go read this blog

One of the best bits of my job is meeting people living with diabetes and hearing about their experiences. Sometimes I don't get to meet them in person - sometimes it is a patient survey or letter or email. How people talk about their diabetes and deal with it is diverse and fascinating. Joe Freeman - our social media guy - pointed me in the direction of the Diabetes UK blog - which I knew about but hadn't made time to go and see [bad me]. The first post I read was about a person who wanted to know what they looked like when they have a hypo. What an amazing thing - it wouldn't have occured to me that someone would think of that and yet it makes perfect sense. Knowing your condition includes knowing about how it manifests itself and as the blogger notes how it looks may not automatically mean people know it is a hypo. I know of people who have been assumed to be drunk or on drugs when having a hypo - of people being picked up by the police or thrown out of shops/restaurants etc for being disorderly. Hearing directly from people with diabetes reminds all of us that raising awareness and making sure everyone knows about diabetes is really important. And that being let into a persons experience is a real privelege. Go read it!

gin is good

But don't say I said that. Working for a health charity means you are much more conscious than usual over what you are 'supposed' to be doing to be healthy. I have a heightened awareness for the foods and exercise avoidance that mean a less healthy lifestyle. However, heightened awareness also means I think even more about chips than I ever did. And chocolate. And gin. I want them.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to clean up my act. Moving job to a health charity may mean I know more about and are more aware of health messages - but this hasn't turned into a super healthy lifestyle. If anything the travel, odd working hours, evening events with buffets and a weakness for comfort eating when juggling 'competing priorities' means I have in fact put on weight and developed some not-so-great habits.

While working on our South Asian Community project a lot of the feedback from participants has been about the basic, simple changes you can make. How to give up sugar in your tea, or change your cooking oil. It's easy to say - harder to implement. Everyone in a household may need to make the change around you. For many they are trying to break the habits and practices of a lifetime. More than that, it is about culture too. For me food is a social thing. Breaking bread - or sitting down to a lovingly prepared meal and sharing the food and our reactions to it - is part of my culture and background. So taking a leaf out of their book, instead of thinking 'I must be able to cycle 50 miles before work NOW' I have taken a gentler approach.

I haven't fully given up coffee but I have limited myself to coffee on a Sunday. The cravings were bad - the headache coincided with a few stressful days at work so I convinced myself it wasn't the caffeine withdrawal. I even tried - horror of horrors - decaf coffee at work.

I haven't fully given up chocolate either - but I have cut down drastically. No Milky Bar on the train home [they are really small these days!]. I did have a dark chocolate covered ginger biscuit - but that doesn't count?

And last night on our walk along the river to get ice cream I went for a modest small scoop - not my usual greedy two scoop with a Flake.

I now also walk a lot more when I am in London instead of resorting to the tube. I get some exercise but also get to see and learn about the city I am working in. I am also walking to the train station in the village at home and back each day. Not quite my 'big goal' but better than nought.

These are all small changes - but I am proud of making them. They are the first step to getting healthier - and without that sense of failure when in the first week you haven't lost a stone and bagged a Munro, because who could achieve that? I am also reminded though of how hard it is to make those changes. I am surrounded by the information and guidance needed - and yet I still find it hard. It makes me realise how much we ask of those around us when we talk about five-a-day and doing more exercise. We need to realise that this stuff isn't as easy as it looks in a leaflet and that daily life and ingrained habits are hard to change.

And I have my wee brother coming to stay next week. So the next step is some big walks in the amazing countryside I have around me. He is great company and likes to get out and about so that will get my walking legs up to speed again.

So - back to the gin - I have not given up alcohol. I am not a big drinker but I do like 'a wee swally'. And I am not a martyr so I have to keep one fun thing. I can go weeks without a glass of wine - although in the modern way of the young professional I will have several glasses when out with friends but rate it ok because we were also having dinner - bourgeoise drinking is just as bad as any other kind. Also cocktails are not necessarily better than drinking Buckie. It's just more stylish. But I don't believe in giving up every fun thing. So I have this evening sat down to a lovely Blackwood's gin which has aided my 'work diary tidy up' and allowed me to feel like working late isn't too much of a bind. For me it is small steps, big changes, and if I am going to preach the message I should live it too.

back online

It has been a while since I last posted which has been down to a combination of moving house, no internet and an incredibly busy time at work. I am back on the internet though and blogging has recommenced. I will be sifting through the scraps, photos and other flotsam and jetsam I have gathered thinking 'that would be good for the blog' and getting it posted. So bear with me - I am gearing up again for the blogosphere!

