Harvest

Took these pics on the way home from work today. I rounded a bend and saw this combine harvester sitting unattended in the field and it just screamed ....'Take a pic'..... so I did. I get really paranoid about standing in the middle of nowhere taking pics of apparently nothing. I'm always aware of what the people in passing cars must be thinking......like 'dick'. So I hope you appreciate the emotional angst that I go through to bring you these 'Visions of Angus'.

Don't know where the driver was..... having his tea mebbe?..... sleeping in the cab?

At least he wasn't around to say....'Hey dick, why you takings pictures of me?'.

It's not unknown in this area for Government 'snoops' to stand by the side of fields and take pictures of 'illegal' workers. So you understand my concern!

Anyhow...... here's a little piece of genius which ties in nicely with my poor efforts at capturing 'Harvest'.

Enjoy.

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Arbroath Cliff Jumping

Do you think they read the sign?
Twenty years ago I might have considered this. The quality isn't brilliant and the music's even worse, but you have to hand it to them..... Nutters!

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Skiving

This is the view I get from my 'skiving' corner of my work. I'm not there very often you understand. It's kinda like the back door to my office. I go here to'escape'. But I love the red of the wall, the blue and silver of the sign and the sky above. Every day it's different......this was today.

Make of the sign what you will.....

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Ghostly Trees

I took this pic on the way back home after a Van Morrison gig in Aberdeenshire (Banchory) last year. Don't ask me why, I think I just found it odd that a tree in the middle of nowhere had a 'neighbourhood watch' poster on it. It really was a deserted country road with nothing near it. So I took the pic....... little did I realise that there was a ghost emanating from it........ CAN YOU SEE THE FACE OF THE LADY?

Click to enlarge........ wooooooooooo......!

Edit : Not been comfortable with my header for a while....... reverted to my original, original header. Still like it the best....... comments?

A Woman's Heart

Ok ....so I'm a bloke, and this is undoubtedly a woman's song. Written by Eleanor McEvoy ( a woman) for women, purportedly. Most people associate the song with Mary Black and assume she wrote it, but they're wrong.
Mary Black was in the audience when Eleanor first sang it and invited her to include it on a compilation album of Irish female singers. The album went on to sell a million copies and was entitled 'A Womans Heart'.
But I love it and I don't see it as an exclusively 'womans song'. The heart is genderless.

Go on...... break yer heart.

Forfar Gargoyles

I've neglected Forfar on this blog. Porobably due to the fact that I live here and don't really find it that interesting. I think we're all kinda like that. You don't really appreciate what's on you own doorstep, as they say.

This is the County Buildings in Market Street. An imposing building which stands on a rise and is visible from many areas in the town.

It now houses the Sherriff Court and Angus Coucil offices. I searched the internet to get some historical info on it, but the best I could get was this :

'The Court House was by James Maitland Wardrop (Brown and Wardrop) between 1869 and 1871. It has a symmetrical U-plan front with crow stepped gables, central balcony; gargoyles and circular tower with conical roof on the West and a single storey and attic wing to the North East. This was the same architect as for the Reid Hall, in 1869 but which has since been fire damaged and much reconstructed.'

Pretty poor eh?

It would appear there is an 'Open Day' coming up. This is when they throw the doors open for us mere plebs to have a nose around, I may take them up on their offer and take my camera.

I'd quite like to see what's on the inside, without of course being summonsed to appear before the judge!

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Joni and Johnny

Stumbled upon this unlikely combination as I was trolling Youtube. Never seen or heard this before. But I think it's pretty cool. See what you think.

Thistles and Puddles

Iconic Scottish image.......complete with wee beastie. I've never known whether the thistle should be regarded a a flower or a weed. Can anyone enlighten me on this one? People cultivate them in their gardens here..... not a lot it has to be said, but you do see them. On the other hand they're plentiful in the wild.

And anyway, why are they an iconic Scottish image? Answers on a postcard please.

All these pics were taken around Forfar Loch a few weeks back. As you can see from the above pic, there's quite a lot of algae on the loch just now. However it has improved in recent years. At it's worst the smell used to drift over the town and it could be breathtaking...... in an eye watering kind of way.

There are well maintained paths all around the loch and it's about a three mile walk. I've been desperate to see the otters which have taken up residence, but no luck yet.

These purple things are everywhere...... anyone tell me what they are?

We've never struggled to see puddles this summer...... I liked this one and the way the grass is poking up through the rainwater.

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Smoke signals, turbulence and drive bys

Smoke signals from my mate across country asking me if I fancied a beer...........He doesn't have a mobile phone.

Turbulent skies from my front garden.

