Glasgow Gallivanting: December 2017

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Loch Lomond, Boxing Day 2017

Christmas and New Year

So here I am playing catch-up in January with my December round-up. I hope, like us, you’ve all had happy times with family and friends over the festive season. I hope also that you didn’t get too blootered (one of many Scottish synonyms for, ahem, over-refreshed).

Weather-wise, it wasn’t great here, the brightest and best of it being Boxing Day when John, Mum and I took a trip to Loch Lomond. When we arrived, Ben Lomond had its head in the clouds. By the time we left, it was clear and beautifully lit.

Loch Lomond, Boxing Day 2017
Loch Lomond, Boxing Day 2017

I had one totally unexpected gift that I want to share with you because it is so amazing. One of John’s PhD students presented him with this fabulous shawl which his mother (in China) had made for me. Apparently it took her 6 months, which I can well believe – I’m touched that she was so generous with her time for a complete stranger.

Shawl from China

In between Christmas and New Year, we had a few nights in Aberfeldy, a small town in Perthshire, which will probably make it onto the blog – eventually. In the meantime, here’s the pretty central square.

The Square, Aberfeldy

Annual Review

I took my annual look at my WordPress stats and discovered that, for the first time, page views are down on the previous year. Before I started to feel too unloved, I remembered that this was probably because in 2016 I was (mostly) posting twice a week, whereas in 2017 I was (mostly) only posting once. So, I dried my tears and decided things weren’t so bad after all. The most read post in 2017 surprised me, because it isn’t particularly spectacular – Glasgow canal walks, which leads neatly into the “ones that nearly got away”. I have several posts that almost got written, and probably won’t now, one of which is a walk along the Forth and Clyde Canal in October, this time near Kirkintilloch. It was a bright, still day with wonderful reflections.

Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch
Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch

I also noticed that three of these monthly round-up posts made the top ten last year, so I shall take that as encouragement to keep on with them. In 2017, according to my Fitbit stats, my gallivanting led to me walking almost 1700 miles. I’m not sure I believe that, but it sounds impressive! If I keep it up, I should have plenty to write about.

The Station Cat

Here’s a heart-warming little story. I use my local station a couple of times a week and often see the same black and white cat wandering around. Eventually, I discovered that he is so well-known that he has his own Twitter account, ScotRail has appointed him Cat Controller and the adjacent hospital, which he also patrols, has made him an Honorary Purrfessor! Apparently, his owners staff knew nothing about this alternative life until the local paper ran a feature about him. Then – cat-astrophe – the week before Christmas he went missing. Twitter went into overdrive, and eventually, almost three weeks later, he was found and returned home on January 2nd. I must say he looks rather sleek and well-fed, so I don’t think he’s been trapped in someone’s garden shed over the holidays. He maybe has another secret life – I remember a children’s book called Six Dinner Sid about a cat who conned six different families into feeding him. Hermes has probably read it.

The last bit

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has followed, read, commented on, or liked posts in 2017 – it’s been a pleasure to be part of such a friendly community. Special thanks this month to Karen of Profound Journey, who made me one of her Favourite Blogs and Channels of 2017. If you don’t already know her, please give her a visit now, especially if “you are a woman who has made everyone and everything else priority #1, and now, finally, you are going to put yourself on the map” – and even if that doesn’t apply to you, it’s still a good read!

So now the holidays are over, it’s back to auld claes and parritch (old clothes and porridge). All the best for 2018 everyone.

Scotland, UK , , , , ,

79 Comments »

  2. What a beautiful shawl Anabel – a gift to treasure. Our first cat in London had several secret lives, which we only discovered alas when she had to go to the vets with kidney failure 😦 Apparently the lovely Polish couple down the road had been feeding her Polish vodka sausages not to mention our neighbours who had been feeding her each night thinking she was a stray 😦 We learnt our lesson after that and our current cat is on strict rations as being an indoor cat she is prone to weight gain (she is white and tabby and her pink nose would not survive the Australian summer sun but she does have the run of the house!). I haven’t been able to blog much recently due to an influx of visitors so am happy anyone is still taking time to read my blog at all! Hope to have a bit more time again soon 🙂

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    • Well despite the Hyndland cat now wearing a collar saying Do Not Feed Me, I spotted him tucking into a pile of ham the other day so obviously people are taking no notice! The theory is he is too well fed to bother going home for his dinner. Vodka sausages don’t sound very good for a cat! We had a cat once who practically mugged the neighbours for their takeaway chicken curry, and said neighbours informed us seriously what her favourite type of cheese was! Cats can get round anyone I think.

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      • No vodka sausages are definitely not good for cats – we had no idea but it explained her early onset kidney failure 😦 Really nothing too rich! The Hyndland cat may have to be confined indoors to curb his eating out!

