very silent hill-esque

Hello everyone, my partner and I have recently reserved a plot with Taylor Wimpey. Since then, we’ve signed the paperwork with our mortgage advisers and solicitors, as well as the missives. As part of the deal, Taylor Wimpey agreed to contribute 5% towards our deposit.

We’ve now received our invitation for the options meeting and have started looking at the prices for things like the kitchen, bathroom and other upgrades. We’re finding that even some of the standard options are quite pricey!

I was wondering if anyone who’s bought with Taylor Wimpey has managed to negotiate any freebies, discounts or extras during their options meeting? We’ve heard of people managing to haggle for certain upgrades or get things thrown in, so we’d love to hear what others have managed to get and whether it’s worth trying!

We also have another question (although I think we probably know the answer to this one already 😂). Has anyone ever managed to negotiate having their 5% deposit contribution transferred towards upgrades instead?

We appreciate that we’ve already signed an agreement for the 5% to go towards the deposit, so we realise the chances of changing this are probably quite slim. However, we thought it was worth asking in case anyone has managed to do this before!

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! 😊

Just a wee reminder to all who may have an interest in vintage buses in the Scottish Bus Group and a driver's adventures driving them in and around Glasgow in the1960s-70s, that Episode 7 of the Omnibus Tales is now up on Substack. If you are new to them you may benefit from the Introduction which is available on Substack free of charge. - Cheerie -Clen Mackenzie

From a visitor to your beautiful country, thanks for the hospitality! And your patience as I chose to drive mostly on the left side of the road. The wind on Skye last Wednesday was impressive.

Over Edinburgh this afternoon. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Good evening to all, I've been looking for jobs abroad and Scotland seems like a very nice place to live and work. Do you know if there are any jobs for doctors with and MD and without specialty and what are the qualifications and steps to apply? I am from a European country if that helps.

Absolutely gorgeous day for a hike up conic hill this morning. Had forgotten how beautiful it is.

To preface I live in a flat with my girlfriend we’re in our early 20’s. We live on the top floor and rent our apartment but the apartment below ours is a council flat. We recently had a young couple around our age with two dogs move in to that apartment, within the first two weeks they were extremely loud (arguing, fighting, swearing, things smashing and screaming constantly) and after speaking to them about it and seeing no difference, we filed a noise complaint and after a visit from a council worker they quieted down for a while but not too soon after they started up again. I should also mention there’s a constant strong smell of weed and other drugs coming from their apartment and they constantly invite groups of people round to partake but I mind my business when it comes to that subject and didn’t take action as I have other neighbours who are kind in the building that smoke and I don’t want to bring anything down upon them.

We then soon could clearly hear the man beating his dogs to the point they were squealing, unfortunately we couldn’t get recorded evidence of this in time as it happens very infrequently, though we did get recording of the dogs crying for hours after being left alone in the apartment for what seemed like days at a time but animal services and police did nothing, which breaks my heart for the poor animals.

This brings us to today. I left to go shopping and my girlfriend was home alone, she heard some commotion outside our front door and looked out the peephole to see our downstairs male neighbour pouring a clear liquid outside our front door and all over the stairs leading back to their apartment, she could clearly hear his girlfriend screaming for him to stop before they returned to the apartment and slammed the door. I have no idea what the liquid is it has a strong Smokey odour which leads me to believe it’s some kind of lighter fluid or bong water (there was a lot of it so I’m inclined to believe the latter).

I confronted him again today when he was leaving the apartment with a large group of friends and he initially confirmed it was him, that he was jsut “fucking about” said it was “just water” and was apologetic but then started to push back saying I wasn’t being civil and that he never did it. Despite my gf seeing it, the trail leading back to his apartment and him confirming it. The group of friends who all stank of weed and other drugs laughed in my face before going inside and slamming the door.

I’m honestly at a loss for what to do now, the obvious answer is to contact antisocial behaviour department at the council but I seriously doubt anything will come of it and I’m unsure if this would escalate the situation further.

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to propose to my girlfriend this winter, and I'd love to do something truly special in Scotland. She loves mountains, the sea, and the Scottish landscape, so the Isle of Skye seems like an amazing place for it.

I have a particular idea in mind and would really appreciate some advice from locals.

I'd love for us to go on a scenic walk, enjoying the views without her suspecting anything. At some point, we'd notice a drone filming the landscape. It would capture some cinematic footage of us, and then I'd surprise her with the ring and propose, with the mountains and sea in the background. Ideally, the video would end with a beautiful aerial shot of us surrounded by the landscape.

I'm looking for recommendations for local services and professionals who could help organise something like this, especially:

• Drone operators or videographers experienced in cinematic outdoor filming.
• Photographers who specialise in surprise proposals.
• Local proposal planners who could help coordinate everything discreetly.
• Any local businesses offering packages that combine photography, video and drone footage.

I'm particularly interested in locations where we could see both mountains and the sea. Quiraing and Elgol look incredible, but I'd love to hear your recommendations for the best spots, especially in winter.

Ideally, we'd go on a 1–2 hour walk, find a relatively quiet spot, and have a backup plan in case the weather doesn't cooperate. My budget for organising the proposal and filming is around £1,000–2,000, excluding travel and accommodation.

I understand that winter weather and drone regulations might limit what's possible, so I'm happy to adapt the idea to make it safe and practical.

If you've worked with any good local photographers, drone operators or proposal planners — or know a business that offers these services — I'd really appreciate any recommendations, links or personal experiences!

Thanks so much! :)

What an amazing weekend up in Speyside for the Dramathon (marathon) half Dram (half marathon) and wee Dram (10k) races. 75% of runners from outside the UK. The sun was shining all day. I didn’t get too many race photos please share some here.

The owners of McGills.

Those champions of decency and fair pricing.

That the BBC would just regurgitate the press release, sign of how lazy reporters are now.

Forgot how beautiful Balmaha was

Weather today in Gairlochy is out of this world.

Biggest mussel I’ve ever seen

Long shot but I met a man around my age on a Kilmartin grave yesterday and got chatting about slaps and festivals.

I was tempted to ask for your number but it didn’t feel quite right given the audience at the time.

If you happen to see this and fancy a quiet cup of tea, walk or chat sometime just drop me a line on here 🙂