Bart Bear's Blog

Now it's my turn to giggle at a photo. This one was taken on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and it shows the second before Dad met peat. Peat is a plant that grows in really boggy, muddy ground. It looks like grass but if you step on it you can suddenly sink into the muck. That's what happened to Dad. The tour bus stopped at a spot where passengers could photograph some spectacular rock formations. Some of the passengers, including Dad, decided that if they climbed to the top of this small hill they would get better photos of the rocks and the waterfall. The bus driver said "OK, but don't walk off the track". Well you can see what's about to happen. Most of the group is coming back to the bus, keeping on the path. Dad (that's him in the blue top and jeans) has stepped off the track to let the ladies past. Seconds later it went "Gloop" and he was six inches deep in smelly mud. Mum was laughing so much that she didn't take what could have been one of those photos that families use to embarrass somebody for ever after. That's my Dad, a gentleman at heart but rather stupid with it sometimes. As usual, you can see a bigger photo by clicking on this one.

Labels: Scotland

This impressive cliff is called Kilt Rock. The vertical columns of basalt and the horizontal bands of rock below them look a bit like the pleats in a kilt. The cliffs are around 100 metres high. They are on the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Skye is also known as the isle of mists, but on the days that the oldies were there the weather was perfect. You can see some interesting sea birds nesting on the cliffs and sometimes there are climbers there as well. Mum won't let me climb on things this steep, and won't let me get too close to cliff edges. I think that I have to agree with her, climbing this sort of thing looks scary to me.

Labels: climbing, Scotland

G'day everybody. Sorry about the break in posting but we are having a never-ending string of troubles at the moment. First our heating died and it has taken months to get it fixed. Then Dad's hip operation, which went so well, developed complications. The poor old coot has developed a huge DVT in the other leg and has had daily visits from nurses who jab him in the tummy with needles. He has to take tablets that he says are modified rat poison to eventually dissolve the DVT. His leg swells up during the day. I think it is interesting to watch, but he is going to have to wear a special stocking for ages to fix it. Mum has to wear one of these too so they will be a matched pair. Mum has been off work on carer's leave helping me look after him, and they have changed her work around while she has been away. And to top it all off, my computer died a week ago and it has taken ages to get it back up. We had to rebuild the operating system and then try to find all of the backup files; some of them seem to have disappeared forever. And before I can prepare more pictures for posting I need to buy a later version of Photoshop because the old one won't run under the new operating system. Like I say, one cussed thing after another. Anyhow, here's a picture of Dad in much a happier mood. It was taken in the little Scottish town of Pitlochrie on a freezing cold day. Mum had just found a warm, thick fluffy cap for him and he was really happy with the world. Let's hope it is not too long before he is back to his happy self, because at the moment his grumpy times are driving Mum and I crazy.

Labels: family, Scotland

This looks like a young volcano with a lava flow coming down the side, but it isn't. In fact it is a very old volcano and lava hasn't flowed from it for millions of years. This is Glamalg, one of the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The Oldies spent two days on the isle, and despite the fact that it is known as "the isle of mists", they had perfect weather while they were there. The bridge is at Sligachan, a small town where the main roads of the isle meet. The Oldies say that this is one of the prettiest bridges they saw on their trip. Dad remembers it because of the zillions of mozzies that had a go at him while he was finding the best spot to take the photo.

Labels: Scotland

By the time they got to Loch Lomond on their trip around the UK the Oldies had been away from ice cream for almost a fortnight. I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem in a cold place like the UK, but obviously not. They had a half-hour wait for the boat that was taking them for a trip down the loch and Dad found the ice cream. Then it started. The Oldies appear with ice cream. Their Kiwi friends on the tour decided to follow suit. The guy who took the photo decided it looked good and got one. Then the tour guide and the bus driver, and soon the whole tour group was tucking into ice cream on a day that was so cold that everyone was wearing winter woollies. Sometimes I just don't understand human-type people.

