Countdown

I was going to blog today about how we're now firmly in the countdown to Christmas (unless you're Frances, of course, who - rightly - refuses to contemplate Christmas until Thanksgiving is over with). I was going to complain about how busy I am and how I'm panicking about being behind the curve with my Christmas preparations.

But I did enough complaining last night.

Instead, I want to blog about what happened to me today. Or this evening to be more accurate. And not to me, but to one of our local communities - Callander.

I blogged at the weekend that I was spending the next few days working with Callander on a Charrette approach to masterplanning. Well, 120 hours and lots of talking, arguing, debating and refining later, the project has ended and tonight the Masterplan proposals were handed over to the community to take forward. We've counted down to hour zero. A vision has been developed that will see everyone pulling together to make Callander a vibrant and successful town that harnesses the benefits of tourism without being swamped by it, that transforms itself from faded grandeur to outdoor capital, and that pulls its community back together at the same time.

It was a great night tonight and genuinely inspiring. I had, and still have, a huge grin on my face that won't wipe off. A few of us have been working for some time to make this a reality, to help the town and its residents work out what it is they want, how they can make the best of the truly stunning place that they live - and tonight it all came together.

Sometimes, just sometimes, those long hours and head numbing frustrations are worth it. And tonight was one of those. Well done, guys - here's to you. Thanks for letting me share the ride...

Visiting strange new worlds

No, I haven't gone on holiday yet. As an East Coast girl, Glasgow is a foreign country for me, so what better way to continue with my limbering up?

Actually, I'm getting much better with Glasgow now. I realise that's there's more to the shopping than Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. I can navigate my way round the Clockwork Orange. I can get to and from a number of cultural venues with relative ease. And I even know where you can get a mean cocktail and imagine you're inside an Art Deco cruise liner.

But when it comes down to it, where would I choose to spend a free weekend? Sorry guys, but Edinburgh wins hands down.

Foot soldiers

My ever loyal readers will be pleased to know that this time next week it will all be over. And - contrary to metaphor - I strongly suspect there won't be much shouting until at least a few days later. Apart from sneaking on to post my time that is.

For those of you who've managed to miss the relentless pimping of my next weekend's challenge - WAKE UP! Yes, it's very nearly marathon time. Next Sunday will see the awesome Frances and me attempting to complete our first ever marathon in Inverness.

It's been a strange roller coaster of a ride preparing for it, and as it gets closer I swing between absolute fear and dogged resignation. Who knows what the day will bring? Well, apart from pain and exhaustion that is. Hopefully there will also be a feeling of success and achievement too - no matter what happens.

If you're in the area, drop by the finish line about 4pm and say congratulations. If you've sponsored me, good on you. If you haven't, get yourself over to my Just Giving page and do the needful.

Home comforts

This weekend I find myself back in the homeland. It's Father's (or is that Fathers'?) Day of course, so where else would I be?

There is something both comforting and confusing about being back in the parental home I find. It's comforting to be looked after, and to be honest, I visit so infrequently that my Mum and Dad are (or at least appear to be) genuinely pleased to see me and I get relatively pampered as a result. Or at least, someone else does the cooking, tidying up, washing up, etc and I get cups of tea brought to me with the morning papers as a wake up call. That's pretty pamperful in my book!

And it's confusing because I'm 43 and spending time with 2 other adults who still think of me as a dependent child, with everything that entails, is a very strange experience. Particularly when I'm used to being so independent, and also so responsible, in my day to day and working lives.

But, on balance, provided it's not for extended periods of time (for the sake of all our sanities), I think I like this 'coming home' lark. I like to be looked after. I like to see my Mum and Dad. I like that they seem happy to see me when I roll up, and even occasionally seem interesting - rather than annoyed - in what I'm saying.

All this my big sister has to look forward to when she and my nephew come across in the summer. She gets to share our childhood haunts with him, help him discover his own pleasures and adventures of a Scottish seaside village, encourage him to spend time with his grandparents and learn to love them the way we were able to love ours. I'm jealous!!

