On weekdays and Saturdays, if we’re not on an excursion or supermarket shopping, we normally walk through Balbirnie Park on our way to Markinch for the newspaper. Usually by the path which flanks Balbirnie Golf Club’s front nine holes by the road up to/down from the hotel.

We vary our Sunday walk.

Sometimes we go on what we call the loop, round the other side of the golf course from that path and past a field near the Markinch roundabout where there are usually some horses grazing, then up by the main road (safely behind the old Balbirnie Estate wall) till the path turns back onto the access road which leads to our house.

At others we go up by Balbirnie golf club’s back nine holes.

Last January not much play would have been possible. Or if possible, not easy. The flooded parts had iced up:-

Mind you the water hazard might have been a bit less so. (Not that playing off the ice would have been advisable):-

In January we had a cold spell. Our walk down to Markinch to get the newspaper was made just a bit more hazardous. The short cut we had adopted during Covid times – over the path by Balbirnie Golf Club’s practice putting green – was very treacherous:-

The floods I featured earlier iced over completely.

Ice skaters/ice hockey players took advantage of the frozen pond:-

Last winter was terrible for rain. Balbirnie Park grounds flooded in part once more.

This was on 8/1/2/2020 on the lower part of the golf course:-

Two days later the pond had expanded:-

On the 19^th it looked like this:-

A few days later the floods had encroached on the road up past the golf course.

Tide in, dull grey day. Dreich even. Taken on Oct 3^rd.

Below is the view ca 180^o from my previous photo. Rocks have been placed against the sea-wall here too as well as further out.

It doesn’t seem to have stopped the waves crashing over the wall though. (But these were taken of the wall a wee bit further down.)

There’s also an interesting effect when the waves rebound from the wall and hit incoming ones.

Tuesday evening presented a glorious vista over Kirkcaldy as the sun’s last beams caught the underside of the clouds. This was the scene from the street on which Son of the Rock towers stands.

Here’s a stitch of two photos taken from nearby Beveridge Park.

There’s a fence in the Park that separates off the tennis courts. It had recently trapped wind-blown leaves. A strange sight.

This morning I woke up to the dark, left home in the dark and came back in the dark. Due to the overcast it was dark all day.

December in Scotland. I might as well be in the Arctic circle.

But it would be worse if the clocks were not turned back for the winter.

At least from today on the nights will brighten earlier (clouds permitting.)

I’ve been a bit knackered this week. I started back at work, which is always a shock to the system. That tree I mentioned three years ago – I’ve been blogging for three years? – is looking a bit peaky; but perhaps it always does. Time for reading has fallen drastically.

But I’ve been busy on another count. The man in charge of the East Fife programme has asked me to write an article to appear in the issue for our game there next Saturday (27^th Aug) which got me irrationally excited.

I’ve splurged out 1203 words and I’ll need to cut it for publication. So that’s my weekend gone.

(Well I may go to Brechin today but the prospects aren’t good.)

Yesterday the good lady and myself had a stroll along the Prom, prom, prom (as we do fairly often) and for the fifth day in a row the sea was wild. The previous days we had seen it only while walking to the High Street; enough to realise it was pretty rough. Thus forewarned, yesterday we took the camera.

It’s difficult to capture this fountain effect. The timing has to be right.

The sea’s pounding has caused a lot of the Prom’s paviors to come loose. This was a minor example of the holes left behind. Flotsam and jetsam are also everywhere.

Evasive action was required here!

Somehow or other a still photo doesn’t quite capture the moment.

Last night just before dusk we took a walk in the nearby park. (Got to try to get the lingering Christmas weight off somehow.)

Underneath one of the trees I spotted some snowdrops. It fair cheered me up.

Perhaps winter may be coming to an end.

I see that there has been transport chaos in England today. Roads and airports have been closed and motorists have been stranded in their cars overnight.

I trust that Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray and high profile Scottish Tory David McCletchie will now be demanding the resignation of the relevant UK Minister as obviously he (or she, I’ve no idea who has that responsibility, if anyone) is to blame for this totally avoidable occurence.