No Good Reason For Posting This

No reason for loking...

Nice pictures Robert, nice part of the world.

Very relaxing! The "Wee wood" is very similar to a little "Bluebell Wood" near here. I've been meaning to take some pictures for ages but not easy with three small dogs on leads.

Nice shots Fergie, especially the last two. :)

What's 'loking' Cheema? were you trying to get into the spirit of things by using the local dialect? :D

[I]'one of my boyhood haunts'[/I] - Robert, reading this remark brought many memories flooding back. I often pass such places where I once grew up, and remember fondly those 'Just William' days, which never seemed to end. But, of course, they did, to be replaced by the real world. :)

I hate smug, retired people......:D

Its nothing to do with retirement, he just wants to show us sasenachs what we are missing. ;)

BobA

Quite so. My view of Scotland used to be that it was cold, wet and very, very windy. With that in mind I went up to Troon for a 3 day holiday a week ago while Bournemouth, Southampton and pretty much the whole of England was being drowned and had the most glorious weather imaginable. A day trip to the Isle of Arran felt like a trip to the South of France.

Of course, I imagine it's only like that one day out of the year, but fortune favours the brave - in this case, me. I felt as smug as R(etired) Ferguson.......:D

I've just got back from a week in North Germany, where it drizzled once for about 19 minutes during the entire week. The rest of the time it was boringly sunny and warm, nay hot. It's messily damp here this week :(

Our first family holiday in Scotland was in Dunoon. We arrived in the middle (and without prior warning) of the All-Scotland Bagpipe Festival (I kid you not). Bagpipe band after bagpipe band paraded through the main street and it became clearer and clearer that the bagpipe (with only a one-chord accompaniment from it's drones) has very few possible tunes that it can play - so we heard 'The Maid Of Fife' and 'Scotland The Brave' over and over and over again.

An interesting introduction to Scotland!

Ray

Bagpipes, like the occarina, are pentatonic, so severely limited in the tunes that work well.

Not trying to be smug folks, just appreciating the sights and wonders to be found anywhere and everywhere. Not forgetting the memories of course.

RayL I think you have to be a Scot to be stirred by the sound of the pipes, to feel that surge of adrenaline that they often create. ;)

Wicked. Your wrong you know. Sometimes we get sunshine for up to three days at a time.:)

Rained all last night and this morning was humid and heavily overcast.
The only interesting shot I saw was of the old St Ninians Steeple, It's all that remains of the kirk that was accidentally blown up by the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The churchyard is no longer in use and the gates are permanently locked. Anyone wishing to visit a gravesite must contact the council who will send out a man to unlock the gates and accompany the visitor for the duration of the visit.
All to do with Health and Safety crap as some jobsworth has decided that there could be a very distant chance of one in fifty million that one of the dozen or so headstones that are over five feet tall might fall on someone. :rolleyes:

A damn nuisance to Family Tree researchers like myself who are often found, note book in hand, wandering about graveyards and cemeteries

I feel better for that. :p

Noticed this road sign today while getting some shots of Stirling Castle and it reminded me that a few years ago, a local businessman had applied for, and been refused, permission to build a pub at this junction.

He was going to call it 'The Kings Knot Inn' .........:D

(I'll go and stand in a corner)

He should name it "The Kings Todger" and he'd be guaranteed a location and business.

Bill Tidy, late cartoonist, once had a pub sign called "The Kings Legs".

So the council's answer to him was "Afraid Knot"

Harry:D

And 'The Kings Legs' are now 'unTidy'.