You never know, the rain might even hold off for a day or two - although that's not looking likely at the moment. Sorry guys!

Sterling Stirling

As regular readers of this little blog will know, I am a big fan of the place I live - this wonderful city of Stirling. One of my favourite pastimes - apart from running, knitting, drinking wine or dancing tango - is to get out and about around Stirling with my camera. And it's not because I'm easily bored, or because I'm a skinflint - it's just because there genuinely is so much to see and discover in this fair city.

For example, if you like the big set pieces, you'll love our heritage sights - the Castle, the Wallace Monument and Bannockburn Heritage Centre. If you've got little people in tow, or are just young at heart, you won't go wrong with the Old Town Jail, Blairdrummond Safari Park or the Kings Park play area. The Smith Museum with its child friendly dress up box and outdoor adventure garden will probably please too.

Shopaholics will just love the Thistles/Marches shopping mall, Stirling Arcade and just a 5 minute train ride away, the quirky boutique shops of Bridge of Allan. Sporty types are also well catered for, whether it's participating - at the Peak, the University Sports facilities or just getting out and about in the surrounding countryside and hills, including Scotland's first National Park, or spectating there's lots for you too. Go and see the mighly Stirling Albion at Forthbank Stadium, Scotland's only fan owned professional football team. Or pop down to Bridgehaugh and see Stirling County Rugby club strut their stuff on the field. If you fancy a slighty slower pace, try New Williamfield, Stirling's own international standard cricket square. Or even drop by the Peak again to see international hockey, curling or any number of other sports. If you look hard enough there's even Petanque to be found in Stirling!

But the thing I really love most about Stirling is just wandering round and looking at what there is to see. Stirling is one of those places where, if you look hard enough and lift your head (and eyes) above the street in front of you, there is a wealth and abundance of quirky features and beautiful features just waiting to be discovered. And hidden places too. Like Ailie's Garden at the Smith; like Pithy Mary's pond in the Old Town Cemetery; like the views from the Back Walk below the Castle (Europe's best urban walkway); like the Provost's Lamp-post in Cambuskenneth - and many many more.

I could go on but then there'd be nothing for you to discover yourself when you come to Stirling. Because you should, you really should. It's Scotland's newest city and - although I may just be a little biased - its best!

Coming soon - a blog post that scotchs the myth that there's nowhere decent to eat in Stirling. Fie on you for saying that. Meanwhile I'll leave you with another teaser about the fabulous new Royal Apartments at Stirling Castle. If this doesn't capture your attention, nothing will.

Royal appointment

Yesterday evening I was invited to the Palace and was presented to the Queen. That would be James V royal palace at Stirling Castle and the Queen was Mary of Guise.  More accurately she was the Dowager Queen and also Queen Regent to the infant, Mary Queen of Scots.

And how did I get to do that? No, I haven't learned to bend time yet (still working on that one!) but I did get an invitation to a preview before the public opening of the newly renovated Royal Apartments at Stirling Castle. All I can say is £12million definitely very well spent. It is simply sumptuous and I can't wait to go back as a visitor to wander round at my own pace and drink it all in again. (Last night I was forced to hurry off and drink in champagne instead. It's a hard life!)

For those who don't know, James V was the last of the Renaissance Kings in Scotland. He consolidated the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France and was responsible for the Renaissance Court at Stirling Castle, then the seat of Kings in Scotland - and commissioned a new set of Apartments at the Palace for him and his second wife, Mary. Sadly he died before his magnificent Royal Apartments at Stirling were finished, after losing the Battle of Solway Moss and left as his heir his infant daughter, Mary - only 6 days old. Hence, when you see the Apartments now the King's bed is unmade.

