Daily life

I know I said that the next post would be about our trip to Inveraray, and the next one will be, but today I just wanted to write about something current and not a month ago.
For the past two weeks, I have had a bit of temp office work at a small company that runs a training program to help people set up their own businesses. The work itself I was doing was easy if a bit tedious, but I didn't mind a bit. Because I felt, for two days out of the week, like I was a part of the fabric of Glasgow working life. I was participating in a well worn routine of coffee breaks, office banter and 3:30pm chocolate fixes. Its a routine I've become fairly familiar with over the past 8 years and my sporadic bursts of temping. And in the past two weeks its been very comforting. In fact in the mornings, after a crowded, but short, subway ride (they call it the subway here, not the tube like in London) to Buchanan Street and a block walk to George Square (pretty much the heart of the City Centre) I was so ... happy. I was very possibly the ONLY person smiling as I walked to work in the rain.
The people at the office where I was working were so very very nice. Dead friendly. And genuine. I think it was also really good for me to be in an environment like that, listening to everyone talk to each other casually all day, to be able to further get used to the accents. Just like there are Mississauga or Scarborough dialects in Toronto, there is a Paisley dialect in Glasgow. Two of the people in the office were from Paisley, and so is someone I volunteer with at the Heart Foundation Charity shop. So I'm starting to recognize some key sounds.
Yes, I'd say I'm settling in . And one of the most important things about settling in that I really realized this week, was how much I have underestimated my need to feel I belong. To a community here. To daily life here.
Yup.

Exploring Glasgow

A good part of our lovely Christmas/New Year's holiday was spent just hanging out with each other, both curled up at home with our cats and exploring our new city. There are many parts of it still unknown to us, so we ventured further east and further south on a couple of occasions.

Our easterly visit took us to Glasgow Cathedral, the Necropolis and to the Museum of Religious Life. Across from the Museum is also the oldest standing house in Glasgow, the Lordship Provender, where legend has it Mary Queen of Scots stayed for a few nights and wrote some rather incriminating letters that linked her to her second husband's murder. We were hoping for a tour of the house, but it was unfortunately closed due to lack of staff, said the note on the door. So we started out with the Museum, which is well worth a visit if you come to Glasgow. Not only does it have a floor devoted to religion in Scotland, and the wide varieties thereof, and the interesting and intense history thereof, but it has quite a few lovely artifacts and displays of religions of the world. Once through, we ate some homemade sandwiches we packed along, and then headed over to the Necropolis. Its a large cemetery opened up in the 1800's when Glasgow's population was starting to boom. It is clearly a cemetery for the gentry however with its large family mausoleums and giant monuments. Very beautiful as it spirals up a large hill with spectacular views of the city. But this was clearly not the resting place of all the Glaswegians who were living in the slums of the 1860's and dying of dysentery and cholera. Sorry, I guess I just have to get political about everything, but that's not hard to do here. There is such a strong leftist history to this city that is very interesting - parliamentary fears of a Bolshevik uprising in the late teens, famous labour strikes in the 30's and 70's, trade unions as major cultural supporters throughout the 70's and 80's giving rise to some strong political theatre and art, just for some examples. But I digress. I was talking about the beautiful monuments...
Then there is Glasgow Cathedral, with its ancient origins, the tomb of St. Mungo (who died in the 6thC) in the lower crypt, the 14thC Sacristy with its original oak door (a plaque on the wall points out the bullet holes which it gives as evidence of "troubled times", namely Reformation related sectarian violence, which continued on and off for about 300 years, actually more like 500+ years if you consider the Rangers/Celtics football rivalries. Rangers are the Protestant team and Celtics are the Catholic team, both Glaswegian, and there have been some pretty nasty things happen to fans caught alone in the wrong neighborhood.) (Another diversion, sorry.) My point was that the Cathedral is not very big but it is very old and very interesting, another must see for visitors.

