Even with the best of intentions, but Dubai was good.

I really had planned on a new frontal assault on this blog, trying to emulate the many who have thousands of followers,  fat chance !!      Still trying o sort out which direction I plan on going.
However,  since last entry we have been to Dubai for a weeks holiday. Certainly different this time, as we were celebrating a "significant" birthday, and I have to say that the birthday dinner in the revolving restaurant of the Hyatt Regency was wonderful, made even more memorable by the personal service of Chef Maner,   our expected buffet style meal turned out to be a unique experience, cooked and served by the head chef, assisted by the sushi chef,  just an exceptional evening.   Also spectacular in so much that we had ever changing views of the city as the whole restaurant slowly revolved.     Our birthday treat on behalf of RGB, who in cohoots with Alannah Doe (chefette exceptionalle), was a total surprise.  Picked up at our hotel by Alannah in her Ford Mustang, we cruised the length of Dubai and ended up at the at a remarkable hotel, (name escapes me),  then taken by a buggy to the jetty where we walked out to the Restaurant "Pierchic" , in the bay,   just enchanting for a couples romantic evening. It is one of these special places to visit, brilliant setting, and super staff.
I did meet up with my former colleague and motorcycling mate of the IPA,  Thomas McInallay Esq, formerly of Clermiston and now of the Le Pitite Pible, , south of France, where we motorcycled to three years ago.  Tom and Pam in good fettle and when contract finishes will be home in France next year. 
Just a pity I was ill while away but I have to say that the staff at the Regency Hyatt were so caring and helpful and helped make my under the weather day acceptable.
Finally, in this item,  I must comment on the differences in airports,  we flew with with Emirates and their terminal at Dubai is spectacular, ultra modern, spotless and so well organised, so arrival at Edinburgh must come as a total shock to first time visitors!!  What an embarrassment - totally, coming through those doors into the immigration area,   welcome to SNP Scotland , NOT>

Doggy Day at the Mercat Grill, overshadowed by the SNP

I apparently missed a smashing doggie orientated coffee morning at the Mercat Grill , Whitecraig, this morning.  Thirty pooches and owners, friends arrived, and from all accounts, only one of the four legged customers let the side  down.  With luck there will be enough good photos to produce a "doggy" calender this year.
Regulars should check the Mercat Grill web site to get news of future events, the Whisky Club, and wine nights.   

ENOUGH   -    trying to type this blog and the TV news is on, with more news of the Brexit  carry on, time it was sorted out, and even worse, the SNP  led by the paranoid Nicola is waging war to get another Independence Referendum, even if it means doing a deal with the Labour party led by the IRA and terrorist sympathisor , Jeremy Corbyn (sad state of affairs), and even making new legislation to allow convicted criminals in jail to vote!!    Dirty trick the name of the game.  Sad state of affairs when I am no longer proud to wear either of the Scottish flags.    Matters can only get worse. 

Back to New Lanark Mills

Just like the proverbial bad pennies we keep turning up at the reception desk of the New Lanark Mill Hotel.  Did try somewhere else for a change, however, not the same so back we were last week.     Listed as a World Heritage Centre the Mill complex improves all the time with the obvious intent of making all the buildings totally habitable.     The shop and cafe complex have been altered and a new exhibition centre has been opened.     This weekend there was a light show taking place on the history of the site.

As the weather was nice we had a shortish walk along the Falls of Clyde where the river was at the highest I have ever seen it.  STATISTICALLY  !!!    there is normally an average of  around forty tons of water per second flowing over the Falls,   however it must have been truly spectacular when the highest flow, of 575 TPS  were flowing.

Staff from the Hydro Board were working n
ear the power station installing new transformers, so the nearby hydro power station, which has been in use since about 1926 is still earning its keep.
Nice way to rest and relax for a couple of days where the staff always make you welcome.

