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Saturday 28 February 2009

Expedition to View Kilbraur Windfarm

The phone had been red hot...."have you seen the windmills?".....Well I suppose we had but only from the road. We had not looked at them from our Eastern border...so we decided to investigate..... Picnic lunch packed, off we went.



The view was fantastic in fact the windmills really complemented our fence line...what is more pleasing the fence line or the windmills?.

The windmills appear to be randomly placed, my fence is long and straight and quite boring.

The hills in the distance are not obscured...not sure what all the fuss is about really.








Jim and Charlie feel that as long as clean power is being generated, then thats ok. They are not sitting on the fence on this issue, just agate (kind of semi-precious stone with streaked colouring).
Seriously though is it right that the "generation" that will be most affected by nuclear power have no say. Surely we must consider them after all they are our children and what ever decisions we make now will affect them and their children.

The Green Party is now openly backing Nuclear Power....after years of protesting against it, how cynical is that?....If we can generate energy with the use of wind, why on earth do we not embrace it. Fusion power is the answer....well thats ok but how far away is that?

I look at the happy smiling faces of my two children and say to myself....if I have the power to decide or make decisions "let it be wind".



After a 4 mile hike just to see how the windmills impact on my backyard well I think the only answer is to visit Hughie and Barbera......Nice cuppa and maybe a wee dram...Charlie says that Barberas pancakes are the best in the world!

No windmills in sight, just the smoke blowing from Hughies chimney.

Hughie burns a combination of coal and wood, wouldn't it be great if he had a windmill that supplied him with cheap power. He is 91 and still capable of chopping wood, driving his tractor, quad bike and recently purchased Ford motor car.....Not to mention helping me during lambing!!.....

Well we did have a lovely cuppa...and needless to say a dram did touch my lips, however the conversation came around to banking. RBS in particular. Hughie was most upset that a person responsible for nearly 350 billion pounds of bad debts (we call it "toxic" debt now) could retire at 50 and have a pension of £650,000 per annum.
Ahem.....Hughie served in the Lovat Scouts in the second world war. Do I need to say more?

Surely we need to listen more to people like Hughie who are old enough and wise enough to guide us through the troubled seas that we are now trying to sail........

Thursday 26 February 2009

Caught in the Cross Fire

Dougie and Johnny flying past Ardmore...(Ridgeways Adventure place) Nothing at all to do with this....just thought it was a great photo......
"Yes".....I suppose that's about the only word I was capable of saying....I had been working in Sydney Australia for 6 weeks when I got the call......
"Iain" the guys in Dallas said we caint reproduce the same shit that you can...........So get it together and get your ass on a plane to Dallas...... now............

"Excuse me...I have tickets for a U2 concert at
Wembley on Saturday"....
"Ok get your ass back to the UK, watch the U2 gig, then get your ass on a plane to Dallas"
.......Right.....ermmm.......ok
Its Friday in Sydney.....I make the U2 gig in the UK on the Saturday......I reckon that I was tripping just on the level of lack of sleep..................Man that was a concert.....Then on a plane to Dallas on the Sunday!
The boss (Fletch) met me at the airport....(I was shaky)....Off we went to the Lab.......Right guys this is how you break the kit....done deal....."Oh yeah we see what you mean now".........I had flown half way around the world and thats all they could say......bastards!
phew.............. Texans.................................
The only hotel that Fletch could find for me.... was yeah.... you got it.. MOTEL6.....I was so tired my eyes were red raw....
The room was ok..... I threw back the bedclothes and was about to jump into bed, when 4 cockroaches flew out of the bed........now.....was I hallucinating??.....Music.... very..... loud music
was approaching my ears.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zgf2ltPeRE

Stevie Ray.................Taken away from us so early............

Thanks Mark...

Tuesday 24 February 2009

City by the Bay

In 1979 I travelled with a buddy of mine (Pete, now head of Learning and Standards at Guildford College, Surrey) up the West Coast of America from San Diego as far as Vancouver, Canada. We had many adventures.....needless to say one day these will make print (you can believe it Pete).