Bagpipes are only good for one thing - they make very good kindling for an accordion fire. :D

Don't go dissing two of my favourite instruments ;) ;)

I'm with Rob on that one :)

Sing song in the corporals mess, 6 Coy RASC, HMS Sembawang, Nee Soon, Singapore. 1958.
Thats me on the squeeze box. :D

FWIW Bagpipes are an absolute b*gger to record in a studio. They are so loud it's difficult to stop everything else vibrating in sympathy. I did manage it once for a Play For Today but it wasn't easy. (Not helped by the fact that the piper insisted on walking up and down whilst playing) (Just for the sake of interest the film was probably 'Just Another Saturday')

And as is evident by the photo, it's impossible to play the accordion without tapping your feet. .....:D

An accordian player and a bagpiper are doing a New Years Eve gig as a duo. At the end of the evening the social secretary says "Lads, please can you play next New Years Eve?". After a brief discussion they answer "Yes, but do you have somewhere we can leave our gear until then?"

Ray

I find that we are a little unkind with these instruments. We tend to judge them by the type of music we associate with them. I have heard really haunting and beautiful bagpipe music, completely different to the "Scotland the brave" renditions that we tend to get fed with. Other maligned instruments such as the Accordian, banjo and the steel band all have their own charm when used seriously and in the hands of a good musician.

Mind when I was a young and serious jazz fan I had very different views. ;)

BobA

You should hear what the accordian can deliver when the version known as the bandoneon is playing tango. It's electrifying.

The pipes can be a pure pest at weddings here in Scotland. They are often hired to play outside the church as the guests are arriving and when the couple emerge. It meant that all the video clips had random pieces of pipe music on them.
Making sure I didn’t get his fingers into shot, I would film the piper playing a whole tune and use the tune as a background and the piper for cutaways.

red hot chili pipers anybody?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3b573x7iPw&feature=related

Yesterday from the top deck of one of the local open topped buses.

Stirling's 'Auld Brig. The straight on photo makes its oddity more obvious. The four arches are all different sizes.

It was a grand day for 'in town' photos. Overcast skies and soft shadowless light.

Cheers.

Very nice Robert. I love this time of year for photography when it's overcast. The countryside colours are at their green peak and, as you say, it even works in town.

True

I mentioned on another post that I had been having a break that took me into the Elgin area.
We paid a short visit to Lossiemouth and so I thought, while I was editing them, that I would place a couple, or three, photos in here.

The seafront flowerbeds

Cheers

OK
How did you manage to not get a ''lossie hen'' in any of those pictures

''lossie hen'' = seagull

p.s. did you buy an icecream from mieles ?

No, But was very tempted.

Like this determined character, (and all his pals) :D

Just thought I'd stick this one in here.

Cheers.

I'm in the middle of a wedding edit where the bagpipes wailed incessantly. Cutting for the pictures is easy, cutting for that ghastly audio is another matter entirely.

tom.

Great picture Fergie. Is it Kincardine Bridge?
Anyway, have a great Hogmanay/New Year
Cheers
Mike

The Kincardine Bridge is only a single bridge, much smaller than that one.

Looks like the Firth of Forth to me.

Sorry Fergie, had another look and (what a doughball!!) - it's the Forth Road/Rail. Wonder if the Dons fans are crossing at this moment in a happy mood?
Sorry Tom nothing like the pipes to get the blood going. Just a way to look out the Alexander Bros and Andy Stewart for Hogmanay. On vinyl of course!!
Cheers
Mike

Pipes....gastly...never.
I always made a point of filming the piper playing a whole tune and plenty of background chatter. It made editing a bit easier.
What I disliked more was editing video from the brides house with music playing in the background.

Mike...Been at the drams a bit early today have we. :D
I'm trying to restrain myself till after dinner. :o

Cheers. :)

Likewise

All the best.

Another great picture Fergie. Did you stitch this one or is it a crop?

Both Rob. Two shots merged at the left of the bridge.

Cheers.

Sorry Rob.
Misinformation given. It wasn’t merged, it was just the one photo with a signpost removed (as can be seen in the original photo) and then cropped.
Amazing how the mind plays tricks and it was taken only five weeks ago.

Cheers.

While on a walkabout after abandoning my wife in the shopping centre.
Anything is better than being bored to tears in places like Denenhams. :)

.

With or without your Credit card :D

Harry

Went for a weekend break at the Swallow Hotel, Peterhead and got treated to this outside our bedroom window.