In the meantime, you can catch me on twitter @JCJudson...

joseph joseph - so good they named it twice

I previously blogged about the joseph joseph index chopping boards I got given for Christmas [thanks, Emma!]. I have not used them, preferring to save them for the new house. Now, the new house has seen some buying power - kitchens, carpets, bathroom suites etc all take investment - but we have been very restrained and not splurged on 'furnishings and household items' as I term it. So, we haven't bought anything that isn't integral to the building itself. We have held back and been sensible - we have not stockpiled cushions, crockery or ornaments. This weekend we broke with that just a wee tiny bit. We ordered some dining chairs to brighten up the dining table and some bar stools for the breakfast bar. We have also ordered pots and pans [new induction hob = new cooking pots] but that is a whole other post. We also indulged in some joseph joseph! So I have new utensils on their way -


And critically, two new worktop savers for our new breakfast bar/Kitchen surfaces. The house has a lot of sleek lines and neutral colours but everyone needs some fun and we spotted some cool worktop savers at Sterling Mills.

Andy gets the tractor -


I get the sheep on the hill -


We managed to not buy the entire range, or give in to new knives, or any number of amazing things. So we have been restrained - honest!

work life balance

So all this social media stuff these days makes it difficult to keep work and home life separate. I currently have two facebook pages and have just started to tweet and I am realising that keeping bits of yourself separate is quite difficult.

When I started this blog it was partly so that Andy had an online repository of recipes, for me to record recipes and general chit chat for friends and family - it resolutely stayed clear of of other areas of my life - like work, politics and having Lupus and M.E. They do sometimes get a mention but they are not dwelt on. I worried about mixing them and about whether if I mentioned work and what I made last night for dinner in the same post that somehow made the work stuff less profesional and the home stuff less fun. It is more difficult these days to shut the door behind you and create that space. But at the same time sometimes the overlap can be positive.

One of things I have realised recently is how much I enjoy that Andy shares the same area of work - diabetes. We have quite different jobs and careers and also quite different interests in general - proving the opposites attract rule. He has a phd and works with other very clever people in health informatics and I can barely get my head round what he does - I do a job and have a career that at times defies definition. Campaigning, public affairs, policy development, planning etc - what does all that mean? I always struggle when you get a form with a drop down menu and you have to chose your profession - teacher, doctor, mechanic, lawyer, nurse, shop assistant - why don't I have an easily defined profession? It seemed that our work was definitely an area where we would always have little in common. But we do both share a keen sense of wanting to have jobs where we can see a line between what we do and making a positive difference in someone's life. Well, that can sound a bit cheesey and ultimately we need to pay the mortgage but we have always made decisions that once the bills are paid we pick jobs we enjoy and that match that goal. Diabetes has been the first time we have overlapped.

One of the interesting things about this has been how we have dealt with sharing our work and also drawing boundaries around it. Andy works with patient data and supports research - so sometimes he won't tell me what he is working on. Sometimes the first time I know what he has been doing is when a paper is published or an announcement made. Equally there are things I sometimes don't tell him - like the content of presentations I am about to do at conferences he is in the audience of. We have worked out a way of keeping those issues separate.

But what has been lovely is when we are tackling a problem or feeling a sense of achivement with things at work we can share it - and we can share a general sense of working together towards something. Andy knows me better than anyone so while the fact that his ability to read my mind isn't always a good thing, it is lovely to be able to be totally open and know the person you are talking to 'gets you'.

As well as Andy and I sharing diabetes, I have realised that working with people the way we do at Diabetes UK Scotland means you are allowed to be a person as well as a role. There always has to be a line, of course, but some of my favourite moments have not been in meetings or writing reports - some have been when a volunteer has offered me hospitality in their home after a long day and made me feel welcome or when the team takes a break to play with a team member's daughter after nursery. Sometimes it is when you are exhausted and are really not looking forward to taking the train home when you realise the short lift to the station you were being given is taking twenty minutes and in fact your colleague has decided to drive you home to help you out.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that we are all human and not mechanical parts that can be separated and then put back together easily. It is good to have boundaries. It is good to be professional. But I think maybe my virtual on-line kitchen could do with a bit more of a peak at the other rooms in the house a bit more often. Anyway, once the new house is finished a seem of blogging material will run dry and I will need the material! And if John Halamka can have a blog that combines his high profile work in American healthcare with how to build a birdhouse then why can't we all?

elections

They say a week is a long time in politics but after the election results today maybe it should be revised to 24 hours being the definition of a 'long time'. The SNP have the first full majority since the Parliament was re-established in 1999, Labour has become a minority, weak and destabilised party and the Lib Dems suffered a severe drubbing.

