Birthday Girl

Well it was Penny's birthday last Thursday, so she opened a few gifts, and blew out her candles, and celebrated her 2nd 30th birthday. She was most excited by her Cappacino machine...so thanks mom and dad. She still gets excited by it every time she makes a coffee.



I'd arranged for us to see a ballet production on Friday night in Edinburgh and stay the night in a hotel, but not just any ballet production it was a fusion of ballet and kung fu....it was awesome, as far as the dancers strength goes...they were amazing...but it was a bit repetitive and we've no idea what the storyline was. They flooded the floor with water partway through which was a cool effect, and had some neat reflections. With about 5 mins to go the last dancer was slowly making her way to the exit...I mean slowly. We watched for about 5 minutes as she slowly crept towards the exit, and I heard a giggle/snort. Penny's eyes were watering as she did her best to stiffle laughter...but she snorted again....I was mortified as the sound of 498 heads all displaced air in their unified turn to locate the disturbance...ok it wasn't that obvious, but it was for those around us. She just made it...as the dancer crept off the stage she burst into laughter as the rest of the audience burst into applause...what a girl.



We then met up Keith and Emma for a few drinks after the show, and headed back to the hotel as we were shattered. The next morning we slept in, had breakfast in the hotel, and wandered into Edinburgh. We spent some time exploring an old cemetary, but not that old by Scottish standards. Then we wandered the streets of Edinburgh, stopped for a few beer/coffee and shopped for a birthday gift for a mate Bill who we were meeting for dinner in Edinburgh along with his girlfriend Isla and a few other friends as it was Bill's birthday that weekend as well.



We just had a great lazy day and then met up with Sweeney, and headed over to the City Cafe where we met Bill and Isla, and a host of others. They went to a concert, Pen and I went home...and although it's a horrible photo we saw an awesome sunset from the train on the way home...an expensive, but awesome weekend...Happy Birthday Peach!

Got em all in a oner

Look I've got a coffee machine...I've got a coffee machine

Jex didn't have so much to celebrate as she had her bits snipped...and a solar panel put in "Cat"astrophic some might say, but hey she's stressed enough, we don't need her having kittens


Ebenezer...heh heh, Ebenezer...died in 1878, and this is a newer gravestone!


An old homeless fellow (or poorly dressed) wandered by the cemetary, sad really



I do like old cemetaries....in the day



I thought this was a cool photo...Edinburgh Castle is in the background



A cemetary island in the middle of a car park....that's different Peach enjoying a sunny day in Edinburgh

The mighty Edinburgh Castle

Just another day in Edinburgh for these folk
A wee market where I purchased Mr Waterman a wee Scottish ale for his visit

I found my pub, I've got my land, and now I've got my pub...sorted

This was in a cafe we sat down in, and then Pen decided she didn't want to drink in, at least I got a photo!

I've also got my own monument....The Scott Monument in Edinburgh built in 1846 (some say to commererate Sir Walter Scott the author we know better, it's mine)

This guy was about 14, how old was he when his parents started letting him play with knives? I'll bet you he's familiar with fire too....

Yes there was a Sweeney in the vicinity when this was taken, Pen drank a lot of wine over the weekend!

Horrible photo, but you can just make out the awesome sunset!

Cruel Devilla

Well this weekend Pen and I joined an entourage of keen cyclists who met at Bill and Isla's on a beautiful sunny Scottish spring day. The plan was to cycle over mostly flat terrain, avoiding roads, riding some singletrack and then heading back, around 20 miles all said and done.
We did as said, although I opted to cycle out to Bill's which added an extra 9 miles onto my day...however seeing as I've got a race coming up...I need the training!

So around 11am in sunshine, Al, Bill, Fi, Pen, me, Wendy and Xander left and followed a brilliant bit of singletrack that followed a meandering stream, and that's where we had our first incident, and definetely the most carnage. Al tried to ride between a tree and a barbed wire fence....and didn't. Instead he got his clothes and arm hooked on the barbed wire fence which pulled him into the fence at a decent clip and as a result left him looking like he went 4 rounds in a boxing ring with a tiger. A scary moment, that definetely could have been worse. Fortunately he was okay apart from bleeding like a stuck pig all over his body.

