Kickabout

Louis fancied giving his Christmas Hearts top a test (thank you Lismores!), so we all popped along to D Mains Park for a festive kickabout. It was blummen cold but Louis played on, undeterred. Such is the power of the maillot maroon :-)

So This Is Christmas

A few snaps from the gathering of the Millars chez nous, starting with morning present opening and carol singing taken before (a) we sat down to dinner and (b) my camera battery ran out. All very jolly it was, even unphotographed.

Winter Wonderland

With a few days off work (and school) to enjoy before Christmas, we took ourselves off to Edinburgh's Christmas for a ride on the big wheel (courtesy of a competition at The List), the Star Flyer and others. We also went for a skate at Murrayfield, where Louis did his best Bambi impression but both regained their confidence on the ice very quickly. To cap it all we went to see Wicked at the Playhouse, we were up in the gods but it's a good show, and a cracking festive night out. Defying Gravity ain't Let It Go though :-)

Singing with John Lewis

Last choir gig of the year at Monty's Den in John Lewis, complete with festive jumpers.. Can it really be two years? We also did our third Christmas gig in the BT canteen:

Captivate Christmas

Tonight was Holly's drama group's "Concert at Christmas". They had a cast of thousands from what looked like pre-schoolers right up to bearded teenagers performing favourites from the musicals and a wee mob-handed nod to Christmas at the end. Holly appeared in excerpts from Matilda, Oliver and - yes! - Frozen among others, and performed with her usual smiling commitment and enthusiasm. One more performance tomorrow...

Sunshine on Threipmuir

A beautiful Autumn day saw us heading up to the Pentlands for a stroll alongside Threipmuir reservoir. I also wanted to check out the new - turns out it's not that new at all - boardwalk at the Red Moss Nature Reserve. I always assumed it was just a boggy bit you couldn't cycle on, turns out it's the only raised peat bog in Edinburgh. Who knew?

This is also my first post since the trackpad on my MacBook died. I'm posting this from - gasp - a Windows PC. It's oddly OK but takes a bit of getting used to. Blogging service should gradually be resumed as I find my way around.

Action Cam

A short video featuring more footage from the BirthdayCam:

Point Of View

For my birthday, I got a rather splendid lightweight and waterproof video camera, which can be strapped to various parts of one's anatomy / bicycle / skis. In an homage to a wee video Louis and I made three years ago, we documented a tour of Davidsons Mains Park to give it a test run:

Ice Bucket Tomfoolery

For anyone who didn't see it on Facebook, Scott nominated me to do the Ice Bucket Challenge. It was a sunny day, we had time to kill, and the kids were keen. So we did. Cold water and sunshine, just another day of Scottish summer.



Then I "nominated" Louis:



And Holly:

The Old Man Of Lochnagar

Keith and I usually do the Great Drumtochty Challenge in May each year. It wasn't on this year, plus of course my mountain bike had been nicked, so we were looking for a suitable alternative outing to christen the new bike. Lochnagar, Scotland's 21st tallest Munro at 1155m, was it. Keith devised a circuitous route, and we had a great day for it. We did a lot of carrying though, and most folk we met thought we were insane. It was a great laugh though, and (some of) the descents made the slogging and carrying and midge bites worthwhile.

Home Grown

I had forgotten to buy dinner for the children. Something to with getting back into the school routine. A rummage around the freezer revealed some fish fingers, but what do do for carbs and veggies? Wait a moment, I'm sure we planted some earlier this year! Sure enough, Louis and I found some perfectly edible vegetables in the ground outside. Who'd have thought? Holly kindly pronounced them the best carrots she'd ever tasted.

We Coulda Been Anything...

This last fortnight, Holly has been rehearsing and performing in Captivate Drama's production of Bugsy Malone at Broughton High School (my old alma mater) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Our wee girl, a fringe performer! It's hard work, but she's on a high after every performance.

Lastnight was our turn to go, it was a great laugh and I took a few snaps as ever.

Airtime!

A small but notable development in Louis' skatepark skills. He's learning to lift the front wheel as he leaves the lip of ramps, and there's real fresh air between his tyre and the ground. Click photo for close-up proof!

