Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

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Also a great top gear re-run where they put train wheels on an old Jag and run it on the rails.

Probably the best episode ever...

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The tennis was pretty good.

[Geo the Sarge]

PS - What a load of tosh.

I agree.

If you're going to do culture, do something decent.

Find this so sad tbh.

Yes it is culture, it's just that it's Scottish culture and makes many people happy for a short time and jeesh do we need cheering up at the mo.

Tom,

you partake/have taken part in things that are of Gypsy culture, it makes you happy and I and many others would never describe it as TOSH.

Yours dissapointedly

Geo

Brit/Scot

I feel a bit like I've been picked up before I've fallen down here Geo. you know I would never mock anyone else's culture.

It was was a quick, tongue in cheek type comment posted from my phone, I was expecting a bit of banter from the Scots in return. I never dreamed I would offend anyone.

The ironic thing is, I'm a Burns fan myself. I like him because, unlike many of the classic poets, he knew what it was to be poor, and he knew what it was to get his hands dirty. He was a man of the people, and you have to respect that.

I thought my having a dig him was just too ridiculous to be taken seriously. (If you trawl through my diary, you'll find I've quoted Burns on several occasions).

Still, having said all that, I 100% understand where you're coming from. In your position I would probably have done the same. I'm often guilty of going on the defensive too quickly. It's one of my many faults, but I'm working on it.

If I offended you, or anyone else, I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry.


The best laid schemes o' mice an' men,
gang aft agley.  

Geo hasn't posted anything since this. Could I really have pissed him off so badly without meaning to?

I hope not.

I probably jumped the gun a little there Tom, specially on the back of 2 threads in the lounge that were really doing my head in. I can't work some of these guys out. On one thread they appear to be intelligent and informed and yet on others they can seem so stupid and ill-informed.

Anyway, my absence has been due to it being my birthday weekend. Friday night was out for a few drinks with some new starts I had just completed training and most of yesterday was spent with family.

I'm not normally a pressie type but this year after I whinged about my digital camera letting me down during the C2C they got me a new Nikon Coolpix L120



Ideal for me as a good point and shoot. My life would be chaos if I started trying to do all the "proper" photography stuff as I'm one of those that once something bites me I tend to become engrossed and I neglect other things.

I took a wee wander round Edinburgh today to try it out and was pleased with initial results. I'll pop a couple up for you. Couple of which are Burns/poetry linked and another regards the changing face of buildings.

Geo

[Geo the Sarge]

P.s.

I should really resize some of these before posting

Geo

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Phew!

[Geo the Sarge]

Whenever I wander through the High Street here I always stop off at the Canongate Kirk which is 3/4 of the way down towards Holyrood Palace. It's where Sarah Philips and Mike Tindall recently wed. The Kirk has close links to the Royal Family as it is the Kirk of choice whenever any of them are resident in the town. It was also our Regimental Kirk and now holds the Regiments stained glass window dedicated to us when we were stationed in Werl by the local German people. When the camp there was closed we re-situated it in the Kirk. Unfortunately there was a service on today so couldn't get in to get a photo of it.

Although not a religious person I am fascinated with churches/cathedrals and there building. I remember on my first visit to York Minster I just stood for a while in absolute awe in the craftsmanship adn bemused how they could achieve such greatness in the days of no cranes or powered machinery to assist them

The graveyard there is the resting place of many of Edinburghs famous people including Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations and considered by some as the father of modern economics. IIRC Tighty is a fan.

Another of those buried there is a young man called Robert Fergusson whom Burns had said was a huge influence on him. Fergusson had a fall on a flight of stairs and suffered severe head injury to the effect he was admitted to the Edinburgh Bedlam as a madman and died aged only 24.

His works contained a lot of poetry about Edinburgh itself, some of which are as good as Burns and some are favourites of mine

As a form of apology for my misread earlier I thought I'd introduce you to him.

http://www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk/makars/fergus/fergusson.pdf

Not only Burns but Robert Louis Stevenson was a fan. Burns actually created the epitaph for Fergussons grave and RL Stevenson had planned to renovate the tombstone when it fell into disrepair.

First pic of the statue of Fergusson which stands outside the Kirk is from google.

Click to see full-size image.

Epitaph written by Burns

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Geo the Sarge]

The concrete musings a few weeks back got me to thinking about the "advancement" of modern buildings. Moreso the new types of buildings versus old. Obviously the new parliament building in Edinburgh provoked a lot of discussion here in Edinburgh with the consensus of most Edinburgh folk that I know being "wtf."

Although I passed the parliament building today I was not going to blight my new camera with such a carbuncle of a building. I did though make my way up Lothian Road to take a picture of the new "modernised" Usher Hall. It has always been one of my favourite buildings here in Edinburgh and over the last couple of years it has been undergoing it's renovation.

They have decided to attach onto one side of it what I can only call a hideous glass sheet.

Before pic by Bob Marshall  http://www.bob-marshall.co.uk.

Click to see full-size image.

After:

Click to see full-size image.

Who on earth actually thinks this is an improvement???

Geo

Edit: Have added credits to Bob Marshall as requested on his blog which was the best pre - pic of the Usher Hall I could find

[gatso]

I got to my estate and then they passed by about a minute later.

who are you? cambridgealex?

weird how people interpret things

I read the exact same sentence and pictured dan getting in the lift at his council highrise

[kinboshi]

I got to my estate and then they passed by about a minute later.

who are you? cambridgealex?

weird how people interpret things

I read the exact same sentence and pictured dan getting in the lift at his council highrise

Claw is well posh and you is a commoner, innit?

[gatso]

so true. west london vs east london

[Claw75]

so true. west london vs east london

excuse me.  i'm from surrey.

[gatso]

so true. west london vs east london

excuse me.  i'm from surrey.

excuse me but last week you were telling hannah you're from london when she was insisting that you weren't

[Claw75]

so true. west london vs east london

excuse me.  i'm from surrey.

excuse me but last week you were telling hannah you're from london when she was insisting that you weren't

I don't remember that.  OK, if we're going to be all technical about it then South London at least.

[Claw75]

....which sounds much less posh than west london.  might just delete my last few posts before people get the idea I'm some kind of commoner.

[kinboshi]

Oh, one is from Surrey.