Brilliant arrest of the sea going tug with £500 million worth of cocaine

Just a pity they never sank it sea with all hands and saved the taxpayer the cost of a trial and the incarceration of the foreign national who were arrested, unless of course they allege "that a big boy did it and ran away", a highly feasible excuse which will be accepted as a plea in mitigation. 

Took myself off on the "Time Machine" and made for Duns to see Andrew Mimms at Border Bikes, coffee, blether and then headed back over the moors to Gifford, Pencaitland, Gorebridge and home. Of course it was a stunning run over the moors with a magnificent view over the Firth of Forth and the Bass Rock was standing out in the sunlight.    Of course, too good to be true,  by the time I got to Vogrie the heavens opened and there was a white out with heavy hail stones - a typical Spring day, and a reminder never to "cast a clout till May is out".

This evening I had a night out with Hazel (my stick), thanks John,  took myself out for a walk and ended up in the middle of woods, no paths, through bogs, a bit worrying despite the fact that I had a pretty good idea where I was.  Just about dark time when I made it home, wet and tired.   Another day older and now a bit wiser.

Huffed and puffed and near blew the house down (greenhouse that is).

Having spent two days putting up this fiddly greenhouse at the Mercat Grill,I arrived yesterday morning to find panels missing and the structure about to take off.  Very hard to work on it in the wind, so ended up using the magic Gorilla tape to hold things together till the wind dies down long enough to reassemble it - buggerro.

Received a nice gift today from one of our customers, a beautiful walking stick, made from Hazel wood, with an antler top - thanks John, much appreciated and will be treasured.

RA Laird O' Cockpen last night,  Provincial  deputation, first class degree and now time for a break over the summer.

IPA motorcycle section arriving next Wednesday late afternoon and staying at Cameron Toll, Edinburgh for two nights before heading up to Aucheterarder to Castlebrae for another two nights. three days of bike trips organised, so it should be good. 

News from Nepal is getting worse every day with the death toll now over five thousand, rescue attempts in parts being hampered by bad weather and further avalanches.

Breaking news this morning that Edinburgh Airport plan to reroute their flight paths to enable more planes to take off - reportedly at the rate of ONE PER MINUTE,  so friends of the Earth and everybody and their  auntie are now jumping up and down.  So thinking about that, we might believe that sixty planes an hour will take off,  at that rate they will be queued all the way up the approach road onto the A8, maybe even out to Newbridge or further !!!!!   What a load of cobblers,  all they want to do is allow a few planes to take off at shorter intervals during peak times to keep the (flying) punters happy.  So once again we have the media escalating the situation.

Nearly as bad as the Politicians who daily dose of porkies are getting more and more unbelievable as we get nearer and nearer to the election - who are we supposed to believe !!   Because we will be treading on broken promises come the 8th .

Not sure how to say fekkin baltic nicely, but that is what it was this afternoon.

Last week we were able to sit out in the sun at tea time, and today (and yesterday) it was hail stones and snow - the weather is like the election carry on , unpredictable.

Blether to Dougz this afternoon, so we have a group of IPA motorcyclists coming up from England and Wales to stay in Edinburgh on 6th May, and eventually heading for Castlebrae, Auchterarder, on the 8th with the M/C section AGM taking place at 7.30 p.m. on the 9th.    Hopefully there will be ride outs on the 7th/ 8th and 9th and interested bods can join in.

Doggy weekend went well at the Mercat Grill and our canine chums seemed to enjoy themselves.  Next event to save up for is the Wine dinner on 13th June,   Australian and Californian wines with appropriate foods to accompany - dress code is Hawiian ,  cost £32.50 payable in advance or £37.50 on the night.  7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m. kick off.

Sunday night watched Songs of Praise on the TV which was the semi finals of the Primary schools choir competition,  brilliant,  puts ninety nine percent of the applicants for Britain's Got Talent to shame. Speaking of which - I have no idea at all what was going on with the dog which supposedly hypnotised Simon Cowel on Saturday - programme is no longer entertaining (to me).

The earthquake in Nepal is proving to be a much bigger disaster than was first thought, and with the aftershock causing more damage then triggering avalanches in the area around Mount Everest Base camp and camp 1,  really quite amazing how many hundreds of climbers and hill walkers were in the area.   It will certainly badly effect the economy which obviously depends on tourism, for some time.

Watching the London Marathon is exhausting - very much so ,

These top class athletes make it look so easy, running the distance is two hours plus so many minutes, but the fun runners have a ball, enjoying the atmosphere and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for various charities.

I had to take to my bed once again yesterday so missed all the fun at The Mercat Grill where they had the third of the doggie days which seems to have gone remarkably well. There were even bottles of doggie beer and even some lovely looking doggie cakes, which, I hear were sampled by some unsuspecting members of the public ( tasted nice though).  Not sure how money was raised for the Edinburgh Dog and Cat home as it has not been tallied yet.      Sort of on the same theme, a friend has published on facebook having found his dog about to eat a raw steak, covered in rat poison which had been dropped over his garden fence, possibly in an attempt to kill hid dog - in this instance the Police are involved and investigating.

Friday night made it to Loanhead RA (Honour, Concorde and Fidelity), where there were two candidates, low attendance, but excellent degree.    Nipped back to Bonnyrigg where the OES were have an old fashioned horse race night (horses drawn along the floor on strings by hand)  very good turnout and a really fun night for all.    Tuesday coming, last night before the break for Laird O'Cockpen RA.

