Rishi's dishes - dogs invited?

On passing by the 'Inn at the Park' on my morning walk, I couldn't help but notice that the board which usually says "dogs welcome in the bar and garden" now has new wording. 

It announces that the restaurant is taking part in 'Eat Out to Help Out', a novel scheme announced last month by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, aiming to get people back in the habit of dining out again now that lockdown restrictions are being eased*. The government will subsidise meals by up to £10 per head on any Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in August. 

So I carefully scanned the menu and decided a cheeseburger would suit me nicely (you can forget the salad), and if Gail ordered fish and chips I would be prepared to help her out with the batter.

I am confident that Mr Sunak, who as you can see in the picture below seems comfortable in the company of canines, will allow the meal discount to be claimed by pets as well as humans. Of course he will! I mean, us pups are always ready to make sacrifices for the sake of our country's economy, aren't we.....?

*Gail says: whether 'Eat Out to Help Out' is a good idea or not at this moment, especially with a cluster of new Covid cases in Aberdeen linked to a pub less than a mile up the road, is whole different subject, and not one for this blog.  

Hot day, cool place

With much of Europe sizzling in the summer heat, and sun seekers on beaches in the south of England packed together like sardines, can Gail and I be forgiven for feeling a touch of Schadenfreude as we enjoy a refreshing ramble along the empty coastline in the northeast corner of Aberdeenshire? 

It matters not to me that there are no palm trees here, that our camera angles are carefully selected to exclude the St Fergus gas terminal complex to the south, and that the 25 mph wind makes the claim of 21ºC seem optimistic...

After exploring the dunes, I look across to the seashore and ascertain that social distancing will not be an issue hereabouts.

So I boldly venture onto the beach, where I soon discover that it is best to stand on the wet sand below the high tide mark, to avoid the grains of sand blowing in one's eyes. (Gail is tall enough not to have this problem), 

Who needs a holiday in the Caribbean?

A tornado?

It was nice and sunny when Gail and I set off to ascend Morven, our favourite Aberdeenshire hill, last Sunday.

Needless to say, conditions were not so favourable when we reached the 872 m high summit.

After a few minutes braving the full force of the westerly gale, I opted to direct photography from the relative comfort of the stone wind shelter, where I also had high hopes of finding morsels of food carelessly dropped by previous hikers.

Gail says you have to biggify the next three photos for full dramatic effect.

Before descending, I posed in front of some little yellow flowers. These are Alpine lady's mantle and they grow in the wild at high altitudes in Scotland. The harsh conditions dictate they are much tinier than their lowland cousins. That the photograph below is focussed on my beard rather than the plant is not, to my mind, a shortcoming, but Gail insisted on taking a close-up of the flowers, which also turned out to be imperfectly focussed - well it was rather windy up there...

On the way down we spotted what almost looked like mini-tornado in the distance.

By the time we reached the lower slopes, the sun was shining brightly on the blooming heather and, miraculously, we somehow dodged the showers and made it back to the car without once getting wet! 

Happy Nature Friday friends! Once again we are delighted to join in with Rosy, Jakey, Arty and Sunny for their weekly blog hop. 

AB11 Neighbourhood Watch