As for our southerly excursion, that was after New Year's, and we went to Pollok Park, which is near the districts of Crossmyloof and Strathbungo. Its true.
The park is a very large estate donated to the city of Glasgow in the 60's and features lovely walking trails through various meadows and fields where giant long-horn Highland cattle graze (in the middle of the city!!) and two buildings of interest, Pollok House, which is a 18thC manor house (which we didn't go inside, because we were a bit short on time and hungry) and the Burrell Museum which houses the extraordinary collection of artifacts collected by William Burrell, a rich Victorian guy who really liked tapestries. He has a lot of other things too, but his medieval tapestry collection is really amazing. It is just such a lovely place to walk too. Aaron says it was voted the best park in Europe. Thus another highly recommended place to take visiting family and friends.

Pictures: Top Left - View to the south-west from the Necropolis, Top Right - Gateway to Pollok Park, Bottom Right - North Kelvin Meadow on a misty late afternoon


Next post: (working backwards here) Our pre-Christmas trip to Inveraray.

Its a New Year!

I had a chat with my mother-in-law on the phone the other day, who commented on my post about how difficult a transition this can be sometimes, moving to a new country and trying to settle in and all. And she said she thought it was good that I didn't try to avoid the truth that sometimes it isn't all wine and roses. (well, no wine at all for me these days actually...) I appreciated this feedback a lot. Now I don't feel I have to, or even could for that matter, stick to a particular portrayal of our/my experience here, which would frankly be pretty difficult seeing as something is always changing, both circumstances and perspectives.

After our Christmas and New Year's holiday for example, I felt a kind of peace or settled-ness that I had been wanting to feel since I arrived. I attribute this partly to the really good times I got to spend with Aaron, some of our new friends like John and Vibeke (who is from Norway), and a friend from my high school/university days in Edmonton, Sheila, who is doing a post-doc in Bristol, but came up to Glasgow for Christmas holidays.
We only hosted Sheila in our flat for a couple of nights since our couch is short, she has cat allergies, and she was spending Christmas proper with some other friends, but she was playing part of her vacation by ear, and we ended up spending much more time together than anticipated and had a really lovely visit. One day, we saw a play at the very interesting city centre venue called The Arches, which makes use of a huge and varied space beneath the Central train station, then we window shopped in some Goth-y stores, found our way to Winterfest in George Square where we had hot chocolate and marshmallows, and then topped it all off by going for sushi!!! (nothing raw for me of course, but still it is one of my favorites...) Aaron and I then the next day took Sheila to a small, slightly hidden tea house in the University area called Tchai-ovna, which, as it outlines is their 16 page menu, compiled in a small binder, was inspired by popular student tea houses in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Their variety of teas is overwhelming and it is truly a bohemian atmosphere where 3 hours can pass quietly and quickly by in easy conversation and comfy chairs. Sheila and I had to go back again the following day.

Then there was Christmas and Hogmanay (New Years) with John (a fellow student Aaron met on his first week here and who quickly became a real "mate") and his girlfriend Vibeke. John is from Yorkshire, in the northern part of England, and is doing his degree here in Economic Social History. He has been a welder by trade for years, and welded Aaron's broken Oilers key chain for him. His lovely girlfriend from Norway, and who is doing her PhD in Middle English, is named Vibeke Jensen. John apparently chuckled the first time Aaron told him what my name was. I have been tempted recently to call her "Veebs", but I don't know how that will fly.
We were invited over to John's flat for a fabulous (and apparently traditional) Christmas roast beef dinner, which also featured a traditional Norweigan snack - a kind of lamb jerky, which Aaron really tucked into. I was a little surprised when Vibeke told us about it and then proceeded to pull an entire leg (hip to heel) of dried lamb out of a sack, but I think Aaron enjoyed the carve-your-own approach.
We also spent New Year's with them at the Park Bar, a Highlander/Islander's pub which we had been to before, and which John favours in his preference for traditional "Old Man" pubs. There was live music all night, some classics played like "Dirty Old Town" and "We will die or be free cried the Bruce",and there was even some impromptu country dancing. Then at midnight, lots of kissing, and "Auld Lang Syne" played on the bagpipes. This might have been a time when I could have had that one glass of wine that people say you can have once or twice during your pregnancy, but I still feel weird about it so I didn't. But I had a grand time any way with my three gingerales!
It was a really great and fun night, and was a good way to start the New Year, with friends, with music and with a lot of laughter.

