T in the Park 2005

We were a bit delicate after the wedding the night previous, so perhaps enthusiasm wasn’t as high as it should have been. But hey - it’s T!



Saturday

Leaves - Melodic Icelandic epic rock. Or something. I managed to find a spot on the grass to catch this set. Good stuff.

Embrace - British radio-friendly, inoffensive rock. Apparently they’ve been around since the Britpop days, but I’d never heard of them until recently. I won’t be rushing out to buy their albums, but the singalong choruses and enthusiastic crowd made this an enjoyable set.

The Killers - The band is certainly a polished live act. Great songs. But against my better judgement I was coerced to make my way right up close to the stage. And as much as I tried to enjoy myself, I found I was more concerned with trying to stay vertical and avoid the combination of flying half-full beer cups and the limbs of overly enthusiastic drunken people.

Doves - Just the remedy I needed. A crowd that was more enthusiastic about the music rather than the need to get pissed and mug for the BBC cameras. I think Doves are one of those bands you need to see live to fully appreciate their music. Brilliant sound, and the band seemed legitimately pleased with the rapturous crowd reaction. I got the shivers when they played the superb “Black and White Town”. Easily the highlight of the day, and among the best of the festival.

James Brown - A half-hour delay in a far too overstuffed King Tuts tent at the end of the night when the punters are drunk and/or tired is not a way to start your set. People were booing loudly before the MC finally came out - who proceeds to introduce the guitarist, then the brass section, then the background singers. People were getting angry now. Our man James finally comes out, sings a few lines, then starts dancing and playing the keyboard while the background singers take lead. I was far too tired to bother. I'll be honest - I only wanted to hear “Sex Machine“, and it didn‘t appear to be forthcoming. Save the energy for tomorrow!

Sunday

Athlete - After a proper sleep, I was feeling so much better and well up for the day. And what a better way to kick it off? Hot sun, the first cold pint in hand, an appreciative crowd, and a brilliant band with their killer tunes. Lovely.

Sons & Daughters - Fun homegrown country-flavoured indie rock. And who knew the singer was so hot? Bonus.

Snoop Dogg - Thoroughly enjoyable, but couldn’t possibly be taken too seriously. We got all the requisite hip-hop stage banter (“Everybody say hooo - say ho-ho - now scream!”). My personal favourite - “Let’s hear some noise Edinburgh!” - which was funny considering we weren’t anywhere near Edinburgh. The image of thousands of pink sunburned Scottish arms waving their arms to Gin and Juice was the keeper though. My ass did shake, and I couldn’t help but do the ascending “Snoooooo-oop!” bit from “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. Fo’ shizzle.

The Dears - Made me proud to be Canadian. They sounded fantastic, and the live version of “22: The Death of All the Romance” had me buzzing for the rest of the day. The tent was criminally under populated though - for shame Scotland!



Bloc Party - One of this year’s buzz bands to be sure, but rightfully so. Their debut album “Silent Alarm” has been one of those albums that sounds better with every listen. Their live act was good and will only get better in time. One of the best rhythm sections of any band I’ve ever heard.

Travis - What can I say? Classic festival stuff. They've got the tunes and the stage presence. Fran was as entertaining as ever, and all their stuff went down a treat. Nothing beats hearing "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" live with a Scottish crowd singing along.

The Go! Team - Unadulterated glee! Never has a band more justified having an exclamation mark in their name. Have loved their sound ever since Mike included some of their stuff on a mix CD he sent. Who’d of thought it would translate so well live? Pure fun, and the energy from vocalist Ninja was infectious. The whole tent was dancing enough to do any nightclub proud.

Green Day - We caught part of their set while wolfing down some dodgy food. OK I suppose.

Art Brut - Have been hooked ever since I heard “Formed A Band” (Mike - thanks again!). Some of the best lyrics this side of Morrissey. Sound mix was terrible though. Would love to see them in a club gig.

And so ends another year of T. Glastonbury is taking a hiatus next year so T will be the festival of choice for a lot more people. Should be interesting to see how they handle it.

Piper Down

Pretty crazy weekend starting with two nights up in Aberdeen for the wedding of Alison (whom some of you may know as one of the Scottish Girls from Rouen) and Campbell. The brilliant weather continues, so we were sipping champagne outside before the reception (as one does). The evening was a Ceilidh, and I was up Highland dancing with the best of them despite not having a clue what I was doing. Kind of like square dancing with more jumping and yelling. And how better to show of the kilt? I went with the Modern Douglas tartan this time.



