Chasethehaggis

Isle of Bute and the West Island Way

2013-07-09T21:52:00.000+01:00

Two weeks off and we are getting hit with a heatwave like never before. In an effort to not waste my days doing nothing (for nothing read drinking cider in the sunshine), I decided to get outside.

The plan for day one was to get the train to Wemyss Bay and then get the ferry over to The Isle of Bute. So that is what I did. Leaving the house, I marched up to Drumfrochar station [a walk in itself] awaiting the train. A short journey later, I was waiting at Wemyss Bay for the boat.

Just shy of the 35 minutes sailing time and Rothesay came into view with disembarkment not long after. I had a bit of time to kill while waiting on the bus so I decided to just wander about.

Rothesay is in the unique situation in that it is a town that has the remains of it's castle in the middle of the town. I was considering a venture inside but knew I'd probably miss the forward connection because although Rothesay is a nice place to go, it was not my destination for the day. Monday's plan was to try and get back into the walking by doing stage one of the West Island Way. Using the local bus service, it was the South of the island for me.

After departing the bus at Kilchattan Bay, it was time to enter the wilderness and start the walk. Even after a short distance, the walking bug definitely came back. And I must say, when you get weather like we've been getting, it makes the Scottish scenery even nicer.

The walk is quite straightforward in terms of pathfinding. The path is clearly defined along a very rocky trail following the shoreline taken you through locks of waist height fern and bracken for the first part.

As you pass the southeast tip of the island, a small detour takes you to quite an unusual sight: the ability to get close to a lighthouse. Back on route and you enter the sweeping curve of Glen Callum Bay. Once you reach the other side of the stony beach, it is time to go up.

From here you can look back and get a full landscape of the bay with lighthouse in the background. Until this point the walk has varied in terrain. There's been rocks, gravel, fern and bracken. For the next wee bit it is back to just flat grass and a lot of thistles.

At the crest of the hill, I was literally stopped in my tracks. Do you know that way when sometimes you see something and know that it will always be engrained on your memory. The above photo [although it does not do it justice] was one of those moments for me. Ahead of you is grassland and then all of a sudden, Arran and all its Goatfell glory come into view. It was a sight to behold.

Following the path, you begin to cross farmland and pass some animals, when all of a sudden in a clearing, you are presented with the ruins of St Blane's Church. I find it fascinating that the ruins are still standing and able to be preserved in such a remote location. It was great to just sit and take in the surroundings before setting off for the final stretch.

Following the path, the last third of the walk takes you through a lot of farmland. A couple of fields later and then it was all downhill back to the village.

I have to admit, this walk should have been relatively easy but due to my crap fitness level at the moment, coupled with the heat it was quite tiring.

The reason for choosing this walk was to ease my way back in and I must say, it was brilliant. I could have probably been done a lot quicker but dues to my crap fitness level moment and the heat it was very tiring. That aside though, this was a nice intro to the potential for doing the remaining three stages of the West Island Way some day.

Full Album Here

2013 Resolutions

2013-01-01T18:47:00.000+00:00

Happy New Year Everyone. I hope all your 2013 dreams come true.

Two blog posts in one week, this is like a sign of the apocalypse. The purpose of today's post is to state my resolutions for the year so I can look back at the end of the year and see how they have progressed. I don't usually go in for the resolutions thing. They are mostly associated with being a farce. People set their expectations so high that they have usually given up by mid-January. My intention is to set a few smaller but achievable goals which can be tracked and evaluated at the end of the year.

The first achievement is the never ending target of losing weight. Over the last exam diet I have completely ballooned so it seems a nice time to take a baseline reading for a target to be set.

The goal is 2st off by the end of the year to improve my general wellbeing and fitness. If all goes to plan it should see me go from 18st6lb to 16st4lb.

Now, I am one of the first people that bemoan a resolution like this because if you want to do it you could do it at any point of the year. This time, I am going against my own opinion and using the full calendar year as the period in question.

Next on the list, which should work in unison with the above is to get another 5 Munros chalked off the list.

At the moment, I am sitting on 11 so I think 5 is a fair target to achieve especially when I need to rely on others going or the Scottish public transport network. Again, this is an ideal challenge to be measured over a calendar year and hopefully my Hill List app will show more than 11 come this time next year.

Next on the list is the one that I think is going to frustrate me the most.

That's right, I want to hit a maximum on the dartboard. Hopefully, if I keep chipping away at it, it will come.

I'm hoping that in the course of trying to achieve all of the above, I can also get out a bit more and start taking more [and better] photos.

Enjoy 2013 everybody.