Pulled up a chair, poured a dram and settled down to watch the procedures but after a few minutes found myself with a deep urge to grab a camera and get out there into the thick of things.

Cheers.

Nice shot Fergie and well balanced lighting. You'll have to send her out to work you know...

I was going to put this on a forum for architecture but now think it should be listed as engineering.

Opinions...

Fantastic! A bit of a change from the usual locks.

That's amazing looking Fergie - you almost expect a barge to come rocketing out of the 'pipe'. :) Where is it?

It's the 'Falkirk Wheel'. Built when the canal was restored and re-opened. It replaces about seven or eight locks and a days work that was needed to raise barges that height.

Hey Fergie,

This angle is almost more impressive than the other. Marvellous stuff!

In Stirling yesterday and saw this wee pony called Cruachan

He was leading a parade.

Cruachan, the regimental mascot was being followed by him.

and he was being followed by them.
(not the clearest of shots but I was walking backwards at the time.

To keep alive the memory of guys like these.

They marched up hill

and into the grounds

to take part in a military display.

and by than I felt knackered
but at least I got myself a veterans badge.

Cheers.

I titled the photo bellow as

.................................................... The pubs over there

Scanned this for inclusion in my scrapbook and thought I would post it here just for the hell of it.

taken in 1971.

Cheers.

Gad that's a handsome young fellow Fergie. Did he ever learn to keep a tune on that strange Celtic stringed instrument? :D

No..but another club member could use his to get a tune out of a fiddle. :)

What was the GSM for Fergie? South Arabia?

How did you know I had a GSM
I got my gong for two years in Malaya in the 1950s.

.

You posted your photo earlier!

You've got a better memory than me Garry. I don't recall posting a photo of a medal or a photo of me wearing one. .:confused:
Too many birthdays I suppose. .:)

Cheers

Senior moment on my behalf! I mistakenly thought the pic titled "The Pubs over there" was you :-), not that you have a drink problem :-) Silly me!!!

But I do recognise the ribbon.

Regards "BARRY"

That will be the one on the left then.

The only photo I have posted of myself was taken a few months ago on a relaxing weekend break to chill out on my 71st birthday and is on posting number 47.

Cheers.

Left as you look :-) ? Just testing!!!

Left on the photo as you look at the elderly gents medals.

Cheers.

That`s correct! Just me being cautious, not that you would trick me, would you :-)

I got mine in the Radfan Campaign!

I don't envy your being in Aden. Our troopship, SS Nevasa, stopped there on our journey home and we were offered a cash lump sum and and in many cases, an increase in rank if we signed on there and then for a nine month stint in Aden. I don't think there were many takers. I for one, couldn't stand the dry heat of the place, completely opposite from the very hot and very humid conditions of Malaya.
I just wanted to get home to some cold weather. I got my wish sooner than expected because it snowed as we sailed through the newly opened Suez Canal. I have a camera lying on the bottom of that stretch of water, but that's a different story.

Cheers

You could smell that place 6 mile out to sea! I spent most of my time up on the Yemen border, being a Plant Fitter, I was attatched to different sections of our Squadron when they did their stint, down in Aden it self some of my time was spent checking the shark nets for holes & the BP rigs for mines, long time ago now! I was there 1964/5.

Isn't it a shame what the years do to our mortal coils.

Cheers.

Out and about earlier today.

Two to three inches of snow been lying since Christmas. Since then we have only had one or two brief flurry's of snow. I have often thought that Stirling has its very own eco system.

The location of the last photo is just about dead center in the first photo.
(just noticed that I have my name on the last one twice. Ah well, a re-edit I think) :o

Cheers.

Nice shots Robert.

