le stadium!

Us. Then!

victory!

everyone say 15 pts!

the opposition

Cardiff. Match day.

happy xmas to me!

Curry morning

This week, I have been mainly flooping around on the ukele.

Yes, I know what you're thinking, but in my defence I'm not trying to learn how to play hawaiian songs whilst wearing a grass skirt. Although if I was, for authenticity I would be forced to put on a couple of stone.

I just find it kinda fun. I had an acoustic guitar when I was young and I found it a bit intimidating, six strings instead of four and very loud if you pluck a bit harder than you meant to. The Uke is just a bit of fun, although bizarrely enough it has got my writing poetry/lyrics again. No. I will not be publishing/inflicting them on you. They are very personal and I remember when one of my work colleagues found a scrap of paper I'd been doodling some lyrics on. The shame I felt was worse than anything else I could imagine. Because they are so personal to me, it would be like showing you a photo of me naked. Which no-one wants.

Anyways thats enough of the disturbing imagiary for one day....

Made a serious curry last night. Well, I actually made it in the morning and ate it at about 7-ish due to the magic that is the slow cooker. Raw Chicken, Raw onion, two tins of tomatoes a pint or so of stock and a good spoonful of curry paste left in the slow cooker for about ten hours on low made the most delicious curry which really cheered me up after our loss to New Zealand. We played well in the first half but they throttled the game in the second and finished us off. Hey ho. We were expecting to lose and we made it very difficult for them. I did enjoy the game though and it would have been a cracker for a neutral to watch. Our response to the hakka was breathtaking. But thats enough of that.

Today my plan is to get the house straight, do a bit of washing amd try and get some writing done. Althought I'll probably prevaricate so much that I won't do any. Hey ho.

"Say cheese!"

Made me laugh anyways.

Another successful weekend but last week was a serious stress-fest. I came back in on the monday to find that everyone had had to come in that Saturday and sunday to catch up with the work I hadn't done due to being on leave. 

Its no-ones fault really but I felt kinda guilty which was compounded by not being available this weekend to come in. Sometimes I feel like I'm letting people down by not being available but I had very little notice about working yesterday and I had already arranged for a night out to watch the rugby (A win but with a disappointing performance) and a late saturday morning recovering at a friends.

I did say if they were working Sat afternoon or the sunday or next weekend even I'd be more than happy to come in. I don't want people to feel I'm taking the mickey but I do get to thinking that thats the impression I'm giving off. I hope not. Its one of the best places I've worked for atmosphere and there not a single person in an office of twelve I don't actively like and enjoy spending time with.

How often can you say that? The last time I had that atmosphere was working in baa-bar in Liverpool and even then there were certain employees that I'd rather not talk to. 

Anyways, not much happened during the week mainly because of all the overtime I was putting in, but saturday night we watched Wales v Canada at Andys and then went for a few pints at the Hope and Anchor in Denbigh. They had a kind of open mic night for musicians going on and some of them were okay, some just butchered popular songs in a X-factor style. One girl thought that the key to singing well was to sing the same note over and over again with just a mild bit of variation and warble. She could sing that note very very well, but it does jar a little after a few hours. 

Saturday morning was time for a breakfast at a cafe we know where they serve EXACTLY the right amount of food for a breakfast, Its not a place where they try to fill an entire plate and force you to eat it, they serve all the good stuff but in a portion the right size for a slightly sour stomach. We looked at a house outside of St Asaph which was, to be fair, a Shit-hole but a shit-hole with a gorgeous view. Not worth £135,000 thought especially with all the damp, mildew and the fact it needed a new roof and damp coursing doing. 

Then it was straight to the couch where I'm happy to report we sat for the rest of saturday, Watching all of season 2 of heros, which was pretty good, then getting up to date with season 3 (awesome) and watching last man standing (the series not the bruce willis movie) where they were doing archery in butan. 

It was great to have a day off but it did make me realise that it would be so easy to just spend all my free time doing precisely that. Just sitting on my arse and being entertained. Its alright for a day off but I think I'm going to try and do other things more. If we only get one shot at life I need to be able to look back and have more than just happy memories of sitting on a couch and being entertained. I privately mock people who do nothing but watch soaps and C-lebrity programs but how different is what I do myself? The programs may be different but my interaction with them is exactly the same (i.e. none). I live vicariously through other people in just the same way. Does it really matter whether its in Albert Square or Gotham city?

So anyway not saying I'm going to change my life or anything but its just a realisation that sitting on the couch vegetating should occupy less of my time. 

Going to sort out the entire house today, think of it as 'autumn-cleaning', by the time we're finished I'll deserve the sweet solace of my couch!

