water of leaf

 

5th October. Thanks Mary for the blog title!

This was an exciting time. Four months after our downstairs neighbour let us know our shower was leaking into his flat, we were getting the shower room refitted. Naturally we stopped using the shower back in June and began the lengthy process of sorting the problem. We removed the old shower and shower tray which revealed more than just a plumbing problem with a bit of rot, mostly historical, from about 25+ years ago when we had had similar problems shortly after moving in, which I had tackled back then. We got a preservation firm in to assess the situation this time. We agreed to their expensive quote to saw out and brace the joists and treat all the area for rot. While they did an acceptable job, they did not inspire sufficient confidence that they were the team to carry out the re-fitting. It is very much a lottery when you employ tradesmen and you can easily end up in the shit.

Mary did some online research and found Polish builder Krzyzstof. Excellent reviews and he was keen enough to come out on a Sunday and give us a next day quote, starting shortly afterwards. When he was lifting the new floor boards to check the plumbing, one was screwed down into the joists AND the waste pipe. And he removed all the plasterboards the first team (MacFadyen Preservation) had charged us to install round 2 walls as they were not the waterproofed ones that perhaps should have been installed.

Krzyzstof did inspire confidence. However when he saw our fuse box which would have been a la mode about 60 years ago he warned us it would have to be replaced. The last electrician to see it had said something similar, but then ran out the door and never returned our emails. Krzyzstof had an electrician Patryk, who could replace it. It was expensive but it would happen on Saturday. Rather than sit through the electricity going off and on while Krzyzstof and Marcin sawed and hammered in the shower room, we made ourselves scarce for the day. It was a good move but not exactly the finest weather. We caught a bus to Balerno to walk down the Water of Leith.

I saw this watch-sized object at the side of the path and liked the minimal unfussy design, although it didn't seem to tell the time. Later when I googled lensed it, it revealed itself to be an led bike light. With presumably an untrustworthy attachment.

Currie Kirk

There wasn't much to point the camera at however we were having fun because we were hyped up by the Starbuck's coffee. Possibly the first Starbucks I have ever been into: normally I avoid large American franchises in favour of local family establishments but there was one across the road on Leith Walk from the bus stop and it seemed like a good call since the water had been turned off in our flat since 8.05am and we were both in need of the restroom. 

As we got close to Collinton Dell we were thinking about another cafe-stop. We saw a woman who looked like she might be local and asked if she knew anywhere nearby. Her name was June and she was very enthusastic about taking us to Spylaw Park where there was a pop up cafe and jumble sale type event going on. We had a pot of tea in chintzy cups and a couple of homebakes that hit the spot. Nice happenstance to bump into Richard and Becks, friends through PRC and Mary's old workplace, who were helping out. 

Becks (Dr Sharp) and June

Richard and Mary

Collinton tunnel

Water of Leith centre

The sun popped out briefly around the Water of Leith centre. I photo-ed a dipper - there seemed to be a disappointing lack of dippers/kingfishers/otters along much of the river or maybe they were just hiding from us. And the only butterfly of the day, a speckled wood appeared.

Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra: part of the GB Ultra series

A few runners went past wearing numbers and we realised a race was being held. We asked the next runner what it was: the Glasgow to Edinburgh ultra. A notoriously monotonous 57 miler mostly on flat canal paths. I have never signed up for it so I shouldn't be slagging it off, however all teh people I've spoken to it about it said as much and that they wouldn't be doing it again. We cheered folk as they went by. Clearly the route had been changed as it finished in Saughton Park and not Harrison Park by the canal as previously. We never found out the explanation but it was probably a slight improvement over the repetitive aspect of canal paths.

When we got the tram home, we got chatting to a brave soul (still in race kit) who had driven to Edinburgh the night before from Aberdeen, and then taken a train to Glasgow and stayed in a hotel overnight before the 6am start. He seemed to be remarkably unbroken by the day's challenges but did admit he wouldn't be doing it again. And hoped he would be okay for the long drive back to Aberdeen.

glad to be at the finish line

we had a brief look round Saughton

ruby tiger moth caterpillar

a flood of starlings at Murrayfield

I think the dull weather around Murrayfield inspired us to catch the tram home. I'm not sure how we arrived at the idea it was time to call it a day but when it came up, we immediately made our way to the nearby tram stop. Possibly the best photo of the day was waiting over the other side of the tracks. A pleasant enough day out.

over 8 miles in under 4hrs

s i x t y t w o !

 

On the 3rd October I turned 62 years old. Born in 1962. Kind of incredible and mundane in equal measure. Instead of pondering too much on the (limited) joys of getting older, because there is no acceptable alternative, let's just go for a run instead.

Mary asked where I would like to go for a birthday run. And instantly regretted it! She is not a huge fan of the NB circuit. She has not done it often and remembers the final 3 or 4 miles slogging back into NB along busy roads, some without pavements.

