MAUREEN'S MEANDER.

I think I'm right in saying that this was a first for the Dinosaurs. Maureen organised a walk.

Not only that, but she actually stepped in to save the day, when Agnes realised she was unable to do the walk organisation, despite it being her turn. 

So, well done and thanks in advance, to Maureen.

I also have to thank Hugh for the photos. It was an interesting exercise trying to decipher why he took any particular image. I feel it was some sort of test for me.

I mean, what am I to make of the very first photo? Is it that there is single room available at the last house down the road? Maybe there is only room available at the last house. If so, what is there room for at the last house? A garage, a camper van or perhaps an open air festival?  Or, perhaps, I'm overanalysing this. The problem is, that I looked and looked, but Hugh didn't take a photo of the last house, so this must all, inevitably, be speculation.

And, that was the end of the walk and they all got the bus home.

That last bit was made up, really. They had walked from Maureen's house and along Caulfield Road up to Tower Road. You get some nice views over the Firth along the way. You can also see lamp posts and speed limit signs. Well, most people can. Sharon has been known to turn a blind eye to the speed limit signs.

Thanks, Hugh for another mystery photo. I can say it is not electricity, because I asked my brother, who used to peer into holes like this for a living. His considered view was that it all looked very BT telephony stuff to him. Given the Fibre people are digging everywhere, there's a good bet it might be fibre and/or telephony thingy stuff.

He also said that it was too shallow for electricity and too easily accessed and would have a warning tape over the top. Remember that if you ever come to dig up the street outside your house. The dangerous stuff is deep and has a sign saying this stuff can kill you.

Another mystery photo, but I think, really, that Hugh let slip his secret voyeurism or a fascination with wee square sheds.

If I'm not mistaken this is the back of the Forestry and Land Scotland offices. Forestry and Land Scotland is a bit of a clumsy description but it seems to fit with the vogue these days for weird names. It also accurately describes the business of the organisation, which is to look after forestry and land for the nation. Whereas, you would never know that the merged business of Aberdeen Asset Management ( I know what that means) with Standard Life (I could guess it was maybe about insurance and stuff) became abrdn ( Nobody knows what that means or even how it is pronounced).

As for Elon Musk's children!

As with all these things, the acid test is what it sounds like shouted out the kitchen window. Jimmy! yer teas ready, is fine. abrdn, yer assets have been stripped, less so. And, X AE A-12, yer a rocket, just doesn't quite cut it.

Similarly, Hugh sought to confuse me with a missing P. Sounds like something our grandsons are guilty of, but, in fact, atrol is a real thing. It is a drug used in the treatment of Hay Fever. Aptly, given the photo, one of the side-effects is an inability to completely empty the bladder, which would explain the missing P.

The sign for Smithton Woods. Coille is wood in Gaelic. Smithton comes from Bhaile - town and Ghobhainn - smith or blacksmith. Up until just after the war, Smithton was just a small hamlet of only a few houses and, I guess, there would have been one or more blacksmiths there at one time. It was, literally, the blacksmith's steading or township.

Liz looks nervously over her shoulder, but Pam, Susan and Maureen are still there. She will just have to walk a bit faster.

Robin looks in earnest for some sign of a polar explorer.

You can understand his confusion, he was in Shackleton Park after all. 

This stone commemorates the crash landing of an RAF Shackleton bomber in January 1964. Apparently, the plane had taken off from Kinloss with 5 crew on board, heading for Belfast. Shortly after take-off, the crew reported that number 3 engine had oversped and caught fire. The engine detached, which I assume to be a euphemism for fell aff! Number 4 engine had to be shut off and the crew diverted for Inverness Airport, but failed to get that far, crash landing in Smithton, which was still only a small grouping of houses. Local legend says that 10 crewmen were saved from the plane before it exploded in flames and was destroyed. The crew went to join in a dance at the local hall.

The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives say there were 5 crew on board and all survived. They were all injured and were rescued by people attending an open air party. Believe whichever version you like, but I prefer the thought that they went to a dance as their plane burnt to a cinder across the road. The Bureau etc, version also lists the names of the crew and this is a bit spooky. All of them had a name beginning with J! They are listed as J, Jim, John, Jamie and John. Despite J being the pilot, we don't get his full name, he was only given as Flight Lieutenant J Gladstone.

I dare say he was glad there is a stone celebrating his survival.

I have no idea why there was spoon next to the stone.

From Smithton, it was down Ashton Farm Road.

A quick look in at the roof of the cottage. Nice Victorian ridge tiles and exposed rafters under the slate roof. Some nice lower level cumulus clouds with altocumulus above. The cumulus tend to be between 1 and 5 thousand feet and the altocumulus at 6.5 to 20 thousand feet, so the little cotton wool clouds may seem small, but really they are pretty large. They are just far away. Happily neither of the cloud types is known for giving rise to much in the way of rain.

Maureen and Robin demonstrate their powers of levitation, using some flowers.

Three women at a junction in their lives. We are all faced with choices and there are only two things to remember about choices. Bad choices make the best stories and your life ends up as the sum of all the choices you made.

So, which way to go?

Good choice - take the scenic route every time.

Just make sure that, on a walk with friends, everyone takes the same route!

This looks more like formation dancing than picking a route.

If in doubt, always listen to your elders.

No matter which path you choose, be careful where you put your feet. You wouldn't wasn't to be responsible for the flattening of this nice Fox Moth caterpillar, would you?

Next stop was the campus, via the new bridge over the railway leading into the back of the utilitarian student accommodation blocks. These rather drab buildings are saved somewhat by the choice of materials, which is more than can be said for the brutalist concrete of the bridge parapet. Strictly speaking the term brutalist would be applied to whole buildings and the style of architecture is a bit passé now. Indeed, many architects are agitating for it to be renamed Heroic Architecture. Aye right, says I.

Looking bored. No, looking at boards.

The new medical facility at the campus is slowly, but surely, talking shape. I might get my knee done there before the end of the century.

Hmm. Peaceful, serene full, Bliss fool, still fuel despite Brexit.

Like four little birds in a nest.

Charlie turned up a bit late for the walk, but they were still glad to see him, by the looks of things. Or, perhaps, they were just glad of something to lean against after a few miles.

By now, Charlie had gathered a crowd and a bit of applause was in order. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Dinosaur walk without tea and cake, so next stop was Simpson's.

It was at this point that Hugh became a bit artistic, taking a monochromatic picture.

Very atmospheric.

Of course, he may just have pressed the wrong button, and this is what he meant to do.

Once the tea and cakes (and an unexplained sandwich, I think) were consumed it was a weary kind of trudging group heading into the scheme and the end of the walk.

They didn't get away without being interrogated by the new neighbours, Andrew and Myra. Whether they were impressed enough to join them all on the next adventure is a matter of conjecture. It certainly seems that they all had a good time.

Once again, thanks to Hugh for the photos and well done to Maureen for organising everything.