Laters

Happy 150000 miles my car!!

the long road home.

Scotland final day.

Boo! Final day!

We started the day in style with bagels cream cheese and smoked salmon (lox) and after a vatfull of coffee set out to a spot Rob had previously spotted whilst out and about.

Its a forest near the town of Laggan, and in this forest is an abandoned settlement called Druim an Aird. We thought it had been left in the clearances but apparantly all the men folk died in a blizzared after attending a wedding and the village just ied out. Of course thats the santised version. I hardly expect the forestery commison to have a plaque saying 'Two hundred people were cleared unlawfully off this land because the countess of Sutherland decided the land was worth more to her as sheep pasture than with actual human being living on it.'

The waterfalls were gorgeous nearby and then we headed back to the house for cheese n biscuits and beer!
having a substantial stew tonight and the long drive back tomorrow.

In short its been a terriffic week full of fun and laughter and a lot of reading. Heaven.

waterfalls

Scotland at the falls

Scotland day 6

A quieter day today, we set off after a full cooked breakfast (yummy) for forres and then onto Elgin which is a fairly large town with some nice shops. One nice place in particular is Gordon and Mcphails which has one of the largest collections of whisky in the world. They had a bottle of 1945 Ardbeg for £10000.00, which means that that bottle is worth 20 times what I paid for my car. Who would buy that ridculous whisky when theres no gaurentee that it will actually be any good? and if you had bought it and it turns out to be coloured water, would you say anything for fear of being thought folish? not that spending £10000.00 on a bottle of whisky gives you a 'prudent and wise' tag.

From there we went on to Lossiemouth which is where the picture was taken. It feels like a town on the edge of time. It has these enormously wide streets and this kind of quiet almost dead feel to it. It is however very very pretty and it sits exposed on the coastline so it must take a battering whenever the North sea howls.

From there it was time for a tradtional scottish supper. Deep fried Haggis, chips and curry sauce and for pudding deep fried mars bar. Both were perfectly pleasant but it was a ruck load of lard to take onboard in one sitting!

After that it was a pint at the cairngorm hotel where of all things they were showing a live rodeo from America. Thats got to be the orginal extreme sport hasn't it?

"I'm going to sit on this bulls backside and try and hold on for eight seconds! You, time me! You, get the wheel chair! Yee haw!"

I'm not being rude I'm just saying as bone headed things to do that are more exciting than anything else, before skateboarding or sking down mountains or doing backflips on motocross bike the cowboys got to that extreme label first.

After that we came home for some extreme coco and extreme scrabble (neither were in any way extreme).

Elgin

Scotland day 5

A sturdy breakfast again this morning, but for different reasons than usual. Its not common for me to drink whisky before 8 in the evening, let alone 11 in the morning! But this is what one does on a whisky tour!

The Macallan is a lovely whisky given oodles of flavour from the sherry casks it rests its 10/20/etc years in before being bottled. The plant is not huge and you can only take the tour by booking ahead, they do not support huge coachloads of tourists who are merely making the tour because thats what you do in Scotland.

<sarcasm>I am a much better class of tourist. </sarcasm>

What I meant to say without sounding like a toal gimboid is that having sampled quite a few whiskys in my time, The Macallan is one of my favourites and seeing where all of this magnificent tipple is made was great fun.

Theres on overiding air around the Valley where its located, I think at last count there were 12 distilleries operating in this area so the atmosphere of the entire valley is rich with the smell of malt. It kind of smells like horlicks, which is a fairly pleasent thing to smell of compared to pig stys or chicken runs.

The Malt from Barley is turned into raw alchol in a process I find fascinating but I will spare you the details here. This raw alchol is put inside barrels that have contained Sherry or bourbon for a couple of years and the wood is rich with that captured scent. So over the 10 or more years that they're kept in the sheds the raw spirt takes on the flavours in the barrel and becomes whiskey. They then blend a couple of different barrels together to get the whiskey you buy in bottles.

Its a fascinating place because of this strange time siuation. They have 5 days of frantic to-ing and fro-ing of mixes and heating and distillation and then the process halts for TEN YEARS before anything else happens!

Anyway after the tour we paid for a tasting session (they call it a nosing) tutored by the lady that had taken us on the tour.

It was interesting and the whiskeys were delcious, if you like whisky of course.
But the difference I foudn in between the differing whiskys were quite marginal considering the last bottle we had a dram from bost over £200!

I really enjoyed it though and my favourite wasn't the oldest and most expensive (shock horror) it had matured for 15 years rather than 25. Which just goes to show with whisky as with life, ones age doesn't automatically equate to ones worth.