A 'drive by' taken from the fast lane of the Forth Road Bridge.... naughty or what?

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Chainsaws and Vicious Toy Cows

A couple of weeks back was the Arbroath Seafest which took place along the harbour and seafront area of the town. The above pic shows the Smokie stall. This was my favourite as the smell of the wood burning under the wet sacks combined with the aroma of the cooking fish is distinctly unusual and quite appetising. I'm no great fish lover but I have to admit the flavour of Smokies is pretty special. Apparently, according to EU legislation, if it's not smoked within 8 kilometres of Arbroath harbour it can't be called a Smokie.

The queue for the freshly smoked delicacies was huge..... not entirely convinced about the sartorial elegance of the stallholder though...

This was the stall for the Scottish Conservative Party. Busy eh?...... Just goes to show that Arbroath folk have more sense than they are often given credit for! (Just a wee political swipe there)

A worried looking owl wonders if he's gonna be next! And just what on earth are those phallic looking objects in the bottom left corner?

The queue for Madame Spooky's Caravan, I was sorely tempted to join it but there were some disturbing attacks taking place by toy cows...... I got out of there fast!

I gave this a body swerve too as I didn't think the crowd would appreciate seeing my Smokie reappear in a glorious technicolour swirl...... A Grand Day Out (with apologies to Wallace and Gromit)

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Cliffs, Skies, Sea and Sammiches

The view from Auchmithie looking down from the village. A classic 'sammich' spot.

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Top of the League

Dark Blues top the First Divison. Yes it's the start of a new season and the Dees are off to a good start. A win at home to Morton and a draw against Raith means four out of six after two games.
It's going to be a tough season. This league is never easy to win.

Symmetry, Estuaries and Rock Gardens

Looking over to Tentsmuir across the Tay estuary from Broughty Ferry. I love the symmetry of this top pic. I've always been nuts about symmetry and I don't really know why. To me there's something comforting about it. What does that say? That's a forest across the river.

I took these today from the rock gardens on the Esplanade. This pic was spoiled by the stupid bloody lampost. Or was it the stupid bloody guy behind the camera?

Looking up the estuary towards Dundee, we're getting lots of these magical cloud formations at the moment.

Looking out the window at the moment it would appear unlikely that I'm going to be as lucky as last night with the clear skies for the Perseids comet. Loads of thick cloud. But that could change, I'll be out in the garden at midnight! The neighbours must be totally convinced I'm nuts by now.

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Perseids Meteor Shower

It's 1.15am here and I've just come in from the garden after watching shooting stars from the Perseids meteor shower. Amazing. I saw around ten shooting stars in the space of 45 minutes. I think any of you in North America will be able to see them tonight. Advice and info on how to see them http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/. It's worth the effort believe me.

The Dangers of Facebook

I'm not a fan in general of some of the crap that flies through office internet email. You know the kind of shit..... cute puppies, women with big arses, send this to 13 people and you'll have good luck, tie a yellow ribbon for the troops........in fact most of it gets me down. But I really liked this.

The Foundry Bar

It was the weekend of the Seafest in Arbroath. A celebration of all things nautical and fishy. It basically involves the cordoning off of the harbour area and charging people two quid in order to gain access to a host of stalls selling cheap crap which no one in their right mind would buy normally. Seems to work as 30,000 people flock to it every year.
One positive which comes out of it is that this pub goes to great lengths to celebrate the occasion. The Foundry Bar is a one off. Legendary in that it spawned The Foundry Bar Band, it keeps going strong where many Arbroath pubs have wilted and died over the years.


Not only do the baskets of flowers and the bunting come out. The window gets a makeover too.
The above beautifully crafted sign is a permanent fixture......

.......but this one is a specially commissioned work of art which lasts only for the Seafest weekend. Fortunately, you lucky peeps had me on hand to record it for your visual titillation.

Scotland's Best Phonebox

Following on from Scotland's most scenic dog shit bin post a couple of weeks ago, I'd like to put forward this phone box in GlenIsla as Scotland's most scenic place to make a leisurely phone call..... but only if you have a phonecard! As you can see from the sign on the door.... no coins accepted. Can't help thinking you may be a touch frustrated if you were up here and needed to make an urgent phone call and didn't have one...... let's face it, who does?

Nevertheless, you can't let a mere side issue like that detract from the fact that the situation of this phone box is pretty spectacular.

...... and don't you just love this old crooked signpost?

This is the view along the glen from the phone box. Check out the castley thing. Click to enlarge the pic.

They even provide a handy car park for those of us who wish to stop over to take some pics. Thoughtful or what?

So...... what do you think? Can anyone beat this? I throw down the gauntlet.........

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