Scotland’s Light

Posted on 18 June 2012 by Katrina

I don’t really keep up with Hollywood, in fact I wouldn’t even recognise the so-called household names who are involved in the film industry nowadays. I still think of Meryl Streep as a bit of a newcomer. So it was only when I watched the Scottish evening news earlier that I learned about this new Disney animation movie called Brave, set in Scotland apparently.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister is jumping on the bandwagon and is over in Hollywood whilest the film is being promoted and is going to be attending Brave’s premier. I suppose if you think that there’s no such thing as bad publicity then you might as well go with it. Apparently they think the film will be great for Scottish tourism. It might turn out to be quite an entertaining watch but if we’re relying on Disney to get tourists to Scotland I can’t help thinking we’re in a really bad way.

Come to Scotland for the scenery, history, geology, archaeology, food (yes) the whisky (if you’re that way inclined), hill-walking, climbing, white water rafting, the Edinburgh Festival (if you must), great museums and art galleries, lochs and castles galore, stately homes and palaces and purer air. Maybe even come for the people, well some of them!

If you want someone else’s opinion on Scotland have a read at Deborah Orr’s article which appeared in Friday’s Guardian. You can read it here where there are links to lovely scenery.

The thing that I love most about summer in Scotland is the light. At the moment it’s 10 o’clock at night and it’s not far off broad daylight outside. I was gardening until just half an hour ago and I still could easily as there are no problems with seeing what I’m doing. It’s a big contrast to living in the south of England where you don’t get the benefit of the light nights. Honestly, you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the gloaming in some rural setting, you could almost believe in fairies!

Have a look at the lovely Scotland in the Gloaming site. I have to thank Peggy Ann for pointing me in its direction – via the US.

Diamond Jubilee Beacons

Posted on 4 June 2012 by Katrina

I love the idea of lighting beacons on hills to celebrate important occasions, so here are some lovely photos of the Diamond Jubilee beacons. A couple of them are near me, the Edinburgh one and the ‘beacons’ on the East Lomond in Fife.

I’m just sorry that they are from The Mail newspaper, but nobody else seems to have any online at the moment.

A Country Walk in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, part 4

Posted on 16 May 2012 by Katrina

These are some more of the photos which I took when we went for another walk into the farmland beyond Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

From a distance it looks like quite a few of the trees are still comletely bare but they all have some growth I’m sure, although they are definitely further behind than usual. We’ve had such weird weather recently that they really don’t know whether it’s spring or winter.

Going for a good walk is an enjoyable way of burning off some calories and cheaper than joining a gym, in fact it costs nothing but time. It’s a shame we don’t all have somewhere nearby us which we can go and have a wander around to get some fresh air.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if the scientists could invent something like the holo-deck on Star Trek and you could decide where you wanted to spend your leisure time and suddenly just be there. Where would you choose to go?

A Country Walk in Kirkcaldy, Fife part 3

Posted on 15 May 2012 by Katrina

Do you remember we went for a walk about two months ago, down the Wizard’s Walk and into the farmland on the edge of Beveridge Park. You can see those posts here and here.

These are the photos which we took on Sunday, just to compare the leaf growth later in the season.

This is the crop growing in what was that bare ploughed field. As you can see, a lot of the trees still seem to be very bare.

The same field a bit further on. I have no idea what the crop is.

One of the trees which is well in leaf now, some of them still have very little green showing. I believe this is a field maple.

Last time I didn’t take any photos of the golf course which is on the left hand side as you walk up the hill into the farmland but it might be of interest to golfers.

I must admit there are some lovely trees on the course.

Obviously this is just a teeny wee bit of the course. It was designed by Tom Morris in 1904 and if you’re interested in learning more about Kirkcaldy Golf Club, have a look here.

More photos tomorrow.

Wedding Dress Tales

Posted on 15 May 2012 by Katrina

I was mooching around the PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) charity shop in Kirkcaldy last week, really just to have a look at the books which had been donated, you never know your luck. But I couldn’t help being struck by this long rack of wedding dresses, I just had to have a closer look.

Now I was never the sort of girl who dreamt of traipsing down the aisle in a big frock, I really had to have my arm twisted, I would have preferred a much quieter wedding and I didn’t buy a dress until less than a week before the wedding, it was cream, just in case you’re interested because I don’t like bright Daz white, it’s especially unflattering if you have pale skin and red hair as I do. But having got the dress, I must admit that I wouldn’t ever part with it. It’s living in a white plastic bag now because its box fell apart and I’ve been trailing it around various house moves over the last 36 odd years – very odd actually!

So I just had to ask the lady in the PDSA charity shop if the dresses had all been donated, and apparently they have been. If only they could speak, they would have some tales to tell I’m sure.