After that we had dinner in a place called the Mash Tun, which was nice and modern in the resturant but the loos were like something out of a 1980's boarding school nightmare. Or as one of my companions said " They're like the loos in the nightclub in Ruthin."

Anyways, from there we hit a smokehouse owned by the lead singer from Jethro Tull, and no he wasn't there pipeing music over the smoky fish to give them that Cod-metal flavour.

It was a stange place though because you could look in at what was happening and bascially you were looking out over about 20 people working on a factory line which was fine until they started looking back.

It must be like being one of the monkeys at the zoo

"Yes? How may I help you exactly? Can you not see I'm busy eating/picking fleas from my brothers coat/swinging on this tyre?"

After that we headed back to Aviemore to the butchers in the middle of town where, in spite of me only being here for a week they already know me and we had a good laugh with them whislst picking up a steak pie and various other bits for dinner.

Theres no TV and no mobile reception here at the cottage. I have to go outside to the road and hold my phone aloft to send these little missives. Anyone driving past must think I'm praying to some strange God. Luckily we have few people on this road. But no Tv gives you the time to read and think and write and Ithink I'm going to insist upon it for any future holidays. It really gives you the feeling of having been away.

I did miss the American election which I normally would have pulled an all nighter on (I'm strange like that). I caught the bug in 2000 as I was working for CNN when the election happened. When Gore eventually conceeded 2 weeks later there was a great wailing and Gnashing of teeth at CNN centre. We knew what would happen with that Fuck-nut in charge. Sorry for swearing but I still have strong feelings about 2000.

However The 'good guy' won this time. I'm glad america has mobilised to vote in a new face and hopefully some new policies. This man has Jay-Z on his i-pod for Gods sake! McCain thinks I-pods are from "Invasion of the body Snatchers" .

That is a bit unfair though, of all the republican Politicans I have to say McCain is a voice of reason in a party near tearing itself in two.

His run upto the nomination was a fair and well thought out strategy and remarkably free of dirty politics.

After he got the nod and the party realied behind him I think he was forced into saying and doing certain things by the party managers that he wasn't comfortable with. Just look at Palin. He didn't want her, He wanted someone with policies with experience not some weird abberation of a pol, this half-baked Alaskan.

People are already talking about Palin 2012! That, my friends will never happen.

Wow.

I ramble a lot don't I?

Anyways, the house is waking now. I've got no firm ideas on what I'm doing today but I think Em and I are going to head off and do our own thing and then meet up with the guys for a chippy supper.

Deep fried haggis! Bring it!

mucho mucho whisky!

Whisky!

Us. Then.

Scotland Day 4

Had a quiet one again yesterday, we ventured out to the Black Isle which contrary to its name is a peninsula of land just north of Invernessand on this spit of land theres one of the smallest and yet greatest brewerys on the planet. 'The Black Isle Brewery' Is family owned and run and produces some truly wonderfull beers.

Now before you run screaming for the hills I am not a RAT (Real Ale Twit). I happen to enjoy a pint or two of real ale but I don't belive that anyone that drinks lager or doesn't see the joy of strong ale with odd names should be rounded up and shot! I am not on some crusade to get the whole world drinking local ales brewed by local people. I just enjoy the flavour and it doesn't give me a hangover. Simple as.

So the black isle brewery is a single shed on a farm with a gift shop and office attached . The lovely french lady in the shop gave us a free tour around the shed and a few free samples of their delicious beers. The yellowhammer bitter was a particular favourite but their porter (A semi guinuess) and Blonde ales were close runners. They deliver all through the UK for minimum charge so if its the kind of thing you think you might like then its well worth a go.

We had a lazy lesiurely lunch in a resturant overlooking the black isle bay and then headed back to the maccaroni cheese with leek and bacon I'd left in the fridge for dinner.

Amongst games of blackgammon and scrabble we devoured the dinner with bottles of yellowhammer and 'Wildcat' from the caingorm brewery and a blazing fire it was a most statisfying evening.

Today we are off for the Macallan Distillery delux tour. £15 a pop but apparantly if you do one Distillery tour (and we are) then this is the one to do.

The weather is warmer but we're still getting this gorgeous frost every morning giving the land a white blanket.

attack of the kangaroos!

the black isle

Scotland Day 3

Everyone got up early this morning and had a good old bowl of porridge made butties and packed various sweet treats and liquids (Coffee, water, tea and Sloe gin) before heading to the mountains.

We got to Geal Charn (3008 ft) at ten and made an astart up a boggy muddy path which quickly turned to frozen mud and tehn to proper snow within 500 metres or so. We trudged all the way up the mountain through snow drifts as deep as my hips which the ladies were abel to just cross without getting bogged down. Suddenly those snowshoes I laughed at in the shop early in the week seemed like an essential purchase.

