singing the blues

Sat 6th June

Nick came round for a street coffee and cake and socially distanced run. Mary chose the route which was to go through town and out to Corstorphine. There are now lots of places opening for take away services. I noticed the Iona St Bar at the end of our street is opening at certain times with varied results. £6 for a 2 pint disposable plastic mug of beer is not bad (even though supermarket beer is still a better deal.) The trouble is the locals congregate - even though there are signs saying not to. The beer makes everyone a bit rowdy (and forget social distancing) and since they are not contained things easily get out of hand. Toilet facilities are not available which results in people improvising. It all goes downhill from there (according to social media.) 20-odd years ago we nearly put an offer in on the flat above the pub. I'm so glad we didn't. We are though greatly enjoying the lack of football fans coming down our street (as would happen every game at Easter Road) shouting abuse and taking up all the parking. 

Van Helsing and Robinson Crusoe

We ran along the main road and then turned right into Corstorphine Hill Park

The Zoo is not open currently but you can see some of the animals from Corstorphine Hill. I think they are one of the many businesses feeling the pinch and missing the hefty entry fees (about £20 per person) due to lockdown. It is strange to think how some businesses have cruised through lockdown or even been boosted by it (bicycle shops have been busier than normal) while others - hairdressers, cafes etc. have been doing no business whatsoever. I have been enjoying working less (and running, cycling and butterfly hunting more) though am doing enough to pay the monthly bills. If the weather hadn't been so good I'd be working more. I have never felt bored or wondered what to do - there's always more music to play, more photos to take, or runs to do. I am just beginning to feel a bit fitter and more enthusiastic about running again after something of a lay off during Winter and into Spring. It is so much harder to lose a bit of flab the older you get.

giving us the finger

After the hill and zoo we had no particular route in mind so Nick took us through Mary Erskine's school grounds (where his daughters went) and out the other side into Blackhall.

This bus stop at the Esso garage is where I waited to catch a bus into school every day of secondary. Generally I was late as it was a mile walk to get there; usually with violin, swim kit, physics and maths books and ten minutes late. This was back in the day when children weren't taxi-ed to school in 4x4s. That said, in the last year or 2 of school I would often get a lift from Richard Green a friendly teacher and mentor in the art department. He would drive past the bus stop in his Cortina and if he saw me would pull over and give me a lift. Quite a brave move for an openly gay teacher to arrive into school with a non-related pupil sat in the front seat of his car of a morning. The art department was the place in school I was happiest and Richard was one of a great team of teachers there when I attended, who helped me get into art school and shaped my life. I was greatly saddened to hear recently through social media contacts that Richard died in the Aids epidemic of the 80s/90s.

Orchard Park

where Mary stayed as a youngster when she first came to Edinburgh

If you want a laugh look at the price tags on wedding dresses.
It's almost like they thought their customers must be imbeciles?

Great to catch up with Nick and have a good run round town. Just under 10 miles and since the weather got progressively warmer and brighter I reckoned there might a few butterflies out in Holyrood. It is not great at the weekends as there is loads of people there, however the butterfly spots are off the beaten track and avoid the busier places. 

I returned to place I had seen the common blue and sure enough there he was again, and in amongst half a dozen Argus as well. I tried to get a better photo of the Small Copper who lives round there but didn't really do that justice.

mother shipton moth

lots of small heath about

I then went up from the stone trap venue to the top of the radical road where I'd seen the second common blue appear a while ago. There was one there (or maybe 2) and I took a number of photos of it and the other butterflies that hang about there - small heaths and small coppers.

Then a couple of days later on Monday8th, the weather did a similar thing; going from overcast and cool, to cloudless blue skies with the sun warming small patches of sheltered ground. I went for a run late in the day (butterfly wise) about 3.30 getting to the stone trap about 3.45. The blue was there briefly but there was also a chilly wind keeping things low to the ground and shaking the grass stems and butterflies as I tried to photograph them. Not ideal conditions. I then ran to the Rad Rd barriers to see if that was more sheltered meeting Phil on the way. It was a good call as I found my first female Common Blue of the year. They tend to stay close to the ground and hide away so as a result are that bit more rare and tricky to find. I found this one at the top of a stem of grass sunning itself. Really glad I decided on the off-chance to pop out for "a run". 

NBA

small heath

stray tortoiseshell

grasshopper nymph

I ran home really happy with an unexpected haul of sunny photos. Nice to bump into Phil again on the way home and Ken who had been at the stone trap. This Spring and early Summer weather has been brilliant for running and butterflies.

Just over Abbeyhill and I met a guy walking his 2 polecats. I stopped to take a couple of photos and (remembering Richard Whitely getting bitten by a ferret on tv) asked did they bite. They didn't though I was somewhat cautious. Ferrets are domesticated polecats. These 2 (you don't need a licence to keep them) came from a rescue centre and seemed healthy and well looked after.