Countdown continues and memories

This time in two weeks we will be doing my impression of "Up , Up and Away" in the big silver bird, flown by one of Eva Air's finest, heading east into tomorrow. Sparky will be in the same situation , having left the ground an hour ahead of us and making for Tanzania and Mount Killimanjaro - and his adventure - afterwards he can forget all this rubbish about his "body being a temple", and get back to being human again.

So - no the suitcase is not packed, but I did hit the big shops today - no not Harvey Nicols, Jenners, Frasers, John Lewis, etc - But to my favourite V.F.M. shop, Matalan - there I was, arms full of the two for £5 bargains, and spent my crumpled £20 note!!!!! in minutes - just great fun - even had the lady in the gents fitting room running around looking for things the correct size for me. Beauty with this stuff is that you can wear it a couple of times and then bin it - no need to carry it home.
I used to do that when I took the Scouts abroad, they all took casual clothes which they were prepared to abandon in France - binned them on the last day and were then able to bring bottles of wine back for me !! in their rucksacks.

But I digress - so it was via Costco , McArthur Glen , Livingston, and then back to drop items off at The Mercat, but with my friend Jim , from Dash Security enroute I stayed awhile and helped him out.

Maureen , of Maureen and Craig and the wedding in Barbados is doing a charity run for Cancer research ( see comment on two blogs back) and is looking for sponsors./

Thinking of sponsors and reminiscing, going back about thirty four years, I went through a period where I developed a real taste for "Tartan Special" - which increased weekly and at the same time my weight and waist size did the same!! My mother appeared one day with a sponsorship form for the British Heart Foundation and a sponsored slim!! so after some persuasion I started the diet and then spent three months on a diet, etc , training , losing weight.

I eventually lost about two and a half stone, raised £440 which was a lot of money in those days considering that I earned about £22 a week - but got lots of publicity for the the Police with photos in the Glasgow Herald, Daily Record, etc. At the end of the event I had raised the second highest amount of money in Scotland.

In another sponsored event , this time for the Erskine Home for Disabled Servicemen, at Erskine, Dumbarton , I joined in an event being run by the Sgts. Mess, Scottish Infantry Depot, at Glencorse Barracks, where I had to run one hundred miles, round a set course at the Barracks, over a period of time -so some days I would do two or three miles, others more, until I had reached the total. Somewhere in the house I have a photo of our Graham as a wee tot , complete with broken wrist handing over my cheque to the C.O., Mr Fairweather, who later became the H.M.Inspector of Prisons, Scotland. Co-incidentally his brother Brian Fairweather
a former Police Officer became the Security Manager at The Royal Palace of Hollyrood and I would regularly meet him when on search team details there.

On a roll now - fund raising for the Scouts, a team of us towed a barrel of Ushers Golden Ale, many years ago from the former Usher Vaux Brewery at Craigmillar out to Penicuik Miners Welfare Club. This was in conjunction with a couple of other events and we raised lots of money on that one. The day we towed the barrel out , it was blistering hot, we had a van full of beer, which is not good for you when its hot and exerting, but we were young and daft. We had lots of publicity wit coverage in the local papers and radio Forth - so many of the motorists who were held up with us staggering out on the A701 from Edinburgh knew who we were and were very supportive.

If I do not stop now I might run out of Gordon's !!!!

Some more masonic Notes.

Made it to Dalhousie Bonnyrigg 720 last night, a 1st Degree with the candidate being a member of the Lasswade Rugby Club . Well attended and then afterwards I was asked to photograph the last three Past masters, Bryan, Malcolm and Graham, who still do not have their "mug shots" up in the rogues gallery, so there they were all swopping the Master's Regalia to get their pics taken. But apart from a bit of flash bounce off Graham's head !!! and having to stop Malcolm smiling - which would frighten many a child they came out fine. Now up to Mr Photogenix to do the business and sort them out.

Tonight I made it to Peebles Kilwinning R.A. No 39, held in the Peebles Lodge which dates back to 1719, a small select band of dedicated companions made it despite the cold - many having been put off by the forcast of bad snow. The original Lodge was rebuilt around 1909.

Within the Lodge there were a few old artifacts , including an old print of Robert Burns in his Depute
Masters regalia.

In need of a rant, again !!!!!!

Every paper has similar headlines, snow, snow, snow - right enough, and from what I see I think we were very fortunate here in Penicuik. Young lady caller told me she had 12 inches of snow while we only had about four inches, and our main roads were all clear. The jokers on the radio are having a laugh at the expense of those south of Watford Gap - and the one having the biggest laugh is my pal Dave from Ashford in Kent who is sitting on a beach in Barbados with is cool beer. he even took himself off to The Cliffe Restaurant, one of our eating places when we were there. Brings back memories of Archie and Tracey's wedding and also that of Maureen and Craig's at the same time when we stayed at the Almond Beach Resort.

On the holiday theme, two things happened today , firstly our tickets arrived from Cosmos - so it looks like we will get away on the 18th after all (cannot wait). Secondly - going back to my blogs written while at the Blue Bay Villas in Dominican - when I was always harping on about the Time Share salesmen - or "Predators" as I called them - hunting in packs and haunting the hotel guests. We have heard from our friends that they were "persuaded" to sign up for one of these so called holiday packages, which they thought sounded a good deal - however once home and having worked it out at their own pace they found that is was not such a good deal - BUT - despite everything they have said or tried they have been locked into a contract, and with a change of circumstances due to the recession they find themselves in a predicament. SO BE WARNED.

Letter writing - a couple of weeks ago I wrote to our friends at N C P regarding an incident which happened at the Morrison Street Car Park, and it looks like they they do not have a suitable pro forma reply on their computer and probably no one capable of writing a response - so I have not had one !!! Again we need to watch this space.