After such a brilliant (late) night, it was tough to get up and head directly down to Kinross for this year's T in the Park. Saturday was a bit of write-off, but Sunday was absolutely fantastic. Full review to follow!

GGW Day 5

Drumnadrochit - Inverness (18 miles)

The final stretch! It was to be a tiring 18 miles through some pretty barren terrain, but knowing that this was our final day was more than enough incentive.

Once again, the day would begin with a big climb, and as always with a great payoff. This time it was a view of the castle across Urquhart Bay.



We walked through plantations and farms before joining a road which we followed for many miles through especially barren but scenic terrain.



The path then took a turn through a lovely stretch of forest which allowed us to escape the wind for a spell.



Once emerging from the forest, we were able to see Inverness (our final destination!) in the valley below. As is always the way, it didn't look far but it would be hours before we actually got there. At first we thought that whomever designed the route must have been having a bit of a laugh at the end since we were sent walking through car parks and the suburbs for no apparent reason. But it all became clear with the final mile, a beautiful stretch through the wooded Ness Islands and then along the banks of the River Ness before climbing to our final destination at the foot of Inverness Castle. 74 miles and 5 days later, we had done it!

We had faced danger...


...and had experienced pain...


...but it was all worth it when we saw this...


...but especially this!

GGW Day 4

Invermoriston - Drumnadrochit (14 miles)

No easing into this day. A very steep climb up and up first thing to get the juices flowing. A great payoff as always though with a panorama of Loch Ness and the surrounding hills, complete with a natural stone seat to rest on.



After a quick decent, we joined a forest road for more climbing. Zigzagging to and fro up the hills proved to be a hell of a workout.



But at various points we treated ourselves to a wee rest and admired the view. Or posed for pictures.



After a stroll through woodland, we then hit mercifully flatter terrain through a series of old farmhouses then ruggedly beautiful moorland awash with heather.



A few miles on, we began the decent to the town of Drumnadrochit (on my Top Most Scottish-Sounding Places list, beaten only by Auchenshuggle). Had a great post-walk day here. Great dinner at Fiddlers (which was also our B&B, run by a bloke who knew his whisky), and pints at this pub off the beaten track with the locals. We were convinced to stay for the pub quiz, and were convincingly beaten by every other team. The quizmaster even gave us prizes for being so bad. All this, plus a pre-dinner visit to Castle Urquhart which was just down the road. Good times all around!

GGW Day 3

Fort Augustus - Invermoriston (8 miles)

Something a bit more leisurely on this day, walking along a forest road with some killer views of Loch Ness.





It took just over 4 hours to get to our destination of Invermoriston, so we had some time to explore the village that afternoon. An old bridge built by Thomas Telford in the early 1800's (he built over 120 in the Highlands alone) was especially picturesque.



Our accommodation was fabulous - Lann Dearg Studios - which provided studio apartments with great views (the photo below taken from our window). After three solid days of walking and eating from pubs, it was nice to have a simple meal of pasta and a couple of beers (I much enjoyed my Aviemore Sheepshaggers Gold).



On an unrelated note...
The Weezer show was great. A total love-in from a great crowd. The band might never produce another Blue Album, but the live experience shows they are still one of the best. They seemingly enjoyed it as well!

'Tis The Season

The concert season is finally heating up after a bit of a slow few months (with the notable exception of the Teenage Fanclub gig a few months ago - great tunes, love the harmonies, and great new album).

The line up for T in the Park is now complete. Can't say I was as excited about it as previous years at first, but looking at the line-up in its entirity I'm certainly excited now. Keane, The Killers, The Coral, Doves, James Brown (good gawd!), Super Furries, Travis, Athlete, Bloc Party, The Dears and Art Brut are my initial picks - but lots of potential wildcards.

Have also booked two shows for T on the Fringe, The Pixes with Teenage Fanclub and Idlewild as well as a great double-bill featuring Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire.

And this Friday marks my first time seeing the mighty Weezer in concert. But at what a cost! I had to give up seeing Buck 65 at King Tut's the same night....

GGW Day 2

Gairlochy - Fort Augustus (23 miles)

We started the day off with a walk along the banks of Loch Lochy. It was one of those Scottish mornings where the mist and fog hangs over the hills to create that quintessential celtic atmosphere. The vividness of colour in the forests, especially along the Kilfinnan Wood section, was something straight out of Tolkien.





Near the north end of the loch lies Kilfinnan Farm. Perched right on the loch-shore, under the towering hills, and surrounded by lush farmland, it was a pure delight to behold.



