Katie and I go to Loch Lomond while the sun shines

Normal service has been resumed weather wise over the last week but April was brilliant, shorts and t-shirt at work, suntan lotion on.

Here's some shots from the very pleasant afternoon + video.

The shots of the footwear are almost purely for Lorna McAvoy's benefit ;o)

Some photos I don't think I shared yet.....

Here are a smattering of photos from the world of blackberry that i haven't shared yet for one reason or another.......(time mainly and a bluetooth issue)

My friend Ewen after a Rangers game + hospitality - climbing on Ecto 1 which the ghostbusters guys had decided to park outside the swallow hotel. I can't imagine their proton packs (or wheels) were still there in the morning.

Some snowy scenes from Strathbungo - before the really heavy stuff started to fall!

Reunion down the Clachan very shortly after i arrived back from NZ

Katie and Chris getting papped with posh phones on the Mexican night out that i have already blogged about.

The night at The Shed where Gregor split his jeans, yes his jeans, doing the splits. unbelievable.

Katie and I last weekend trying to sort out 4 years worth of paperwork - it looks as much fun as it actually was and still hasn't finished yet, although the house and our brains are much clearer.

And I saved the best for last, at our school show Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Cee Lo Green showed up - luckily I got a copy of the team photo before the performance. If you youtube my current school, my department and "dance" you might just get to see the show. Please private message me if you need more info about how to find the video.

Hope you enjoyed this random post.

Fun in the Sun - In Glasgow?

A heatwave has been hitting Glasgow recently would you believe? O.k., so it's not really a heatwave, it's been somewhere between 14 and 21 degrees, with little rain and lots of sunshine.

It has meant shorts and T-shirt at work and sitting outside where possible, including some visits to the local park and sitting on the stairs drinking beer (as most people around here seem to do).

Normal service has been resumed today however, election day in Scotland, colloquially known (in my mind anyway) as "choosanumpty day". It is pissing it down today - can a Tory government do anything about that? Nah, I didn't think so. ;o)

Visitors to the new pad - and to the local park.

Recently our great friends came round with their two lovely girls (who also happen to be Godchildren of ours).

We had a lovely lunch and then went over to the park.

We learnt a few lessons this day....

1) When feeding children, remember that if you have a white sofa and light carpets it is best to stay away from sticky, colourful foods and chocolate.

2) Glasgow parks when the sun comes out have not changed one bit, big mental dogs, half naked neds swinging bottles of Irn bru, pensioners in their usual winter coats and guys looking all sorts of uncomfortable in three quarter length trousers and sandals.

3) We also learned that we are just big kids ourselves...

A great day had by all.......

Recent photo

This blog is never going to become photography only but I wanted to share a photo that I took recently, it felt good to get back out taking photos - here's to many more!

Rangers v Celtic

I seem to have attended more Ranger's games since coming back from New Zealand than I ever did before I left. But I do love the sport and they don't come much bigger over here than these. Australia v All Black's? The atmosphere isn't quite the same.

The last one was the Cup Final that Rangers won at Hampden.....

And today's was a last minute ticket for the game at Ibrox which ended up 0-0 thanks to some stunning saves by big McGregor.

For those of you who aren't living here and probably don't know, Rangers are being hammered at the moment for singing sect*ri*n songs, and now the police, fifa and everyone else seems to be getting involved trying to sort things out. Especially now that people are being targeted with expl*sives and de*th threa*ts. (Even though I am not saying anything wrong I have blanked out some of the letters so filters don't identify me as a suspicious blogger and shut me down.)

 For what it's worth here's my tuppence worth on the whole embarrassing situation in Glasgow at the moment.

1) I sincerely hope that this is just the catalyst that we need to rid Scottish football of  all the mentalists who get their kicks on both sides out of their hatred of the other.
2) I think "him over there" needs to conduct himself with a bit more decorum, although he doesn't deserve threats against him and his family.
3) I look forward to the day when we can have a healthy, fun rivalry with each other - and to those who say it can't happen, I have two words for you...smoking ban. They said that couldn't happen either.

Steph.

Enhancing the blog

I am currently undertaking a bit of a marathon task where I am systematically revisiting every blog post we have ever made trying to get it ready to publish into a wee coffee table book for ourselves. I'm not really changing things, just polishing things slightly and jazzing it up with more images.

So basically there will be new photos on some of the really old posts and the spelling will be fixed - if you can be arsed looking that far back in time have a look. If not you can always order a copy of the book - it'll be ideal jobby time reading ;o)

Photography

I've also been getting myself back out and about taking some photos - with varying success I might add. As I was saying to my snapper friend Gordon, it's like not having ridden a bike in a while - you can still do it but you're not as confident and a wee bit shit.