Next postings: Some holiday outings around Glasgow with Aaron, and our pre-Christmas weekend in Invarary.

Merry Christmas 2008!

Just a quick (slightly post-Christmas) post to say Happy Holidays to all, Peace on Earth, and to all a good night!
We've had a real Charlie Brown Christmas here - a tiny tree, a carol sing (at the church with the choir), and some quiet times. We've also had three brilliant dinners with new and excellent friends and many good phone chats with family. Its the first Christmas we've ever spent alone, and it was very different, but it was still a good one.
As the holidays continue to roll along with Boxing Day and the weekend coming up, we just want to wish you all a happy, safe and peaceful time this week, with lots of lovely snow, as we have had a very green Christmas and we hear that the entire country of Canada, for better or worse, is covered with a beautiful blanket of white. Sounds like classic Christmas!

Back in the Saddle

Afeared of losing the faith of the lovely people who follow this blog, I have finally returned to make a post. I don't feel like I have a very valid excuse for my long absence. But I feel the need to come clean about a few things in an effort to explain my procrastination.

One - is fairly straightforward. The first three weeks after I arrived, I was allowing myself some time to unwind, "de-stress" from the move and explore my new surroundings. Then I started looking for a job, and this has eaten up time I used to spend in quiet cafes writing my blog.

Two - is somewhat unexpected and shameful. We finally got internet at home three weeks ago. One might think that this would make blogging so much easier, but the truth is when I used to have to go to a cafe for internet, I would usually have a time limit, even if it was just the amount of time I could manage to sit at a table with only a tea and not feel guilty about using the free wireless. Hence, there was no idle surfing, no You Tube visits, no Word Twist games on Facebook. I had to write my blogs in advance and post them, then answer and send emails, post pictures, all in under a couple of hours. Now... the procrasto possibilities are endless. Sad. But true.

Three - is a good thing. I have filled up my schedule with some activities that now involve more of my time. Besides the job search, which so far has been fruitless although there is much more searching to do, I have started volunteering once a week for the British Heart Foundation at their charity shop on Byres Road. There are lots of these "charity shops" here, which are second hand stores which accept donations like Goodwill or the Sally Ann, but they tend to be fairly small and are run by a variety of charities, like Oxfam (they have their own secondhand bookshop) or Cancer Research Society or one called Pets without Vets. There are plenty of others too and they seem to do a fairly good business.
I have also joined a choir at a lovely church down the street from us, that has a fantastic choir director and does really challenging music. Its been quite fun joining just before Christmas as we are doing all kinds of great arrangements of wonderful carols. Its a really amazing place to sing too. And there are lots of interesting, "artsy" people in the choir.
And I've been going to a knitting group too. It just meets once every two weeks and I missed one session, but the woman who set it up runs a great wool shop nearby and is from Toronto! We didn't get too much time to talk about that but she said to come by her shop sometime and have a chat. I'm clearly the novice of the group, but that's kind of nice. There's lots to work up to, and it has been revealed that some projects that I always thought would be really hard, like socks, turn out to be not very hard, but just might take me a while. There's also something really cool and earthy almost about sitting in a small circle of women, who are all knitting and just having a chat. No one seems to know anyone else really well, its just a friendly group.

Four - (gee, I didn't realize there were so many!) is not as good but is something I should talk about. Its just that sometimes I have gotten bogged down, shall we say. The weather is something that can be depressing. In fact today was the first day in 5 that we saw any sun, and boy did I feel a difference. Also, there are times its been hard not to get lonely. Aaron has been really busy writing a chapter of his paper, and so there were many times this past month where I spent quite a bit of time alone. It was better if I was out and about but times where my energy was drained and it was hard to leave the apartment even for a walk were isolating. And, I know I've talked about this before, but the combination of the gray days and the short days (I am going to truly be celebrating the Solstice this year) has made it hard to maintain momentum sometimes. In short, I have been struggling somewhat. But a very good and wise friend of mine said to me before I left that even though moving to Scotland was an amazing opportunity and I would have an incredible time, there would be times when it would be crap. It was really good for me to hear that because its true. And although I have many many moments here when I am in love with everything around me and still in awe of what views come into focus just as I'm walking down the street, sometimes it is crap. And not to admit that is just too much pressure.