It's Not Prometheus

2012-12-30T18:03:00.000+00:00

This year's no. 1 was set in stone until the events of Friday June 1st changed the course of history forever. That's right, it was inevitably going to be Prometheus but alas, it isn't so here are my movies of 2012.

5) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

4) Margin Call

3) The Muppets

2) The Avengers

1) Brave

Bonnie Bonnie Banks

2012-06-04T22:04:00.000+01:00

The bank holiday weekend was fast approaching and a plan was hatched. My brother and his fiance were both off so it was arranged we would finally tackle a hill together. Ben Lomond was the intended target on the Monday of the long weekend.

Nothing could go wrong in the run up. Or could it. Last Saturday, during the heatwave, I decided to have a quick stroll up the The Greenock Cut (pics here). Halfway along, something went in my foot and the usual 40 minute return leg took just shy of 2 hours.

That's fine, it'll be fixed by next Monday I thought. All was going to plan, it was healing nicely until Thursday it started getting worse again. The text was sent and confirmed I probably won't be walking. But by some miracle, I woke up on Saturday and it was completely cleared so a quick check to confirm Monday's weather was to be a scorcher and it was full steam ahead.

This morning arrived and the trip to Rowardennan began. We parked up at about 09:30 to be greeted by a plague of midges. So much so, my arms look as if I have got the measles.

After getting kitted up, the expedition was on our way. Ben Lomond is considered one of the easier ones and it definitely is. There isn't much technicality to it and the path is in such good condition it is a case of march on. And, that's what we did.

Following the path, upwards and alongwards, we were making better than expected progress. However, the dodgy joints started to make an appearance. But trudge on we did.

I have to admit though, I didn't mind the occassional stops as the views towards Loch Lomond in this weather was breathtaking.

Something of an unusual occurrence on a hillwalk, I found myself marching off ahead into the distance. I was quite proud of myself to see that my recent efforts at fitness have not been completely wasted.

After the first two crests, my continual marching got me to the summit approach. I was like a man possessed. Even more so now that the end was in sight.

And there it was. The Ben Lomond summit. It's true what they say, Ben Lomond is very popular, and even more so on a sunny bank holiday.

AS some of you may have noticed, there has been little mention of the rest of the expedition. Mind I said I marched on. Well it appeared I did. It wasn't until the summit approach that I saw Gaz was not too far behind but no sight of the third amigo.

This afforded me a good bit of time on the summit to just sit and relax and take some pics and soak up the views. The full Loch was ahead of us. It was also nice to get a distant view of Loch Sloy sandwiched between Ben Vane and Ben Vorlich.

Gaz was not long in catching up with confirmation that we were a man down. Turned out she stopped about the 760m mark but stopped due to a niggling leg injury. Got to admit though, that was a tremendous effort for a first attempt. Well done.

That was that then, Munro No. 2 for us together. A quick bite to eat than it was time for part 2 of the fun - the descent. This is where my knees start to go.

AS lovely as the view is, I really don't like this kind of descent. The view stays the same the whole way and makes it seem longer. Although, with the weather we usually get, it's not a bad sight to stare at for the next two hours.

Once we got down to the 700m mark the full compliment was back together when we caught up with Elaine who started to saunter back not too long ago.

Down and down, passing bus loads of folk and we finally got back to the vistors centre. And right on cue - Midges.

After a quick change of gear and the best bit of a walk - the trainer change - it was time to head on and wave farewell to the Bonnie Bonnie Banks until next time.

Today was a great day out. The weather and company were both good. As usual, the full picture gallery can be accessed by clicking below. I have fallen out of favour with Picasa so this is the first post to try out my new Smugmug account.

Xenemorph

2012-06-02T10:53:00.000+01:00

[This post does contain spoilers]

The exams are done and that meant the flood gates are open for the summer with the following three events to look forward to:

Prometheus
Brother's stag do
Brother's Wedding

Let's set the scene. Alien is my favourite sci-fi movie of all time. In a genre where you are meant to put yourself in either the Star Wars or Star Trek camp, I went a bit off piste and decided I don't like either. For me, you can't look past facehuggers and xenemorphs.

Alien - the first one was immense. A limited cast scifi horror which used darkness and suspense to create genuine terror and claustrophobia.
Aliens - One of the few films where the sequel stakes a genuine claim to the first. A new director was involved and the terror and suspense was swapped for an all out Man v Alien acionfest.
Alien 3 - Another new director and a return to the feel of the original. It doesn't quite match the setting of the Nostromo but does a good deal to move along the evolution story of the Alien.
Resurrection - An abominiation
AVP/AVP:R - A disappointing realisation of a fanboy's dream

So imagine the excitement when it was announced they were going to revisit the world that Weyland Industries operates in with Ridley Scott taking the helm. The internet went into overdrive. What were we going to see? Is it a prequel? etc etc etc.

