Aug 28th Burger feast

After his travails it was nice to have some time with one of my sons and we had a good time munching our way through these burgers, fries and onion rings at the Handmade Burger Co. in Glasgow. Good food but no draught beer to go with the food and bottled beer not chilled, come on!!

Burger fest

Aug 27th Firhill

My first game of the season to watch Hearts was their away match against Partick Thistle at Firhill. I took this snap from the canal path behind the ground. It is 75 minutes before kick off and nobody in the ground yet. I was early as a small ticket allocation for away fans was on sale from 2pm. Luckily I got our tickets and Hearts won 2-1 in the last minute. A good snap to remember and a nice stroll along a canal stretch that I have never walked before.

Firhill

Aug 26th Friday night dilemma

It is Friday evening and I have to pick my fantasy football side. There is more pressure on me being the reigning champion. To relax me I have opened a bottle of Innes & Gunn, rum casked Scottish ale. The selections might not be much good but the ale sure is.

Innes & Gunn rum beer

Aug 25th More Scottish seafood

Although this was taken last week I came across it today and reminded me of how good Scottish seafood is. Proper chunks of fresh monkfish in a light curry sauce. Bliss.

Monkfish

Aug 24th Sunset not the usual perspective

The West coast of Scotland is blessed with great red sunsets but for a different perspective I took this one through the bathroom glass.

Sunset

Aug 23rd Meadow Brown

The butterfly season is just about coming to an end but plenty of these Meadow Browns flying around the golf course today.

Meadow Brown

Aug 22nd Seeds Away

Our good thistles are now ending their cycle and spreading their seeds far and wide to create the next generation. Photo a bit blurred couldn't get the close up properly but a memory.

Seeds Away

Aug 21st Blue is the colour

Back home and I was walking the golf course this morning. A bit of heat and brief glimpses of sunshine has brought out the butterflies. I think that this one is a 'Holly Blue'. Small about the size of a thumbnail and a quite a few of them about. Very pretty and brightened up my morning.

Holly Blue butterfly

Aug 20th Full moon rising

Time to leave Askernish for this year. A 5 o clock alarm call for the ferry means an early night but as I went to bed I snapped this view of the full moon. Also the hill covered in cloud was a strange weather event as it covered that hill all day but never moved to cover any other hills, strange.

Askernish full moon

Aug 19th Wicked Lady

Askernish golf course is a magnificent links golf course in the truest of traditions designed by the legendary Tom Morris. It is not a modern course with manicured fairways and greens. The machair grasses and flowers bring the course colour and life. Also some great tee names, no idea who she was but intriguing for a golf tee.

Askernish wicked lady

Aug 18th South Uist brown trout

It's been a good break but disappointing from a fishing point of view so I was glad to get the rod out today. Typical the sky was too blue, the wind too light, the midgies horrendous but I caught 6 fish at Loch Dun na Cille on South Uist. Really hard bank walking, no wading as immediate drop offs into deep water. This excellent example of a wild brown trout, good tail, was the 2nd best of the day but still a good fish.

South Uist brownie

Aug 17th Glorious Scottish seafood

Our dinner tonight was at the Oronsay Inn Hotel in Benbecula. Like most of the island it is a modern bungalow on a croft but run as a hotel. We had four dishes, 3 of which were excellent. This Hebridean paella was the most visually stunning but sadly some of the seafood was overcooked, still a memory of the year.

Hebridean Paella

Aug 16th Beinn Sciathain

With the winds still savage no fishing again today so I dragged Mrs B up Beinn Sciathain on Eriskay. It is a typical small hill where the views are to die for, well worth the effort. However at the trig wise to hang on as the strength of the wind could easily knock you over.

Trig Beinn Sciathain

Aug 15th Otter crossing

Today was a fitting day for personal reasons to undertake a cycling first and cycle the length of South Uist and Benbecula, finishing at Lochmaddy in North Uist. The wind was unseasonally strong even for Scotland this year. It was a constant 20mph plus with 30mph plus gusts. The cross gusts on a carbon framed bike were interesting to put it mildly. Full report will appear on my Desmondo's cyclings blog. However not every day you cross a causeway warning you of otters. Magnificent Western Isles.

