Ben A'an (Binnein) and Meikle Ben...

Uncle jackie far left there at the foot of Ben A'an in the forest. Same for me on the right of Jackie.
That's Jackie on the top of Meikle Ben above and below on Ben A'an with Loch Katrine in the background.




Sae meikle but, sae meikle ben! (which when translated means....)
so much at one end of the house, so much at the other!

Just an interesting wee snippet from a traditional scottish song called...A woman's work is never done! Anyhoo...These are photo's from our first day out that i forgot to post. 2 great days walking (and breaking in those fabulous new walking boots from a fabulously generous bro and family at xmas!)

Walk 1: Ben A'an 454m (1488ft) at the edge of Loch Achray.
Beautiful weather for walking despite the mad cloud that descended at the summit.
Thankfully, it disappeared as quickly as it arrived and the views were spectacular.

Walk 2: Meikle Bin 570m (1100ft), Campsie Fells.
A stairmaster climb for me since my legs are not used to the climbing. Again a
a beautiful day and very enjoyable ascent up. It was lovely and clear I could the see
Forth Road bridge amongst other spectacular views. The wind on the summit was full
force which I found incredibly amusing whilst posing for photo's!
Here are some of our pic's.....

More photos from Bennachie...

That's me above, searching for a good spot for some hot Assam tea and a ploughmans...

Uncle Jack navigating through the mist on the bottom there...

Have you got us bloody lost again!

Roaming Bennachie..Oxen Craigs, Mither Tap and Craigshannoch.

A few photo's from our walk today.
As you can see, a low visibility day but a very enjoyable walk none-the-less.
Tea (and a little respite from the elements) was had in the 'wee' shelter at the top of Little Oxen Craigs. Following our quick stop and mini scout of the planned route, the decision was made to cut an alternative path up to 'Mither Tap' to keep us oot of the elements. Though well wrapped up, Uncle Jack advised the lack of gaitors would be problematic as the snow was reaching shin height on the planned path!
Thank the lord (as I said) Uncle J. was navigating, as my sense of direction was pretty appalling. He was doing his best to tutor me on reading the compass but to no avail...hopefully this will come in time!
More later.....

gaping void.com

I copied this link in because the business cards sketches make me laugh a lot. They resonate well with farce that can often be 'modern day living' which is why i find them so damn funny.
I stumbled on them a number of years ago and loved the mad 'wee' sketches that seem much bigger than the space they're confined to. General social observations, which all of us, at some stage, will wholeheartedly relate to...

"Alcohol and high prices. Immersing yourself in high rent, luxury items, trendy, overpriced cocktail bars, flashy restaurants, tall leggy blondes who don't give a damn about you, just to act as a buffer zone between you and the abyss."
"Which you pay a lot for," I say.
"Which you pay a hell of a lot for," he says.
It seems to me a lot of people of my generation are locked into this high-priced corporate, urban treadmill. Sure, they get paid a lot, but their overheads are also off the scale. The minute they stop tapdancing as fast as they can is the minute they are crushed under the wheels of commerce.
You know what? It's not sustainable.

If you're interested....it's gapingvoid.com

Hugh is also involved with a particularly tasty wine called Stormhoek. Plenty of interesting articles there regarding marketing stratedgy and blogging.

The Old Line

Ah...nothing is quite as refreshing as a brisk wee walk outdoors!

These photo's were taken as dusk caught up with me whilst walking along the old railway line between Ellon and Methlick. I'd popped out for exercise more than anything else, and ended up just walking and walking. These photo's look a lot darker and a lot more eerie than i expected.

Didn't quite make it to Methlick (no surprises there!) but thoroughly enjoyed the walk regardless, popping my head above the line from time to time to take in the view of the surrounding countryside.