What the renovations at the Castle have done is take it back to our best estimates of how it would have looked at the time. Gone are the grey stone walls and draughty empty rooms. In their place are brightly coloured, ornate and flamboyant spaces - fit, indeed, for a King and Queen. The tapestries that have been woven on site at the Castle for the last few years are now hanging on the walls of the Queen's Presence Chamber. And the replicas of the famous Stirling Heads are now fully painted and installed on the ceiling of the King's Presence Chamber. Absolutely stunning! You can see the originals in the gallery above the Apartments - getting that close to historical artifacts is truly humbling.

There's plenty of fun to be had for the young at heart too - hands on exhibits and games in the basement, costumed actors explaining the history and helping you live the experience as you go round, and of course the fabulous Unicorn Cafe for when it all gets too much. As an added bonus, last night we were treated to a talk from one of the archaeologists who has been work on the restoration project and he brought to life some of the hidden history they've discovered along the way.

I've blogged before about what a wonderful place Stirling is to visit. There's tons to see and do. And now, well from this weekend, there's even more. Get yourself across here. I promise, you won't be disappointed!!

Summer's here

Or at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself with a healthy salad for supper. But to be honest, there's not much sign of it at the moment.

It's often said that Scotland has two seasons - June and the rest of the year. Well, I think we had June in April this year and it's now reverted back to winter. Cold and wet has been the order for this week. And after the glorious weather we had at the end of last month it's really not on. Having cast our collective clouts when the May blossom came out, we're all rushing to throw them back on again, with a few jumpers for extra measure too.

But I remain hopeful. I'll keep eating my salads and optimistically wearing my summer clothes, and who knows maybe the sun will remember to come back again.

Fingers crossed.

The morning after

Not a long post as I'm still recovering from the democratic marathon of the last couple of days. But here we are, results all known and the post match analysis well underway. I can't - and actually don't want to - comment on the results but I do want to tell you a bit about my experience of the process.

I've had the great privilege to spend the last 2 days playing an active role in the election and it has been fantastic. It's a real perk of my job that I get to take part.

For me, election day started at 6am on Thursday as I headed out to start my round of Polling Place inspections and it all ended last night at 5pm when we finished the AV referendum count. I did manage to squeeze some sleep in there on Friday morning between 2 and 6 am, but otherwise I was on the go the whole time.

It's a long, hard graft - and believe it or no,t I got off lightly by only needing to be involved on the day (and day after!) itself. For many of my colleagues it's been a marathon that's taken over the last few months to make sure that all the arrangements ran smoothly on the day - sorting the polling places, recruiting and training the polling and count staff, administering the postal ballots, registering the candidates, making up the polling place packs and much much more.

It's a lot of work and effort, yes. But it is one of the most important things we do, so that's fitting. I never cease to be impressed by the professionalism and efficiency of our elections team. It's due in no small part to them and their hard work that things ran so smoothly. Well done, guys.

And well done too, to all of you who went out and voted. I'd have loved the turn out to be higher but over 50% wasn't bad. Turnout in Stirling was a little bit higher than average at nearer 57% but it does mean that almost 1 in 2 people eligible to vote opted not to.

But if you missed out, don't worry - you'll get another chance next May in the council elections!

Discovery and rediscovery

I realise I have been incredibly remiss in not blogging sooner about my fabulous trip to Shetland at the end of last month. So hopefully this will make amends.

I ended up in Shetland by way of a series of happy coincidences - I made contact with an old University friend through Facebook last year. We'd shared a flat as students for a year and it was only when we got talking some 23 (cough, cough!) years later that we realised what good friends we would have been at the time if only we'd known. By way of explanation, I spent much of my year at the flat, not actually at the flat but instead either at Teviot or my boyfriend's gaff. Not, I hasten to add, at the library. My degree was in reality nothing short of amazing when you consider how little studying I seemed to do!

Anyway, it wasn't so much friends reunited, as friends rediscovered so when I found myself at the end of March with holidays still to take, a long weekend possible and a trip to Inverness for work already in place, it was a simple step - and happy coincidence - to extend the journey up to Shetland to see Diane and her family.