Cheers Tony.
Just noticed that there has been over 3,000 hits on this thread. ;)
Probably just folks who have had their curiosity stirred by the title. :)

Cheers

Damn..The wife has just told me that a man will be here on Saturday morning to measure the attic for the free installation of loft insulation.
Trying not to panic. :eek:
I will have to start at the crack of dawn.
Where can I get a skip.
Can I open the skylight and throw stuff out.
When I get it all out, how much will my darling wife want me to put back in again.
Where will I keep it all.
My hoard of whisky will be in danger.:eek:
I will have to stay sober tonight :eek: :mad:

Damn. :(

Robert, I was just re-reading this thread,'I have often thought that Stirling has its very own eco system' and I wondered if the gases coming from the chimneys in the third picture are in fact fermentations from home brewed beverages which are helping you Scots to combat climate change? ;)

It's been in the attic for a long time now. long enough I think.

Posted photo because I seem to recall someone mentioning home made lights a few weeks ago.
Probably an electricians nightmare. Made from a defunct tripod with faulty winding gears. Lights with individual in-line switches. could be raised to 89 inches.

Could be folded and dismantled quickly.

Cheers.

Tony..You are right. Stirling has always been accused of having its own eco system. It's all got to do with prevailing winds and being largely surounded with hills.
I, on the other hand, have my very own eco system but thats all got to do with stuff that's been distilled and bottled.

Cheers.

Up on the Castle Esplanade at 6.30am before the tourists got there and took this 'different' shot of the statue of King Robert.
Got it by sticking my Canon G9 on the end of a 12ft. pole so that the camera was both level with the statue and hovering just out over the wall.

Camera settings are all to pot, so I will have another go the next time it's bright and sunny at 6.30 on a hangover-free morning.

Bob's sword appears to be made of a light-coloured, reflective, metal. Is it really aluminium, or has it been Photshop'd?

Ray

Looking again at the picture, the camera left side of the statue is edged with the sort of smudge that can come from cutting and pasting. Does the statue actually stand somewhere else and you are having a wee jest with us?

Ray

Ah, I think I've twigged. It's a model from the Stirling Castle Gifte Shoppe designed to get us into a Monarchial mood for when Andy Murray bows to the Queen later today.

Ray

Don't know what the sword material is but it has been that colour for as long as I care to remember. The statue looks like it has undergone repairs that were never completed.

I haven't moved the statue and it is shown in its correct position.

The light area from the statue's right elbow to thigh is a stain on the castle wall similar the the stain seen just right of center on the wall.
The light area from thigh to ankle is fron the statue's rear support (shield) as can be seen on this photo from the web.

Cheers.

Apologies for my scurilous thoughts!

Ray

No harm in having the odd scurilous thought now and again. :D

Yesterday, away in the Highlands and miles from anywhere and came across this quiet and peaceful loch by the name of Lochindorb. And that's a wee man in a canoe out there and not the local 'Nessie'

The trouble with shots like these is that your knees get wet and it takes me so long to get off my knees now that by the time I did manage to get off them, they were very wet.

Spent about an hour there before heading back to our hotel at Grantown on Spey.

At times, it's a hard life being retired. ...:)

Cheers.

.............................................................:) ..:) ..:)

.......................................:eek: ......Over the 5.000 viewings mark.......:eek: ..
................................................ .Thank you to all my readers.
................................................................:D ...:D ........

Cheers.

Just thought I'd let you see a portrait I done today for one of my lovely grand daughters.

Cheers

In Australia is she Fergie?

OOPS...
If you didn't spot the obvious ....

You can have a look at it the right way up by going Here

Now tell the truth.
Who spotted it and who didn't.

That's a seriously weird effect! Somewhat akin to the reading experiment where most of the letters are scrambled but it remains legible.

Been trying for months to get a good shot from this position.
I keep a watch on lighting conditions when I'm out and about but every time I get to where I want to be, the lighting has changed for the worse.
A nice clear blue sky would be ideal but they're a bit rare about here.

I'll keep trying though.

.

I think it just might be possible that our seemingly demented roads department has developed a sense of humour.

Cheers.

I've spent August on a pier, sticking out into the North Sea, where the shows coming in and out unload 200m away on the prom, and everything gets manhandled up and down the pier in rain, and as like last night - a force something from hell. One of my bods got blown over and a weight fell onto his hand, and it was so horrible nobody even heard him scream. Wet is not the right word for this summer!