It was unspeakably gorgeous though. The mountains rose up around us Geal Charn is but one of the many many mountains in that valley. I haven't been walking through real snow since I was sixteen in The southern part of Germany and it brought all those memories flooding back.

We made it to the top and had the butties and Anzac Buscuits. Apparantlythese were origianlly busicuits sent from the wives of Austrailian and New Zealand soldiers stationed abroad as a taste fo home while they were fighting in WWII. They don't really go off and can stand the long journeys. Helps they're delicious as well of course!

The trude bakc down was on an established path which made it easier (and a bit more boring!) then it was a quicktrip to the Caingorm brewery for a restock of beer,a few essentials at the shop and then back to the house which we call home.

We opened the door to the delicious smell of Carolines sausage casserole that she'd put in the slow cooker before we left. I hope it tastes as good as it smells.

Also my wife might be a bit too good at starting fires, I may have to hide the matches when we get home!

top of the world ma!

"I'm just going out. I may be some time."

Emsie of the mountains!

Mountain!

not bad for a lounge window view!

Scotland Day 2

Up early this morning, saw a squirrel nicking nuts from the bird feeder. Nothing new there, you might think, but this squirell was a red! I haven't seen one of them for years and years. They've all been grey. anyways I wrote a thousand odd words on this keyboard this morning with a decent cup of coffee and the light dawning through the curtained windows of the front room, heaven.

The rest of the house stirred and then we were all about the bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon(Lox). A few coffees later we were replete and heading out to Fort Augustus at the tip of Loch Ness, Its a beatiful small town which panders a little to the Nessie trade.

From there it was on to Fort William and a little whiskey shop Rob and Caroline know, sadly closed on a sunday in the off season. A thourough lunch of soup and toasties and we were heading home.

I forget the sheer scale of Scotland when I'm not here. The nearest town to us is 20 mins drive and the nearest big place is a good forty minutes. Theres one other house near ours which is unoccupied at the moment and the next nearest house is a 20 minute walk. Thats a long long way if the cars aren't working. The tranquillity and peace it offers though is superb. I could see myself being very happy here for a while before my mysnathropic tendancies die down and I crave more company again.

Its an excellent place to just chill out, do nothing and read some books. Oh, and drink whiskey and write, those are also good.

Going for a serious walk tomorrow, which should be excellent and then, who knows? One of the joys of not having a concrete plan!

Unnamed Loch 2

Unnamed Loch

loch ness

housey

The house we're staying in is simply gorgeous. Its an old cottage that has had modern refurb but unusually its maintained a lot of the old character of the cottage.

Its literally MILES away from anywhere else and I really really like that about it. It has a feeling of stillness, of peace that I barely even recognise anymore.

So after a solid nights kip at the b n b we went downstaris to breakfast where we helped ourselves to yoghurt and toast. The lady asked if we wanted porridge and, as we're in scotland it feels like one of things you should really do.

The porridge was delicious, gloupy, warm and statisfying, after we'd had that and were feeling pleasantly full she asked what we'd like for our 'cooked' portion of the breakfast!!

Em and I rolled out of the dining room, not beliveiung that the whole b n b experience had cost us less than £60!! Oh and a piece of cake we brought from Wales as a gift for the hosts.

Then, suitably fattened we went to Loch an Eilein and walked around its banks for a couple of miles to try and ward off the fatty affects of 'the full scottish'. The leaves had started to turn and it reminded me intensly of New England during fall. Its another beautiful part of the world that I've been lucky enough to visit.

From there we went to the Caingorm ski resort with acres and acres of actual, honest to godness snow! Woot!
Then we picked up some supplies back in Aviemore and then came to the cottage Which has this lovely writing desk which I'm typing at now.

Just had sausage anbd mash for dinner and starting on a pint of 'Tradewinds' from the same brewery!

Had a wonderful day and I have a solid feeling its going to continue for the rest of the week.

Storms a'coming

Snowday!

Loch an Eilein

Scotland day 1

Woke up early, (no surprises there then) and went for a walk to see the most gorgeous sunrise I've seen in a long long while. Aviemore sits nestled in the middle of cairngorms and which ever way you turn here you can't help but see a mountain!

For someone who grew up with our friendly welsh mountains its almost like being in a bigger version of home. If that makes any sense.

I found out why that pint of Stag was so fantastic, it because its brewed less than a mile away in the cairngorm brewery which I passed on my travels. As I've mentioned previously theres nothing I like more than getting out early and feeling the world spin and wake beneath my feet.

This feels very much like a tourist town which is all well and good but I'm looking forward to getting some real local colour and action.

Laters.