Common Room at New Milne

Not the best photo, but it does show a bunch of the folks that were on this delightful trip with us. It's the first night we had everyone physically in Scotland, although some of them were still mentally elsewhere due to jetlag. Sitting on the floor with her back to me is Missy; she is chatting with Ginger & Marita Beth Kelly with Ed laying across the top of the coach. On the near coach are Adrian and his lovely wife who just happened to be in Perthshire at the same time we were although they weren't travelling with us. KyleF & I had gone down to the Foundry (a local pub in Perth) and picked them up. Belfast, Ireland natives they were taking holiday in Scotland and met up with us. Great fun, great people. They are sitting next to Joseph on the couch with Larry sitting on the floor in front of them. Out of the picture (although you can see her hands) is Alison. Next to Alison, and completely out of the photograph are KyleF, Desiree & Kara. Missy's son Sean is nowhere to be found and undoubtedly stirring up mischief as only a seven-year old can stir. We are sitting in the common room of the New Milne house in Perth and just enjoying each other's company and wine (or beer). Wastrel On! (Listening to: Hollerin' For Haggis by The Rogues)

Scottish Landscape in Perthshire

Scottish Landscape in Perthshire
Originally uploaded by crazyBobcat.

A little heavily saturated, but there's only so much you can do with a photo. Taken out of the side window while driving through a rainy section of Perthsire, I managed to capture some of the truest elements of the Scottish landscape. Queen Anne's Lace in the foreground with beatifully green, rolling hills fading into a mist-obscured background in the mountainous distance. Brilliant. If only I could be there instead of this piece of dirt on the anus of America that they call Texas. As soon as there is a financial opportunity to get out, I will.

Wastrel On!
(Listening to: Honey Bee by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

MB, Ginger & Glamis

Once again integrating my wife into the photo; this time with our very dear friend Ginger of Faire Pair Tights & Such. She made the last minute decision to join us on this trip, and I am so very glad she did. A breathe of wonderfully clean fresh air and a revitilization of wonderful memories. These 2 outstanding ladies and Lisa Oliver & Myself made a Yule Time trip to England some years back. What a wonderful time that was. This trip was all that as well, only additional, different friends and different locations; but very special nonetheless. This will be my last photo of Glamis Castle. At this point we were done with the Highland Games; done with the Tug Of War; done with the caber tossing; done with the weight for height; done with the shopping; done with the beer. No, strike that last one, we're never done with the beer. Just continuing to drink at a different location. So, off we'll trudge from here back to New Milne to meet up with Kyle & Desiree Ford, and Larry & Denise Geisen who had arrived just a little while before, having been delayed in the US over night. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Visions at Night by Lashing Patsy)

Tug of War

Now this surprised me. I had no idea, truly no idea, that Tuf of War was a real, highly-thought-of competition in Scotland. So important is this competition that there are Tug of War associations in various countries throughout Europe and Tug of War competitions at every major and minor Highland Games held in the United Kingdom. It was to my great surprise that watching grown men struggle against each other on a slippery ground would so captivate people for long stretches of time. I guess grunting, groaning, sweaty men hanging onto a large rope for what appears to be dear life, or at least recognition is a real attention grabbler. As surmised, I'm sure, I'm still reporting on the Higland Games. For a relatively small festival, there was a great deal going on and we spent quite a bit of time there. Wastrel On! (Listening to: I'm Ready by Tracy Chapman)

The Caber Toss

What's a Scottish Games without some stick tossing, eh? Here's one of many photos I took of burly men throwing big sticks around while wearing kilts & tennis shoes. None of the photos are outstanding, and this one doesn't really rise above the rest in any way, but it's the one I chose. Wearing a grimace at least as dirty as his sneakers his objective is to toss this 21' long naked tree into the air so that it passes end over end. Judges at the end and side determine it's scoring by means of o'clock hands and protracter degrees. If the caber manages a full rotation it is awarded an o'clock based on it's final position (such as 10:00, 11:30, or the ultimate 12:00). If the caber does not manage a full rotation, but instead falls back toward the thrower, then it is given a degree score based on it's ultimate angle to the ground (45, 60, 85 degrees &c.). This fellow didn't manage a rotation and achieved approximately a 65 degree score. Not too bad considering it's weight and length. I certainly couldn't do any better. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Beaches of St. Valery by Three Pints Gone)

Glamis Castle from the Lawn

Glamis castle taken from the vantage point of the Highland Games on the lawn. The photo was cropped a little oddly so as to not incorporate all the vehicles in the foreground. That would, I think, have destroyed an otherwise rather mediocre photo. No amound of photo manipulation can really clean this photo any more than it is. The day was just too dreary & dark and I was shooting with a 3.2 mp Canon. Live & learn, and in the meantime do what you can with what you have. Wastrel On! (Listening to: The Operations Conference Call (in one ear) & Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World by U2 (in the other ear))

Scottish Fling

One of our favourite things at any given Highland Games is to watch the young dancers perform "traditional" Scottish dances. This Highland Games at Glamis Castle was no exception for us. I spent quite a bit of time watching the young men & women perform their dances. Sadly, after awhile I did have to retreat further away because even in Scotland, they have hideous bagpipers. His pipes should have been taken from him early in the day, but they let him continue to play for the dancers and thus torture those of us trying to watch. Behind these four young dancers you can see the blowup children's area and the umbrella's beginning to come out. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Reggae Remix by Ruff Ryders)

