Darling Eve

A Tuscan day is not like an Isle of Lewis day

For some reason I am struggling with my health again. It's not been a good few weeks at all. Despite my best efforts with meditation and what have you, I'm not getting better at the moment. I am so lucky that my dearest Evelyn is always so supportive and caring and that makes life a little easier to bear.

So, here we have Eve in Tuscany recently with the warm sun pouring through the window. Nice eh? 

Postings may be a bit erratic for while - for which many apologies. Normal service will be resumed soon - I hope :-)

Somedays

 Somedays, life feels like this.

When you would prefer it like this

Every time I blink.........

Everytime I blink, nothing much changes.



Holga

L'Eroica

The last stop

As I said; Deanne seemed to like the sun!

Is it too hot?

To be honest, at the time it all seemed a tad hot. Italy was broiling - up to 40C some days and being acclimatised to The Isle of Lewis, it did seem too warm. Now, with rain coming down for the last few days, storms passing over the island regularly in the wake of the national MOD, the thought of sitting in the warm shade with a cup of espresso watching the world go by in Tuscany is rather more appealing.

I rather admire the hoardes of tartan clad personages who have been roaming around Stornoway in search of  a dry spot, or a dram or, in the case of one bakery, a dram soaked Stornoway black-pudding bun!

But now I'm about the brave the weather again the evening for work, Tuscany again feels along way away

Kowa 6

Bonky - with the Kowa6

I'm very pleased to have my favourite camera back again after being tweaked back to life by Newton Ellis of Liverpool.
I've really missed my Kowa 6 and will be loading it with some film a getting out just as soon as this gale stops howling across the island! I have some images here from this lovely camera.

It's nice 'ere

I've popped up here too.

Deanne

Homage to Jack Spencer.

Italy

Back to the dust

Out on the ...

Just in case you are suffering from a lack of island snaps, here's one from earlier in the year - Eve, Roy and Ziggy out on the peat bank. Wonderful; image from the Vivitar UW&S :-)

These people

Two

One

Did I tell you Italy was hot?

 Hot

 Gawking Gaoile stylee

 Presse

 Very Hot

WhatYouLookingAt?

A few snaps from my 50p plastic camera and colour film developed in old sheep dip I think :-(

Snap in Tuscany

Poster

Sometimes you see something that just begs to be snapped up. This was one such occasion for me in Italy. Lurking is a street of a small Tuscan town was this disused cinema with posters on the doors. I got there just before Mr Windy then warned him off with a friendly grimace and a quick kick to the shins. Needless to say he left me and Perkeo to it.

Italy

 A nice Italian gaff

Eve's mount awaiting action

Yes, we have been to Italy - just in case you hadn't cottoned on to that yet. With Mr Windy and Deanne. Twas lovely. But very hot. Still, we stayed in a nice gaff in the Tuscan hills with a swimming pool - albeit a cold one! We swam all the same. I mean, I swam as well. Eh? I never swim!!!

The two Hebridean cyclists.

Despite the heat Mr Windy and Eve went out cycling in the days before the big event, sporting their fancy jerseys and old[er] bikes. I meditated. Deanne cooked some wonderful meals. And we missed our pals who couldn't come.

Home now the [lack of] heat is much more bearable - although me thinks Deanne prefers the Italian heat.
I have a stack of films to develop sometime. I'm getting through them slowly - which makes it far more exciting to see the snaps anew rather than see them in the back of the Electric image capturing device. Even so, Eve had one of those devices and here's me making sure that Mr Windy leaves the gaff. Yes, I look hot. Didn't I tell you it was hot??

Siena

There's this town in Italy set among the Tuscan hills that's full of tourists. Lots of them. More in the summer but even in October it's busy. Ice-creams dripping in the heat, red shoulders in the sun and all that. We went too. Walked around a bit gandering at this and that, snapping at the other. The church place - Siena Duomo - is a magnificent confection. Black and white marble in and out - although we only saw the outside on account of the hoards going inside. All the same it was too hot and I was surprised the church didn't melt.
We even saw some L'Eroica escapes here.

Cool tool

Mr Neil Orrell.

Eve and I were in Italy with Mr Windy and Deanne. Stephen, Sonja and the Smit-lings were meant to have been there too only Stephan got unwell and couldn't come. Twas a real pity and we missed them all greatly. It was also a pity since Stephan was meant to be riding my old bike which Neil Orrell -of Neil Orrell Cycles -had renovated for me some years back. I wanted him to see the bike being ridden again. Still, we met up for a chin-wag in Gaiole over a glass of cool water or something. Neil and his pal Daryl - were riding L'Eroica too and got around the 75km route despite the baking conditions. 

Meanwhile Stephan, Sonja and the Smit-lings were braving the storms at home !

L'Eroica

Two tired and hot cyclists at the end of their ride; Mr Windy and Eve.

Well, we are back. Back after a drive across Italy to the airport, a flight to the UK and another to Scotland, a coach journey the next day to the coast and a rough ferry ride this morning. Mr Windy and Deanne are still suffering in the heat of Italy!

L'Eroica event was fantastic - and no doubt I will post some more snaps from that soon. The weather was VERY hot. I mean, 35-40 degrees C. Eve and Mr Windy rode brilliantly for their 135 km over tarmac roads and the white gravel roads of Tuscany.