The Scottish Election has been a complex one. The media like to reduce analysis to glib statements - it's the Westminster coalition that did it, it was a two party race etc etc. But you don't get the majority the SNP has under an additional member based PR system a year after a resounding vote for Labour in the UK general election without a number of intertwined issues coming together.

The first is that while I sometimes have pondered the logic of local communities unseating elected representatives who are clearly excellent both locally and nationally for the sheer hell of it [as it appears to me anyway], I believe the Scottish electorate are fairly sophisticated and have an understanding of politics in Scotland that is beyond that of most political pundits - you only had to see Nick Robinson on the BBC to realise that. It may seem to some that a strong vote for Labour at the Westminster elections last year would lead to a strong showing yesterday. But of course they are entirely different elections with different choices and different policy outcomes and that viewpoint belies the nuances of a devolved system. Voters may not articulate it as political anoraks would but they definitley 'get it'.

The second is that the collapse of the Lib Dem vote was expected but the depth of the Labour collapse was not. The Lib Dem losses in and of themselves did not create the unstoppable surge in SNP support. Why did the Labour vote collapse like this? Scottish Lib Dems are suffering from a coalition with the Conservatives - what's Labour's reason?

The third is that while the SNP has independence as a policy they have proven that they are a party with policies for all areas of Scottish life. They are not a one trick pony. You may not like all of the tricks but they are a full blown show - not a sketch. They have governed and by all reasonable measures have governed well. They have certainly disproved the predictions of not lasting more than six months in power.

The fourth is that voters views on independence are not the driving factor in voting for or against the SNP. People will vote for the SNP as a party for Scotland even if they are not fully for indepedence.

The fifth is Labour's inability to run a positive campaign and one that is about Scotland - and not about Labour's struggle to operate in the devolved settlement they enabled to happen. A campaign that focuses on using Scotland as a springboard to success in a future Westminster election, negative messaging and an inability to contain Labour's internal struggle to recover from last year's UK elections and the previous Scottish elections is not a vote winner. Scottish voters perhaps more than others are sensitive to being used and patronised to.

The Lib Dems are in a dark place - but at least they know why they are there and so have a head start on how to work their way out of it. Labour needs to figure out how the past 24 hours came to be and recalibrate accordingly. Do they have the mettle to do this? Given the losses they have suffered their intellectual and political capacity is significantly pruned.

Of course, this short blog post itself only skims the surface of a 24 hour period that will take days, if not weeks, to understand and analyse. But five years ago no-one would have predicted an SNP majority or that Labour would be in the position they are now in. Scotland is grasping devolution in a way that no other part of the UK is quite achieving and is stating and creating its own path. If there is a part of our United Kingdom that knows it's own mind it appears it is Scotland.

taste - sunday morning coffee

Yesterday morning I nipped over to Linlithgow to catch up with my friend Michelle - and she suggested Taste, a wee cafe and deli in the town. I had heard her mention this place before and I am always up for finding new cafes and places that sell cakes and interesting foodstuffs.

I drove over - using my sat nav for the first time - and given I am the most nervous driver in the world quite enjoyed my wee jaunt. The sat nav unhelpfully fell out of its holder half way there but I have to say Ms Sat Nav is a plucky gal and continued to politely direct me from under the car seat.

I had an Americano with warm milk and a slice of gingerbread loaf with butter. The coffee was excellent - sometimes Americano can be served a bit bitter and with too much hot water. Yes, it is meant to be a long drink but I prefer it with a bit of the espresso syrup taste and texture to it - which this was. The milk came in a small jug, nicely warmed - not scorched - and with a wee cap of froth. The loaf was moist but managed to stay firm and not collapse under the butter spreading. Getting gingerbread loaf right is not easy - too dry and it crumbles, too moist and you risk creating a close packed shelf of loaf under the knife.

