Month: April 2019
-
Pedal on Parliament 2019
It was Aberdeen’s annual Pedal on Parliament today and we changed tactics slightly by cycling laps around the city centre. In previous years we’ve had a ride starting from somewhere outside Aberdeen and ending up in town. This year we cycled a circuit through town. It worked really well because it was all left turns…
-
Police Scotland say roads unsuitable for slow-moving individuals
Tomorrow Aberdeen will be having a mass bike ride in protest of the lack of cycling infrastructure in the city. This is part of a nation-wide group of protests under the umbrella of Pedal on Parliament 2019. Several weeks ago I notified the police of the event, out of courtesy. In the past they’ve usually…
-
In our convertible on the hottest Easter ever
It was a hot weekend and since my bike, Hoss, is a convertible we went out on Saturday with the top down. Apparently it was the hottest Easter for our region since records began which is, sadly, a sign of things to come. It will continue getting hotter and hotter unless we get our emissions…
-
A new year, a new challenge
It has been one year since I started my new job at Award Force. We make software for managing award programs, competitions, industry recognition, recruitment, grants and more. It’s a great industry to work in because we get to see all that is great about human achievement. Humans love to receive recognition for a job…
-
Baking, gardening, and baby cyclamen
I’ve had the day off work today and it has been lovely to just potter around at home. I did some gardening and baking. Ben made hot cross buns this morning, just as he does every Easter. I made scones. Both scones and buns were both delicious! Earlier this year I noticed my cyclamen producing…
-
Mass bike ride in Aberdeen on Sunday 28th April
The Aberdeen Cycle Forum is organising a mass bike ride on Sunday 28th April at 11am, starting from Marischal College. This is part of Scotland’s Pedal on Parliament 2019 but this year is a little bit different because the usual Edinburgh ride which attracts thousands of people is not happening. Instead the focus is on…
-
Birnam, Dunkeld, Beatrix Potter, and a bookshop
We’re back at home after a wonderful week in Glencoe which is now at the top of our list of the best holidays we’ve ever had. We stayed in a self-catering holiday house which quite possibly has the best views in all of Britain. There were plenty of walks from right outside the front door…
-
Pap of Glencoe
We walked part of the Pap of Glencoe walk which is a hill walk starting from Old Glencoe Road, just a little bit east of Strath Lodge Glencoe. It’s a rocky, boggy walk with bits that require scrambling on all fours. There are also streams that you need to cross over although with a bit…
-
More pics of Glencoe
The last time I was in Glencoe was more than 20 years ago and I’d forgotten how beautiful it is. Unlike the east coast of Scotland the mountains here are rugged and domineering and make one feel small and insignificant which is comforting. April is a wonderful time of year to tour Scotland because there’s…
-
Rachel Martin: Closing keynote – Blogging as therapy – the Christchurch earthquakes
Here’s my talk at WordCamp Edinburgh in 2017 on blogging as therapy and my experience of the Christchurch earthquakes.
-
Oban, Stalker Castle, and Glencoe
We visited the Oban Distillery in Oban today and did the tour. Kids are allowed on this tour which is great because Daniel and Elizabeth find it very interesting and distilleries are fascinating places. As is often the case with these things the process is much more complicated than you think and I’m always left…
-
A day of rain and fearsome mountains
We awoke to a rainy gloomy day today and spent the first half of it relaxing inside by the fire and eating soup. To avoid coming down with cabin fever we ventured out in the early afternoon to take in some of the sights around Glencoe. The mountains looked particularly fearsome with dark clouds above.…
-
Pottering around at Glenfinnan Viaduct
We visited the Glenfinnan Viaduct which is a concrete rail bridge built in the late 19th century. It’s located at one end of Loch Shiel, in the west of Scotland, about 17 miles from Fort William. It’s famous for being a film location in the Harry Potter movies: the Hogwarts Express traverses the Glenfinnan Viaduct…
rachel.blog 