My back is now okay, but I'll need to lay off the weights for a couple of weeks. The weather here is absolutely Baltic (freezing).
Now my brain hurts, I'm reading 'A Briefer History of Time' and also a book on Dali not a good combination.
The tickets for the 'Basement Jam' at Pete Townshend's studio arrived this morning, so my wife and I will be off to London next week. Looking forward to hearing Foy Vance again. (see www.petetownshend.com for details).

Our local newspaper reported that there will no Christmas tree erected in the town because of vandals. The vandals are neds/chavs, every town and city in the UK has them.

Aaaargh !!
Who said keeping fit was good for you ? I pulled a muscle in my back while training, it's my own fault for not warming up enough.

Got to keep moving or it gets worse. I sprayed on some 'Deep Heat' so the whole house now stinks.

My wife and I went to Glasgow today, it's always mobbed and why is it everyone is always going in the opposite direction. The streets round George Square were being closed to traffic because the Christmas lights were being switched on later tonight. It's still only November !!

It was such a nice day here in Largs, one of those fresh frosty mornings, that I decided to walk up to the viewpoint behind the town and take a few pics. The couple that I've posted show the town where I stay and also looking out over the Firth of Clyde towards Arran.

Off to hospital for a routine checkup. About 4 years ago I was diagnosed as having a form of vasculitis called 'Wegener's Granulamotosis'. Basically it's an autoimmune disorder which means my immune system is working against me. To counteract this I have to take medication to surpress my immune system. Because the medication is toxic I have to go for regular checkups to test liver and kidney functions are ok.
The condition is rare and it's a mystery as to why it started but in the 4 years since I was diagnosed there's more and more information about it appearing on the internet.
One of the drawbacks of the medication is that I can't touch any alcohol which for a Scotsman is heresy, but with the money I've saved by not pubing and clubing I've managed to buy a couple of guitars.

Here's a picture of my guitars, the Taylor 414CE is set up in DADGAD tuning and the Ozark Resonator is set up in open G. I bought the Yamaha electric a couple of weeks ago to replace an Epiphone SG that I sold. The Gibson is a J150 fitted with a Fishman pickup. I bought the ukulele after watching the concert for George Harrison, why does everyone smile when I bring it out ?

It can get quite windy where I stay. Here's a couple of pics I took while out cycling.

Let me tell you more about myself. I'm a long time fan of The Who and Pete Townshend since '73 when I first heard Quadrophenia (teenage angst and all that). Since 1996 I seemed to have been making bi-annual trips to London to see them perform. Recently through Pete's girlfriend Rachel Fuller, my wife and I got to see him perform along with Rachel's band, Simon Townshend, Mikey Cuthbert and Foy Vance at a gig in South London.

My main hobby is playing guitar, I've got a Gibson J150, Taylor 414CE, Ozark Resonator, Yamaha electric and a Ukulele. It's an expensive hobby !

What do teetotalers do at the weekend ? Being Scottish I used to indulge in our national pastime of bevying with a passion, but now having been alcohol free for the past 4 years I don't go out socializing much. It must be pretty boring for my wife but I just can't be arsed going to a pub and drinking coke or mineral water.