Horse and coach

Horse and coach, originally uploaded by lusobrandane.

Christmas time

We decided that it was time to put our Christmas decorations up, but when we went down to the cellar to get them, we discovered that someone had broken in and taken everything but the tree. Linda was very upset, as many of the tree ornaments had sentimental value and are simply irreplaceable. Why would someone steal Christmas decorations? It's beyond belief.

The "Monikie Leap"

Monikie Leap, originally uploaded by lusobrandane.

The Dundee, Arbroath, Forfar and Tannadice Steam Turbine Omnibus and Racing Yacht Coy. Ltd. (DAFTSTORY Ltd) built this railway line between Dundee and Arbroath in the middle of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the company ran out of money before they were able to build the platform to carry the track across this road. The only way the company was able to raise funds to complete the bridge deck was to run a daily service with specially adapted trains that were designed to leap across the gap. The line was closed by government safety inspectors after one week and seven train wrecks. A second company reopened the line a year later, running one train to this point, where it stopped and the passengers alighted, crossed the road and swapped trains to continue to their destination. The line was finally closed in 1963 and is now used by the Scottish Commonwealth Games long jump team as a place to train (geddit!). And to think... we once ruled half the world.

Spluttering over my coffee

Nearly choked on my coffee when I read this in Tam Cowan's column in the Daily Orc:

My mate Grant reckons he's got that bird flu. He says he's crabbit all day for no apparent reason and it now takes him 25 minutes to park the car.

Boom, boom!

Kinpurney observatory

Kinpurney observatory, originally uploaded by lusobrandane.

I decided to take my physiotherapist's advice and go for a long and demanding (for me, at least) walk. Apparently the trouble that I have been having with my sciatic nerve (caused by a 'prolapse' apparently) - trouble that has had me laid up for the best part of a year, and walking with a crutch for almost six months - is down to poor posture and lack of exercise. Which seems odd, since the sciatica only became chronic after I had begun exercising on a sustained basis.

Nevertheless, 'ours is not to reason why', and all that, and the professional told me to walk until I felt 'the burn' - as only then would I be starting to burn up the excess fat that has collected in worrying amounts on my body.

Before I was laid up, I liked walking up hills - not Munroe size hills, you understand, but the much more gentle hills that are to be found within walking distance of my house. The Sidlaws... that kind of hill. That being said, however, when I was younger, fitter and a foot thinner, I did like trekking up Goat Fell and even did the Arrochar Alps, including at least two Munroes. Anyway, I digress.

On medical advice I decided to have a go at Kinpurney Hill. Now, Kinpurney Hill is not a tall hill. At just over 1,000 feet, it is little more than a bump in the ground. But. Yes, there is a but. It is a slog, with the last two thirds of the climb being on a 1:2 gradient across moor and marsh, while the first third is through a small, undulating quagmire of a wood.

I am not complaining, though, although at times I wondered if I was going to have the stamina to make it (well, I have been laid up for almost a year). It was hard going, but I made it and - small triumph that it was - I was pleased with myself for doing it. My leg held up well... and while I am beginning to feel it a bit now, I am not sure if I have aggravated my back or if I am just experiencing the normal reaction to the unaccustomed exercise. Time will tell.

Apart from the obvious health benefits, the climb was motivated by a desire to take some photographs. Accordingly, I trekked up carrying two cameras, a tripod and six lenses... not to mention a coat, jersey, flask and packed lunch. I must have looked as if I was about to embark on an expedition! Half way up and I was regretting my decision to carry so much photographic equipment with me (well, it is quite heavy).

It wasn't until I reached the observatory at the top of the hill that I realised that I had left my ND grad filter at home. And it wasn't until I got home that I realised that I had left the camera's ISO setting at 800. I always manage to remember to manually set the white balance, now I must get into the habit of checking the ISO setting too! Despite these lapses, I did manage to salvage a couple of shots, so all was not lost.

Watching:
The Orcs qualifying for the next round of the Champions' League.

Reading:
The Herald

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower, originally uploaded by lusobrandane.

There has been much said about the tragic death of two teenage girls on a level crossing yesterday. Apparently, the two fourteen year-olds ran across the level crossing to catch the train that they were late for on their way to do some Christmas shopping.

Now there are calls for the railway company to be held responsible for this terrible accident. This despite the fact that the barriers were down, the warning lights were flashing and the audible alarm (bells) were ringing before the girls crossed. Moreover, the crossing is on a straight part of the track (in the station), so there is a clear view in both directions.

I can only begin to imagine the distress that the family and friends of these two girls are going through just now. No-one should have to experience the death of their own children. Yet. I still don't see quite how the railway company is to blame for the accident...

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe, originally uploaded by lusobrandane.

Still caught in the 'pro-French' vibe - which probably isn't a good thing for a Brit in this day and age, given that our government has (if the ever-so-jingoistic English press is to believed) been browbeaten into surrendering part of our EU rebate in order to pay French farmers to remain inefficient and for repairing the damage caused during the recent riots in several French cities.

I don't know, but I always thought that it was a bit incongruous that, with our EU rebate of several billion euros each year, Britain - which is the fifth richest country in the world, and the second or third richest in the EU - makes the second lowest net contribution to EU funds. Moreover, it hardly needs said that Britain is not the most popular member of the EU club - in fact, if the truth be known, we come across as the petulant little insecure boy in the corner who is always trying to think up new ways of being the centre of attention without actually doing very much constructive, and whose popularity with the new members is based less on our intrinsic worth and more on our friendship with the local bully.

Anyway, matters of geopolitics aside, as a committed pro-European (which is a bit of an endangered species here in Blighty), and fierce lover of France and (almost) all things French (and Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Irish....), all I can say is roll on the day when we are able to buy camembert and brie sandwiches in the local Carrefour supermarket without feeling any pangs of guilt at abandoning cheddar and Tesco.

Do you think the French might reconsider their decision to withdraw dual citizenship from the Scots?