Welcome to the new look yatesorama!

...and you are very welcome to take a tour around this humble wee blogspot.

The site comprises mainly of family and friends photos, holiday scenes in Holland, France and Isle of Wight, plus an odd assortment of nonsense that makes me smile. There are some cool videos too.

Apart from declaring my strong faith as a Christian, I don't do religion, politics, social affairs or anything controversial on this site. The site is for fun only!

Coming soon: Winter 2011/12, archive Yates photos from the attic.  Also updated links to other Yates sites. Please get in touch if you'd like to link to/from yatesorama.  I hope to update the site at least monthly during the long winter Aberdeenshire nights.

I don't publish my email address! The easiest way to get in touch with me is through Facebook (Stuart Yates, Kemnay), or leave a comment on this page.

Paul took the photos in the montage - he needs the work, you know, so if you like his photos and you'd like to discuss his work or possible commissions, you can contact him on Facebook - Paul Stuart Lewis Yates.

Finally, click the pic to enlarge and see the castle! Where is it?  The clue may be lost east of New York! (easy peasy lemon squeezy!) 

Minus 17 tonight...

I popped over to Inverurie at lunch time. The scenery was absolutely stunning - bright blue sky, wall to wall sunshine, the brightness of all the snowy hills - - and -12 at noon! Our temerature at home this eveneing was a balmy minus 17, and dropping!

See the garden full of sna


Click the pic to enlarge

Keep digging...

I ain't never seen nuffink like it, 'specially in November!

Every time the wee footpath snow plough goes round, it leaves a foot high mound of snow in front of my parking space. Yesterday, I had just finished digging said space out, when round it came - again. "Ho ho ho!" I felt the driver chortle, as he kindly deposited yet another foot-high ridge for me to shovel away.

Then of course there's the big road snow plough, which leaves even bigger mountains - and more shovelling. We haven't seen him today - yet. I have to go and dig out yet again to take Paul to work - what's the odds on the snowplough going round just after I've dug out? Aargh....

It's been like this since Wednesday night - I am soooo fed up with shovelling.

Update 5 December: There are mountains of snow everywhere! Minus 21 on Friday 3rd. MINUS TWENTY-ONE! Four foot long icicles, two feet deep in snow.

Click to see pics of sub-zero Kembhill Park

Winter's back...

Our garden this morning - eight inches of snow in 24 hours!

Click to see more snow in Kembhill Park

Click the pic to enlarge

Pirates of the River Don

Mad as March hares? Our intrepid mariners Paul and Tim take to the water and chance their luck at rafting the River Don from Monymusk to Kemnay.

Click the pic to enlarge

Let it sna...

Snow comes to Kembhill Park again... Paul is the "Soup Dragon" as he makes his way to granny's with a tubful... I snapped a lady making her way across the park on cross country skis... Jim comes face-to-face with a snowplough... all in a single afternoon! See all this lack of excitement by clicking >here<

Prior to this afternoon's pasting, we've had snow for a couple of weeks now. I can live with the snow, but it's the ice that I find terrifying. And we've had lots of it - I had difficulty crossing the road to the kirk the other day, and my sister on the north coast has been unable to leave her house for twelve days now because of the ice. She has good frineds, tho, that see that she's alright.

Link to Snow in Kembhill Park
Link to Stu's photo albums

River Don floods

View from my front door, Thursday 22nd October. The River Don is flooding and flowing at running speed. The black "thing" in the river is actually the bench on the footpath. Click the pic to enlarge.

Dave also took some really good pics.
>Dave's pics of the flood<

I drove over the bridge at Inverurie, and it's very flooded there too. Further downstream at Kintore, a farmer was tragically lost today when his tractor submerged in the river while he was trying to reach his stranded cattle.

I've also uploaded some new "Around Kemnay" pics
>Around Kemnay<

early September

Looking west across the Pleasure Park in Kemnay, on a fine Saturday morning in early September. This is the view from the new Barratt apartments currently under construction. Click pic to enlarge.

T in the Pleasure Park

Kemnay kirk yoof eating. Nothing new there then!

Springtime in Kembhill Park

Outside the house. The River Don is visible behind the tree. Click the photo for a fantastic enlarged view.

This one's from my front bedroom window, May 2nd. 

There's more new shots of springtime in the park in my photo album.

Sunset sky

The end of a gloriously sunny February afternoon in Kembhill Park, Kemnay

November

Early November - sunny days, clear nights, golden trees by the River Don - a perfect Indian summer.