Pedaling Power

Cyclists stopping off for a well earned break

 
    Before a majority of the Scottish public had stirred from their beds this morning (Sunday), around 10,000 keen cyclists set-off on an annual challenge to raise funds for good causes in Scotland. For the last 17 years Cycling Scotland, has organised the Pedal for Scotland, 50 mile ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with enthusiasm increasing each year.

Some countryside spectators choosing a more relaxed day

    Riders setting off between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. from Glasgow Green's, Peoples Palace through the city and then into the Scottish countryside, where they receive a warm welcome in the small villages and towns as they pass through.

    The village I live in provides a stop off point, giving the cyclists time to catch their breath and replenish their energy with the intake of light refreshments. They travel another 10 miles, taking lunch in the shadow of Linlithgow Palace, before they don their helmets and get on their bikes once more for the last leg of the trip, the finishing line being Edinburgh's. Murrayfield Stadium.

Linlithgow Palace

    This challenge is pedaling power at its best.

http://www.cyclingscotland.org/

Everything in art is but a copy of nature

Sir Walter Scott Statue, National Museum Scotland

    Everything in art is but a copy of nature - Rob Roy - Sir Walter Scott. The landscape, social turmoil and the conditions which the people of Scotland lived in through its turbulent history were depicted in his historical series of Waverley novels and others.

    A new scenic rail route will be opened between Edinburgh Waverley Station and the Scottish Borders on September 6th and will take admirers of his work through some of the countryside that inspired  him.

    The village of Tweedbank is where visitors will alight and at the new visitors centre in Abbotsford, they can view exhibits and the home of the once Sheriff -Depute of Selkirkshire.  http://www.scottsabbotsford.com/visit/visitor-centre/
     

Inchmahome Priory, sits on an island on Lake Mentieth 

 
     The author of Ivanhoe and Rob Roy loved his country and I couldn't leave out some pictures of another haunt of his, Lake Menteith located in the Trossachs and Loch Lomond National Park. Inchmahome Priory on the lake has a colourful history and is linked to Scott's novel, A Legend of Montrose.

    In his art of writing, in my opinion he did copy both the beauty and the sometimes cruelty of nature.

Small Boat (left) can take you to the Island on the lake

Taking Time to Reflect

    All around us there is hustle bustle; walking in the shopping mall, down the main street of our towns and it proves difficult to keep everyone else's noise from interfering in our own space. Every route seems to lead us to repetitive music or bargains of the day blaring over tannoys.

    We stick our iPhone earphones in our ears hoping that our favourite tunes will drown out the noise of car horns and revving engines.

    I know I enjoy background music playing when I'm writing, however there are times it's great to sit in silence. Finding a secluded spot in the local park or sitting in the quietest room in the house I can take time to ponder and reflect.

    I can put the world to rights, my life and maybe even come up with some great ideas that otherwise I wouldn't have if I hadn't taken that moment to switch off.

 

Lovable Rascal

    We grow a small amount fruit and vegetables in our garden. Nothing too exciting courgettes (zucchini), potatoes, beetroot, strawberries and apples are our favourites.

    Our strawberry crop has always been pretty successful and we enjoy it if we can pick them before the local bird population gets them first. We noticed recently that they seemed to be getting a little more than their fair share and I decided to look out to see if I could find out who our chief culprit was.

    To my surprise he wears a grey fur coat rather than a feathered one, he's a squirrel. I've caught him picking the best to munch  through, the under ripe he bites into and discards them on the ground at the side of the bed. They can't be to his taste.

Remnant of the rascal's munchies

    I tried to think of a word that described him best and I believe it's, rascal. Because he most certainly behaves mischievously and cheekily. But, I can't help but love him.

 

 P.S
He's a little camera shy and declined a photo shoot.

It's Unfair?

 

    Handing in our homework on time, completing examinations in the period allotted and not getting the new iPhone as soon as it's released, are part of the controls that are imposed on us in our childhood years.

    We moan, tut, and throw the occasional tantrum when we are subjected to rules that we most definitely think are unfair.

    It's only when we're all grownup, (maybe I'm using the writers licence thing again when I use the word grownup), we continue to use similar rules to aid us to take command of our own lives. Because one of the important things that discipline teaches us is, respect.

    The alternative meaning of the word discipline is of course, a chosen path of learning. Whether it's a creative pursuit, writing, art, music, or science to be successful we have to discipline ourselves. As a writer working on my own all the time I know I regularly want to procrastinate; however thank goodness for the guidelines that were put down by my peers, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this post today.

 

The Edinburgh Buzz

 

    Edinburgh is buzzing at this time of year, it's the place to go to experience an electrifying atmosphere. Whether you take in a performance at the Fringe festival, the Military Tattoo or go to the Edinburgh Book Festival, I dare you to say that the hair didn't stand up on the back of your neck when you heard the bagpipes play in the shadow of the castle.

All the fun of the fair, Princes St Gardens

 

     I was lucky enough to go to a summer drinks party hosted by ALCS (Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society) which was held in the Early People Gallery, in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh on the evening of the 13th August. With the Edinburgh Book Festival taking place 15-31 August, it was the perfect time to gather authors together.

    An awesome party and like Edinburgh the museum itself is an awesome location www.nms.ac.uk

www.edbookfest.co.uk

www.alcs.co.uk

Love Letters

The Wedding of Lili Marlene

 
    The song, The Wedding of Lili Marlene, is based on a poem written by a 22 year old German soldier, Hans Leip, in the First World War, telling of love and separation. The English translation of the lyrics, a collaboration between Jimmy Phillips and Tommy Connor were the words my uncle chose to send to his new bride when they became separated by illness.

    She was hospitalised with tuberculosis within the first year of their marriage and the young lovers eventually lived apart for over two years. The location of the sanatorium and a poor public transport network meant that it wasn't possible for him to visit her more than twice a week. Being the 1950's writing a letter was the popular way to keep in touch and even when he did see her, he still wrote a note to her when he returned home.

    Although somewhat a poet himself, his feelings for her were often difficult to express in his own words. By enclosing a transcribe of their favourite love songs with his letter, he felt he could communicate them to her more clearly.

    I've included photographs of two of his original inclusions which she kept for over 50 years, along with his letters until she died. However, these love letters not only were a declaration of his love for her, but they played a significant part in her recovery from this killer disease. They gave her the will and determination to be reunited with the man she loved and live the life together they had planned.

When You're in Love (Skinner/Rocco/Wallace)

 

      Their love never waned, their story is one that has to be told and which I am working on.  

Note: Melody to Leip's lyrics were by Norbert Schultze.