Gold mining in Scotland

Having had an early run down to The Mercat Grill to do my Friday chores, home by 12 md and the sun shining  time for a run out on the Steed of Steel.  Bit of a change today as I headed West, through Biggar, to Abington, then off the beaten track to Elvanfoot where I found a former colleague busy in his front garden. Quick cuppa then over the moors to Leadhills and then onto Wanlockhead, the highest (coldest and wettest) village in Scotland.   BUT also massively interesting with a lead mining museum, a lead mine to visit and also a place where you can book a days training at gold panning> Way back in the late 1700's they were finding the purest Scottish

Gold  (used to make the Scottish Crown)  and producing gold which at modern values would be worth around £500 million.
Local narrow gauge railway in the nearby Leadhills was closed as it only runs on weekends,  so maybe a return visit soon to go into the mine and also try the wee train.    I have a sort of hazy memory of going into the mine a long time ago.    I also had a geologist friend who used to go to Wanlockhead every other weekend with his wife when they would pan for gold and reckoned they could could cover their costs with  what they found.

Having started off much later than expected I had to head homewards but even so detoured towards
Lanark , and cut back over to Biggar, then cut south onto the A 701, through Blyth Bridge, and eventually back to Penicuik.

Downton Abbey

Take the saying " grey skies are going to clear up", but not quick enough so when I saw the overcast skies this morning, and feeling a bit iffy,  an appropriate answer to what shall we do today ? was  - The CINEMA !!!   no idea the last time I was there.   So off we went and took ourselves to see the movie version of the long running TV series, Downtown Abbey,   personally, I thought it was excellent, had a nice feel good factor, some sad bits as well,  but enjoyable enough for both of to be prepared to go and watch it again.  The settings are marvelous with the location for the Abbey being Highclere Castle, Carnarvon, Welsh Wales.   Just stunning. lots of period vehicles including a number of trams which seem to be more efficient than the current fleet running (at great expense) around Edinburgh.  If successful enough, the story line left enough scope to produce a follow up. 
Pleased to discover that the sun was actually shining when we left the cinema, so a chance for a bit of fresh air before heading off to another RA installation tonight at Currie, my old stamping grounds and only yards from one of my previous childhood homes.

Representing the people, or just blowing their own trumpet.

I  know it is difficult enough when the ballot papers appear to try and decide where to put my lowly X,  mind you, for years it was pretty straight forward, you just voted for the person who had been put forward to represent the party whose politics were in line with yours.
But nowadays, our elected MP's appear to please themselves what they do as soon as they are elected into whatever Parliament they were running for.
Mind blowing, but how do a minority of MP's decide they know better than the public who elected them in?   Maybe pressure from heavy hitting financial lobbyists,  I do not know,  I just think that future elections will be very interesting and there will be a few ex - MP's around.     MEP's  just scunner me,as does the whole EU set up, run by a few folks who are feathering their own nests !!!     BUT   today I see an item about one of the "Green MSP's" who, out of the blue ( maybe out of the Green),  has decided that once Scotland becomes an Independent country, after the next referendum, he is going to suggest that the Queen is removed from Hollyrood Palace, which will become an annex to the Scottish Parliament and used for meetings and the additional admin staff needed to run our Independent State.    In all probability, the current parliament building will be falling to pieces and flooding due to the existing building faults.           Kind of losing the line of thought,  but I just thing our MP's no longer represent the People.    End of today's rant, 

Iceland is green and Greenland is mainly white

Despite health issues we did manage to get off on holiday at the end of June, again cruising with Fred Olsen on the cruise ship Balmoral ,  from Rosyth which was very handy. This was the same ship we traveled on last year to the Baltic States, so it was nice to meet a few familiar faces on board. Just unfortunate that I was not fit enough to really enjoy the trip / holiday fully.  One of the bits I do remember was during one of the talks on Iceland was that when the Island was first discovered the explorer returned to Norway and told the king of his discovery and described it as being green, so when he later went off on his travels and discovered the large mass covered in ice and called it Greenland, no wonder the King was displeased. 

  

But we went there, originally with the intention of visiting the air base where my father served with Coastal Command, but that turned out to be impracticable at this time.  

