Fuji XE2 - my first few snaps

Stirling

After much deliberation I finally settled on a Fuji XE2 camera. It was the right decision. I've had for a little under a month now and have enjoyed taking pictures with it, even though there haven't been many opportunities. And you always see a picture when you haven't got your camera or when you're driving along and there's nowhere to stop!

In saying that I had some willing (and reluctant) models in the form of my nephews as well as an impromptu flying visit of the Red Arrows over the village as well as some buildings and street scenes in Glasgow and Stirling.

For my first batch they're not too bad.

The camera itself is a sleek black affair. It now dons a little red slow shutter button, a nice addition I got on Amazon. Another item I had to buy was a card reader as I hadn't realised that camera never came with a cable to transfer your pictures to the laptop. I was advised the card reader would be much quicker than a cable and it is. I'm still trying to get my head around all the buttons and settings but i'm having fun seeing what this little black picture box can do for me. The size isn't too small but it is much less bulky than a Canon DSLR and in my opinion much better looking than any Canon could be.

Anyway, that's a quick mini first impression. Let's move onto the pictures.

Connor, the shy boy!

Ryan, love his freckles

curl selfie

Glasgow

Glasgow

#myview

Stirling

him again

selfie

These are straight up unedited pictures. Overall, i'm pleased with the results.

Angela

A Wander Around My Town

How often do you walk around your own town or village and just soak it all in? Do you see new things that you'd never noticed before? Discover a hidden gem? See how that old tree ages with each passing year? Is that tree even still there?

I don't do it that often and yet I live in a small village next to a small city of huge historical importance in Scotland - Stirling. Only the there night was there a programme on TV dedicated to finding the original battle of Bannockburn battleground. This might be a spoiler but the site is less than 2 miles from where I sit typing this very blog post and you wouldn't even know it! At least I wouldn't because I don't really go venturing close to home. Sure there are bike ride along the well trodden footpaths that circle the village but actually walking around my local city? nope.

One late Saturday afternoon as golden hour was approaching I decided to go out in the car for a little run. I wasn't sure where I was going to go so heading into town. (I still call it the town but it's officially a city). I drove around then went up to an area we call 'The top of the town'. All the locals know it as that. It leads up to Stirling Castle perched high and overlooks the whole of the Stirling area and on a clear day far north towards Callander and over east to Falkirk/Fife.

The top of the town, or Stirling Old Town as the guide books might say, is all cobbled streets and hundred year old buildings. There are some new builds but in the main I think they've tried to keep the appearance as old as possible. There's a couple of hotels, a cemetery, shops, coffee shops, scout halls, the Tolbooth Theatre, Old Town Jail visitor attraction and of course Stirling Castle itself. I parked the car near the top and wandered down Broad Street (once used in a Bank of Scotland advert).

It was quiet for a Saturday afternoon but I enjoyed the walk. I walked back up around Spittal Street then up towards and into the Castle Esplanade. A few tour buses and cars were dotted around so I couldn't really get a full on panorama of the castle in all of its glory but I tried. Here are few more shots I took that day. All on the iPhone.

I'll go back for another wander with my new camera to see what hidden gems I can capture.

Angela

My Hipstamatic Week

Hipstamatic in case you don't know is a really cool iPhone photography app - commonly known as iPhonography. I've had it for ages and i love the different film, flashes, lenses and camera cases you get with it. I've amassed quite a few pictures. I love playing about with different iPhonography apps and with this one you can even get your photos printed off and sent all the way from America. I've had a pack, they're pretty cool. Here's my week in Hipstamatic photos, Saturday 24 September - Saturday 1 October... enjoy! (picture heavy post ALERT!!)

New Converse RED - my sparky shoes

Edinburgh Castle - from behind

Princes Street barriers

jewel encrusted tiger in Harvey Nichols

favourite drink

navy nails

poorly Connor

new gym programme

Castle silhouette

what?...

Those feet again

too much Coke in Illegal Jack's

Dumyat

for you...

dangerous tree?!

yum

Halloween window

Angela x

.

Stress, what is it?

Stress. It's a funny old thing, or word. It conjures up an image of a crazy, eye-bulging person tearing their hair out. The only thing being that's not strictly the truth about it, is it.