Kelpies Revisited

Catherine and Matt, Isabel and Sally were visiting from London town, so we went with Paula and Dave to see the Kelpies. We took the tour, went inside a Kelpie, and concluded the best view was probably driving by on the M9. They're part of a larger park project called The Helix, which looks nice but will be much better when it's finished...

A Frog He Would A-Reading Go

Holly often catches frogs of various sizes in the garden, especially around the greenhouse. This week, she took a notion to have the occasion photographed, and send the resulting picture off to the Beano. That's why the hapless frog appears to be reading it.

Tyrolean Traverse

After the - albeit short-lived - success with the slackline, I wanted to try rigging a zip line for the kiddies. Keith dug out our old climbing rope, and with a little bit of reading I managed to rig a Tyrolean Traverse and an improvised harness. It all worked a treat - especially between big trees in the park - and the kids especially loved hanging upside down for some reason. Next step, a pulley to make a zip line!

Holiday Over

We returned from far-flung Cumbria to find - surprise! - that the weather in Edinburgh was glorious too. In a vain attempt to hold on to that holiday feeling, we had Paula & Dave round and drank wine in the garden until the sun set. How symbolic.

Cumbria - The Pool

Somewhere between our holiday house and the Lake District, there's a wee village called Greystoke. Yes, the Greystoke of Tarzan fame. They have an excellent pub with a lovely beer garden, and a rather splendid community-run outdoor pool. So we spent a bit of time there, for obvious reasons. Retiring to the aforementioned boozer for the traditional ice cream and beer, the kids even enjoyed a game of giant chess while we supped cold lager in the sun.

Cumbria - The River

Just up the road from our holiday house, there was a nice wee town called Dalston where we ended up for ice creams and beers a couple of times. Running nearby was a splendid river, just the right depth for wading in on a hot summer's day. So we did.

Cumbria - The Fish

We were hungry, so we went fishing! A rather nice wee fish farm does "fun" fishing in which you hire a rod and - with a bit of tuition in the right kind of baiting - have a pretty good chance of catching something. We used sweetcorn and red maggots which seemed to do the trick, we caught four rainbow (I think) trout and had them for tea. Fresh, yum!

Cumbria - The Park

It's not unusual - even when on holiday - to visit a park or two, this time around they were both in Carlisle, Bitts Park and Hammonds Pond. Both had variations on splendid swingy spinny things, as well as (not pictured) a pond, a miniature railway, more high wires, a water play area and all sorts of good summery stuff. We spent a bit of time in both with my shiny new frisbee.

Cumbria - The Tarn

A tarn, it says here, is is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. "Mountain" is perhaps overstating it slightly in the case of Talkin Tarn, but it's certainly a lake or pool. What Wikipedia doesn't mention is you can hire a boat and row on it. Which we did. And then we walked around it.

Cumbria - The Farm

We only really had bad weather one day, when we were at Walby Farm Park. It chucked it down for an hour or so, at which point we were in the shed, learning about milking cows and using ferrets to trap rabbits. Outside, the puddles were no impediment to go-karting and sheep racing...

Cumbria - The Trees

So we had a couple of weeks off at the start of July, and decide to have a bit of a staycation. We chucked some stuff in the back of the car, and a few short hours later were installed in a nice wee holiday house in rural Cumbria. So simple, so easy, so nice. On the first day we headed to Treetop Trek in the Lake District, to do a bit of the now-familiar high wire trail round the trees on the shores of Windermere. The sun shone and it felt like a proper holiday!

End of Term Cake

Holly's had a great year with Mr Heaney, so she decided to make him a cake for the last day of term. The jelly babies represent the class. Not sure about the symbolism of him eating them...

A Day At The Races

After a couple of postponements due to a waterlogged pitch, the school finally held a combined "mini sports day" on Friday. The practical upshot of the "mini" part was that all of the "participatory" events - egg and spoon, beanbag tossing, hula hooping and so on - were dropped in favour of simple, competitive running races. The difference was palpable, there was some fine close racing, and the kids all felt it - the excitement was evident in their deafening cheering for their respective houses in every race. A grand morning out.

