Tag: Aberdeen
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Cycling to the rescue
It’s the last day of school today for goodness knows how long but it’s not all bad. There are some benefits to this virus. For instance, there’s noticeably less traffic on the roads, especially around the school gate. I think many parents have already withdrawn their kids from school. The air smelt cleaner and fresher…
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19th March 2020 update #COVID2019
Schools will be closing on Friday this week for the foreseeable future. It’s unlikely they will open again before the summer holidays which means they’ll be shut until August and potentially longer than that. Much depends on what happens in China when they lift their restrictions. Children of key workers and vulnerable children will still…
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Ventilation shaft on Justice Mill Lane
On Justice Mill Lane in Aberdeen is this lovely pole. I’ve always admired it and wondered what it was. Ben recently borrowed a book about Aberdeen from the local library and it gets a mention in that. It was built in 1905 as a ventilation shaft for underground tunnels containing electricity cabling. The ventilation helped…
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Sometimes we need pancakes for dinner
I’m really snowed under with work and cycling-related activities right now that I couldn’t be bothered cooking dinner tonight and since I’m the parent I get to decide what we eat so we had pancakes. The kids were shocked and delighted all at once when they found out. I’ve found a great recipe for vegan…
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A weekend at the Barley Bothy
We’ve just had a lovely weekend at the Barley Bothy: a little hut on a strawberry and sheep farm near Huntly. You can watch the making of the hut on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces, (series 4, episode 4). We like staying in interesting places because that’s all part of the holiday experience and the Barley…
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An open letter to the Aberdeen City Council about South College Street
This past week I have felt very frustrated with the Aberdeen City Council after I read about their plans to spend £5.5 million adding another lane for private motor vehicles to a road in central Aberdeen. A bike path has not been included in these plans and the road in question is uninviting for pedestrians…
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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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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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Can bike paths save the high street?
High streets in Britain are in decline. People say this is due to online shopping and this is undoubtedly part of the cause. It’s so easy to buy goods on the internet and have them delivered to your home that there’s no need to go out to the shops. You can even get your groceries…
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Fibre to my door and another doggy
Gigabit fibre is currently being rolled out onto our street. I’ve been impressed with the speed and efficiency with which it has been installed. They did the pavement outside our house in less than a day – lifting paving slabs, digging, installing cable, then putting everything back again. They were all standing around when I…
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A vision for King Street, Aberdeen
Earlier this year I applied for and received funding for the Aberdeen Cycle Forum to commission two visualisations of streets in Aberdeen with a bike path. One of them has just been released. It’s for King Street and extends the King Street Design Competition we held by taking the winning designs and turning them into…
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Police Scotland say roads unsuitable for slow-moving individuals
Tomorrow Aberdeen will be having a mass bike ride in protest of the lack of cycling infrastructure in the city. This is part of a nation-wide group of protests under the umbrella of Pedal on Parliament 2019. Several weeks ago I notified the police of the event, out of courtesy. In the past they’ve usually…
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In our convertible on the hottest Easter ever
It was a hot weekend and since my bike, Hoss, is a convertible we went out on Saturday with the top down. Apparently it was the hottest Easter for our region since records began which is, sadly, a sign of things to come. It will continue getting hotter and hotter unless we get our emissions…
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Mass bike ride in Aberdeen on Sunday 28th April
The Aberdeen Cycle Forum is organising a mass bike ride on Sunday 28th April at 11am, starting from Marischal College. This is part of Scotland’s Pedal on Parliament 2019 but this year is a little bit different because the usual Edinburgh ride which attracts thousands of people is not happening. Instead the focus is on…
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Aurora hunting, vegan treats, and made in Scotland
We went aurora hunting last night because every newspaper said we’d see a magnificent light show when a solar storm arrived, supposedly sometime between 6pm and 9pm. But it turned out to be a non-event because there was no aurora. We drove to Dunnottar Castle thinking it would be a good spot because it’s away…
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Aberdeen’s beach and veganism is mainstream
Daniel was invited to a birthday party today and much to my disappointment it was at a trampoline place by the beach. I dislike going to the beach in Aberdeen for two reason – 1) It’s a bugger to get to by bike. There’s no good route and I’m always stressed and worried about large…
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King Street Design Competition
We announced the winners of the King Street Design Competition today. It took a bit longer than expected because we extended the competition by one week and then the judging took just over two weeks. However the whole thing was a great success. I’m so impressed with all the designs we received and it was…
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Skiing in Aberdeen
We had another glorious day in the snow today. My mum is visiting and here she is getting into the spirit of the day and throwing snowballs at the grandkids. We got out our skis and went into the park to practice. Even Granny had a go. It was snowing quite heavily. You can see…
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Winter wonderland
We woke up to a glorious winter wonderland this morning which was followed by a lovely sunny day. I cycled to Newton Dee like I always do. It wasn’t slippery but it was hard work cycling on the snow. There was lots of resistance; a bit like cycling on the grass. I was grateful for…
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Ice on the River Dee
There are big chunks of ice on the River Dee today. I took pics. It’s very pretty.
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