Causeway Benbecula

Aug 14th South Uist Beef

It is South Uist and alongside many of the crofts are the family cattle quite often only 3 or 4 per croft. Obviously I am biased but Highland cattle are the best breed of the lot and this is a nice example of a Scottish beast. I bets the steaks are good in a couple of years.

Highlander South Uist

Aug 13th Crab delight

My all time favourite memory of a food dish was 2 years ago when I was served 3 hand dived Barra scallops, each being the size of my fist, at the Polochar Inn, stunning. This time the wow factor from the Borrodale Hotel was a bowl of Barra crab claws, 10 in total but each full of sweet crab meat, for £7.50 unbelievable value. The real crime is in Scotland we send all this magnificent seafood abroad, shame on us. This is heaven but I'm full and it's only the starter!!

Barra Crab Claws

Aug 12th Glencoe magic in any weather

My two favourite drives in Scotland are Glen Shiel (The road to the Isles) and Glencoe. Even like today when the weather is far from summer perfect the hills have an attraction and majesty that I just love. Roll on the blue sky version of the snap.

Glencoe magic

Aug 11th Almost all gone

The fantastic Open championship has been finished for about a month now and as this snap, taken from the front door of the Marine hotel, shows the disassembly is almost complete and normality will soon resume for Troon and members of the exclusive golf club.

Royal Troon

Aug 10th Birthday girl

Slightly out of sequence but it was great to see this continually happy girl delighted with her birthday present. Maybe mum and dad more happy!!

Birthday girl

Aug 9th When the thistle turns to seed

Today it was noticeable how the season is moving forward as a large number of thistles were starting to turn to seed. The current strong winds will spread the seeds far and wide continuing the existence of the Scottish thistle.

Thistle turning to seed

Aug 8th Scottish Bluebell or Harebell

I always associate our Scottish Bluebells, or Harebell to give it its proper name or even Campanula rotundifolia for its Sunday name, as a spring plant flowering early and then dying off. However, on my walk today there were still many showing amongst the sand dunes which is a natural home for them. Maybe it is just the woodland version that leaves early, still a nice broadly bell shaped flower.

Scottish Bluebell

Aug 7th Nearly leaving time

As I was walking alongside the golf course this morning I got another indication that summer is starting to wane. Swallows were sitting on the wires. Are they local birds or northern ones starting to drift south before flying away to warmer winter climes, I think I will join them.

Swallow

Aug 6th It's back

We have hardly had a summer but in football terms it is already over. Today is the first day of the new season and it was a choice, Ayr or Kilmarnock? Well I chose Somerset Park but not a good day for Ayr, they lost 2-0 to Raith Rovers but still, as they say, game on.

Somerset Park

Aug 5th Rabbit yum yum

Took a cycle along to Prestwick today to visit the local butcher who sells decent game that you rarely see elsewhere. My objective was venison stew but none available today, too early in the season. But they did have a couple of rabbits which I took home and jointed as below. Nice Spanish stew with tomato, peppers and onion with hot paprika for the seasoning, yum, yum.

Jointed Rabbit

Aug 4th More street art

Another day, another trip to the hospital and as I walk along Cathedral Street I come across this mural dedicated to the homeless football world cup which took place recently in George Square. Another superb example of street art.

Homeless World Cup art Glasgow

Aug 3rd Glasgow Street Art

On my way to the Royal Infirmary I spotted this artwork on the side of a tenement building in the High Street, mural is titled Smug. Glasgow has encouraged murals like this and there is even a formal mural trail which I intend to do later in the year. As a famous Glaswegian said 'Pure dead brilliant'.

Smug

Aug 2nd Unusual take off position

I was walking along Barassie beach today taking the occasional snap of the shoreline birds when I caught this black headed gull just as it was about to take off, pleased with that one.

Black headed gull

Aug 1st No sunbathing here

I was cycling along Prestwick bay today and spotted these red signs at each beach entrance. The beach has been a real mess over the last few years covered in bricks and stone debris so I don't think much sunbathing took place anyway. Apparently asbestos has been detected presumably from a contaminated building linked to the bricks.

Prestwick beach

Jul 31st Nice broonie

It is a stockie but a nice example of a broonie that fought much harder than its size suggested, a nice fish.

Broonie