looking at ceilings

Within the space of two weeks I visited two of the largest and grandest cathedrals in the UK - York Minster and Canterbury Cathedral. That was enough for one trip, though! There’s only so much overstated grandeur in a church that I can stomach, particularly when the founder of Christianity threw out the people who were collecting money from worshippers! Obviously my presbyterian Scottish upbringing is still strong.

However, it’s impossible not to admire the scale and the effort that the builders must have put in. I was struck by the ceilings in each place - the simple colours and lines in York and the very ornate ceilings in Canterbury.

There are two ways you can take photos of ceilings in cathedrals: either hold the camera and lean back until you almost fall over, or set the timer and put the camera on the floor.

path through the bluebells

I pass these woods every day, but it was only a few days ago that I happened to glance to the left and saw the bluebells. There’s a carpet of blue all the way from the roadside to where the trees start to get closer - and they may go beyond that. I took a few photos trying different angles and thinking about where the light was coming from - I’m aware that the light is really important when using a digital camera but I still haven’t worked it out well enough to know what it will look like on the screen!
This small path has obviously been there for a while, but I’m not sure if it’s caused by people or animals. I’m hoping animals. There’s been a little bit of a problem of teenagers getting alcohol and heading down to the shore via the woods, and leaving bottles and other rubbish on the way.

Or maybe it’s been left by the bluebell fairies, and they’re waiting just behind that tree to catch anyone who walks along their path …

Argyll in May

I decided to have a run to Argyll - one reason because I haven’t been that route yet this year, and another because of “dia del madre”. When I was living in South America I lost track of the British “mother’s day” because it was in May rather than March in the americas. So I used to organise sending flowers to Mum in May. Mum said she didn’t really mind at all, as that meant she had two “mothers days” in the year! The weather has been quite good recently so a trip across country seemed like a good idea.

It was, indeed, a good run. The roads were quieter than they can be in the middle of summer, and the number of bugs collected on the visor considerably less too. Although it was dry most of the day (just the last 45 minutes on the way back there was a light shower of rain) it was a bit hazy and you got the feeling it could either suddenly blow away or become a scorcher, or it could quickly turn to thunder. It did neither, although I’m told that in other parts of the country there was thunder and lightning.
On the run back a couple of bikes laden with camping gear came up behind me; I moved over and let them pass. I think they must have stopped off at the Green Welly at Tyndrum because about 15 minutes after I passed there, they came up behind again, and I let them pass again. Shortly after that I saw them pulled over at the side, obviously putting on wet weather gear. I fully expected them to come up again, but perhaps they went a different route that time.
Back in The Bay, we were going to have a BBQ; the rain put a stop to that, unfortunately.

tulip

I’m not a brilliant gardener, and my method is more “throw it at the ground and see what happens”. So it’s always one of life’s little miracles when beautiful flowers appear. At the end of last year I managed to give a little time to planting some tulips; they’re now mostly out in bloom and looking pretty good.

This tulip is one of a whole bunch planted in a tub and sitting on my patio. The great thing about patios is that you can move things around when you want … the tub with the daffodils has now been relegated to the far end and the tulips have moved to centre stage.

So far this year, there’s not been much opportunity to sit out in the garden to contemplate what I would do with the garden if I happened to be a gardener (or if I had a few extra thousand pounds to ask someone to do it for me). Hopefully that will change soon. There’s nothing better than coming home and it’s still light and sunny; a glass of chilled wine; a seat in a profusion of flowers to watch the sun go down, is there?

Papajoe

When I stopped at the top of the Campsies there were a couple of bikes parked up and this Goldwing trike. It turned out to be Papajoe, who gave us several stories of his tours across Europe. He’s very proud of his Goldwing trike; his name (well - his nickname) is on the side and a photo of his grandaughter on the tank. He’s quite a character!
I had decided to take the bike out for a fairly short evening run - past Kincardine to Lennoxtown where I dropped in to see the cousins; then the back road up the Campsie Fells to Fintry; made a circle by coming back via Denny then Kincardine and home.

evel rides again

At the MAG Easter Egg run to deliver Easter Eggs to the children in Yorkhill Hospital (Glasgow). The news that Evel Knievel had died on 30th November last year was bound to release a whole new set of tributes and look-alikes …

These were just a few of the guys at the Easter Egg run. Last year the Egg Run raised about £30,000 for the hospital, and there were at least 10,000 bikes. The number of bikes is obviously the reason to change the starting point - it was always Kelvin Way in Glasgow, but the overflow is getting bigger than the number of bikes that can fit into the Way. So this year it started from the SECC, which has a massive carpark and could accommodate the bikes both before and after the Run.