The flight to Sumburgh was as much of an experience as I'd been promised. As we touched down briefly at Kirkwall Airport I realised that when I landed at Sumburgh I would have frequented no fewer than 14 UK airports. Who would have thought there'd be so many?!! And when I landed at Sumburgh I was indeed bemused. It was as miniature as I had expected but I hadn't expected a) the runway that starts almost before the land does, or b) the access road that crosses the runway! As Diane explained, she'd seen my flight landing as she was driving into the airport. It was only on the way out - across the runway - that I realised what she meant.

So Shetland, wow! That's pretty much it, just wow! What an amazing place. I know I didn't see it in the roughest of weathers and I'm sure at times it can be hard living up there, but I fell in love. I now know why my friend Keith blogs incessantly about it. There is a magic and a beauty that is hard to surpass. And the people are a joy - the warmth and welcome I experienced from Diane, her family, her friends and her neighbours was striking. I really did feel like I'd come home, and that to a place I'd never been before.

But what did you do? What did you see? I can hear your questions, oh loyal readers. You shall not be disappointed. Here follows a blow by blow itinerary...

Friday evening - arrive Sumburgh, met by Diane and 2 elder sons, youngest being confined to barracks with Chicken Pox. Drive approx 1 hour to the north of the Mainland to Muckle Roe and my bed for the weekend. Charmed by eldest son en route making my heart swell with his undisguised pleasure at my visit. There followed much wine, seafood chowder with prawns and Shetland bannocks.

Saturday - a refreshing walk on the cliffs at Esha Ness, watching the waves, the birds and the boys not necessarily in that order followed by a couple or 3 lattes at the Esha Ness Braewick Cafe, a hurl along the coast line including a visit to Nibon and what must be the most perfect retreat for (re)born romantics, before heading back across Mavis Grind - where the Atlantic and the North Sea almost meet and a brief visit home to gather strength for Mussels and chips at Britain's most northerly fish and chip shop. Then it was time for a Stampin' Up party and my latest crafty discovery.

Sunday - another refreshing walk on the cliffs, this time at Muckle Roe itself, followed by a trip to the Spring Bulb Show - complete with afternoon tea and cakes, rounded off with a delicious Sunday roast courtesy of Diane's other half. Mmm, it's no wonder I've put on weight!!

Monday - and we girls headed off to sample the shopping delights of Lerwick. And boy were there delights - fudge, smellies, books and more fair isle and knitwear than you could shake a stick at. I was in heaven! Who needs High Street, particularly when you can get it all on the internet these days!? We followed our shopping up with some more seafood at the Lerwick Museum before a quick dash round the exhibits - and more shopping. Back home for a dinner of salmon (yes, I was in seafood heaven all holiday!) followed by a madcap game of Monopoly with the wheeler dealers that are Diane's sons!

Tuesday came all too soon and before I knew it, Diane and I were on our way back to Sumburgh Airport, by way of Bonhoga Gallery and an inspiring exhibition of Urban Baskets, followed of course by the obligatory seafood meal - marinated herrings this time. Then it was time to whisk down to Sumburgh, say (a tearful) goodbye to Diane and jump on my flight back to Edinburgh. And the delights of 'mainland' transport connections.

A fantastic break, all too short, in which I barely scratched the surface of the wonders that make up the Shetland Islands. I don't know what I was expecting - somewhere harsher and more brutal I suspect - but it certainly wasn't what I found. It was a peaceful place, and I loved it. For more photos, see my album on Flickr.

I don't think it will be my last visit. Thanks, Diane. I'm so pleased I've (re)discovered my friendship with you.

What are words worth?

A friend blogged (or rather vlogged) recently about a linguistic experiment looking at dialect. As you'll see if you click across to her blog, it involved reading out a list of words and was examining how different dialects say different words. The experiment involves videoing yourself saying the words and while I'm not going to do that - my webcam is nowhere near good enough and in any case I hate hearing/seeing myself on video - I was taken by the second part of the experiment, which was a list of questions about terms used for everyday items - I suppose the point is to examine vocabulary as well as sounds.