I used to think I never got stressed. I mean I'd get nervous at exams and the like. Heck, I breezed my driving test, but a funny thing started happening a few years back for no particular reason. Well none that I could fathom. It's only in the past 6 months I've realised that this 'thing' was stress. For me to say that is both frightening and yet enlightening at the same time. I've been brought up in quite a traditional way and stress and depression were never really mentioned in the family. I used to think it was easy for some people to say they were stress, truthfully I still do think people jump on that label for themselves all too easily, but like I say, in the past 6 months I've realised that this stress thing had been happening to me for a couple of years without me realising it.

I thought I'd pulled a muscle in my back. I thought I had wisdom teeth problems with the most tense jaw you could ever imagine. At one point I thought I had a brain tumour as a 3 week long headache was not for subsiding no matter how much ibuprofen i fed it. Then when I went went deaf in my left ear twice over the past 2 months I thought it was because the pumping bass beats at spin class were causing it. I started to get really bad headaches (I used to never believe in migraines) but they were in actual fact migraines. so bad the I could quite easily have stuck a fork in my and took my eye ball out to massage for a few hours if it brought some relief. Then I started to take note and thought I was only getting this due to hormones at certain times every month but then it became more frequent. Every day frequent. So frequent that I wished it would relent some times.

Then came a strange feeling. I was dizzy when I got up off a chair or from a lie down. Strange. I've never felt that before. This is at the same time as the deaf ear bear in mind. Perhaps I had that thing you get with earache, you know, when you lose balance.... Also, one night after eating my dinner I sat in my chair for a good hour with my first ever nausea inducing migraine. Ouchie. I think it's safe to say there was something not quite right here.

I'm not really one for bothering a doctor, although I probably should have gone ling before now. I did go a few years back, um about 5 years ago, when i had a two week long headache then. Back then i did really think something bad was wrong. He told me there wasn't and to take ibuprofen, i'd be fine. And I was after a month. But slowly these symptoms keep recurring.

The funny thing is that I don't really know what i'm stressed about. Actually that's a lie, I do. Because, as i mentioned above, although big occasions such as tests or the like don't really phase me, it's petty things that happen at work that do. It's silly things that happen in the house that does. If i drive a long way I can tense up like a rigid rubber band. It's people being late if we're going somewhere. All these little things that add up and make me feel like my shoulders are at my ears and my jaw is about to crack. That's how stress manifests itself in me.

I've been on holiday for the past two weeks. I don't mean i've been away anywhere. No, I've just been off work and it was very much needed as there are changes going on that may or may not be a good thing. But i feel refreshed and raring to go tomorrow. For the first 5 days of my holiday i was still taking pain killers for the headache/neckache/tense jaw but for the rest of the holiday I've been fine. I think the sunshine and my daily spin bike classes at The Peak have also helped. I went to one every day last week apart from Thursday and i totally missed it. I now have set a plan in place for going back to work and am ready to fight this stressyness.

I don't know what i wanted this post to be about. Just a little chance for me to get this down on paper so to speak. If you've got any tips to stay stress free leave them below in a comment. I'm keen to know if other people get it this way.

For now, i'm off to watch Dragons Den. Have you seen that new lady?!! Scary or what!

Take care
Angela x

.

On Hold

Because I'm too tired and can't focus enough to write anything I leave you with this. My 'hood.

You're welcome.

Angela x

.

First Footing on Dumyat

I sit here in the dimly lit room with Gregory Peck et al, put-putting away with machines guns in The Guns of Navarone on the telly.  (well it was on the telly when I started this post yesterday).  My knees are a little jaggy-tender, my cheeks are rosy and I'm sound in the knowledge that i've just climbed my first hill of 2010!

I set off earlier thinking I'd get out and get away before people came chapping on the door and you have to do the 'happy new year' handshake.  I had my bag packed last night, clothes were laid out and camera and iPhone were suitably charged.  As I drove the short 15 minute journey I could see my destination all the way and I wondered if the things i could see on the hill were just trees or was it people.  The hill being Dumyat, my local Ochil.  It's been covered in snow for a good few days now, heck maybe even a week!  But nonetheless I vowed to get up it today. 

After negotiating my way up the steep, icy hill to the car park I left the car and there was an eary calm about the place. 

