Beyond Broadway

Monday 4^th July 2011

Beyond Broadway:

Once Electra was brushed and cleaned up – it was time for Pipa to get herself sorted out. At this point Electra was looking much more attractive and less mucky than Pipa.

After haling her self out of her mucky clothes into the bath and back into some clean, none “Chav” clothes and touching up her make-up, Pipa was finally ready to have dinner and head back out for the final time.

Still warm, sunny and free of too many clouds we walked to “The Carnegie Hall” on East Port, Dunfermline. We were going to see “Beyond Broadway” preformed very well by a group of young adults. This was Electra's first time at the theatre. Samantha's first time at a serious show and the first time in a long time that Pipa had been to the theatre.

On arriving we were surprised to see such big crowds. It had never occurred to us that it would be such a popular show or venue.

After standing for a while in a cue, Sam figured that in actual fact it wasn't the cue for the auditorium but that for the “Box Office”. So as we finally entered the auditorium and finding our seats, about to get comfortable the fire alarms started to sound. Like any good member of the public we precoded to sit down and wonder what was going on.When the usher came to tell us it in truth wasn't a drill we decided it would probably be best if we vacated the building as directed.

Once it had been agreed that someone had burnt the toast (speculation) we were all allowed back into the building.

Once more we located our seats and took them. There was a older group of people around us that really enjoyed patting and clapping Electra before the show started.

The show opened with a great rendition of Happy Birthday. The musical quality was consistent from start to the finish of the first half. The story line was simple but fun and jolly. At the interval, all the older folks descended on our position and started clapping Electra. Electra being a Broadway kind of pooch loved all the attention and in seat service of the usher bringing her water with a smile!

The second banzai took the music to another level. It was much more lively and energetic. Which is quite an achievement as the first half was already very intense.

Near the of the second half., was a Michael Jackson medially and a mash up of Glee and Grease tunes.

Unlike most venues, at the end of the spectacular performance -

there was no crushing or jostling to exit.

Electra sat watching and following all the events unrolling upon the stage and really enjoyed it. Sam loved it all. Pipa loved all the lighting and vocals.

Stepping out into the dark but warm night we made our way home to bed.

Apologies for the lack of a funny title and information. There is only so much that can be done, in my human limitations. :)

CARRY ON UP THE GLEN

 Monday 4^th July 2011

Carry on up the Glen :

After Pipa eating flowers and Electra searching the castle for any century old left overs, we escape the dungeon and made for the Glens.

We headed into the first Glen by the eroding stone steps that twisted down the steep contures of the Glen side.

Reaching the bottom we fought our way through the shrubs and over gown undergrowth. Where we then came to a double sided wooden bridge over a fast flowing but shallow burn and a baby water-fall.

We hooked a left through more over grown undergrowth where Pipa and I lost Simon and Electra as they had both walked way in front. We had a slight 'Hansel and Gretel' moment, standing in the woods lost with no way of finding the way back at a fork in the path. Ok, maybe not lost but anyway separated. Realising the gate on the left fork was open we figured this was a marker sign left by Simon. So we followed the path and after a few hundred metres we met back up with Simon – he had turned round and started heading back with Electra as the way up front was to risky for Electra. Simon said, “The drops are even to big for you” referring to Pipa who has a tendency to coming out of the most unlikely situations with very little scratches.

We made back to the bridge where Pipa couldn't decided if the water-fall was worth taking a photo of or not. Then Electra decided to do another crazed circuit over the bridge through the burn and so on.

At this Pipa decided she wanted some photos of Electra in the water so went to the side of the burn where she was going to go in and encourage Electra back in. Simon pointed out how jagged and sharp the stones were so she decided against this and just through stones in for Electra.

At first Electra was confused to what was going on as the stones started raining down into the burn. After diving her head under to look for a few she had a shake and gave up looking for them. After looking for a fun way out Electra had a “wee bevy” then weighed up the way she came in.

We were going to head straight back to the "Chav Mobile" but found another path down into the next Glen the steps were in much better condition as they had been recently updated.but they were still steep. Getting to the bottom we met two dogs who weren't up for playing as much as Electra enjoys. We double backed at this point to the “Chav Mobile”. Electra insisted on doing another crazed dash over around and through the first burn on the way back. Getting into the “Chav Mobile” Pipa let Electra in first who jump straight onto the seat and refused to move onto the floor so she could get in. Pipa got her back out the car and did as she should of the first time and got in before Electra.

