOMsWN5ERVVwYOSEdYi9mOrvYUQGegggEeqQI8Z1cjpjRhyFvjLffKm7HA/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLuXA3_kdIJgvV8mUigW-Maqy7Uq-8IoQ5oy9K4uHc12m25OJDlzwtFCpBMyTY8fSJKSv_Zw5SsF1JOMsWN5ERVVwYOSEdYi9mOrvYUQGegggEeqQI8Z1cjpjRhyFvjLffKm7HA/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVTWSJNu862sPDDsccRtUMak2S8mlPEKEtMe5XTW-nskUs8nqSrYoSFoXCCHpYDaLOvkoPpHSsNFiC2ktBUJEEBaKF_J4l7zVQJ6ccXGHk1rCOXyz6eGddihJOINtBhim58CAjw/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVTWSJNu862sPDDsccRtUMak2S8mlPEKEtMe5XTW-nskUs8nqSrYoSFoXCCHpYDaLOvkoPpHSsNFiC2ktBUJEEBaKF_J4l7zVQJ6ccXGHk1rCOXyz6eGddihJOINtBhim58CAjw/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmmYBFqw2anW0HGDAHvRGPOt4y9HVTa6zmjlBipatIMbLEEgY5M1dRmhkKEXf8crT0iO7mx3O84q4hFNPUPbhTomlylihJBwOrT7xztfGZk-k4qZ1M7r9HP5z29ruc__j5D517Q/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmmYBFqw2anW0HGDAHvRGPOt4y9HVTa6zmjlBipatIMbLEEgY5M1dRmhkKEXf8crT0iO7mx3O84q4hFNPUPbhTomlylihJBwOrT7xztfGZk-k4qZ1M7r9HP5z29ruc__j5D517Q/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Susan was staying at my place after the gig and with unseasonably warm weather for April forecast for the next day, she had brought her bike with her so that we could go for a good long cycle.<br /><br />We set off nice and early and headed down the cycle path, stopping off at Lochwinnoch.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnUYoJvXr1ivPtjPbX2RZk_QCYq1uj3nlVs5W4a7IOeWa-bMhqy4PPZHI76ga5HQ_jQrRaQylU71vwbihmw41Mc4FqGbcWQW_zSwXEcyUz98pzJ6dPDexNtJzYO14CJgDuMxUMQ/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnUYoJvXr1ivPtjPbX2RZk_QCYq1uj3nlVs5W4a7IOeWa-bMhqy4PPZHI76ga5HQ_jQrRaQylU71vwbihmw41Mc4FqGbcWQW_zSwXEcyUz98pzJ6dPDexNtJzYO14CJgDuMxUMQ/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />The weather was beautiful and with it being mid-week, the country roads were pretty quiet. We cycled along down to Irvine with my baldy head getting burned by the overhead sun, as usually happens when I forget to wear my bandana.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10_-m0zfS940dKkZTftT2ZdmmyzQuNeEzQBhtprib4mNNGQwmiee31l7zr_3HTjTqJ0vboJ-YNnOZ45MDNnK8oih2CicYhu2XRPLIywHRx8n1K7n3kXNxRh6E4pRGXwfz4AQOrg/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10_-m0zfS940dKkZTftT2ZdmmyzQuNeEzQBhtprib4mNNGQwmiee31l7zr_3HTjTqJ0vboJ-YNnOZ45MDNnK8oih2CicYhu2XRPLIywHRx8n1K7n3kXNxRh6E4pRGXwfz4AQOrg/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+014.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />A few hours later we arrived and headed to the award winning "<em>Ship Inn</em>" for a late lunch. As you can see from Desperate Dan below, the portions are pretty good and the food was lovely.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5w5amR-UPjIZgVlFrshsisijFZyUGUB6Cvq7T97HrrneFoZHt7IrQ504lAKtHyakNK4WS_BCzYiJndEY1hw27eR4tCE458GVuQXtCvuSku5Agb-O_w7rZk2-Dgd-Q2e5KmPLqg/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5w5amR-UPjIZgVlFrshsisijFZyUGUB6Cvq7T97HrrneFoZHt7IrQ504lAKtHyakNK4WS_BCzYiJndEY1hw27eR4tCE458GVuQXtCvuSku5Agb-O_w7rZk2-Dgd-Q2e5KmPLqg/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />After lunch, we cycled to the beach and lay in the sand dunes, looking over to the beautiful island of Arran. Managed to convince Susan that we should do a wee cycle/pub crawl trip there, later in the year.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XEj_56wvFsrI7g4tw6GlueyOzf2VCTnmS4fJVH1iSORrk90PZmKoKYAKZ6HEcsxfyS1A4ugFxhzlfxp15mNelcHlwa6tw7xctVxiQe7TqSoLm2bAm7G9smGCpvCvbVHRGqTUxg/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XEj_56wvFsrI7g4tw6GlueyOzf2VCTnmS4fJVH1iSORrk90PZmKoKYAKZ6HEcsxfyS1A4ugFxhzlfxp15mNelcHlwa6tw7xctVxiQe7TqSoLm2bAm7G9smGCpvCvbVHRGqTUxg/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvHmwYpFY4nuFS9JoebeQ4xZXKc4D6X7rGWGEi8wbTpTyNh_1SYltBMPooV9aWwC-lUrBQgAwli4pHuO3vthhHaR1QVUqUMk53v7m-ieVc0FTORU4Tai1TkjTqUNyavh1HZxXTg/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+018.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvHmwYpFY4nuFS9JoebeQ4xZXKc4D6X7rGWGEi8wbTpTyNh_1SYltBMPooV9aWwC-lUrBQgAwli4pHuO3vthhHaR1QVUqUMk53v7m-ieVc0FTORU4Tai1TkjTqUNyavh1HZxXTg/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+018.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2Ml7uk3pdzya0xSvPr6EyKQBfBrv89dQTlfDuxiRuS6rmKKE3y0y5MycflHtptIrFEYl3w4jWrccroBf75P68TD4HYGWy_dWrf2zFd_VuvB4KAHqeBnjPbIOGt4k_eUj9Adesw/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2Ml7uk3pdzya0xSvPr6EyKQBfBrv89dQTlfDuxiRuS6rmKKE3y0y5MycflHtptIrFEYl3w4jWrccroBf75P68TD4HYGWy_dWrf2zFd_VuvB4KAHqeBnjPbIOGt4k_eUj9Adesw/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+019.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />All too soon, it was time to head for the station and take the easy option of the train home.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzV2E-jZDxedr6dmFxRpPY5yLO8-KXungOMSjDpQ6G7r2rpSgD3jTCypjYChYeIIc9EGCc09WVm6jS3j63mwsqLMoSNDZlj5nbUe5oiSOgTZZQ1ZoqjhYIdODlKWh2LaI_He7wg/s1600-h/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzV2E-jZDxedr6dmFxRpPY5yLO8-KXungOMSjDpQ6G7r2rpSgD3jTCypjYChYeIIc9EGCc09WVm6jS3j63mwsqLMoSNDZlj5nbUe5oiSOgTZZQ1ZoqjhYIdODlKWh2LaI_He7wg/s320/Lionel+Ritchie+in+Concert+%26+Cycle+to+Irvine+3rd+%26+4th+April+2007+016.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><br />Another cool day out!Bob Mackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08039802564780228627noreply@blogger.com