The summer weather has been ok up here.
All we've had is the occasional heavy shower most of the time.

Took a wee trip into the Highlands and fitted in a sail on Loch Ness but Nessie must have been feeling camera shy that day.

Come to think about it, she hasn't been spotted lately. I hope she's ok.

Was at the castle (again) a few days ago and happened to glance up at the statue of King Robert and was immediately reminded why (just after its erection :)) it was known as 'The Rude Man'

Cheers.

Now why was that Fergie? :)

Something to do with that thing sticking out
from his heel perhaps.:)

You're much like me - you need new glasses. ;)

Wife and I took the short runabout today from the Bo'ness railway preservation place.
Very strange how a carrage pulled by a steam engine feels totally different from one pulled by a modern diesel engine.
Maureen said that she liked the smells and all the huffing and puffing noises.
(I have a sneaky feeling that she was refering to me).

(Photos taken, shakily handheld, with my trusty Canon G9. first one with quite a bit of zoom).

Cheers.

Brilliant! Thankyou. We used to have a regular historic society steam train running through here, but alas... costs....

Glad You enjoyed the shots Ben.

Cheers.

What happened to Thomas's face?

Steam engines are so photogenic, even to non-enthusiasts.

Steve

He does have the face some days @ http://www.srps.org.uk/railway/thomas.htm

Nice shots Fergie! Went on the South Devon steam railway last year. We've got a couple here in Kent too. (Did a wedding from church to reception on the Tunbridge wells train a coupla years back). We also have in Hythe the miniature steam railway. Good fun. It costs 50p to get upgraded to 1st class - where you can get a bevvy! :D

Lovely! Very evocative!

Was really chuffed today when I went to Edinburgh to be presented with my PGM. (Pingat Jasa Malaysia) medal.
presentation by Mrs Bev Warren.

Cheers

Congratulations Robert! A bit late perhaps but nonetheless welcome and well deserved!

Thanks Rob.
I was good to meet and have a chat with other Malaysian vets.

Cheers.

Congrats here too Fergie. Why did it take so long??

Has the MOD allowed the wearing with UK medals or must it be worn on the left?

The MOD have rulled that the medal can't be worn along with other 'British' medals.
To date, all vets have ignored this rulling and worn their medal with pride.

This rulling only applies in Britain. All other Commonweath countries have recognised the medal as 'official'.

Cheers.

That`s a shame but well done anyway! I meant wearing on the right, Army right :-) Who did you serve with?

RASC.
Carried troops, amunition and rations most of the time but often sent out alone to obscure destinations armed only with a next to useless pinky-tip removing sten gun.
Things could be very nerve-racking at times.

Cheers.

From the home page of the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association. ( nmbva.co.uk )

Several months ago we invited the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office to provide us with their evidence to confirm their case that The Queen has ruled that the PJM could not be worn.

Today (22/03/2011), we have been formally notified they have failed to do so. Indeed, in front of the Information Commissioner, they have said that they will not do so.

And so, after several years of fighting, we at last have the comfort of knowing that the London Gazette Notice has not been rescinded by The Queen and eligible PJMers can indeed wear their PJM with The Queen's consent.

That is not just our view, it is the view of our legal advisers whose position, like ours, is at last vindicated by dint of the civil servants' inability to produce any evidence whatsoever to support their flawed and illegal contentions.

Cheers.

Although I havn`t followed this long running thread I did have a peek at some of the pics you posted & noted the comment about trying to get a blue sky for one of the shots. A bit like cheating but check put "Fluid Mask" which is a profesional masking app as a standalone or plugin for Photoshop. What it can do is simply amazing, so you could easily get you blue sky shot & use it with your existing pic...if you were of a mind to! :-)

Ckeck it out here http://www.vertustech.com/fluidMask/overview.html

Thanks Barry.
I will get round to sorting out some photos I want to correct or amend and have a go at the free trial.

