I had two days out really.

On Friday on the way up to Aberdeen the good lady and I stopped at Dunnottar Castle and also took the chance to visit Stonehaven War Memorial which is walkable from there. (Photos of both will be coming eventually.)

Later in the afternoon she made a good trawl of the Old Aberdeen Book Shop in Spital.

Even better pickings were obtained at the Mercat Bookshop in Castle Street the next morning (I even bought two books) and then we had a look at two antique shops before we retired to a modern style hostelry for lunch with my younger son and his wife.

Imagine our surprise when the establishment was invaded by Sons fans who certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, which the bar staff took in good part. The flag intimated they were from Helensburgh.

On to the match, with ticket at the ready:-

The Sons contingent had several good flags on the wave:-

The pre-match entertainmenmt was way over the top. There’s absolutely no need for this sub-USian rubbish:-

Even if the Aberdeen fans in the Merkland Stand also had a good array of flags:-

The teams emerge. Two more good Sons flags at the bottom here:-

Sons to the fore. This season’s ‘home’ strip – yellow and black wide stripes, with black shorts, on show (and a rather silly-looking Aberdeen mascot at top right. They had at least two mascots, which is probably two too many):-

Sons line up for the game:-

Greenbank is a classic Art Deco house in Helensburgh – once West Dunbartonshire but now – after the Tories gerrymandered Scottish council areas in 1976 in an attempt to bolster their representation, not that that’s how it turned out – in Argyll and Bute

Strong horizontals and verticals, rounded canopy and balcony, appears to be Critall windows still. They’ve not been “poked out” anyway. It looks more like cream than white rendering, though, but that’s okay:-

The colour scheme reminds me of Wolverton in Silver End.

A side view:-

Reflections in Nordfjord, Olden, Norway:-

Misty mountain and reflections in Nordfjord:-

Head of Nordfjord, Norway, looking towards Olden, SS Black Watch in background:-

SS Black Watch and hill overlooking Nordfjord:-

SS Black Watch berthed, Olden, Norway:-

Most of this set of photos were taken on a walk we made from Olden towards Loen Fjord. As we were making our way a strange disturbance of the water on Nordfjord made its way in from the seaward end of the fjord. I supposed it might have been the tide coming in but we were so far from the open sea there were no waves as such.

The views and the open water to the left as we made our way westwards with the hills on the other side reminded me of the road from Helensburgh, 8 miles north of Dumbarton, towards Rhu and the Gareloch. The mouth of Loen Fjord (photo taken from Nordfjord, when sailing away from Olden) is flanked by higher mountains though:-

I discovered yesterday that poet W H Auden spent some time (two years) in Helensburgh – eight or so miles from Dumbarton – teaching at Larchfield Academy.

This information came to me via a review in the Guardian of a book Larchfield by Polly Clark.

The book, a novel, deals with Auden’s time there but there is also apparently (I’ve not read it, only the review) a present day section featuring Dora, an incomer to the town, who finds herself ill at ease there as it is “seething with hatred of outsiders.”

Really? Helensburgh, in my youth at least, was a tourist town and has had a fair number of incomers over the years what with the Faslane base just up the road. Is it really seething with hatred to such outsiders who bring – or brought – money into the town? Is it unwelcoming? No more so than anywhere else I’d have thought.

Or is Clark unfairly traducing it for literary purposes?

(It is entirely possible of course that a few incomers might “play the English” – as an English writer acquaintance of mine who now lives in Edinburgh depicts some of his compatriots who come to Scotland and moan about why it isn’t English and try to throw their weight about – and suffer adverse comments as a result.)

In an item on today’s Reporting Scotland on BBC 1 Scotland I immediately recognised this building:-

I had posted about it here.

It seems this is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs and the building has now been refurbished and it is intended to turn it into an art gallery.

Tonight’s episode featuring the building will be available for a short time only on the iPlayer here.

I was over in the west in April (for the Queen of the South game I think) and took in Helensburgh again.

This shop (in Sinclair Street?) has very minor Art Deco touches:-

Detail of windows to right:-

This building (definitely in Sinclair Street) is impressive in its upper reaches:-

Roofline detail:-

This cartouche looks like it may be a representation of St Andrew:-

Edited to add:- I have since discoverd this is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs.

This lies beside the main road through the town, which is on the A 814 between Dumbarton and Helensburgh.

Closer view:-

Left-hand name panels:-

Right-hand name panels:-

This is the former La Scala Cinema, Helensburgh, now a pub named after Helensburgh’s most famous son, John Logie Baird, inventor of television. (Well, one form of it.) Stitch of two photos:-

The building was erected in 1913 so it doesn’t qualify as Art Deco proper but there are some features which prefigure the style like these side pillars:-

Also the stepping on the roof-line. The painting scheme emphasises the Deco feel:-

This is just off the A 814 road between Cardross and Helensburgh. Has Deco styling with curved bay protrusion, flat roof, white render.

Side view:-

Shows extensions (??) at side:-

From across the A 814 road. Shows curved bay and arched entrance of brick, painted black:-

Situated in Hermitage Park, Helensburgh’s War Memorial is fenced off behind these gates and tall hedging.

Below is the view from the gates. The setting within looks pleasant enough. Was there a pond at one point?

Names are inscribed on the rectangular cartouche. There must be more on the other sides but I couldn’t get in to the fenced area to see.

These facing ones seem to be World War 1 names, broken down by year.
World War 2 must be elsewhere on the memorial.