After Eight

After Eight - comes ten? Holly had a wee gathering of chums round for a camping sleepover in honour of her forthcoming tenth - tenth! - birthday. We went to the Commie Pool, played a few games (including the After Eight game, pictured) in lieu of the proposed barbecue, and the intrepid girls camped out overnight in the garden. They must have had about 30 minutes sleep between them...

MAMILs In The Mist

Keith, Andrew, Keith's pal Chris and myself took a wee spin into the Bathgate Alps this weekend; a wee fifty-mile leg stretcher in biblical rain. It's a great wee playground, with every corner bringing another hill. Strange how there seem to be more ups than downs though.

Dunbar

Ah, Dunbar. Sunniest town in Scotland, allegedly. It sure wasn't when we visited with the Stirlings on the day of the European Elections. We started at the rather splendid pool, then moved on to our usual haunt at the John Muir Country Park. Unsurprisingly - given the rather heavy rain - we had the place to ourselves. Later on, with the rain easing, we found a path that led along the back of East Links Family Park which - entertainingly - allowed us to both wave to paying customers on the petit train and electrocute snails on the electric fence. Stand easy RSPCA, they survived...

Photo Bombs and Balsam Bashing

Cheese!

Another update from Holly's wildlife club. This time the venues are Cammo (featuring more biblical weather) and Corstorphine Hill, the latter involving the kids helping out with clearing the invasive Himalayan Balsam before it has the chance to flower.

Eggstreme Sports

Easter Sunday, and the day began with the kiddies scavenging around the garden for the chocolatey goodies deposited by Helen the Easter Bunny. Later on, we met up with the Millars chez Lismore for a wander up Arthur's Seat (and a spot of egg-rolling) and dinner at the Sheep Heid Inn in Duddingston. All very jolly it was too.

What's a Kelpie Anyway?

May day holiday, and Grandma & Papa took Holly and Louis to see the Kelpies, a pair of new equine sculptures at the heart of the Helix, which also sits on the John Muir Way. You can also see them from the M9 but visiting on foot means you can go inside!

Just Hanging Around

A wee walk up Corstorphine Hill, following the perimiter of the zoo to see what exotic animals we can spot, and pausing at the "scaffolding tree" for a spot of dangling. We had an excellent afternoon out, and saw zebras, antelopes, monkeys and strange human-like creatures who had paid good money to get into the zoo and were ambling aimlessly about like caged animals. Pleasingly, Louis announced that Corstorphine Hill was one of his favourite places, and they both certainly had a great time running, jumping, balancing and indeed hanging around.

When I'm Cleaning Skylights

Our kitchen sklylight was recently - how can I put this - defiled by what appeared to be a bird with an especially upset stomach. In a wee nod to Victorian times, we sent the children up onto the roof to clean it. Hey, they have to earn their pocket money somehow! We devised a cunning route via the garage roof which required them to cross the yawning chasm between it and the kitchen on a shoogly ladder. And they both did it.

The Eyes Have It

As part of our joyous second-week-of-the-Easter-hols, we popped along to the Edinburgh Science Festival, much as we have before only this time Helen had the insight to book the kiddies into some sessions in advance. Between them, they programmed Lego robots, stood inside huge bubbles, saw (and felt) a cow's eye being dissected (pictured), investigated a crime scene, made play-doh viruses, cracked codes, made smelly compounds, recycled polymers to make rulers, set off the Chain Reactor with an air cannon, and made shadowgrams in the darkroom. It was, in short, a cracking day out (with the caveat that as they get older, they need less guidance and support from us, so there's a fair bit of hanging about involved - next time I'll take something to read). There's a bit of research you can help with too - check this out: http://www.100yearsofamplifiedmusic.org/

Berm Baby Berm

Hot on the heels of our return from the Alps, and eager for a bit more gravity-based sporting excitement, we took ourselves (and Dave) down to Glentress. (I had a selfish motive, checking out the new-ish 29" wheel size with a view to buying a new bike). We had a glorious day beneath the pines, with usual the skills loop - green loop - Berm Baby Berm - Blue descent route, rounded off with ice cream and splashing in the burn while I rode back *up* the hill to get the car...

Smells Like Tignes Spirit

"Fromage!"

