Thread: Dirk goes for a wander.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Hard to believe without pictures...

Yeah, there's a point.

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

Dunno, I got a medical on Tuesday.

As it happens tho, I had a pretty impressive nosebleed yesterday for no reason other that alcohol induced blood pressure and thinning.

Had them all my life.

Oh, my bad i thought it was the charlie

I went with Chanel No. 1 and crabs for dinner.

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

These ebikes have popped up everywhere


Post COVID Union Street, deserted bar from winos, junkies and minks.
Most shops are now £1 stores, charity shops and vape shops. The rest moved to Union Square Mall.

I see they are all ladies bikes on account of the skirt wearing

All town/city centres are suffering, part post covid but mainly the online impact, councils though still keep levying the parking charges and keep killing off more small businesses with rates that online shops don't pay -madness.

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

They will never be reopened apparently which is pretty sad.

Ah, change of plan:

The works include:* A new accessible wheelchair-friendly walkway route into the gardens from Rosemount Viaduct;
* A new accessible wheelchair-friendly walkway route into the gardens from Union Street;
* Lift access from Union Terrace into the upper level of the gardens through a new entrance building on Union Terrace at the existing Burns monument;
* New toilets which are part of the park rather than the pavilions;
* Improved disabled parking facilities on Union Terrace directly adjacent to the new accessible walkway routes into the gardens;
* A new children’s play area;
* Landscaping and lighting, and the restoration and refurbishment of the Union Terrace arches and Victorian toilets;
* Retaining the central lawn as a flexible space for large scale gathering and events;
* Reinstating the ‘grand staircase’ as a central part of the new accessible route into the gardens from Rosemount Viaduct;
* Three new pavilions designed to be cafes, restaurants or arts and cultural spaces;
* Increased seating areas;
* A net gain in trees - several mature trees have been planted and species will include sessile oaks, hop hornbeams, red maples, and new horizon elms which are completely resistant to Dutch Elm disease;
* The works includes planting 122,000 plants, including 78,000 bulbs, and 639m of hedge;

* 2,000 square metres of turf will be laid after February’s Spectra Festival.

Some pics of the old toilets here - Aberdeen, Union Terrace Gardens, Public Toilets | Canmore

I remember them well. We could never walk part them without mum declaring "If you need the toilet, go now!"

Originally Posted by malmomike77

All town/city centres are suffering, part post covid but mainly the online impact, councils though still keep levying the parking charges and keep killing off more small businesses with rates that online shops don't pay -madness.

Hit the nail on the head there Mike.

Building a shopping centre connecting the train and bus stations with shops, restaurants, cinema and parking was the first nail in the coffin, long before covid.

William Wallace

The tourists gather every day at noon, when the Triple Kirks Clock Tower chimes he shoots fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse.

Quite spectacular.

Not exactly sure HTF that happened, try again...

Friday at last. A few things to do but first a nice bit of breakfast:

Softie and butter

Life hack/Bogon tip


Smoked back bacon


Haloumi


Fried egg


Guffy mustard




Job's a good'n

Nipped down the Hay Loft bar, owned by my dad’s best pal from school. Had a few things to give him and sunk a few warm up pints.

This is the point where the rain started, and didn’t stop till I got to Brno, no less than 13 days later.







Affa dreich, Min!

Excellent Dirk, I am looking forward to going to Scotland again, shame my relatives are now few and far between. We are planning on taking the Caledonian Sleeper when the snow picks up again. The Stonemasonry of Scotland is epic, no place quite like it.

Originally Posted by Bonecollector

when the snow picks up again.

Could be September...

...could be next week!

Great pics. Wonderful architecture but grey as fuck.

That's cos the whole city was built with locally mined granite.

The big bad wold can huff and puff til he blows a gasket, those buildings are going nowhere.

Rubislaw quarry - Wikipedia

Rubislaw quarry


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




View overlooking the quarry


Rubislaw Quarry is a quarry situated at the Hill of Rubislaw in the west end of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
The quarry is one of the biggest man-made holes in Europe at approximately 466ft. (142m) deep, and with a diameter of 394 ft. (120m).[1] Since its closure in 1971, it has filled with water and is currently inaccessible to the public.

As late as the 1800s, the quarry would have stood on the farmland surrounding Aberdeen but slowly it was encircled as the town grew into a city. In the present day, the quarry's situation feels unusual, sited on a main road, sandwiched between residential areas on three sides and a business park to the north.
An estimated six million tonnes of granite were extracted from the quarry over a period of 200 hundred years which directly contributed to Aberdeen's reputation as the Granite City. The majority of prestigious buildings erected in Aberdeen in the late 18th century and early 19th century were made from the quarry's contents, and designed by the likes of John Smith and Archibald Simpson. One local building of particular note is Marischal College, the second-largest granite building in the world and the current headquarters of Aberdeen City Council.
The granite from the quarry was known for its quality and was used, for example, on Waterloo Bridge in London, the terrace of the Palace of Westminster, and the Forth Bridge.[2]
The extracts from Rubislaw Quarry are described as being 'blue granite' or 'grey granite', as opposed to the 'red granite' found in quarries near Peterhead, Scotland. The colour depends on the hue of quartz and feldspar and its ratio with mica. Matthew Forster Heddle found the quarry a good source of the minerals tourmaline and beryl. Traces of Emerald were also found.[3]
History[edit]

Rubislaw quarry was opened in 1740.

In 1778/9, Aberdeen City Council sold it to a businessman for £13, as it was not thought to be a source of good building material.

An advert in the Aberdeen Journal of 16 May 1791 states that a seven-year lease is to be sold by public auction, and advises that a new road for access is being constructed by the owners.[4]

In early 1879, an initiative by the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor resulted in up to 350 unemployed men presenting themselves to the quarry to be employed in breaking stones.[5][6]

December 1889 saw the establishment of the Rubislaw Granite Company Limited to take over ownership from Mr. William Gibb of John Gibb & Son due to ill health.[7] William Gibb was to remain a Director but was joined by four others: Robert G. Wilson, Roderick Mackay, Forbes Manson, and Charles Christie.[8] An assessment was given that there were almost 4 million tonnes of 'superior rock' ready for extraction at a likely pace of 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes per year. Profit per tonne was stated to be 1 shilling, 7 pence. During this process, the current leaseholders - 'Alex MacDonald & Co Limited' - lost their lease.[9]

In 1926, George Hutcheon Jones was killed after slipping on a grassy slope at the quarry and falling to the foot of the quarry, reported to be 320 feet.[10] Similarly, in 1936 a man was reported as having fallen over 400 feet into the quarry.[11]

The quarry closed in 1971.

In 2010, the quarry was acquired by former oil consultant Sandy Whyte and Hugh Black, the former managing director of a construction company.[12] The sale price is believed to have been £60,000.[13] In December 2022, plans to reopen the quarry for watersports operated by Sport Aberdeen were announced.[14]

• Images of Rubislaw Quarry held by Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums
• 
• 
• 

Originally Posted by DrWilly

Great pics. Wonderful architecture but grey as fuck.

Nobody cares that grey isn't your favorite color. Stfu

Great stuff and interesting details esp the quarry, thanks

Unicorn vegan hair vitamins


Great architecture and food pics btw.

Great history