Saturday 24 November 2012

Ballad of 69


The Ballad of 69

See me, I’m a number, and I think my life is fine,
I started off a fraction, now I’m up to Sixty Nine,
I sometimes look upon my past, and often think of when,
I first discovered decimals, the day that I turned Ten.

I must admit, at Three and Five, it made me feel so odd,
But evened out when I turned Six, though Eighteen was a sod,
And when I first turned Sixteen, I found it quite a hoot,
Discovering when I was Four, I was my own square root.

And though I’m getting bigger, as year on year goes by,
I think of what it would be like, to be the same as Pi,
They say that life’s a circle, I think it can’t be fun,
If all your life, remains the same, at Three point One Four One.

You sometimes think, you don’t need maths, Oh come on, let’s be fair,
You couldn’t give the finger with your whole hand in the air,
You need to learn to count and add, it needn’t take you ages,
To take your pay, divide by hours, and find it’s rubbish wages.

We give each other nicknames, for example take my cousin,
His given titles only Six, we call him Half-a-Dozen,
At One Four One my Grandpa, the one that’s aged the most,
He still goes chasing Seventeen girls, we call him Grandpa Gross.

I know of these Two Zeros, they’re preceded by a one,
They’re heavy on the scale of things, we’re calling them a ton,
And take my brother Eighteen, we call him Double Nine,
But with his mates, he’s Treble Six, and that suits him just fine.

Now Three Four Three, is arrogant, he’s often really rude,
He thinks he’s so much classier, because he’s Seven cubed,
But boy have I got news for him, I’ve multiplied his mum,
And all the boys from algebra thinks she’s the Number One.

Now please don’t think I’m bitching, or just want financial gain,
But when I reached my second year, I didn’t share the fame,
I helped to solve lifes mysteries, but no-one seems to care,
I was that Two, that Einstein used, when E was MC square.

I’m moving house tomorrow, it won’t wait any later,
I’ve been promoted to a job, inside a calculator,
The moral of my story, is get up off your bums,
Stick in at school and learn the rules, and memorise your sums.

Monday 12 November 2012

Blazes Birthday Blog

I can barely believe it...me and Blaze have seen his 1st birthday come and go..... Doesn't time fly by.

Therefore, to celebrate this, we are going to update our latest adventures...and look back over the previous year...and what a year it's been.

Working our way backwards.

Last Sunday, we planned to go to Lochearnhead, meet with Cathy and Digger, and get Blazes 10th Munro climbed.    We kitted up with crampons and ice axes, which luckily were not needed as there was no snow as such up Ben Vorlich.  However, it was colder than an ex wife whom you had cheated upon.....

Some mountains deserve the 4 lettered word...LOVE...however this one was classed as SLOG...and by God it was. It takes an hour on tarmac just to get to the start point...then you look up...it's vertical, having to go from 500 feet to over 3,000 with very few flat bits to allow you to catch breath. Add to this the fact that it's a veritable mud slide...and you get the idea.   However.....about 1/4 of the way up, the dam at Loch Sloy comes into full view and you can gaze over to Ben Lomond & the loch.


The dam, from 1,500 feet


...and Loch Lomond

Eventually, we approached the summit...and had an amusing moment, as a walker who was ahead of us looked a tad confused.... It transpired that he had stopped to take some photos...got completely disorientated..and had started coming back down the hill instead of going to the summit... Guess what he wasn't carrying...here's a clue...rearranges these letters Cap and Mompass... Duh.

On the plus side...he then trailed us to the summit, where as his rescuers...he was pressed into photo duties to take our pics at the cairn...


Then, it was hot soup time...or it would have been had I not skimped and bought a cheap flask which could have been marketed as an ice making machine....    Normally, this would not have been a major issue, but with the wind chill factor up there...an Eskimo would have been off and running, seeking a hot bath....it was bitter.

On the plus side...the descent was rather swift...again taking into account of the muddy conditions...ie, at times a lot swifter than planned as we slipped on our butts a few times.

Halfway down...another photo taken...



Still, another Munro now 'bagged'.

We then headed home..and into the pub where there was a birthday cake for Blaze, to go along with the many great cards and presents he had received from his special Twitter  friends....


                                                           The previous adventure

After a while, we bit the bullet, and got our climbing gear, so we headed along to Elie, to do the Chain Walk...minus the chains, and attempt some free climbing and abseiling. As if this wasn't difficult enough, Blaze also got kitted out with his new climbing harness.....little did he know what lay ahead...


                                                               It started off, so well...

We made our way along the beach until the caves that marked the start of the walk...still going well...


At the caves

Then it was time to get down to business.....


The stacks

To say that Blaze was not impressed by this is a vast understatement.  However, after the first few climbs, he knew what was coming, and settled down and got used to being hoisted up...then heaved back off the rock face.   Then we did some nice easy rocks, which allowed us a few good photo shots...




Even time for a dance....


...and then a run in the fields on the way home...

So....to go back just 10 months...here is a timeline......


A new puppy arrives on the scene...


..and soon settles in...


...but he sleeps a lot...


.....but gets lots of cuddles....


Getting fluffy...but those floppy ears???


..and at last..the ears start sorting themselves out...


1st day with the rucksack.


Starting to be introduced to the pub...


...and the hills....


...and the beach...


...and the snow....


...learned to jump...


...build Hobbit houses...


..and canoe...


..and we could go on forever.

Anyway...phew  what a year.... what could make it better?  Not much  except perhaps Celtic winning the Champions League.... :-)