Boom... bang... a bang

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...

Well, all my troubles were in the same place but smothered in a cloud of shotgun smoke. Yes, it was Cluny Clays time again.

The weather was excellent. The drive to Fife was excellent. The food and service at Cluny Clays were excellent. And as for the shooting... well, as I said, The weather was excellent. The drive to Fife was excellent... As you have probably gathered by that last statement we didn't have the greatest day destroying small saucer shaped objects fired at high and low velocity, low and high into the air and across the ground.

As always we start off with 50 rounds and one shotgun. 

Sometimes it's just three of us, sometimes more. In this case there were four of us, my friend Phill, Raymond and his son William.

The sun was shinning and the wind was pretty decent, meaning that it wouldn't blow the clays or shot about causing us to look like we had no idea what we were doing. We actually manage that one quite well on our own.

At Cluny Clays there are 8 shooting ranges and Olympic skeet and an English skeet range. We started of at the first of the ranges, which is , logically, range one. We have previously started of at one of the skeet ranges and regretted it. If you start of badly, it can only go one way. Okay, it could go two ways, the other way being 'better'.

So, we started shooting. Boom... bang... a bang. It went well. We hit stuff... the rest of the ranges went well... we hit stuff again... we hit even more stuff... and them we missed stuff... a few clays were missed... and then hit again. And missed again.

To cut a very long story short the results were as follows:

Phill: 27 hits

Raymond: 31 hits

me: 34

William: 38

So not a great day, but not too bad either. The day improved somewhat with the purchasing of food and drink from the excellent restaurant. The food is always good and the service is second to none. 

If you ever get the chance to go to Cluny Clays I would really recommend it.

So before I bore you with more details, I will bid you adieu and wish all a happy day.

The plan for the weekend

All going well, if the weather hold out and we don't get wiped out in an asteroid strike or alien invasion, my mates Phill, Raymond and myself should be going to Cluny Clays in Fife for some clay pigeon culling.

We go to Cluny Clays every once in a while and have a good time. 

Nah, we have a great time. 

Cluny is about 20 miles from the glorious city of Edinburgh, and approximately 13 miles north east of the engineering marvel (and Golden gate look-a-like) Forth Road Bridge. 

If you have never been to Cluny before I would really recommend it. Not only will you have a good time on the activity of your choice whether it be golf, clay pigeon shooting, or archer, but you can get a flipping good meal as well. 

Cluny isn't just for gun tootin' wanna be James Bond types (neither my mates nor myself resemble in any way Pierce Brosnan nor Daniel Craig), it is for everybody. I will now quote from the official website 

"The minimum age to join the fun at Cluny Shooting is 10 years. For children under 10 there is lots to do in the Cluny Kids 'Play Naturally park'."

So you see, fun for all the family.  If you want to check it out and see if there is anything for you have a look at http://www.clunyclays.co.uk/index.php

I will take some photographs and, if the scores are good, let you know how we get on. If we merely pepper the air with shot, I will not mention it. Hey, we have our pride to think about.

Have fun.

The Game's afoot!

My first real memory of Sherlock Holmes comes from the dark and distant past of 1978.

As a young school boy I would wait with anticipation on a Sunday afternoon to hear one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories dramatised in 30 minutes plays on BBC Radio 4.

The one that sticks in my mind the most was Silver Blaze. I often wonder why it sticks in my head so clearly. I can still hear Barry Foster (he played Holmes in 13 episodes of the Holmes canon, with David Buck as Dr Watson) reciting dialogue. But why? I wonder if it was because this was one of the first successful audio recording I ever did. I have no idea what happened to the recording, but I know I would have played it to death taking in the atmosphere of the story. I would have placed the 'plug-in' microphone, placing it near, but not against the speaker of the radio, with it's volume at a suitable level to avoid 'rumble'. I know that I would have done that.

Even though Barry Foster was my first radio ‘Holmes’, my all time favourite radio ‘Sherlock Holmes’ has to be Mr Clive Merrison. He has made the radio Holmes his own and totally encompasses the part. When I listen to the performances, I ‘see’ every aspect of the story. The late Michael Williams followed in the footsteps of the David Burke and Edward Hardwicke portrayals of John Watson and made him credible and human. Sadly, Michael Williams passed away and I was not sure who could replace him. Then I heard Andrew Sachs and felt he slipped into the role perfectly. However, when I read any Sherlock Holmes story, whether by Sir Arthur or a pastiche I still hear Clive Merrison and Michael Williams.

As for my first recollection of Sherlock on the screen, well it has to be the classic black and white adventures of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. I am sure I must have seen other actors play the part, but they were not Sherlock Holmes, Rathbone was. My favourite film? Well, that would be The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), with Ida Lupino and the wonderfully menacing George Zucco.

Rathbone seemed perfect for the part and Bruce’s Watson was a great foil for Holmes intellect at least that was the way I saw it then. It was not until many years later and the arrival of late Jeremy Brett and (to me) the late Edward Hardwicke that I saw the real Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H Watson, MD.

Jeremy Brett was cultured.

Jeremy Brett was manic.

Jeremy Brett was overly dramatic.

Jeremy Brett was subtle.

Jeremy Brett was Holmes.

Edward Hardwicke was not Jeremy Brett’s first Watson but he was the best. David Burke set a standard that Edward Hardwicke not only reached but also exceeded. He was not the bumbling oaf as portrayed by Nigel Bruce, and many other who saw his performance as definitive, but a sophisticated and truly believable human being. I would have trusted this man to treat my ailments in the same way I would have asked ‘Holmes’ to solve my mystery.

That is my first memory of Sherlock Holmes, a memory that will never go away. I still adore the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and some of the imitators and I am sure I always will.

Forgive me, the fog is swirling around the gas lit streets, the wheels of a Hansom cab are rattling over the cobbles and the steady clump of a client’s boots are climbing the stairs. The game’s afoot!