Yummy Beer, a GREAT cause, and yes, I am now a Laird!

Well, this is overdue! It has been a hectic couple of months!
Straight down to business then...

No: 2 & 3: Run a marathon in 4 hours and raise money for charity.
It's on! Training is well underway. I have to get a lot fitter. I am certain that it is going to be a lot of hard work! Like an awful lot of hard work. Like loads and loads of work. So with that much effort, I have decided to try and rasie money for a truly excellent casue. I am running the Edinburgh marathon for Great Ormand Street Hospital Children's Charity. Money raised for GOSHCC is currently going to rebuilding the hospital, as well as buying new equipement and of course providing the kids and families with invaluable support. Having been treated at GOSH whilst in my teens for a brain tumour and having it successfully removed I can't think of a better cause - I am truly indebted to the great work of all the staff at the hospital, and the support of GOSHCC to kids there is brilliant.Without the successful surgery and the care of teh staff at GOSH so many things I have enjoyed in the last 10 years simply would not have been possible. Trips to Borneo, Africa, going SCUBA diving, learning to drive. just the tip of the iceberg.

**If you feel like you'd like to sponsor me, and support this great charity, you can visit my just Giving page here:
www.justgiving.com/andrewlaing2014 **
I'm sure this will feature again. On every update between now and May 25th!

HOMEBREW!!! (No11). 
I made homebrew and it was tasty! I've discovered that bottles last longer than the keg, which after a couple of weeks goes flat (just have to drink it all very quickly then!?). So next time there will be more than 3 bottles. and less than 25 pints in the keg... Yummy. I found a photo of it.

 

                                                                       Not bad, eh?
So, No. 11: Make my own home-brew. Check.

No 4: Learn to play guitar.
I have not learned the guitar yet. BUT I now have a guitar on loan and a book of guitar music. So just need to do the learning bit. That will happen sooooon.  


No 22. Become a Laird.
I am now a Laird of Chaol Ghleann (Ridiculous or what!?) The title deeds have arrived. I own a miniscule plot of land there. hoorah! You may address me Lord Andrew now.
Seeing as I am not an actual Lord, it had to be bought for a small fee, which goes towards the restoration of Dunans castle, Bridge and grounds. So that is good news.

 

Get in!

I do have photos to update, but they are not handy. So that will have to wait. Also, one of them is not that great. Need to get the camera out a bit more...!

October, EXCITING month! The List: No's 26 and 27 (starting No's: 3 and 11!)

Where to begin, much has been going on since last time! Lets start with the least interesting and work it up to the top?
So,  I have signed up for the Edinburgh marathon 2014... Target time is sub 4 hours. Training will start in earnest very soon!This is of course exciting, if slightly mental, but will hopefully be good for me!? Hopefully get No. 3 ticked off, fundraising will start next year once I have selected a worthy charity, so watch out y'all!

Home brew (thats No. 11) is also at its early stage, in that I have read up on it, have all the stuff ready to go once I get a day off - thatll be next week. Home brew for Christmas!!!

No 27. Great photo a month... See the last photo! It'll do! =D

No 26. Experience something new that's pretty awesome: Rome 2013!
St Andrew Camerata (choir I sing in) went on tour to Rome. One of the greatest experiences ever! And have inadvertantly ticked off the first thing on my list!! Yaaay!!

We had an amazing time in Rome, doing a concert at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini and then the main event was singing at Sunday Mass in St Peters Basilica. We were given a private tour of the Basilica and we got to see teh music archives which was pretty amazing, shown around by Father Pierre Paul, choir master of the Cappella Giulia, St Peter's basilica resident choir. A very lovely guy! Not only did we lead the singing for Sunday mass, but the service was broadcast into the square outside, so an estimated 22000 people heard us singing! In the weekend we were also blessed by 2 cardinals and Pope Francis himself! Pictures speak a thousand words, so hear goes!

                                   FSSP church from the organ loft, where we were singing from               

Choir checking out the archives!

 View from inside the tallest dome in the world (tallest bit includes cross outside at the top)

You can see one of teh two choir stalls in teh archway on the left, we were sat opposite that just out of shot on Sunday morning. Right next to the action!

 Roof of St Peters Christ, John the Baptist and 11 apostles sit along the front of the roof

 The Basilica at night from just outside the piazza. (Thanks to Jens head for being the camera stand!)

 Pope addresses 20000 people in the piazza, right after Sunday mass - we were broadcast to this massive crowd, about 22000 heard St Andrew camerata singing at Sunday Mass!!

 Choir posing at the front of Basilica with Father Pierre Paul, choir master of Cappella Giulia, St Peter's Basilica choir.

