Fancy a Shag?

Sorry, I know the title is a little obvious, but c'mon, whoever had the job of naming birds clearly thought he'd have some fun - why else would there also be Tits and Boobies to look at through binoculars? Anyway, this guy got an earful when he landed.

We had planned on a drive down to Dumfries and Galloway today (I was hoping for a first Red Kite sighting) but after a lazier morning than planned (which included sausageinnabun as well as haggisandegginnabun over the Sunday paper) and an unexpected rather serious (in subject, not in tone) discussion we figured a closer-to-home destination made sense, so we made for Cove, near Dunbar. And on arriving promptly decided we actually wanted to go somewhere else, and a quick check of the Undiscovered Scotland site gave us Fast Castle, a few miles further south.

It's an astonishing place to have built a castle, especially around 500 years ago when the engineering feat would be somewhat traumatic in these modern times. Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's sister, stopped here en route to marrying James IV (her first night in her adopted country); then in the 1870s it was seriously damaged by a lightning strike and fell into the complete state of disrepair.

But the location is stunning, the views to the west especially (with Torness and the Cement Works giving scale to everything), and is home to lazing seals; a small colony of shags; and a load of Razorbills (with one interloper...).

For the drive back we headed inland, and still there was time once home to let the chooks out for a free range, and finally look seriously at some of the stuff needed to finish the rebuild of my 1930s Sunbeam. Well, might as well start the week as I mean to go on - tomorrow might just be a normal work day, but Tuesday sees me heading out to the Dojo of our Taiko drumming teachers for a dress rehearsal of the show we'll be doing a wee turn at (meaning a very late return home - they're in south Lanarkshire); Wednesday night will be the pub quiz and Thursday will be another night in a pub bidding farewell to Susan and FiTheJoiner as they depart these shores; and then on Friday is the Drumfest show, taking place in the bright lights of East Kilbride. I'll be taking the camera, taking photos of the other (professional) performers may take my mind of it...

The other, very almost made it, blip: Shag Colour