sixoh8sixoh

I came across the story of the Iolaire in a book by Peter May - one of his Lewis trilogy (The Black House, The Lewis Man, The Chess Men). All very good crime novels if you're into that genre. I've got that on DVD - the lead actress is one of the Downton Abbey daughters. The one that died, if I remember right (Lady Sybil). If you enjoyed that, you may enjoy Tamara Drewe (starring Gemma Arterton).

I import Ringtons tea into Scotland from Newcastle. Currently have some 400 bags in the cupboard (Mum usually loads me up with a couple of packs when I head back to Edinburgh).

Afternoon all from a busy but dry Scottish HQ! Madly busy today, but at least it keeps me out of mischief... John - my folks live about a mile away from there. Jim - I've noticed the past 2 weeks as I've driven past the freight terminal at Grangemouth that there have been 2 Colas locos (I'm not certain which class from a fleeting glance but maybe Class 60?) in the yard there - previously there have only ever been 66s (usually in Malcolm freight livery) and recently one of the 2 brand new ScotRail livery 68s - couldn't tell whether it was Daring or Valiant though!).

"I'm sorry, caller, I was unable to connect your call"...

This album got a mention on Jo Whiley's show last night (so did I!) on Radio 2. Just leaving it here for one of our ERs...

It is here... Morning all from a wet Scottish HQ. I've not yet declared my interest. Started getting into folk music from hearing a Kate Rusby track ("Sir Eglamore") on John Peel's show some 15+ years ago. I have a pretty wide music collection and taste, but on the folk side, I particularly enjoy Kate Rusby, Heidi Talbot, Karine Polwart, Eliza Carthy, Bellowhead, Cara Dillon. And I was really impressed with Steeleye Span's Terry Pratchett collaboration, "Wintersmith". I also occasionally listen to older stuff, Fairport Convention etc. I think Sandy Denny's voice was amazing, especially on "Who Knows Where The Time Goes". Feeling exhausted today, and have just found out I have to write a briefing pack today for a meeting tomorrow as one of our team is off sick and the Minister's office sent the briefing request to her.

Afternoon all from Scottish HQ! Haven't caught up fully since yesterday morning (4 pages?) but enough to say Happy Birthday Ed! Wild and windy here in Edinburgh. Have to head to Glasgow shortly as Jamie has an appointment at the Death Star again, so I'm picking her up from school at 3. I normally take an hour to drive there on a Sunday, but give myself nearly double that on any other day outside quiet hours. Can't be late and have her waiting at the school gates.

Morning all from poolside in Glasgow as Jamie has a swimming lesson. Went to a talk by Mark Beaumont last night as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the Scottish International Development Programme. My old boss Lord McConnell was moderating the session, which was mostly about Beaumont's recent record-breaking journey by bike from Cairo to Cape Town. I knew a load of people there from the Scottish Government (civil servants, not politicians). Two of my close friends went along too so we decided to head out to the Malt Whisky Society for a post talk dram. After Jamie's swimming lesson I'm taking her and her best friend for an afternoon's skiing at the indoor snow slope. What was I thinking?! The poppy is on my jacket, and I have a spare one to add to Jamie's clothes. Her mum doesn't seem to bother but as I'm always with Jamie on Remembrance Sunday I make sure she observes it and recognises the importance.

I thought he rode a battle armoured spider... Or am I getting my legends mixed up? ;-)

As it's after the watershed...

Afternoon all from a grey Scottish HQ. I had a meeting at the dockside building this morning (after a lateish meeting last night at the Parliament with a Minister and an MSP), so took the opportunity after the meeting to go for a swim (no, not in the dock). Then travelled up to HQ. Hoping to escape reasonably soon as (touch wood) all seems quiet here. (It's all gone quiet, said Roobarb... Too quiet, said Custard) Off to the Botanic Gardens this evening for the Botanic Lights show this evening with a friend. I have Saturday to myself too as GF is currently on her way to Germany, so I may do the Parkrun in the morning and then I'm going to a talk by Mark Beaumont which is being hosted by Lord McConnell (former First Minister) in the late afternoon with a couple of other friends. I had the night to myself last night too, and did a bit of reading - something I've not had much time for of late. Got through about 150 pages of the crime novel I'm reading. Hope everyone manages to POE (those who are still cursed by w**k). And Happy Birthday Aditi!

