Knoydart Adventure - Part 2

After landing in Inverie, I make my way to the campsite. I know that it is on a beach somewhere east of the jetty, but I'm not sure how far to go. I pass half of the the houses of Inverie, including the pub, the tea house, the post office, and the village hall, where the book festival is happening, greeting people on the street, when after a kilometer or so a Royal Mail car stops beside me. Even though Knoydart doesn't have road access, it does have a few roads and cars, mostly landrovers. The postie introduces himself as Tommy and asks me whether I am staying at the campsite. I guess I look like it. He tells me that he is also the ranger here who is in charge of the campsite, and he gives me directions. He invites me to come along to the book festival and recites the programme. I make a non-committal noise, since I don't really want to spend the money tonight, but I wouldn't mind having a drink or so with Tommy. After passing the other half of Inverie I find a strip of grass by the beach next to a compost toilet and a field with horses - the campsite. I pitch my tent while watching a few kids playing in the sea. Three other tents are scattered around a large area. It is 7 pm and still beautifully sunny, so I go to the pub to have a pint in the sun. The evening is uneventful and I return to my tent for an early night.

Tents

Should I buy the Vango Zenith 100 (click) for £96? Any opinions appreciated.
It's a one-man tent weighing 1.72 kg which is quite light considering the price.

Knoydart Adventure - Part 1

It is Friday late morning. In dire need of an adventure, I take a north-west-bound train from Glasgow to where the rails end by the sea, in Mallaig. It is a long journey, but I like train rides, and I like the idea of taking the train until it cannot go any further. I have brought a big book to read which I have already been working on for a couple of weeks.

One is Fun!

For all the disheartened singles out there, join me in my appreciation for this uplifting find on our cooking book shelf:

Edinburgh Life

Today, I had an appointment with Lotti after work. Lotti is my flatmate's garden allotment, and whenever my flatmate is travelling I get to pick the strawberries and courgettes.

Uhm, Online Dating...

Any experiences anyone?

Smile and Fly

An account of my first bike accident (in Edinburgh (this year)). Here (*click*) is an account of last year's bike accident.

My Mum's Birthday Blog - Leith

As part of a birthday present to my mum and in preparation for my parents' visit in September I am going to dedicate a series of Edinburgh-related posts to my mum. And the places she likes from my blog we can then visit in real life.

I work in Leith which used to be a port town in its own right but was merged with the City of Edinburgh against its people's will in 1920. The people of Leith still consider themselves Leithers rather than Edinburgers. In Leith, the Water of Leith, Edinburgh's river that originates in the Pentland Hills, flows into the Firth of Forth, the estuary of the river Forth. All along the Water of Leith from the Pentlands down to Leith runs the Water of Leith walkway, a very nice and varied walking trail, which goes by my neighbourhood.

My Mum's Birthday Blog - Fountainbridge

As part of a birthday present to my mum and in preparation for my parents' visit in September I am going to dedicate a series of Edinburgh-related posts to my mum. And the places she likes from my blog we can then visit in real life.

The Union Canal connects Edinburgh with Falkirk, which is a town in the middle between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and which is famous for the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift connecting the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal. The Union Canal goes by my neighbourhood and features a cycle path that leads all the way to the West End of Edinburgh's city centre. The Union Canal is very pretty, with the best sections in Harrison Park and in Fountainbridge. It also featured in my story about the death of my smartphone.

London Is a Village

Coming home from an excellent weekend in Germany I find two text messages on my phone that make me smile.

My Mum's Birthday Blog - The Meadows

As part of a birthday present to my mum and in preparation for my parents' visit in September I am going to dedicate a series of Edinburgh-related posts to my mum. And the places she likes from my blog we can then visit in real life.

The Meadows are a big park south of Edinburgh's city centre and close to Edinburgh University's main campus (E6 on the map). They remind me a lot of the Prinzenpark in Braunschweig, because of all the BBQs, people playing cricket, football, and frisbee, or hanging out, playing music, drinking, frolicking.

My Mum's Birthday Blog - Fish & Chips at Portobello Beach

Today is my mum's birthday. Happy birthday!!

And for this occasion, as well as in preparation for my parents' visit in September, I am going to dedicate a series of Edinburgh-related posts to my mum. And the places she likes from my blog we can then visit in real life.

It's Sexism Week!

• The division head (male) after a big and well run conference I had organised to my team and me (all female): Well done, girls.
• A public figure in Scotland on land ownership (I'm paraphrasing): Is it fair that most of Scotland's land is owned by very few people? Maybe not, but is it fair that your wife is prettier than mine? Or that this  guy wins the lottery and I don't?
• Bike shop guy to me after I told him that I rather fix my bike myself than pay 5 quid for him to do it: Maybe you can ask a gentleman friend to change your tyre for you.

Silly Pics

At last weekend's dance event, the first ever Edinburgh Balboa Exchange, the organisers had a photobooth with props. And an excellent photographer. And since the pics are on Facebook and I am not anymore, I might as well put them up here.

Carsten and me.

What I Do When I'm Not Working, Walking, or Dancing

Saving the World (Scotland) - Month 3

As you can imagine, saving the world is quite a big job. And even little Scotland needs more saving than you would think. Also, my second job has been keeping me on my toes (no, not the talking-dirty-on-the phone one. That, I do for fun). But enough with the excuses. I'm back from my unplanned hiatus and will hopefully bore entertain my many readers from now on more regularly.

Saving the World (Scotland) - Day 5

Happy Pi Day everyone! If it wasn't for my lent diet I would totally stuff my face with all kinds of pie right now. So thank you Jesus or whoever invented dieting. After my first week of full-time employment and three out of five work nights out I am looking forward to having some alone time with my flat, to be spent in the kitchen.

Saving the World (Scotland) - Day 1

First impressions of the new job:

• I am now in possession of THE KEY TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT!
• My job is easily explained: attending meetings.
• Don't ask me what I'm actually doing - I still don't have a clue.
• I'm on flexi time. That means if I work an hour longer every day I could take every other Friday off.
• Related to that: I'm now open to holiday planning. Iceland anyone? I decided that winter is for dancing, and summer is for walking.

Lent

It's Pancake Tuesday today, and Lent starts tomorrow. I've never done Lent before, or any fasting for that matter, but I will give it a shot this year. Choosing the Lent period instead of any other time of the year is rather arbitrary, it could have been January or Ramadan really, but other people do lenty stuff and document it on Facebook these days, so it should be fun to jump on the bandwagon. Reading about others' successes and failures might also remind me of my own project and provide encouragement.

Bits and Bobs

• I'm still not working for the Scottish Government, but I have finally a start date: 10th March. One more week of leisure.
• I received my first payment for self-employed work: 26.74 Euros.
• The first time I walked up Calton Hill many years ago I witnessed a marriage proposal. Today, I walked up for the second time to top that and witness the Northern Lights but sadly I couldn't see them. Was nice up there anyway.