On The Road Again

So, I bought a car. My first actually. I'd never had the need for full-time access to a car before. But the time finally came.

When I first started working in Fife, I found that with the hours I was working it would be easier to get a flat near work. And so I lived in Inverkeithing for a full year. No regrets - I've met some great people here and had some great nights out. My PS2 also helped pass the time. But by autumn last year I found I was working normal hours and really didn't need to stay in Fife anymore. Quite frankly, I was getting a bit bored of the same old and decided I would rather commute from Glasgow.

I first had to switch my Canadian licence to a British one. Second, find a used mid-sized car with automatic transmission, something easier said than done since the vast majority of cars here are standard transmission. The hardest part though was getting a loan to buy the car and insurance coverage. My previous credit and driving history don't count here so I was starting from scratch. It is very disheartening getting rejected again and again for loans, and getting quoted exorbitant rates for insurance.

After some perseverance (and with a little help from some good people), I finally managed to get it all sorted. I'm now commuting to work from Glasgow with my first car - a blue Ford Focus (that has yet to be named - suggestions welcome).

And of course I'm driving on the left-hand side of the road. The "drive on the left" song (courtesy Kevin) certainly came in handy the first few days!

Breaking the Routine

While a day of meetings is not normally high on my fun list, this particular day of meetings was held out of the office. More specifically at a small hotel located in the Highland town of Pitlochry. A beautiful drive through some stunning landscape, a bit of business chat for part of the day, and then a nice walk through town. There was even the chance to see the Fish Ladder which was built to allow fish to go around the dam to spawn upriver. Cool concept, but alas no fish climbing this time of year!

Burns Night

Today is the birthday of the legendary Scottish poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796). He wrote poetry by the common man for the common man, and for that reason his work still resonates today. Burns Night commemorates all things Burns, and the highlight for many is the Burns Supper, featuring song, food, drink and poetry. Alas, I won’t be attending a full Burns Supper this evening, but shall be having a traditional haggis meal at home. So, a wee excerpt from Burns’ “Address to a Haggis”:

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!

Caledonia Calling?

"The most powerful Atlantic storm to hit Scotland in more than a decade" - The Herald

"The worst sustained two weeks of weather ... seen in 20 years" - The Scotsman

Gales rattling my windows, rains soaking me to the bone, and possibly the worst week of commuting ever with cancelled trains and late buses galore.

It's good to be back!

The Journey Home

After nearly two years, I will shortly be boarding a plane to make my return trip to Canada (after a detour and long layover in Amsterdam). My adrenaline is running high at the moment – mostly from excitement to see friends and family again, but also due to the fact that it has been an extremely eventful last few days.

I’ve now moved out of Inverkeithing and have made a full-time return to living in Glasgow. This means I have committed to purchasing a car sometime in the New Year and start commuting. Currently I’m using a combination of bus, train and lifts from various generous workmates to get to and from work. It takes a long time, and it requires getting up very early. I’m very tired. The 3am rise to get to the airport tomorrow will not help.

I’ve had some serious ups and downs dealing with the British Work Permit and Immigration people. That will be a story for another day. Bottom line is that I will be back to Scotland in 2005 and able to work (eventually...).

I’ve attended my last UK concert for 2004. I went to see Morrissey again, this time at the SECC in Glasgow. I couldn’t resist – he’s the man.

I’m not packed so it will be a stressful scramble to get things sorted tonight. But it won’t be long before I’m sipping a pint of Keith’s and eating KD. It is going to be an eventful 20 days, and I can’t wait. See you on the other side of the ocean!

The Build-Up Lasted For Days

When it comes time to someday leave Scotland, one of the things I will miss the most is the sheer quantity and quality of concerts that can be found at any point throughout the year. The last few months of 2004 have been especially good...

“But I can't stop listening to the sound/Of two soft voices mended in perfection” – Kings Of Convenience, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh

Quiet is the New Loud and Riot on an Empty Street are two of the best albums I’ve bought this year. I think we knew from the beginning that this show was going to be special. Eirik from KOC came out first to welcome us and to introduce their support act (Call and Response, a Cocteau-esque band who were quite good) which was refreshingly classy. In the cosy confines of Queen's Hall, KOC’s live interpretation of their music was divine. I mean, it was perfect. The vocal and guitar harmonies were exquisite. The banter between Erlend and Eirik was wonderfully witty (and somewhat unexpected considering the melancholy of their music). And the whole vibe of the show was so warm and fuzzy – I can’t think of another way to describe it. I’ve seen a lot of amazing shows this year, but the boys from Norway put on the concert of the year this night. Sounds like the Scotsman agrees.

