Category Archives: Family and Life

Its not all work and play there are matters personal too. In these posts I note those events in my family and life that invite comment.

“When you send back a package from America…”

Posted on by

Eraser used for maximum security!

Again with the bad pun…this time courtesy of The Proclaimers (click on this and listen while reading this post).  A package for the Syme clan all the way from the dear old USA!

This package contains gifts for all five of us courtesy of my good friend Bob McAlister and his kin in Illinois.  Bob has been a fan and player of Flintloque and Slaughterloo (not to mention trying almost all the ranges and games that I am involved with…what a guy!) for many years but there is a tale to be told.  Bob and his family were due to come to Scotland and stay with me for a few days while here on holiday at the start of this month but sadly due to the massive storm that hit the east coast their plans were scrapped.  So the package was dispatched instead.  I have a package to send back but it awaits the tender mercies of Eve Hallow first.

Pressure is already building to open the package but I shall not cave in until the weekend, build up some excitement first.  Plus it is the Girvan Street Party on Friday evening so the terrific three will be tired and ready for indoor fun by Saturday.  Anything in there that involves me will of course be blogged about…Bob promised me something wargaming related…ohhhhh.

Thank you McAlisters from all here in the Syme household!

GBS

CarrickAyrshire website launched!

Posted on by

A brand new and advanced website promoting Girvan and Carrick to the World!

After a chance meeting with Alec Clark this afternoon I learned about a brand new website that has just been launched to promote Girvan and Carrick at large.  You can find it at CarrickAyrshire and it is a very fine and informative read indeed.  Alec runs the excellent ‘Sweetie Shop’ in Girvan which I frequent with the children rather often and we have known each other for about six years now.  I have said to him on several occasions that Girvan needs a bigger online profile (indeed this blog appears top of search rankings for the town quite often) and this website certainly provides it.

CarrickAyrshire has pages on the history of the region, a gallery of excellent images of the region, filterable maps of attractions and services, a rolling list of ‘what is on locally’, a news page with readable content and a contact form.  On top of this there are other extra features such as places to stay and places to eat.  It is all clean and easy to navigate and is an excellent place to plan a trip from or to look for events to attend.  So have a look and a read about the region where I live and work.

I expect to look it up rather often.  Thanks Alec!

GBS

Girvan Festival of Light and Fireworks 2012

Posted on by

The Fantastic Four!

On Saturday evening the annual Festival of Light was held in Girvan.  I had been building up to this as a big part of the festival is the procession of hundreds of children from one end of Girvan to the beach front and the sea; each child has a self made lantern.  In special after lessons classes in school or at workshops held in the town these wood and thick paper lanterns, each with a candle within to light it up, are assembled and then sent home for the big night.  My eldest ‘The Thinker’ had made a lantern, as he has done since he began school, while my middle and youngest had not.  So after dinner we set out wrapped up to the nines against the cold for a couple of hours of unique fun and community spirit.

The Procession of Light moves out!

Girvan is not a big town but it still amazes me how many children it contains.  As the crowd began to build I lost count at maybe four hundred youngsters plus the same again or more of adults.  There must have been easily a couple of hundred lit lanterns which on top of the ones created by the kids had a dozen or so much larger lanterns in the shape of birds, windmills and other structures.  The weather was kind, dry, no wind and not really even that cold (I remember 2009 when the ice formed on my coat as I stood watching!).  It took about half an hour to assemble the ‘battalion’ to marching orders and to get us under way to the sound of a drum based band.  The procession made good time through the town and to the beach front where a large crowd was waiting for the next part of the evening…the fireworks!

Fire and Light!

It was not easy to get images at the time of the fireworks as not only was it pitch black but the whizz pops and bangs are hard to capture.  The picture above  is fairly good taken by my darling wife.  It shows the fireworks exploding over the water plus the display on the beach.  Each year a series of wooden structures are built on the sand and then to music and video display are set alight.  It is a great show and lasts for about fifteen minutes.  My children loved it and cheered and wooped as the fires raged and drums hammered all to the staccato cracks and booms of coloured lights in the sky.