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        • I suspect he might be one of those who makes such a fuss if he’s kept indoors that they let him out for peace! We had one like that (the same one that liked the cheese – also not good for her I suspect).

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  3. That shawl is gorgeous. It wouldn’t be much use in our heat but I’m sure you’ll get plenty of wear out of it. Aren’t people wonderful?
    I was intrigued by your comments about your stats. I look at mine sometimes but not with a great deal of interest. It never occurred to me to compare them to previous years. But then, I’m not especially consistent, although I have been trying a bit harder lately.
    I’m looking forward to more of your posts. And I’d love to see the one you almost wrote about your walk along the Forth and Clyde Canals.

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  4. Beautiful shawl, Anabel. What a wonderful, genuine and surprising gift! I love the Hermes story, and that’s an impressive amount of miles walked as well. My Fitbit broke in November (and was replaced weeks later), but I lost weeks of tracking, so probably no way to figure out my annual step count.

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    • I saw Hermes this morning. Apparently his collar now reads “Please do not feed me” which doesn’t seem to have worked because he was tucking into a mound of ham that someone had left for him. The theory is that he gets so well fed elsewhere he doesn’t need to go home. So much for affection!

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  7. Stunning photographs of the water – our Boxing Day was good but not that good! And your shawl, that is just amazing. So very very special.

    Thanks for making me smile with Hermes – wishing you a wonderful 2018 and here’s to our meet up in the spring x

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  10. That shawl is magnificent, what a lovely gesture from a totally unknown person. I loved the cat story. They are very wily things and clever at conning everyone that they are the only one feeding him…

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  11. Magnificent shawl!!! Happy New Year to you Anabel. I’ve so enjoyed sharing in your gallivanting and am looking forward to more. Now if only I could get FitBit steps vicariously 🙂

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  12. Happy New Year! And thanks so much for sharing your travels with us. I really enjoy your posts, and thanks to them, I keep adding places I want to visit on my “bucket list” for travel. I only hope I live long enough to get to them all.

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  13. Could bringing the cat back be Saint Mungo’s fourth miracle (in addition to “The fish that never swam, the bird that never flew, the bell that never rang, and the tree that never grew”)?

    It’s now auld claes and parritch for me too!

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  14. Nice reflection shots. Probably more common than folk realise about cats. A couple of ‘stray cats’ here that I know get taken into various houses if the weather is bad or too cold. Impressive shawl.

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  15. I love the silly conversations too. 🙂 🙂 What a lovely December round up, Anabel. Those bright, beautiful days totally transform the landscape, don’t they? I have a few walks that never quite made it, too. Sometimes an abbreviated version slips into Six word Saturday- a use for everything! Which reminds me of the shawl- what a remarkable gesture, and such a lot of work! I ought to be guided more by my stats, I suppose, but I forget and just ramble off. Doesn’t matter if you’ve got nice company, does it? Thank you for being part of mine.

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    • Thank you, Jo. Finding your blog was a boon because I’ve met so many other people through it too. My Gallivanting posts were meant to absorb the walks that never quite made it into full posts, but sometimes they get too long to include everything. The shawl, I just couldn’t believe! I’ve not even met the student, never mind his mother. I take it as a great compliment to John’s role as his supervisor.

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  16. I have thoroughly enjoyed gallivanting with you during 2017 Anabel, both home and away. You have introduced me to so many new places which is what I love about blogging, though my favourite part are the conversations and natters we bloggers have. Such fun!
    Aberfeldy rang a wee bell, and I realised that in 2016 (seems like only last month) we had a little walk in the Birks of Aberfeldy. Some posts just never get written… I am keen to see where we go together this year. I shall be very quiet as I sit on your shoulder. Promise.
    xx

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  18. What a wonderful end of the year post, Anabel! Your photos are stunning and I love the story about the cat. Your shawl is gorgeous. I could use that in Maine tonight since we are having severe weather and below normal temps. Happy New Year!

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  19. What a beautiful gift to create and to receive, and it suits you perfectly. I’m so pleased to see Hermes was found alive and well. What a character he must be. I wonder why WordPress doesn’t send those Year In Review links any more, with all your stats in one place and the fireworks etc. I haven’t received one for the last two years and I enjoyed seeing them. You’ve prompted me to have a look at my own yearly stats. 🙂

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  22. What beautiful reflective pictures! I am enjoying your posts. I did walk along the Furth river once. Not sure how it connects to the canal though.I feel I am learning a lot about Scotland and its making me want to go!

