Tag Archives: Scotland

The Fall of King Herod

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The Thinker injured in the Festive Wars!

Its been a big and accident prone day for the Syme family for you see…today was my middle son’s Christmas play at school and he had been cast in a leading speaking role as Herod…but…he had a fall.

Girvan Primary is a great school and my feelings in this were reinforced again today by this accident.  It was totally my son’s fault, in putting on his golden costume he tripped and banged his head.  He is fine but a scalp injury was the result and those as you will know bleed profusely.   Myself and my good lady were already in the school and about to take our places in the audience when we were called to him.  The staff had made him comfortable and were fussing over him and as the picture shows he had a bandage on his head.   I was rapidly told of the incident and what had taken place with a high level of professionalism.  I drove the lad to the Girvan Hospital where he got the best of attention (local hospitals with A&E departments are a wonderful idea!) and was checked over without any delay.  He wanted to return to the school to tell his class and teacher he was fine so we did.  All of his friends were frankly ecstatic to see him and not less than six different members of staff stopped us and checked on him by name and how he felt.  Girvan Primary is indeed a super school.

So my son missed the play and his chance to shine on the stage at least.  But shine he did.  I was so proud of him stoically sitting while he was examined without a peep and polite to a fault to all the teaching and medical staff he encountered despite the visible pain he was in.  It also made me realise more (as I do not spent any time normally in the school) than ever just how central to his class he actually is.  “There is a lot of potential in his noggin and it would be a shame to dent it further.” I head this a dozen times in an hour.  He even insisted on us cleaning and returning the golden costume to the school!

Tomorrow is my youngest son’s play….perhaps I will get to see this one 🙂

GBS

Girvan Christmas Street Party 2012

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Last night saw the annual Christmas Street Party in Girvan.  I attend this every year without fail, the kids love it.  This year the weather was excellent, still, dry, crisp, not too cold; trust me that makes all the difference in Ayrshire for outside events!  Now I did not see everything that was going on and I am sure we missed a lot of it but here is a wee account of what the family got up to across a couple of hours.

Some people like to play Girvan down as a town past its prime but last night you would not have thought this at all.  Beginning at the local primary school the smaller children assembled with little lanterns they had made in class, got an electric light in each of them, then proceeded through the town.  My lot were in the thick of this and enjoyed it a lot.  Upon entering the main street the procession halted and awaited the arrival of Santa Claus in full costume with his aides and his sleigh pulled by actual reindeer.  The main road through the town, Dalrymple Street, was closed to traffic and had instead been turned into a little fair with most of the shops open and many trade stands and a handful of kiddy rides and one much larger carnival ride for teens and adults.  As we progressed I ducked out and visited the Inverness Fudge van which makes the trip down here every year.  My coat pockets filled with excellent fudge I went on to the Stumpy Tower at the end of Dalrymple Street.

Santa had set up his grotto in the Stumpy Tower which was an excellent idea as the children formed a very orderly que more than two hundred long (got to love the British ability to que!) around the tower and watched as the town lights were switched on a set at a time ending with the town tree.  While they were waiting my lot got to see the Reindeers close up and to pet them as well which was a highlight for the little Warrior.  Santa himself was in fine fettle and handed out gifts to all the children (at a donation of £1.00 each to their parents which was a nice surprise, big plus to Girvan on this!).  There was then a short interlude before the crowd moved back into the closed road and started in earnest at the stands and rides.  There were also a good half dozen ‘mascots’ dressed up as favourite cartoon characters walking up and down, this was a nice touch too.  Plus several organisations handing out bags of sweets and mince pies and so on freely.

But my lot had a different plan than going back down the street.  We headed for The Roxy bar for its nineteenth year anniversary fireworks and freebies celebration.  My children are big fans of fireworks and of the Roxy too as we go there for dinner from time to time.  It was packed out which was good to see and we secured a good place to watch the five minute show.  I will admit to a sly pint of beer at the bar while the whizz bangs were a’happening.  The Roxy is the best pub in Girvan bar none to me.

Here are some pictures taken by my Good Lady.  I have captioned them to let you know what is going on in each:

I am sure I have missed things out but be assured it was an excellent evening and if you are in Ayrshire or even further away and are passing next year…pop by, we are a friendly place indeed.

GBS

“When you send back a package from America…”

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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

Rain Stops Play – November 2012

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Well no work at the office for me today.  Having started off on my normal journey the weather during the night, high wind and heavy rain,  became more apparent with fallen branches and debris and puddles on the road.  But I was not prepared for what came next.  Up in the hills outside Girvan the puddles got deeper and larger and then…well it stopped being funny.  The river that runs near the road had burst its banks and I was forced to turn back!