The experience of travelling in California especially has stayed with me ever since. One of the songs that was being played on the radio at that time was "Lights" by Journey.
The radio stations were like none that I had ever heard before. The music was so, so good.

We never saw the sunrise on the Bay....that I remember.... although I did meet a parrot and the only word he could say was "EARTHQUAKE!!"
San Francisco, California, USA.

"Lights"----Journey 1978

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8JMN0kjPY8&feature=related


It seems incredible that it only made #68 in the US charts.....

Sunday 22 February 2009

Paulos Thoughts

email dated 22nd February 2009 (From Paulo)

Last night Suzy Quatro did a desert island disc style interview with bob harris on radio 2 which is worth a listen.....

More for his life story than the music. It struck me as an allegory of our generation...with a positive outcome in Bobs case. In several respects....And heres just one! years of formal education resulted in 2 "o" levels that clearly failed to ilustrate his potential. Then his father tried to make him follow his passion - a policing career. But his true potential came to light when he was able to follow the Thing for which he himself had a passion...This reflects a big chip I have with school and parents.
We are so keen to force them down a path that comes from our own anxieties and fears. we want them to have 'safe' 'comfortable' 'happy' lives, so we parents can sleep easy, and yet when we listen to other peoples life stories, and look at our own, we clearly see that a life is only interesting if it is full of Trouble ,Strife, leading hopefully to personal discoveries and revelation, yet paradoxically we try to deny them self discovery by choking the spark out of them with obsessive formal herd like schooling,....and parental obsession for formal exam sucess and formalised life path of career- marriage- babies...

Of course our kids Screw Up and may prove terminal...but a risk worth running..in my opinion...I heard one pundit suggest (in response to the crisis in schools vis a vis the curiculam choices, and questions about ability streaming, private versus state education standards, exam obsession/cramming by middle class parents) that the one thing that must be taught to all is reading, then forget all the rest, just get your kids to read read and read more books. This strikes me as a plain simple goal for a parent/institution with kids who are not thriving ( or even bothering to go!) to school. Like mine. Fields of knowledge are so vast now compared with just 50 years ago that a 'general' education is no longer feasable, hence the constant crises over the curiculam.

Factoid: The sum of human knowledge, from the dawn of Mankind to the end of WW2, could have fitted on to a single DVD. Expansion has been exponential. Now thousands of DVD's are required. We cant know it all any more!
"Wake up little suzie show" radio2 21st Feb 2009......

Friday 13 February 2009

Igloos and InuitSons

Stepped out into the lovely crisp snow this morning and found this very large rabbit hole...with two feet sticking out of it.

InuitSon Charlinski "oh, one with pointed head" is truly confused....

The caravans are being watched by a very crossbow......bolts to be unleashed at any moment!


Who says that rabbits cannot build houses.....the InuitSons are armed and just as dangerous as the very large rabbits we have here.



InuitDad is cold, hungry and very very much looking forward to a large Gin and Tonic...



















Wednesday 11 February 2009

Sunset, Sutherland, Highlands


The end of the day......Or the start of the night.

Ben Horn, Sutherland, Highlands




Ben Horn shrouded in early morning mist.

Splash


Perhaps we all see something different? I sea.








Gorse Embrace




I was thinking how difficult it must be for gorse to kiss......they do you know........but only in black and white............

Crab Sky




The crab was approaching menacingly from the north.....beams of light stretching accross the sky....should I take cover?...Hide behind the trees?......Breathlessly I gazed in wonder.

Sunrise


After I managed to light my fire..........I headed out along the road a wee bit......can you smell the smoke from my fire?

Frosty Morning

The sun was shining through my bedroom window this morning and it met the frost.....



Messing about on PainshopPro produced this...........



The Crucifixion

The raw material after having been washed and dried.

SOLD



Finished product viewed from the rear

From the front