Lockdown

April 15, 2020

It’s life, but it’s not exactly living.

I have been isolated for the best part of five weeks now and it would appear that the lockdown is going to last for another week, month, or three months, depending on which ‘expert’ you choose to listen to. I get the feeling that no-one really knows. Except Donald Trump who will soon declare that America never even had the Coronavirus and he single handedly stop the virus at the border himself.

Most of the advice I have been reading is telling me that creating a routine is the best way for coping. I am fairly sure they didn’t mean watching a shit-ton of Netflix and getting up late everyday. Am also pretty sure they didn’t mean getting up at stupid o’clock and only getting four hours sleep each night either. Most of the time I am between the two depending on what day it is, which of course relies on me knowing what day it is. The longer the lockdown continues the less I care about what day it is.

I am grateful of course that I have managed to avoid this virus so far and that I am in a position that many are not. I am interested to see at what point people stop caring about the stay at home rules.

Stay safe.

European

February 1, 2020

The light left on for Scotland on the EU commission building

So Britain exited the European Union yesterday and many people celebrated, set off fireworks and generally couldn’t explain what would be different now that we were out of Europe. They stammered and looked stupid when asked what this meant to them and how would their lives be different. Twitter, inevitably, lost its collective shit on both sides of the argument.

Personally, I don’t think a fifty pence coin preaching “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” is going to mend the wounds north of the border. I will be happy to tell any shopkeeper that gives me that coin to shove it up their arse.

It would appear that Boris has done Scotland a massive favour this evening. Exiting Europe was not the will of Scotland, but her voice was not heard nor listened too in Westminster and now it is inevitable that there will be another Independence referendum.

You cannot ask a nation to stay together on the basis you will remain in Europe and then remove them from Europe a few years later. What happened to stronger together? Oh, that doesn’t suit your message now Boris? Well, fuck you.

I look forward to the £350 million a week funding for NHS, the really great, just the best, trade deals (as long as we don’t work with Huawei) the revitalised industry and claiming back our fishing waters that’s going to happen in the weeks to come. I really want whatever they were smoking when they came up with this nonsense and really want whatever those that voted for this were smoking because my word you had to be a little bit special to fall for the shit they were selling.

We have now entered the transition period where there will be endless trade deals where we give away everything and a period of blaming the facism party and Brexit for everything that goes wrong for the foreseeable future.

This was voted for by people that were millionaires and idiots, you should go check your bank balance and see which you are.

I am now planning my return to The Netherlands where upon I will be applying for Dutch citizenship to get away from all this madness.

2020

January 1, 2020

As the year ends and a new decade dawns, I have been trying to think of what I am looking forward to next year. Sadly I have been able to come up with very little.

Most of my thoughts are drawn to the end of January and the inventible clusterfuck that Brexit and the subsequent negotiations will be. I am convinced that we will leave without any kind of deal or a deal that is good for those that are already substantially well off. I still find it hard to believe that the idiots that voted for this are the people that leaving the EU is going to affect most. I stand by calling them idiots because I have yet to meet any that actually voted for it, this of course may be a geographic anomaly. The irony of the facist party campaigning that we are better off going on our own after campaigning that we are “Better Together” when Scotland was voting in the referendum for independence just rubs salt in the wound. I can’t even start about the lies that were told during the campaigning.

I literally stopped watching or reading the news after there were calls for the country to “come together” now that Brexit was done. It makes me sad and angry that anyone in power (including the ridiculousness of the royal family) think that the country is going to come together. With any luck it will rip the union apart and we can get Donald Trump to tell us what walls are best for the border between Scotland and England. Not to mention the fact that Northern Ireland looks like it is still going to be in a customs union with the EU makes the whole union a fucking joke.

I have also had to take a break from social media because I just can’t read anymore vile bile that is getting poured out. I suddenly found myself wondering how something that I have found so useful in the past could become so putrid (perhaps I am just following the wrong people).

The fact that it was categorically proven that Cambridge Analytica sold data that influenced the Brexit referendum is an absolute travesty (check out the Netflix film ‘The Great Hack’ for more info on this).. Yet, those that could do something about it have done nothing as it suited their purposes. Influencing an election like this should have triggered a void result. But of course the Brexit referendum was just a trial run for using the same tactics in the subsequent US election, which gave the world Donald Trump as the United States president.

Now we have a baboon for a Prime Minister and an impeached US President. Two misogynistic, racist, homophobic hate inciters. Sterling work!

Winter Solstice

December 22, 2019

Possibly my favourite day of the year, the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. For me it marks the start of ‘proper’ winter, January and February always feel the coldest in Scotland. It also means that the days start lengthening again up until the June summer solstice.

For many winter is the hardest part of the year due to the lack of light and coldness. When I hear people complain about winter I often think of the poem There’s a certain slant of light, by Emily Dickinson.

There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –

None may teach it – Any –
Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –

When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –

Whatever your feeling about winter, Happy Solstice.

Wester Ross

October 4, 2019

Years ago, during my undergraduate years, I used to take a break with my father in September for a week. It was usually to go somewhere hill walking as he had a week off from work in September and it coincided nicely before I left for university each year.

I have great memories from these trips and usually came back super fit from just a week of hillwalking or Munro Bagging as it is commonly known. I am keenly aware of how fortunate I am to have this time with my father and it has been the source of many memories I have thought about over the years since then.

Although it had nothing to do with hill walking, one of my fondest memories the second year that we went together was phoning home to find out that I had got into The University of St Andrews. It had been a stressful summer waiting to find out as it was the only university I had applied to. Putting all your eggs in one basket? Moi? It started the ball rolling towards my higher education. Little did I know at the time that I would still be in higher education for the next eight years.

This year, as I had accumulated a little too much vacation time from my own work, I had the opportunity to rekindle the September get away with my father. We visited Wester Ross, in particular the Gairloch area. I used to spend a lot of time in this area when I was younger as it was a favourite holiday location of my parents and I had become very attached to the area as I grew up.

Click to see the larger image.

Although no hillwalking was taken on this trip we did spend a lot of time walking and travelling around the area, and booking dinner at the Old Inn every night! It was a welcome break from the central region and it was nice that there is no cellular reception whatsoever. Like, none. But there was wifi at the campsite and the Old Inn, as long as 512kb/s is your thing. This isn’t a complaint, but it is reality in this area.

We also had the worst coffee in all of Scotland at Mountain Coffee, primarily because it was close to the campsite. It is perfect if you like Starbucks prices and dishwater tasting coffee. I also had a nice surprise at the Gale Centre, they have an amazing Rain Garden which I must add to the 10000 Rain Gardens for Scotland Project.

Anyway, I did take some photos, primarily to see what the iPhone 11 Pro could do with the new cameras, which did not disappoint me especially in low light. I have a lot of landscape photographs below because it is hard to take photographs in such a beautiful place without being in landscape :-)