Within 500m I was stopped by an Army patrol. To cut a long story short, I was stopped three more times by the Army and twice by the Police in the space of the next hour. I fobbed them off each time. Two policemen followed me back to the hotel. My local guide Menpong arrived … Continue reading Ginge Fullen: Sic Diximus
All posts by Oikofuge
Perihelion: Part 1
pɛrɪˈhiːlɪən perihelion: that point in the orbit of a planet, comet or other body at which it is closest to the sun Not to be confused with the parhelion, which I wrote about last month. Today (4 January 2017), the Earth is at perihelion, its closest to the sun, a mere 98% of its average … Continue reading Perihelion: Part 1
(Be the first)
Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter & Instrument Unit
Having complete RealSpace Models’ Block II Command/Service Module (CSM), I’ve moved on to the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) provided in the Revell kit. The SLA was a fairing that contained the Lunar Module (LM), and supported the CSM. It was composed of two sections, the upper and lower SLA, which sat on top of … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter & Instrument Unit
Yuletide
ˈjuːltaɪd Yuletide: The Christmas season Yule is a bit of an etymological orphan. The origins of the word are obscure, but it seems to have been the name of a twelve-day pagan winter festival, celebrated among the ancient speakers of the Germanic language family, and called jól in Old Norse*. As with many other pagan … Continue reading Yuletide
(Be the first)
Sidlaws: King’s Seat and Buttergask via Round Law
Round Law (NO 232337, 257m) King’s Seat (NO 230330, 377m) Buttergask Hill (NO 230340, 307m) 9 kilometres 330 metres ascent This was a couple of hours of exploration, looking for a route to King’s Seat and Buttergask Hill that doesn’t involve traversing this section of ridge from either the Dunsinane end or the Gask end … Continue reading Sidlaws: King’s Seat and Buttergask via Round Law
Sun Dogs
Ever since the success of her Clatto Swan photograph, The Boon Companion has been intermittently getting out of her warm bed at some truly God-forsaken hours to photograph sunrises. She recently took some early morning photos on the beach at Saint Andrews. She’ll be a bit annoyed with me for having chosen a glary one … Continue reading Sun Dogs
(Be the first)
Lorn: Creach Bheinn
Creach Bheinn (NN 023422, 810m) 13 kilometres 980 metres of ascent The last time I climbed Creach Bheinn, it was in a sleet-storm that I imagined was going to pass over to reveal the fabled westward view from the summit. Instead, it clamped down and increased in intensity. When I finally dropped below the clouds … Continue reading Lorn: Creach Bheinn
(Be the first)
Fall Streaks
At first glance, that’s just some nice sunset cloud over Juan-les-Pins in France. But there’s quite a lot going on in that picture, which you’ll see better if you click to enlarge it. (I’ll post some zoomed views of sections of the whole image below.) The sun has just set, off to the left of … Continue reading Fall Streaks
(Be the first)
Côte d’Azur (November 2016)
So, back to the Côte d’Azur for one last blink of sunshine and warmth, before the long dreary descent into Scottish winter. Not much to add, really, to my previous report from the same area in the spring of this year. We stayed in Juan-les-Pins for a few days, a location that (for those of … Continue reading Côte d’Azur (November 2016)
One Year On …
So, a year has now passed since this blog went live, in the sense that it became visible to Google and people found out about its existence. Which also means it’s now a year since I retired from work as a hospital doctor. Last night, the Boon Companion and I cracked a bottle of champagne … Continue reading One Year On …