Last year we were quite near the end of the group, so this year we got there a bit earlier - stil lnot early enough, though! We were not in the first 3,000 bikes, who were allowed to finish the run in the hospital carpark (the remainder were guided to go back to the SECC).

a wintery sunset

Today was Good Friday … but it’s been a very strange day for me. Yesterday at work I had a meeting to attend (we got notice about it the day before) to confirm arrangements for a programme; I ended up taking on more work than had been planned and the result was that I felt extremely resentful at being let down by some colleagues and annoyed with myself for giving in. At times like these I often wish I had taken those assertiveness classes. I also wish there were someone to give me a hug and tell me that I’m not just totally pathetic and that I can actually do my job well and should get credit for it.
So that was last night.
This morning I had already planned to take the day as a holiday (we are entitled to it but with work waiting it’s very easy to feel guilty about taking any time off). As I lay thinking about what I would do with the day I determined that I would not be put down by the negative thoughts and forced myself to think positively. I managed to come up with two definite areas that are positive: one is confidential so can’t be written here, but the other was to realise that I am obviously totally indispensable; the programme simply can’t function without my input. It’s quite flattering, really.
The day was spent doing a very little housework and then pottering in the garden (in between the rain, hail, snow and sunshine - all the weather in five minute intervals). Just as I thought I might catch up on some private emails I noticed that the sunset was making a nice glow over some clouds. It’s good to take time out and reassess what you want to get out of life!

casualty

I signed up for a course in “first bike on the scene” which was a first aid course with some bits specifically for bikers

The course leader, Derek McNaught was excellent - with 50 years’ experience and also a biker himself.

It was organised by the Scottish Motorcycle Club (SMC).

I had expected it would be from mid-morning to just after lunch, but in fact it was most of the day …

It was well worth it, and there were quite a few useful tips that Derek passed on. He mentioned a few times that when doing CPR he would probably use mouth-to-nose as often a casualty would have blood, gunge and other stuff (including vomit) around their mouth! He showed us a few ways to use a triangular bandage and convinced us that at the very least we should carry a couple of them with us on the bike. I liked his description of CPR - instead of “cardio pulmonary resuscitation” he suggested “chest, puffs and repeat”.

We all had practice taking off helmets. It was quite a shock to discover that training for paramedics does not do much about taking off motorbike helmets!

Of course, this kind of training is great to know but you sincerely hope you never have to use it. The upside of doing a course like this with a bike group is that now I know that if it’s me comes off there will be at least 10 other people will know what to do

stained glass abstract

I’m not doing too well with this blog yet - why is that? Is it because I’ve got too many different things on my plate at the moment? It was interesting to have a discussion with one of my students last week about her dissertation - she would like to do something about developing writing but is really wary of writing herself as she feels that the pupils she is teaching would be ultra-critical.
Is that why I’m not doing this blog too much?
Or maybe it’s because I think I have to have an idea already formulated before I can write it down. Who would be interested in the ramblings of an academic (well - a bit of a phony academic at that - most of the time I don’t feel that I live up to the expectations of the students).
This photo was taken in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh. I was giving a tour to a flickr friend, and he spotted the lovely pattern of light from the window. I couldn’t resist taking a photo too … and then being disappointed when I found that his photo was miles better than mine! But what was perhaps the most interesting was the way we both saw the light on the church wall and thought of angles and perspectives … and how that would translate into a photo. Is that what becoming aware is all about?
So could writing be the same?
Is it possible that the more I just attempt to write something, even ramblings like this, the better I will become at seeing a potential writing topic? I hope so!

winter sunset

A Saturday spent catching up with work, and trying to get a few domestic things done. Not the ideal way to spend a Saturday! By the time it got to about 3 o’clock I thought I really must at least get out the door … and the sun was shining so a bike run seemed like the best thing to do. Thankfully, I’ve got heated gloves and a heated inner jacket; even so, the wind that managed to come in the helmet was freezing cold and my nose lost all feeling. Up by Knockhill I stopped beside the road, hoping to get a good photo of the sunset. There was a slight mist, and the cold air was obviously still quite moist. The sun was a great orange ball. A collie dog watched me line up the camera and take several shots.