I think you probably are! I have signed Kate Rusby and Heidi Talbot albums, plus one signed by two performers of the Eccentronic Research Council - the first dedication is "To Speccy, love Adrian", and the second is "To Mike, with apologies for the behaviour of my fellow band member, love Maxine Peake"! (renowned actress who provides spoken word vocals on their records). Signed books are more my thing though...

Morning all from a grey Scottish HQ. I was going to reply to 5 posts, but needed to have the toggle switch at "down" and so when I pressed the multiquote button, it all vanished. Argh! Mal - sorry to hear about your father, best wishes for getting funeral arrangements sorted out. Rick - sorry to hear of your cat's passing, always sad to lose a cherished friend. (And as an aside, I wish the software had the "Friendly/Supportive" button further from the "Funny" one... I managed to hit the right one today, but fat finger syndrome has in the past seen me mark the passing of a pet with the wrong one - briefly!) Chris - not guilty! I enjoyed the Alex Harvey Band and Doors/Steptoe tracks. I'm mildly surprised no-one's posted any Wombles yet... I went to see Spectre with the GF last night. I guess I would have considered it as a good Bond film, had it not been preceded by Skyfall, which rather set the bar. Spectre was a good, solid, entertaining movie, but it didn't have the same emotional pull or excitement as Skyfall. And I'm afraid the theme song completely left me cold. There were a few fireworks going off in Leith on Tuesday night, but nothing huge so far. I remember at the height of the firework fever of a few years back, watching (very carefully!) one idiot launching rockets from his hand on Leith Walk (a busy main road) at about 6pm. I was particularly nervous of getting hit as I was walking home. Have a good Thursday everyone!

Morning all from a damp Scottish HQ. In preparation for C******** (word censored for those of a sensitive disposition as it's still nearly 2 months away), last night I candied some peel. This is a far longer process than I expected (the BBC Food recipe suggested about 1 hour 45 to do it - I think the whole process took about 3 and a half hours... On the bright side, it's stored in an airtight container ready to make the C******** cake or pudding around Stir Up Sunday (I'm sure The Archers will tell me when that is). Would have been so much simpler and cheaper if Waitrose had it in stock this year... Still, I have the smugness satisfaction of having done it myself. Dad and I have been getting hooked on researching the family history recently. The Ancestry app and website are particularly helpful (I find them better than Genes Reunited) and we've got the family tree much farther back than we had. Previously Dad had very little information on his paternal grandmother's side of the family and we've traced them back to my 5xgreat grandfather who was born in 1762. But far more impressive is on dad's mother's side of the family, who we've now traced back as far as one Roberti Jaques, (my 8xgreat grandfather) born in Yorkshire in 1632. Family legend has it that the Jaques ancestors are descended from Huguenots who escaped persecution in France - we must be close to the actual refugees now (assuming that the legend is correct), but I suspect we're going to hit a dead end soon (if not already). Hope everyone's enjoying Hump Day so far!

Afternoon all from a foggy Scottish HQ. We did have a few hours of glorious sunshine but now the Royal Mile is a smudge gone now. GF is now fully moved to her new flat. Though she's going to be staying in mine until hers is ready for habitation - which may be a while as she's planning to have the bathroom and floors throughout replaced before Christmas. Haven't read back yet (lack of time) so congratulations and commiserations as always!