Labels: Scotland

On their big trip through the UK, the Oldies visited lots of historic sites. This big stone cairn is a memorial on one of the saddest. It is at Culloden in Scotland, the place where the last battle between the Scottish supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the English was fought way back in 1746. The Scots were slaughtered. Their usual manner of fighting was to use ambushes and only to fight on ground of their choosing, but at Culloden they were lured into a suicidal attack on a well-prepared English position. The English had the advantage of numbers, supplies and artillery. The battleground is covered with smaller cairns marking the positions where different Scottish clans and English units fell. It is a somber, depressing place and the Oldies say you can feel the sadness there. Culloden was the last battle to be fought on British soil (the Battle of Britain doesn't count here as it was fought in the air). This small bear can't understand why people get so annoyed at other people who think differently to them that they have to go and kill each other. It is just so stupid. If small bears ruled the world it would be a much happier place.

Labels: Scotland

Here's another picture from the Oldies' big trip. The bridge joins the Isle of Skye to the mainland of Scotland. Before the bridge was built you had to use a ferry to get to the island. Skye must be really pretty because the Oldies haven't stopped talking about it since they got back. Mind you, they were very lucky to have weather like this. Most of the time it is evidently so cloudy and misty that you can't see much. There are some songs about Skye and the escape of Bonny Prince Charlie; you may know them. That happened way back before the bridge was built. Can you see the little lighthouse under the bridge? It marks the entrance to a main shipping channel into the Kyle of Loch Alsh. I just love those Scottish names, they sound as impressive as the scenery.

Labels: lighthouse, Scotland

This is a mystery box. You have probably seen something like it on TV, a thing called the TARDIS. A guy called the Doctor uses it to zip around through space and time getting into all sorts of mischief. This one was sitting on a corner in Edinburgh and the Oldies took time to examine it closely and see if the Doctor came out or if it suddenly disappeared. It didn't, but it didn't flash a light and make swooshing noises either so maybe it is just a police box after all. How does a bear who was left with uncles in Canberra come to be sitting on a police box in Edinburgh? Maybe it is not just a police box after all. Who knows......

Labels: Scotland, TV

Here's another photo from the Oldies' trip to the UK. This time they say that they came close to photographing the Loch Ness Monster. Well, the ruined castle is certainly Urquhart castle and the water is Loch Ness but I don't believe them that the ripples in the water are the wake of Nessie. They try to tell me that Nessie was there but swam away fast when she saw the camera pointing at her. After all, lots of people say the same sort of thing happened to them when they tried to take photos of her. I suspect that the ripples have a lot to do with the motorboat that passed in front of the castle and shows up on some photos the Oldies took just before this one. Just as well I wasn't with them that day as Dad would probably have tried to see if small bears make good Nessie bait.

Labels: buildings, castle, Scotland

The Oldies get really excited about great engineering. On their big trip last year they managed to see lots of the classic structures in the UK, where modern engineering started. This is the world's first major steel bridge, the Forth Rail Bridge near Edinburgh in Scotland. The Oldies had dinner at a great little pub/resseturaunt (I still can't spell restaurant) that is between this bridge and the road bridge, also a spectacular one. Mum was really hyped up and spent most of dinner time counting trains. Forth Bridge was built in the 1880s to carry two tracks of the British North Railway across the Firth of Forth. The bridge is over 2.5 km long and has towers 140m high. The railway is 46m above the high tide level. A real engineering marvel. When the oldies were there the bridge was having some major maintenance done. The big white structures on the towers are supports to make sure that things don't fall apart while the bolts and rivets on the towers are being inspected and replaced if necessary. Trains keep running across the bridge all the time, even when it is being worked on. I think it is a really pretty bridge, I like red.

Labels: engineering, Scotland

Guess what they brought me back from Scotland? A Bart-sized set of bagpipes! I have been practicing all week. The neighbour's cat doesn't come into our yard anymore and Trent shuts his door and turns his TV up loud, but I am getting the hang of wrestling the pipes and squeezing something like music out of them. I can play "Scotland the Brave" really well and am starting to learn some jigs and reels. Uncle Keith was married at the weekend and he wore his clan tartan and had a piper there. Next time he does anything with a Scottish flavour, I am going to be there as official piper.

Labels: Scotland