Its a little more than snow patches this morning the snow gates are closed.

braemarscotland.co.uk/snowgate-webcam

Me, it isn’t broken so why replace it?

I assume they just forgot to thread it or am I missing something?

In fairness its the first time I’ve needed it in 10 years. The only other time it properly broke down was a starter motor so I could bump it. The rest (and there’s been plenty) has been wear and tear.

Nice garage, I remember first seeing it on this, great car.

LINK

I’ve never really got it, I keep on working with organisations with no opportunities for progression and at present I am the poorest I’ve been in my adult life. Strangely despite the evidence and my advancing years I remain optimistic for the future.

I like Giraffes.

Also I have heard that if all goes to plan, and there is no further damage today, the Invercauld bridge should be open circa the 18th

Not sure how its doing today. Regardless of who owns the castle you can’t build a new 450 year old tower house and it would be a shame to loose the heritage.

Pictures of the repairs as I see there are still assumptions being made.

IN PICTURES: Work ongoing to save Abergeldie Castle as River Dee continues to rise

Today’s P&J (which hides behind a paywall online) suggests that this funding is open to all businesses in the area and perhaps others. While I never trust a journalist too much they are perhaps basing their article on facts rather than judgement calls as above.

Still there. Here’s the latest drone footage.

http://www.newsflare.com/video/59929/weather-nature/breaking-news-abergeldie-castle-storm-frank-050115

Depends on your budget, we usually go cheap and cheerful and use the travel inn on the northern outskirts of Lancaster and flop into the pool etc to relax.

10 here. I dislocated my thumb at the weekend on an evil clipboard. My next ride will be weeks rather than days away. A second x-ray is due next week to figure out the damage caused by my home repair. It doesn’t help that NE Scotland is enjoying its finest weather of the year either.

I have my first open water swim in while coming up. This time I have opted for the wetsuit as last time it was a little chilly.

I only breathe on one side as water goes too far in my other kinked ear and doesn’t come out for days. Can anybody recommend (one) ear plug(s)? Does anybody swim with ear plugs?

Great stuff. I got knocked back from a job I wanted/needed today but this softens the blow. Anybody got an email address for the Australian Cricket Board? I might forward my CV.

Pop into Smoo Cave – Durness. Walk up Ben Hope and see the nearby Broch. Walk to Sandwood Bay from near Kinlochbervie. Go to the Mountain Cafe/Bookshop in Gairloch.

😀

Now all I need is John Lewis to do £50 off again…

I thought with the Chromebooks you could do some stuff offline (create one or two docs)if you had the right App? So didn’t always need a connection? It’s just access to everything that needs internet?

Great. I run my own little company, still a one man band at present, and I still want to look professional when I’m giving presentations, chairing workshops etc.

Sounds like non issue. I was tempted by a Toshiba. Any other recommendations?

Thanks Stoner. I guess you’re a Chromebook convert. Any shortcoming to be aware of?

If you pdf presentations I assume that overcomes compatibility issues?

It was definitely time for a change, it had become stale with only a fraction of the episodes hitting its old heights. Hopefully this is the right change.

It’s a real challenge, i can see the uses of laptops, tablets and chromebooks. It has taken me months to get to this point but I think a smart phone and a chromebook will meet my needs.

Excellent news. Thanks.

6

I used to work in bars and it never happened. Change bars.

Work have taken us to Paco’s in the past, nothing amazing but reliable enough.

Giff Gaff is pay as you go and you can have monthly bundles of data and calls. They’ve just improved their offerings this week according to a text they sent me. Will send you a link so we both get £5 credit if you are interested. They use the o2 network.

Either that or there needs to be one Scottish Unionist party to counter the SNP. Then it might be a fair competition.

Borrowed words but its how I feel.

Am i alone in thinking it’s not great the snp has 56 seats? Does one party represent the views of everyone in Scotland apart from shetlanders, orcadians and a few borderers? The snp won 50% of the vote on a 71% turnout. Half of voters didn’t vote for them and another 30% didn’t vote at all. That’s not democratic, and incidentally, it’s the same argument used by yes campaigners – that in scotland you never get the uk government you vote for. Half of scots are now represented in Westminster by a party they didn’t vote for. I’m not blaming the snp – they can only work with the system they’ve got – rather it is the ineptitude of the other parties in Scotland to present any kind of viable alternative that’s worrying. This result in Scotland and across the uk shows there is an urgent need for electoral reform – the sooner we get pr the better.

I would prefer PR. You only have to look at Scotland to see what’s wrong with FPTP. Less than 50% of the votes yet 95% of the seats.

Sod the rules.

Its looking good, a Land Rover sized garage is so at the top of the list for the next house. When will it hit the roads of Aberdeenshire? I’ll keep my eyes open.

Thanks for the feedback, plenty of research to be done.

As all ready mentioned kids and a mediocre salary have MOSTLY cured my want of new things. Kids put a lot of things in perspective and you realise that spending time with people and smiling are the two most important things and you are happy(ish) to go without to ensure they have what they need. Obviously this is a drastic measure.

Not earning enough means that you have to want less and this is best done by not reading magazines and looking at the internet. Essentially both are tools to make you want more. If you are out there doing other things and spending time with people then this limits time to browse and dream. Perhaps then the less drastic option then is to lead a busy life.

Don’t get me wrong I like new things but I now find it easy to distinguish between what I want and what I need.

Living in rural North East Scotland also helps as there is less temptation.

I’m sure the above has already been said but I should be doing other things than reading a three page thread.

Waderider – Thanks, I’ll take a look. I have an old road bike buts its an arse in the air job with a compact frame. I’d like something a bit more stately so I can admire the Scottish landscape as it rolls past.

A slight hijack. Can anybody recommend an affordable audax/light touring style bike with upgrade potential? My body is slowly being rattled to bits by mountain biking and I fancy spending time on these sorts of rides.

How do you make a witch itch? Take away the W.

We’ve got “Lost” and “Cockbridge” up in this part of the world. Both entertain my small mind.

I’ve walked away from a temp building site job because I felt cleaning roofing tar from windows with petrol at the top of a wobbly ladder in t shirt and shorts wasn’t meeting my health and safety requirements

I would like to walk away from my current job after six years in the post but wife, kids, house etc. dictate I should wait patiently for the official start date for the job offer I have or find another job first.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/hermes-couriers-are-they-bad-all-the-time

I’ve just seen this. Probably will be good but might not be. Any other recommendations for a private citizen?