After a second Americano - which was as good as the first so was impressed with the consistency - I ordered a peppermint tea [we talk a lot - therefore a lot of coffee/tea is needed!]. And they use Tea Pigs! Which I love - I really like fresh mint leaves but next best thing is Tea Pigs.


The service was good - polite and helpful but not intrusive and on a Sunday it is nice to not feel rushed.

I didn't have a lot of time to browse but they have a great selection of chutneys and pickles, a small wine selection and an amazing array of cakes, pastries and pates. I will definitely be back.

customer service - the post office

For three weeks now I have been trying to post a parcel. Travelling umpteen miles across the UK hasn't helped but neither has the lack of post office facilities. Which still apparently close on Wednesday afternoons [who can keep those kind of hours?] and stop doing any actual post office type work at random times like 4pm, the only times I actually had free last week. So, this morning I got up earlier than I usually do on a Saturday to catch the post office down the road because it shuts at 11.30am - go figure], housed as part of the local co-op.

I needed something to post the birthday present to my sister in - nowadays unless you go to an out-of-town Staples or big supermarket it is quite a challenge to track down items like brown paper or the larger size of jiffy bag. Train stations [which I spend a scary amount of time in] used to often have post boxes and stationery shops that sold postage items beyond stamps. Not Euston's WH Smith, though, I discovered.

Anyway, I had my presents wrapped and strolled down the road. I perused the stationery section and saw one large size of build-it-yourself box. I asked the post office woman if she had any smaller boxes - no. I showed her what I was sending and asked if there was anything that suited - again, no.

So I had to choose between a flimsy, tiny envelope you could spit through or a massive box that ran the risk of ramping up my sister's expectations as to the size of her gift. So I decided to go with the box and asked how much it was. I was told I had to go and purchase at the co-op till and then come back to pay for the postage. I thought this was a bit daft but couldn't be bothered arguing.

I paid for my oversized box, went back to the post office bit of the shop and spent a good five minutes figuring out how to get the box from flat to box-shaped while Ms Post Office looked on through the plexi glass. Finally I managed it [thanks for the help there] and filled it about a quarter full [sorry Alice!] and started to fill out the address section.

As I did so, another customer came up and asked for a large Jiffy envelope 'the ones you do for a pound' and the post office woman reaches under the counter and produces a padded enevelope of the type that has a gusset [eugh - weird term but that is what they call it!] so you can fit larger items than flat paper/cards in. Just the perfect size and type for what I am sending!

I looked on in disbelief - and after the guy had bought it I asked the post office woman why when I asked she hadn't suggested it - her response was that I was asking about the stationery on display, not what she had behind the counter, and had asked about 'boxes' not 'envelopes'. But I didn't know there WAS anything 'behind the counter' [and, by the way, what else is she hiding back there...] or that precision terminology was required! How can you ask if you don't know? I pointed this out, along with the fact I had shown her what I was attempting to send so surely she could have put two and two together and suggested something that was more suitable and cost less - the box being 3.59. I got a blank stare and a 'do you want to send it First Class?

I did want to send it First Class [4.50!!! - but then you could say its my own fault for being late with it in the first place]. I asked if it would get there on Monday or possibly Tuesday given the weekend. I was promptly told that the post had already been picked up [at 10am - this was now, after all the box gubbins, about 10.45] and it wouldn't go in the post until pick up on Monday and so probably wouldn't arrive until Wednesday or Thursday and, in fact, it probably would have been better to just send it Second Class! So why did she ask if I wanted to send it First Class?!?!

So, dear sister of mine, you will recieve a large not-even-half-full box that cost the best part of a tenner - a tenner I would much rather have handed straight to you [or given to a good cause] - and gave me a customer-service aneurism.

I try my best to support local shops and businesses. I signed the Post Office petitions and emailed my MP to say they shoudln't be closed down. I am always nice to shop staff and waiting staff [having been there myself]. And I know it was 10.30 on a cold and miserable Saturday morning. But seriously, work tends to go by much faster and easier if you actually try and help your customers.

And now I understand why my husband uses e-gift cards...

walk

Today I had a rare day off and decided after weeks stuck in offices, trains and conference rooms in hotels across the UK some fresh air was needed. So I set off for a short-ish [5 miles] walk up through the back of the university and through Mine Woods.

On the way I enjoyed the views of a rather misty and atmospheric Stirling.