 St Andrew Camerata posing for a photo in front of non other than St Andrew!

 Amazing view from the top of the Basilica. 

No 26. Experience something new that's pretty awesome! Done.
No 27. Photo a month... See the last photo! It'll do!

No 27. No 25. Photos, mud, animals, an overdue catch up!

It's been a busy couple of months! So without further ado, I need to find two great photos!

No 27: Great photo a month August and September
August presented life in Edinburgh with festival, friends, training, funtimes, a birthday, tough mudder.... more on that in a bit! and of course the fluffy gang at work! so I of course give you an animal. They are all so photogenic! So here is Rica. She is a jaguar, in case you were wondering...

Okay, so August wasn't the best photo ever... but the subject more than makes up for crappy photo skills! As I said, it was a busy month!
September presents an improvement. Here we have the not so baby baby giant anteater. The wee man is getting big, almost as big as his mum now, but that doesn't stop him hitching a lift on his mums back when he is having a lazy day!

So, for a change another number makes an appearance.... No. 25: Complete 2 extreme assault courses within a year (Because one is not enough)... 
Tough Mudder 2013 
12 miles, 16 obstacles, lots of mud, electric shocks, and a 'free' pint at the end. Brilliant fun! So much so that I may well sign up for next year! 2 hours 45, and team 'One-eyed Hippos' did a cracking job! Brilliant event, raising money for a great charity which is Help for Heroes, and there were guys taking part in the event who have served in our armed forces and lost legs or arms in the line of duty, and seeing these guys tackling this event definitely helps us to appreciate simple things we take for granted, and also installs a huge amount of respect for these guys. They are the heroes.

   Before...

                                           ...After...

Left to right: me posing, looking a bit smug at the end. Doing the monkey bars - Bloody difficult!! (but I did it! several uphill, then back down). The 4 One-eyed Hippos... That's right, we all did it! Get in! And electric shock therapy. Freaking painful - got one to the head, was like being thumped, and then all the muscles in my body having a spasm, all while trying to run as fast as possibly through mud, having just done 12 miles and the 15 preceding obstacles, including FREEZING water, 20 ft jump/fall, barbed wire, mud etc etc you get the idea!

In another note, I have had to bail on Survival of the fittest in October, which would have completed no 25, as instead I shall be in Rome on tour with one of the choirs I sing in, and we will be singing at Sunday Mass in the Vatican at St Peters Basilica. Not too shabby! Tough Mudder 2014 could well be the solution for completing No 25!

No 27. Great photo a month June and July

On a bit of a catch up mission here...

So for June we have this nice panoramic from North Bridge,

For July, we have 'sand zoo'. Awesome sand sculpture built to celebrate the zoos centenary.

More worryingly, a week today is Tough Mudder. Training has been... erm... slow(?) in the last couple of weeks, but I'm sure it'll be alright on the night!

In other VERY exciting news, Andrew's Home Brew is just around the corner... Beer will be flowing soon! yaaaaaay!

No 27: Great photo a month. *May*

It's been a quiet month, but a photo was required, and a photo was taken. Thankfully, i am the judge of what makes a good photo and this one is good enough for me!

In other news, training for No 25 adn ultimately No.3 is going reasonably well! Went for my first proper run and managed 7km in 31 minutes. I'll take that as a win. Although, still feeling it 4 days on!

Anyhoooo, here it is. A meerkat. Easy shot, granted, but nice and close. And everyone likes a meerkat! And it's in focus. (Things WILL improve on this. Can't aim too high just yet! 26 photos still to come!) This inquisitive little one was keeping and eye on me while I was putting in some fresh water.

No 27: Great photo a month. *April*

Almost failed at the first hurdle, but with less than 5 days of April remaining, it struck me that April was requiring a photo!

Got there! Couldn't pick one, so here are a couple. All that matter is that I am the judge and jury and I'm content they are good enough! I had to add a wolverine tribute as Kirke and Xale have left Edinburgh for a new Highland retreat at HWP.

A (posing) Dwarf mongoose

Jayendra the lion. Looking youthful! (He is youthful, but manly. Of course).

Kirke the wolverine

~It is of course plausible that the quality of photography will improve over the course of this, but I don't want to make this challenge too difficult, so there is no assumption of photos getting better every month. I'd hate to put the pro's out of business!

Preparations... A bit of a hard graft.

(Most boring post ever, but its gotta be done. I think. (Number 30))
Numbers 3 and 25 are tricky... Training had begun. It's gonna hurt. It already hurts.

Turns out I'm quite unfit... That'll soon be fixed with the above.
I guess the training will aid numbers 8 and 9 too!