Swimming

Surprisingly, there's a fair bit of sea swimming going on up here in what is usually chilly if not cold waters. Eve and I have done this although not recently. We have been more disposed towards bicycles on land.

it's nearly July. How did that happen?

I know, I know, but I stumbled upon this snap in the folds of my external hard disk. Obviously from my earlier days on the island.

It's just over there [pointing] along that road and down a bit. Would love to go there right now but we can't yet. Anyway, there might be another person there and we have three big clean white empty beaches round about the village even though they are not sepia coloured (in the main).

back on the same day [as yesterday's day]

It's all coming back to me now.
That nice bloke off the tv  was there at the show teaching the locals the southern skill of tickling the coows. Oh how we laughed. Oh how the coows wiggled and tiggled.

Then it didn't rain. I mention that because it always rained at this show - but not this year . 2011 it was. What a year. It's rained ever since. Probably.

Back in the day

Waiting for the sheeps rugby match to start. This was a sort of team Bisheepslon whereby each team of sheeps took part in a rugby game and Highland sheeps dancing.

The cheviots won I'm told.

When you can go no further than 5 miles

It's 2 miles actually.

Yup, Tolsta again

Lock-down has not gone [at the time of writing] so Tolsta is on the menu for a stroll again. This is the other side. The side you don't always see - which is a pity as it looks different from the side I usually see.

Beyond Back

 Beyond Back although perhaps not quite the Back of beyond. It did feel like  it at times as we passed the wreck of the day. The track was lovely though. I mean, really lovely. I was smiling - albeit inwardly in an attempt to allay fears of me having wind.

 Toots, one of our guides for the stroll stopped and withdrew some excess pixels from the place at this point. This may well be for the Edge of the Back of Beyond project. Who knows?

We crossed a bridge. By a sign saying erected by Oxford University for some reason. Not sure if that was the bridge or the sign.

Gala days

Ooooof, this image does it for me.
Came across it the other day when trawling through my files. Yes, it's a film image taken with a a Fed Zarya and Industar lens on film.

Barvas Gala if I'm not mistaken when it was held on the machair at Barvas. It's held -w ehn it is on - on Community Centre carpark now. Less interesting, less photogenic but far more practical.

Russian

I was going to say this was taken with a borrowed Leica Barnack camera but looking at the darkness on the right side of the snap, it was probably my Zorki 6 camera. That was possibly why this obliging Russian water-borne worker allowed me to capture his likeness.

Tractors

There are tractors here - and not from Chelsea either in the main. Tractors have been known to gather in swarms at times and I managed to catch such a gatheration - albeit small some time back.

Can't recall the occasion to well but looks like second best tractor day rather than the best one. Oh yes, one doesn't have just one tractor does one?
Best amount of tractors to own = tractors you have +1.

see here for Mr Four tractors [who often has more than 4 tractors]

Of course it's Poland

Honestly, not sure why I bother.
Yes, Poland. I think it was anyway. It was where we were meant to be at the time - some years back an all.
I must have been on a roll at the time. No idea how I did it since I can hardly recall the time - apart from we liked it there and had a fine time.

ahh. Yes I am still here

The weather has been good up here on this rock in the Atlantic. Sun and everything. And when I say everything I include the flippin midges which is not quite so good. Despite that, had a lovely walk with the Toots' -a couple or three days ago which rather wiped me out. However, I did manage a little - and here I mean very short - bike ride today.

Hopefully I might sleep tonight. Too little exercise and I won't sleep. too much and I won't sleep. Such are the delights of CFS.

It was hot then too

Poland

peats

the cut peats for fuel are nearly all in due to the dry weather.

All the world needs a text

from a trip to Abroadland

no, not today or yesterday

Didn't go this way yesterday, instead i did a nice ebike ride to Toots' and Bac for tea, bourbons and drizzle cake. Lovely.
We did pass here though. Twice and Eve four times on her extended ride

Keith has two now

Keith Akabilly used to have one small quiet bell. Now he has two bells, one of which is louder - thankfully.
I shall leave it there.

Horse

See that/ That's there is an horse. Lives just o'er the road with its pal and another little shrunken horse at the bottom of that croft. I think they like it there.

How I managed this snap I'll never know as I shot the 400 film at 100 but just realised it before I did the developing bit. Sloshed it in Hydrofen. seems to have worked.

Plastic here too

Yes, it's everywhere. On the beaches, of the land and in the air. Sadly.

been messing.

An old image of delightful Sam at the Velodrome happily played wif on the pooter on a rainy day.

I did develop a film too - but it was blank - hadn't gone through the camera :-(

Are slides a good thing?

Came across this image from a year or a decade ago. We were cycling on borrowed bikes from Vinales to the coast I seem to recall. The roads were devoid of cars, the people lovely although it was a tad warm. The resulting slide, taken with a camera I can't remember is lovely.
What a pleasure it was coming across this.

I don't 'do' slides now. I don't usually 'do' colour but now I see this I might.

I've been looking at old snaps

Rather like this one from Richmond Grass meet.

TDF 2003. Yes, that year.

Yes, we used to live there

Just towards the left at the bottomish of the hill. Nice place too. Pubs, canal, river, reservoir and hills all nearby. And friends live there too. Having said that I doubt we shall ever go back - even though we have a house there.

Mossley if one is interested.

we were holidaying

This world

Sometimes a little stroll down the road with a cheap camera does the trick.

I was so pleased yesterday morning to read a couple of Tweets [yes, that] that pleased me up greatly.

Firstly a fine clip from the great Chris Packham on #Springwatch talking about great things perhaps coming from lockdown. Very uplifting.

Then there was a clip of POTUS Barak Obama taking a walk in the park. Lovely to see and a direct contrast to the dangerous idiot that came after him. Sorry I cannot link, I don't know how to.

Yes, we are lucky here. The sun was shining too.

The grass is green here I might add

Although the ground is somewhat arranged interestingly.

We came and went on this track.

Distanced cake

Socially distanced cake at the lovely Toots'.

Oooof, I may have to seek help sooner than I thought.

I was working you know. Going this way it just took me over. I just had to snap it up.
Should be ok now as I have been furloughed.

I have had a reevaluation

Maybe I am a landscapist in a portraitists skin?
Ever wondered that?
Or maybe if I just try and be a landscapist, the portraits will appear!