Having no luck on the beer search which tends to suggest I drank it.... curses. However finally got my head into gear about a series of pop ups that has been bugging me for ages Endads are the culprits and rather than pay the dosh they want just go to see Brian Granger or Wangjianshuo's blog.
I have a vague memory of stashing some beer round here but can I find it. See two weeks away and my brain turns to mush. I've even checked this ting to see if I left any clues...... Sod it I'm off to bang my rocks together to produce a hole in a rock by pecking as I learnt to do at the Crannog Centre.
So in the end I turn into a girly fader and we spend the night in Bellshill and come down this morning. Back at home to a mountain of junk mail. A cat who is recovering from the journey south and in time to listen to the opening of the Premiership season on the radio. Feel knackered, it's stupid but a 4 hour drive in hot weather makes me want to flake. Arsenal start the season down to 10 men but with a 2-1 win against Everton. Be warned while the rest of the crew slept in the car I got round to realising I know nothing or next to nothing about the 45 Rising and mean to remedy that fact soon......
Sunday On the Community Shield, jammy Mancs. Trip up to Aberfeldy completely uneventful. Pleasant enough drive, scenery stunning. Aberfeldy was in post-mini-tatoo mode. I'm not certain what the correct term for post-bagpipe fest is but whatever it is I vote with John Hegley on tatoo's in that I'd rather say tata to a tatoo, too. Found the Palace Hotel almost as soon as we hit town. The place is a fading down at heel Victorian/Edwardian Hielan' Hotel. However the gaff must be run by a with-it-a-go-go geezer because tonight is disco night. So got in to the room and discovered two beds soft enough to sink into and third of moderate firmness. The room is decorated to its high cielinged zenith with magnolia. Dinner menu was issued to us on arrival and offered plenty of choice with in a limited framework. Roast Beef of Old Scotland, two thick wedges in a gravy that was laced with whisky and plenty of pepper. Prior to that a bunch of Louisiana Shrimp (prawns a bit of mayonnaise and cayenne pepper) or fruit cocktail. Ice Cream went down with Cal and the Banana split thing for the rest of us. Quantity was plentiful. Post food it was a walk through the 'Birks O'Aberfeldy'. Very pleasant, back to the hotel to find the disco full swing. But our host who is not only a with-it-a-go-go geezer but he is a with-it-a-go-go geezer with a profit motive. So in the back bar we have a bit of karaoke with a disco which is pumping out Sugarbabes, a bit of Bob Marley and is making the bath rattle. In the 'Cocktail Bar' a disco for your geriatric is hosted by a geezer who belives in the Frank Carson school of DJ'ing. Now the last time I looked the Everley Brothers failed to hire some balding maustachioed Jock with a sense of humour bypass as a session man at the studio when recording 'Dreams' so why does he insist on acting like one? Monday Monday and the family get a dose of history they won't forget. Nipped to the Crannog Centre over at Kenmore on Loch Tay. Cool or what, taken round by a red headed, hairy beastie of an archaeologist, Alan. It's like being taken round by a ginger Billy Connolly. Alan was excellent with Callum giving him a stick to hit me with when he got restless. The Crannog itself was dimly lit, smelt positively herbal with the braken on the floor but was well worth the trip. Go if you're in the neighbourhood. From there it's into Pitlochry in search of hiking boots from Monst. She hasn't packed hers (they're 13 years old by the way) and wants a new pair to prepare for the day the old pair die. We go for lunch at the Old Mill, a ham sandwich for Cal and me washed down with half a Kettle. Beers fine, ham sandwich is OK. Somehow we resist the temptation of the fish-ladder, whatever that is. My night out so its off to the Black Watch Inn and I begin the art of defensive drinking with a pint of guinness because the beer selection is shite. Then back to the Palace for a Stella. get chatting with a geezer called Terry Brassell who knew John Lennon and George Harrison while drumming in the 60's. Guess what I'll be scrabbling around searching on..... Tuesday Life's a beach and then you die. Back to Loch Tay to hit a beach. Cal wandering around with a fishing net and bucket and spade. Meanwhile the old hippie in me was busy making a stone circle and starting to peck a hole in a stone as learnt at the Crannog Centre yesterday. Kind of relaxing. Hit a coffee in the local tea shop come flea market and played Callum at Connect 4. Trouble is Cal's concept of Connect 4 is in fact Connect 1-2-3-4-5-6. Then off to Killin and the Falls of Dochart via the western bank of Loch Tay. Nice drive, Monst hated it a single track rollercoaster ride. Cool as far as I was concerned. Lunch at the Falls, very pleasant affiar involving rolls, ham, cheese and Callum's finger (he was feeding me ham and I missed but got a nip of him). Then rush back to Dull and a Land Rover safari up in the hills. Now mentally I was thinking 'Safari, so goody' as a result of too much childhood exposure to Christopher Biggins and the delights of TVS (and they were hard won at that it took the old fella to go up to the roof to twist round the arial because he was desparate for news of Reading). Anyway the lovely Rowena drove us round, pointed out various flowers, a Mountain Hare, Red Deer and Osprey. It was OK and Cal kind of enjoyed it but a tad overpriced. Dinner tonight a bit dull, garlic mushrooms as a starter, Roast Chicken for me and Jam Roly Poly. Defensive drinking again with a pint of Stella. Monst off to see the Frank Carson blokey we now