Skip forward a few years the motley crew were gathered in Cineworld with our 3D specs on as if we were a Roy Orbison tribute act.

Skip forward a couple of hours and it was over. My initial reaction - disappointment. Where was the Aliens, where's the linkage, the ship looks similiar but it's the wrong bloody planet.

However, I thought I'm not going to rant and rave about it now. I'll let it settle and see what my views are in the morning. This is the result.

After thinking about the movie, my feeling on it is better than it was last night when you look at the bigger picture. Yes, the movie was to serve as a prequel to the original franchise but it was always stated it would explore the extreme beginnings and try and explain who the big dude in the seat on LV-426 was. I think I kind of lost this in my hype and excitement.

That's what it did. It focused on the 'Engineers' who were involved in the creation of man and their motives in creating what appeared to be an organic weapon of mass destruction. SO in fairness, it did do what it set out for this part. You can now go and watch Alien and say, that's who the Space Jockey is and where he came from.

But it still leaves a major plothole in the series - How come all the eggs appear on LV-426 and how did the Alien race evolve from black goo to an egg laying queen?

Another area it focussed on was the 'Company'. They appear throughout the franchise but they began somewhere and the virals and movie go someway to showing the exploration ambitions of Weyland Industries.

All in all it was a good scifi movie. Visusals were great, majority of the cast was good with the Fassbender putting in another great performance. Besides the obvious lack of series linkage my main gripe is that it lacked suspense. The beauty previously was the use of darkness and pulse sounders to create the atmospheric suspense which was completely lacking here.

So what next? There were more new questions asked than answers answered. But it does leave the door open for a follow up to bridge the gap and evolve the story up to the point of the LV-426 crash. If part one deals with the 'Engineers' the next part should hopefully deal with the 'Engineered'. The Company knew about the Aliens in the original so between then and now we should hopefully see a proper linking prequel with a good deal of human interaction.

Until now, I have not read a single review and limited my pre movie hype to the official virals. So everything I have stated above could be way off, but it is my 2 pence on the situation.

Halfway There

2012-03-25T18:11:00.004+01:00

The plan was always to get back into some routine of exercise in the run up to Easter but as with most plans, it never really kicked off. So, after a few medical ailments, I decided it needed to kick-off for my own well being.

A rare day off where Gaz was available and the prospect of good weather meant a wee trip to the hills to see how we'd cope after a nearly 9-month absence. The intended target was Beinn Narnain.

Checklist made and lunches prepared it was Arrochar bound. Heading up it was becoming apparent that my weather forecasting skills have a lot to be desired. One all-day parking ticket later and it was time for the trek to begin. Which coincidently was about the same time the rain decided to start it's day as well.

I have to admit, I like the Arrochar area but the zigzags at the bottom are a never ending pain in the backside. With that in mind, we decided to take the first part of the alternate route which bypassed the bottom section up to the bench.

A nice pleasant walk got us to the bench and we commenced the upper part of the zigzags which leads to the dam. Apart from the rain in the lower reaches, the weather held off a bit for now.

After the zigzags we got out into the open and the long and winding track began. A relatively steady trek to the boulders ensued but the day was starting to take it's toll on me. On top of feeling generally done in, I started to get a blister on my right heel that even a Compeed patch wasn't easing.

After a sandwich stop at the boulders, we set off again and the intended target [or lack thereof] came into view. But, the journey was not to last much longer. The temperatures had plummeted and with the general way I was feeling we decided that we'd call it a day.

The intention was to get this one done on a good clear day with a few other people so we were not too disheartened to not finish it.

I have to admit though, getting over the halfway height was a not bad effort for having a chest infection the week before.

Hopefully the weather is better for an Easter outing.

As usual, you can click below to view the full album but I'll be honest when I say I'm not too happy with the photos this time. It's my first outing with a Panasonic TZ3 I was given and I think the settings were off. A bit of tweaking is required before next time.

2011 In Film: Aliens, Apes and Drivers

2011-12-27T21:14:00.007+00:00

The end of another year is nearly upon which can only mean one thing - the [blogging] world goes list crazy, and being someone who is a bit list-centric, it is time for my offering. Here are my movies of 2011.

5. Paul

Standout moment: The phone call offering specialist advice to the creator of another famous movie alien.

4. Senna

Standout moment: Behind the scenes insight into the drivers' briefings.