I also said hello to the horses at the riding school.


Walking through Mine Woods I spotted a rock with three abandoned mittens - each one different so no pair - three lost gloves looking a bit soggy and sad!


I then popped into Clive's for a bowl of broccoli soup - which was lovely and warming and indulgent. It wasn't thick and gloopy [I like chunky soup but not soup that is like a paste] but managed to have a robust cheesey flavour alongside the veggies.

It was good to just have a few hours away from work and the demands of email and phone. It gives you a bit of perspective and refreshes you. Now that the weather is getting better I am looking forward to getting back into my routine of a Friday walk and exercising a bit more.

cashmere and cupcakes

The cashmere and cupcakes blog covers the three things I like to dream about most - food, fashion and interiors [I know, how shallow, shouldn't it be world peace?].

However, it also made me unfairly jealous - a photographer husband and previous career in fashwan probably help though to set yourself up as a blogger and actually earn a living wage from it.

And her walk in wardrobe is just unfair too - but I do quite like the tips for being organised - though knowing me I will probably stick to 'piles of clothes in order of when I last wore them'.

Anyway - despite the jealousy it is a good blog to check out and has really lovely pics and plenty of nice stuff to look at/read about...

indexed chopping boards - yes please!

I like practical but stylish kitchen equipment. I want items to be simple - too complicated means you are less likely to want to use them and try out that new recipe and too decorative means cleaning and storage is difficult. Anything that has a glut of twirls and carved bits is a haven for food to get stuck and for cleaning to be a right chore.

Joseph Joseph is a company run by two twins, Antony and Richard, and grew from their family's glass business. The kitchen items are modern in design so perhaps more traditional cooks may not find them appealing, but I love the very simple and practical designs that have a look and feel that takes them out of the ordinary.

One of the issues I often have is my rather odd assortment of chopping boards that has been built up over several years. There are different sizes, colours, designs but despite the variety there is no sense of organisation or that the collection actually houses the right types of board. We keep 'the white chopping board' for just meat but I would like to be much better at having chopping boards for specific uses. In fact, really the only 'good' chopping board I have is an amazing block wood number my sister's [Alice] friend, Ruth, got us when we got married - it has survived the past ten years admirably and sometimes it is used to serve food as well as be used in its preparation.

I woudl be happy with any item from this company but I was very pleased to unwrap our Christmas gift from my sister Emma to discover the Index set of chopping boards from Joseph Joseph.


There is one for veg, cooked meat, raw meat and fish. The come colour co-ordinated and in a smart 'file' - and each board has a file tab telling you what it is to be used for - perfect.


And because they look so good having them out on the work surface in our new open plan kitchen will be great.

new year's day dinner

After a big fry up breakie - and a walk up the Wallace - I made New Year's Day dinner which for us is good old steak pie, roasty potatoes and veg followed by trifle.

I was up against the steak pie we have had the past two years from the excellent butcher in Innerleithen and so wanted a recipe that was particularly moreish. I went with Jamie Oliver's steak, guiness and cheese pie which I made in my lovely new pie dish - a great Christmas present from my Mum.

I usually make our trifle so stuck to the tried and tested trifle sponges, jelly, custard and whipped cream. The jelly asked for 2 pts of hot water but I put in one and three quarters as I like my jelly quite solid - and the boys seemed quite happy with it.

tea for two

Last Saturday I met Mac for a Christmas afternoon tea at the Sheraton in Edinburgh. I love afternoon tea, spending time with Mac and open fires and comfy armchairs so it was a delightful combination.

We were both suffering from bad colds and so cocooning ourselves with an attentive waiter, lavish display of eats and hot tea was just the ticket.

Our waiter was a lovely chap who was happy to explain everything to us and answer any questions and was polite enough to not quarantine the two red nosed germ filled guests who had to have a constant supply of tissues at hand.

First, we had to choose our tea from a dinky tea chest. Each glass container was secured by a strap of leather and you could open them up and have a look and a sniff.


As we chose we were served with the most amazing yoghurty creamy taster pot with a plump semi dried apricot.

Mac went for a tea that looks like a shrivelled up flower that blooms in the hot water.



I went for Orange, Cinnamon and Roiboos tea which required careful timing...


