Wednesday 26 December

A day of varying fortunes, but we did have decent spells of sunshine in the afternoon. Went for dinner at my aunt's place, 7 miles up the road, and was given a lift with my dad by another uncle, who lives two streets away. A good time was had by all, and the hours just whizzed by. My dad and I shared a private joke, as the dinner was - exactly the same as what we had yesterday (stewed pears and pork roast), except that my aunt added brussels sprouts (which I'm not too fond of) and cauliflower (which I do like). Got back home before 10pm, when it was absolutely tipping it down.

Tomorrow, I'll be off to see more relatives, who live rather further away, near Amsterdam.

Christmas Day 2012

Went to the church service at 10 am, where I sang with the wee choir. Late last night, I also joined the Watchnight Service at 9.30pm in a similar capacity. Services were well attended, but the church was not totally full.


This afternoon, my dad and I walked to the river IJssel, about 3 miles away beyond the town of Velp. The weather turned out quite reasonable, with some winter sunshine. The river was very high, due to recent heavy falls of rain in Switzerland and Germany, which flow down the Rhine to the Dutch border, where the river IJssel splits off. The latter then heads north towards the IJsselmeer (formerly the Zuiderzee) at Kampen.

Monday 24 December

An overcast day, which started with some rain and drizzle, which soon moved away north. It's quite mild today, with a current high of 11C / 52F. At breakfast, I was treated to the sight of a great tit exploring a nestbox; yes, it's only December 24th. There are huge flocks of all sorts of tits (great tit, blue tit &c) around at the moment. Apparently, they have moved west from Russia, to flee a lack of food. Only to find the same problem here.



Went for a stroll around town this afternoon, just over 2 miles to break in the new walking boots. Also had a nosey into the church where I shall attend the Watchnight Service later this evening. I use the Scottish expression - of course, this refers to the shepherds watching at night.

Town Hall
Xmas tree in church
"Go forth and do likewise"
Church organ, AD 1758
Leafy estate
Forest trail

Fungus eating dead tree

Sunday 23 December

Today started with pouring rain, lashing it down - until lunchtime. It dried up after that, but it remained overcast. Went out for a walk in the country park, which was pretty sodden underfoot. However, the new walking boots stood up to the test and I was quite happy after a brief, 2 mile, walk. In the evening, my sister and family took us out for dinner in a restaurant in the next town, which went down a treat.

Saturday 22 December

A gloomy day, although not foggy anymore. After lunchtime, rain started and it is still raining as I type this, after 10pm. I therefore spend a couple of hours scanning old photographs, from 1977 and 1980. I have processed the harvest from 1980, and post a selection below.

Around Oban
Rob Roy's grave, Balquhidder
Sheep near Kenmore, Perthshire
Glen Lyon
Dochart Falls, Killin

Friday 21 December

A foggy and cold day, with visibility only a few hundred yards. The former airforce base at Deelen, 6 miles north of here, reports a temperature of 4C / 39F. It should be getting milder over the next few days, as the cold continental air is pushed back east, where it came from. The Atlantic will then hold sway; which is what I'm used to at any rate.

Went to Arnhem this morning to purchase a new pair of hiking boots. The old ones had fallen to bits on my last foray to Strawberry Hill in the Castle Grounds at Stornoway. I'm fussy about my footwear, but managed to locate a suitable pair. I'm wearing them (indoors) as I type this, in order to get used to them. If I do not encounter any unexpected problems, I'll try them out of doors in a few days' time.

It was nice to have a short amble around Arnhem city centre; I grew up in this area, and it has not really changed that much. The only thing that changes is the shops. It was as busy as it always is on a Friday morning, just ahead of Christmas. Arnhem boasts of an extensive network of trolley-buses, which run on electricity, supplied through overhead cables. The buses are very quiet (except for the number 1 bus we used on the return trip) and you have to be careful if you are along one of the routes - you just don't hear them coming, certainly not among the noise of the rest of the city traffic.

Thursday 20 December

Welcome back to the Shell Gallery, where I shall be blogging during my current stay in the Netherlands. I am staying with my father in a small village a few miles outside the city of Arnhem, which (in turn) is located 65 miles east of Amsterdam and 15 miles west of the German border.

I left Stornoway by plane at 11 am, and had precious few views along the way. A brief glance of the town before we went up into the cloud, and a glance of Loch Ness on descent into Dalcross airport, east of Inverness. 



After a very quick turn-around, I boarded the Amsterdam flight, now operated by a jet aircraft, rather than a turboprop which was on service last September. Again, hardly any views along the way, and when the plane touched down in Amsterdam it was raining, and visibility quite poor. The 3.15pm train took me to Utrecht, where I changed into the 3.53pm intercity service to Arnhem, which I reached at 4.30pm. 25 minutes later, the bus took me the remaining miles to my dad's place.