Down by the Riverside

Shot of the Day

 The Deid Neuk

I had arranged with one of the local tradesmen Dougie Nutt to come and start painting the exterior of my house in preparation for putting on the market. Dougie came at the appointed time and soon set about his task.

I received a phone call just before lunch from Tootlepedal to see if I was available for a trip out later, which I said I was. We were undecided where to go and after some deliberation Tootlepedal suggested we go to Canonbie and have a walk down by the riverside to see the Sand martins that nest along the sand banks. We were in luck but I found them devilishly hard to photograph.......

..........maybe Tootlepedal had better luck. Along the way we passed some fishing tackle but no fishermen.

Canonbie church always looks splendid from the riverside.

These sheep were getting some respite from the heat

I think next time I shall bring my tripod and remote and focus on the entrance to the nesting holes. 

We decided to return by way of Tootlepedal's morning run past the Kerr wood, stopping off at Mrs Tootlepedals manure mine for a short walk along the river Wauchope.

Looking towards Cumbria from the Kerr wood.

Leading down to the river.

The pine trees are heavy with pine cones at the moment.

The thistles in the feild were cover with colorful insects.

We then returned for a cup of tea at Wauchope Cottage in the company of Mrs Tootlepedal, Granny and Dr Tinker. When I got home I found Dougie had been very industriuos I was well pleased with the result and hopefull any prospective buyer will be impressed. I have ben invited to join Mr and Mrs Tootlepedal and Granny to go and visit the Red Kites near Castle Douglas tomorrow which I'm looking forward too.

Intrepid Snappers

Shot of the Day

A pair of intrepid snappers

All in all it was a pleasant weekend. The weather was being kind which meant the chance of some good photos. On Saturday morning I went to the Producers Market, mainly to purchase some haggis along with scotch pies, cheese and bread. I was told by a fellow blogger Gavin Graham that coffee was waiting at Wauchope Cottage Cafe. 

Over coffee we discussed where we could go for a photo trip. After a lot of deliberating we decided to go over the border to Kirkandrews on Esk. More on this trip can be seen on Tootlepedals blog.

After spending a very pleasant hour we headed home  via Canonbie.

 Can you see the initials and date in the gate?

I admired these strange growths on these Birch trees

A cup of tea now beckoned at Wauchope Cottage so we headed home.

This is one of the stones on the edge of Mrs Tootlepedals pond

A wooing frog

In the evening I went to the Buccleuch Centre with a colleague from Carlisle College to see A young dance group from Natal South Africa called Zulu Tradition. Every now and again the centre comes up with something different and very special and this was one of these nights. 

Easter at Haddington

Reluctant to Return

As part of the Easter holidays we had arranged to go up to Haddington on the day before Good Friday. Neil, Kate and the boys were on an over night stay in Glasgow, which meant we had the house to ourselves for a couple of days. We had a leisurely run up on Thursday morning, stopping off at Teviot Water Gardens for a bite to eat. This is a very pleasant garden centre and there is a lovely walk down by the Tweed but when I was charged £6.75p for a medium bacon baguette and got no refund on complaining I am afraid I will be very reluctant to return.

The River Tweed

St Marys Haddington

Exploring Haddington

On Friday we decided to spend the morning exploring Haddington. We got no further than St Mary's Kirk. On entering the building we were met by a very helpful and knowledgeable gentleman who gave us a condensed history of the church.The first thing that struck me was the impression that you were in a small Cathedral.  Apparently it is the largest Parish Church in Scotland.

At the instigation of John Knox, born in Giffordgate just across the river, the Town Council repaired the Church in 1561 "frae steeple to the west end". A barrier wall was built and the enclosed nave served as the parish church for over 400 years.

 

 A Massive Challenge
In the early 1970s the Church was restored to its full glory.  The restoration of the Church was a massive challenge.  People rose to it locally and much further afield. Miss Hilda Nimmo Smith gave a generous benefaction, the Kirk Session sold four silver Communion Cups made in the reign of Charles I and no longer in use, and Her Grace, the Duchess of Hamilton initiated an Appeal for funds to restore St Mary's. For a full history click on the following link St Marys .

Crypt of the Dukes of Lauderdale

Maitland Family Crest

Stained Glass

A modern example of stained glass

The organ was completed in 1990

A Celebration and a Thumping

On Saturday we were treated to a lovely bar meal at The Goblin Ha Inn at Gifford to celebrate Mrs Gills birthday.
As it was Haddington sevens I fully intended to go when we returned, but the weather was rather miserable and the thought of standing getting soaked didn't really appeal to me. So I stayed at home and was truly thumped and beaten up by Superman.The following video X rated for its extreme violence.