My tea was amazing - it was warm and refreshing and was slightly creamy in texture. Really good for nursing my sore throat and cold, achy bones back to something resembling normality,

We were then presented with a three tier cake stand adorned with sandwiches [turkey, stuffing and cranberry, prawn, ham and mustard] and more cakes than you could shake a stick at. There was Christmas Loaf, Cinnamon Buns, Mini Mince Pies, Christmas Cake and these were supplemented with scones, clotted cream and jam. We had plain, sultana and champagne, and cinnamon scones - warm, fluffy and melt in the mouth. This was all topped off with small cups filled with Christmas Creme Brulee....yum.


The food was amazing - you wouldn't think sandwiches would be that exciting but they were wee mouthfuls of heaven. The cakes were so good we couldn't quite manage all of them.

Afternoon tea is just so lovely - you can chat away, relax and nibble delightful bites to your hearts content. Seeing Mac was great - it doesn't happen often enough - and it was fun to do something a wee bit different. The hotel is just perfect for hiding from the cold and it is nice to feel a bit pampered. Mac is definitely a good afternoon tea buddy!

After drinking enough tea to rehydrate a small army, we wanted to finish off with some coffee - and would you believe it it came with yet more biscuits and sweet things! You can never have too many sweet treats...

If you have an afternoon to while away with a good friend and want something different from the usual pub or cafe lunch I would definitely recommend the Sheraton's afternoon tea.

vintage luggage

I like to keep 'memories' - it might be ticket stubs to a special concert or event, and extra special birthday card, a postcard, an old photo etc. Some people call it hoarding but I find these little talismans remind you of good things you often forget. And sometimes when you are having a bad day - or you are snowed in and have nothing better to do - it can be lovely taking a wee trip through the good times.

However, at the moment all of these wee things are crammed into shoe boxes and files - not very good for them and also not easy to sift through. So I am on the look out for storage that isn't office styled but is a bit more homey and befits the contents inside. So I am very pleased to find the London Vintage Luggage company based in Camden - nicely placed for the London office, that sells all sorts of leather luggage goods from valises and suitcaes to vanity cases and jewellery boxes. I think that keeping my memories in a 1930's small vintage case or series of ladies leather 1940's folios would be just right and very visually arresting.

Edit: I have also found another place for vintage luggage - Streamline Luggage

textiles

I am working on some ideas on creating a cosy, relaxed nook in the mezzanine area of the new house. I want a space where I can have my books, laptop, magazines and card making stuff and have as a chill out zone. So while I am not a 'girly' girl I do want it to be softer in design than other parts of the house.

The kitchen is a very sleek and glossy space and the dining and living areas will be quite modern in style. I do not want old fashioned funriture but I do want something that is more mid century than modern.

I also like textile designs that are colourful but are more naive in design - like Marimekko and Donna Wilson.

Donna is a Scottish artist who now works in London and has managed to grow her business without going the overblown way of Cath Kidston and Orla Kiely - both of whom have achieved hugely and in some ways had radical impacts on interiors over the past 20 years [and don't get me wrong, some of their textile designs are lovely]. However, while you can recognise a Donna Wilson design the same way you can a Kidston, it is not as ubiquitous. Wilson has managed to retain a sense of the handmade - mainly because she hasn't succumbed to factory production - and of not causing her customers to bump into the designs the way you do with an Orla covered laptop and Kidston patterned suitcases.

I love the owl and robin cushions -



I also like the seventies-esque flower cushion


And you must have a cosy blanket and I like this one which is called 'up the garden path' -



And while having a thundersome cushion may not seem nice and cosy I do like the cloud range of cushions -

snow again!

And the big freeze continues. I made it into work on Monday but Tuesday and today have been wiped out. My trips to Dundee and London have been cancelled and the team are all working using remote access to our networks from home.

Some of the effects of the snow are amazing - our windows were covered with ice, from the inside, and the icicles hanging from windowsills around the house are the biggest I have seen.



The garden is very snowy - all the trees look like extras from Narnia -



The sky is an amazingly clear blue - when the news have shown satellite pics of Scotland our sky is devoid of clouds - making the air icy and very cold - but also creates spectacularly clear light and skies. Against the white snow it is quite beautiful.


I popped into the garden for five minutes to just take in the snow and sharp air and it really was breathtaking - quite literally - as the cold hits your throat it makes you catch your breath and fingers and nose start tingling pretty much straight away. It is quite something.

snow!

