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The crabapple tree continues to flourish, cheering me up every Spring.



It's covered in greenfly so I invested in some ladybirds; freaks me out to see how few insects are around. It's been a long wet winter, maybe everything is delayed, but still it feels like there should be more than this.

We visited Outlander country, that is to say Culross, a well preserved 17th/18th century burgh made famous as the village of Cranesmuir. I've never watched Outlander, perhaps I should. Culross has some strangeness of its own. Up at the old kirk remains the legend that deep in the tunnel/(s) beneath awaits a man. Sometimes he is sitting on a golden chair, sometimes he stands, but always, if you find him, he'll give you a gift. Culross Abbey was first founded in the 1200s, kept by Cistercian monks, but  it is said that this was once the site of a pictish holy place. The village is very photogenic, and there's a warm welcome at the Red Lion Inn. But I am too tired to wrestle with lots of photos so I'll just put up the one I like most, an interior of Sir George Bruce's house, with its decorated wood panels and curved ceilings.



Blackness castle serves as Fort William in the series. It was an interesting contrast to everything else we had seen, the textbook beauty of Blair Atholl, the olde worlde charm of Culross. This was Scottish castle as fortress and prison, for all its noble beginnings. It is empty and grim but still fascinating, as well as having paintworthy views towards the bridges over the Forth.



Back to the zombie apocalypse, you could do a lot worse than lure them into Blackness castle through the front, into your central courtyard then pop 'em off via the walls/that clever caponier/ murder holes etc. Of course, you'd need to keep the sea clear, not necessarily easy with the little pier and the potential of gas filled undead floating to the surface.

Why consider the zombie apocalypse at all? Sometimes I think it's damn close by. We know the slaps as well as the bennies of social media, but when I consider the current numbers of people who seem to be disappointed that the new head of the Catholic Church is, in fact, a Catholic, I honestly wonder. Were they expecting Penn Jillette?

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