As I scrolled down the list, I was reminded just how confusing language can be. We can use the same word but mean completely different things, or we can see the same thing and use completely different words. It gets even more dangerous when you bring abstract notions into the equation  - is your definition of fear, happiness, shame the same as mine? If I'm not explaining that very well, try this little test - get a group of people to imagine a dog playing in the garden and then ask them questions about it and you'll soon see what I mean. What colour is the dog, how big is the garden, what is the dog doing? I promise you, you'll never say 'I know what you mean' with conviction again!*

Anyway, to get back to the experiment - I thought I give the second half a go. The first few questions completely flummoxed me however. I've never come across the idea of throwing toilet paper over a house let alone realise that it had its own special name (teepee in case you're wondering, apparently). I also didn't know there was a bug that rolled up when you touched it (a roly-poly it seems**), although I did know there was a plant that closed all its leaves up when you touched them.

As for the other questions. well...

• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? In North America it tends to be called soda as a generic name. I would probably call it lemonade, fizzy juice or fizzy pop. If I was pretending to be more Scottish than I am, I might call it ginger. But definitely not soda!
• What do you call gym shoes? Sneakers or trainers - Of those two choices, it would definitely be trainers. But I might actually call them gym shoes. When I was younger it was plimsolls, and again, a more Scottish choice might be gutties.
• What do you say to address a group of people? - It depends how formal the setting is. In a formal setting it would probably be - Good Morning, Good Afternoon or Good Evening; less formally it would probably be Hi.
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? - I think this means Daddy Long Legs (sometimes called a Jenny Long Legs in the UK) but if it's really some kind of spider, I wouldn't be calling it anything as I would be out of the room in a flash!
• What do you call your grandparents? - I called my grandparents, Granny and Grandad followed by their surname to distinguish between maternal and paternal sets. Interestingly, my Mum and Dad have chosen Nanna and Granpa as their labels of choice for my nephew.
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? - Shopping trolley. I thought this was a strange question until I reflected that they're called carts in North America.
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? - I can't think of a special name for this, although it does create a rainbow if you're lucky. Otherwise I think we just call it summer here in Scotland!!
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with? - I guess I would call this the remote, or if I was being formal, the remote control. I do also call it the doofer, particularly at work for the one you use with the projector (and that never works!). It's quite sad really that I'm guessing no-one will think of a button or their finger as their first answer to this one. 

The interesting thing about this experiment is that often, unless someone makes you think about it, you're not conscious of local dialect words you use, or the fact that not everyone uses them. It would be interesting to know if you use different words - is it just a North America/UK thing or are there differences even within one country?  

* - credit to coaching tutor Andy Vass for that example, used to warn us of the dangers of assuming we understand what the other person is thinking without checking it out first 

** - having checked this out on Wiki, it seems that we do have roly poly bugs in the UK after all. Here we call them variously Woodlice, Slaters or Gran'fers, plus probably some other names too. I didn't realise they rolled up when you poked them. Must be a North American pastime; I always thought they were strange folks over there!!
 

More firsts

Yesterday I got to do the most amazing thing. I went to my first ever citizenship ceremony, and even better I got to speak at it. I got to welcome a handful of newly granted British citizens not just to life in the UK, but to living in the glorious part of the world that is Stirling.

I also got to do what I am learning to really enjoy - speak in public. Yes, it's still nerve wracking. Yes, I still stumble over my words. Yes, I do still worry about what to say. But at the same time, I get a real buzz out of it now. I think it's largely because the kind of things I'm invited to speak in public at just now are celebratory events and I have the opportunity to share in them with the various different audiences. Whether it's welcoming new citizens, congratulating new graduates or speaking to visitors, it's such a change from the normal grind - and as they say, a change is as good as a rest.