Snow, ice, freezing temperatures. We have had a couple of 'snow days' and have managed to work from home rather than risk the ice rink of the A9 or frozen scotrail system. However, despite the chill, I really can't cope with being cooped up for days on end so I convinced Andy we should go for a walk.

As you can see from Andy's layers - it was parky...


And the Wallace was surrounded in crisp white snow -


We took a stroll round the university campus. Last year the loch froze in January - it has already started freeze well ahead of schedule -


I felt bad for the wee ducks!


And we also spotted icicles -



The first half of the walk was really bitterly cold but once we got going we heated up. Mind you, we were wearing our dive base layers so had a bit of a head start on being toasty....

snow etc

I haven't blogged for over a month - bad me - mainly because work has been way more busy than 24 hours in the day really allows for. We have just held our annual Volunteers Conference which was really good - and finished just before the snow really hit bad. The night before the conference the snow started to fall and the kids had fun snowball fighting. Come Monday and the deep freeze was well underway. I got into work on Monday although getting back home was a bit of a struggle.

I was snowed in Tuesday and Wednesday and while I got in on Thursday I did not enjoy the three hour wait in Queen Street for a train home. Being a seasoned commuter I am usually good at rolling with it - but at -13 my fingers and toes were not too happy. Mind you, I had a good chat with one of the staff - upbeat woman who wasn't a jobsworth type - and she said I was one of the cheeriest people she had spoken to! Probably it is because unlike others I have heard I don't take the view that the train staff caused the snow - and if there are issues around how we handle the weather I think that that responsibility might be above the ticket collectors pay grade.

Shopping has taken on a new dimension - the supermarket was out of eggs and bread and while we are not in seige mode we did stock up on comfort food to keep us warm and fueled up.The weather makes me want to cook stews and casseroles and hearty pies.

Of course, as the weather continues the stories of people having fun building snowmen and kids enjoying a couple of snow days begins to turn to more upsetting stories. Older people left stranded, people dying in the cold, and the traffic accidents caused by bad road conditions. The snow may look white and pure but it can have a dark side. But there are also positive stories of people helping each other out and looking out for each other.


So - with night time temps plummeting to -20 and icicles hanging from the trees in the garden, my aim over the weekend is to hibernate and, due to the bread shortage, tackle making some bread for the first time in quite a while.

mull of galloway lighthouse

I love lighthouses - the engineering, architecture, their purpose and the stunning places they are built are a powerful combination for me.

So it was a real treat to spend the day at Mull of Galloway and visit the lighthouse there - it is roughly an hour and a half away from Kirkcudbright but well worth the journey. The day started off pretty driech but as we got closer the skies cleared and the sun came out - the soft quality of the light was amazing against the green of the hills and the blues and greys of the sea.

My first sighting of the light house was in the distance and over several cliffs and was stunning - appearing through the clearing skies, the sun hitting off the fresh whiteness of the lighthouse, it was really thrilling to see.

We parked up and strolled over to the lighthouse - unfortunately we couldn't get up the tower that day but we did get access to the exhibition [two pounds each - bargain!]within the old lighthouse keepers area. Now, I go to a lot of exhibitions and some are great and some are pretty rubbish. I don't know how many times I have gone to an overhyped exhibition - either making out it will take days to fully experience when it could take 20 minutes, or with 'techy' interactive bits that don't work or are not that impressive, or are just plain dull.


Well, maybe my judgement is biased given I love lighthouses, but I think they got the balance just right on this one. The videos that you could watch were a good balance between being educational [one explained how the lamp, lens and engine worked] and giving you the story right from the horses mouth [one video was one of the lighthouse staff talking about his life and work].


The engine room contained technical information as well as correspondence between Stevenson and his contractors and artefacts like the instruction book issued to lighthouse staff - see below for the rather detailed instructions on how staff should wash themselves!


The balance between serious information and more human, funny anecdotes, like the staff reaction to having a lighthouse bible issued to them, was well done and we spent quite a long time looking through everything.


The lighthouse itself is stunning - Stevenson was of course an amazing engineer but he also managed to create beautiful buildings in incredibly challenging environments. Inside there are pictures of all the lighthouses in Scotland and you can tell a Stevenson designed lighthouse - although they were designed absolutely for their purpose, if you didn't know what a lighthouse was, and just saw the design anywhere, you would be impressed by the architecture. The fact it is beautiful and functional is an achievment and echoes William Morris' edict about having nothing in your house unless it has a function or is beuatiful - Stevenson's lighthouses manage to combine both with elegance.

