transitions and endinburgh

I seem to be involved in a perpetual state of transition at the moment.
People coming, people going; milestones; seasons turning...

It's a funny feeling because my entire time here in Glasgow has been held at ransom by the countdown of my return. I have always felt my time here to be a surreal reality- some kind of hiccup in my normal life. Some kind of mistake- how the hell is it legit' that I get to come to the other side of the world, make such amazing new friends, see such beautiful and interesting scenes and get 'credit' for 'attending' university? I know I am returning to normal/usual life and that makes everything here seem strange/unusual. But things are definitely changing. Which means there has been some kind of pattern of living that I have slipped into that makes the strange and unusual quite normal... Talking in circles... I'm happy here and now this transition is going on all around me I feel a bit uneasy...

Mum came and went. It was a 30 year gap between visits but she made it back to Scotland and I think she really enjoyed herself. It was a shame about the Ireland trip not working out but we had a lovely trip to Arran (mum took the photos home with her so have no pics to share) and to Edinburgh. We did a tour of the Real Mary King Close in EddieB which was really good. Edinburgh was built UP rather than OUT. When they built the new Royal Exchange building they just cut off 4 stories of houses and closed off the streets and built above it. The old houses and streets are sitting abandoned under the Royal Mile. Amazing. They used to make wall plaster from horse hair (to keep it all together and stick to the wooden walls), water and ash from cremated humans (steady ash supply thanks to The Black Plague). We walked up to Calton Hill, which is on the 'new' side of town and looks out over the Firth of Forth to the north, and the city and Arthur's Seat to the south.
We saw big fluffy bumble bees, Italian tourists (Scuzi!) and a film crew doing a film where the protagonist plays violin. Here is mum explaining the world and all it's appendages to moi. Mum made it back home safe but apparently is badly jet lagged. I am not looking forward to that one.

Ben's little sister Emma turned 21 on Thursday. She is such a gorgeous girl, really nice. I felt very lucky to be involved in her special bday celebrations. There was mother and father and brother Davis, and boyfriend Godron, and Grandma and Grandpa Davis came up from southern England. And me. We went to a Michellin starred restaurant in Edinburgh and were all put up for the night in a hotel. Pretty amazing! And I have never, ever, ever come across food like it.
The restaurant is Kitchin, run by Tom Kitchin (judge on British Master Chef finale if that helps anyone?). The flavours were like nothing I've ever had before. Look at the menu via the link: I had crab for starter, red mullet with garlic gnocci and seared squid for main, and then pistachio soufflé with pistachio ice cream for dessert. Crickey!
So happy 21st to Emma :)

Eastcoast, westcoast; doon the bottom

Thursday morning. Woke up hung over. There was a glint of sunshine cutting through the blinds. Only one thing for it- BEACH! Ben and I jumped on the train and sped to the Scottish west coast. Ayr. Water was bloody freezing! We found a ball on the train and had a kick about. Waves for the soul. Irn Bru for the soul. Tea in Troon and a lovely seat for sunset that evening.
Next day I again hopped on the train, this time heading east to Edinburgh. Met Carl and Nicole for dinner. Ben came through about 9pm after he'd finished work. Met up with Mikey who had been occupied playing Ziggy Stardust that evening, but beyond the remnants of glitter and eyeliner that Mikey is one rad dude. We drank and were merry in a very cool bar (BRASS MONKEY. If you're in Edinburgh look it up, go there, and enjoy it). My poor attempt at finding the hostel without map was forgiven or forgotten. Next day Ben and I conquered gale force winds to ascend to the top of Arthur's Seat and survey the fine city of Edinburgh below. So windy. So, so windy. Nice bit of gradient if I do say so myself. Good work team!Mikey, Vera, Ben and I headed north to the Firth of Forth for some solid bridge action. Satisfying.


I have also been to Wales of late. Swansea. It's like the rejected sibling of Cardiff (the capitol of Wales). It's not as big or modern but one of the only other cities that can compete with Cardiff. It has the national swimming pool, a big stadium, big shopping complex, a nice beach with one of the biggest tides in the world (we walked for 15 min and never found the water. And in that time we'd necked our 6 pound bottle of vodka/hedgehog piss. drunkface. 12 hours out.) It was the centre of Wales' industrial revolution, being the main port for copper and iron ore and other things which come out of the ground. Here are some pics of Wales. I have no idea how to pronounce the road sign. Ah, Welsh. You're one manky language!


Like all good field trips some good mates were made. 2 days of human geography involved harassing locals at the new docklands. Worked with Paul Routlage. Most animated lecturer I've ever had. Apparently he's banned from India because of his lose ties with outlawed activists. I think his thing is climate change and Bangladeshi refugees but he really knows his stuff when it comes to 'sense of place in the redeveloped Docklands marina area of Swansea since the early 1980s'. Chair. He was also very funny. Unfortunately I think our senses of humour where a little skewed and didn't quite align. He thought I was weird. I think he's weird. Probably both right.

My buddy for the first day, Paddy, was a total wegie legend! He even shared the same birthday as me! Unfortunately he was left behind on the bus on the third day of the field trip when we got to go out into the field. megasadface. Actually 3 people were left behind in Glasgow coz they missed the bus, then a few missed the days of work in Swansea because they were still drunk/slept in/too late, and then on Good Friday when we left at 7.30 am 3 people were left to find their own way back to Glasgow from Swansea (corresponding with a rail strike and Easter holiday, this was a pretty shit move by the organisers but they made it clear the whole way through that they wouldn't compromise on tardiness. Late = bus gone). We went out on the town a few nights. Greg- mover and shaker- worded up a nightclub manager on our first night and we got free in and free pizza and free upstairs or something to a club in the main drag. Wed night was hellish. Student night. Bare skin and underagers crawling through the streets like a bad case of locusts cutting through Wagga Wagga. Poor to begin with and quite unsightly throughout. Paul Routlage danced like it was 1992 and the rave scene had just taken off. Amazing. Unfortunately on the last night 2 lovely girls had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance because of possible drink spiking. Duno, but shite end to the week, poor things.

A couple of special mentions also go to Meadhbh (that's Irish for M-A-V-E) who kindly showed me around Belfast a few days later, and to Scott from Derry who somehow put up with my drunken ramblings and helped fill me in on the blanks. Kenny had the most amazing Paisley accent I've ever heard and when we meet again I'm recording a tale from him just to share it with you all. There was an English girl there who beat all the boys at pint skulling. PROSH PROSH PROSH! She also experienced some pretty unwarranted racism (not the right word- prejudice??) from the Welsh when she was interviewing people for the Human Geog component. When she would ask Welsh people questions they would either completely ignore her and only speak to the Scottish students or would refuse to answer any questions at all and leave. Strong reactions of the Welsh towards the English.


Long one.
Time out.
Dahl for tea.
x

William Wallace is a Judas Priest fan

A big day out in Edinburgh.
A look at the uni, The Royal Mile and JK Rolling's stomping ground, a hearty meal at The Mosque, castle peaking and vintage clothes shopping. I can understand why tourists go to Edinburgh before Glasgow; it's relatively compact and very, very pretty.
Lots of buskers. Here are my favourites.
Apologies for poor videoing.

Cliff from Oklahoma, a man of baffling eccentricities, talks to William Wallace outside Edinburgh Castle. As the video cuts out, Wallace reels off a list of gigs and in which year he saw the epic bands play.


Sax under a bridge. Amazing acoustics. Average footage.