Lucy has been making her place swish with a view to selling it - so if you are in the market for an elegant 1 bedroom flat on NB High St get in touch. Nice trophy.
If you go running with Lucy you are likely to meet and chat to doggie friends.
This was a whippet husky cross. A whisky.
I had suggested we go up the Law as there was a haar along the coast and the Law (viewed from the train in) looked like it was poking it's head out the mist.
A good game to play on the summit viewpoint: Quizmaster and Idiot. The quizmaster (the preferable of the 2 roles) stands at the podium and asks the relevant as-the-crow-flies distances from here to say Pittenween, East Lomond, Portobello, Lammer Law etc., and the idiot gets the answers wrong. The idiot role is not confined to immediate company and can include other summiteers unaware until that moment of their own shabby grasp of geography. If I had less self confidence I'd sneak up there and memorise the numbers for next time.
Unfortunately not quite the view I had hoped for.
A hawk and a crow.
Dudley the dog was being a tad overprotective and we were met with snarls and growls.
The pond (my n'ice bucket challenge pond) was looking spectacular tonight.
Fans of ICM may enjoy this Unintentional Camera Movement.
Always worth a shot in the dark.
My favourite JMW sign.
Lucy was entertaining and didn't have time for a swim so we parted company and I carried my wet suit etc along to Yellow Craigs. The sun was going down quickly as was the temperature. I was beginning to have doubts about the potential for swimming. However it was a very pleasant evening and I might get some nice sunset pics, even if I bottled out of the dip.
Fidra seemed like a mile away and there was no way I'd be covering that distance solo.
There was a conference of gulls and ducks and I was tempted to try to sneak out for a chat and a coffee but they would have moved off and I didn't want to upset them.
Not sure if the light is the reflection of the sun or the first candles being lit.
Although I just abut had the place to myself there were a few dogwalkers enjoying the scenery - by which I don't mean me, struggling into, and subsequently out of, a wet suit. I had checked last time I was swimming with Mary, that it was possible to zip into and out of, my kit myself. (Important for solo trips.) Tonight I got the zip half way up before it snagged and for a panicky 5 mins I could get it neither up nor down. I pictured the scene on the platform at North Berwick station, moi in rubber. Not good. Finally it budged and I waddled to the shoreline. I was kit testing tonight with the camera in the Aquapac carabinerred into the bum bag. If I was going to drown on a future long swim I might as well get some pics of it.
While I was faffing (ear-plugs and tape over ears, 2 x hats, gloves and shoes) the sun went down and off. This shot is sub-standard because the camera was inside the Aquapac and it wasn't coming out. The plastic window is becoming slightly fogged with use. And it wasn't the most high-end of optical devices to start with (basically a zip lock poly bag for less than £20.)
Marvelous how the right kit makes you look special.
If this was the last view you had as you slowly stroked out to sea and the sun went down and the light faded would it really be so bad? YES! Turns around and thrashes back to shore pronto.
Loving the minimal ambience and twilight, floating, looking up and tuning out.
So there I am at one with the world and completely relaxed and I take a shot of myself holding the camera above the water. My stupid imagination spoils the whole thing by picturing the resulting image with some monster from the deep rising up to photobomb. Okay, that's it, I'm done here, session over and everyone with a yellow band please leave the pool.
It's all in the mind.
retreat
It is almost impossible to get out of a wet wet suit and into dry clothes without getting half the beach in your shoes and the other half where the sun was no longer shining. It does warm you up though. I had one eye on the time as well, as it was approaching 8pm and the train was in the 8.20 region. I couldn't remember if it was 8.21 or 8.27 and those 6 minutes could be the difference between travelling to Edinburgh or back to Lucy's soiree until the 9.21 / 27. Also I had to stop during the yomp (the wetsuit and towels were now twice the weight) to take photos of the mist which was doing very Sherlock Holmesian things. The shark had mutated into the Hound of the Baskervilles and was just the other side of the dunes.
Having many times perfected the line of the shortest distance (and I'm sure all of the Speedcross 3 treads will have evaporated from the greens and fairways by tomorrow) to the station I arrived with minutes to spare. Lovely journey home listening to new tunes on the mp3 and brushing the sand off the seats.
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