ANOTHER SATURDAY EXCURSION

Saturday 24th April dawned dull and damp in Aberdeen, but the weather forecast was predicting better things for the rest of the day. My brother arrived to pick me up from the Premier Inn at North Anderson Drive, and off we went for a day's sightseeing and snapping. I had a vague idea that I should get more images of the fishing village of Gourdon, and of the area near Luthermuir and Sauchieburn, which I had found interesting on a previous visit, but had been unable to photograph due to adverse weather conditions. The last time we were in the area, the wind had been so strong that I could scarcely stand up, let alone use a camera.

I had a walk around the attractive harbour at Gourdon and the streets leading to it, making good use of my little Pentax Optio 50 as I did so. The sky was still largely overcast, but there were glimpses of brightness here and there - enough to make some interesting effects. Next, we headed for the Luthermuir area, where there are wonderful views of fields (some recently ploughed, some green and some bright yellow and white with crops of variegated daffodils), interspersed with groves of trees and brick farm buildings, all set against the blue of distant hills. We always seem to end up in Fettercairn, although we approached it by a different route on this occasion, and I found more camera-fodder here. In a previous artistic existence, I would have had a sketchbook, a rapidograph set and pencils with me, but this process takes a great deal of time, I only had the one day to get as much material as possible, and the images I get with this little camera are superb (provided conditions are right, as they were that day).

After a good wander around this attractive village, we set off again in the Fiesta, this time up Glenesk, and into the higher hills through which the river North Esk flows - quite rapidly on that day. We found some splendid viewpoints near a place called Millden, where the signage indicated that visitors were not entirely welcome. We didn't overstay ours, but I did get a few more photographs here, before we carried on with our excursion.

This took us up to lunchtime, which called for a visit to an eatery we have used twice before, namely the dining room of the Panmure Arms Hotel at Edzell. It didn't disappoint on this occasion either. Having eaten, the question of where to go next arose. I had achieved all I had set out to do with the camera that day, and anything that occurred from then on would be by way of a bonus. My brother suggested a visit to an old chum from our schooldays, who stays at Auchmithie, having first established that he was at home and receiving visitors.

When I reflect on the group of our contemporaries who were going through the process of growing up in the Shetland parish of Sandwick in the late 1950s and 1960s, creating our own brand of mayhem among the long-suffering parishioners as we did so, I suppose we little thought, in those carefree days, of the variety of paths our subsequent careers would take. One became a professor of geology, one a haematologist, another a seaman, one an insurance agent and Citylink bus driver (not simultaneously). Still others never left the district, married and raised families in the same parish they grew up in. One died before reaching the age of forty, and another, after promising much and delivering little on several occasions, became a self-employed artist. Kenneth Bull became an architect, and now lives, semi-retired, in a converted coastguard station atop a sea-cliff at Auchmithie, just outside Arbroath.

So it was hither to Auchmithie that we hied on Saturday afternoon. The Angus countryside was now bathed in warm sunshine, and this was creating a strange weather phenomenon - steam! The newly-ploughed fields were wet, and clouds of steam were now rising from these - when they were close to the road on both sides it was like driving through fog! We went via Brechin and Montrose, and I was saddened to see large numbers of road-killed pheasant and grouse at the sides of the highway in this area.

Over a cup of Kenneth's tea, we spent an hour or so reminiscing about past events, and discussing current circumstances and future projects. He gave us valuable advice regarding exactly how to get to a suitable vantage point from which to get pictures of the south-east corner of Montrose basin. I had noticed this scene, with small boats ebbed up in the mud at low tide, as we had passed through earlier, and I ended up with a few more useful photographs of that attractive location, when we stopped there later, on our way back to Aberdeen.

It was close to six o'clock when we arrived back at the granite city, after what had been an enjoyable and successful day, although I had no idea at that time just how good the images on my smart card were. I only discovered this on being reunited with my computer on Monday morning. Now all I need to do is to commit some of these scenes to canvas!