Flood - a spectator sport

Who would think you could have such an enjoyable time watching a flood?

19/8 Oh my goodness!  Blog update! I added some photos to a post last night in the usual way and had the usual pang of  'uhh, this is time comsuming, can't I click on several at once?'.  Then this morning I come to add these photos and it's a new system and I added them all at once!!!!  Yay!

Was walking into town with friends on Saturday and we thought the clouds weren't looking great, and then it started to rain and in a matter of moments, absolutely pour!!  We took shelter in the pub vestibule on the opposite side of the road.  Soon there were mini white water rapids going down the road and look at the gushingly over flowing gutters:

 Our dry retreat turned on us as water started leaking through the light fitting above.  It was all slightly hysterical!

Then came the ultimate form of entertainment.   We decided rain had lessened (probs about 20 mins later..) and we ventured out.  Just down the road from us was the bridge under the railway that had totally flooded up and so we started watching and it was addictive!!

 Not so funnly for them, one car hadn't made it through and was stopped at the end of the flood - car on the right.

 It was an amazingly entertaining time of cheering, clapping, gasps (check out the crazy cyclist!),  held breath, community spirit...

 It really made the afternoon!

Geocaching

Time to get going on some posts of little things.

We had a day out to Harcourt Arboretum, which in my ignorant mind was pretty much a wood!  But it was amazing because you could do geocaching for free!  and what a cool think it is!

You have a GPS device and a compass (mainly just to look the part!).  The GPS is programmed with the various spots you have to get to.  So we selected puzzle 1 and then followed the arrow as the number of metres to go decreased.  When we were within 5m we hunted around until we found the box.  We opened the box and found the puzzle/experiment inside.

This was run in conjunction with some physics institute. So the activities inside were physics related.  We learnt why peacock feathers were iridescent, how to test the UV level, why trees grow upwards, how to measure the height of a tree, effects of lightning - we became so knowledgeable!

 

At each box, we wrote our team name (broken umbrella) in the log bog along with date and something related to the activity.  Despite the drizzle it was a wonderful day :-)

RSCDS Summer School 2010

18/8 Had been gradually updating this post, but was disappointed to notice that my last update didn't seem to save :-(

I've decided I would like to write somethings about the week I have just spent in St Andrews.  I did take the diary I had started on the cruise with me, and actually finished it!  But as I didn't write about everything, I feel there are a few things I would still like recorded so they are happening here.

I went to the summer school for Scottish Dancing 5 years ago for the one and only time.  It is run by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and in some ways is quite a formal affair that is mainly attended by people at least a generation older than us.  Although we did hear tails of the olden days, and though it seems like it's been the same for years and years, turns out it was stricter in Miss Milligan's day.

Summer school consisted of two classes in the mornings, Monday - Saturday.  The afternoons were free time, though we did tend to have a walk through at 5pm for the evening dances.  The evening dances varied in intensity but usually quite knackering!

Someone I met during the week posted on Sunday her facebook status as:

Had such a great week dancing - highlights including the chemistry dance, dashing white sergant round a wall, dancing in the sea, excuse me dancing and finally 'under arrest'! ... Basically everything!...Thank- you to everyone involved I hope you had an amazing time too

I agreed with all those and am going to try bullet point the highlights from the week that I'd like to remember:

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  Raffles!  It appears the way that Scottish Dance societies make money (not in a bad way, just try to cover their costs) is to hold raffles on the evening.  The first one we went to was at the St Andrews Branch at the Boy's Brigade Hall (no need to say at all that it was at the Boy's Brigade, I just found the name rather entertaining!) on the Tuesday night.  I bought a strip or two on my way in having bought my ticket as did quite a few of us.  The drawer (I really have no idea if it's drawer or draw?? 25/8 am thinking it's surely draw?)  took place in the interval.  The winning tickets were picked from a tesco (or some other supermarket chain) carrier bag and it was a very slow process as there were  a lot of prizes to choose from and the winners got to pick their own.  Me and the two girls I was sitting next to were commenting on the fact that no seemed at all pleased to have won.  People were just standing up and walking up, but quite honestly they walked with as much excitement as if they were walking out the door to the loo!  We decided we'd woop and cheer if one of us won.  And lo and behold with 3 prizes to go my number came up and totally true to their word they wooped and cheered, startling everyone in the room, and so I had to walk up from the other end of the room to claim my prize - slightly embarrassed but I went with it and the cheers actually made me feel special!  Then there was the tricky decision of what to choose.  Options: large set of lavender candles, a porcelain-type Scottish Dancing doll, or a toilet bag that looked ever so slightly worn... I won't go into the thought processes that went through my head in those 3(?) seconds (you'll be pleased to hear) but I went for the candles.  And then spent time struggling on how to get them home!

  So that was part one of the raffle story! 