It seems ages ago now, but last week we were with the Lodges, the Dawsons, the McKees and - fresh meat! - the Humphreys in Tignes for a spot of skiing.

The sun shone most of the time, the kids bonded with the others and skied much more in the afternoons than last year, we had a lovely team looking after us in Hotel Le Dôme, and we were all well and truly knackered by the end.

Pete Dawson has also uploaded some excellent videos on Vimeo.

Earth Calling

"Down by the water, down by the old main drag"

Follow the link (or click on the pic) for the latest batch of Davidsons Mains Wildlife Club photos. There’s quite a few as Gus has been a bit forgetful of late... There aren't *that* many of Holly, but you get a good impression of what they get up to on Tuesday afternoons...

http://www.earthcalling.org/wildlife-clubs/oh-fun-wildlife-clubs

Busy Weekend

What a weekend it's been. We began on Friday afternoon with Holly's performance as Amanda Thripp in her drama group's performance of Matilda. She was brilliant, even allowing for parental bias. She sang and performed with confidence and expression, and looked like she was loving every minute:

"My mummy says I'm a miracle"

Saturday was a family gathering in honour of Louis and Helen's birthdays, although we did manage a wee outing to D Mains park for a bit of rope swinging and fresh air beforehand. The food theme of the afternoon was Mexican, so Scott, Michelle and Calum brought a piñata, which went down a treat:

"The donkey's pooing sweeties!"

Sunday morning saw Holly making and decorating a cake for Louis' birthday, this time modelled along a minion from the Despicable Me movie series. It was a tricky project, but she had the vision, the technique and the patience to pull it off (with minimal grownup help). The end result was brilliant, and drew comments of admiration, even beyond the (unbiased, naturally) family:

"Gelato!"

Just in case we didn't have enough on, we took Grandma Pat to Roseleaf for Mother's Day lunch. It was splendid, they do the most marvellous burger with an additional slice of Stornoway black pudding which rendered even me sated for a good couple of hours:

"Happy Mother's Day!"

Finally, the highlight of the weekend - Louis' "friends" party at Jenn's Den, our local and recently-opened family cafe and play space. It all went remarkably well, considering the apparent predilections of a dozen or so six and seven year old boys, which mostly run to beating the stuffing out of each other:

"Ahoy mateys, the force is strong with this one, arrrr."

Almond & Cammo Walk

Another glorious weekend, though still a little chilly. It is still March, after all, and this weekend's outings were centred around our local river - the Almond. We walked up to the Cramond Brig, got very nervous as Louis especially chose to play by the fastest-flowing parts of the swollen river, and generally enjoyed the warmth of the sun on our backs. The Brig, intriguingly, has closed but being refurbished as a Miller and Carter Steakhouse. Next day we kept it local again with a simple lap of the lower meadows at Cammo, one of our favourite haunts. Holly did some quite spectacular tree climbing, and kept it together pretty well when she realised she didn't know how to get back down again. She's still there.

(not really)

Hound Point

So much water under the figurative bridge since my last post at new year. Can it really be March already? It's been a pretty miserable winter, which limited our outings and partially accounts for the lack of recent photos, but March has brought some better weather, and last weekend we took a stroll along the beach from South Queensferry to picturesque Hound Point. As ever, Holly and Louis moaned about not going out, and then once out could barely be persuaded to come home again, so engrossed were they with collecting flotsam and jetsam, climbing trees, and exploring the rocks.

Normal for Norfolk

IMG_0845, a photo by Fraser Millar on Flickr.

Suitably rested over Christmas, we headed for rural North Norfolk, where we'd taken a house along with Paula and Dave, Kirsty and Peter, Catherine and Matt, and Christina and all our respective children. The weather was generally awful, but we had a lovely time, a constant cycle of preparing food, eating and drinking, and clearing up afterwards. Not many pictures mind you. We did manage to fit in a wee trip to Cromer (a coastal town they forgot to close down) and Holkham beach (very nice, but a bit cold and windy), as well as some local attractions - Wolterton Park and lunch in the Saracen's Head. Holly hasn't shrunk in the picture, by the way - that's Christina's wee girl Lily.