It was supposed to be a day off for me, however there I as in The Mercat, but with paint, No Nails, screws, drill etc in hand doing my DIY thing.

Now about to head off to Bonnyrigg for a meeting of 720 Dalhousie Bonnyrigg, where Buzz has a pal going through his 1st tonight. Might even get some photos as I have had a wee request to take some snaps.

A mixture to end the night

Decided that after all this snow rubbish I should brighten up the day - a piper in August in the Ross Bandstand, Princes Street Gardens , during the mini tattoo.

Then the climbing wall at the Scottish Climbing Centre , Ratho, which features in the STV advert most nights on the TV. a wonderful place.

Had Caroleanne and Dennis on the phone from Dublin, good blether and nice to hear from them.

I have started to read the book by the new President of the USA , Barack Obama, "Dreams from my Father" which he originally wrote in 1995, it is a very good book , intersting, he is a suberb and very descriptive writer.

Anyway, went apoplectic earlier, when some idiots were flinging snowballs at our front window. Not as bad as Carolanne who was hit by snowballs which had been hardened in a freezer by her "Polish lads" - I would reckon that it was an assault !! but that is my opinion.

Now on C5 watching Justin Timberlake in "Ediston" - yet another story about crooked cops in the USA.

So - feet up.

Snow , snow and more snow

You read it first here - Craighouse Drive and the hill - not gritted this morning and so tonight when the bus crashed , not a surprise when the main gritting force were not sent out till about 7 a.m. The A720 Edinburgh City By Pass ground to a halt with this afternoons late flurries, but not as bad as the M25 with a twenty six mile queue. I am sure that Mrs. Gordon Brown was on the phone to get PM Gordon home to clean the paths outside No.10 Downing Street - I did mine this afternoon when there was only about three and a half inches lying - but no sooner cleared than next lot came down.

But - in the meantime the boys from the Superbowl party were still partying on - from the Mercat to the Casino, to the Penny Black ( which is not a gay bar - according to the sign on the wall), and then back to The Mercat - so a good DAY was had by all. I heard that the game was really nail biting with the winning points in the last minute.

I see that a team of underwater searchers have discovered the original HMS Victory which sank in the the English channel in 1744 with tons of gold bullion on board , current value of the bullion is about £125 million. It was found about sixty miles away from where the history books said it was. Its successor was the flagship for Admiral Nelson.

Back to the snows and the all too common tragedies on the mountains, last week we had two died in Glencoe after an avalanche, and yesterday two climbers died in Snowdonia having been caught without the proper equipment.

Brings back sad memories of a friend, Dr Ken McRae who died some 35 years ago when he fell through a crevasse on a snowfield near Blairatholle, Pethshire, and lay undiscovered for some time before the snow melted. He was a local G.P. who always wanted to specialise in eye surgery - he just loved the hills and walking - it was his way of recharging his batteries, but sadly he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Carnage on the roads this weekend , with six men killed in two road accidents when cars left the road and struck houses, in Hamilton a car hit an occupied detached house - which has since had to be demolished, and the occupants were uninjured. Second one was in West Lothian - again three died.

Many years ago there was a triple fatality at Easter Howgate farm on the A702 when five soldiers in a mini car hit the wall of the farm, three died with horrendous injuries and the two survivors were crippled for life. One of the "rookie" policemen who attended was violently ill when he saw all the bodies jammed in the car and fled the scene - this caused even more of a problem as more officers had to be brought in to search for him. He eventually resigned as the "job" was not really for him.

Just spoken to William and Sandra in London , plenty snow there , keeping him well behind schedule with his building - may be that we have to leave him behind when we go on holiday !! If the job is not done - now there is an incentive!!

So it is snowing !!!

In Melbourne yesterday it was 42 degrees, far to hot and uncomfortable with forest fires, power cuts, etc - however we do not have that problem - do we ? Plenty warning from the weather folks - so it was not much of a surprise when i looked out the window at 5 a.m. to see the white stuff - but at 6 a.m. it was a bit wilder. So up and off with no trouble, A702 was gritted as usual, however by the time i reached the City of Edinburgh area , hardly any grit down and Buckstone , Craighouse, etc were like skating rinks - and they being bus routes, not clever. BUT BUT this is nothing compared to the chaos ensuing south of the border - and what is worse, they TV / audio system in the pub has been changed and I cannot fathom out how to change the Chanel's on the TV to see Sky news.

UPDATE - have worked that one out - and horrified to see that the English are probably about to declare a state of emergency - last time the London Underground services were suspended Hitler was dropping things which went bang from the skies, Back in the days of yore , I used to have to walk to school across the fields as the roads were blocked by snow.

Nice little e mail this morning from a Mr. Wood who had been Googling the laird o Cockpen and came up with this Blog - so he has his fathers "Founder Jewel" and wants to return it to the Chapter , very nice of him.

Been busy this morning , and surprisingly , so have the road men in the Tramwork's - takes more than a flurry of snow to upset these boys !!!! The photos are as was promised - just looks like Edinburgh on a sunny day.

Work to do now.

short .

Sunday , sweet Sunday with plenty to do - once again up sharp and into town for another fun day.
Joiner was in as was Mitch the hi fi and TV man - so there was plenty to keep me distracted. Sort of tired but made it through the morning with plenty of Irish visitors to feed and water.

Tennis was on and after a really exciting match young Nadal was victorious, he did well considering that he was not the favourite according to the bookies .
Then this afternoon, to add insult to injury - the battling Inverness Caledonian Thistle held the might of Glasgow Celtic to a 0 - 0 draw - so Mr. Butcher did his job within four days of getting appointed.

Getting nowhere fast tonight - end of story