Mother & Child

Mother & Child statue at the Queen's View visitor centre in Perthshire. Although I don't recall any plaques or literature revealing the purpose or history of this piece of art, I have to include it because of it's lasting poignancy. I just find it beautiful. Stonehenge is cursed. But, we all knew that. Today is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart. Go listen to some classy music. The Euro2008 draw was held yesterday, England looks to have escaped with a relatively easy path through facing Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, Macedonia & Andorra. However Scotland didn't fare so well being grouped in with France, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia & the Faroe Islands. I expect we'll see yet another early outing for the Scottish National. Wales & the Republic of Ireland got paired together along with the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Cyprus & San Marion while Northern Ireland has to steer it's way through Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Iceland & Liechtenstein. Up the Lions, I say. Robbie Fowler completed a shock transfer back to Liverpool today. I guess ManCity no longer wanted to pay £35,000 per week to a bench-rider. Not sure how Raffy is going to slot Fowler into the squad, but I guess it's of no real worry since Fowler's been used to benchsquatting. Of course, with over 120 goals for the Reds, he may prove to be an asset because frankly, as clownish as he may be, he does have a nose for the net. Arsenal have Bolton on the weekend at the Reebok in an FA Cup tie while they host West Ham on Wednesday next. For the FA Cup tie Wenger will be resting Henry, Gilberto & Lauren while Cesc is suspended & Ashley Cole & Cygan are injured. Hopefully we'll get some of that talent (Gilbert excluded) back in time to square them against the Hammers in mid-week. So, Bolton...watch out for that Van Persie kid, he's gonna be out to prove summat and will take your defence apart. In the meantime, Arsenal have offered Henry a 5-year deal to stay a Gunner so the ball is back to TH14 to put up or shut up. To blatantly steal words from one of my favourite blogs, "it's Friday, the day when beer after work is the only polite thing to do. " Wastrel On! (Listening to: Rockin' Years by Ricky Van Shelton with Dolly Parton)

Dunkeld Cathedral on a June Day

Dunkeld Cathedral as taken from a bridge over the River Tay. Whilst Kelly, Joseph, Marita Beth & I returned to Dunkeld from a trip to the Birnam Oak, I stopped on the bridge to take a series of photos. This is my favourite of that batch. Although MB & I didn't go to the Cathedral, Kelly & Joseph did and reported that it is a lovely place. Tranquil in it's setting, I can't imagine a much more lovely place on earth. Not much to report on the footy front except that Ashely Cole lost his appeal to the FA on 'tapping up' charges and will have to pay his £75,000 fine...poor baby, that's a whole week's worth of wages. Allardyce & Neville have both been fined by the FA for poor sportsmanship, while Ronaldo is in trouble over in Spain for the same reason. Bunch of plonkers with their knickers knotted if you ask me. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Left Behind by Slipknot)

Birnam Oak

The Birnam Oak A quick visit to Dunkeld on the recommendation of our hotelier at Killiecrankie House revealed two gems rather than the one we were expecting. First, Dunkeld is a beautiful little town with a lot to offer the non-traditional tourist. Boot-sales, churches, river walking etc. rather than the over-the-top touristy bits in places such as Pitlochrie. Secondly, on the overside of the River Tay is the beautiful hamlet of Birnam. Sadly, due to my unique brand of selfishness, I had alienated myself, again, from so many of my friends during this little stopover. Hopefully those wounds I caused will someday heal over. Digression. Birnam is home to the Birnam Oak. The Birnam Oak, which is now supported by crutches is purported to be the last remaining tree of the Birnam Wood made famous by Shakespeare in his play Macbeth.

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.

Malcom's forces did indeed bring Birnam Wood against Macbeth by cutting branches from the trees to disguise their movemement & number. Barring it's supposed history, the oak is spectacular in it's ageing beauty. It eminates a sense of majesty & power seldom found in nature. Truly marvelous & despite the bugs very much worth the walk.

