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!