insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Duthie Park in the snow
Duthie Park was looking quite lovely yesterday. I took these photos on my run.
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When is it ok to trash your family on TV?
I haven’t watched the final three instalments of the latest Dynasty family drama on Netflix so this is just all hypothetical and I have no personal opinion whatsoever because I can’t comment on something I haven’t watched. But I am always interested in hypothetical ethical situations and so what if Netflix offered you £100 million…
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One last plea for cycling infrastructure
I gave my deputation at the Aberdeen council committee meeting today. I have spoken in council chambers before, several years ago when I presented my petition for a segregated cycle track on Union Street. It’s an interesting experience. You’re not allowed to take photos so I’ll describe the room. It’s huge with mezzanine viewing galleries…
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Snow and council deputation
The first snow of the winter fell last week and there was quite a lot of it. I’ve been keeping the bird feeders topped up as the birds are very hungry right now. All the snow has melted now as it rained this weekend but there’s more forecast for next week and not far inland…
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Crochet Audrey 2, Christmas tree, and Daniel is taller than me
Another weekend disappears. Daniel told me last week that he didn’t want to go anywhere for the next couple of weekends as he’s studying for exams. He’s so studious but then I was the same. He’s taller than me now by nearly 2cm. We measured today. That happened very quickly. He’s shooting up at a…
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What to watch on TV
There’s lots of great TV to watch which is perfect for these cold, dark evenings when all I want to do is snuggle up on the sofa with my crochet. On the weekend I watched The Swimmers which is about two professional Syrian female swimmers who make the trip from Syria to Germany as refugees.…
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Good deeds
Elizabeth danced at a local care home today for part of a school assignment which required her to do some good things in the community. She chose the tasks and for one of them she wanted to dance at the local care home. It was a really lovely experience and although I was just an…
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We don’t get to choose our ancestors
Yesterday I was pondering on my blog whether any of my ancestors were suffragettes. My mother-in-law told me that one of her ancestors was a signatory on the women’s suffrage petition in New Zealand to grant women the vote. She was Annabella Naumann (nee Macaulay, born in Glasgow) and she’s even recognised on the New…
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The suffragettes and a tartan scarf
I got myself a wonderful tartan scarf in the suffragette colours this week. I was inspired by the woman who was ejected from Scottish parliament for wearing a scarf in the Suffragette’s colours. Scottish parliament later apologised claiming it was a mistake but by then scarfgate had taken off and these lovely scarves have since…
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Meals that start from 9 pence per person
Early last month I gave a short talk at Aberdeen Climate Action’s Climate Café where I shared my top tips on how to easily and cheaply reduce your carbon emissions. Taking action on climate change can sometimes feel overwhelming or even impossible. Many solutions are just not practical for the individual like putting solar panels…
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A weekend away in Angus and a trophy
We just had a wonderful weekend in Angus and in addition to the wonderful visit we made to Glamis Castle on Saturday Elizabeth brought home a trophy. Part of the reason for the trip was so Elizabeth could participate in the Forfar Highland Dance competition on Sunday. These competitions typically start in the morning and…
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Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle is famous for being the ancestral home of the former Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. It has been in the Lyon family since 1372. Princess Margaret was also born in the castle. Perhaps an even bigger claim to fame is as the setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and also as a film location for some…
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Rocket the hamster pics and video
We’re loving having Rocket. He’s such a cool little dude. He seems quite happy in his new home. At least he never tries to escape even when the door is open. He likes taking food from our hands but doesn’t like being held. He loves, loves, loves his wheel and is very fond of food…
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Winter, recycled cashmere, and soup
We woke to our first frost this morning. It’s very late in the season to only be getting a frost now. It has been the mildest autumn since we moved here with most daytime temperatures in double digits still. For the first time I was a little sad when summer ended as I’ve so enjoyed…
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Apple and butternut soup
It’s Halloween so it seemed apt to have butternut squash soup for dinner tonight (also known as butternut pumpkin in Australia). Lately I’ve been thinking it might be worthwhile to share cheap meal ideas since so many people are struggling with bills right now. It’s not hard to feed a family of four on a…
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I am intimidated by buses on Union Street
At the beginning of this year I thought my days of cycle campaigning were coming to an end. Not because I didn’t still fully support the need for cycling infrastructure but because the designs the council were showing us were all good and aside from minor details I felt confident and positive about the future…
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Aberdeen’s critical mass
Last night I participated in Aberdeen’s second ever critical mass bike ride. Technically I believe it’s not quite accurate to say it was the second as I’ve heard from members of the cycling community that it was previously done in the late 1990s. This was therefore the second in a recent resurrection after more than…
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Scottish things, foraging, and a haircut
Where did the weekend go? It’s nearly November and autumn is in full bloom. I wish I’d taken some photos today as Aberdeen is looking very pretty in its autumn clothes. My tomatoes are just about dead but there are still a few fruits ripening. Two weekends ago I picked this from the greenhouse. And…
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Elephants, chopsticks and the economy
Watching the Tory government over the past few weeks has been like watching an elephant try to pick up marbles with chopsticks. It would be quite funny except that we all now have to pay the price of their blunder with higher mortgage rates which are likely to last for years. Just three weeks of…
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Royal Lochnagar Distillery and Albert’s Cairn
Yesterday everything seemed to go wrong with the Glenfiddich distillery being closed and our subsequent failed attempts to find a distillery with a tour that wasn’t fully booked and that permitted children. Today we planned to go for a hike in the Cairngorms and I decided to check Royal Lochnagar Distillery on the off-chance we…
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