Cheers.

So there I was, sitting in my nice cosy living room just a couple or so weeks ago, watching three very large trees, not far from my window, being severely punished by a howling gale.

I grabbed an old broken Bic pen with a wobbly tip and came up with this.

Survival

Leaves aflutter, branches swaying,
As winds grow stronger, skies are greying,
Creatures huddle, crouched on knee,
No such shelter for the tree.

Violent gusts, driving rain,
Wood that creaks and shrieks in pain,
Roots that grasp, secured in soil,
They must resist the airs turmoil.
Young buds ripped free on tender shoots,
The whole tree bows, slowly stoops.

Against the wind there is no shield
It must not cede, it cannot yield.
Moist earth heaves, begins to crumble,
Trunk must standfast or it will tumble,
Smashed to the ground, in shards and splinters,
No more summers, no more winters.

The tree must bend before the storm,
Timbers snap, softwood is torn.
New growth is ripped, they can’t withstand,
This fresh onslaught by nature’s hand.
Unbearable stress, unendurable strain,
Boughs near breaking, twisted grain,
Whiplash fractured trunk and bark,
The gale grows stronger, skies turn dark.

Foliage in shreds, torn asunder,
Lashed by wind, by rain, by thunder.
Fear of searing lightning strike,
The battle rages through the night.

A lull, a calm, rippling breezes,
With dignity, the storm eases.
Gentle winds, loose twigs dropping,
Clear blue skies, fury stopping.,
The storm passes, goes on its way,
The tree survives, limbs cease to sway.
With unknown mind it will assess
The damage, and will do its best,
To repair the injury, as needed,
Blooms must blossom, saplings seeded.

And as the tree begins to grow,
An axe is honed, for its first blow..

Cheers.

Verily, a budding McGonnagle :-)

I've been taking dead wood off fruit trees over the past month, it's surprising how it mounts up.

Nice....
Howling gales here and right across SE Oz at the moment... half expecting Cantberra to be blown off the map..

Rescued this from a long forgotten box in the shed.
A reminder of the days when boys were given knives and could wear then strapped to a belt.

Changed days indeed.

Yep, if you were messin' about in the great outdoors, you had a 'sheath Knife'. At the very least a pen knife!

Nowadays, if you're caught 'messing about in the great outdoors' it will be classed as an arrestable offence. I often wonder where we are on the big long sine wave of life. Have we reached rock bottom yet on the political incorrectness slope, or is there worse to come before we start the slow climb back to common sense?

Still have my penknife that was given to me when I was 10, as you can see it didn't have much use as I also had a larger sheath knife like the one below!

COMMON SENSE?

Sorry.... that phrase was deleted by the PC Brigade... due, primarily to the fact they have NONE.:mad:

We were to have screened a show about politically incorrect parenting. The presenter looked stright into the camera on the promo, and said "if you have fat children, its YOUR fault", adding.... "Oooooo thats a bit unPC isnt it?"

The promos ran for weeks, but the show never aired..... *sigh*

This one too. Once belonged to my wifes late seafaring great uncle.
I remember being told that the blade was walrus ivory. But not of eskimo origin.

As a lad I had a sheath knife and a set of three throwing knives. But surely you chaps going on about political correctness are not advocating carrying knives and allowing fires in the woods and cutting of trees. I cant think of a better way of getting rid of the countryside altogether. When I was a youngster was a long time ago and there was a vast difference in population size and indeed access to the countryside.

But perhaps you think that the knives might deal with the overpopulation problem. :)

Fergie, You may see people you served with here: dephoto.biz/pingat

The medal ceremonies are still going on all over the country, latest being Winchester Guildhall, July 6th.

About three weeks ago.
On our way to Niagara's 'Horseshoe Falls' aboard the 'maid of the Mist' and sailing through a cloud of heavy rain-like water generated by the 'American' falls on our left.

Cheers.