Shame the weather was so iffy, we had days when it was teeming down, other days were beautiful, and we found beautiful botanical gardens at one of our overnight stops. 

More photos and notes for another entry.

A sort of old memory comes to mind,    Many years ago one of the best carpet manufacturers in the country was based at Bonnyrigg,  Henry Widnell and Stewart, who made superb pure wool carpets.  One of their carpets was named  "Tundra" and was produced after one of the designers had flown over Greenland on his way to North America, and on looking out the aircraft window saw the barren terrain below.  Turned out to be one of their most popular products.

Global Warming

Might as well jump on the bandwagon.    After all,  according to some (including El Trumpo of the USA), just fake news designed to upset the general populas.   So the USA has 5% of the World population and produces 25% of the carbon pollution and as non believers have pulled out of the International treaty on pollution control, while small nations like ourselves are attempting to do everything possible to reverse global warming, the term "p***ing against the wind" comes to mind. With incredible hurricanes, record heatwaves, forest fires, melting icecaps and rising sea levels  -  as old Jones in Dad's Army would say "Don't panic , don't panic".   What a legacy we are leaving future generations.    I spotted a small item in the paper a few weeks ago about some islands on the north coast of Russia which are now being mapped as they have appeared since their ice covering has gone.
 I missed the item on the news tonight but there are concerns that tonnage of recycling waste appears to be falling, so does that mean that despite all the publicity,there is still public apathy, and folks losing interest.   Just wait and see what happens when our respective governments implement the cash deposit and return scheme for drinks cans and bottles, tonnage of high value items will fall for one thing, then there will be a real hoo haa in shops , bars, etc when people want their 20 p deposit back.  Next thing, we will be having our recycling bins raided at night, bairns will be tipping up at the corner shop with sack loads of coke cans,  I am sure the shop keepers with be anything but amused!!

Obviously lots more on this topic,  maybe another time.

Just like Eastenders, miss six months and you can still follow the story.

Big leap of faith for me tonight, fist blog since January, so how do I kick off again ?

In my last blog I commented on the  Brexit situation, so what's new there,  still ongoing, although we now have Boris in charge, causing a lot of upset in many quarters, however, he is only doing what the majority of the public voted to do . LEAVE.   I could say I am at a loss as why there is so much opposition, however being rather cynical, I would think that a lot of pressure is being directed by folks who may well be losing a lot of EU sourced money, which is no doubt coming from the British Taxpayers in the first place.   If the pundits are right there are several EU economies on the teeter, and if the UK pulls out they may be worse off than us. Suppose we just need to wait and see what happens, especially as the opposition is attempting to get the Courts to turn Political,  enough said meantime.

Maybe motorbikes are a more neutral subject, still in possession of the Steed of Steel and the Time Machine, however the Steed was off the road for a couple of months from May till this months,  just wonder if it was off in sympathy with me !!  Both of us in "dock" at the same time,    however back on the road again since Andy at Border bikes applied his magic touch.  Just need to hope the current reasonable weather holds for a bit longer.

Suppose that leads nicely into "the weather", which in Scotland has not been all that clever, whilst below the invisible divide , those "down South" have been getting plenty sunshine,  BUT,  BUT, I have been known to suggest that the South is drying out too fast, and this week I heard that the Environmental Agency are concerned about low rainfall figures which mean low reservoirs and rivers, so maybe a hose pipe ban at some point. AND that is after earlier flooding , dams on the verge of bursting, flash floods, etc.       Time to stop,  next  episode in the pipeline   (Global warming)

Petang in the cold!! Wrap up warm.

