New Blogger format

Just want to air a gripe about the new Blogger format that I found on my blogs on Monday. The Dashboard has been turned upside down, with my list of blogs squashed into the left sidebar, and the remainder of the page taken over by the blogs I follow. Well, I don't really use Blogger for following blogs, I use Google Reader for that. And as many of you know, I keep a large number of blogs (more than 50), and keep several of them updated on a regular basis. My switch between Atlantic Lines and the Shell Gallery is a case in point. However, I have kept my feedback to Blogger constructive, and advised them to give users an option to switch between their own blogs and other people's blogs in full screen. Whether they'll do anything with that is another matter; I'm probably an exception in this instance.

Tuesday 7 June

A bit of an overcast day, and not particularly warm - by Dutch standards. However, as the afternoon progressed, the sun came out and the mercury made it up to 20C / 68F, which I would expect here in June. After lunch, I went on a walk through the nearby forests with my dad. It stretched for 5½ miles and took 2 hours. There were not many other walkers about. We started off by going to a roadbridge across the nearby A12 motorway (Utrecht - Arnhem - Germany). The motorway will be widened to three lanes each direction over the next 3 years, meaning the roadbridges that cross the A12 will have to be replaced with longer spans. The bridge in the Schelmseweg (Velp - Oosterbeek) is one of those. After a spot of sightseeing around the works, we headed into the woods.

I am closing this post with a selection of pictures. Those of you who have read this blog in the past will be familiar with the scenery. It is a sharp contrast to my imagery from the Hebrides.


The church (AD 1758)


Egyptian goose with goslings


Forest track


Recycling in progress


On the motorway bridge


In the garden

Monday 6 June

Left Stornoway at 7.30 on Monday morning to catch the 8.30 plane to Glasgow. This left in good time and touched down in Glasgow at 9.30. The sun was trying to come through, but did not quite succeed. Had to wait for the 1.25pm flight down to London Gatwick. It was not busy at the airport, and it was a tad boring there. I was called forward to have my passport rechecked.

Once on board the plane, a baggage handler came to my seat to tell me that my bag had actually made it onto the flight. Thanks very much, that was a great relief to hear. Using the GPS, I was able to note that the plane took off as it was going down the runway at 135 mph. Once up in the air, speed increased until we were cruising along at up to 495 mph at an altitude of 35,000 feet. I could see the Ayrshire coastline stretching down to Stranraer, as well as the southern coast of Galloway and the Isle of Man in the distance. Northern England was also more or less clear, but once past Liverpool it was cloud all the way.

We landed at Gatwick at 2.45pm, on schedule. Cue a very long wait. I cannot properly focus on a book when I'm sitting at an airport. My flight was due off at 6.45pm, but I had had a text from the travel agent's to say it was delayed by more than an hour - something already known at midday! Droves of people passed through the departure lounge, heading for their holidays in the sun around the Med. I had something to eat by about 6pm. Looked at the Internet for about 15 minutes, but towards 7pm I stood by the departures board until flight 8119 to Amsterdam was called to gate 53. Well, got to gate 53, but then it was suddenly changed to 54. Even as we were called forward to embark, the stewardess was still talking about gate 53. Until somebody mentioned something. We took off at 8pm, into more cloud.

Moving the clock forward an hour, we landed at Amsterdam just after 10pm. Luggage materialised at 10.20, and I was able to get to my train on time. It left at 10.44, and with a change at Utrecht, I got into Arnhem at midnight. From there, a taxi took me home.

Opening once more

If my journey has gone according to schedule, this post will be published just as my plane touches down in Amsterdam, Holland. Since May 2008, I have kept this blog for my sojourns with my dad in eastern Holland. This time round, there will be a two-week interruption in updates in the middle of my stay, as I am joining my father for a trip down to Switzerland. I have bought a new paper notepad for writing things down (the old-fashioned way), although I shall probably bring the laptop to process walking routes off the GPS, and to copy pictures onto the harddisk drive.

It has been five months since my last visit, and winter has made way for summer.

Picture post - 4 January

That's all I saw of the solar eclipse. Nothing.


Hello, Puss [the blotch beside its left eye is due to a fleck on the camera lens]


The Shell Gallery is now back under wraps.

Tuesday 4 January

Missed this morning's solar eclipse due to cloud. Elsewhere in Holland, some people were lucky to see some of it. The eclipse commenced at sunrise, with the sun partially obscured by the moon as it rose just after 8.45 am. It ceased at around midday - after which clouds broke and it became fairly clear. Such rotten luck.

Went into the next town for a spot of shopping, but had to walk on the cycle paths because the pavements were extremely slippery. We had another frost and some light snow in the night, making conditions treacherous.

I am now going to prepare for my return to Stornoway, which will take place tomorrow. It will mean a very early start, and will take about 14 hours door to door. This is mainly due to some lengthy waits at intermediate airports, but I prefer long waits to the stress of tight connections.

Apart from a later picture post, the Shell Gallery will now go back under wraps until my next visit to Holland. I shall resume blogging on Atlantic Lines on Thursday 6 January, but will post (by mobile) on Facebook as I proceed on tomorrow's journey.

Monday 3 January

Winter will be on the way out in Holland by the end of the week, with a forecast daytime max of 9C / 48F. That should neatly clear the snow and ice, but I'll be back in Scotland before then. For the moment, the nighttime lows remain below freezing, which means that the snow that had thawed into slush turns neatly back into ice. Another problem is that the hard snow cover makes it difficult for wild animals to feed; I found evidence on a forest walk today that wild boar had been at work, looking for food underneath the 2 inches of ice. As you will be aware, I am in a hilly area, and on trying to descend from one of the hills beside the village, I found this to be well-nigh impossible. I nearly had to divert into the garden of the old Schoolmaster's House to get off the hill.


Wild boars' handywork


Fungi on tree


Arnhemse Allee (the road from Arnhem)


Kapellenberg [hill]


Contrails, converging on distant London.