Next we came out of the trail and faced ridiculous wind as we headed east towards a sustainable transport track which would take us out to Devilla. It really was a beautiful day apart from the wind...and once we got to Devilla we were all enjoying the sunshine and company! We wandered around Devilla following a few miles of singletrack which winded along river fronts, through rhododendron (is that how you spell it?) forests, and past a burnt out wreck of a car. Unfortunately I punctured my rear tire on something, so thanks to Xander who helped me change the tire (my shoulder isn't up to that kind of action...yet!).

Shortly afterwards we all started to feel pretty hungry, and run out of energy....so homeward bound it was....and that was when I noticed low pressure in my front tire! So I had a thorn, but it seemed to be more of a slow leak than full on puncture, so I pumped up the front tire with some extra air for good measure, and it managed to get me home. Then for the feast, after all was said and done we did about 24 miles out to Devilla and back, and with my 9 miles I did 33 miles...or 53kms! So we all got back, washed up and went to the pub for some well earned grub!
Awesome day out, apart from Al's barbwire interaction, and my puncture. Can't wait for the next one....bring on the summer!

P.S there should be a wee videoclip at the bottom of me filming while riding over a bridge...I know you're expecting carnage, but I managed to pull it off!!

Scott

Bikes at the ready....where are the riders?

Found em, blethering.

Al showing his skill along the streamside trail....

Fi, Pen and Wendy going for the safer option hoping to stay dry

Al with the results of not so much skill at the barb wire fence.

Penny riding through a lovely forested section...aw.


Chill Bill
Penny over debris, and downhill...that's ma girl!

Al next....making it look easy

Xander picking his way along...

Wendy showing off her prowess....

and Fi with a style of her own!

Scott got fed up with cycling and opted to drive home...

Some of the cool scenery in Devilla

Pen and Wendy with a distant Fi in Devilla

Al bombing downhill

Bill after being dumped in the muck!

Pen flying downhill....wind screaming in her ears...or maybe that was her?

Pen and Wen all smiles!!

Three musketeers...Bill's but, Al, and Xander

Al reckoned Bill wasn't cycling fast enough, and offered a helping push...


Fi and Al through the Rhodendron forest...and below a wee video clip of us riding along...filmed with me holding the bike with one hand, and the camera with the other....recipe for disaster?

Same old story....

Well Penny had to work today (Sat) so I decided to take the opportunity to pursue two hobbies...photography and history! So I convinced Danny, a mate of mine to travel 2 hours to Argyll and Bute to photograph some of Scotlands prehistoric sights. We were expecting some mixed weather, but it all worked out quite well. We got cloud when we needed it, and sunshine almost on demand!

We stopped for some photographic opportunities on the way, and headed towards our first destination, which was a site with some cup and ring marks. These are circular carvings dating back to around 4000BC. We then went on to visit some Cairns. These were burial mounds for the dead in some cases, or for valuable materials in others. They have excavated a couple of them and you can now enter these sub-terranian structures...which was pretty cool and slightly Indiana Jones-ish. Lastly (but the highlight for me) was the standing stones...think of them as small versions of Stonehenge. We were hoping to visit a church which had some old Celtic grave stones, but we ran out of time!!

I'd definetely like to go back, so if anyone is planning on coming out, and is interested in seeing a key aspect of Scotland's prehistory...for free, let us know!

Chance to take a few photo's on the way up, a nice wee waterfall...aw ain't it pretty.


Another photie opportunity, a whole bunch of bee's were flying about..buzy little buggers bumble bees.

Here's what we came for...cup and ring carvings dating to around 3oooBC

Close up, looks like ripples in a pond.

The first Cairn...Nether Logie Cairn

Holy Indiana Jones...you can go in!!

Sweeney enjoying a sunny, historical, photographic, and free day!

Inside the cairn, this is the tomb where they would have laid the remains of their important people

The second cairn Nether Largie Mid Cairn, with an external burial chamber

The internal chambers where they would have put the remains of numerous individuals

Temple Wood, another sacred site that was used over a 2000 year period

2 of Nether Largie's taller more prominent standing stones

One of the large stones standing watch over the smaller stones in the field