Ugly Animals

Today we went to a lecture as part of the Techfest Festival. It was a comedy/participatory talk by the Ugly Animal Society who promote the conservation of rare but less cute creatures 'We can't all be Pandas'. 

This is a giant river salamander from China. I like amphibians and fondly remember my primary teacher Miss Lewington, who kept axolotols in our classroom, some pink some black. They fascinated me.

Midcentury Mystery

This is the appealingly midcentury modern Rubislaw Church Centre in Aberdeen. It serves as a church hall for a gaunt, blackened gothic pile a few doors up. We passed it on the way to the bowls competition. I liked the simple shapes and the textured concrete on the block on the right. Apologies for the rather minimal art, I have a stinking cold today. This little building is a mystery because I cannot fnd any information on it at all, obviously it is not thought to be of note, and yet I rather like it.

Dark Vogue

We really enjoyed seeing some of the NEOS art today and meeting real artists! Inspired by the lady who had some fantastic monotone nudes in messy ink, this is a mono watercolour. Not nude, but in a fairly skimpy outfit from my Vogue magazine. Really pleased with the moody blodgy paint here.

Rainy Riverside

After I dropped my car off at the garage (again!) I walked back along the River Dee. There is a lovely walk back from the industrial estate down the hill, with a panorama over the city, then along the river edge. It was a bit drizzly and misty. This is the medieval Bridge of Dee, curse of all Aberdeen motorists as it is quite narrow and there is always a big traffic jam around it. Beautiful though.

Bread Ninja

One of the main excitements of this year was me breaking my foot. The enforced resting and time off work meant I needed something to occupy my time. Something time consuming. The time had come for me to finally confront breadmaking. I am now getting quite good at bread. This is cinammon rolls from my lovely new book New York; Cult Recipes. I like bread that required twisting, spiralling and other arty assembly methods.

Aberfeldy Adventure

The weekend before last, we spent a week in Aberfeldy with Alistair's family. One of our trips was to the lovely village of Kenmore, which sits on the banks of the spectacular Loch Tay. Sadly, the gigantic gothic castle which dominates the valley is not open, but I was very taken with this little cottage on the High Street.