Silhouetted Glamis

Two o'clock in the afternoon just outside Glamis Castle and you'd think it was post dusk. This is the weather to which we would be treated for nearly two weeks. Many of my family & friends believe me odd, but this is my favourite weather. Dreary, dark(ish), cloudy & rainy. I'd rather be a vampire duck, I think. I took this photo just as we left the Glamis Castle yet before we headed across the fields to the Highland Games. What I wouldn't give for this type of scenery & weather in Texas. Wastrel On! (Listening to: For What Reason by Death Cab for Cutie)

Up the Stairs

Up the stairs at Glamis. Loved the patterned imagery created here. The stairs lead up one of the towers of the castle that we were not allowed to enter. Glamis Castle still has residents, along with ghosts. Glamis Castle is known as one of the most haunted castles in Britain. It certainly has more stories and legends attached to it than most any other castle on the British Isles. Vist here for more. Sadly, as many times as I've been to Glamis I've not felt even the tiniest shiver of a ghostly presence. Being a believer, I keep searching & hoping. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Can't Not by Alanis Morissette)

Marita Beth at Glamis

Marita Beth read somewhere that one of the best ways to preserve memories in photogrpahs is to insert yourself into the photo. So, I tried to take a photo of Marita Beth in our environment nearly every where we went. I'm sure it got tiring for her, but not for me. Here's my darling girl standing in front of Glamis Castle. We have arrived, parked, trudged through the soaking wet grass & mud to the front drive. In moments we will purchase our tickets and insert this glorious, stately, remarkeably well-preserved castle. (Modified) Have I mentioned that I don't like Shutterfly very much? It seems that they can't figure out which freaking photos I have. So, the photo I thought I was linking to with the above description, is not the URL they provided me. So, instead, here's a photo of Marita Beth & myself in front of Glamis Castle. Not sure who took this, but I wish they'd included a wee bit more of the castle. Oh well. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson) and (Listening to: Hippityville by John Abercrombie)

Glamis Castle

Glamis (pronounced "glahms") Castle. What a fairytale view, it's such an amazingly preserved piece of history, I love visiting it each trip over. And this year, we had a special treat in that they were having a Highland Games on the lawn. Photos from that later. Back to Glamis Castle: 'A place of legends and fairytales.' Family home of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne and a royal residence since 1372. Childhood home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, birthplace of Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret and legendary setting for Shakespeare's famous play 'Macbeth'. Beautiful isn't it? Wastrel On! (Listening to: Seven Drunk Nights by The Town Pants)

Grapefest & Callendar House

We visited the Grapevine Grapefest this weekend, so I'll take a short break from the travellogue to discuss this event. Grapefest is a wonderful treat of wine, shopping & entertainment. As is our history, we purchased tickets to the People's Choice (an additional $15) where we are given an hour and a half to visit as many of the attendant wineries and sample their wines as we can; while keeping track of our favourites. This is not an easy task, but for years now we have given it our best shot. I was much more organized this year, than in past attempts, so feel I was more accurate in my representations of the wines. Then there's shopping. It's primarily a duck & bunny kind of show, with the occasional outstanding artisan or concept shining clearly in the ranks. This year, a concept by 9 ladies really caught my eye. It seems that they take a meme, or an image and divide the duties into 8 tiles, with each artist being "assigned" a particular tile. When the 8 tiles are complete, they get together and over wine, cheese & other foods (probably chocolate), they compelte the 9th tile and assemble the piece. The concept fascinated me. So in my own unabashed theivery of their concept, I present the "Callendar House" (original photo) and the "Callendar House by 9 Tiles." Wastrel On! (Listening To: 1001 Night's Waltz by New 101 Strings Orchestra)

PhotoFriday entry for Massive

Photo Friday Entry
MASSIVE
Back to the Falkirk Wheel. An impressive, massive structure. Wastrel On!

Mickey, Meet Dr. George

Ok, so my entries are a little out of order. Yesterday's entry should have been several days back while the entry with Joseph & Mickey should have backed up to today's entry. Sorry. But, it's my journal, deal with it. :-) So, here is another photo of Mickey. This time she's playing with Dr. George. Taken again from our bedroom window, you can see the wall-covering ivy on the right side of the image. This was such an amazing place, and getting to share it with Dr. George (one of the most incredible men I have ever met) and so many others made it ever more special. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Lusty Young Smith by Celtic Stone)

The Centurion

We picked up Ginger just fine at the Edinburgh Airport. She was a little surprised to see us rather than Larry & Denise (who were still in the US), but true to form, she adapted quickly. Of course, we still had to pick up the other two girls, so not wanting to spend a couple of hours in Edinburgh airport, off we went into the grand city itself, well a suberb of anyway. Of course, it didn't take very long for me to locate a pub, a parking spot & a pint. Delightful. It was in the Centurion where I noticed the first of many signs I was to see while in Scotland; "No playing of Football songs, nor wearing of Football colours!" Signs such as these are apparently needed in Scotland to avoid hooligan-hassles! Sadly, I neglected to take a photo of the sign, so here's a photo of the exterior of the Centurion. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Sally Ann by Great Big Sea)