Wino

At long last the wine is brewed and bottled. It's not quite ready to drink yet as it needs to settle for a few days and despite all the precautions, I can still see a little bit of sediment floating about in it.

I have to say that it smells...ok. And just OK. Nothing particularly special. I got a little taste during the rustic siphoning episode and again it tastes just OK. I'll see how it is a few days as I've put some in one of those 200ml airport bottles so that I don't have to open a full one. Who knows, in 10 years time they actually might taste above mediocre.

Thirst for life/booze

Well that's another year and another 40 days booze free. Actually quite difficult this time as I was doing it at my folks house where mother-dearest always has an open bottle of red, a glass of which is consumed nightly. Makes it hard which each dinner is accompanied with the question "would you like some wine with your meal?"

Despite that hurdle the 40 days passed quickly and although many of my friends question the worth of this exercise, I do find that if nothing else at least it makes you question you're reasons for wanting a drink.

Actually the time scale wasn't completely booze-free as I choked on some of the home made wine a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to syphon it out of one bucket and into another. I hope that inhaling alcohol doesn't count!?!

Home brewed wine

So I've started trying to ferment my own wine. I bought one of those homw starter kit last week and mixed everything up in a big (sterilised) tub, stuck the one-way valve on, and let those busy yeast get to work.

I've been meaning to try it for ages and the kits are really straight forward. The only thing that I can't help feeling is that I'm being ripped off. It cost £25 and that should make about 6 bottles of wine (Cab Sauv in this case) but really all you are paying for is the grape concentrate, a few additives and some buckets and tubing. Of course, you get to reuse the equipment and further batches should be a lot cheaper but £4 per bottle isn't all that cheap especially if it tastes like complete crap.

I think what I'll do is by the additives in bulk and then just stick any old fruit juice in there and see what happens. That might, however, put an end to my wine career and my liver. We'll see what this lot tastes like.

What's up?

Well I've been a bit remiss recently with this blogging business. It was really easy in Australia as we were always doing new things and that made writing the blog a piece of cake. Here, although I'm trying to focus on new things, I'm finding that the weather, amongst other things is against me.

Acutally I can't really blame the weather. I've been doing a fair bit of point-and-shoot of late and I've been constantly surprised about how often the sun has shone and you can feel it beginning to gain warmth. Take this photo for example. This was from last week when my Mum and I went to Loch Lomond for the day and had lunch at the Duck Bay Marina. There wasn't a breath of air to be felt and it was jackets off in the car as there was real heat in the sunshine.

I think that the weather is reminding me a lot of that dry, crisp climate that you get in ski resorts around early March - cold mornings but warmish afternoons. With the sun blazing so much recently all I need is a glass of vin chaude and I'd be set.

However, there have been a few bad days like today where the wind is topping out at 30mph and the spray from the waves is coming right over the wall and into the garden again. The sun is still sporadically out though and it makes the waves more exciting than soul-destroying. I hope this picture gives you a better impression of what the elements can be like down here when they feel like it. The last one I took of the waves was at night and should have almost been left off the blog as the detail was soooo poor. I really need (or should I say "want") a better camera. I don't see myself being a famous photographer but I would like the opportunity to put the odd one on the wall - but this quality is... mediocre at best.

This chilling air and cloudless skies have made for some fantastic sunsets and being stuck in Skelmorlie it gives me something to appreciate almost every evening. There is so many reds and oranges and purples and yellows that each picture looks fake and I marvel at the results. In all honesty I'm not doing them justice with my rubbishy little camera and in years to come (when I can actually afford it) I think I'd like to splash out on a digital SLR - a compact one of course.

And finally to Arran. It sits across the water there taunting me every time I leave the house or look out the window. I hear it saying "There's no way you could cycle round me and master my hills on that road bike!" What am I to do. I suppose I should try it out. Once there is more that double figures on the thermometer I'll brave the trip to Ardrossan and put the pedels to the metle and see who comes off worse - me or a several million year old chuck of rock. Your money really had to be on the island doesn't it?

So that's it. No news, just views. Meeting Matt and KP in Glasgow tonight for dinner so at least that'll get me out of the house in something other than cycling gear or running shoes.

Arran Sunset

Hello readers,

I was looking through some more photos and I came across this one that I meant to post ages ago. It's the view across the water from the Folks' house and it was the first sunset I saw when I got back from Oz.

I know it's not exactly Noosa Beach but it's still pretty remarkable and a reminder that things here aren't all bad - you just have to know what to look for in the everyday.

Z

Weather chat

I'm quite surprised that the weather hasn't been worse since I got home but actually it's been quite nice. Although there has been the odd bit of rain and crazy winds most of the days have been bright and fresh.

There has been the the occasional dusting of snow in the garden which is a bit unusual as we are so close to the Clyde. However, there has been a few storms and the waves have been so high that they've easily cleared the road and made it into the garden. I think that they've had to close the street a few times now but luckily it's always been at night so we've not had any issues with it.

I think basically I'm trying to find ways to show that being here is not as bad as I thought it would be and although I miss the sunshine of Sydney sometimes the heat is too much and almost unavoidable. A decent Scottish summer would be most welcome though.

Alien Invasion

So I'm on my way home at 1am this morning like that bloke David Vincent from the program "the Invaders" - which was pish by the way - and just like him I'm "a man too long without sleep".

Out of the darkness comes this crazy site which was so awesome that I had to take a quick photo - that camera seems to be with me all the time these days. A hangover from Australia I think.

It's a shame my camera isn't a bit better as this picture just doesn't do it justice but it's the smoke tower at Inverkip Power Station and there was a bank of mist moving in just at the top of it. It looked like a bloody space craft was landing so I snapped away. Unfortunately this is the best picture I could get but still it's eerily ominous and atmospheric I think. Hope you like it.