I used to be very shy as a younger person - the idea of speaking in public would have had me running for the hills. Even talking in class or, as I started working, speaking up in meetings was painful. I am so impressed that young people today seem to be more self assured and able to cope with that challenge. I take my hat off to anyone who is willing to give it a try. I was particularly impressed this week with the niece of a friend who not only took on the public speaking challenge, but did so in the form of delivering The Immortal Memory at a Burns Supper - awesome!

All I can say is, keep at it Flik - you're doing great already and just think how confident you'll be in your adult life. I salute you!

That time of the year

 
Halloween, Day of the Dead, Samhain - call it what you like, it's very definitely that time of the year again. The time when the nights start getting much darker, days of fog or frost, leaves falling off trees, smoke in the air and gloves, hats and scarves all round.

This morning, after the clocks went back for the end of British Summer Time (possibly for the last time?), Halloween kicked off to a gloriously autumnal foggy start. Before too long, the sun starting breaking through and we were set for one of the fabulous 'tail end of the year' days. No more inspiration was required - before heading off for my tango class I managed a quick walk round Stirling and caught some beautifully atmospheric shots with my camera. Wreathed in mist, with the reds and golds of the falling leaves competing with the last shoots of green, the city looked so pretty - I swear there is nowhere better on days like this.

What do you think?

What I should have been doing...

...with my day off, was planting the things I bought yesterday at the garden centre. What I did instead was go walking.

And very nice it was too. A good 7 hour hike over 4 munros, at the same time doubling my tally to date! Much easier than my last walking adventure.

Pics here.

Crisp mornings

Stirling is a truly beautiful city, and perhaps never more so than on a crisp winter morning. The other day we were all up at the Tolbooth for a meeting and before it started I nipped out and got this shot of the early morning light over the rooftops of the old city. Very pretty!

Today I'm at the University, equally crisp and stunning. Today's visit is to host a couple of lectures/seminars on sustainability, peak oil and economics! Sounds dry but the speaker is very high powered and I'm feeling pretty excited about it all.

UPDATE
Both sessions went really well today. Full to bursting point for the morning public session and some good discussion at the afternoon closed session. Well done to the lovely Rachel Nunn of Going Carbon Neutral Stirling for getting Chris over here!

Great days to be alive!

It was another beautiful clear day in Stirling today. The kind of day that lifts your heart and makes you smile. Clear blue skies, sunshine and piercing light. It was pretty cold though, and I wouldn't be suprised to see snow again anytime soon. The clouds certainly started rolling in towards the end of the afternoon.

I had intended to document my walk around this fair city with some striking photographs. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera battery so I just had a great walk instead and enjoyed the winter sun.

And then finished it off with a visit to my favourite coffee shop to warm up and read the Sunday paper. What a great way to spend a Sunday!

Full steam ahead

So, today we spent the afternoon on a steam train travelling round central Scotland.

It was great fun - combining my love of steam with a nostalgia trip around childhood haunts and a chance to travel on routes not normally open to the public.

I even managed to have my own Brief Encounter moment but without a dashing gentleman to help remove the cinder.

Next trip is in October to the Lake District. Anyone want to join me?

Looking for a shrubbery

Today we paid homage to the great Monty Python with a visit to Doune Castle, location for some of the filming of the epic Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Lots of silly singing followed, with one very confused and bemused 6 year old in tow. He religiously looked for shrubbery, rabbits, swallows and witches - but then declared he'd much rather go to Kings Park to play on the slides instead. I think Monty Python would have approved.

We did, however, see a Minstrel (who followed us round the castle, fortunately not commenting on our bravery or otherwise) and a pair of coconut shells being used!!

Snow

But sadly only enough left now for a teeny tiny snowman. Still it's the thought that counts.

Oops!

I think I jinxed Spring!

After saying yesterday that Spring was just around the corner, today we had snow. And lots of it! Well lots by recent Stirling standards that is.

Pretty but more fun if you get to play in it instead of having to go to work.

Almost spring?

I saw this little beauty today as I was walking to the gym and despite the cold it reminded me that spring is just round the corner.

Hopefully!

Yay!