After we had exhausted the exhibition, we took pics of the lighthouse and then popped into the Gallie Craig Coffee Shop just a short stroll from the lighthouse.

This has to be the best view from a cafe anywhere - the building is well designed with large glass panoramas to take in a 270 degree view. The building is dug into the hillside with the roof covered in the same plants and grasses as the hillside, so it blends in amazingly well to its surroundings. And, a major bonus, the cafe is run by lovely women who do proper home baking and a selection of daily specials for hot meals. The carrot cake was to die for and the scones were actually better than the ones we had bought from the bakers in Castle Douglas. With so many cafes now either being Costa or Starbucks outposts, or just below par serving bad coffee and cakes in wee packets, it was good to see a well run establishment. If they can do it in such a remote location why can't others in towns and cities achieve the same?

We then took a walk along the cliffs - it was very windy but after we had walked over 2-3cliffs we found a wee sheltered area where we sat for ages just enjoying the sun, fresh air, amazing views and the sound of the sea.

Andy sorting his hair in the very blustery wind!


Andy with sorted hair!

I really miss the sea now that we live 'inland' and could have spent hours just listening to it.


The amazing view from the cliffs


As a souvenir Andy got me a map of Scotland that has all of the lighthouses marked on it - what a geek I am but I was very chuffed he spotted it - not many maps will show where even the more well known lighthouses are.

If you like bird watching, you can access an RSPB nature reserve where you can bir watch to your hearts content. I know nothing about bird watching so can't say whether it is worth it or not, but given the coastal position imagine the seabird element would be good.

It is definitely somewhere I would visit again and would plan for doing more walking next time too. And while I am landlocked in Stirling I can checkout the lighthouse's webcam! Well worth a visit.

carlingwark loch & castle douglas

Castle Douglas is tagged a 'food town' by Dumfries and Galloway and so Andy and I couldn't resist a visit. Particularly as we had heard that Ballard's the butcher was a particular pleasure to visit. But first we took a walk to work up an appetite and take in the beautiful countryside around the village.

We followed the Carlingwark Loch trail which takes you around the loch, over marshlands [see Andy on the board pathways across the marsh below] and past Threave Castle.


The castle was closed for the winter but it was fun to point out where my parents would take us on trips when we were little.


The Mausoleum at Threave

It was a sunny day and we got to really appreciate the softer landscape of the area - quite different to what we are used to in Dundee or Stirling.


Andy stole my hat...

We then headed into town and had lunch at 'designs' art gallery and cafe [see top of post for pic]. The cafe is excellent - Andy had a chicken and avacadoe wrap and I had croque monsieur. The salads that were served alongside were very good - actual salads - not just lettuce, tomatoe and cucumber. There was a bean salad, coleslaw, carrot salad and your usual lettices and tomatoes. The dressing was good to - mustardy and with the right balane of lemon juice and olive oil.

The gallery itself was also lovely - a large airy room at the back had an exhibition inspired by the charity Shelter, this led on to a room selling a small but well chosen selection of books and then through to the front where there was a gift area. In fact, we picked up two beautiful masks for the Diabetes UK Scotland masked ball at the end of October.

We then took in the food town - the shops are small but well stocked and with several bakers, butchers and delis there is a good choice on offer. We visited Deli 173, which also has a branch in Dumfries, and picked up some amazing blueberry jam. We then hit Ballard's which was as good as we had been told. A really good selection of cuts but one of the things I really liked was the prepared meat available. When you are cooking for one or two it is always good to get prepared meat choices at the butcher and we tried the chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with haggis. We decided to come back later on in the week to pick up more tasty morsels.

We then bought vegetables to go with the chicken from the local greengrocer - including some yellow courgettes which we had not tasted before.

When we got back home, I made the chicken with sweet potatoes, peppers and courgettes roasted in olive oil and black pepper. Despite the fact I had no foil to cover the chicken with, and compounded this by over cooking by 5 minutes because I wasn't sure of the cooker and chicken is not something you want undercooked, the meat was tender, juicy and fell apart as we dug into it. The haggis was good - spicy but while creamy it wasn't too heavy. The bacon wrap wasn't a wee mean strip but instead was a thickly sliced piece of meat, very lean. We enjoyed it very much and cemented our plans to go back for more.