Been about a month since I last posted here, kind of lazy of me, i admit, but then the domain of this site should have given you some kind of indication as to what to expect really.

The last month has been a busy one, and as some of you probably noticed, I levelled up on the 11th during the middle of my trip to bonny scotland, and am now, in theory, older and wiser than ever before.

LOL

On my trip to scotland, i was accompanied by the internet, via my new iPhone, which allowed me to keep twittering, msning and otherwise remain connected with the world whilst out and about.

For those that hadnt already found me, you’ll find me twittering under the name “Adramelech” which was a change of identity chosen with no small measure of sarcasm or tongue in cheek humour, as Adramelech, for those who arent fans of either biblical texts or google, was the original demonic king of flames.

Needless to say, it seemed like a fitting name to use to spread the joy and cynicism that is me to the masses.

Back on topic then and the Scotland trip… loads of pics on Facebook for those with access, though they largely consist of pictures of random areas of snow covered terrain and views from the window of the car as we drove around Loch Ness.

We flew up to Edinburgh on the Sunday, with a Captain Alexandra (i resisted the temptation to re-enact Bill Baileys aircraft conspiracy nuts) who was a very no nonsense female pilot, of the “Fcuk it, Im landing this thing NOW!” school of flying. No bouncing, barely any flaps on the wings, just a spine shattering bang as she forced the plane into the floor in a similar manner to that employed by German Stukka pilots in WWII.

Ironically, it was the day of the Wales vs Scotland rugby match, and so the first accents i heard in Scotland were welsh… this, i felt, was not a good thing. After checking in at the hotel, we managed to cram in a ghost tour of Edinburgh and the old crypts under the South Bridge. The scariest part on the tour was probably the realisation that i had to walk up hills of over 50degrees, in ice and snow, whilst wearing boots with so little grip they’d probably have stuck to the floor better if i’d sprayed them with teflon. However i managed the tour unscathed and without becoming another resident, and enjoyed it muchly. Sadly didnt see the hill of corpses, as thats a feature of a tour run by a rival company, but we did get free drinks at a bar at the end, which made up for the high price of the tour.
The following day we took a wander around Edinburgh, and walked up to the castle, which was interesting.

After Edinburgh we travelled up to Inverness, by way of the Cairngorms, which would have been pretty picturesque if it wasnt pitch black outside the train. The train trip wasnt too bad, the train was delayed due to heavy weather conditions, and was spoiled a little by a couple of idiots who insisted on standing with the carriage windows open almost the whole way, which wasnt fun considering the sub zero temperatures.

The hotel was great, and Inverness, somewhat thankfully, didnt have quite so many Kilt shops as Edinburgh, which could largely be described with the formula “Kilt Shop” -”Souvenier Shop” – “Coffee Shop”. Some awesome shops up there, selling a number of things which we only realised we wanted after we left. If you can think of something random that you probably need but would never think to look for, theres probably a specialist shop for it in Inverness.

Inverness, I must also add, is also home to The Corner Grill. Its an understated little eatery opposite the Ramada Hotel, and in all honesty, it should have more stars than the milky way. The food was of a class all of its own, the atmosphere was great and the prices were crazy cheap. Sadly, i dont think the place is long for this world. It seems like a new start up which no ones noticed, and gives the very false impression of being far more expensive than it is. If you’re in the area, and fancy some world class food at tiny prices, make sure you drop in. My only regret is I live too far to visit it more often.

Just down the road from Inverness is Loch Ness. Out of season it was quiet, scenic and largely under 3 ft of snow. From the tops of some of the hills you could see out over 30miles in some directions, and it was simply breath taking. For those planning a visit, im happy to recommend travelling down the B-roads along the south-eastern edge of the loch, rather than taking the busier A road on the other side. The A road is 33miles of tourist trap, whereas the smaller road is far more scenic and gives the impression of being quite a personal enclosed area.

Asides from this, not been up to much. Work intrudes on most things, and recently the CSA have intruded on a lot of the rest. I’ve given in to a desire of 5 years and finally passed on some very helpful info to some government agencies which should see some very deserving people in court very soon.

I’d love to go on, and had intended to, but sadly im surrounded by idiots and have to cater to their every whim in order to be seen as customer focused.

My final passing thought to folks out there is that for the eReader, Stanza or other folks out there with a desire to read books on one form of electronic device or another, give www.drinkmalk.com a look before splashing out your hard earned readies on something a little pricier than it needs to be.