Sven Gorn Eriksson has apparently been given leave to locate another job prior to his departure as coach of the England team. Wonderful, the crackpot screws up, decides to breach his contract 2 years early and the FA are allowing him to search for a job while trying to prepare "the best England team in decades" for the World Cup. Talk about a division of loyalties. I'm fervently against this whole thing and the FA are just proving to be a batch of ball-less wonders that don't have the bottle to handle a coach effectively. Kick his ass out on the street and bring in someone now to salvage the morale that might remain in the England squad. Bring in Curbishley or Allardyce, hell bring in O'Neill if you're going foreign, but do it now. Eriksson doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, he's already held the job for 2 years longer than I'd have allowed. if only the FA would listen to me, wot. Arsenal won the game but lost the tie. Wigan's hero, Roberts, snuck a ball into the bag on the 120th minute of the game to give Wigan the tie on the away-goal rule. The aggregate score was 2-2, however Wigan scored 1 at home & 1 away while Arsenal only managed to score at home. Thus, the tie goes to Wigan and they proceed to the finals, while Arsenal must surely hang their heads in blistering shame.

Wastrel On!

(Listening To: The Coverville Podcast)

Peacock at the Palace

One of the first things a new visitor to Scone Palace will notice is the peacocks. Everywhere you look, each way you turn are peacocks. This particular day there were several peahens running about, too. So, obviously the cocks were strutting their stuff, and in a big way. This beautiful young stud was fanning and shaking for all he was worth, but to no avail. Eventually, the hens lost interest and moved away, but we tourists got quite the show. As noisy & as nasty as these birds are, an ostentation of them is quite the sight. On the footy front, that prat Sven Gorn Eriksson has finally admitted that he fucked up made a mistake or ten and will be abandoning his post as England Head Coach immediately after the World Cup. 'Bout time I say! Oh, and good riddance! He's been nothing but an embarassment for several years now. So now the FA get to try and find a new coach while launching a probe into potential bunging managers through the EPL. What a sorry situation. There are several names being bandied about for replacment coach with Curbishly (nah), McClaren (nope) and Allardyce (yep) leading the way for English nationals and Guus Huddink being the odds-on favourite to take the spot. Personally, since only English players can play on the damn team, leaving me out in the cold being American and all, I feel that only English coaches can coach the damn team. Makes sense to me. Arsenal are, at the moment, taking Wigan to task in their final bid for silverware this year. After the tepid performance on the weekend against Everton, Arsenal best have unknotted their knickers and brought a real team to the match. Else the Highbury faithful will turn the stadium into a library and Arsenal will leave this season & their stadium to chants of "boring, boring, Arsenal" or worse. However, it appears as though Arsene has figured this out and has pieced together a pretty potent starting XI in the likes of Henry, Reyes, Campbell, Lauren & Bergkamp while also handing nods to a couple of the new boys. Kerrea Gilbert, & Vassiriki Diaby line up beside Almunia, Hleb & that useless bag, Gilberto Silva. While Poom, Flamini, Pires & RVP sit the bench. It's a strong side, excepting Gilberto. Of course, with a penalty miss by Reyes on the 22nd minute, things could get all cock-eyed pretty quickly. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Regulate by Warren G & Nate Dogg)

Scone Palace

Scone Palace. To quote from scone-palace.net

Scone is a place that breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland. Today, in the 21st century, it is the home of the Earls of Mansfield, and a major attraction to visitors from all over the world. Fifteen hundred years ago, it was the capital of the Pictish kingdom and the centre of the ancient Celtic church. In the intervening centuries, it has been the seat of parliaments and the crowning place of Kings. It has housed the Stone of Destiny and been immortalised in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I've been here a couple of times, and it never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful it is. Of course, like most of the palaces & houses in Scotland, taking photos inside is verboten, however there's nothing wrong with taking outside photos. This is one of the first days on our trip where we actually had sun. Warm enough that I was in shorts today and had relegated the hoody to the boot. Finally. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Nightfist - Chapter III by The Herman Spectre Legacy)