Robin Guthrie, The Arches, Glasgow

The Cocteau Twins are one of the all-time greatest bands, and a big part of that can be attributed to the guitar soundscapes created by Robin Guthrie. A shame this show was late Sunday after a long weekend, because my alertness was not quite where it should have been. This was an instrumental set done to film. Probably a wee bit too experimental for my tastes, but great to see the man do his thing in person nonetheless.

“You could have one day of pure and simple happiness” – Scissor Sisters, Barrowlands, Glasgow

Flamboyant costumes, songs about drag queens and “queers on the piers” and two giant dancing scissors on stilts. Not an obvious recipe for one of the most successful bands of the years, but there you have it. And with music sounding like a blender mix of classic Elton John, the Bee Gees and 70’s disco, also not an obvious recipe for music I should like. But I do. And how. To go mainstream and get Glaswegian hardmen dancing to the campiest music I’ve heard – that right there is the epitome of cool.

“It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans” – Keane, Barrowlands, Glasgow

It may not be cool to say it, but I love Keane. I love the music, the voice, the sentiment of the lyrics. But the fans have changed. To be fair, not changed, but expanded. When last I saw them, it was 500 people who really cared about the music. This time it was 2000+, but many of them seemed to be there for the hits and the pints. They were quite happy to chat and throw said pints over the crowd during the tracks with no radio airplay, pissing the rest of us off in the process. A prime example of a band you wish would be less popular and a show that would have been way more fun without the assholes. But that isn’t Keane’s fault.

“Good evening. We’re the Trills. One, two, tree, four” – The Thrills, The Academy, Glasgow

A band suffering the curse of the follow-up album after a successful debut. That’s not to say the new album is bad, just that their first was that good. I didn’t have high expectations, but a full house and positive vibes made for a great time. I daresay the band was even taken aback at the love they were getting. And you just can’t help but like the sun-shiny tunes and the “oo-wah-oo’s” in the chorus.

“So join us…” – Mull Historical Society, QMU, Glasgow

Quirky in a good way, featuring songs as varied as Tobermory Zoo to an ode to the late Dr. David Kelly. Their albums are great, the live show more so. Good old-fashioned enthusiasm from a distinctly Scottish band that may never be known outside of the UK, and not caring a bit.

The Defeat of the Tartan Army

I was one of thousands who recently descended upon Hampden Park in Glasgow to catch a first round World Cup qualifier match between Scotland and Norway. We got our tickets early, and as a result had seats that were practically on the pitch. Unfortunately, not only did Scotland lose 1-0, but truth be told it was one of the most boring sporting matches I've ever seen. And that's coming from a guy who has been to more than a few baseball games.

Since this game, Scotland drew 0-0 with Moldova (who?) which effectively kills of their chances to qualify for the World Cup. There's a lot of talk in the papers about the poor manager, and the inexperience of the team, injuries, blah blah blah.

Quite frankly, this all bores me to tears. What I did find interesting though was the non-sporting elements.

First off, the game was at noon, but that did not stop at least half the crowd from getting totally pissed beforehand. We stopped at a pub on the way to meet friends and the pints and whisky shots were being thrown back like nobody's business.

Second, the number of police officers and security. Scotland international games are not known for their trouble. But that apparently doesn't prevent half of Glasgow's police force turning up to keep the peace. The section housing the Norwegian fans was completely surrounded by officers in bright yellow uniforms. Actually, maybe that's the reason there isn't trouble...

But perhaps most entertaining are the fans themselves. The chants, singing and general support for Scotland during the first half was incredible. After Norway scored in the second half, most of the crowd proceeded to turn on their own team, bombarding them with insults.

All-in-all, the football was a bust. But to witness the sheer creativity the Scottish football fan uses to incorporate the word "fuck" into every sentence - now that was worth the price of admission alone.

He’s Playing Where?

The joy of coincidence. While my parents were over, we had been having a few drinks at the flat and listening to Hayden’s latest album Elk Lake Serenade. My father seemingly took a shine to it, so upon returning to Canada he took a look at Hayden’s web site where he noticed that Hayden would be playing in Darvel, Scotland in a few weeks time as part of the Darvel Music Festival. My father very kindly relayed this fact to me, and glad I was too because this was the first I’d heard of it. Not just of Hayden’s performance, but of the festival and the town too. Even after I found out, I tried in vain to find a single reference to this festival in any of the publications that I’d have thought might make mention of it (The List, the Scotsman, The Herald).

