North is a bit off a simplification because I set of from Kes on Saturday in an Easterly direction before going North, then South, then North again, West, East, North by North West and then up a bit and a skip to the left. Lost? Either way I am now back offshore and firmly installed in my lab with a brand new desk (So large I have to leave my seat to get things out of the printer).
There are lots of little things that fall outside of my blogged wanderings or grand days out at Avebury – you know the single pictures that sit all alone without a hope of making it onto the internet. Such are things in Dumfries for me. I walk through it on every expedition I have almost but you don’t see much sign of it here – it’s main purpose in life it would seem would be to join the bus from Kirkcudbright onto the train to Glasgow whilst providing a tea drinking location. So to make amends, I’m going to put a picture of the lion outside the Loreburn hall on here – somebody has designated it a "Dumfries special place" on the grounds that they met both their husbands there. And also, since lion statues have featured a few times on these blogs, I should point out that this statue does not nearly qualify in the worst lion statue category but is doing well in the could do with a good scrub lion statue category.
I would like to think that once Oor Bob has had his scrub (see below) then he’ll be right round to the Loreburn hall to attend to the Lions.
Whilst wandering around Waterstones, I was alarmed to spot a dalek on the loose – it was suggested to me it was looking for the world domination section but I saw it later on buying a copy of "A beginners guide to forklift trucks".
Once upon a time, the guard on the train would stamp your ticket with an interesting shaped hole. Now a days they have a rather boring stamp that leaves the date and some other odd numbers on your ticket or even worse, they just scribble on it with a ball point pen. But there are some guards out there who still have soul and have retained the old punches and use them. The guard on the train to Aberdeen on Wednesday must have more soul than most and gets my most interesting hole stamped in a train ticket of all time award. enjoy
Sandy's witterings 
Small delay in getting the photos in here – hopefully soon
You will have to have wheels on your office chair to scuttle to and fro on!
Anne, I do have wheels on my office chair – it makes for an interesting time during rough weather (our well engineer keeps his chair tethered to his desk just for such an eventuality (b.t.w. just because we have a well engineer doesn\’t mean we keep an unwell engineer)Still can\’t load up pictures here – I think it\’s the BP system interfereing so I\’ll mail them to myself and perhaps the Norwegian system will do it for me later – in the mean time the blog must seem a bit strange.
Thanks to your descriptions we have a good idea and an image already in our heads!
Yippee!! Pictures!
Love the paw stamp…excellent!I wonder if every Waterstones store has a dalek? Ours has, and he says that he is retired, and doesn\’t want boisterous kids clambering on him…I guess they should have put him in the beauty section where he could stand around saying: Exfoliate! Exfoliate! (Groan).Love the lion statue…will have to get a picture of our lion, that stands in the arboretum.
Pictures! Yipee!!Thats better.
Oooh look! Wolfie was checking your ticket! And what a dainty little paw I have! That\’s the first time I\’ve seen a dalek in Waterstones!! The last one I saw was in Brighton on the Pier 😉 (Dr Who Exhibition) And that is a very nice lion…I hope he doesn\’t bite the hand that scrubs him!
There is quite a low incidence as to Dumfries\’ lion (plural as there two of them – both rather grubby) biting but there again there is a low incidence of them being scrubbed so we may yet find the answer to that one out.Exfoliate!! Groan indeed (maybe Kes will spot this and it will be published on the dark side (facebook)). Sandi, a quick surf of daleks in Waterstones on the net only brings up definate evidence of them being in Glasgow and Lincoln so perhaps it\’s absolute coincidence but there is a picture of another (in an unnamed store) which looks to me to be a different dalek. On a recent trip to e-bay, i see that a replica dalek will set you back anything from about £1500 to nearly £4000. Goodness knows how much a real one that has been on the telly would cost (just surfed – recently sold at Bonhams, 2 1985 dalek for £20400 and £15600).
Bloomin\’ \’eck, guv\’nor! How much?!!!Will check out Waterstone\’s website, then…and perhaps I will take the camera and get a photo of our dalek…if I remember.
I was in Waterstones, Eastbourne yesterday, but no Dalek there 😦 Love the paw print stamp 🙂 x
Poppy, could it have been in the cafe having a cup of tea while you were there and you missed it?
I checked out our Waterstones today but no sign of a Dalek.
I had downloaded the Dalek voice to my sat nav and had my grandson well amused on our journey to the seaside today.
Once long ago I dated a fellow who looked rather like that lion. Someone must have turned him to stone, dear dear…..I\’ve got some good shots of Avebury stones, and Rollright, and of course the requisite Stonehenge, if you\’re inclined. Looks like WAY too many albums on my site, but most of them are just one photo. The Avebury, etc are labeled as such, or may be under \’England\’ or Standing Stones\’ or some other recognizable title. Had a wonderful time in your country, was hosted about for over 1000 miles by some very kind friends I met in blogland–Nessa is one.