Here are a couple of the shots that I took the other day, remember to keep up with my flickr account for the latest updates and oldies

www.flickr.com/stephbrown08

A funny anecdote from the Central Station picture - 3 teenagers come up to me and one said "can you take a picture of me?" - I said, "I could, but no offence pal, it's no gonna make me any money." His mates found this pretty funny - as did I. 

Och, the Glasgow banter.

Latest update......

Wahey, life continues to hurtle along at quite a pace back here in Bonnie Scotland, and it's funny because when you are at home you don't always carry a camera to catch those magic moments to put on the blog.

I have been trying to get better at this though and hope that some of the shots here will help fill in some blanks from the previous months.

My Mum's 60th

My Mum turned 60 in March - even though she still looks in her thirties. We had a great meal out on the Friday at Ubiquitous Chip and then we were out again with the rest of the family at Arisaig in Merchant Square. A good time was had by all and my Mum's birthday haul included a cold frame for the garden, a whopping big flatscreen TV, champagne and flowers, more helium balloons than you would need to get to space (especially if you are as small as my mum), jewellery, a purse and a trip to Paris to be had in the Autumn.

Old Trafford with the School

I recently went on a school trip down to the village of Manchester to watch one of their up and coming young teams call "Manchester Untied" or something like that. It was very exciting on the way down on the bus when the kids were stuffing their faces and generally quiet. However on the way back when they were sick, tired and out of sweets,  it was less fun.

For the record, Old Trafford was pretty fantastic - we were in the Bolton away support which made it quite fun. The fans were singing stuff like "you're just a shit Michael jackson" (to Nani) and "Rooney Sh8gged a Wanderer" (to Wayne Rooney)

Bolton lost 1-0 with a Berbatov goal in the last minute - as predicted by me to a 13 year old boy with about 20 minutes to go.

Work update........

Probably worth giving you an update on the work situation - well, after quite a long run in my current school they kind of gave me assurances that they should be able to keep me on until June. However recent crippling financial problems for everyone apart from the bankers and the politicians means that they are now no longer able to keep me on full time and have reduced my hours to 60%. Although they are yet to tell me which days/hours I will be working, what classes I will be teaching and really anything beyond just turn up after the holidays.

That's ok however, and there are a couple of jobs coming up in that school and also a job at one i used to work at where the kids liked to swear and hit each other with hockey sticks.

I will keep you posted on the job situation,,,,,,,,,,watch this space.....

Steph's new bike

After cycling up and down the hills in Wellington for the best part of a year and a half on a bike that wasn't fit for purpose - it only cost 30 quid and I sold it for exactly the same as I bought it for (although I bought it with a helmet and lights) - I thought my biking days would be gone although I have been pining for the crippled old set of wheels even in the snow and ice this winter. I've honestly never been fitter with all that cycling and karate.

Anyway, unbeknowns to me Katie had been hatching a plot to get me back on the road - and she launched a big surprise on an unsuspecting Steph one day when he came home tired from work......

Katie had been tidying the house and had rearranged a few things so when I got home and noticed on of the boxes from the hall cupboard out in the hall I feared the worst so I didn't even bother to hang my jacket up in the cupboard.

For some reason Katie was getting a bit annoyed that i didn't want to see what she had done to the hall cupboard - I honestty thought that perhaps she had found a new way of rearranging our shoes or jackets so I said I would see it later. Miffed - Katie went to bed for a lie down and I ate my dinner then had a nap.

Later that night Katie had had enough and insisted that I must enter the hall cupboard to see what she had done - reluctantly I agreed and I must say I had no clue what the heck it was going to be but I certainly didn't expect what I actually found......

I've not been this surprised since Christmas day in 1985 when my parents got me a snooker table and hid it behind a curtain, writing a poem on an egg box as a clue as to where I should look. ;o)

I've not been able to get a proper photo of me on my bike yet but I will - let's just say it's a cracker and I am absolutely delighted with it. I've got myself tooled up with a new set of lights and some reflective gear and I have been braving the cold weather to cycle the 3.5 miles to work each day. It feels great - although the roads here are an obstacle course the roads are pretty flat compared to Welly. I've also got a little wireless trip computer for the bike and my top speed on the road so far has been 25.6 miles per hour.

Thanks so much to a very smug Katie - I love you lots xxx - and just watch out perhaps you might find something in a cupboard one day.........