Call them foolhardy or truely dedicated but the Penicuik Petang Club has resumed their training on a Saturday afternoon Using there purpose built rink on the site of the old putting green in the public park.  I popped along to watch on Saturday where a few hardy, and well wrapped up souls were playing.  Bit chilly and certainly makes a change from playing on a beach on the sunshine or in a shady town square in the South of France.  Used to enjoy playing when visiting Penicuik,s Twin Town in L’Isle Sur La Sorgue.     our own folks take it very seriously and there are a number of teams playing in Scotland.  A couple of players from Tweeddale stopped by to say hello.
Been very busy so my wee runs out on the motorbikes are kind of short and not too far from home, and with a cold snap forecast for the coming weeks are likely to be curtailed.  Both bikes coupled up to optimisers to avoid flat batteries.
Hate to say it but still seriously fed up with the Brexit carry on,  and as for Ms Sturgeon, she appears to be totally obsessed with this Indy carry on,  bad enough that she and her cohorts are allowing the place to go to rack and ruin, ie, Police Scotland and the NHS, for starters.
Fun in the USA with Mr Trump still at loggerheads with his Senate over his wish to build a wall between the USA and Mexico.  Certainly a massive problem with their illegals,  which is very similar to our own woes with hundreds trying to get over the Chanel from France.  
Sort of occurred to me that our Community Councillors get some sort of expenses, our local councillors get expenses and more, our MSP,s get paid, our MP,s get paid and our MEP,s get bloody well looked after, all from our rates and taxes!!   And still our MP,s cannot do what they were elect3d to do, carry out the will of and for the interest of the people.
Suppose it makes a change from moaning about cyclists,  but Prince Philip has stirred things up following his recent car accident down South.   I listened to another of the band wagon so and sos on the TV during the week suggesting that there be compulsory driving tests for the over 65’s,   Might not be long before someone else suggests compulsory euthanasia for the over 80’s !!  The nanny state is getting worse, we have the Vegan brigade trying to make us reduce our meat intake,  folks with all sorts of strange dietary habits.  
RA 500 tomorrow night with a new candidate joining us, hopefully the first of several.

Bellwood Oaks, Cala Homes and the Trade Description Act

Far be it for me to jump on the bandwagon,  but lots of folks in Penicuik are having a bit of a laugh at Cala Homes promotional bumf about their latest proposed development which was probably written by someone who has never been near the site.
Site "nestles" at the foot of the Pentlands!!   might be near and depending on which window you look from, provided there are no trees you might see the hills.
Penicuik had an abundance of shops and Award Winning restaurants !!   - looking at a ghost town with more shops closing this month, and the town centre in a state of upheaval as the place is being dug up for so called improvements!!  Not sure if Clippers still counts as award winning. BUT there is a new burger van coming on site at Eastfield who might be persuaed to relocate on Mauricewood Road at the roundabout.
Short walk to the shops !! , maybe for an athlete or rambler with time to spare, and one bus every hour or so down Mauricewood Road.  Maybe
Quick 30 minute commute into the city centre !!!    Maybe in the middle of the night,  but can regularly take that time to get from Flotterstone to the By Pass.
Take the train to the Waverley Station !!   lines were closed in the sixties and the viaduct at Glencorse was blown up in the seventies.   So at peak times a twenty plus minute drive to Eskbank to get a train to town !!!  what is wrong with the bus ?  Mind you , despite the way folks [ark, there is no Park and Ride in Penicuik.
Penicuik Primary school -   no such school, although there are six Primary schools,  but the nearest at Mauricewood and Glencorse might not have classroom space.      Beeslack High School is apparently due to be replaced in the imminent future.
£35 to get your garden refuge (brown bins) emptied,  but they can join the locals who are fly tipping on Mauricewood Road and save some money.
No comment about the snow (when it comes) bearing in mind these houses will be on the 900 ft above sea level line,  they can join those on the slippery slope on the A702 at the new roundabout!!
So far nothing said that is not incorrect,  good luck to the new homeowners  who hopefully will get a better house builders warranty than they would with some models of cars.
This Advert reminds me of the Ikea adverts when they said they were ten minutes from teh city centre,  what a load of poetic licence .

Sir Andy, look to the future.

Young Andy Murray has sensibly declared that he may be retiring shortly following a long struggle to recover from his hip injury and surgery.  No point in him trying to struggle on,  I am sure that he will be respected for his decision and once he gets re-organised we may see him guesting of programmes like  Question of Sport, etc.

