Category: Journal
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Our trout friend, Segways, squirrels, and the River Dee
I haven’t done so much swimming since I was a kid when we’d spend a week or two at the beach over the summer holidays. I’d get sunburnt and dumped by waves but generally have a very good time. We’ve been swimming with the trout in the Clunie River everyday and we’ve named one of…
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Swimming at the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quoich
There was more wild swimming for us today. This time we swam in the Linn of Dee and the Linn of Quoich. Linn means a “pool below a waterfall”. The Linn of Dee is a well-known tourist attraction about 6.5 miles from Braemar. It was a favourite spot of Queen Victoria’s and is a gorge…
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Swimming in the Clunie River
Yesterday was another warm day and we swam in the Clunie River in Braemar. It was refreshing, crystal clear, and home to lots of juvenile trout. The trout ranged in size from tiny to an adult that was at least half a metre long. They can live for 10 to 20 years apparently and are…
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A pingdemic and flood warnings
The pandemic has turned into a “pingdemic” in the UK because as new cases soar to over 50,000 a day, so too has the number of people getting pinged as a close contact and having to self-isolate for ten days. It’s so bad that many shops can’t open due to staff shortages. We have been…
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Cooling off in the Dee
The temperature has reached a top of 26C today. I think this is the hottest temperature I’ve ever felt in Aberdeen. We had no choice but to cool off in the river. We cycled up Deeside Way a short way and walked down to the River Dee near Allan Park. There are some nice swimming…
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Crochet swimsuit, redcurrant jam, and an old video of Elizabeth
I crocheted myself a pair of bathers. I’m not sure whether I’ll wear them in public. The colour matches my skin a bit too closely and makes it look like I’m wearing nothing. It was fun to make though. Yesterday I picked some redcurrants and stewed them up to make jam. I used water, redcurrants,…
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It’s more than just football
I watched some of the football last night. This might seem insignificant but it’s anything but. I’ve never watched a game of football in my entire life and never had the slightest bit of interest in the sport so for me to sit and choose to watch the game is a Halley’s comet moment. I…
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Second jab side-effects and the ethics of vaccination
I spoke too soon in my last post about not having any side-effects after the second Pfizer jab. A few hours later I developed a fever, headache, aches and pains, and a swollen lymph node in my armpit on the vaccinated arm. After the first dose it felt like I had a marble under my…
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Ripping the bandaid off
I had my second Pfizer jab last night. Aside from a sore arm and feeling slightly tired I haven’t had any other side-effects. I felt a bit tired after the first jab too and several days later developed a swollen lymph node under my arm on the side I was vaccinated. This went away after…
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Swimming at Potarch Bridge
We went for a swim at Potarch Bridge today. It was smashing and I realised that it’s the first time I’ve been wild swimming in summer in Scotland. Usually I just do the idiotic thing and submerge myself mid-winter for bragging rights. After all, what’s the point of doing something if you can’t brag about…
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Tomintoul
We went to the village of Tomintoul today. Many times we’ve driven through it and I’ve always thought it looked cute and wanted to linger but usually we’re en route somewhere and haven’t had time to stop. Today we made a special visit just to see Tomintoul. Tomintoul is about 60 miles west of Aberdeen…
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The world needs more Bens
Sometimes I feel sad about the world. I read the things people say online and I feel despair. What hope is there for us? Some people try to do the right thing and reduce their impact on the planet but what good is it when everyone else is more interested in their taste buds than…
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Covid-busting diet
We had a very healthy meal tonight from the How Not to Diet cookbook by Michael Greger MD. I love Dr Greger’s How Not to Die cookbook and we eat recipes from it regularly. This new book of his is almost too healthy and I’ve had trouble getting inspired by the recipes. I bought some…
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Meatless Farm and Elizabeth’s biology poster
We had Meatless Farm burgers for dinner last night. I’ve become a Meatless Farm convert: they’re UK-based and much cheaper than the Beyond Burger but with similar ingredients. Both are made with pea protein. They taste delicious too and are good for a quick, easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking. As part of…
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An adventure in Strathdon
There are two mighty rivers in Aberdeen: the Dee and the Don. Both start some 80-90 miles west in the Grampian Mountains and flow into the sea at Aberdeen. The Dee is quite well known thanks to Queen Victoria and Balmoral Castle which is in the Dee Valley. The whole area is known as Royal…
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Gull dinner party
I baked another dud sourdough loaf which I threw onto the back lawn. A colony of gulls swooped in and demolished it all in less than a minute. Before the gulls arrived some local birds had a go. I got this one brave bird feasting right in front of Victoria our cat. I’m not sure…
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Cat and cargo bike
Schools are breaking up in Aberdeen next week but our kids won’t be starting holidays until the 23rd July, about a month later. However they’re not missing out because the holiday time is made up at the other end of summer as they don’t go back until September, about month after everyone here. The online…
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Cat pics, Delta variant, and fast fashion
After my post about Victoria scratching my face last week I was worried people might think we have a psychotic cat and although she’s prone to occasional acts of violence, she’s mostly a very lovable cat. She just likes affection on her terms. Here’s proof. She’s not very fond of being held unless she’s in…
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Bon Accord Baths
I visited the Bon Accord Baths today: a previously council-run indoor swimming pool in central Aberdeen, constructed in the 1930s in Art Deco style. The council closed the pool in 2008 and since then the building has become derelict. The council tried to sell it in 2015 and amid a public outcry at potentially losing…
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The tropics of Scotland
I woke up at 2-something last night to go to the toilet, I looked out the window and it was still light! There’s just no dark at the moment which is ridiculous. It’s light when I go to bed, it’s light if I wake up in the middle of the night, and it’s light when…
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