There are some absolute crackers of dresses there, if you happen to be looking for such a thing. Ranging from the 1960s right up to much more recent bridal fashions. There are a couple of lovely 1970s designs, similar to my own dress – think Victorian nightdress. A few of the 1980s designs were bought by a film company recently for use in a film

This one was my favourite, sort of champagne/pale cream coloured, with beautiful embroidered roses on the bodice and sleeves. I can only think that these dresses all belonged to women who ended up getting divorced and didn’t want any reminders of the day at all.

It’s very sad, but maybe things will work out better the next time they take a trip down that aisle. And for any potential brides looking for a bargain – get yourself down to the Kirkcaldy High Street branch of the PDSA. The dresses cost from between £35 and £50 and when you consider that I saw a new wedding dress on sale further along the High Street – just £675 – that was it half price too. It was a hideous thing which best resembled a ruched nylon net curtain. I’d definitely plump for a lovely second-hand dress, after all it’s recycling and if you’re at all bothered about that word second-hand – just call it vintage. And of course, you’re helping sick animals at the same time.

I was sorely tempted to start a wedding dress collection, people do collect them you know, then I remembered, I’m supposed to be decluttering!

Kirkcaldy Beach, Fife, Scotland

Posted on 31 March 2012 by Katrina

This week Scotland has been enjoying wonderful weather for once and March temperature records have been broken. It got to 73F in some places, I think it was about 69F at the beach in Kirkcaldy when I took these photos.

There were actually people sunbathing in their bikinis but I decided against shocking you. It has to be said that Kirkcaldy central beach definitely isn’t one of the bonniest beaches in Fife and there are much nicer ones just a stone’s throw in each direction along the coast. The nearby small towns of Aberdour and Kinghorn have beautiful sandy beaches too.

As you can see the sand here has teeny wee bits of coal, just like grit mixed in with the sand. A legacy of the coal mining days of the area, of course all the mines were closed down years ago.

The water is beautifully clear though and this photo is actually all water as the tide was coming in. The Firth of Forth is certainly a lot cleaner than it used to be. It’s just at this point that it turns into the North Sea.

Back to the town again and you can see those three blocks of high flats which are so visible from Edinburgh and North Berwick. If you look closely you can see the massive yellow crane which is being used in the construction of the new swimming pool, although why we needed a new one is a mystery to me because the old (1980s) pool seems absolutely fine.

So, that was Kirkcaldy on one of the hottest March days which we have experienced. Why is it that when it’s a hot temperature we always revert to using Imperial measurements? We go back to those 70 Fs and know exactly what it means, hot to us but mild to other people no doubt. Then when it’s cold we are back to using centigrade and moan that it’s -15 C or whatever!

Country Walk in Kirkcaldy, Fife part 2

Posted on 25 March 2012 by Katrina

So here we are again for part two of that rural walk in Fife and this is another photo of a horse, the one which didn’t come down for a drink but just wanted to see what we were doing. He wasn’t at all impressed with us.

Onward and upward! A golf course does bite into the farmland but I try to ignore that fact as there are so many of the flaming blots on the landscape around Fife.

Yet another path which is going to look entirely different within a couple of weeks.

Some daffodils on the edge of the path.

Eventually you reach this ruined tower which I think has something to do with the Scott family of Michael Scott fame.

Further on you get this view of the tower and you can see that there are people living right next to it in converted farm buildings.

Looking in another direction you can see a railway viaduct which is still in use and the Firth of Forth beyond it. The hills of North Berwick on the other side of the Forth are visible if you click to enlarge.

This is Jack yomping along amongst the broom which is blooming early this year, some of it has been flowering for weeks. This part of the countryside was a railway track which was closed down in the 1960s when Dr Beeching devastated the British railway system, cutting off many rural areas completely. It later transpired that Beeching had an ulterior motive as he had gained financially from the exploit. Surprise surprise!

A close up of the broom, so called because it was cut and used as brooms in the distant past. Its botanical name is Planta genista and it is what the Plantagenets took their name from as it was their emblem.

As you can see the ground here is very marshy and some of it is flooded despite the fact that it has been really dry recently.

On the way back home now and I took this photo of the tree shadows on a ploughed field, it looked much better in reality but it’ll be interesting to see the contrast when all the leaves are burgeoning in a few weeks.

More tree shadows.

It’s nice to be able to have a walk in the countryside on my doorstep but it has to be said that there’s not much in the way of wildlife. We met four horses, one flying goose, one boxer dog, one rottweiler(scary), we heard one cockerell and said hello to two friendly farm women – and that was it, apart from one very long-dead sheep. It took us two hours and ten minutes to complete the walk and if I sat in my garden for that long I would see hundreds of birds visiting it. The countryside seems to be fairly bereft of birdlife, I suppose there are richer pickings for them in gardens.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your walk, we went home and made some coffee, so imagine you’re having some coffee/tea and cakes along with us, I wish I could offer you some real ones but at least the virtual ones are calorie free!

A Country Walk in Fife, Scotland.

