Tag: Aberdeen
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Happy Hogmanay!
Hogmanay is the Scottish word for the last day of the year which is today and it also happens to be Elizabeth’s birthday. This year we went to the Pantomime. I’ve never been before but I’d heard good things about it. It was superb and exceeded all my expectations. We saw Dick McWhittington, the Scottish…
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It’s a Wonderful Life
There’s a terrific cinema in central Aberdeen called the Belmont Filmhouse. It was built in 1898 as a trades hall and is now home to three movie rooms (I think it’s three). They show a good mix of new release and classic films in cosy and comfortable rooms – not at all the soulless kind you find…
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Aberdeen Christmas Village
The Aberdeen Christmas Village is up and running again this year. We went first thing this morning to avoid the crowds and to be the first ones on the ice at the outdoor skating rink. It’s a slightly bigger rink than last year and we mostly had it to ourselves. Sunday morning at 10am is…
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Party preparations!
We’re having a party this evening and I ordered Marks and Spencer catering which I collected this morning. The lady in M&S asked me how far away my car was parked and I had to explain that I would be taking it all on my bike. I think she thought I was nuts. But it…
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The mighty bakfiets
I’ve started cycling Busby (bakfiets) again. I’ve had it with Harald (Butchers and Bicycles). We cycled to Newton Dee on Saturday and took both cargo bikes. The plan was the children could cycle themselves as far as possible and when they got tired we’d put their bikes in Busby and they could sit and ride in…
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The condom poncho
I got myself a poncho for cycling in the rain to keep my knees dry. Otto London make some really nice ones and I got the clear Festival Poncho which is only £24. I was thinking I looked pretty cool until Ben asked me why I was wearing a condom. I gave my iPhone to the…
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How can I be an effective activist?
I’m so frustrated with the city council and their lack of action in building cycling infrastructure. We know that cycling infrastructure encourages people to ride their bikes and we know that when people ride their bikes there’s less pollution, less traffic congestion, and less of a strain on the NHS because those people are engaging in physical…
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A rainy autumn day on the bike path
We ran out of biscuits today which was potentially disastrous. My choice was either to bake some biscuits or cycle to Newton Dee to buy some more. Of course the virtuous thing to do would have been to cycle to Newton Dee to buy the *ingredients* and then return home to cook them but I’m not that virtuous. And so…
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Photos from Aberdeen
I only just discovered this lovely rooftop garden in central Aberdeen about a week ago. A friend tells me it’s fairly new – a year old? It’s just above the St Nicholas centre next to Marks & Spencer on Union St. There’s a children’s playground, seating areas, and a stage. They’ve done a wonderful job with…
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The beach in Aberdeen
We went to the beach today and I took some photos. Can you see all the ships on the horizon? The next photo is a building at Castlegate in Aberdeen. It’s quite striking and is, I think, what is called an example of Scottish baronial architecture. It looks very Aberdonian to me and contains nothing exciting at all…
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How to have your photo taken
My sister, Susie, is here for the weekend and I took her out for lunch to the Foodstory café on Thursday (best café in Aberdeen) but she refused to let me take a photo of her. Why don’t people like having their photos taken? I love having my photo taken and I’m so good at it,…
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Countesswells Woods and a strange dream
I have just been to the best children’s party I’ve ever attended. Ok, so maybe that’s not saying much: children’s parties aren’t exactly known for their entertainment value to adults. But this was different and I can honestly say it was an enjoyable and even relaxing experience. The words “Children’s party” and “relaxing” don’t usually go…
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Should I chain myself to a tree?
A little part of me grieves whenever someone chops down a tree and this very nearly happened today. This morning some workmen appeared on our street to chop down several beautiful old beech trees. We did not receive any warning of this other than a street sign which appeared about a week ago to say there’d be roadworks…
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Home again
I’m back at home in Aberdeen after a superb week in Dublin. I flew into Aberdeen yesterday and the views from the plane made me feel so lucky to live here. I could see mountains with snow in the distance, next to rolling hills and then patchwork fields of crops, forest, the silver rows of…
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More snow
One day the novelty will wear off but for the moment I’m still just as excited as ever by the sight of snow. It snowed today despite being a positively balmy 4°C. We had snow last week too which was beautiful. Busby is still at the bike shop so the kids have had to walk…
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More snow in Aberdeen
Most of the snow melted yesterday but then it snowed again overnight so there are beautiful scenes outside again today. I wish we had more days like this each winter but I guess Aberdeen is too close to the sea and the mercury mostly hovers above 0°C over the winter. Still, I really love the…
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Snow in Aberdeen!
Last night I decided we were going to book a car today and drive in search of some snow. But when I woke up and looked out our bedroom window this is what I saw: Finally the snow has come to Aberdeen. Yay! The summer house in our backyard: I think the gnome in our…
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I’m famous!
I was in the local paper yesterday – the print version rather than the online version. On Monday someone tweeted me this: (thanks, Steve Bloom!) Things are moving by pedal force in Europe. https://t.co/CKeFJvV8nH — Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore. (@joranfagerlund) January 13, 2016 I decided to alert Aberdeen City Council to the article in a…
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More cycling in the rain
More rain today and so more cycling in the rain. This time to the beach. I was tempted to go in for a dip but I didn’t have my bathers with me. Ben’s thinking, “What on earth are those giant cotton reels behind me?” I have a new rain coat which got drenched. I saw this…
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Cycling in the snow
What do you on a cold Saturday afternoon just as it’s starting to rain? Go for a bike ride of course. Only sissies are afraid of the rain. We cycled to Newton Dee as I was in need of chocolate – it has been at least a couple of weeks since I had my last fix…
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