The Howff.

Today was a strange day. Seemed awfully busy, but in fact I had lots of time to wander and do things by myself. The daughter left for Glasgow first thing this morning. She's got some gigs to go to this weekend and god forbid she should miss that masterclass! So the son and I went into town at lunchtime. He was heading for something to eat with his mates and then they were heading up to Ninewells to see another friend whose just had a baby boy. Needless to say, when everybody arrived, I was discarded as quickly as a snotty handkerchief.

Didn't mind though. I've not used the lensbaby much over the last few weeks, I guess it took a bit of getting used to, but over the last few days I've really enjoyed it. So I headed into the centre of town to the Howff to get some more practice. Surrounded by part of the original town wall, this area was originally part of the Greyfriars monastery which was founded in the C13. When this was destroyed by fire, the land was granted to the city by Mary Queen of Scots. It was then used as as a burial ground and as a meeting place for the Nine Trades of Dundee. Some of the stones date back a fair bit and many are elaborately decorated, some with the insignia of the Trades.

This shot is one of the stones that dates back to the C18. The stones of this period are very different from later stones in that the skull and crossbone pattern is a prominent feature.

Other news; when I arrived a little grey wagtailwas sitting on a stone. I'd never seen one before. He was cool!