All in all it was a fine way to spend a couple of hours and in an age of austerity it was excellent to see the town put on a show that is all paid for by the people themselves by donation.  Here is to next year…if you are near, then come on by!

GBS

The Wigton Book Fair 2012 – Day Out!

Posted on by

One of these days I will manage to post on the day of an event or at least the next day!  Anyhow it matters not and I still want to tell you all about what the tribe and I did last Saturday; attending the Wigton Book Fair.

Wigton is an hours drive from Girvan so not that far by these parts and the weather was fine so the journey went well.  Wigton is Scotland’s national book town meaning that it is home to a very handsome group of bookshops arranged around the town square.  Wigton itself is of the same size as Girvan with a similar population and all in all is just as pleasant a place to spend a Saturday.  Those who know me will know I own a collection of some thousand books mainly on military matters and science fiction but also some rarer titles and a the finest collection of text on the Japanese nation to be had outside of Glasgow University.  I adore books and if possible try to get to these sorts of events if work, three children, distance, funds and the gods allow it.  So it was a wizz and a wheeze for me to make the trip.

I took some pictures and I will run you through them as this posting progresses.

The view from the rear of the library

Upon our arrival we decided to visit the town library which is a towering four story stone building that tells of a time when Wigton was much more than it is now.  The above shot is from the upper floor out over the landscape to the wash of the sea.  Very impressive and the picture does not do it justice.  The reason for the visit to the library was two fold.  Firstly to get tickets to ‘Horace the Haggis’ for the kids and secondly to see the exhibits on the top floor which included a reconstruction of a Victorian Gentlemans Study and letters from the First World War, one of these you can see with a book in the second image.

A diary from 1917

While in the library the children made little figures of ‘mankind’ using clay and I had a look about.  What struck me the most was the level of activity from literary bloggers who were getting photos for the local news and for the internet.  Always one to observe the observer I took the photo below of a BBC fellow taking shots of other visitors.  Not to worry though when he approached me I said…’oh, you don’t want my picture..it would break your lens!’.

Smile Please!

Outside of the library we enjoyed several nature events in the open ground next to the bookshops and then some freshly made cinnamon infused donuts from the food tent.  My middle son ‘The Poet’ had a really good time with an Owl science experiment to find the bones of mice in the remnants that the bird left behind.  Not my idea of fun but he enjoyed himself.

Owl Fun for the Poet!

 The tickets we got for ‘Horace the Haggis’ was for a reading of a new childrens’ book by Sally Magnusson who is a newsreader for the BBC here in Scotland (her father was Magnus Magnusson of Mastermind fame).   I did not attend the packed event but instead went for a wander around the book shops (funny that eh!).  The kids had fun though and the appearance of the Haggis itself at the end was a joy to watch, a real pantomime moment.  The Poet got himself a signed copy of the book which has been read to death this last week.

Sally and the Haggis

As for myself I left Wigton with three new books.  One on Arms & Armour (which has some nice colour images) and two on the Napoleonic period (surprise!).  The first titled ‘The Hussar General’ about Blucher the Prussian commander at Waterloo and the second a detailed account of the ‘Convention of Cintra’ a real low point in the Peninsular War.  I have made a start on the Cintra book but work keeps me too busy for extended reading.  Be assured though that if possible we will be going back to Wigton again soon.

GBS

The Thinker’s English Adventure!

Posted on by

This is a rather special post as it is not about me!  It is a short account of the trip my eldest son, ‘The Thinker’, took to the south of England two weeks ago (yes, it has taken me this long to get to it!).  This trip took him on nearly one thousand miles of road and not only to the Uk’s biggest military modelling show but also to a famous garden centre and the site of one of Europe’s most pivotal battlefields too.  While I have written most of the text here anything that appears in italics is by his fair hand and straight from the horses mouth as it were.  So without further ado..the Thinker’s English Adventure!

Sunny South!

