Thomas Alexander Neil

September 13, 2022

It has been two years today since my brother tragically left us for what lies beyond. It was something that shocked everyone that he knew and was a startling reminder of how precious and fragile life is. It has taken a long time for me to come to terms with and it has only been with time that I am even able to talk about it.

He was a bit older than me and even though I don’t remember us living in the same house for very long he was a fixture in my life, he was mischievous, loved watching his soap opera’s and always had a story. He was easy going, hard working and generous to a fault.

When I returned from living in The Netherlands I lived close to Tom and it saddens me that I didn’t see him more before he left. Nothing will ever alleviate the guilt I feel about this. So, if you are reading this and there is someone in your life that you haven’t seen or called in a while, do something about it.

Starbucks

October 4, 2021

Starbucks Logo

So, the first ‘real’ Starbucks opened in Falkirk this week. I call it a real Starbucks as it is not in a Cineworld that doesn’t allow you use your Starbucks card (and therefore doesn’t give you stars for free coffee). There is another Starbucks near Falkirk, but it is in a hospital, and recently they haven’t been keen on people popping in to the hospital for coffee, something to do with a virus.

It’s a fairly typical Starbucks, people meeting for chat, hipsters (yes even in Falkirk) writing on their MacBook’s and girls looking like they have just left a yoga class. Maybe you can answer this; do girls go to yoga classes to burn off enough calories so they can go to Starbucks afterwards for the 600 calorie frappacino? As a coffee purist it pains me waiting on coffee while people in front of me in the queue order drinks that take what seems like an eternity to make.

It is 10 degrees outside and their coffee has ice in it, like seriously, do they know what country they are in?

I digress.

This location started out as a Sony Store, which turned in to a Carphone Warehouse and is now a Starbucks. I can already tell there are probably more people in this location now than at any time in the two previous incarnations.

I find the seats here lacking comfort, am sure they are designed to maximise customer turnover. The hipsters are unbothered by such things like comfort, as long as there is a WiFi connection and a mirror somewhere to groom their beard.

So what brings me to Starbucks on a repetitive basis? It is the knowledge that I know exactly what I am getting and how it will taste and the comfort and memories that are rejuvenated with it. Every skinny triple shot grande latte that I have ever bought has tasted pretty much the same.

I do not care that 99% of their beans are ethically sourced.

This is not to say that I am not adventurous, it’s just sometimes you want a taste of what you know. So welcome Starbucks, to Falkirk, may your water run hot and your beans grow plentiful.

Random Photographs

August 1, 2021

I thought that I would post some random photographs from the past year that have been sitting on my desktop for a long time. All taken using an iPhone when I have been out walking along the canal, apart from the one taken at Stirling Castle.

Long time

April 26, 2021

Wow, I think that may have been the longest gap between any of my journal posts. So long that the Squarespace app for the iPhone looks like it has been completely redesigned, or it may be that I haven’t used it before.

Today marks the day that Scotland has eased the lockdown so that shops, gyms and restaurants can re-open. Personally the idea of only being able to eat outdoors is particularly nice, in The Netherlands, in Summer, when it’s over 25 degrees, in nice boutique restaurants served by people who actually want to be there. Eating outdoors in the UK where it’s cold, usually raining and the food can be compared to the enthusiasm of the server doesn’t fill me with a lot of excitement. That may sound harsh, but reserve your rebuttal until you have lived out of the UK for a few years.

Speaking of living out of the UK I passed 100 days continuous learning of Dutch last Saturday. I am using an app called DuoLingo. I am now halfway through the lessons and it is now stupid hard. Although my early enthusiasm has waned a little (going from four hours every night), I still try to do at least an hour every night. It’s difficult without someone to talk to in Dutch all the time so I am thinking of employing a tutor for at least a couple of hours a week. I think would prefer a face to face lesson rather than a video call…

Anyway, lockdown is over for at least a month before the Coronavirus third/fourth wave hits the UK so with a bit of luck I’ll be able to go out and do some photography again!

Summer Solstice

June 20, 2020

It’s hard to believe that we are at the Summer Solstice. So little and so much has happened since the winter solstice. The summer solstice is one of my favourite days of the year, the sun does go down at this latittude but the light never disappears. I can see the sun go down over the western horizon and rise again on the eastern horizon, living on the top floor of a block of apartments has it’s advantages.

As I sit writing this at 3 am I can see that the sky to the west is already a deep orange colour that changes into a light blue above me. When I lived south of the border this was one of the things I missed most about Scotland in the summer, the first light of morning and the long summer days.