Joy To The World!

Ah, how can one remain grumpy when confronted with a picture of such pure bliss? Nothing like the euphoric effects of hard drugs to lift the spirits - and this with just a quarter of the suggested amount of catnip added to a certain Christmas toy.

Alien Wally and Mags would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas, and hope that it rivals the MacNoodle's for sheer tongue-lolling contentment. Just remember to tuck yours back in.

A Month in Retrospect

After taking time off posting, Alien Wally has decided to upload a few pictures taken over the last month in an attempt to appease the masses of readers clamouring for updates.

It seems Alien Wally and Mags took a walk up the River Esk, which winds through Musselburgh. This is all news to Alien Wally, who is gradually developing the memory of a goldfish.


He does remember the hedgehog coming to visit though. Striding across the lawn in the middle of the day (aren't they supposed to be nocturnal?), the hog came face to face with the lens of Alien Wally's camera. In a cunning move, the hog sneakily shut its eyes and hunched down, thus making it entirely invisible to its foe.

It remained in this position until it detected that the predator had given up all hope of finding it again, whereupon it turned around and made a hasty escape.

After a couple of snowflakes descended upon the garden, Alien Wally and Mags thought they would find loads of snow on higher ground, and headed up to the Hopetoun Monument just outside Haddington. Alas, apart from this pocket of snow, there was none to be seen even from the vantage point afforded by the top of the monument.


Christmas snuck into Edinburgh while no-one was watching. Alien Wally and Mags headed into town on the train last weekend to see the lights, and sample the yuletide ale offered from an authentic mock-up of a German Christmas market that seems to spring up every year on Princes Street.

And then came the real snow. Last Tuesday the skies opened and deposited a full 1 centimetre of snow on the ground. Alright, not all that impressive, however it has to be said that snow rarely sits on the ground in Edinburgh, so it was quite a novelty for Alien Wally to have to scrape snow off the car the next morning before driving up to the station. It was slightly less novel when he got back from work and had to scrape more ice off the car before heading home, and possibly even less novel when he couldn't open the door the morning after because it had been frozen shut.

More HDR

Another HDR experiment, based on five pictures taken on Friday at lunchtime. Deadlines at work and DIY around the house has taken precedence over pic of the day, which is likely to be slightly sporadic over the next few weeks unfortunately.

Edinburgh in HDR

Alien Wally's first attempt at HDR photography. Since he's not yet prepared to lay out cash for professional software, he's using a free basic version of FDRTools. Depending on his future successes, you may or may not see a few more of these.

Morning Mags

Ah, the golden rays of morning touching the radiant features of Mags. Note the return of the beanie; with the dusting of snow that was covering the hilltops on the way down to Durham, this was more necessity than luxury. And yes, Alien Wally is shamelessly recycling pics taken over the weekend.

End Of The Weekend

A superb day to end the weekend on, although the MacNoodle household didn't get much chance to make good with the weather what with all the DIY needing to take place. That said, the puddles of water on the kayak outside never truly defrosted, so staying indoors mostly was probably not a bad idea.

On Top

Alien Wally will leave the extended blurb to Mags, however here they are on top of Durham Cathedral, after a day's raiding South of the border.

Halloween Costume

Oh wait, he always looks like that.

The Cube

"So, we're developing a new office block. It will be big and square. What shall we call it? Anyone? Hey, how about... The Cube!"
Creativity must have been at an all time low at that meeting. Maybe it was inspired by the monstrosity that is the St James Centre which is directly across the road. Alien Wally is taking what could be his last chance to get a picture of the monuments on Calton Hill from this position. No doubt one day he'll end up working in a cubicle inside The Cube for his sins.

Broughton St Mary's

Just down the road from work, Alien Wally stopped to take this picture while on an emergency run to Tesco for more coffee.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Self Portrait

Objects In The Rear View Mirror

Autumn Garden

Possibly the last day of Autumn depending on how one measures these things. The clocks in the UK revert back to GMT from tomorrow, certainly an indication that Winter is bearing down on the MacNoodle household.

4 Seasons

Sun, wind, rain, it was all happening today. Shortly after taking this picture of the sun catching the trees along Queen Street, Alien Wally was doused in damp when the dark clouds caught up with him.

Wallyford Station, 07:06

When Alien Wally gets it together enough to be on the platform in time for the early train, the East Coast Express blasts through on its way to London at speeds in excess of 100 mph. Two minutes later, Alien Wally's train rolls sedately into the station offering a far less exhilirating trip in to the city centre.

More Bridges, More Trains

Some might say Alien Wally has an unhealthy obsession with trains and bridges. They might be right. Here we have Warriston Viaduct, made slightly more interesting by the stonework under the arches being cut to cater for the angle that the river makes with the bridge. Trains emerging from the Scotland Street Tunnel would cross this bridge heading for Granton Harbour, however nowadays only pedestrians and bicycles have access to it.

Gold In Them Hills

Looking back as Alien Wally got off the train and crossed the line this evening.

Arthur's View

A couple of weeks back, Mags and Alien Wally tried to find their sea view. Unfortunately, even from the upstairs window, the Forth could not be seen. They therefore walked north to find Arthur's View, a break in the woods that provides a view from Arthur's seat round to North Berwick Law.

Ruralness

Some ruralness from Alien Wally's ride yesterday.