After leaving Scotland with his grand parents on Friday morning the Thinker headed for Folkstone.  I had to get up very early and then I sat in the car and watch all of the films I had on my DVD player.  It was a really long ride in the back seat but I had fun and I got to eat in the service station for lunch and then a ‘beefeaters’ for my dinner.  It was warm and sunny on the Saturday morning and you can see me above sitting on a bench.

Smile though your glue is drying…

Saturday 22nd September was Euromilitaire day (well one of two!) in Folkstone and the Thinker got to go along with the throng!  This is the largest military modelling show in Europe and he was under instruction to bring me his loving father some scenics and bits and bobs back from the show.  We got there early and I was excited (but you would not know that from my tired and stern face above!).  It was very, very busy and I took a photo of the hall which you can see below.  We spent hours looking at everything.  My favourite things were a scale model handmade of the Millennium Falcon from Starwars and a special unique figure (150mm) of a space man in his armour.  The spaceman is in the second picture below.  I had a good time and want to go again!

The Hall all Athrong!

Spaceman in Armour

 The Thinker had a big day and as you can see below he likes nothing more than planning out his grub for the next morning.  I was tired after the show but my Papa insisted that I go to bed early but not before choosing my breakfast from the menu.  We stayed at the Premier Inn and it was really nice and comfortable.  My Gran said that now we had been to the show it was time for us to do some things she wanted to do.  So I got a big sleep and was ready for more! 

Decisions, Decisions!

On the Sunday the happy trio headed along the English coast and visited a few places including Battle Abbey at Hastings where he learned a bit about Saxons and Normans.  It was raining all day and I got wet a few times, but I enjoyed the Abbey and now I know about Harold and his eye!  There was no Battle but then I was told I had missed it by a thousand years!  Once we left Hastings I had lunch and then we went to Gran’s favourite place the  nursery at Great Dixter.  I don’t know much about plants and flowers and neither does daddy!  Gran enjoyed this a lot and we saw lots of insects like Bees.  That is me below at Battle Abbey and Great Dixter.

Abbey Tymes

The sprout among the plants!

With the trip nearly over the Thinker spent most of the Monday travelling back to Girvan with a brief stop in Nottingham to visit his most favourite Uncle James.  I did not see him until I picked him up on the Tuesday from school since his Gran refused to give him back!

I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot on this adventure and I would do it again.  It was great to see the models and the battlefield and Uncle James too.  Thanks Dad for letting me type on your blog! 🙂

GBS & ASBS

Happy Birthday my Dearest!

Posted on by

Edward Jackson’s birthday card to my good lady

Should I compare ye to a rather soggy and windy autumn day?  No I should not.  I should compare you my darling to the greatest of things and the best of me.  Happy Birthday and I hope you had a super time even if you had to put up with me for a whole weekend (see previous posting).  The day showed how adored my kind and loving wife is with so many messages online she took hours to reply to them all and dozens of cards and small gifts as well as those presents from myself and immediate family and close friends.

Eve Hallow’s birthday card to my good lady

While her birthday was only one day (Her Majesty is the only person allowed two birthdays of course) I had purposefully extended the experience to nearly a week with little treats and adventures all the while.  I did what I could and I think it was appreciated.  When the kiddies returned from their weekend away I got the picture below and that sums up the mood better than any words.

A fly kiss for the Poet and the Warrior

Happy Birthday my Dearest!

GBS

September Holiday Weekend Fun!

Posted on by

What do you mean that is all the beer there is?

The September Holiday Weekend happens every year (duh!, you might say) in Ayrshire but most years upon its occurrence I am working so no fun comes my way.  But not this year.  This year I had four days off and I made the most of them with some ale house adventures and late lazy starts to do the say.  Debauchery you say…well not so say I.  Well deserved I say since I do (and many will tell you this) work rather hard almost all of the rest of the year.  The image above is actually a shipment of empty whisky casks waiting to go back to the Girvan distillery but it suits my purpose and implies the copious amount of ale consumed!

