When I go out for a cycle I take an expendable phone in case of some catastrophic event. Something beyond a puncture or a chain-breakage – things which we manly-men are expected to rectify on the road. Well, at the side of it anyway. Hopefully without rain or midgey-attentions.
A phone that I won’t be heartbroken about if I end up skiteing down the road with it in a rapidly shredding pocket. Not an i-Phone 5s then…
My ancient Nokia 6300 was replaced recently with one of the same ilk but younger by some margin. The 515, supposedly the last of its kind and with a 5mp camera superceding the old 2mp one.
Because images from phones are ubiquitous now I thought I’d do two comparison images. The Nokia and a good Nikon SLR camera.
This is my best fixed-wheel bike, taken in low-contrast conditions today. Not a nice day but good for a test of subtle-tone rendition by the two contenders. It turns out there is no comparison

Nokia 515

Nikon D3s 28-70

It seems obvious that the SLR would be better, but I’m amazed that the difference is so great.
I wonder what a top-line phone’s image quality would be like? Time for that 5s then?

The Two Bridges Run

That’s a cycle over the Forth Bridge, along through Fife to the Kincardine Bridge and back to Edinburgh via Grangemouth and Bo’Ness. No matter how many times I’ve done it I’ve never managed to get the journey to break the 90K. Until today – which involved a wee bit of canal path exploring. Until I could take a snap of The Kelpies……………

Kelpies

.. and that’s not all that’s new when you pass through Grangemouth. A plastic ( I assume) Spitfire. A Mark One or Two. Just the fellows who were first in action in WW2 when the Rosyth Dockyards were attacked by JU 88s. Or not attacked in reality.
Before the building of the oil refineries there was an aerodrome here. With Spitfires. Westland Whirlwinds came here too.

Spit

So, all in all, not a bad wee cycle. But next time Ill do it when it’s warmer. Bloody freezing today.

4-4-0 Gordon Highlander

In days of yore, young boys all wanted to be engine drivers when they grew up.
Not me! I was to be a world-class Moto-Crosser. Ah! well……..
But after a recent visit to Bo’Ness Rail Museum, I wonder if I’m too late?

The So’jer Cab

Mmmm…..thought so.

Acer Palmatum – in Red

Here is our wee Acer which is shown displaying proudly at approximately 620-740 nanometres. That’s Red.

Autumn Acer

It has now shed its colour for Winter but it’s still a lovely wee tree.
It would have been even more so, had some uncaring scaffolders not decapitated it a couple of years back.