I could see and even hear folks going up and down the hill but i thought it wasn't as busy as this time last year.  I set off in my cosy down jacket and it stayed on all the way up.  I did consider taking it off to swap it for the waterproof but prefered instead to be kept warm.  I also found out today that there are several layers of clothing that I could be doing with buying for these days.  Anyway as i entered the gate a guy held it open and wished me happy new year!  Very kind of him, i wished it him back and set on my way up.  Soon I was huffing and puffing like an old tractor that's been lying in an empty barn for a few months and needs a service.  That soon wore off once i got into my stride.  My stride being marginally faster than the tortoise... just kidding.

There was icy snow, ice, fresh snow and crunchy snow.  Once i thought i was high enough I stopped and looked behind me and there was the view. 

Stuc a chroin, Ben Vorlich all the way down to The Cobbler and Ben Lomond. 

You really do get a marvellous panoramic view from this ever so small and unassuming hill.  I plodded on not passing many people but there were some.  A few famillies too.  I was taking photos at every opportunity and view that I thought might be worthy.  There was a tricky section to be negotiated too, a tiny path with quite a step drop on the other side.  I did not want to be blown off here and down that hill, not today.  I stepped on carefully and got passed that section and then i was sure I was going the wrong way.  But the path of many footprints conviniced me to keep on moving the way i was going. 

As I got higher I could see the crowds at the top.  There seemed to have been loads of people up there and I'd passed a few on the way down too but it still wasn't as busy as last year. 

The wind was getting colder and it was time to put the beanie hat and pull the hood up.  I stopped at a little quiet spot where no-one was and took a few more photies.  I took a drink from my Wee Bru bottle and although I was nearly at the top i decided not to go on as today I didn't really want to be surrounded by loads of people. 

Anyway, this is my local hill and it ain't going anywhere and besides there are 364 more days in this New Year that i could pick to climb it.  It was a well trodden path by me now.

On the way down i managed to successfully negotiate my way down without planting myself on the ground - bum first!  But there were a few hairy moments.  There was also a lot of thoughts running through my head about stuff.  Well this is me, when is my mind not racing with thoughts, ideas, plans, memories... 

I decided that this year I am going to put myself first for a change, do what I want to do and not what I think I should be doing.  There are a few things already circling in my head and will fill you in in due course but for now...

It was back down the slippery road to the car park and home to a hot bowl of home-made vegetable soup, and dinner.

Ange xx          

It's been a while

Doodoo dododoo, bzzzzz... text comes through.  It's from Linda who's busy sunning herself in all inclusive luxury at a resort in Egypt having arrived there yesterday safe and sound.  As I sit here and daydream what that must be like I get roused by the wind and rain battering off the window and i watch as one by one the raindrops hit the window and slowly make their way from top to bottom whilst randomly heading off in different directions, but always down....  

Today's soundtrack on iTunes is Snow Patrol.  I'm not hitting shuffle cos I've never listened to the new album yet.  They are familiar songs but in a different order.  I like that though.

I decide a new blog post is needed as it's been a while I feel.  Not that there's too much to report so I'll just fill you in with what's been happening around my life that is Project Everest.  Jees that sounds so lame now because when you think of Everest you think giant, grandness, amazing... you never really think small do you.

So alas there have been no outdoor activities apart from trying out my new wheels in a car park at the Uni last Sunday morning!!  It appears I'm in the process of buying a very cool bike courtesy of Freeflow Bikes and Flying Fox Bikes.  Why 2 bike shops you may wonder?  Well i've been thinking of getting a bike since I came back from Nepal in April.  You see I go to the gym and I like it but i'm not really a gym bunny.  I now also go yoga and to Spin Bike classes at the new leisure facility in Stirling called The Peak.  It's a brand new sports centre with state of the art gym, swimming pool, curling rink, ice rink, a few studios, a large sports hall and a few climbing walls.  It's a great place and Stirling was well overdue something like this.  Anyway back to the bike!  Work has started the Cyclescheme which entitles you to a bike and equipment up to the value of £1000 and you can get some sort of discount via tax and NI payments (or something like that!) through a salary sacrifice scheme.  Anyway when I enquired about it I was told that the University only runs the scheme in 2 months of the year - April and November.  This meant I had to wait until November before I could get the bike.  Why wait you may ask?  Well simply you end up getting a pretty good discount on a decent bike which for me equates to about 31% off a brand spanking new bike.    