3. Super 8

Standout moment: The train crash.

2. Drive

Standout moment: The motel shooting.

1. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Standout moment: "NO!".

Although, it was just pipped by the Apes, Drive did offer a soundtrack which will not be beaten this year. From the opening to closing credits, the soundtrack was able to stylise and give the movie a feel that was very reminiscent of To Live And Die In LA .

A Christmas Tale

2011-12-01T21:20:00.004+00:00

It's been a while but I'm back. There are a couple of things I hope to post over the Winter so there should be a slight burst of activity.

Christmas is approaching and I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but for me, there are two things that indicate this:

The Coke advert on the television

The Christmas issue of the Radio Times

The first condition was met a few weeks ago, and on Saturday, the Radio Times will be purchased.

So with the Christmas mood starting to kick in, I thought it was time to watch a Christmas movie. The first one of the season was Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Set in Lapland, it is based on folklore and fairytale of the area and not the Coca-Cola image of Santa Claus that we are all used to. Missing kids, mauled reindeer and satanic elves are the order of the day for this Festive flick with a difference.

With that watched, and the inevitable Best Of... list appearing in the Radio Times, in true Film 2011 style, I thought I'd post my Top 5 Christmas Movies.

5) The Muppet Christmas Carol

4) It's a Wonderful Life

3) Scrooged

2) Gremlins

1) Die Hard

The World Of Cinema

2011-07-16T13:58:00.003+01:00

I know what my favourite movie is but beyond that, I haven't really considered putting any others in any structure of rank. So I thought to myself, over the summer, I'm going to try and come up with a definitive list of my favourite movies.

I'm going to do it in three stages:

Films not in the English Language
Animated Films
The Definitive Top Ten

So, it begins. Here are my 5 favourite movies not in the English Language.

5) 無間道 (Infernal Affairs) - Hong Kong - 2002

4) El Laberinto del Fauno - Mexico - 2006

3) Der Untergang - Germany - 2004

2) La vita è bella - Italy - 1997

1) Nuovo cinema Paradiso - Italy - 1988

He Ain't Heavy

2011-06-02T16:42:00.008+01:00

The plan for the fortnight was to chill out for the first half, and do a good bit of walking this week, however, that plan now looked to be a bit hindered. After the wash out of week 1, week 2 wasn't to fair much better according to the forecasts. This was a bit of a let down as I was going to go a walk with my brother and let him bag his first munro. SO just as it looked as though the majority of the week was off-limits, imagine our surprise when the MWIS forecast was very favourable for Tuesday. A couple of texts later, and a trip to Loch Earn to conquer Ben Vorlich was organised.

One scenic drive later and we were parked up at Arvorlich House ready to start the ascent. As walking routes go this one is pretty good. A path has been set out from the beginning to the summit, so from every part you can see the scar up ahead and if you look hard enough the trig point on the summit you are aiming for.

It started off quite easy. A good steady incline to get the initial knackeredness out of the way and let the lungs get a good build-up. After navigating the third stile you are away from estate land and onto mountainside with the only way being up.

Looking back, you get the same picture every time so it was difficulty to judge how far up you were. To our surprise, the first time we checked, we were over a third of the way in. I was convinced we were not even at the height of the Lyle Hill yet so that was quite motivating, but it was about this point that bad things happened. I started to get a really bad pain in my right knee. If you know me, you will know that this is a problem area for me but usually it is just a niggle that I can get through. This was different. This was a proper stabbing pain with every footstep. I decided to march on and see how it would go.

Somehow, we made it to the summit approach, with a good bit of scree separating us from the goal. Lord knows how I made it to this point and any thought of chucking it previously seemed a distant memory when I seen what I was to tackle next. This was going to take a while.

Marching on through the pain was the order of the day and this final section was no different. The image above is basically what drove me on. The thought of the sights on such a clear day was an appealing prospect. A few determined stints later and we made it.

Before the obligatory summit shots, we headed over to the cairn to ensure we had a shot at both points.

From the cairn, we got great shots of what should have been summit no. 2 of the day - Stuc a' Chroin. With the amount of pain I was feeling, there was no way I was trying it. I'll leave that one for another day.

Back to the true summit and it was time for pictures. Munro no. 11 for me and a first for Gaz.

Getting to the top is half the battle. The descent is always another matter. The constant downhill impact gives my knee a battering at the best of times so I was not looking forward to this at all.

Once passed the rocky final section, it was not too bad.

The path meandered down with Loch Earn always being visible. Well, that was until we got to the stiles in the estate. When you have limited leg movement, crossing a stile is quite the obstacle.