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  Warm sand under toes

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  Compliment

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  Mid morning tablet

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  Robert's socks

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  Rebecca

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   Nap time

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   Last night party room

• Carnoustie carnage - this was such a highlight of the week, and happened relatively early on (wednesday night), that it got a fairly full write up in the diary.  So I decided to try scan the diary entry in.  Being originally in the private diary I had used names.  When scanning I thought I would cover with post-it bits, forgetting it wasn't the same as photocopying and the post-it bits would show up!
  
  

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   First night party room.  Firstly it's pretty funny that there's a designated party room, but even more so that there are signposts to it around the uni halls!  We headed there after the first evening's welcome dances.  I was somewhat reluctant not being a party person, but I ended up there and it was pretty special.  There was a man playing the piano in there who turned out to be one of the musician's for the school.  We listened to him for a bit and chatted and then two of our group went to get their instruments: a fiddle and a banjo.  They ended up kinda working together to play for us and we danced (mainly under my orders, the new folks weren't surprised to discover I was a teacher afterwards!) Eightsome Reel and Mairi's Wedding.  One set a piece although Mairi's Wedding was 10 times through 40 bars for our 5 couple set!!  Epic for the musicians but we were very grateful!  During these numbers I looked round and first saw that a drummers had appeared with his snare drum in the band, and then later a lady on the recorder!  It was true...  i don't know the word for it.. but I loved the organic nature of it!

Photo of the year - week 26 - Summer School

Week 26 - half way through the year - wow!

Sunday 1st August

 Enjoying training it up through the Lake District.

Monday 2nd August

View out to the Golf Course and beach from my uni room.

Tuesday 3rd August

 Mid-morning tablet break between classes.

Wednesday 4th August

At Carnoustie in the break.  What a legend of a night!

Thursday 5th August

Afternoon visit to the Cathedral ruins.  A very pleasant relaxing time.

Friday 6th August

Evening dance at the university.

Saturday 7th August

 Atomic orbitals dance in the sand.

Sunday 8th August

Time to leave.

Photo of the year - week 25 - Cruise 2

Sunday 25th July

Sunnier St. Petersburg day 2.  Catherine's Palace behind us and you can see the headsets we have for listening to our Guide, Yuri's, commentary and 'Yuri's group this way!'

Monday 26th July

 At the dock in Tallinn.  Our Jewel of the Seas on the left and Disney cruise ship on the right.

Tuesday 27th July

Post azipod listing in the card room.

Wednesday 28th July

 Day spent reading and sleeping in various points around the ship.  Had finished the Agatha by 4.30pm.

Thursday 29th July

 Nicoleta and Joel, lovely waiters on our last night in Tides dining room.

Friday 30th July

 Final buffet breakfast in the Windjammer.

Saturday 31st July 

Finishing up the holiday diary back at home (having added to my house collection with one from Copenhagen).

Photo of the year - week 24 - Cruise 1

As I kept a diary of my cruise, I realised I am not actually going to write all that much about the holiday on here.  But you will get the snapshot from it in the photo of the year style - it was hard just choosing one photo on a couple of occasions.  Also got to say a huge thank you to Lizzie who let me have full use of her camera while we were away.  Very generous of her and she never begrudged me it.  THANK YOU!  I did kinda miscalculate the whole last-post-in-July thing!

Sunday 18th July

 All aboard!  Slightly windy (!) setting sail from Harwich aboard the Jewel of the Seas.

Monday 19h July

 Caused Mum and Lizzie hysterics by trying napkin folding for beginners on my own.  Fortunately they turned up near the end and Lizzie happily (!) helped me out.

Tuesday 20th July

 Excited about to go on a ride at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

Wednesday 21st July

First Art Auction on a day at sea, taking place in the Centrum.  Can you spot Ma and Lizzie?

Thursday 22nd July

 Line up, Line up, Seagulls!  Stockholm.

Friday 23rd July

Horray!  The Moomin purchases we'd been hoping for in Finland.

Saturday 24th July 

 Happy Birthday Moomin!!!  A rather surprise wet start to our time in St Petersburg.  But don't we look good in ponchos!

 

Photo of the year - week 23

Radical posting on a Saturday, only the six photos, but we are off on holiday tomorrow and I wanted to be up to date before going!  So this is the last entry for July - still more posts than January though!  I wonder when I will get bored blogging??

Monday 12th July

 After starting the journey home feeling a little down (despite excellent performance of Joseph by Year 6s) the sun started shining beautifully in the sky and chromatography started working and the mileage was all multiples of 3 and happy music came on!  It's the little things...

Tuesday 13th July

My bed was too covered in things to eat on and watch tv so I sat on the floor leaning against the book case and photographed with photobooth.

Wednesday 14th July

Totally radical - got the train to London on a school night!!!  Had a lovely time chatting and catching up with a mega friend.

Thursday 15th July

 Pick your own raspberries (or in this photo's case, try and reattach them to the bush!)

Friday 16th July

Stopping still on the way into house in the warmth of the sun, thinking (happy thoughts).

Saturday 17th July

Early morning holiday packing!  One of my OCD moments.