Battered and bruised, Cruella strikes again, but for my own good.

Been a while since I had a Massage from the wonderful Cruella,  doing her best to fix my back and neck.  NOw that my ribs have recovered from my tumble down the stairs, I can cope with a decent massage
had a couple of nights away last week, not far, made it to the Barony Castle at Eddlest, and thoroughly enjoyed the wee break. NOw back home, pottering in the house and garden, however still wondering where summer has gone. CErtainly time the weather reporters stopped filling our head with the sunshine stories of down South.

It paid me to shop around and not be lazy this time.

Nearly had a fit when my car insurance renewal arrived, however unlike the past two years I did not allow it to roll on automatically.  Checked with a broker who could save me about 30%, and they said to contact the Insurance company which I did and the agent immediately agreed that price was far too high and reduced it by a similar 30% !!!   Why then was the original renewal so high?    Anyway I then contacted another company who ended up giving me identical cover for 50% less that my renewal.

Not quite as bad but I queried my Broadband and phone bill and was able to get it reduced by 10%.

Was shopping in Tesco's and recieved the usual receipt at the check out telling me how much I had saved compared to Asda , Sainsburys and Morrisons,  BUT not with Lidl or Aldi.   A kilo bag of Caster sugar was £1.48 in Tesco and £1 in Lidl,

Slightly different tale,   went to church on Sunday, Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, where the congregation was joined by HRH the Queen and Prince Philip along with members of the Royal Household from Hollyrood Palace.  So nice to see them both relaxed and comfortable.  The minister gave an excellent sermon around the current anniversary of the WW1 battle of the Somme.
Mrs B, excelled herself by accidentally photobombing a piece of video of HRH as she was heading for her car,  popped up on Mailonline website.

Only downside of the day was when we went to the Sailbury Arms for Sunday lunch, must have been a bad day for the staff and chefs, so much so that I am not likely to be back, sorry.  

The Sky man called about the warranty, now the box is on the blink!!

Am I being cynical, suspicious or what? but when you get a call asking if I want to renew my warranty , said no thanks, and then the box starts to malfunction. In this day and age, and especially with a company who have so much control over these units through phone and internet links, why not have the ability to switch them off, which of course they already have if you do not keep up your monthly subscription.  Just a thought.

Terrible state of affairs in Turkey with the slaughter of innocents at the Istanbul airport yesterday, these fanatical suicide bombers have no respect for innocents, who they destroy along with the economy of the various countries they are choosing to attack.

On a happier note, managed a bit of a run out on the Steed of Steel yesterday, first in three weeks, so took the chance to frighten the motoring public with my latest high viz clothing (certainly will not be run over !!!).

Talk about being stupid!!

I am referring to the Scots drug mule, Melissa Reid recently released from prison in Peru after being caught with cocaine worth £1.5 million along with The Irish girl, Michella McCollum.   When arrested they were denying all knowledge, claimed to be innocent  and then eventually obviously plea bargained to get a lesser sentence.
Now that she has been sent home she has admitted that she knew what she was doing and did it as a challenge so she could boast to her friends in Ibiza about it.

Maybe I am wrong but now she has made this public, if I were in law enforcement I would keep this public admission handy and use it against anyone else caught in the future to rebuff any denials they may make.
She has just made life more difficult for others who might be as daft as she was.

Life's little ups and downs,

Never the less, still standing, however, occasional problems with balancing quantities of pills.
At least the sun has decided to shine again, so odd jobs around the house being done.

Saturday and Sunday we had Penicuik Archery Club out competing in the local playing field, certainly changed days since I was a lad.

So, yesterday while in town I dropped into Edinburgh Harley Davidson showroom for a wee wander and to give my mind a treat.   On the way in met three intrepid riders (all older than me) heading off on their grand machines.

Once again I was sort of Gobsmacked at the price of one of the bikes.  £40k if you took finance,  so to avoid any Queries I copied the attached.

 This might be bike in question.

Another day older , as they say, now just waiting to see where the next bill comes from.

Very pleasant weekend to celebrate the passing of yet another year,  now getting to the stage where I start wondering if it is worth buying a new pair of shoes !!!!!   having said that I did get a new pair of "dress" sandles for my birthday , just need to break with tradition and get a nice pair of socks to wear with them and show just how much class and style I have.
Dinner out on Saturday night, very nice,  even opted to take Bombay Saphire and tonic instead of my usual red wine.  Sunday, trailed over to Makro only to discover that hey are reducing the number of "lines" they stock, so a wasted journey, but when I did get home it was footie time, much to Mrs B's annoyance.
Still suffering from side effects of new medication so having to rest more than usual, real pain in the proverbial butt.
Last night spotted this lovely wee motor cycle on a trailer in Penicuik, 1954, DMW,  195 cc, which was bought by owners father and had been in a garage from 1961 till two years ago, now beautifully restored.

It has taken me a long time to get beyond switching my computer on and off,   so this morning, while resting I discovered some old photos which have been hidden away for six years, taken when our group from the South East Of Scotland Licensed Trade Assoc visited Avignon in 2008.   We took the chance then to meet up with our friends in L'Isle Sur La Sorgue so I have no hesitation in adding a couple of Francoise and Antoine (RIP) Nicolas, who have been such good friends.

Once again, time and tide, as they say -

Left Castlebrae last Friday night, two says early as I had had enough, or should I say that I felt I had not benefitted as much this visit as on my previous one.  Never mind, I had a few days rest and some lovely runs around the beautiful Scottish countryside.
Home, and back to my wee jobs, pottering about the house and garden, couple of ride outs on the Steed,  and generally keeping myself occupied.   Current problems being exacerbated by a new drug which makes me seriously fatigued at times when rest is the only resort.
Very fortunate with a few more days of super weather, however, we did get hammered by hailstones and flash floods mid week, not amusing, with a fair bit of damage in Penicuik.
Popped into the Mercat Grill several times for various reasons, place has been doing well, keeping everyone on their toes.
Today was a bit of a treat, afternoon tea at Prestonfield House Hotel, Edinburgh, very nice indeed, setting is marvellous, and certainly the best we have had in the Edinburgh area, but not as nice as Claridges.
Tonight, a special meeting at Loanhead RA, Honour Concord and Fidelity, with two candidates, both members of the Widow's Sons,  (prolific charity fund raisers) good turnout, just a pity I had to leave early but having done my bit, and feeling iffy, it was home to rest.