First off I have to tell you all about the weather on Thursday (20th September) which came near threatening to drown Western Scotland under what I think was a rather large amount of rain.  Road after Road closed and while driving forging through ‘puddles’ which lapped the very bonnet of the car!  This was not on the scale of the 2011 or this summer’s flooding but it was amazing how fast it came on and just how deep some of the new lakes on the roads actually were.

Friday saw me twiddle my thumbs something awful as I had made a promise to myself that over the four days off I would do NO WORK and while that was obvious in as much as me not being in the office but it also mean no blogging here or on TTWG Blog and no writing wargaming material what so ever.  None.  I had decided to do this after filling out a survey in one of my good lady’s magazines about ‘how much do you work’.  My result was off the top level of the scale and put me in the ‘woman get yourself a life!‘ section.  Ever a lass who listens to tabloid crap I decided that I would give it a try.  So instead of my early morning checking and writing online followed by work preparation and then actual work and so on I sat and watched television (having decided that watching anime for later review here was also ‘work’).  Eve Hallow said he would meet me for a beer (I had already sworn off a game of Flintloque…seemed like it might also be deemed work!) so hours and hours passed.  I walked, I went for a drive…lord help me I even went clothes shopping with my wife.  A long day before an evening of fun which I enjoyed especially the several attempts at the end of it to get my key in the front door.

The weekend was given over to my good lady in preparation for her birthday (see next post) and included more shopping and eating out.  My three little wonders were away with grand parents and with my no work promise it was a wonder of open time and idle speculation.  Many of the little things I observed I have now typed up for ‘idle muse’ postings in weeks to come; all for your amusement of course.  But I do have a visual treat for you below…I believe it to be the only picture of Eve Hallow which exists anywhere.  I broke several cameras and had to settle for the image below since anything with his demonic face shattered the lens and drove onlookers to gibbering madness!

Eve Hallow…as far as the camera would allow!

I cannot recall or recount what actually happened in the darkest hours of the weekend nights but by Monday morning I was truly ready to return to work and put off beer for at least a while.  I may well do a posting about my thoughts on Man’s need for Work or perhaps the Pleasure and Pain of Alcohol but that is for another time.   The holiday weekend achieved what I wanted from it.  A break, some amusement and a change in pace.  And if you are wondering just how much time I ‘wasted’ it is roughly enough for me to have written an entire new USE ME Title.

GBS

The Poet is Pupil of the Week!

Posted on by

Who could not love that little face eh?

When he finished school and emerged blinking into the sunlight my middle son ‘The Poet’, who you might remember was a couple of  weeks ago moved up a whole grade in a day, handed me another achievement!  This time he had won ‘Pupil of the Week’ at the school.  While this happened last week, just like ‘Senior Student Badge’ I have only just now got around to it as I will go into in coming posts.  To win pupil of the week for his whole year so soon after being moved up is no mean feat let me assure you.  So pride blooms once more in my chest.

Well done my son!

GBS

Senior Student Badge for The Thinker

Posted on by

The Badge!

The Thinker, my eldest son, was selected for an achievement at school just before the Ayrshire September Weekend Holiday (he also had an adventure over the weekend in the south of England but more on that later).  You can see the badge on his shirt above.  The Senior Student badge infers a sense of responsibility and extra duties in class only given to the most reliable.  Well done lad!

GBS

The Poet goes up a Level in a Day!

Posted on by

I was told today upon my return home that my middle son has been moved up an entire level of coursework in one day.  The Poet as I call him, was touted as the smartest in his Primary One class last year (when he was 5-6) and now he is a week or so into Primary Two (ages 6-7) he has been advanced again.  His class is what is called a ‘composite’ meaning half of the class are P2 and half are older P3. With this move up he is now doing the work of the older children who have a year on him.  This is a big step meaning more work but he tells me that he wants the responsibility.  Smart and Handsome…good combination.

I am not often given to pride, in fact those who know me know that I am rather self effacing.  But in this instance I think a Hurrah is order!

Well done my Son!

GBS