A wee choo-choo train that we went on at a safari park near Toronto. Quite a laugh it was too. The carriage seats were obviously designed for children and were about nine inches above floor level. Getting in was a bit of a squeeze but getting out again...now that was a struggle, and a good laugh for all. Glad the wife didn't get it on video.

Sorting out some photos and liked this one.

Taken, quite literally, from my seat in the resaurant of the CN Tower.
I'm not one for heights so it took me a wee while to get used to it.

I had to summon up a fair bit of courage before standing on the glass floor of the observation deck.

I have a pretty good head for heights but the CN Tower made my knees shake. Something wrong about standing on glass.

Then dont come to Melbourne and venture out on the Eureka Tower.....

At the 88th floor they have a glass room which you go into, then it moves OUTSIDE the building.

Then the glass cracks.... (well, its LCD and goes from opaque to transparent with a glass cracking sound effect....)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Tower and scroll down to 'The Edge'...

I take it there's a wee man with a shovel and mop to clean the floor every time the visitors come out. :D

I assume there is a medical waiver? :)

OK...so i've posted it elsewhere in the forum....but...
I was having a look at it and realised that I might not have to buy another bottle of whisky untill my birthday. :)

You trying to tell us that you won't go through that lot in 4 months? :D

Harry

What ever gave you that idea Harry. It's a long 3½ months away and I did say 'might'. .....:D

I was clearing out some photos when I came across this one.
I did it for a neighbours wee boy. He carried about for weeks, showing it to every one he could.

Cheers.

From the Ochil's :)

When I turned to talk to my nephew's son, the horse in the middle suddenly took my forearm right into its mouth. It held it there for about three seconds, decided that my arm was not to its taste and just let it go. 
It obviously had no intention of hurting me, just curious I suppose. 

The wee boy was amazed. He lives in the middle area of Stoke on Trent and had never been near a horse before this. 

 ...I kid you not folks.
There is a shop in Dunoon that buys and sells midges.
I was sure it was some kind of joke and went inside to ask about it.
They cofirmed that the sign was genuine 

Cheers.

Ah, Dunoon! We had a holiday there once. We drove off the ferry - and found ourselves
in the middle of the All-Scotland Bagpiping Championships!

Dunoon's main street was taken over as one pipe band playing 'Scotland The Brave' and
'The Maid Of Fife' was followed by yet another pipe band playing, er, 'Scotland The Brave' and
'The Maid Of Fife' .  I suppose that tunes that can be played on one chord are a bit hard to come by.

I see from your picture that the 4th placard from the left says 'THIS IS "THE" CHANTER SHOP' so
presumably the Championships are held frequently in Dunoon and worn-out chanters can be part-exchanged
during a brief pit-stop.
Ray

It's not just Dunoon Ray.

The above photo was taken on Forces Day. And a grand day it was, with all of the armed forces being represented along with veterans and other various services.

The day before this was Pipe Band Day with over 1,600 pipres from all over the world taking part. It wasn't a competition, just a big get-together, enjoyed by all.

Sorry. I had a wee accident when editing the photo. Will get it re-inserted though.  
A'd went away tae find ma sword that a'd left in the car .  

Ah Ha...About 25 years ago in the Braemar area. We had been to Crathie Church.
Took a photo of the Queen. She seemed pleased to see us..  
I'd nipped behind some large rocks to water the plants and when I returned there was a mini coach full of tourists who all wanted a photo..  

......

.

A  wee visit to The Kelpies a couple of months ago  

Old VHS footage taken 25 years ago.
I was surprised that the tape was playable because I think that that is the first time it's been viewed in all those years.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205342492949678&l=4334536632960632504

Having a laugh and setting up the shot for last years family Christmas card .  .

finished up like this 

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Hi. I've just joined the forum. Loving some of your pictures. Very familiar now as I have recently moved from London to Callander.

 Hi. I've only just joined the forum, so have been having a bit of an explore. Loving some of your pictures which are becoming familiar now as I have recently moved from London to Callander

 Welcome to what's left of the forum Michael.

Glad you enjoyed some of the photos. Great scenery in the Callander area though.