Weather still looking not too bad so far,  every clear day is a bonus, just unfortunate that although the European ski resorts are getting the requisite snow, they are now getting too much, to the extent that there have been a number of deaths due to avalanches.        Nearer home we have had the first of this years deaths on Ben Nevis when a young female student fell five hundred feet.  Folks just do not appreciate haw fickle and evil Scottish weather can be, especially in the hills.

Quick comment,  I have just been down the street and was stopped on the way back at pedestrian lights, being operated by a school crossing patrol officer, who sadly was hardly capable of crossing the road herself !!   Why, when the local council is cutting back are they paying these SCP officers to cover crossing which already have lights. In ten minutes time they will have gone home and stragglers will cross the road unassisted as they do for most of the time. 

Finally,  was watching Good Morning Britain, and today, like every other day we change channel whenever Andy peters comes on to advertise these morning holiday competitions, why , oh why ? do they need to pay someone to junket around the world advertising these things. IT just proves how much money they are making from them,

Squaremen see the World !! Maybe.

The fact that I am writing proves that I did make it home from a rather frenetic meeting of the Squaremen yesterday   actually a good meeting with another two candidates who appeared to enjoy themselves.    The primary function of the group is to raise funds which they prefer to give to smaller , more personal charities, rather than to the big charities who have a well paid management structure.

They have joined me by purchasing a batch of the wee torch pens which I have been dishing out to nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, etc. So, within the next few days I will dish out another fifty or more.    I met a friend today who had seen me on the ERI Facebook page on X-mas Day when I dropped off a batch there. 

Next meeting on 2nd February is in Livingston,  BUT, a number of us have booked transport and accommodation to attend a meeting of the only English "Shed" on 18th February - passports all ready, a couple of bawbees in the breeks and awa we will go. 

Must have yet another gripe about the pedal cycling fraternity, as stated previously, many appear to be oblivious to the fact that in the dark, wearing dark clothing, they can be virtually invisible - so get some reflective clothing and put lights on yer bikes. Usual comments about them riding two and three abreast on roads and slowing everyone down,   might be fine in Edinburgh where the 20 MPH is in force and they are passing cars all the time,  nuff said.      BUT the same has to apply to motorist who drive with faulty lights, time to see and be seen.   I still have to see advice about lights on these gantries over roads and on the motorways.

Our High Street shops are taking a hammering from on line shopping sites,  which can be fine if the deliveries get through on time,   but with drivers having large numbers of deliveries to make each day it is no wonder many parcels go adrift, BUT, there is a big difference when some appear to have been deliberately dumped !!   A number destined for Penicuik addresses were recently found in a quiet wooded area in West Lothian, so no Santa Clause for several folks,  and maybe a return to the Job Centre for a white van man !!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019

all the best to this new year to everyone.    Did sort of plan on starting to try and write more regularly this year, especially as a I hope to have some items of interest , rather than constant moans to share.
Last four nights I ended up following the latest TV drama , Luther”, which ended with a bit of a cliffhanger last night.   Idris Elba is excellent as the hard nosed detective, so now we will all have to wait for perhaps another year to see if there is a follow up.
Totally diffent theme, and while I remember, I have discovered there is a Petang Club, which I hope is French Boules, in Penicuik, sessions start again at 1 pm on 19 th January in the Public Park,   I did not even know there was a large gravelled playing area specially for the game, constructed I think in the area of the old putting green.  So much for me knowing my area.
Same has to be said about Lasswade,  where yesterday I took a run up to look at Kings Acre Golf Course,  totally amazed at the lovely course, driving range and clubhouse, tucked away up above the Esk Valley.   I will need to add a photo later as they are on the other lap top.
Off to town shortly for a wander then to attend the fist of this years meetings of the Mither Shed, Ye Corporation of the Squaremen,  need a few of the brothers and imbibe perhaps !!!    Till later.