Ramblings

Cycled down to Byres Road to watch the West End Festival Parade. A slightly overcast morning led to a sunny afternoon, and it really felt like being abroad with everyone wandering around in shorts and T-shirts eating icecream.
None of my pals could make it so I didn't hang about too long - just watched the parade and cycled home again. I think I'm a bit sunburned now.

The Parade was the biggest I've seen so far, lots of Drumming groups, pipers, fruit, dragons and belly dancers.

Well, I guess we all survived 6/6/6 then.

I've had a bit of a rubbish week generally though. It started at work last friday and I won't bore you with the mundane details, but suffice to say a bleak mood stayed with me over the weekend and is still affecting me now. The biking around (see earlier posts) certainly lifted some of the clouds, but once the adrenaline was back to normal, the cumulus nimbus rolled in again.
Fing work!

Anyway, so tonight I came home and did something very unusual for me: I opened a bottle of wine and had a glass or two on my own.
I usually a) don't drink midweek and b) don't drink on my own. Hope this isn't a slippery slope.

On a related theme, a Jaggyfleur cocktail is apparently made like this:

Ingredients:
1 part mercy
5 parts self-sufficiency
1 part energy
Method:
Layer ingredientes in a shot glass. Top it off with a sprinkle of lovability and enjoy!

I'm sorry: is "lovability" even a word?
I got this obviously American bit of nonsense from this site How do you make yours?

Well, I'm just back from a 3 hour adventure around the Glasgow Kelvin cycle tracks.
Who knew there was such tranquil scenery behind Maryhill?
After investigating the cycle track through the botanics yesterday, I ventured onto the Forth and Clyde Canal today and meandered along to the fork in the canal that takes you to Spiers Wharf in one direction and Bishopbriggs in the other. This is apparently a "Junction" in canal speak.
The route took me past the Kelvin Docks site (there are 5 locks there) and along the Kelvin Aqueduct over the River Kelvin. This was a major feat of engineering in its day - the largest aqueduct in Europe. Go Scots!
Some info about it here :

The Kelvin Aqueduct
Until the Forth and Clyde canal came along, there was very little thereabouts apart from the rural estates of several leading Glasgow families - and some light industry such as paper making along the River Kelvin. But the Kelvin was soon superseded by the canal, the triumph of the latter symbolised by the mighty Kelvin Aqueduct built from 1787-90 which carried the canal haughtily over the river on four heavy masonry arches. The Kelvin's water powered mills were also superseded by the clatter of steam engines as industries migrated to the banks of the new waterway.

The Kelvin Aqueduct was a wonder of the world, the mightiest built possibly since Roman Times, and tourists flocked to see it, including crowned heads of Europe. It was the technical key to the Forth and Clyde Canal, itself the artery of the first phase of Scotland's Industrial Revolution. The engineer in charge of its construction was Robert Whitworth, and the cost of the structure, at £8500, almost bankrupted the company building the canal.

The canal then crosses Maryhill Road before splitting at the junction.

I turned back at the fork and headed back just past the docks then found a wee path down from the canal which took me onto the Kelvin River walkway.
The weather was perfect and the route really delightful.
The weir on the Kelvin was a revelation to me - quite amazing!

I think I may get to like this cycling lark

wow! Glasgow is hot hot hot. Was just out on my bike round the botanics and the Kelvin cycle path - fantastic!!
I plan to cycle more tomorrow if the weather holds.
Oh - I've bought a bike, it is not the highest spec, but what do you expect for £50 from Tesco. I've added lights and a front basket so that I can make trips to the local spar to buy jaffa cakes.