Real disaster in Nepal with around 1500 killed so far in the recent earthquake, including a number of climbers on Everest - good job Sparky Mark made it home last weekend - real tragedy, and in one small town, the hardest hit there were only eight firefighters employed there.     Seems a bit of a coincidence with the volcano erupting in Chile last week, need to watch to see what happens next to see if there is a pattern.

Bit like the gold miners who are now suggesting that there is a "mother lode" in a seam which runs from Northern Ireland right through to Tyndrum and Aberdeenshire - need to get the panning kit out and get myself down to Leadhills and try and get some petrol money.

Had the "Time Machine" out for a couple of days, running well, and even managed to get spare keys for it, thanks to Kevin at Timpson's key Cutting, Cameron Toll Centre.

Finding the antics of our politicians rather bemusing as they seem to be desperate to outdo each other with unrealistic promises which they will never stick to - must be a medal for the biggest fibber; most dangerous; sleekit; and to think those who get elected will be on a nice wee earner for themselves and their families. 

Looks like Rangers and Hibs will be fighting it out next weekend for second place, a nail biting finish in that division.

Perhaps all good things come to an end - the weather included.

Last few days here have been brilliant, lovely to be able to sit out, or potter in the garden,  but we are apparently in for a bit of a change in the weather over the weekend.

Spent yet another four hours on the greenhouse yesterday, thought I was finished, then there were even more nuts to unscrew and jiggling about to do - never mind patience is a virtue.

Terrible state of affairs when a fourteen year old boy in the UK can try and organise a terrorist attack at an Anzak Day ceremony in Australia.   From the UK there is a constant stream of  dangerous "crackpots" heading out to the Middle East, being trained by terrorist groups, and returning to the UK to cause mayhem here.    Thinking back to my recent  holiday in Egypt, folks there were on the ball, security conscious, however, here we (as a nation - as individuals) still do not believe enough that it will happen here, sooner than later, and the more aware we become the more likely we are to protect ourselves.

If this is not making sense, then make sense of the pheodophiles, (sick perverted bast***s) who are out there grooming youngsters and even raping toddlers - see this weeks TV highlights for an update on the team of depraved s**t who were arrested in England this week.

Just need to change the mind set and think nice thoughts for a change.

Was in at the ERI today and sat for ages watching the construction site where the new Sick Children's Hospital will be,  totally enthralling watching cranes, diggers, borers, lorries, etc all on the move in a relatively enclosed space.  Certainly saw the need for hard hats !!

Used the "Time machine" again, and now getting used to it, which is handling much lighter than the K75 did, but a more modern machine, and despite that still got a sore backside when on it for a while.

Doggie weekend started this evening with a quiz night, not for the dogs, but the owners.  Thinking of dogs, the collie dog which drove the tractor onto the M74 south of Glasgow yesterday certainly hit the headlines.

Come back MFI , even IKEA, all is forgiven.

I thought their flat pack systems were bad, especially MFI who were always guaranteed to have at least one piece missing,  We have bought a self build lean to greenhouse for the Mercat Grill, to have a go at growing some of our own herbs, etc.,   Had a quick look at the instructions which I thought said that it would only take thirty minutes to build,  NO  it said it would take at least thirty minutes !!!   so FIVE hours later and it is only half built, good job the sun was shining and I had a radio to keep my mind occupied.   Returning tomorrow for the next phase, unless someone has pinched it overnight.

Home to the garden for a wee sit in this Indian summer weather, then another few laps of the park trying my walking poles,  not easy, and at this early stage causes a few aching muscles.

BUT, treat tonight, got all togged up and took the "Time Machine" out for my first real run on it,  only thirty miles, but it certainly a lot different to the Steed of steel, which is still in dry dock as Andy Mimms tries to resolve what now appears to be an electrical problem.  Had a run out through West Linton, along to the A701, then back roads to Eddlestone and then up and over by Portmore and the lime kilns - just to get the feel of it, gears, clutch, brakes, etc.  NICE.    I think I know how I will be getting about tomorrow, and it will  not be in the car.

Looks like the Grill will be busy this weekend, that is a group of twenty eight just booked in late Saturday afternoon, going to visit Rosslyn Chapel first, then down to join in the fun with the doggie folks.

Getting fed up with the daily helping of lies, lies and more lies,

I mean the constant barrage of false promises and drivel being pumped out by the various political parties on the lead up to the next election.

Ms Sturgeon, spouting forth, even although she will not be sitting in Westminster, already hinting about another referendum for Scotland. And, even worse, although she was close chums with Slippery Salmon, she was keen to get herself into Bute House, and now she is there she is complaining that it is cold as it is too big to heat properly !!! maybe she should give "Help the Aged" a shout and get a thermal blanket and foot muffs like the Auld Yins use in their cold houses.

Time a group of sensible Politicians from all parties, not out to feather their own nests, formed a coalition Government with a view to sorting out this country, and tell these MEP's when to get on their bikes and where to go.

No getting away from the horrendous loss of life as migrants free from the African and Middle eastern states to Europe with boats sinking in the Mediterranean - If they are fleeing in such large numbers, does not say much for the crackpots who are leaving the UK to go join IS  !!! 

Radio 2 this afternoon read out a list of the most common Christian names in the UK last year, and for boys it was Mohammed !!!!

Attended Bob McCulley's funeral at Mortonhall this afternoon,  very good turn out for the lad, RIP.