Duthie Park

We're right in the middle of summer

and I never thought I'd actually say this but...

Aberdeen is HOT!

The lazy-sun-that's-been-on-welfare-the-past-9-months is actually at work!

It's actually possible to get sunburnt.

And definitely possible to get a heatstroke...

as I found out the other day when I went out for half an hour

to the shop (to buy a stamp) and back.

BBC's weather centre said it was 26 degrees that day,

but I am adament it was definitely NOT 26 degrees -

Not lest it would be unambiguously embarrassing for an indigenous tropical individual to get a heatstroke at 26 degrees.

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That said,

summer is really lovely for picnics,

long strolls (provided it's really 26 degrees),

and hanging out in parks.

Elli and I spent quite a bit of time in Duthie Park the week before

and again last week...

Flip open travel guides on Scotland and most will

highlight Aberdeen's Duthie Park as a tourist attraction.

At first sight it is very ordinary...

But tucked away in the park,

beside a seemingly out-of-place modern building,

is a rose hill...

...that is gloriously beautiful.

An ascending spiral of roses of assorted colours...

The beauty of roses that poets write about

can be found in these roses.

Not quite the same as the roses from the florist.

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Next post:

The amazing "seemingly out-of-place modern building"

in Duthie Park.
(The horticultural version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" sans Johnny Depp)

That is definitely a must-see in Aberdeen.

Quotes & Life

I was reading through a list of 100+ quotes

(one of those random things I do after midnight)

and my brain has 3 typical responses.

How meaningful/true/beautiful

Rubbish

I have no idea what this is about.

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Decided to share some quotes that I find meaningful.

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It is prosperity that gives us friends, adversity that proves them.

- Proverb -

The ideal friendship is to feel as one while remaining two.

- Anne Sophie Swetchine -

(The ideal marriage too, perhaps?)

It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquillity and occupation which give happiness.

- Thomas Jefferson -

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty.

- Abraham Lincoln -

(What do you think this quote is about? I'm very interested to hear your opinion!)

When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things -- not the great occasions -- that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.

- Bob Hope -

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And my favourite 3 quotes from the list...

All work and no play makes one the wealthiest man in the cemetery.

- Unknown -

Character is another thing that is formed in youth and reformed in marriage.

- Unknown -

If you don't do it with excellence, don't do it at all! Because if it's not excellent, it won't be profitable or fun, and if you're not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?

- Robert Townsend -

Loch Lomond

This post-student pre-employment period has finally been put to good use.

Went on a day trip with Elli recently to see Loch Lomond,

the largest expense of fresh water in Britain,

(wait wait, before you ask me why I travelled so far just to see a reservoir!)

incredibly rich in history,

and where the magnificent landscape has fired the imagination

of writers and artists for centuries.

Apparently, it is claimed that Loch Lomond is the world's most famous Loch.

(I'm a bit skeptical because I thought Loch Ness, the Loch with THE Monster, is more famous)

Regardless, here are some photos

- which incidentally does not do justice to the beauty of the Loch -

Shame about the weather.

It was a very very very cloudy day

hence we couldn't see the top of the mountain, Ben Lomond.

Still, the serenity of the loch is overwhelming.

Time loses meaning here.

I felt I could possibly sit there forever

and watch the world swans and ducks go by...

A little less serene part of the Loch with the kids

having some summer fun...

Such a beautiful place, don't you think?

I'm terribly dissatisfied with how gloomy my photos turned out.

And yes, I do blame the weather.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't see Loch Lomond at its best.

For super beautiful (postcard-worthy) pictures

that are professionally taken,

here's the link again - Loch Lomond.net

3 Reasons Why I Have Not Been Blogging...

1. My internet connection has been wonky (and still is, actually) at night, which causes me an incredible amount of frustration since I only start getting creative enough to blog after 10pm.
   
   
2. I was bedridden with Salmonella after eating a Cadbury chocolate. Cadbury recalled 7 of their products (Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel, Dairy Milk Mint, Dairy Milk 8 chunk, Dairy Milk 1 kilogram, Dairy Milk Button Easter Egg and Freddo bars) AFTER I ate a Freddo Bar.
   
   
   

   That's us with our Freddo bars!
   
   

3. I have been extremely busy - it's unbelieveable how busy an unemployed, childless person can be. There are dishes to be washed, picnics to attend, laundry to be done, books to read, beddings to be washed (king sized bed nice to sleep in, king sized beddings not so nice to remove, wash and replace), belongings to be packed and shipped, toilet and bath to be cleaned, people to chat to, art galleries to visit (some of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings are up in the Aberdeen Art Gallery to commemorate the Queen's 80th birthday), floor to be vacuumed, tea and coffee to be consumed, e-mails to reply, films to watch...

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Some/all of the above reasons are true/false.

The hard part is to decide which is which.

The easy route is to simply ignore all of the above

and believe that I will start blogging again regularly.

Even If You Are Not Interested...

...in missiles, nuclear weapons, communists or North Korea,

I'd still recommend this article

"Rogue's missile menace"

that appeared in The Australian.

Because it's witty, entertaining, educational and insulting

all at the same time.

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Excerpts:

"It [North Korea] is a rogue nation, pursuing nuclear weapons, enslaving and starving its people, constantly lying about its intentions and actions, forging US dollars in large amounts, smuggling drugs on state-owned ships and constantly destabilising northeast Asia."

"It is wrong to characterise its reclusive, eccentric and downright weird-looking leader, Kim Jong-il, with his Mao suits, elevator shoes and Elvis-style bouffant hair, as crazy."

"Kim and his fellow leaders rarely leave home. They do not have a sure grasp of how the world works. Their acquaintance with reality is not altogether intimate. They view the world entirely through the prism of their own paranoia. "

"Like many diseased political cultures, North Korea thrives on a climate of crisis. It likes to negotiate in crisis with a gun simultaneously to its own head and to that of its interlocutors. "

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Brilliantly written.

I Will Be Home...

In October.