My week of walking was finished before it even began. The original plan was to try and get 4-5 munros done over the week but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I would have to settle for one this week and plan alternative ascents in the future. Although my plans have been hindered, it was good to finally get out and tackle a hill with my brother. Hopefully, there will be some more in the future.

In regards to the knee, there doesn't seem to have been too much damage. Two days later and the sharp sensation is away and I can actually walk without looking like I am completely immobile.

2011-05-31 - Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn)

Drookit

2011-05-25T21:00:00.008+01:00

Breathtaking scenery. Tropical weather. Different cultures. Copious amounts of food and drink. Everything you could ask for from a break away. But when you stay in Scotland, the tropical weather is more reminiscent of a tropical rainstorm opposed to blistering blue skies. And this was no different. Welcome to Fort William at the end of May.

Day 1

I did joke with Dad earlier on that if the weather is bad, this is pretty much going to be three days sitting in the pub. The 5-day forecasts weren't helping but we were still holding out a bit of hope [because we all know, forecasts are slightly unreliable]. Imagine the despair, when it was the rain battering off my window that woke me up on Monday morning. This was going to be a long three days. The plan was to get to Glasgow early, take time over breakfast then be in Queen Street in time for the northbound train. What happened next was basically the prerequisite for the rest of the holiday - the Gourock to Glasgow trains were off. In true Scotrail fashion, they resumed quicker than expected with no explanation and we eventually found ourselves in Glasgow with some time for fuel at the Counting House.

Even more surprisingly, the 09:07 Fort William train was on time and it was time for Dad to experience the sights of the West Highland Line.

Once we had passed the build up areas of Dumbarton and Helensburgh, the day was looking up. There were some blue patches around about the Arrochar - Crianlarich areas but this was short lived. The clouds came right down and the downpour pretty much stayed constant until Tuesday with it getting worse the further north we travelled.

We arrived in fort William just after lunch and to escape the weather we darted into the first pub we could.

Through the door, we were confronted with clouds of smoke. It turns out, the open coal fire was on full burn to counteract the weather; and it was good. The rest of the day continued to be pretty much of a wash out and a lot of time was spent in the hotel and it's bar. We were seven days off June, and this video from About Lochaber pretty much sums it up.

It was proper blowing a gale, and to compound matters even worse, Fort William was hit with a town wide power cut just as we finished our tea.

Day 2

Tuesday was to be one of the main events of the few days away. The tickets were booked and collected to travel on the Scotrail service to Mallaig and finish off the full West Highland Line route. This was scrapped beyond our control before I even got out of my bed. The radio was reporting major train disruption across the whole network, specifically naming the Mallaig service as one that was indefinitely cancelled. This break was getting better by the minute. Not to be too despondent, we wandered though the high street and noticed the Jacobite steam train was sitting in the station. We might be able to salvage some kind of photograph from the holiday.

A few snaps from Dad later and it was time for lunch. We decided to head back to the hotel and sample their snack menu to leave room for a big tea.

Numerous hotel bar hours later, and we began to get more hope. The dry spells were becoming more frequent so we decided to jump into full tourist mode. Banavie was the destination in the hope to see the the Neptune's Staircase section of the Caledonian Canal.

It was quite an impressive sight but due to the weather there were no boats about and none of the locks were in operation. To compound things, just as we got to the top of the locks, we got a day's rain in 5 minutes only to brighten up again after we were suitably drenched. The word scunnered came to mind but this was short lived as Banavie provided us with a nice surprise.

Ben Nevis is the biggest mountain in the UK. Being so, you would think that you would get some kind of view of it from the town that sits at it's base. This is not the case. The summit of Cow Hill, obscures any view of Nevis range from Fort William town centre. But not from Banavie. From here, you are afforded unparalleled views of the range.

The weather wasn't ideal but it allowed Dad to see how quickly the weather can change up a height. One minute there was not bad visibility and the next, you couldn't even tell there was anything there.

Day 3

The original plan for Wednesday was to get brekkie, check out of the hotel and head round to Nevis Range and take the Gondola up to the 650m top station to let Dad get a sample of what it's like to be up a height. That plan got scrapped on Tuesday. After the train cancellations and the changeable weather, we decided to head down the road on the earlier train.

So that was that and we were in Fort William station waiting on the 11:40 Glasgow Queen Street service. however, all was not lost. The return journey down the road had slightly more visibility than Monday's journey up. As well as getting good scenery, this was quite beneficial as seeing the areas on the line helps plan a few of the future hill walks I intend to do on public transport.