As you can see in the images (sorry no picture of the blocked bridge that actually stopped me as I had to turn about for the big truck and other cars to turn about too) the sheer volume of water was huge.  I hope to return to work upon the morrow.  Bad weather is nothing new for Ayrshire and we do get way more than our share of rain but this was rather more than normal even for the winter.  Especially since it only began at 8pm last night.

Anyhow.  I shall work on at home but it does mean that the two dozen or so of you who are waiting for emails and calls from the ‘official email and phone’ will have to wait…since I cannot get to them!  Sorry!

Rain Stops Play

GBS

CarrickAyrshire website launched!

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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

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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!

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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

September Holiday Weekend Fun!

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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

‘Scratchers’ why would you do that to yourself?

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Botched Tatoo in Fife by a ‘Scratcher’

An idle muse from you all.  Last night on the Scottish News I saw an article on ‘scratchers’.  A Scratcher is a person who does tattoo’s on the cheap (or sometimes not so cheap) but who does not have the training and or skill to do a professional and safe job.  From the risks of poisoning to unsterilised needles and conditions less than sanitary.  Now I personally am not all that keen on ‘self drawing’ but my good lady and a number of my friend have ‘ink’ on them so it is something I have thought about.

Why would a person get something permanent drawn onto their skin by someone who cannot prove their track record or their skill or their qualifications?  It seems madness to me to do that just to save a sum of money and put yourself at risk of disease including Hepatitis B and C.   Once again the behaviour of people makes me question the rationality of their actions.  Be safe and if you cannot afford the work then wait until you can…it could be your very life that is at risk.

The article I saw concerned the rise of this in Fife and featured six or so images of botched and infected work.  A web search will show you many more.

Those interested can visit the STV News website for more.

GBS

First Cinema Visit and a Vision in Purple & White

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A busy weekend for me, indeed it was.  After finishing work on Friday I was occupied with the beginnings of my personal Ion Age project and then come Saturday it was all hands to the pumps to get smartened up and ship shape for a wedding to which myself and my good lady had been invited.  So adding the need for clothing and gifts Saturday night was the culmination of a day long build up.  Sunday then saw a family visit to Kilmarnock and the Cinema to see the latest Disney animated film Brave.  This was my youngest, the Warrior’s, first visit to the cinema.  So how did it all go?

Pretty Ladies and Excellent Company too!

Overall is went well but I did find it a long haul.  Basically after a week at work I am not really in the mood for a lot of driving and dressing up.  I have to say congratulations to the bride and groom, Sara & Gary, on a great event and for putting on a spiffing buffet too (you know where I spent a lot of the evening!).  Above you can see a picture of my good lady in her finery along with her brand new hairstyle in a very fetching shade of purple and the bride (for those who do not know my wife is the one on the left).  As an extra fact of interest the evening music in the form of a mix deck and DJ was provided by a family friend of Sara’s one of the founding members of 80’s group Black Lace.  I kid you not.  He was a great DJ and aside from being older looked just as I remembered from the heady days of the 1980’s.  Before you ask, no, I did not dance to Agadoo.  Video link below for those who have no idea what I am on about…steel yourself.

Once I had recovered on the Sunday morning I decided to take the three lads to see the new Disney film Brave.  A children’s animated movie set in a fictional vision of Scotland.  I chose this movie for two reasons.  Firstly what Scotsman can resist seeing what the Disney leviathan has done for his national stereotype and secondly it was to be my youngest The Warrior’s first visit to the cinema.  As you can see below he was not quite sure what was going to happen!

This is gonna be fun, right?

He was not sure at first but when the screen lit up and the lights dropped he was glued to his seat,vastly larger than himself of course!  I have put in a video of the film below if you are interested but my own opinion was that Brave was a good movie.  It had good pace, lots of gags, a plot that had as couple of moments of real peril and emotional pull as well.   While I still think, and most likely will not change this opinion, that the prices of tickets for the cinema is way too high especially for children; I am glad I chose Brave and took the five of us to see it.  In fact the whole movie is worth it for then ten minutes of the clans and the highland games in the first half.  Billy Connelly is a superb talent in person and in voice.

As always I promise to answer the heap of email that awaited me this morning as fast as I can.

‘Ma celtic blood calls fur freedom, but ma airm hulds the sword o’ the clan tay.’

GBS