Posted on 25 March 2012 by Katrina

I hope you’ve buffed up your virtual hiking boots because we’re off on a walk along a country track. We usually stick to walking along the esplanade or around a local park during the winter months but on Sunday it was a lovely day and we decided to go off piste and took a path out of the park and down to what has recently been called Wizard’s Walk after Michael Scot who was a scholar and apparently had ‘second sight’. He lived in the Balwearie area in the 12th century. You can read about him here.

This is a carved thistle at the beginning of the walk which has been made from an old tree stump. The path leads you to a wee stream or burn which is quite pretty as it tumbles over the rocks. I think this stream fed one of the many mills which used to make linen in the town.

The field on the other side of the burn is home to a couple of very quiet horses who are obviously great pals. They both came over to have a look at us but only one came down into the stream to have a nice drink. At the moment the wild garlic is just beginning to flower and the air is fairly pungent with it, it seems to be taking over the whole area.

The horses didn’t stay long and then ambled back to their favourite corner of their field.

At the end of the path we turned right and walked up a fairly steep farm track. The trees are still bare as you can see, apart from all the ivy which is galloping up their trunks and throttling them. I’d pull it all down if they were my trees. I’m going to go back this way in a couple of weeks just to see how different it all looks.

When you reach the top of the track there’s a good view of open fields, I think in a few weeks this place should be transformed when all the trees come into leaf and the crops start growing – whatever they are.

I don’t know about you, but I think this ploughed field is a thing of beauty. It must be quite a skill to be able to plough on what is quite steep and undulating land. It looks like it has been quilted.

This is another pair of horses which are further up the hill, they were too busy eating to even notice us, it’s nice that they seem to keep them in pairs so that they are company for each other.

The walk took us just over two hours but it was such a lovely day and there was plenty to see, it’s just great to be able to stretch your legs somewhere different after the winter. Don’t put your virtual boots away yet. The walk is only half done. Come back tomorrow for part two!

Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Posted on 31 January 2012 by Katrina

You’re more likely to see far more oyster catchers in Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy than you ever see down on the shore. I’ve counted over 40 of them all feeding away on whatever creepy crawlie it is they’re getting from the grass. Surely there can’t be that many worms in the ground.

If you look carefully at the above photo you’ll see some squirrels too, there’s one on the grass to the left of the trees and one on the bark of a tree. Sadly they’re just the common, thuggish grey ones. You have to travel further north or over to the west to see the lovely wee native red squirrels.

The seagulls in the photo below are actually standing on thin ice in the middle of the boating pond. I was surpised it was cold enough for the ice to form. Some folks like seagulls but these ones are an absolute menace, especially if they nest on your roof. They’re just a pain in general. Poor Laura got mugged by one last year as she was eating her lunch ‘on the hoof’ on her way to work. A huge seagull came up behind her and she knew nothing about it until she felt a weight on her shoulder, the next thing her sandwich had been snatched from her hand. It can feel like you’re in Daphne du Maurier’s Birds sometimes as they eye you up and they’re the size of a dog!

I was amazed to see a cherry/almond tree blossoming in January, at the same time as there’s ice on the pond. It’s usually another couple of months before these trees are in flower, the poor thing looked so cold. It’s been such a weird stop-start sort of winter. I’ve had some pelargonium/geranium plants in my garden which have been flowering all through the winter, albeit very bedraggled and straggly looking. It’ll be an even stranger spring at this rate.

Sadly quite a few of the really old trees in the park just couldn’t withstand the force of the wind of the second hurricane/gale which we had recently. Some of them had obviously been there since the park was first planned over 100 years ago.

The two conifers which fell over at the ornamental fountain are going to be especially missed as they were part of a formal design which is now lop-sided. Such is life – and the death of trees.

McDonald’s No More

Posted on 17 December 2011 by Katrina

I was absolutely flabbergasted, not to say dumbfoonert, when I walked past what had been McDonald’s in Kirkcaldy High Street last week and saw that it was all boarded up. I thought maybe it was just closed for refurbishment, although I did think it was a strange time of the year to do that. After a wee bit of research on the internet I discovered that it has closed down completely!

So much for all those people who say that kids are able to get work easily if they want it, and they are all too lazy or snooty to start flipping burgers, they obviously haven’t been to Fife, where they can’t flip burgers even if they want to. I feel really sorry for the people who have lost their jobs there because the town is such an unemployment blackspot and it’s going to be so difficult for them to get another job. Kirkcaldy always has been an area of high unemployment thanks to the Labour Party stranglehold on the area and having Gordon Brown as our MP who did absolutely nothing for Kirkcaldy except poke his nose in things which had nothing to do with him, and overruled the council.

McDonald’s isn’t everyone’s cup of tea or meal of choice, certainly not mine anyway but it’s a shame that yet another business has disappeared from the High Street. The only growth area shop-wise is charity shops and by all accounts it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

And if you fancy a bit of a laugh have a look at this puppet version. I think they’re great and the scenery behind them isn’t too bad either.

Pining for the West

Meanderings about recipes, books, craft and more

Category Archives: Local interest