It turns out Darvel is a small town in Ayrshire, about an hours drive west of Glasgow. And so it came to be that a few Friday’s ago Fiona and I found ourselves getting a lift from Fiona’s parents (who strangely enough were convinced to attend!) to Darvel to see Hayden in what turned out to be his first ever Scottish gig.

The festival itself was being held in the Town Hall, and - much like the town itself – had clearly seen better days. There couldn’t have been more than 100 people there, most of them older locals who clearly had never heard of the artists but were just happy that something was actually happening in town. But looking around, I could see the odd person around my age who quite clearly was a Canadian backpacker or expat.

It felt very surreal when Hayden finally took the stage – part of me couldn’t be convinced that he’d actually be here of all places. And man was he ever good. The intimacy of the situation (it felt like a High School coffeehouse) made the music that much more beautiful. The fact that we were in the middle of nowhere Scotland in the most bizarre venue ever only heightened the special feel of the night.

But a tip for the festival organisers – if you're going to land someone like Hayden, you may wish to think about spending a few extra quid on some promotion.

20 Months Later

It has been a while, but after a long time apart I’ve finally seen my parents in person again. We had just over a week to see and do a lot of things – but despite the time restraints I think it went brilliantly. There were many good intentions to see lots of historical sites and museums, but it seemed to be the case that a few (or more than a few) pints in the Scottish pubs always proved to be more of a draw. Aren't they always?

That said, we still managed to cover a lot of territory. Among the many highlights:

- A windy afternoon in St. Andrews to check out the Old Course and
to get a sense of the vibe of the town centre
- A beautiful drive through the Cairngorms to Braemar
- A great B&B and pub in the town of Braemar itself
- A cold and windy walk up Morrone Hill outside Braemar, with fabulous views all around.
- A trip to the Glenlivet Distillery, complete with our lovely tour guide Grace and her even lovelier Highland accent
- A stay in the town of Nairn on the Moray Firth where we had a delicious meal of chicken with stuffed haggis
- A visit to Inverness, and a drive along the banks of Loch Ness with another visit to Castle Urquhart
- A stay in the brilliant Clachaig Inn which contains one of the cosiest pubs I’ve ever been to – rafters and a fireplace and homebrew and whisky, oh my!
- The Buachaille Etive Beag circuit in Glencoe, 14 miles and 8 hours through both boggy and rugged terrain but with some of the most breathtaking views I’ve yet seen. I’m well impressed with my folks as they’d never done anything like it before.
- Learning that my mother is the worst back seat driver in history. Hmm, maybe not a highlight that one…

All that plus a few days to poke around Glasgow to take in all that it has to offer.

Hopefully they will be back before another twenty months goes by. Great Glen Way next year perchance?

"The play's the thing..."

The power of teachers cannot be understated. A good teacher who is passionate about the subject matter they teach can impart the same passion to the student so that after the course is over and exams written, the subject remains as a lifelong interest.

I was fortunate to have two excellent English teachers in high school whose love of Shakespeare was such that it turned what could have been a dry exercise into something that I looked forward to on a daily basis. And so it is that years later I still enjoy the study of his work and seeing it performed on stage.

I was therefore very excited to finally be visiting the Bard's birthplace and the centre for all things Shakespearean, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

While naturally a touristy place, it still retains much of its Elizabethan charm. Many buildings dating back to Shakespeare's time, including his birthplace and that of his wife Anne Hathaway, remain and have been wonderfully restored.


Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Some truly excellent old pubs (dating back several hundred years) such as the Windmill Inn and the Black Swan were great places to escape the periodic showers. A visit to Shakespeare's grave in the 13th-century built Holy Trinity Church was necessary if only to read the epitaph on the grave that Shakespeare had written himself before death: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear/To dig the dust enclosèd here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones/And cursed be he that moves my bones." Always the dramatist, even in death.

And of course, no trip would be complete without catching a play from the Royal Shakespeare Company in the old theatre on the banks of the Avon. In fact, we managed to catch two: King Lear, starring Corin Redgrave, and Hamlet (which was especially excellent).


The River Avon