After asking people I knew about certain bikes it came down to a choice of a few.  I mean I just thought bikes were bikes unless you spent a fortune.  Don't ask me about hydraulic disc brakes, forks, seats, bottom brackets...  These are things I've heard my dad talk about in the past few months since he started his new job.  But it seems there are a load of different variations of bikes out there so best to ask some experts.  I set about posting a question on a forum and got a shed load of advice and recommendations.  Initially I put a price ceiling of £500 on my spending and then folk tell you if you're going £500 you may as well go a wee bit further and get a whole more of a decent bike.  A nice girl gave me good advice, she was a novice mountain bikers who'd got into it a few years ago and had just taken delivery of some carbon featherweight bike but she'd rode a Cube Access for a few years beforehand.  Her other bike was a Kona Lisa for 'running about'.  Now these bikes don't come cheap.  No siree.  I toyed with the idea of other cheaper bikes and visited a few shops locally.  In one establishment I waited for over 20 minutes pawing the bikes and stuff and no-one came near me.  This instantly put me off from giving them my custom.  Other places were trying to palm me off with pink or pastel shaded colour schemed bikes - do I look like a pink kinda girl!?  No!  I know that sounds silly but let's face it, how a bike looks has a lot to do with my purchasing it.  In fact that goes for anything I buy really.  Doesn't everyone think like that?  Function is good but how it looks is also important.

Anyway via the magic of Twitter I 'follow' a local bike shop called Flying Fox Bikes.  In fact it's local and also very, very new - the shop just opens this Saturday.  After a few exchanges I asked if they stocked Cube.  (I think there's only one other place round this way that does).  He said he did and will have more in March but all demo bikes were sold but his wife and sister have Cube's and I could have go and try them out if I wanted.  

After a few weeks exchanging emails and info on all things bikes, I met Pete from Flying Fox bikes in the car park at the University to try out this new beast!  He'd brought the two bikes.  A Cube Access WLS SL and a Cube AMS WLS Pro.  To be honest, they both looked very smart indeed but I knew the Pro would cost a fortune and was a full-sus which honestly would just be wasted on me.  I tried them both and the Access SL was instantly rideable.  WLS in the names means Woman Like Series - built for women's geometry basically.  I'd been told by men in bike shops that I could get a small size men's bike if I wanted but it's subtle things like narrower handlebars and a seat for women's..er... 'geometry' that i thought i'd stick with a woman's bike.  Anyway after my test drive my mind was pretty much made up.  It was to be the Cube Access WLS SL.  

Now for the business...  Since Flying Fox Bikes are a fairly new business they don't have the Cyclescheme up and running yet but he pointed me in the direction of Freeflow Bikes of Glasgow.  He recommended Freeflow as a good place to buy your bikes and gear from.  So that's what I've done.  The bike is on order (hopefully) and the Cyclescheme voucher is being processed by work but I'm not sure when my maiden journey on my new bike will take place.  You might hear of it here first!!

Anyway Flying Fox Bikes opens it's doors on Saturday 21st November.  Drop by!  Details here.

Last Thursday saw me, Susan and Chris make our way to Glasgow to see Sir Chris Bonington do a lecture about how he got started and his early climbing career.  It was a great wee night once it got started - albeit a bit later than we expected.  It was great to hear him talk about his early days and still his enthusiasm for mountains and climbing and nowadays walking and trekking.  He spoke of people he climbed with such as Doug Haston, Don Whillans, Mick Burke and Hamish McIntosh.  It was great to hear the stories and see pictures of places such as Patagonia and Nepal from back in the day.  Their gear was pretty basic but was probably the best of their day and they seemed pretty fearless.     

What else?... hhmmm... Well work has been somewhat strange recently.  I don't know what's happening to the place but people seem to be... changing (?), that or going a bit daft.  I'll put their selfishness and mentalness down to the dark nights fair drawing in...  Cos nothing else can really explain the strangeness about the place.  You know, you think you're doing a good thing but it ends up being the excess water dripping off the end of an as yet uncooked chip and into the chip pan and you just end up with spitting chip fat in your face!  We've decided, in our wee oasis of calm office, just keep our heads down and get on with it.


