Anyone for... Chess?

'Haven't played for years,' is the reply most people give me when I have try to pin them down to a game of chess, it was true for me too, until this year. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Although my job at East Lothian Council involved planning services, when it comes to my own life, quite often the big things tend to 'just happen' rather than having a long run in on the 'Planning Cycle.' It's true that I planned to retire from work and take a trip to New Zealand and Australia this year, but the amount of planning wasn't as detailed as you might expect. Part of the fun in life and particularly in travelling is letting it unfold... it's the journey, not the destination da de da. I hadn't planned getting back into chess but I found that two of my relatives, like me, felt the urge to play. So I got into a marathon  chess series with my daughter's partner Vlad. At the end of series he thought he had won, but I pointed out to him that 4 - 4 is a draw... he still doesn't get it.

When I got home from Australia my sister and brother in law Terry visited me. As the visit progressed we found a mutual love of chess. It didn't look good for me when Terry took a 4 - 0 lead, but I pulled myself together and got back to 4 - 4. The final was a nail biter and I won. Not that it's the winning you will understand... it's the taking part - and winning.

So, well and truly hooked, I wanted to continue playing, but the problem was that Vlad lives in Melbourne and Terry lives in Weymouth. Everyone I asked to play had a excuse and I didn't want to resort to playing the computer (although on lonely nights... I have to admit I weakened.) Then the brilliant idea hit me of playing chess by txt. At present I have two long distance games going on against my old adversaries  It requires two chess sets with pieces that won't fall over and a basic understanding of vertical ( 1 - 8)   and horizontal ( a - h ) After that all that is required is a good thumb on the mobile. There have been one or two mistakes made, but we have managed to over come them. I have played two games with Terry and modesty stops me from revealling the score ( 2 - 0 to me ) When my running body finally falls apart, I know what I'll be doing!

Adelaide - South Australia

Took an 11 hour bus trip from Melbourne to Adelaide yesterday. This wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be because the problem of getting my bike accepted onto the bus cropped up again! This time it was a bit unexpected because I had bought a ticket for myself and the bike... the bus driver thought otherwise. Not only the bus driver but his pal as well told me that they don't take bikes on the bus. I pointed out that I had a ticket and me and the bike were getting on. So he went over to have a word with the 'office' and then let me and the bike on. I don't blame him for being bolshy, because by the time we got out of Victoria the bus was full with 58 passengers and their luggage. But all's well that ends well. Travelling on a long distance bus in Oz is interesting, there were quite a few characters willing to tell you their life story and the state of the world and what is wrong with it. The journey flew by.
Today I have been checking out Adelaide and I like what I have seen. It is well laid out with broad avenues and Squares with fountains in them. I spent some time in the Art Gallery which is impressive with seven or eight galleries opening out from each other. There's a  wide range of contemporary and historical art plus some very good indigenous art. They even have a few paintings by Turner and a few by a guy called Charles Hill who comes from Coventry my home town.
I went along to the market for lunch with Angie who is putting me up. There is a big area with about 15 Asian food shops with lots of delicious veggy food... spoilt for choice. Also took a look in the very interesting Museum which is next door to the Art Gallery and the State Library which is next door to the museum!! I'm pretty impressed with the resources around here.
I was looking at maps in the library (which has a statue of Rabbie Burns outside*) - getting ready for a trip down the river to the coast tomorrow when a guy decided to help me plan the route... he told me that Adelaide is the most civilised country in the world!  So now I am sitting in Adelaide Uni with one of Angi's friends who has logged me on.
I go back to Melbourne on the overnight bus on Thursday night so we shall see what we shall see.

*Saw a statue of Rabbie Burns in Dunidon - South New Zealand as well!

Hello Melbourne - Hello Soli

I have been in Melbourne just over two weeks, staying with my daughter, Zoe, her partner Vlad and my grandson Soli. I am glad to say that Soli is a healthy 3 months old bouncing baby with lots of smiles. Here are a couple of drawings of him.

He's a cutie all right!

G'day Mate

Some good news and some really good news. What can I say… I went for a run tonight with the group at Meadowmill. We did some fast reps and for the first time since Christmas day I felt really good. Looks like I can put the virus behind me! Yippee!


The really good news is that I have booked a trip to the other side of the world. In the middle of March I will be flying over to New Zealand to explore the North and the South Islands. At the moment I am investigating the possibility of doing some cycling over there. The web has lots of links to cycling in New Zealand, so I should be able to come up with something, but any suggestions from anyone in the blog world will be welcome. In my time I have cycled around a few islands, including Mull, Skye, Lismore and Shetland. I am sure that cycling in NZ will be an exciting way to discover the secrets of that beautiful country. After that I am going over to Melbourne to visit my daughter, Zoe, and her new born baby, due 20 February. So Grandpa is going over to say hello! A very exciting few months in prospect.



Here is a sketch of the River Esk in Musselburgh which I drew in the autumn.