"Garden" by Pearl Jam

We had a lovely day out yesterday with friends to Pitmedden Gardens that is near our home. It is a formal walled garden originally laid out in 1675 by Sir Alexander Seton and features over 5 miles of box hedging arranged in intricate patterns to form six parterres. These parterres are filled with some 40,000 plants bursting with colour in the summer months.

A lovely place to visit on a fine summer day (if you can get one!).

There is also a Museum of Farming Life giving a glimpse of how this was done over a centaury ago. These were very hard times for most folk.

And what a co-incidence; my “pen friend” with whom I have been in contact since 1998 had a birthday the other day and she was given an "Allium Sphaerocephalon" plant. What is that?, you may ask. Well, I saw them growing in Pitmedden Gardens and wondered what they were too. And then I read My friend’s Blog and there they were in all their flowering glory. Thank you Janet for finding out more about it. Here, on the left, are the flowers at Pitmedden and here is a link to Janet's BLOG about the flower at LORD CELERY. I have also put a a picture here, to the right, of the ones posted on her BLOG.

"Steam" by Peter Gabriel

I went out today with a friend to a Steam & Vintage Fair at Castle Fraser. I really enjoyed it and to add to my enjoyment I got to ride on a 1824 Foden 6 Ton C type 3 Speed truck owned by Alfie Cheyne. Thanks Alfie for a great day. When I came out of the cab my face was splattered with soot and oil. That's what it's all about. These vehicles show what man can do and to be still running after all these years is remarkable. We also got the chance to climb on board the best maintained Burrell Scenic Showman in the World, so I was told. It took 2 years to rebuild to the "as new" condition you see it in today. It certainly looked impressive. Make your own mind up when you look at the photos. CLICK HERE to view all the photos from this great day out.

"Flower of Scotland" by the Corries

It just past mid-summer's day here in the Northern Hemisphere so the sun will be retreating away again to the South and bringing colder weather. Summer has passed us by this year.

Our garden is looking lovely at the moment. Our summer is not very good but no-one has told the flowers so they continue to bloom. Most of the pictures are of rhododendrons. Maybe some people will like to see them in all their glory.

"Gone Fishin'" by Louis Armstrong

Meala Lough

I arranged to go on a fishing trip to Ireland with 2 of my friends for 1 week. We travelled to Dunglow, County Donegal, some 360 miles from Ellon. We had a really good week mostly fishing in the freshwater lochs around the area called the Rosses. NB: All fish were returned to the water unharmed.

The Ellon Team would like to thank their sponsors, Mssrs. Buchan & Watt who supplied rods, helped greatly with funding, supplied flies and leader material. Thanks are also due to Mr Buchan for the loan of the inflatable life jacket.

Further information on Dungloe:
Dunglow is also named Dungloe and An Clochan Liath. The early cartographers, notably the marine cartographers of the mid 19th.Century confused the issue by spelling the name of the town as "Dunglow". This mistake is often still seen, even on signage of Donegal County Council.

Here is what someone else writes about the area: -
The Irish name for Dungloe, An Clochan Liath (Grey Stones), has its origins in the period before the construction of the Dungloe Bridge in 1762. Prior to this, entry to the village was by means of stepping across the river. Dungloe is an excellent base for any visitor wishing to holiday in the area with a large variety of local crafts pubs restaurants and accommodation. In the evenings you can enjoy a pint and - craic - is a large number of lively local pubs where traditional music is to be heard on most nights throughout the season.
Finally every year during a ten day period starting the last week in July Dungloe plays host to thousands of visitors who have come for one of the most famous international festivals in Ireland the Mary from Dungloe. (We met Mary during our stay! Well, she said that she WAS Mary from Dungloe.)
The capital of the Rosses Dungloe is a lively town. With 130 lakes the area is renowned for lake and river fishing. Other attractions locally include fine beaches and sporting activities. Just a short distance north of Dungloe is the 9-hole Cruit Island golf course.
There are many interesting pre-historic remains including a large megalithic portal tomb at Roshin South and the Templecrone at Magery.

"With A Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles

Having a meal at our home with some of our friends. We all cook part of the meal and take it to whoever is hosting the evening. We do this about once every 2 months and it is a good way of meeting without it costing too much and the food is usually much nicer too.

NB: I having a lot of problems trying to load photos onto blogger. I have uploaded this photo (and it can only be one photo) by using HELLO software. This seems to be the only way I can get around the problem unless someone out there can tell me how to do it.

Success! Just done it so hope it works from now on.

Cheers! John raises his glass to everyone.

"Country Road" by Al Cooper

Janis and I went on a walk with our Pensioners' Association in June. We met in Kemnay and walked for about 2 1/2 hours along the River Don. It was good to meet up with people I had worked with some time ago and catch up with what they were doing now. After the walk we had lunch together at a church hall cafe.