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)

Gillian's Keys

I'm thirsty, I'm tired, my toe is broken and I need a drink. So, here's a photo, because I don't want to type anymore. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Dark Wind by the Saw Doctors)

Meet Mickey!

The girls were successfully retrieved from Edinburgh, although it turns out that Desiree & Kyle and Larry & Denise got delayed in the U.S. due to weather. Larry & Denise stayed in the Milwaukee area, while Kyle & Desiree got all the way to Washington, D.C. before being grounded. Meanwhile, back at the manor, we had discovered the manor house came complete with a border collie. This is Mickey playing football with Joseph. This photo was taken from our bedroom (oh my gosh, what a bedroom!) upstairs. Mickey is an extremely loveable, football-playing border collie. We had many a good time with her over the week. The moment she heard anyone in the front yard, at whatever time of day, she came running and quickly retrieved one of her several footballs. It was her sport, and we obviously were there to play with her. It made me miss my own boder collies, Berecyntia and Cormac, greatly! Wastrel On! (Listening To: Rocky Top by Carbon Leaf (Live))

To the Manor Born

New Milne, in all it's glory. This is our first view of the house taken from just inside the driveway gate. Hard to believe that this was to be our home for the next week. Of course, we were several hours early and unable to "move in" just yet; we still had to make a quick trip to the Edinburgh airport to pick up those three lovely ladies. However, we did speak with Jim (the caretaker/owner) who allowed us to unload our luggage into the foyer so that we would have room for three more passengers plus luggage. Luckily our hired vehicle was large enough to accommodate this. But here it is: our home. Wastrel On! (Listening To: (She's Just) An Old Love Turned Memory by George Jones)

New Milne Drive

Finally, we arrived at New Milne Manor which we have hired for the next 7 days. We left Killiecrankie that morning intending to be the first people at New Milne. Considering we were sharing the manor house with 12 other folks, this could have been a difficult task to accomplish. As it turns out we ended up having to make a dash to the Edinburgh airport to pick up Ginger, Kara & Alison. So, no problems, we were first here. This is our first view of what was to be our home for the next week. What a glorious first impression, and it was only going to get better. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Crosstown Traffic by the Jimi Hendrix Experience)