2011-05-23 - Fort William (Day 1)

2011-05-24 - Fort William (Day 2)

Project Disney: La Belle et la Bête

2011-05-18T20:04:00.005+01:00

Along with Tangled, movie no. 30 is the one that started this whole challenge. It is also the one that heralded a new era for animated film. Combining the strong fairytale elements of the early days, and the state of the art digital technology, Beauty And The Beast was such an event that it became the first animated film to be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards. This was probably the highest profile from the list I had previously not seen and I must admit, it deserves all the plaudits it receives. While I am not really a fan of the 'Princess' movies, this worked. And I think it is the lack of Royalty that made it work. Belle was an ordinary person. There was no King or Queen, no evil stepmother. The only regality was the Beast with the lavish colours and grandeur only on show to reflect his mood. All in all, a highly entertaining watch and it gets bonus points for putting me up to 166 films seen on the IMDB 250,

10 split on the modern best picture noms

Project Disney: Crocodile Dundee

2011-05-18T20:04:00.003+01:00

Following on from the success of The Little Mermaid, Disney would enter the nineties on a high. First up was the The Rescuers Down Under. This was breakthrough for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was the only time until now, a sequel would be added into the Classics canon. Secondly, and more importantly, it is the first entry to be fully constructed in a digital environment.

I didn't like 1977's The Rescuers, but this is a completely different film. The setting of the Australian outback really does bring a breathe of fresh air to the predominantly darker settings of the previous few decades. I really did like the fact they modelled McLeach on George C Scott as well as using his voice.

I have to admit, I have been struggling with this challenge. As much as I love my animated movies, I think I have been spoiled with the Pixar CGI-fests which is making some of these quite laborious. However, this one has reignited my drive to get this done.

Project Disney: Splash

2011-05-17T19:18:00.002+01:00

The end of the eighties signified a turning point in the history of Disney. Previously, each film would have a few years between each other with there being no more than 4 in a decade but this was to change. Just a year after Oliver and Company, The Little Mermaid would be released. This was to start a run which would maintain an average of one per year until present day. But more importantly, this was to be the start of the Disney Renaissance, widely regarded as the period which made them financially viable to be who they are now. I'll be honest, I didn't like it and I don't know why. It had all the elements you could ask for - visuals, music, characters and storyline but it just didn't grip.

Project Disney: Holmes

2011-05-17T19:16:00.002+01:00

Passed the halfway mark and it was the turn of Victorian England. The Great Mouse Detective follows Basil, a Sherlock Holmes-esque mouse who happens to live in the skirting boards of Holmes' Baker Street residence. Closely resembling what you would expect from a Holmes' inspired story, Basil provides some standard Disney fair - good visuals, simple story and likeable characters.

Project Disney: Once Upon A Time In New York City

2011-05-15T19:46:00.003+01:00

Thanks to the predictable British TV schedule at Christmas and the Blu Ray restoration of Bridge On The River Kwai, I kind of had the urge to watch a lot of David Lean movies in recent times. This meant I finally caught the definitive Oliver movie. With this still sitting in my memory, I was quite intrigued to see that Disney had indeed put their spin on the Dickens' classic with Oliver And Company. The first thing to notice about this movie is the setting. Unlike most of the movies where you could struggle to place a period in history, it is clearly set in contemporary New York City. This is another one that can go on the enjoyed pile.

Project Disney: Gurgi

2011-05-15T18:25:00.006+01:00

Based on The Chronicles of Prydain book series, The Black Cauldron marked the halfway point in the Walt Disney Classics canon. This movie marked a departure from the traditional disney fairytale. In this one, the usual array of fluffy animals and pets were replaced with a more sinister style of character. Ogres and goblins were the order of the day with the highlight sidekick, Gurgi, being completely non-descript. If you want an example of the Disney quality being used for a magic/fantasy storyline, I would highly recommend this.

Project Disney: Best of Enemies

2011-05-15T18:25:00.005+01:00

The Fox And The Hound was the first release of the next decade. This was absolutely brilliant. I reckon this is definitely in the top 3 films on the list so far. The film deals with the unlikely childhood friendship of Tod, a fox, and Copper, a hunting hound. Copper soon leaves for the winter to learn how to hunt. By the time Spring comes, both characters have developed into older versions of themselves with Copper's changing attitude causing a strain on the previously unbreakable bond.

I think this was, by far, the best example of an animated family movie which can be used to highlight a social issue to kids.

Project Disney: The 70s

2011-05-14T09:25:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I blogged about the progress of Project Disney. I've ended up doing what I was hoping wouldn't occur. I've watched a good few movies but not kept up with the blogging. I've decided to put the next batch up as single post covering the four movies of the 1970s.

