Unfortunately we didn’t seem to get the good weather the rest of the UK got this weekend, but when you live in Scotland you learn just to get wet!  Saturday we once again employed the wondrous service of Nancy next door to baby sit Ellis for a few hours whilst we went to the Pitfichie Downhill track with Rich (Nancy’s worser half).  This is where we really enjoy and reap the rewards of buying a 4wd car last winter – ‘Scrappy’ (yes she has a name) can drive to the top of the DH track with bikes on the back thus giving us the luxury of not having to push up after each lap for 35 minutes and can get more time going down than pushing up!

The rain showers were coming in and out making the track really slippy, once again Lara’s fear of wet slippy off camber roots came into play.  Many a cloud of blue air came from the wife as these things strike the fear of god into her! 

apart from the wet roots we managed to get four runs each (as we take turns in shuttling to the top) and had a great time, it is one of those tracks the more you ride it the more you get to know the lines and get faster and faster each time you go.

I have one of my best mates Mr &Mrs to be Raven’s Weddings coming up in a few weeks, normally I love weddings and get very excited for them.  Not this one, for some reason I thought it a great idea to offer my services as the wedding photographer.  It seemed a great idea at the time, but as the time gets closer and closer I am really starting to sh*t it!  I have been a keen amateur photographer for many years, usually just trying to get decent pictures for blogs or records of our doings.  I have done little what I would called ‘ proper ‘ photography.  Now doing the pictures for someones’ wedding is what I would call important, and thus should be taken seriously. There is only one other added pressure, the Mr and & Mrs to be have just started a blossoming career as wedding photographers…… so no pressure there then!

I have started practising, mainly on lara and the baby, but I am going to soon meet up with a few friends and start having portrait sessions with them.  Basically the more pictures I can take the better chance I have of not completely messing up the pictures for the big day.  With the ever suffering wife we went off to take some pictures.  Don’t worry I will not bore you with hundreds of pictures, but maybe just one or two.

Above : I sat there trying to coax a smile out of her for about 5 minutes and then gave up as she was just sitting there randomly rolling over into the dirt and then chatting to the twigs. But I wanted a picture of Ellis in the woods so just took it, I like it but would have been better if she would have given me a smile.  I think Ellis is going to have to work on her modelling abilities before I offer any sort of pocket money!

Again , far more interested in the wheat than looking and giving me a smile….  thankfully Lara was a much more helpful model and was being kind to me, I shall give her her pocket money 🙂

As a side note Richard and his five year old daughter Katie came to the woods with us and went for a bike ride together

I watched then ride off down the little singletrack paths into the woods, and I have to admit I was rather  jealous of Rich being able to go riding with his daughter, she was having a great time loving being on the bike only having dumped her stabilisers 6 weeks ago and whizzing around everywhere with a smile on her face.  I suppose my time will come and before I know it Ellis will be having to wait for ‘ the old man’ when we go biking together.  All good things come to those that wait.