Scotland Haggis Tour!!

Scotland - Ackkkghhhh what an adventure. My friend Sebastian (from Germany as pictured in the kilt) and I went on a guided tour over the weekend to discover Scotland and it was manic. Our Adventure began Friday night in Edinburgh (I still don't know how they get away with spelling it that way) where we met up with my mate Allen for some drinks. Allen lives/works in Edinbourough.... [heh he he] originally from South Africa who I met on my previous travels through Wales. After a night of drinking in one of the best UK party towns, I was in tip top shape for an 8:30 Saturday morning start LOL :P We travelled over three days from the south of Scotland into the North, through valleys, mountains and lakes (lochs) and across to the island of Skye before returning to Edinburgh Monday evening.


Our tour group was made up of 95% commonwealth, 0% British, and 5% German (Sebastian). It was a right riot hanging out with Aussies, New Zealanders, South Africans and Canadians all weekend :-)


I got to learn all about Scottish history: Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobite uprising, battle at Culloden, and the highland clearances; go to a tartan pub night, visit the Glencoe valley, Search for Nessie at the famous Loch Ness, Dip my head into a river with mystical powers, see many a castle, travel across to the isle of Skye, see hairy coos (or cows as we pronounce them here), see rock formations believed to summon energy forces from the earth, avoid haggis AND hear multiple stories about Scottish paps... Lastly, I spent most of the journey moving about on a wild and sexy yellow tour bus with uncle Fargus the tour guide.. When I wasn't listening to entertaining stories in a Scottish dialect or looking at the beautiful scenery... I took a couple photo ops to entertain myself Lol!! Here's some photo highlights for viewing pleasure (or pain :P).


As for the rest of my week, I'm off work as it's our final 1/2 term break. Only Six more weeks of teaching before I can call it wraps on my first year!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can :-) I just got promoted at work to 2nd in department as well so that means a bit of a pay raise (yippee) should help in covering the costs of flying into Calgary on July 13th - far too expensive but i'm totally stoked to see everybody again!!!

PS. My last photo is Outta Control Gummy Worm Eating or "OCGWE" :-)

1st Brass Band Rehearsal ~ blowing out the dust!!!

Wowsers - I have a music degree - and haven't played proper music since my days at UVic in the Wind Symphony. It's embarassing to say but... that was April 2005. It's been two years since i've legitimately had any claimed to being a Euphonium (small tuba) player..... nix a quick summer at band camp but I mainly taught kids how to play and didn't do anything very prolific myself.... so I blew the dust out of a borrowed horn and rehearsed with the City of Coventry Brass Band :)

It was awesome :-) I got to play a piece by Gustav Holst 1st suite in Eb!! Top notch tune and then the rest of the evening was sight reading eighth note and sixteenth note runs. Couldn't believe how fast pace brass band music is. I guess there's no flutes and clarinets to steal the spot light!!

Somehow a rumour went around the group before I came that I had played with the Canadian Brass... lol they're like the wayne gretsky of band geeks. So when I got there everyone was very interested in hearing me play... the worst part was I didn't have a mouthpiece and they were all flabergasted that a brass player doesn't bring his mouthpieces with him.... I guess I never was that hard core about mouth pieces to begin with lol.

The groups getting ready to record a CD in July so that should be a lot of fun!! and now I have regular drinking budds for a thursday night!!!

Wales Weekend Weeturn:P

It's as though I was just in Wales.. but this weekend I went on a camping trip in the small Welsh town of Porthmadog. Our camp site was on the edge of the Atlantic ocean. Highlights include tanning, rafting in the surf, bbq, beach fires, caving exploration, huge ass tents and flying a stunt kite. The downside was traversing the windy welsh roads - they're worse than the highway out to Tofino BC if you've ever had the pleasure. There's no such thing as a patch of straight road - talk about car sickness to max... uhhhh spin me around in a swively office chair 50 times and then you'll share me passenger seat experience!! I'm back in Coventry today - the nice part is I get Monday off as well due to the festive "bank holiday" - Britons need to celebrate other things besides financial institutions eh???? lol ~ and to think I made fun of Alberta's "family day" holiday!!!