Garden Shut down

Strawberries  lined up waiting for the Spring to return.

Did a heavy a pollarding on the ash.  Really cut them down to size.  Getting too big for their roots they were.  Only leeks left to harvest from the planters.

Potted flowers against the fence to help protect them from the worst of the Winter weather to come.

Flowers from Hualien

My good friends, Alice and Mary-Ann, whilst on their trip to Taiwan asked me if there was anything they could get for me. Well, yes please,  some flowers from Flower Space, a shop Gek and l visited in 2014 in Hualien.  And here they are. Thank you girls!!!! These will look brill in the San Fran house.

Play Room

A day in a life, living with miniatures.

Brecon Mountain Railway

Afore we go.  The rail narrow gauge and the steam engine is from Philadelphia, built in 1930.

Now underway,

A bit earlier.

End of the line.

Waiting for the end change.

The sun wasn't playing ball today.

But could be turned to advantage.

University 50th Reunion

After the meet and greet, be wandered over to the M E building, still the same after half a century (Did I just write 1/2 century?),

for the six of us to sit in the self same lecture theatre where we first sat 53 years ago. Well, almost. I remember being a lot further back than this.

Followed by the group photo. We six on the right.

Georgian Town House

The one with the banner outside.  Build one hundred years before the San Fran house model I know but just had to go look see for inspiration.

Wonder if I should  put candles aside the fire place?

Definitely on the dinning room table.

I will need a few more kitchen utensils, defo more copper pans.

The Scottish National Gallery

We were hoping to see some of the Scottish painter Henry Raeburn's works here and we were not disappointed.

One of Gek's commissions for the Upton House  'Made to Measure' project is Raeburn's The MacDonald Boys. Unfortunately, the original painting has yet to be cleaned and despite our best efforts we cannot make out the detail in the right-hand bottom corner of the work. Perhaps this image may help?

A painting that caught my eye was this by Wilem van Haecht, not just for the detailed images of other artists works in miniature but also,

because of this.  In the doorway you can see donkey-headed men, or are they dog-headed, smashing up art works.  Bit of a grouse?

Canaletto. You have to be impressed by the detail here, as on all his work.  A snap shot of his time.

Edinburgh

Our host and hostess, Dorothy and Colin, for our stay in the city. Some of Dorothy's art work on the wall behind.

First day, a visit to Holyrood Park to climb the escarpment,

for a castle view.

 And, of course, the house

The unfinished Parthenon, hence one of the city's nicknames, Athens of the North. Auld Reekie was another, but thankfully this does not apply today.

Along the Royal mile

 to see the sites etc associated with the Enlightenment,

with my uni friends Richard and Jackie.

Beauly Firth

 After a visit to Culloden Moor

J & M took us for a drive around the firth,

with a couple of photo opportunity stops on the way.

Here the bridge between the Beauly and the Moray Firths, Inverness on the right out of picture.

Inverness

John and Mary, our friends from our Mongolian days

Made me smile, this image.

Castle view.

Surprise, surprise.  In J & M's house two Queen Anne Chairs!!! John makes garden furniture from old whisky barrels, which in my excitement, I omitted to picture. Also, he has made a shed to his own design from 'scrapped' oak.

Aviemore

At  2,500 feet the weather was a bit changeable this day, with a cold wind,

so we decamped to the Findhorn Valley.

Over to Foyers

The drive parallel  to Loch Ness along the southern ridge.

Stunning views,

before dropping down towards the loch again and Foyers.

Fort Augustus

The end of Loch Ness and the beginning of the Caledonian Canal.

Just for confirmation.

It was quite peaceful

until this guy and his/her mate turned up. Boy was it loud. Literally hurt your ears. Why so low over a town?  Slap on wrist in order.

Quiet returns,

with a rainbow.