Sticky Bread - a kind of fruit loaf - baked today, following an old recipe the family have used for years. Also tried a new recipe for another type, which was okay, but nothing special.

Why the photos of each? Playing about and getting to grips with my first digital camera. After over twenty years of using the same manual focus film SLR, this new camera arrived midweek... shortly before my birthday. After a year of saving up, and reading about loads of different models, finally took the plunge with a Panasonic FZ20 - a five mega pixel camera, with a twelve times zoom on it. Hard to believe it goes from the equivalent 36mm to 432mm, and all at a maximum f/2.8, in a relatively small size.  About the same at the wide end as the SLR lenses I have, but far more reach than the 300mm f/5.6 telephoto lens. Stabilised lens too.

Found the basic digital cameras at work easy to figure out how to operate, despite not having had any sophistication in the old SLR. This new beast has all sorts of unfamiliar new features that'll take a while to figure out. Keeping the manual close to hand!

The day after it arrived, we had a visit to the mill (pulp/paper) at Corpach, followed by a visit to the nearby aluminium smelter at Fort William. Was especially looking forward to taking some photos at the latter, but upon arrival we had to empty our pockets and remove all metal and electronic items - the magnetic fields generated by the process are so strong, as to likely destroy most electronic equipment, and the risk of bits of metal hurtling through the air has to be avoided. Items like rings could have high currents induced in them, and become rather hot! So no photos, but an amazing place, as is the infrastructure that leads to their hydro generating plant which powers the place.

Sadly the Corpach Mill closed a short while after our visit. It was also an impressive place, capable of producing very high quality papers.

This is obviously a back-Blip... a way, waaay, back-Blip.