rachel.blog

insignificant ramblings of a 40-something woman

  • Stromness to Aberdeen by ferry + train

    My post yesterday about Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar was rather rushed because we had to dash for a long day of traveling. But both places were absolutely fascinating. Skara Brae was particularly good. How often do you get to see the house, including furniture, of a Neolithic human? All the walls were…

  • Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae

    We visited some more neolithic sites yesterday. First stop was The Standing Stones o’ Stenness and the nearby and well-known Ring of Brodgar. Both are stone circles about 5000 years old. The stones are huge and heavy and would have been quite difficult to move and stand upright in their positions. Why did humans build…

  • Orkney and the Tomb of the Eagles with puking and ticks

    We’re in Orkney. We caught the ferry from Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and arrived here just before midnight last night. The ferry stops in Kirkwall, Orkney a few times each week on its way to Shetland. Here’s a map showing the route we took on the ferry and also the route we plan to take back.…

  • Magmanimous

    I want to make a comment about the scientist Tim Hunt, who was recently sacked for making some disparaging remarks about women. They weren’t exactly disparaging but they were not complimentary and although I think his intention was to be funny, they were not. However I don’t think this is a good reason for him…

  • Castle Fraser

    We went to another castle yesterday, Castle Fraser, which is about 16 miles west of Aberdeen. It’s a Scottish baronial castle built in the 15th century. Like all of the castles we’ve visited so far it is surrounded by gardens and woods with lots of lovely walks. There was also a wonderful children’s playground which was…

  • Mr Lemon

    Elizabeth drew a face on a lemon the other day and now takes the thing with her everywhere. She even took it to school today. Unfortunately the waxy surface of the lemon is not a very good surface for drawing anything permanent and the face invariably rubs off. Last night she woke up in the middle of…

  • To Aberdeen by bicycle via Drum Castle

    We cycled back from Banchory to Aberdeen yesterday and it was rather hellish. I thought I was going to die. We arrived home and I collapsed in a heap with a very sore butt and feeling sorry for myself. I’ve decided to give up cycling for good. Just kidding 🙂 We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at…

  • To Banchory on the Deeside cycleway

    We stayed in Banchory last night and I’m typing this from a very comfortable hotel bedroom. For a little while now we’ve been wanting to extend our cycle ride on the Deeside cycleway but felt that Aberdeen to Crathes and back was about our limit given we’ve got small kids and the Bakfiets. If wanted…

  • Vegan macaroni cheese recipe

    I haven’t shared a recipe for a while and last night I cooked a vegan version of macaroni and cheese which my kids love and so do we. It’s adapted from a recipe called Sunflower Mac in one of the best vegan cookbooks on the market, Isa Does It. My sister told me recently that the photos I…

  • The Hövding invisible helmet – a review

    I’ve been using the Hövding – the invisible helmet – for a week now and I thought I’d write about the experience so far. I’m wearing it in this next photo (NB: the helmet is the black collar around my neck. It’s an airbag which deploys in the event of a crash): When I first put…

  • Duthie Park and buying a house

    I took this photo of Duthie Park back in April this year just before all the buds on the trees opened up for spring: Today I went for a run through the park and took some more photos. Here’s how it looks now: I love watching the plants and trees change with the seasons. Duthie Park…

  • We bought a house and Slains Castle

    We went out for a celebratory dinner tonight because we put an offer on a house today and it was accepted! We decided it was probably a good time to buy because interest rates are ridiculously low (<2% for a two year fixed term at the moment) and a dip in the price of oil…

  • Countering extremism with truth and reason

    Sometimes it seems like half of the people are desperately trying to leave Syria while the other half are trying to get there. News this week of another group of women leaving the UK for Syria was even more astonishing that the last because this group took young children with them. A society that condones slavery and crucifixion is…

  • How dangerous is cycling?

    One of the biggest barriers to cycling is the perception that it’s dangerous. But is it dangerous? Public perception of risk is often quite different to real risk but it’s also difficult to change. I’m speaking from personal experience here too: I know that flying is one of the safest modes of transport but knowing this doesn’t make…

  • From Aberdeen to Crathes on Deeside Way

    This is my last day of the five-day blogging challenge and because I’ve had quite an eventful day I’m going to post a number of photos. I am absolutely knackered. We went out for a cycle ride on Deeside Way today all the way out to Crathes. According to Map My Ride it was 22km…

  • The Beach Dog

    Here’s my image for day four of the five-day challenge. I’m going to be lazy today and use a story Daniel wrote at school this week and a picture Elizabeth drew to go with it. The Beach Dog Once upon a time there was a beach dog who lived on the beach. He lived under…

  • You’ve Been Trumped!

    Here’s my image for day three of the five-day blogging challenge. The image is not mine. It’s the work of artist David McCue and is the poster for the film, You’ve Been Trumped, a documentary about Donald Trump’s development just north of Aberdeen. I bought the DVD online and we watched it last night. I was interested because…

  • Wapuu saves the day!

    Here’s my photo for day two of the five-day blogging challenge: Elizabeth was upset this afternoon because Daniel’s class went to the Satrosphere and he got a small toy. She was jealous because she didn’t get a toy. So to take her mind off it I decided to print out these cool colouring-in pages of Wapuu…

  • Cargo bike seen in Aberdeen!

    I’ve been nominated by Geoff Le Pard – a quick-witted author and blogger at TanGental – to participate in a five-day blogging challenge and I’ve accepted! The challenge is to publish a photograph on five consecutive days with an accompanying story or paragraph – fiction or non-fiction – to go with it. Here’s day one! I took…

  • How many girlfriends does a boy need?

    Daniel said to Ben the other night, “Did you have any girlfriends when you were at school?”. Here’s the ensuing conversation: Me: Do you have a girlfriend, Daniel? Daniel: Creeper says that’s none of your business. Me: Is it Lucy [not her real name]? Daniel: She’s one of them.