After crossing the Laggan Locks, we followed the stretch of canal which connects Loch Lochy to Oich. From here the path follows a dismantled railway line right along the banks of the loch. The weather earlier this year had been quite volatile, and could be witnessed along this stretch as many sections of the track had been covered by landslides. It was melancholic following the old railway line as we could see the bridges, tunnels and old houses train staff would have used now all abandoned and never to be used again. We never met a single person on this stretch.



We rejoined the canal at the north bank of Loch Oich, and finished the day at Fort Augustus located on the southern bank of Loch Ness.



A long day and very tiring, but entirely rewarding. Every imaginable bit of terrain over 9-10 hours. The pub that night, coal fire and home brew, was most enjoyable.

GGW Day 1

Fort William - Gairlochy (11 Miles)

The day began with a trip from Glasgow to Fort William on the always spectacular West Highland rail line. From the starting obelisk at Fort William, we quickly came to the 13th-century built Inverlochy Castle.



The first few miles weren't of much note, but did provide great views of Ben Nevis.



The majority of our first day followed the Caledonia Canal. The canal, completed in 1822, connects Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy thus permitting water travel from Fort William to Inverness. There are a total of 29 locks in all, and the first we came across was one of the more impressive. Neptune's Staircase - a series of eight locks in total, large enough to accommodate sea vessels.



We spent our first night in the town of Gairlochy, located right on the south bank of the magnificent Loch Lochy. We took it easy that night as our biggest day was to be the next!

Canadian Invasion

Amazing how fast 12 days flies by! Had a great visit with my Dad, brothers Ian and Cam and their girlfriends Amy and Britney. Everybody managed to cover an awful lot in a short space of time on their respective adventures. I personally managed a trip up to Loch Lomond, a few days on Mull and Iona with Dad, a day in the pubs of Glasgow and a brilliant wee BBQ chez the Scottish Wilson's. These were all great book-ends to the main event:



The Great Glen Way! Dad, Cam, Fiona and I covered the 74-mile journey over a five day period. Every type of conceivable weather was thrown at us, and the terrain was quite tough at times. But at all times the view was spectacular as were the pints at the end of the day. Shall post some pics from each of the days over the next little while.

Joining the Ranks Of Their Databanks

My last few days of work before my two-week holiday brought me an unexpected surprise. I was presented with my passport and at long last a full set of documentation allowing me to officially live and work in the UK.

I have to say that the whole experience was much more involved and time-consuming than I ever would have expected. Given the Commonwealth relationship between Canada and the UK, as well as the fact that the Scottish Parliament has repeatedly stated they are very keen to have people base themselves in Scotland (due to a diminishing population and skilled labour shortage), I would have thought getting the paperwork would be somewhat of a formality.

But there have been many tense moments where I thought it wasn't going to work out. There was some concern over whether or not I would qualify for a work visa. Legally, my employer had to repost my job to ensure there was nobody local that was qualified. After qualifying for a work visa, the system was changed so that a working visa no longer automatically meant you had the right to stay or even enter the country (leave to remain) thus requiring another application. I had to really make my case to get back into the country after my Christmas return to Canada. There was a good month where both myself and my employer determined that it would be necessary for me to sit at home, not legally allowed to work despite a work visa, pending my leave to remain application (luckily we found an exception for my particular visa). At all times, the spectre of being rejected by the Home Office lurked. I had heard many stories where an applicant would be rejected and forced to leave, regardless of how settled they were. And of course, I've been without a passport for months now, already having to pass on two trips outwith the UK.

But it worked out, and I'm incredibly grateful for it. While I still don't have all the same rights as a full British citizen, I can now live my life without a latent fear that it will all suddenly disappear before my very eyes.

I've also put things in perspective. One of my friends is trying to arrange for his Filipino girlfriend to come to the UK, but it has so far proven absolutely impossible. He laments that if it took this much carry-on for a Canadian to work in the UK, what chance do people from Third World nations have? Is it any wonder that people try to buck the system completely and work illegally? When I think about it in these terms, my personal situation really doesn't seem like a bother at all.

Though I can't help but think what comes next? My paperwork is only good for 18 months. If I choose to stay, I'll have to start the process again this time next year...

Anyway, I better get on with things! I have a mini-Canadian invasion coming my way as my Dad, brothers Cam and Ian, and Ian's girlfriend arrive tomorrow morning. A wee tour of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and then the Great Glen Way for five days, then a road trip. Shall be busy but will absolutely brilliant. Many stories and pics to come no doubt.