After heading to the shops on the way home to get a drop of shopping, Pipa gave Electra a good brush before we headed out again. As You'll see from the pictures Electra Was in some state.

Invasion of Campbell Castle & Gardens:

Monday 4^th July 2011

Invasion of Campbell Castle & Gardens:

As days out go this was a good one. The sun was high in the sky with it's rays beating down upon us. It was around the 25◦c which for Scotland is like putting a camel in the centre of the sun.

Pipa's dad (Simon) pick us up at around 12pm in the “Chav Mobile” which is a red Honda Accord with a massive spoiler on the back.

After we drove through Dollar and missed the turning we did a quick three-pointer and went back to the turning, where we were faced with a incline that was easily a 2:3 gradient. On reaching the top we all hopped out and made for the castle.

To get to the castle there was a nice but steep downwards incline that curved down to the base of the saddle where the castle sits. At the bottom of the hill there was a bridge to cross that passed over a shallow fast flowing burn/stream. The bridge was a wooden construction with only railings on the right hand side. Electra being Electra insisted on running into the burn out the same way she went in, then over the bridge back in the water from the other side, out the side she first went in then back over the bridge.

After this she was put back on the lead before we stormed the castle. When I say stormed I mean walked through the open gate at the front and into the shop. We went into the shop to show our Historic Scotland Membership Cards, which gives us free access to that castle and lots more that you normally have to pay for. It's not only castles but lots of other historically interesting sites that it gets you free access too. After showing out cards, Simon bought a guide book to the place. We also answered all the normal questions about Electra: Yes, she is a Poodle – No, definitely not a Labradoodle and Yes, she is very uncommon it's only her and her sister that do the @Guide Dog@ job that are Poodles in the whole UK.

Standing in the wide stone floor court-yard with the walls high above our heads Simon read from the guide book tell us about the castles ability to withstand a light attack but how it would be screwed in a siege. After this we headed for the tower, which due to ongoing enervations was the only real bit we could access. We first entered the cellar where the stores would have been kept – but now houses a cased model of the castle as it would have been that plays sounds and lights up with different buttons. It also has some rat bait on the left just before the looming spiral stairs, that Simon had to stop Electra trying to having a munch on. We climbed the stairs to the first floor where we came to a room with a night big window and an anti-room that housed the top of the pit dungeon which for obvious, safety reasons now has a railing at the top. Moving up the stairs to the second floor there was a wooden floored room, called a barrel room, funnily enough because it was the shape of a barrel.It had wooden carvings on the right hand wall near the top and a nice big south facing window. It also had a toilet of the old school sorts. On the third floor was the final room; the master bedroom as we'd call it today. With great views over the glens and beautiful sky. Down side to this property is no 3G signal only GPRS. This however, I doubt would have been a concern to the Campbell lairds that lived there in the 1600's and before. The final ascent of the spiral stairs took us to the balcony or as historians like to call it the buttress, which had been 'blinged' up by the Victorian conservationists to look like “how a castle should look” As much as it's a great shame it's not how it would have been, it's better than it not being there at all. Sir Walter Ralley visited the castle in the 1800's and said something had to be done to save the ruins or they would be lost in the next 50 or so years.

We steadily descended the stairs and came out by the tea rooms. The tea rooms are next to the renovations, but the bit that is getting renovated up until abut a year or so ago was the property Manager's home. But, they retired and the renovations began. We walked past the Great Hall that is now no more than a couple of ground floor arch-ways with gravel flooring looking up to a few inaccessible stair-ways leading to other rooms. We went to the gardens which were a later addition to the property. These were very nicely landscaped given that they were on a fairly steep incline. Out of the back of the gardens was a plato with sheer drops surrounding it where it was said that, John Knox preached his cermons, but this is unlikely as the area in question is very inaccessible and hazardous. It is more likely he'd of done it indoors.

Once our tour of the castle was complete we stood chatting with one of the staff getting a bit more background information to the place.

Electra throughout seemed very interested to get into every room and have a sniff around and explore. Pipa could smell something she recognized from curry and Simon suggested maybe it wasn't from curry but it was a Dog Rose so he picked on for her to smell. After smelling it she decided it wasn't the scent and took a bite out of it claiming at first it tasted like lettuce then apple. One thing that will become apparent through out these blog posts is that Pipa isn't scared to try new things.

That was the castle done.

If you would like more information about the castle just click ”http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk