February, project time!

It's time I got a shed!  It's becoming a drag hauling bikes in and out of the bike locker I've got.  The current bike store is an Asguard, they make quality secure steel lockers but I'm after something I can stand up in and wheel a bike in and out without struggling with entangled pedals and handle bars.

It's a bit tight if you're trying to store two bikes, spare tubes and all the bits and pieces for cleaning, fixing etc.
Want a shed!!

Shed ordered!  Still in the sale at half price!!  Delivery date next Wednesday but I don't get back from sunny Ft William until Thursday (Off to SAMS Dunstaffnage to examine a 1st Aid course), it looks like Next Friday is shed construction day!!


Thursday, lay slabs and move the green locker, a bit more turf taken up, weed stopper and then gravel down.  Friday, crack of dawn start to get the bus up to Inversnechie in time for a dental appointment at 0920.  The bus dropped me at the retail park in time for a quick Tesco breakfast before getting 'drilled and filled'; in the food queue who should I bump into but Chris Marshall from Event's First Aid and Rescue, he and his mate were also grabbing a breakfast before heading off to cover the Snowman Rally, when they left I wished them a quiet and uneventful time.  On Special Stage 1 of the rally a car spun off the track into spectators killing a  50 year old woman from Skye and injuring a young boy!!

The weekend was taken up with making a fresh batch of chilli chocolate brownies, tidy up the base slabs where the shed will be going and move a short section of fence.  Sunday, a visit from Geoff and Avril.  I taught Geoff to ski back in 82-3, the aim was for him to be able to do some ski-mountaineering, since then (He's now 83!!) I've taken him touring on Ben Lawers, Cairngorm, several trips to the Alps and a biggie to NZ touring on the glaciers around Mt Cook.  Geoff had booked a table at the Stotfield Hotel in Lossiemouth for their Sunday carvery; a couple of hours later, stuffed to the gills (Which enabled me to soak up a few glasses of the red stuff) we headed back to Burghead for coffee and a bit more reminiscing about past ski tours.

Monday and more project work completed, fence re-sited and painted, a two o'clock appointment at the Doc's to fix up a three month supply of meds to cover me for a wee bike ride coming up soon, and an evening meeting of the Parkinson's Support Group, the subject for the evening was Wills and Power of Attorney, a dry subject but essential nevertheless and followed as always by tea, coffee and sticky buns.

A reasonably early start on the Tuesday to get the bus into Elgin and onward to Inverness; I was heading back west to work with Mark Fair examining a first aid course at SAMS Dunstaffnage on the following day. In Inverness I met up with Pip who was also in town and had kindly offered me a lift back to Mark's.  The route back led us to 'Anna's Stronaba Coffee Shop' where we were forced to stop to take on board caffeine; having a captive audience I dispensed samples of the latest Chilli Chocolate Brownies looking for favourable comments;  It was a thumbs up for the baking (I hope they weren't just being polite!).  It was Anna's turn to experiment on Pip and myself now, by offering us a bowl of whitish slurry and asking us to guess what it was!!  Abject failure on both Pip's and my part; it turns out that we were being introduced to 'Tibetan Mushrooms'.  We'd never heard of them but you'll have to do some googling to find out more!

Cafe Anna, the perfect spot for a coffee and a slurp of Tibetan Mushroom elixir!!

A short while later Mark and daughter Bethany arrived, another coffee later we were off down the road to Chez Fair for a wash and brush up.  Anna arrived and kindly offered to be duty driver to run us all down to the Lochy Bar for eats and a glass or two (Two bottles) of a very drinkable Shiraz!  (High in anti-oxidants and taken for medicinal purposes only!!).

A selection (The Cream) of Nervous Range staff found skulking in the Lochy.  For some reason my glass (And it's not the orange juice!!) seems to have a flower in it !?!?

Wednesday, coffee in the Fort while Mark attends a nursey type lecture, then off to SAMS to examine the first aid course students; for most of the journey Mark was muttering "Look closely at the raisins, now listen to the raisins"!! "What a load of @?%$$"!!  I wasn't sure I really wanted to know what the lecture was about but from Mark's comments I'm sure that he wasn't too impressed!?!

In a rush now!  Thursday, on the first bus back.....build shed!!!

Small but perfectly formed!!



More when it's painted!

January 2013 (The last bit)

Something I forgot to put into the previous post was that Moray now has its own Parkinson's Nurse Specialist, Heidi Simpson (Front right).  Others in the photo are the support group secretary, Gillian Gibson (Front Left), behind her is Elsie Watson, the support group chair person, Elsie, a formidable lady, is a retired ward sister from Dr Gray's.  Back row right is Dr Sands, a Geriatrician with a special interest in Parkinson's.

Tuesday 22nd, off to Gr Gray's for an 0930 appointment with Dr Sands.  It was a six monthly review of my condition and how it was responding to medication.  Well I guess it's 'so far so good' and if I'm happy with the state of things then she is!  So it seems we're both happy!
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were the usual run of spinning, coffee and planning the last bits of work I want to be doing to finish off the storage locker area.
Saturday 26th, an early start off up the road to Contin and the 2013 Strathpuffer.  The Puffer is a 24hr endurance race, the object of the exercise is to complete as many laps of the course as possible, it can be ridden solo, as a pair, team of three or four.  A lap is roughly 7.5 miles and was taking riders anything from 35min to >1hr.  The race started at 10.00 in reasonable weather with the riders being piped to a start line about 100m down the track from where they had a 'Le Mans' style run to their bikes and away on the course.

08.45 The team (Paul and Allan) arrive with all the kit, the Easy-Up and Med Base unit and both Med Marshal sets of equipment (Susie and myself were already there and waiting for the bacon roll van to open!).

Med Base, waiting for customers.

The piper leads the riders to the start of the run back to the bikes.

The riders heading for the start line!  And in real sunshine!!

Racing to the bikes!

Riders getting 'dibbed' at the transition point to log their laps and times,

Paul busy interrogating a casualty, wanting to know why he fell off and disturbed his evening!

OUCH!!! 

Not sure if it should be sutured, darned or patched!

Hardy soul, cold, dark, wet and another twelve hours to go!!

End of shift nearing, must have time for a brew before the relief team arrives.

A quick warm up before setting out again.

Shift handover time, Pip and Forestry Dave head off to relieve Susie and Allan while at Med Base Nurse Ann and Bex go over the cas list before settling down for the next twelve hours!!

I'm off home now, it's well past my bedtime!





Monday 28th.  Time flies! Christmas just over and January nearly done!!  Off to another Burns Supper this evening; this one is organised by our Local Heritage Group.

The Haggis is piped in.

Chef on the move to present the haggis.

Dan Ralph (The Clavie King) does the 'Great Chieftain o the puddin race' bit before.......

.......the poor wee haggis gets a richt good stabbin and it didn't even squeal once!

The sacrificial haggis is carried off back to the kitchen while we all sit down to a first course of Cock a Leekie soup.  The haggis is divided up and along with neeps and tatties miraculously manages to feed about eighty folk!  Pud was a choice of Tipsy Laird (A whisky Trifle) or Clooty Dumpling.

Just to see out January it was a trip to the Bothy for an Americano and a slice of their excellent gluten free flapjack!

See you in February.