Autumn is here

The weather is definitely autumnal; however, it's staying fairly mild, which is a blessing at six-in-the-morning.

Running

Well, the running has taken an upturn. I've lost a little weight and feel fitter. Manging six-miles in the morning before work most mornings and getting in under the fifty-five minute mark. Somewhere around fifty-two is proving usual. I haven't got a clue how I'm ever going to knock ten-minutes off that or double the distance.



I guess, that doubling the distance seems more realistic than getting faster.
Floyd Patterson used to run marathons so there goes my excuse of having the wrong build!


Fishing

Had the most exciting days fishing for absolutely years. Waves were crashing into the rocks at my feet occassionally sending spray right over me and the Pollack were taking a Mean Popalot, tried a Saltwater Chug-a-Bug with no success, changed over and had a two-pounder within minutes; right out of the impact zone, in about two feet of water! Sometimes the fish were throwing themselves out of the water in an attept to get the lure.

It's been a while since the last post...mmmm looking below it's almost exactly two months...how time flies.

So, what's happened since we returned from our peregrinations in France. Well, autumn has arrived in the highlands, Zoe has turned three years old and I've taken up running/ jogging. When does running become jogging? Or, for that matter where is the line between walking, jogging and running...I don't know but in the last month I've progressed from a mile-and-a-half to six-miles before work and managed to lose about ten kilos in the process. I do feel much better for it, I must admit.

It seems to have given me some energy to do other things, like going fishing in the evenings. I've taken to shallow lure fishing with plugs around the area where the waves crash into the rocks at the bottom of the coastal cliffs. Quite exhiliarating when there's a bit of a swell! Limited success so far, just a few samll Pollock to show for my trouble; however, I think it's great fun even when I don't catch anything.

Back to the running/ jogging thisg. I guess running nine/ ten-minute miles qualifies as running whereas running below twelve minute miles would probably qualify as walking/ jogging. I certainly managed to walk at 4.8 mph speed over five miles. I guess it's probably a personal thing, some may like to call it one thing and others another...?

Zoe had a lovely birthday, she spent the morning in Lochcarron playgroup. Sarah baked some cakes to take over for a small party and in the afternoon we had a birthday dinner with jely, ice-cream and cakes to finish. We all watched WALL-E before the kids went to bed.

As I said Autumn has arrived and the trees are turning, I'll post a few photos later.

That's all for now,

ta-ta

En vacance but not in Provence! Having travelled from Applecross to the Dordogne (in several days I hasten to add). We took two days to get to London where we spent a restful day before catching the ferry and travelling to Orleans (S of paris). Unfortunately, the campsite we had planned to stay at was shut fro refurbishment and a last minute dash around the countryside found us at Parc de les Alicourt a 4* centre parcs type affair. Never again. We left there pretty sharpish, it was completely inundated with Dutch and parisian 'campers' who wanted bars and discos with gangs of (well-behaved bu noisy) teenagers roaming the site :-(
Serendipity in the form of an unscheduled visit to Argenton-sur-Creuse (because we missed the turning for Orleans and couldn't be bothered to look for an alternative route) and the first campsite we saw was a quiet, shady and grassy 3* campsite where we spent a couple of nights. The tipi was great; however, I do not remember camping including a laptop (Horton hears a who) and popcorn at night. Still, it was good!

Then a drive to the Dordogne where the temperature that met us was 35.5 F! The first thing we did when we arrived was got into our swimming gear and dived into the swiming pool.

See the photos in the web album.

I'll be uploading more pictures as we go.

TTFN

Bon Vacances

Summertime...and the living is...

Perhaps it'll stay nice all day today! Sarah is off to Lochcarron to see her friend Seonaid and his son Oran. Andrew has been looking forward to this for the last few days. The prospect of a day in the office isn't exactly enthralling; but, another day another dollar.

Currently, I have no news about my job prospects. I expect that I will hear whether the bid to fund my post on 8th August or more likely it'll be on the 11th which is when I go back to work after the holiday.

Talking of holidays, we're starting our preparation to leave on Sunday.

Once again the misty drizzle is with us. This time we have stronger winds which are preventing it from being wet all the time. However, the wind is from the north.

The hill in the pictures is Ben A'Clachain which rises to 620m+ a bit further to the right of the picture. The part that can be seen is 300m+ high.

Oh yes, the sun is closer at this time of year

I had forgotten. When the sun comes out it feels quite warm indeed!

You can see shadows on the ground and the colour of the rock on Ben A'Clachain.

Where is it?

For those who do not know where the Robins' Nest is it's approx. 250 miles North of Glasgow and exactly 81 miles due West of the nearest Tesco, Cinema, etc.














To get there you have to travel the longest hill in the UK sea-level to 2053 feet and back to sea-level in approx. 11 miles! The Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle).









After six years here we're kind of used to it, but when I say that Andrew is going to swimming lessons every morning this week you'll appreciate what an undertaking that it is. I guess it requires a certain amount of commitment to put up with the lack of conveniences, because that's how we see the things we used to take for granted when we lived in Wandsworth, London...conveniences, not essentials!

TTFN