Tag: Aberdeen

  • Newton Dee

    There aren’t very many off-road cycle paths in Aberdeen but there is one very good one: Deeside Way. It runs along an old train line from Duthie Park all the way out to Ballater, a total distance of 41 miles. Unfortunately the line is no longer used by trains; it was closed in 1966. But once…

  • The University of Aberdeen

    I love universities. I went to kindergarten at a university. When I started school I spent many afternoons at a university since there wasn’t always someone at home to look after us after school so my sister and I went to the university where my father worked – and still does – instead. We would draw pictures on the…

  • The River Dee

    I don’t really like shopping, especially supermarket shopping. One of the great things about the UK is you can get everything online and it’s usually delivered super fast. We ordered our mattress and bed frame online for instance. The downside of this is that the stuff comes in cardboard packaging and you then have to…

  • Photos from Aberdeen

    I like to look at the types of houses people live in when I go to different cities. Here are a few from the residential streets of Aberdeen plus a couple of our backyard. Aberdeen is a beautiful city. It’s quite leafy for a British city – which I really like – and many of…

  • Butt plugs, deadly nightshade, and hookers

    Apparently a large, green, blow-up Christmas tree in the centre of Paris is outrageous and humiliating if you’re of a right-wing political persuasion. The sculpture, which was part of an exhibition of modern art, was vandalised by right-wing protestors. Why? Because it looks like a butt plug. I have to confess that I didn’t even know what a butt plug…

  • My new home: Aberdeen

    Aberdeen is endearing itself to me. It’s the little things that make a difference. Like this front gate I walked past yesterday with a tin of biscuits for the guard dog. Just in case you want to rob the place and a fierce dog is standing in your way, the owners have helpfully provided the dog biscuits…

  • Footdee, Aberdeen

    We went out for a long walk this afternoon to an old fishing village at the very tip of the east end of Aberdeen harbour. It’s called Footdee, or “Fittie”, as the locals call it. Aberdeen harbour has been hijacked by the oil industry and none of it is walkable to the public (not that…

  • Duthie Park, Aberdeen

    We’re in Aberdeen and still all a bit tired and jet-lagged but glad to have all the hard stuff over and done with. We ventured out for a walk in Duthie Park yesterday and it was wonderful. They have an enormous winter garden as well as some brilliant playgrounds. Can you judge a city by…

  • Scotland, here we come!

    A couple of weeks ago we sent off our visa applications for the UK. They had to be sent to Manilla for processing along with all our passports, including old ones, and original birth certificates for the kids, and our marriage certificate. We also had to have fingerprints and mug shots taken. The applications themselves…

  • I have an announcement to make

    I have great news which I’m finally allowed to blog about. Some of you may have observed that in the last week or so my mood has improved. But then, maybe this isn’t so noticeable. I’m not sure. Anyway, here’s my news: I am delighted to report that we have a ticket out of the…

  • The Silver City

    We are in Aberdeen, a city known for its extensive use of granite as a building material and because of this it is also sometimes called the granite city or the silver city. On the train here from York, I tweeted that I was heading north in Scotland. Someone responded to my tweet with, “Ooh,…