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    • Thanks Fran! The Forth and Clyde Canal connects the Firths (estuaries) of the River Forth on the east coast and the River Clyde on the west coast. It sounds huge but it’s only about 35 miles. Scotland is very narrow in its Central Belt!

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  23. I love your monthly roundups, and this one is as interesting as ever. I love the shawl from China, and your Loch Lomond Boxing Day pictures. I hope you’ll still write about Forth and Clyde Canal; I don’t think it’s ever too late. How did you find your step tally from FitBit? I looked at the app, but don’t see a summary. Maybe I accidentally deleted an email that summarized it? It’s a good idea to look at your blog statistics; I’ll have to check mine out, which I never do. Mine are so spread out over several blogs that I don’t think I will be able to figure out much. What a cute story about Hermes the cat! 🙂

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  24. Hi Anabel – lovely photos and how wonderful your mother was with you … special times. Gorgeous views of Ben Lomond … and the rest – love reading your news. Hermes the cat is one lucky individual – great story …and for now have a very happy 2018 – cheers Hilary

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  25. I love everything about this post, Anabel. Especially, the photo with your Mum, the gorgeous shawl, your reflections on your WP stats….and the introduction to your local twitter cat (I am definitely intrigued to read more about him).
    BTW – About the stats – “Quality’ is always better than ‘quantity’. Your posts are first-rate…as I believe your readers are too!

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  27. So another rose in Aberfeldy – nice.. The shawl is lovely – a lot of skill and work. I enjoy reading your posts, particularly those of “The Dear Green Place” These are the posts that I loved most of all. I don’t look at stats. I have no idea what they are.

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  28. Good morning, Anabel. A fun post to read. Blootered — I learn another word – Yeah! 1700 miles – WOW! Virtual walk is good for our health, right?
    That shawl looks good on you! A soon as I saw it, I thought of my high school home economics class. I wasn’t interested in crafting and ended up only submitted two flowers (connected together, I may add 😉 to my teacher. Now I enjoy crafting more; wish I could re-take the class 😉
    I’ll check Profound Journey as soon as I am done here. Thanks for the link.
    Have a great day.

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  31. My moms father’s family came from the Glasgow area. When I went to the U.K. briefly in 1984, I found that there were still four McWalters in the Glasgow telephone directory. My mom was Ruth McWalter. I wonder if there are still any McWalters there, if there is still a phone directory?! That shawl is amazing!!

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    • We still get a phone book delivered by BT (British Telecom) every year – Glasgow North only – which gets smaller and smaller! I just checked and there are no McWalters in it, which is not to say they don’t exist. So many people either don’t have a landline now, or if they do they use a different provider. I love the shawl.

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  32. A rather showy shawl moment you had there Anabel, looking rather smart and hopefully warm too 🙂

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  33. Thanks for the shout out, Anabel, and thanks especially for continuing your tradition of interesting, informative, and heartwarming posts. It’s great to read about Hermes. Someone could compile a fascinating book of these stories of special cats and dogs around the world.
    Beautiful shawl that you received. If you send a copy of the photo to the woman, it won’t matter that you don’t speak or write her language (I’m assuming you don’t) because your face says it all.

    While I’m thinking about it, I have to ask. When I was in Scotland at age 12 (so 46 years ago – good grief!), it seemed that all roads pointed to Crianlarich. No matter where we were, literally there was a signpost showing us the way to Crianlarich. When we got there it was, um, underwhelming. I’ve always wondered about the place and its significance and you’re so knowledgeable. Will you tell us (me) a bit about Crianlarich sometime? Or if you already have a post that includes it, could you point me to it? Thanks, Anabel.

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    • No problem, Karen – happy to do that! You are right, I don’t speak Mandarin, though John is learning. We did send this photo along with another one in which I am holding up the characters for Thank You. I have never written a post about Crianlarich because, you are right again, it’s the sort of place you pass through! The reason it is signposted so widely is that it’s basically a junction between N/S and E/W routes, so all roads seem to lead there. These days, most of the village is bypassed (we came that way returning from Aberfeldy last week).

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  36. And it’s thanks from me too, for your very enjoyable posts during the year. This one was also in the top 20, loved the Loch Lomond pix, your shawl from China and the story about Hermes. Keep ’em coming. I don’t blog as often as I should partly because I don’t get out so much these days. My eye condition is deteriorating and not only does this make typing – and reading – difficult, but I can’t drive which limits my walking unless I want to stroll the same area day after day. But, who knows what the future holds and there is hope that my vision may improve, so 2018 still looks bright. And with holiday breaks to Malaga, Vienna and Lucerne on the cards, it’s positively exciting!

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    • Thank you! I haven’t been to any of those places, so hope you manage to write about them – and that your vision improves. That must be extremely difficult for you.

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