Summer in Scotland

Summer in Scotland consists of:

rain (just drizzle if you’re lucky)
wind (as in: really windy!)

Tomorrow is July, which worries me slightly, as it means ’summer’ is now in full swing. I never look forward to the cold, dark months - but as of tomorrow, we’re in the second half of year and thus past the point [...]

My new car from Gretna Green

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I’ve now got my Honda Civic which I picked up from Gretna Green. I didn’t mind getting the train to Carlisle and then Gretna - I want to learn as much as possible about Scotland’s different areas. The train journey made me feel quite emotional - the views for the first part of [...]

Maximo Park @ The Fringe 18th August

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Maximo Park are playing on the fringe in August! Great news. It’s what used to be called T on the Fringe (we saw Muse there two years ago and Pixies in 2005). It’s now called The Edge music festival.
At the moment, tickets are still available, but I’ll think they’ll sell out really quickly! [...]

Hebridean Island (Canna) now Rat-Free

The beautiful Isle of Canna on the west coast of Scotland is finally rat-free. The isolation means that the ecosystem there is very fragile, and there were fears for the local rare species, the Canna mouse.
Imagine how difficult it must be to eliminate an entire species from an island, and one that is as rugged [...]

Going to Glasgow Today

Today I will be going to Glasgow. It’s to do with work. There’s a social/dinner tonight with some important people, and tomorrow morning there’s a meeting though I don’t know at what time.
It’s a wee bit daunting - I’m going on my own as my line manager is away, though ideally she should be there [...]

Arnisdale (Scotland) doesn’t have Broadband

There are communities in the UK that don’t have broadband access yet. One story was on BBC News tonight of a guy that sails across a loch (Loch Hourn and Corran) to go online wirelessly
Check out the clip featuring Loch Hourn on the BBC site here - it’s beautiful!
/me must go there

No More Ferries from East Scotland to the Continent

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BBC news report that the Rosyth ferry currently running between Rosyth (just north of Edinburgh) and Zeebrugge (Belgium) is to be discontinued.
It’s a real shame - I’ve used the ferry once before (in 2006, I think) and it’s very convenient. Plus, people like travelling to Scotland by ferry , as it means they [...]

Edinburgh as a Tourist

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When my BF comes up tomorrow, we’re going to do some nice touristy things. I’ve lived in Edinburgh now for nearly 6 years, so I pretty much know it inside out (unlike the monster that is London, Edinburgh is quite compact and walkable).
What I’ve done is picked out a couple of new outdoor [...]

Strike in Grangemouth = No Scotland Trip

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I had planned to drive somewhere e.g. Falkirk Wheel, and do some touristy things when my BF visits me next week-end.
However, due to the Grangemouth Strike this looks unlikely. At least Edinburgh is so beautiful that you can easily fill touristy days, without even spending all that much (it’s got so much free [...]

Flat Evaluation Tomorrow

I have someone to come and evalutate my (council) flat at 9AM tomorrow (well, between 9-11AM. I’m their first job so hopefully they’ll arrive on time. I need to get to work afterwards!).
I’ve been toying with the idea of buying my Edinburgh flat for quite some time now (have blogged about it here for [...]