Saturday Morning...
Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head… or words to that effect, not my words I have to say, but the words of Lennon and McCartney.
After getting ready I made sure I was fully prepared for the day ahead. Money, check, Camera, check, safety glasses, check, warm clothing, check, hat in case of rain, check, and also in case of raining bits of clay pigeon (this sometimes happens if you “pot” one as it passes over head. Sometimes the little blighters have one last go at you before they end up the ground.
My mate Alan collected me about 11am, and then we headed off to the Kingdom of Fife for a day of fun, buns and clay pigeon genocide.
The drive is a pleasant one, using many country roads and passing many places of interest. The Champnay Inn, very expensive and too fancy for the likes of us, well for our wallets anyway, further along there is The House of the Binns; this is the “country-seat” of the Dalziel family, the most famous member of that family being the Member of Parliament “Tam” Dalziel. In case you are wondering its pronounced Dee-el, don’t ask my why, it just is.
The journey is a nice relaxing one, sometimes due to the fact you are stuck behind some kind of farm machinery, which I’m sure is capable of more than 5 miles per hour, although that doesn’t always help relaxation. There are fields to the right and left occupied by farm houses and wildlife.
The first part of the pleasant journey comes to an end at a village called Newton just on the way to the round-about leading to the Forth Road Bridge, a kind of Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco look-a-like for anyone that doesn’t know it.
The views up to the bridge and on the bridge are spectacular. The journey over the bridge gives the passenger a chance to see some wonderful views along the River Forth. To the left, running up the “coast” of the Forth there are the towns of Blackness, then Bo’ ness, then on towards Grangemouth, to the right here are small islands in the Forth only approachable by boat, but lovely to see either in a car crossing the bridge or when walking across the length of the bridge. This is not recommended in high winds. Please do not try this at home!
Once over the bridge we were well on our way. On the way to Cluny many names of places whiz by that mean nothing to anyone other than the people who live there, places like Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Cardenden. This is possibly the most monumental due to the fact that it is the birthplace of fictional detective, and anti-hero John Rebus, as created by son of Cardenden, Ian Rankin.
When we got there, we sat down in the comfortable bar area with its open coal and log fire and got ourselves some warm drinks, tea for me and coffee for Big Al! Also, we splashed out on a couple of cakes, just for the sugar-rush you understand, to keep us motivated.
After getting ready I made sure I was fully prepared for the day ahead. Money, check, Camera, check, safety glasses, check, warm clothing, check, hat in case of rain, check, and also in case of raining bits of clay pigeon (this sometimes happens if you “pot” one as it passes over head. Sometimes the little blighters have one last go at you before they end up the ground.
My mate Alan collected me about 11am, and then we headed off to the Kingdom of Fife for a day of fun, buns and clay pigeon genocide.
The drive is a pleasant one, using many country roads and passing many places of interest. The Champnay Inn, very expensive and too fancy for the likes of us, well for our wallets anyway, further along there is The House of the Binns; this is the “country-seat” of the Dalziel family, the most famous member of that family being the Member of Parliament “Tam” Dalziel. In case you are wondering its pronounced Dee-el, don’t ask my why, it just is.
The journey is a nice relaxing one, sometimes due to the fact you are stuck behind some kind of farm machinery, which I’m sure is capable of more than 5 miles per hour, although that doesn’t always help relaxation. There are fields to the right and left occupied by farm houses and wildlife.
The first part of the pleasant journey comes to an end at a village called Newton just on the way to the round-about leading to the Forth Road Bridge, a kind of Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco look-a-like for anyone that doesn’t know it.
The views up to the bridge and on the bridge are spectacular. The journey over the bridge gives the passenger a chance to see some wonderful views along the River Forth. To the left, running up the “coast” of the Forth there are the towns of Blackness, then Bo’ ness, then on towards Grangemouth, to the right here are small islands in the Forth only approachable by boat, but lovely to see either in a car crossing the bridge or when walking across the length of the bridge. This is not recommended in high winds. Please do not try this at home!Once over the bridge we were well on our way. On the way to Cluny many names of places whiz by that mean nothing to anyone other than the people who live there, places like Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Cardenden. This is possibly the most monumental due to the fact that it is the birthplace of fictional detective, and anti-hero John Rebus, as created by son of Cardenden, Ian Rankin.
When we got there, we sat down in the comfortable bar area with its open coal and log fire and got ourselves some warm drinks, tea for me and coffee for Big Al! Also, we splashed out on a couple of cakes, just for the sugar-rush you understand, to keep us motivated.
About 10 minutes later Ray and Phil turned up. The original “4 musketeers” plan was changed somewhat by the arrival of Ray’s son, Phil’s new “lay-dee” and her son. So we sat and bantered until we could wait no longer. We then headed to the “armoury” and selected our weapons and ammunition of choice. I won’t bore you, dear reader, with the technicalities of shotguns or cartridges, just to say it would hurt if it hit you. How exactly did we do? Well, that will have to wait till my next entry.
A motley crew if ever I saw one..lol
ReplyDeleteSorry it wasn't the boys day out you'd planned...but it sounds like you had a great time anyway....
Looking forward to your next instalment.... :~)
Take care babe...
Hugs
Carol xx