Mountains and hills.  Yes I see some everyday but haven't ventured up them in anger for ages.  Not likely to be this weekend either - have you seen the weather?!  And KIT.  Well I cheered myself up the other day with a purchase of the kit kind.  It'll be quite useful I'm sure and I'm just waiting on delivery of it now.  Bridgedale and Smartwool PHD socks - yes they are very cosy and keep my feet warm at yoga class.  They're also useful in that the bottom of my too long trackie bottoms can be tucked into them so they don't get wet!  Genius, but can attract some strange looks as I wonder through the aisles of the supermarket on my way home.  Mountain Equipment Chamois trousers - yes they were comfy when I went for my bike test drive.  I still can't get over that wee bits of fluff (pooly wool) have gathered at the back though and can't be removed.  I didn't think the material would do that.  They're also comfy and free moving when I'm lounging about and as is sit here and type this story.  Mountain Equipment Astral softshell jacket - again kept me warm on the test drive.  Light enough to wear around the house when my mum refuses to put the heating on early and I'm freezing.  So there you go.  Not your normal kit reviews but kit's not just useful on the hills you know!  Oh aye, and I'm hoping I might have 'won' a pair of red down booties - get that competition going Bobinson!!  (mind don't tell anybody though!)  :o) 


Decorating... that's what's happening in our house just now and it always seems to be that 2 weeks before Christmas our house is a tip because they're always decorating then!  this year is a major one.  The spare room has been transformed with a lick of paint, new carpet and new furniture.  It's great as I've bagged half a wardrobe and set of drawers in there for my kit.  Yay!  The stairs have had a lick of paint and are awaiting the fitting of a new carpet.  And The Boy is scared to go down them now after stepping on a carpet gripper nail that was sticking up - wee shame.  The living room will likely get started next week.  And the front door lobby is currently having tiles laid by my Dad who has been using an electric saw thing to cut the tiles all night and the noise is going through my head into my toothache!  ouch!  Can you hear it??...  Why oh why do they wait til now to decorate every year?!  Also, in thinking about this... does anyone else clean the house from top to bottom on 31st December each year? or is it just us???.. Don't know if it's a tradition to start the new year with a clean house and a huge pot of home made vegetable soup?!  Ah it's those wee quirks that I love.


Soon it will be Christmas and I can't wait.  For the holiday.  2 weeks off work - nearly.  Bliss!  Went shopping with mum today as I had a day off.  We went for stuff for the boy(s) but his Fireman Sam scooter was out of stock.  It's ok I can write this here cos he can't work the computer yet to read this, ha ha.  So we got another thing for him that he'll love.  And when he gets it and uses it I'll post some of the results on here.  It'll be interesting to see things from a kids viewpoint.  He loves photies...  So then mum asked what I wanted for Christmas and whilst i like this it also pains me too cos I end up not getting any surprises for my Christmas presents.  I mean I don't really like surprises as such but I'd prefer if she just went and got me something rather than me being there when she buys it.  So for Christmas this year I'm getting a ....  nope not telling.  I will put more on my list to Santa and hope he delivers, I've been a good girl afterall. 


Time for me to go.  This has been an epic update.  Sometime, perhaps in my next post, there will be some of the great outdoors in it.  Hopefully.


peace out
Ange xx 

mY LIttLe cItY

Have I ever told you that I get bored easily?  No?  well I do.  And when that usually happens I like nothing better than picking up a few essentials: phone, camera and car keys and head out for a drive around my little city of Stirling and taking a few snaps.  That's what I did today.  Clear blue skies with a now definite nip in the air.  Here are some of the results.

Stirling view - Stirling Castle with Stuc a Chroin & Ochil Hills in the background 

Stirling Castle Great Hall (sandstone building at top) and various old buildings

Part of the Ochil Hills

Something funny was happening in the sky on Thursday evening.  It was also Guy Fawkes nught so that meant fireworks galore most of which i managed to miss in the sky.  See what you think...

The moon is just hiding above a blanket of cloud.  The Ochils and the lights of Alloa in the distance.

Then the moon came out..

And now for some other pictures of my city, Stirling, that i've taken over the years.  Hope you like!

Stirling Castle dusky silhouette

Wallace Monument

Snowy Dumyat

View to the hills up by Callander, Bridge of Allan in the foreground

And finally... me overlooking the dawning of a new year & Wallace Monument 1st January 2009

Ange xx