Genesis Scottish Open Golf 2024 Renaissance. Club

 

It's time again for the Scottish Open at work, busy busy last few weeks prepping coarse ready for the week long event and this year the coarse is looking amazing, hats off to an amazing team of Greenkeepers and what they have achieved in the last 12 months with changes made and new bunkers constructed, in a Country of dying Industries and trades today I can happily say Greenkeeping in Scotland - The home of golf is a strong as ever,

I will add more pics to this post as the week goes on but here are some pics from early morning starts and evening out on coarse with approx 30 odd volunteer Greenkeepers from other clubs who get paid accommodation and food for the week to help out a 20 Greenkeeping team here. Even I work 14 days straight!, as it is the time of year we all take our job very seriously and although the coarse is imacculate we always say it can still be better and we never rest on our laurels  

Up at 3am and leave 3:30am for work to arrive 4am and get ready for 4:30 prep as Group, then out on coarse for Sunrise 4:45am

Here is a film from Monday,

I enjoy the week and split shifts while tiring I enjoy as only for a week and something different, esp enjoyable if the weather plays game and I can use the Enfield 350!

So that film was from Monday, previous day I got the chance to fly the Drone around over the coarse and as most of the contractors had now left and prior to players practicing Mon and Tues it was perfect chance with weather calm, here is a 5 minute edited film to Boards Of Canada track Dayvan Cowboy

And longer full unedited 20 mins of drone footage

Film from the Man cave after it all over

More soon...

Drone flight over Dunbar Harbour

 

Music is Dayan Cowboy by Boards of Canada

More soon...

Ride out on the Royal enfield after Storm Babet!

A wild storm that ravaged the east coast....

Wee film...

More soon...

East Lothian Coastal Car Parks; Do/should Motorbikes pay for parking?

 

I could not see anywhere on the Coastal car park meters or online on the East Lothian Council website if motorcycles park for free?, as motorbikes park free 99% everywhere else in Scotland, so I emailed the Council and within a week got a reply!,

Watch the film for the reply and my thoughts and reasons behind them...

More soon...

First Royal Enfield film and 10,000 views in 10 days!

 

Something happened I was not expecting...

I made a film about my new motorbike purchase, which I used my usual point to point shots then sat and behind the camera had a chat about the bike and why I bought one, it ended up going on for 17 minutes so anyway it was soon uploaded and published...then the views started going up and up...

1000 views in the first evening, checked in on Youtube next day and they were 3000! and still rising!, as were the likes and comments... lots of lovely complementary comments too, on my film making style, local scenery, and music choice, and how I put it all together...

As I wrote this blog post I checked and there was now over 10,000 views, 345 likes, and 92 positive comments...

I`m blown away by the response, real chuffed but here's some interesting things, I linked this blog amongst links to Royal Enfield websites under my bit waffle on the film, yet the cycling and Willys Jeep films made after the motorbike film just have the usual amount of views, as did the blog views...

I definitely struck the right chord with this film, obviously there is a big interest in these motorcycles...      I will keep doing cycling and Jeep films and Blog posts as usual and do the same amount of films to them ie every 3rd or 4th film will be about the motorbike, and see what comes of it, be interesting if the new subscribers hang around.

Its a breath of fresh air as the blog and YouTube films do not get a lot of views anymore, but as you know I do this for myself, family and friends, your never going to make a living out it and the saying is so true; `Don't try to make a living out your hobbies and passions`...

Anyway the next film after  this I made yesterday and uploading soon with 1000 miles now on the Enfield 350 so it will be a blog post soon...

More soon...

Another local backyard overnight camp...

 

Thursday and part time weeks work done I was home and shower changed and ready to head off for a nights camp locally, G had the bikes out and prepped and packed and we were soon off out of town riding the John Muir Way to NB town, where we departed along the coast to camp ...

The light was superb as we rode west from NB into the setting sun...

Campsite for the night, previously in work I was estate manager for the beach here, but we would do a stealth camp setting up at sunset and packing up leaving no trace at sunrise - unlike a lot of people who do not and leave a load of rubbish behind...

Sunset and we fired up the ace wee box stove burning small salt dried twigs off the high tide line that burned easily and kept us amused as we sat and chatted until the hip flasks were empty...

Falling asleep to waves breaking is so good and we both slept well...

Up early next morning and porridge and coffee made on the stove and quickly packed we were soon cycling and returned inland in a big L shape on the map home off-road on a mix of grass and gravel tracks...

Enlarge pic below and you can see north to the coast at Archerfield, and our route through the former RAF Drem airfield to climb up to Kilduff to then ride home east, back to the coast...

Over the river tyne...

And the village of East Linton, and having used no fuel driving to get away a camp G suggested a treat at local Bostock Bakery... These are called Caruffin`s  - that's a muffin and croissant, and were rather nice!...

Happy days, home on a Friday afternoon and still the weekend!...

Wee film, song is `Windpower` by Ian Ritchie

More soon...