I was about to say that wasn't possible but then went and checked the clearances... The bridge is 54' and the Hercules is 38'. Possible but unlikely and definitely inadvisable! I did find a BBC News story about pilots of a light aircraft getting a police warning for doing just that. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3043308.stm [belated edit for pesky iPhone autocorrect]

And just about 5pm at Scottish HQ...

I missed that post before - really pleased that they've been of use. Great work on the news stand!

Morning all from a wet Scottish HQ. Congratulations to Ian and Sherry! Hope the welding goes fully to plan and you have some sunshine for the pictures. Happy birthday to Jamie too. I got a text yesterday afternoon to say that the purse had been handed in to the bus depot. Of course GF had cancelled the cards already, so you're spot on BoD! I made Hallowe'en cupcakes for the office last night. They're bright orange with green frosting so may cause hyperactivity. Just been beavering away on an urgent FMQ brief and raised my head above water for a minute to post here. Have a good Thursday everyone, it's nearly Friday!

Morning all from a drizzly Scottish HQ dockside. Got a call mid-way to work - GF has lost her purse. Had to turn around and head back to the flat to do a search, so very late starting (decided to head to the nearer office afterwards rather than have another walk to the city centre). If I'd thought about it, I'd have grabbed my swimming stuff and gone for a workout in the pool here after work. Unfortunately no sign of the purse, so it may be a cancel all the cards job... Last night spent what felt like an eternity in B&Q while salesperson used the 3D software to design GF's bathroom, then went home and cooked jambalaya. Good to see Debs back. Hope everyone's well or improving!

I can vouch for that, having once upon a time accidentally mistaken a tin of WD40 for a tin of deicer...

Morning all from a cloudy-with-sunny-intervals Scottish HQ, not a huge amount of chance of me catching up on all 10 pages since I last checked in on Friday afternoon, so congratulations, commiserations as always! Friday night we ripped up the carpets in the new flat, took down the curtains, stripped some wallpaper out of the alcove bookcase and investigated the floorboards. Saturday involved moving furniture across from one flat to the other, and buying necessary bits and pieces. GF spent yesterday painting and got rid of the wardrobes (sold on Gumtree within a day of posting) while I took Jamie for her swimming lesson and to a friend's birthday party. While she was being amused with dancing, face- and nail-painting, I used the pool and did 64 lengths (a mile). On the bright side, only 4 more sleeps to Friday...

Morning all from an overcast Scottish HQ. Today sees GF pick up the keys to her new flat and take on the slumped shoulders, furrowed brow and light wallet of the mortgageholder for the first time. She also starts swimming lessons this afternoon. Popped to Waitrose last night for one ingredient. Came away with several, but not the one I wanted which isn't in stock in any branches of Waitrose any more. Kerrera now houses a parrot sanctuary! I've not set foot on Kerrera, but my [scottish] isles list so far is: Cramond, Inchcolm, Islay, Great Cumbrae, Bute, Scarba, Seil, Luing, Eigg, Rum, Mull, Skye, and Tanera Mor (I think - it's either Mor or Beag). Still a few to tick off! Pleased to hear that Ian's safely in the sou'west, and good luck to Mal on Monday. Hope everyone else is well / improving. Bad luck Gordon on the interactions with alcohol, will keep fingers crossed it's only 2 weeks! I took advantage of the 20% off on eBay last night and bagged myself a K type Pullman brake third for just over £30. Here's hoping for an E in the POETS day today...

Afternoon all from a sunny Scottish HQ! Broadband seems to be reliably working at around the 37 mbps rate at home (touch wood) so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way, but I managed to watch a YouTube video on the tv through the fancy smart hard drive doodah, and tried a little bit of iPlayer as well, which worked successfully. Ah, in the interests of Raising Steam, it should be live steam...! I'm a Pterry fan too, so will be interested to see this if it comes about! What are you complaining about? If I had something that lasted 120 times the expected length, I'd be happy!

As promised, it looks like the video I tried many times to upload on the old broadband has actually worked on the new faster upload. Hurrah!