know as Disco Bill for so he was christened. Wednesday Highland Folk Museum a Scots version of Cultra, loads of buildings move to Newtonmore and left there in the tender care of reinactors. Now I love Cultura and it has to be said I loved this place. the reinactors knew there stuff and were chatty. The buildings fascinating, great bit of AV at the start, cool buses to trip you round and even better a great kids play area for Cal. The pre-clearance settlement with chickens scratching around, turf fires burning was excellent and so different from the Crannog in that it was really dark and smoky. With the exception of the weaver who got a window it was all turf long houses thatched with heather, cupboard style beds. Go if your near. Get back and can't even remember the food, it was edible I remember that bit. Monst out to bingo...... won exactly what she went with, nothing. Just an earful of Disco Bill's nonsense. Thursday Cal wanted to go swimming so we went to a cool leisure pool in Perth along with Terry and family. Great variation on the wave machine, a white water area that scoots you around it. A jungle area for Cal and an outdoors bit. Chinese for lunch in Perth. Then off to Scone Palace and the answer to the Scone (with the one as in Stone) or Scone (or with the one as in gone) pronounciation problem. What happens they introduce it as Scone (with the one as in spoon), I'm now well confused. How am I gonna face another high tea again. Another good adventure play area (Cal loved the death slide). Stone of destiny (mock style) some great 18th Century art, loads of porcelain and politically incorrect ivory. Then they had a maze in which I preceded to lose Cal. All I could hear was his giggle as he ran off...... found him eventually. Then the ultimate topper, some, Heilan' Coos (if you ain't seen this beasts the link will take you to a pic) ...... hooray. On the downside Monst feels like shite, a dose of immodium is required. She suspects some sort of food poisoning which is all too likely given the cleanliness of the Palace. Back home to a candlelit meal (Cal blew it out in 5 seconds) including deep fried Haggis. Why do the Scots deep fry everything? Downside is that breakfast is still present in the equipment it was served in this morning. At 8.30 the eggs didn't appeal to me now 11 hours later they look even worse. Evening and it's downstairs for the Aberfeldy Acoustic Music Clubs session, Acoustic Music Club to move it away from Aran jumper wearing coves who shove their fingers in their ears and sing in a nasal whine. Either way it's a fine night with a bit of blues a bit of folk and generally fun. If you're in the area pop in to see them. More defensive drinking with the Stella. Friday Early to rise and pack the car. Along for a breakfast and then into the car to journey to Bellshill. Plan originally was to pick up the cat and hit the road. Monst is still feeling like shite, rings in to cry off work and we change plans and plan on hitting the road later tonight. I tried to kip to cope with the late night that's coming but sleep don't want to visit me today. Instead I'm typing this. Monst, Cal, Kitty and Margaret have gone to Tesco's and Tom is mowing the lawn (is he a closet Chelsea fan?). Rang work to see how Alistair got on in his A's, two A's and a B, even better he got into Imperial his first choice. Cracking result, glad for him. More good news for Leanne she has landed a job with Propel. Good for her. Now my recruitment problem gets worse works out that Nikki applied to do a course in Occupational Therapy and wasn't expecting it to kick in until next year. They've got extra funding and have called her for interview. With a start date in September some time it means we're down to 50% staffing round then, maybe before. Good news for the people concerned but once again we go through the recruiting thing which as everyone knows I hate. I also hear that nothing has happend around Cairs and that the Helpdesk need chasing up with Brian.
I guess the wisdom of Laurence finally got through to the FA with the replacement of the Charity Shield by the Community Shield. The phone just tells me the team and I'm afraid I'm going to be reliant on it to tell me the result.
Enduring the torment of a repeat feature on a CD player, the Clare Celts (I'm sure the appropriate letters are in the word coconut) singing repeatedly 'Oh Mama, oh Mama comfort me for I know these awful things have got to be and when the war of freedom has been won I promise you I'll put away my gun' All I can say is turn the armalite on yourself boy and put me out of my misery. Or at least will you sing a rebel song with a little humour in it. The real solution is to hide in my own headphones but that requires me to get up from the lotus position I've adopted to blog (OK I'm really cross legged on the floor because I'm not that elastic but the principle is there). Yesterday's trip to the Museum of Flight was a total success. Enough rockets for Cal to continue his thunderbird obsession, enough planes to keep Tom interested and too few people to bother either of us. Back via Direleton Castle. On the way there we hit North Berwick only to find the place in the process of throwing a Highland Games, so we witnessed many a man in a skirt and heard plenty of people strangling cats. As for today an day shackled to the ironing board for me. I hate flattening clothes. Aaaargh, that poxy song has begun again. Even worst since I introduced Tom to the 'Wolfe Tones' because I found it funny to introduce to someone from the other tradition to a bit of rebel music, he's bought the stuff big style. So it's all my own fault. Monst hits Motherwell at 2.45 and then it's away to Aberfeldy and its birks (I guess they mean me!).