However, the night before I had a look on the Sunnto mapping website which allows you to plan trail runs and directs you towards quieter off-road diversions. Double checking it with Google maps to make sure I wasn't planning any obvious trespassing I reckoned I had found a route back across quieter fields and roads from Scoughall. Also by parking at the bottom of the Law we missed the first and last mile from the station making 16 rather than 18 miles. Initially Mary was sceptical but as we went on, it all turned out rather well.

Lesser garden spider, Metellina segmentata

the Law looking spectacular

It wasn't great weather when we set off so we didn't bother climbing the Law, thinking if it was sunny when we got back we'd get better views. The weather brightened and Mary took off her long sleeved top. The going was brisk and we bashed out the first few miles enthusiastically.

buzzard - there were several out and about today

re-joining the JMW after Balgone pond diversion

landing strip

young roe deer

chatting to the locals

as you'll see in the video (below) this area was busy with butterflies
Large white (above), small white and a couple of red admirals.

admiral # 1

admiral # 2

small white

Balgone mansionhouse

Newbyth pond
quick stop here for a snack/sandwich

Newbyth wood

a few speckleds about

Binning Wood

There are plenty different tracks and trails through Binning Wood. One goes past where my dad is buried. We didn't go visit him today but did wish him a spiritual hi-de-hi! We were hoping he would produce some marvel - a crowd of butterflies or dancing birds - by way of saying hello but nothing much appeared and none of it attributable to the afterlife. It was very pleasant though and I had to limit the amount of video I was tempted to shoot as a result. I was trying to get a flavour of all the different terrains and surroundings we pass through.

I actually carried 3 cameras! All these photos were taken with the compact I carried in my hand. The video I shot with the DJI Pocket which I ran with in the other hand much of the way. In my backpack was my old bridge camera in case we came across something so marvelous it required decent equipment. Twice I have been out with it as back-up camera and not taken it out. It took zero photos again today! It is not heavy though and I hardly noticed the weight in the back pack.

Reggie Perrin flip flops

Tyninghame - one of the best beaches in Scotland

the Bass Rock - one of the best rocks in Scotland!

Mary's foot went through the cornice as she climbed up this sandy step. She fell over although there was some additional exaggerated antics and histrionic melodrama piled on too.

From the Peffer Burn we ran up the concrete road to the A198 turned right for a hundred yards or so then turned left through the field. There is a dog walkers trail that cuts over North of Whitekirk Hill to Gleghornie Cottages. This was the new section and although the initial path was a bit tussocky for running as soon as we reached the cottages we were running again on quiet roads which took us West to rejoin the JMW. 

Basic camera mistake above - never put your beloved on the edge of a wide shot - they will also end up looking unflatteringly wide. There were a few roads we hadn't been on before with little or no traffic. Just a matter of keeping going. Then we realised where we were and joined the JMW for the last mile and a half. It was a bonus stopping at the Law car park instead of having another mile down to the station.16 miles was plenty and felt less of a chore than the previous route of 18 miles. We were even still smiling when we got back to the car park, although the weather didn't merit an ascent up to the summit. Oh dear never mind, maybe next time!

I had seen several common darters take off from sunny spots - around Balgone and elsewhere, but hadn't managed to get any photos, until this one, which was the last one of the day and had been sunbathing along the wall before the Law and quarry pond. When it landed again I got a couple of shots. Nice to at least get a record shot and mark what might be the final odonata of the year. The weather has gone a bit colder in the last few days and we may have seen the last of the butterflies as well.

Work on the shower-room is approaching completion. Which means we will be able to wash in luxury by the end of the week (edit: 2 times in the new shower already!) rather than in a bucket by the kitchen sink. Four months of washing like impoverished Victorians. We did this one Winter about 24 years ago and it makes you really appreciate the return to contemporary washing habits.

I feel I should be tying in some wise words about age, maturity and good habits but haven't yet stumbled across any magic potion that makes my sixties more enjoyable than my fifties which were probably my favourite decade so far. Generally I have fewer worries (and love being retired), but am a little concerned about deterioration and the slippery slope, which seems more slippery and more sloped than ever before. I think it is a very good thing coach Mary is back on the case and my running is having a mojo inserted whether I like it or not. Mostly I like it.

Doing less work makes me feel less inclined to do work, which includes physical endeavor to an extent. Gone are the days of heading out for a 30miler on a whim. But will they return? How much do I want it? That is possibly the important question. I feel maybe this could be the decade I do more creative things and perhaps less ambitious physical projects, but I'd like to claw back a bit of fitness to ward off  the dude in the cloak with the scythe. But the only immediate thing on the horizon is perhaps considering a trip abroad sometime soon, to offset the onset of Winter, in search of scenery, sunshine and things to photograph. There have been discussions about getting new rucksacks to carry things comfortably over distances (dusty caminos) in far off lands. That, I could get excited about.

we both really enjoyed the day out
and had huge pizzas, beer and wine to celebrate, which felt like a win

15.88 miles in 3hrs45

video shot on DJI Pocket