Cheers.

  .. 

Thank you. You're the 2nd member now who's inferred that the forum has been a lot livelier in past times. Thats a great shame, but I shall persevere. Not a lot else to do with my time.

Indeed there is. All my life it had been my ambition to visit Scotland. I finally made it at 62yo. Though never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined that I'd actually live up here.
It was only in the most tragic circumstances that it all came about, when my ex wife who had moved up a couple of years earlier, suddenly passed away, with the Big 'C'. Our two children inherited her house and my daughter moved up here.
I got fed up with driving up here 6 time a year to visit her so eventually sold my flat in London and moved up here myself, just last September.

I'm sure you've made a good move and enjoying a completely different life style :)

Cheers.

I have indeed. I live right in the centre of town, convenient for absolutely everything.

I had to move my garden shed and my my next door neighbour. John Dudgeon,came in to lend a hand.
I filmed it with my stills camera on 'time lapse'.
It looks like John moved the shed all by himself and only using one hand.
I was inside the shed with a 6ft pinch bar.

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Were you looking for the Callander girls?  

Yes, it was a lot livelier in the past - this is also the most friendly of all the forums.

There was a problem a few years ago and the forum was "off the air" for several weeks before it came back.

I think that a lot of people thought it had gone for good and never came back - that's a shame as this is a great forum and, actually, the very first forum I joined.

Didn't do much good, did it Fergie?

I watched the "video" and it ended when the shed jumped back to it's old place as if it didn't like being moved.   

  I know..
  . I had to move it again 

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 . . Make your own vibrator 

http://vid228.photobucket.com/albums/ee209/38fergie/Vibrator_zpscmyee5kq.mp4

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I thought this had just become a porno site. :-D

I've been meaning to take some pictures for ages but not easy with three small dogs on leads.

    I hate these bushtucker trials...

Thought I would post sopmething, just for the hell of it  :)  :)

http://vid228.photobucket.com/albums/ee209/38fergie/Worklbench_zpssarnfnya.mp4

So many thoughts spring to mind . . . .

from

"Where is all the sawdust, metal swarf, and odd nuts, bolts and screws that inhabit every other workbench in the land?"

to

"Just a couple of your many vices?"

Ray

I thought it was an episode of 'My Flat Pack Home' 

Ray... It's neat and tidy just now but it will be the complete opposite very soon.

  A couple of my many vices is true as I also have an engineers vice and as pair vof 'clamp on' vices. .. 

Tony... No flat packs. Just three scaffolding boards from Wickes and a sheet of 9mm plywood.  

 
 Cheers,

Well that's the roof interior done.
I'm quite pleased with the sort of mock tudor effect and the way it turned out, especially as it was only painted this way as an afterthought. 

It's amazing what you can get up to when you're not stuck in an editing room.  

Cheers.

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Always surprising what retired hands get up to .
Thought it would make a good garden ornament.

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Hi Fergie
Just finishing a visit to Sri Lanka and staying at  a Scots themed hotel The Steuart, complete with prints of clan coats of arms and tartan carpet. Tonight's entertainment was a group of three pipers and two drummers plus teacher from the Dollar Academy. They performed very well and in time I expect to put a couple of short videos onto my You Tube channel. I  seem to recall that you are from around the Dollar area and could be interested in this little bit of news. You make canon in retirement, I try to travel and make videos.

Cheers

Gordon

www.youtube.com/user/GORDONLAWRENCEVIDEOS.

OK - glad my memory is still working.
So far I have put two short videos up and they are at the top of my channel listings. I have another couple similar ones ready but up loading is painfully slow (at present I have dropped into family in Cambodia.)

www.youtube.com/user/GORDONLAWRENCEVIDEOS

Like many of my videos, these were shot as it happened to record an event but not carefully pre-planned.

Most of my videos are travel related or an event. If you go far enough down the channel you will find some video shot last year in Shetland and Orkney and a few from Skye, Edinburgh etc.

Hope you find something of interest.

Gordon