insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Budding film stars
The kids have spent the past couple of days making a movie with some friends. The four of them made a trailer and a movie called Jungle Adventure. It’s brilliant! It’s quite funny although technically speaking it’s supposed to be a fantasy/action flick. They did everything themselves – the script, the camera work, choosing the…
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A cold, rainy picnic on the beach with seals
It was a cold, rainy, windy day today and we decided it was perfect for a picnic on the beach at Newburgh. Only in Scotland would you find people crazy enough to picnic in weather like we had today and we were not the only crazy ones there. It’s the first time I’ve felt the…
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Pitmedden Gardens
Last Monday was a bank holiday here and we took the opportunity to visit Pitmedden Gardens. Despite being only 14 miles north of Aberdeen, we’ve never seen them before. We visited the café once on a trip to Tolquhon Castle but have never stopped to look at the gardens. Pitmedden Gardens is a recreation of…
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New vegetarian restaurant in Aberdeen
Inn at the Park hotel near Duthie Park now has a vegetarian restaurant. It’s a hotel/pub/restaurant all in one and the restaurant part of it has gone all vegetarian as of 1st August 2019. I don’t know the particulars of the change – it never used to be veggie – but I suspect it’s just…
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More plotting at the allotments
I had a back-breaking morning at the allotment today. The mustard yellow shed has inspired me to get some other jobs done that I’ve been wanting to do for ages, one of which was to remove all the stones and weed matting. Never, ever put weed matting and stones down. Weed matting is just awful…
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The best shed
When we took possession of our allotment in September 2017, the shed was in a terrible state. The roof had caved in and there was about 5cm of water in the bottom. Fortunately, my father was visiting at the time and we put him to work replacing the roof for us. This photo was taken…
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An easy vegan meal, shed painting, and slim pickings
I’ve been making a lot of pasta with pesto lately. The kids love it and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings I have less than an hour between when my workday ends and my General Assembly course begins so I want something that’s quick and easy to cook. I buy the pesto sauce which is vegan,…
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Hot weather and visits from family and friends
Yesterday was hot. BBC weather says it was 24C here which felt pretty awful. How did I ever survive living in Brisbane? At least here the temperature typically falls overnight and one can get a good night’s sleep. We’re also cooler than many other parts of Europe which are experiencing heat waves right now. I…
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One week left to respond to the city council SUMP consultation
The Aberdeen City Council currently has its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) out for consultation and it’s closing next week on July 26th. This is a plea for anyone living in the area to respond to the consultation before it closes. It’s important for as many people to have their say as possible because politicians…
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A Scottish ceilidh
On Saturday night after the Braemar junior games, there was a family ceilidh in the village hall. A ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), is a traditional Scottish event with dancing and fiddle music. Other countries have something similar called a “barn dance”. We’ve been to a couple of ceilidhs here and they’re wonderful fun. Someone, a caller,…
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Caber-tossing for kids
We went to the Braemar Junior Highland Games today. We’ve been to the hugely popular “celebrity” event in September a couple of times but this is the first time we’ve been to the kids’ version and in many ways this version is better. It’s far less busy and children can participate in everything. It’s very…
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Moroccan lentil soup with stinging nettles
Nothing beats a good soup. They’re a great way to use up vegetables and to warm the body on a cold day. They’re also an effective method for getting vegetables into children. They’re cheap to make and can be beefed up by adding in some legumes like lentils or chick peas (not beef). On Saturday…
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A great place to live
There’s a nice opinion piece in the Guardian this week, written by an Australian who thinks Britain is wonderful. I 100% agree and can relate to all the things she says. I love living here and can’t think of anywhere else on Earth I’d rather live. The people are friendly and polite. They will apologise when you…
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Why isn’t Israel Folau selling his possessions to give to the poor?
An Australian football player lost his job with Rugby Australia recently because of comments he made on Instagram. Before I disclose what these comments were, it’s worth pointing out that an employer is free to dismiss employees who break their employment contract provided the contract is legal and I would be surprised if Rugby Australia’s…
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Scottish education, doggies, and Brexit
The Scottish state-funded education system is brilliant. Daniel will be starting secondary school in August and they have a transitioning program for pupils that starts in primary 6, two years before they leave primary school. This began with short visits to the secondary school and has culminated this week with pupils getting to spend two…
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A walk in the woods
I always get a bit nervous when I go to the allotment now – will more plants have been pulled out? Will the slugs have eaten all my beans? With slight trepidation, I ventured there this morning and my plants were all still there but the slugs have eaten my beans. There’s nothing but the…
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Cyclist has to pay pedestrian who walked out in front while looking at phone
I’m pleased to see this fellow’s GoFundMe page doing so well. It’s nearly up to £40,000 after just a couple of days. For those who don’t know the story, Robert Hazeldean was cycling in London when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him and the two collided. The pedestrian was looking at her phone…
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I despair when I see these people cheer
Last week the West London Borough of Chelsea and Kensington, one of the wealthiest in the country, voted against a Transport for London proposal for segregated cycling infrastructure. Although I don’t live there and it doesn’t affect me directly, I felt despair when I saw the applause after the council announced the decision. Rapturous applause…
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Willows Animal Sanctuary
It has been a while since we went out into the country for a Sunday outing because our weekends have been full of gardening, allotmenting, and kid activities. Today we had a free day and I decided to skip the allotment this weekend. I have had a helper sharing my plot and although she’s done…
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Daniel’s first school trip and vegan egg
Daniel went away on his first school camping trip this week. It’s the first time he’s ever spent a night away from us and we were a bit nervous about how he’d manage. It turns out he managed splendidly and it was me who struggled. I missed him so much and am already dreading the…
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