First up was The Aristocats, the 1970 effort about a family of family of aristocratic cats who have a good life in the mansion with their rich owner. This is all turned upside down when the butler decides to kidnap them in an effort to benefit from their owner's fortune. In a similar vein to Lady and the Tramp, the well to do lead characters befriend a streetwise alley cat who helps to save the day. Actually when you think about it, it pretty much is the feline version Lady and the Tramp. It is this reason why I didn't really like it. It felt too samey.

Next up was Walt Disney's take on the classic tale of Robin Hood in 1973. I was looking forward to this as I remember it being one of my favourites as a kid. I have to admit, I found it quite poor watching it again. Just like The Aristocats, it was like watching a repeat of other Disney cartoons due to the duplications of characters and scenes as a result of the small production budget.

1977 was a double release year. In March The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh was released. I think of all the releases on the list, this is the one I was most curious about. Winnie the Pooh is known in almost every household. It is probably the biggest franchise in terms of Disney merchandising. But, I have never seen, read or being involved in a story of Winnie the Pooh. I know of the different characters but not how they are related. The film is a selection of three previously released stories that have been linked together through an off screen narrator while following the books on the screen. I think the shorter stories works when you know there is continuity with the characters and because of this reason, the film was highly enjoyable. It was a good insight into the franchise and was highly enjoyable with only one flaw. Tigger must be the most annoying character to have ever been penned by a Disney animator.

Released in the summer of '77, The Rescuers completed the Walt Disney Classics slate for the decade. And I must say, they didn't go out on a bang. For me this summed up the decade. With the exception of Winnie The Pooh, I felt this decade was a lesson on how to live on past glories by rehashing old ideas.

Rob Roy Country

2011-04-23T15:22:00.005+01:00

Easter weekend was approaching and the weather was set to be nice. There was no way we were not going to attempt a walk. After some deliberations, it was decided we would try Beinn Tulaichen and Cruach Ardrain. Both these hills are situated in the Crianlarich Hills. The route we were going to take was to start at Inverlochlarig Farm to the South. This would take in Beinn Tulaichen first then following the ridge along to Cruach Ardrain then descending from the bealach between the two.

We made it along the one track road to the car park and finally set off. Walking along the path to the farm, we saw the first of what was ahead of us.

It started off simple enough. There was a track to follow and the farm encourages walkers by placing signs and setting designated routes up. That was until we got to the bottom of Beinn Tulaichen. There comes the point you just have to turn left off the path and head up to get to the ridge. That point is not signposted, so you just have to make your own judgement when you want to head up.

And up we went. There was no beaten track to follow, so every footstep was on fresh hillside which didn't help on what was a pretty unrelentless slog. This was tough going and there were a few more leg stretch stops than there should have been.

Further up, a path had started and the going got easier. Following the path at a steady rate, we finally found ourselves on the first ridge and Munro No. 9 was achieved. This was the toughest one yet. If the first section had similar underfoot conditions to this bit, I reckon I wouldn't have struggled as much as I did. But as it was, we partook in some lunch at 946m. Although the prolonged rest was good, I felt a bit crap as I single-handedly added about 40 minutes of unnecessary rest time on from the first bit up the open hillside.

From the summit there was a clearly defined path NW along the ridge to Cruach Ardrain. I have to admit, if munro no. 9 was difficult, munro no. 10 was easy. It was so pleasant I pretty much led the way for the whole bit which was a first for the day.

The final push was in sight, and there was a strong breeze which was a relief considering how sunny it was.

Double figures have been achieved with Munro no. 10 ticked off. I honestly couldn't see both these summits far enough when we were about 300m [ascent] into the walk. The second one was reached in just shy of an hour which is not far off the time we would have expected so my second wind arrived just in time. Now it was time to get down and back to the car. As stated earlier, we plnned to go the way we came and head down east from the bealach eventually meeting the landrover track back to the farm. After looking at the maps and evaluating the path that was there, we decided to descend on an alternative route.

This route was a bit tougher than expected. There was a lot more sections we navigated that we hadn't encountered before. A couple of slides, slips and mud stained patches later we were passed the rocks and heading steadily down previously untrodden grassy slopes.

After what seemed like an eternity [2hrs 30m], we finally caught site of the track which had the carpark at the end of it.

What we didn't expect was that the car was still a good 4km away. Even with keeping what we thought was a good pace, it still took us 45 minutes to get there. Get there we did though and getting those boots off on a roasting hot day was a bit of light relief.

