December

Managed to borrow a slide digitiser and have been busy scanning loads of pics from so far back the 1950's had only just finished!

1961 Royal Marine Commando Training School Lympstone, Devon.  Lympstone Tattoo and the end of nine months of recruit training.  This pic was scanned from a print, the next one is from a slide, taken in Aden while serving with 45 Cdo.

I had a load of fun looking at these pics after so long in storage, many have gone onto FB hopefully providing some amusement!

Back to December and clearing turf, laying a weed stopper textile, some sand and cement for levelling the slabs and then clearing an even bigger area to lay stone chips.
Monday night and time for the monthly meeting of the book group, it was also an excuse for the first of the Christmas parties.

The Burghead Food, Wine and Book Group!!

  Our next book is a murder / terrorist threat novel based around the town policeman, Bruno, and set in the Dordogne, The Crowded Grave, by Martin Walker.  A bit of a slow pace to the book with the action taking place in the last dozen pages!  I'm not sure that I'll bother to look out more of this author's work, or possibly one more just to see if it's an equally slow pace.
Spinning class, a bit of cooking (Chicken casserole done in red wine!), a coffee to celebrate! and a walk along the back shore to watch the breakers rolling in.
6th Dec and blood test result arrives, Normal (Low).  Didn't want to go onto iron supplements so convinced the Doc I'd eat loads of liver, kidney etc, he was happy with that as I'm due another of my three monthly implants and yet another blood test for my PSA level but this time they will do a full blood count to see if I need an oil change.  It was a complete belt and bracers job this time because (Just to be sure) I had to go to the Lossie surgery for an ECG to make sure my plugs and points were clean and the ticker was firing on SA node, AV node, bundle of His, R and L bundle branches and all Purkinje fibres! (In the right order).  If you're not sure what it's all about try Google! (Other search engines are available).  Anyway, it all appears to be in working order I'm pleased to say.
Start the day with a pilates session (well after a cuppa and some toast).   A few odd jobs like starting to find Christmas bits and pieces and then get sorted for the first in a round of group Christmas meals!!
Number one on the eats list was the Heritage Group with a great three course choice of nouvelle cuisine hosted at Elgin College.  The catering staff and students pulled out the stops to produce and serve an excellent meal.  Just over a week later (More spinning and pilates) and it was time for the Elgin Parkinson's Support Group dinner, this time a choice of the traditional turkey + trimmings, roast beef or a veggie option.  This time the venue was the Royal Hotel where we were looked after by excellent friendly staff.  Meal and service were spot on.  Four days on and we arrive at the Elgin Cancer Support Christmas Party!  Driving this time so no red stuff (or white or unfortunately anything alcoholic), but dancing and a buffet meal.  On the floor for a Canadian Barn Dance!  A bit more of tripping the light fantastic followed by eats!  Two days later and it's an anniversary!  A lunch had been booked at Cullen Bay Hotel so we took a scenic route there via Lossiemouth to see what damage had been caused by the previous day's storm.  Thankfully the wind had been generally easterly which had left our west facing shore untouched!!

Lossie took a hammering or at least the harbour wall did!!  Debris right across the kids play park!

East Beach.  The dunes are almost under water as is the E Beach Bridge!!










Two more days down and time for the Spinning Group Lunch, twenty seven 'spinners' tucking in to turkey, salmon or a Brie Filo Parcel.  A further two  days and Burghead held its Senior Citizen Christmas Dinner kindly sponsored by the Harbour Bar Rangers Supporters Club and thanks to Diagio for funding the bar!!
The next day finds me on the bus to Inverness, a bit of last minute shopping, lunch, then up to Maggie's to join in their Christmas party; mince pies, mulled wine and good company.
Come the 24th and I was on my way back to Inverness to collect Son Phil up from Glesca for five days.  The lad had been busy globe trotting with Hidden Orchestra and for the last couple of weeks has been working non stop in the fruit and veg business!

Hidden Orchestra and Guest Trumpeter sight seeing during the Moscow gig.

Christmas Day was nice and relaxed, eating more than was good for me and topped off with the odd glass of red stuff (One or two bottles still to work through!!).
Boxing Day.  Drive over to Buckie to collect Grand Children, not much like children now though; Thijs 17 in March and Corran became a young lady of 11 on the 22nd Dec.  Tempus fugit and all that!!
Boxing Day in Burghead heralds the annual Harbour Swim, the event is in aid of charity and involves leaping, diving or combination of the two into the harbour, swimming the few strokes necessary to get you to the far side and scaling the ladder up onto flat ground where, hopefully, a friend is waiting with a towel and some dry clothes.  Oh, I forgot to say, no wet suits allowed!!

Nice day for it!

Once out of the water most folk head for one of the three pubs in BH (This includes the onlookers) where plates of stovies are served up for anyone who wants, all for free!

2012 nearly over now, any bits missed, and there were one or two, I'll try to remedy in't next few days.