This was a strange day on the hills. Probably my worst if I'm honest. After achieving munro no.8 a couple of weeks ago, I think I went into this one with a bit of naivity about my fitness level. I'm not even going to say it was a reality shock, because in reality I know I am carrying too much weight [as highlighted by my spare tyre in the summit pics]. I think it highlighted how easy the last one really was and my reliance on a beaten track. If I was on my own, I don't think I'd feel as bad. It would only be my time I'm wasting but when you are with other people who can achieve it easily, it does play on your mind. I've got a couple of weeks off in a few weeks and I was going try and do a solo effort or two so this has definitely spurred me on to get my levels up. Here's hoping next time, it's a bit more successful.

2011-04-22 - Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain

Project Disney: The Bear Necessities

2011-04-23T14:29:00.002+01:00

If you were to ask people to name a well-known Disney film from the past, The Jungle Book is most likely to appear high up the list. Widely regarded as one of the classics, it is a mainstay of the Disney library.

I had never seen it before so was quite looking forward to it. The outcome - I didn't really enjoy it. It is the kind of story that lends itself perfectly to the Disney touch but I just don't feel it flowed. Incidentally, it was the last film which Walt oversaw prior to his death.

Project Disney: Excalibur

2011-04-23T14:28:00.002+01:00

Next on the list was The Sword In The Stone. Watching this, I always believed it was a Disney original on the take of the King Arthur legend. Turns out, the story of Young Wart befriending Merlyn was adapted from T.H. White novel of the same name. What I have found with the Disney movies, is that they are either brilliant or a bit crap. I honestly found this a bit tough going therefore falling into the latter category. Storylines aside, the animation in each Disney movie does improve and you can see the development of animation styles through the years.

Hill of the Ptarmigans

2011-04-11T19:23:00.004+01:00

The forecast for Saturday was set to be nice and as we aren't winter walkers, it was an ideal weekend to get back into the walking. Incidentally though, it was changed to Sunday so Grant would be out the house in an effort to let Rona get a kip after nightshift. So, with the seed planted, it was time to find a hill. I knew just the place to look - Steven Fallon's site. Having done 14 rounds of the Munros, his route knowledge is pretty extensive but the best bit is the '10 easiest Munros' list that he has compiled. My suggested hill for the expedition was Meall nan Tarmachan in the Loch Tay region just opposite the Ben Lawlers range.

So, Sunday morning arrived and it was time to go. Leaving Greenock at 08:00, we parked up at 10:00 ready for the trek. It wouldn't usually take 2 hours for the drive, but we stopped en route in Inveruglas to take a photo of the glass like Loch. This route wasn't scheduled to take ages, but as we have been off it for a while we just decided to take our time but try and keep a good pace. It was quite steady going and the weather was getting better and clearer as the day went on.

While walking, we saw the above peak in the near distance, but I knew it seemed to appear too quick so I had a feeling there was more to come. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard Grant just in front shouting "You're not going to like this."

And he was correct, I didn't expect what was now ahead of us. It turns out we were now standing on the 923m SE peak of Meall nan Tarmachan with the proper submit 100m upwards.

After a steep ascent up the crags and a patch of snow to navigate, we made it. Munro no. 8 for me was in the bag. What was surprising, was the fact we still had a phone signal. So after a few novelty texts and Facebook/Twitter updates and lunch it was time to descend.

When we came to this bit on the way up, I immediately started to fear the way back down. It actually turned out to be not that bad. With the worst over, the rest of the descent was fairly pleasant and we arrived back at the car less than 4 hours after starting.

So, that is that. The first proper walk of the year and the bug is properly back. Roll on the next one.

2011-04-10 - Meall nan Tarmachan

Project Disney: Spots

2011-03-31T19:38:00.006+01:00

I can't believe I have never seen this before. One Hundred And One Dalmations is truly remarkable and is definitely one of the best non CGI animated movies I have ever seen. As animated movies go it is perfect. It has a great storyline bringing about a full spectrum of emotions. On top of this, it is a perfect example of the use of animation to bring animals to life with humans also included.

Project Disney: Having A Long Lie

2011-03-31T19:38:00.004+01:00

The last film of the 50's for the Walt Disney Classics range was Sleeping Beauty. Although, widely considered to be one of the best animated movies of all times, I personally couldn't see why. It was generic. There was nothing 'special' to it. Of the Disney 'Princesses', Aurora has to be the worst. On top of this, the production budget used was double the previous efforts. This combined with a a poor year in general saw Disney post it's first annual loss. And to be honest, the output was not worth the staff cuts that ensued.