Five - (last but not least) is something that definitely has affected me a lot over the past month and which I am very very happy about. To some of you this is not news and to others it is big news, but I am happy to finally reveal that I am pregnant and due in mid May. In fact I am at 18 weeks, or four months, and everything is going well so far. I have had a lot of digestive challenges as symptoms of the pregnancy but they are apparently well within the list of normal expectations, given that there is another being growing in your abdomen and stomach, intestines and all other inner organs have to make way as it grows. Also my energy levels have been drained, perhaps a combination of the pregnancy and the move. Some days are better than others, and its all still a mystery to me. But a glorious mystery. Belly pictures to come, I promise.

There! I've come clean about it all.
Now I can move on to the posts that I've been planning in my head for weeks and really catch up.

More pictures of Edinburgh

Pics: (from left to right and top to bottom)

• View from Candlemaker Row , next to the Greyfriars Kirkyard
• Victoria Street
• the old infirmary (I think) along the Meadows walk
• Middle Meadow Walk
• view of the castle from and the Public gardens below
• me on my way up to the castle
• Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill (that fascinating white bug-like building is a new Earth Science Centre called Dynamic Earth)

My Reunion with Edinburgh

Aaron had a conference to go to at the University of Edinburgh on Thursday November 6 , so I went with him and had a day on my own in the city. For those of you who may not know, for years I have considered Edinburgh to be my favorite city in the world, and when Aaron asked me that evening, when we had met up for a pub dinner before catching our train back to Glasgow, if I had enjoyed my day, I had to say that it was like meeting up again with someone you love dearly that you haven’t seen for 12 years.

The last time I was in Edinburgh, I had been visiting my friend Glenn who was living there. That was in August of 1996. I remember clearly the day I left the city on the bus, pulling out of the station and being hit with a tragic feeling that I would never see the city again, or else not for a very long time. Because of this, I have to confess to superstitiously worrying that some catastrophe would befall Aaron and I before we got to the city for this long awaited visit. So as we were approaching Waverley Station and the train was chuffing slowly below the castle, I couldn’t quite believe that I was there. That feeling of dreaming or disbelief gradually melted over the course of the day, but it gave the first few hours a floaty kind of quality.

I walked with Aaron and his fellow students to the Uni so I’d know where to meet them later and then struck off on my own. I had a strong instinct to go to Calton Hill first. Edinburgh has numerous hills, where views of the city are both tremendous and helpful in orienting yourself. I had hoped I might be able to see the sea but the day proved just too misty to see very far. It wasn’t actually raining but everything was wet. By the time I climbed the hill I needed to sit for a minute and have a bite of ginger shortbread and Ribena for refreshment, and the only place to sit that wasn’t completely soaking was a cement block with some old stones around it. After my snack and rest, I wandered over to the side of the hill that looks out over the centre of the city and from where you can see the whole Royal Mile, the street that descends from the castle to Hollyrood Palace at the bottom of the ridge. Behind this is the large hill that juts out into the city known as Arthur’s Seat. It was completely invisible through the fog but as I watched, the mist lifted and by the time I was ready to leave it had been completely and somewhat magically revealed.

I was kind of bent on revisiting places I had been with Glenn, and the last place he lived while I was there was below Calton Hill in the New Town. So I walked down that way to look for a place to eat lunch and happened, by some freaky coincidence, to come across the Blue Moon cafe where Glenn told me he had worked some years after I visited him. The waiter there remembered him though it had been 7 years since he’d worked there. Small world.

The next few hours were filled with a series of wanderings through the New Town back toward Princes Street, through the public gardens and a long but rewarding walk up a switchback-y path up to the castle. By the time I got up there, I was so tired that I sat on a bench and almost fell asleep. I toyed with the idea of actually going into the castle since I have never actually done that, but I decided to save it for a time with Aaron or maybe other visitors.

Now I was at the top of the Royal Mile and back in the Old Town. It was roughly 2pm and it hadn’t actually rained yet, and given the sodden air that was astounding. Another reason I didn’t go into the castle this time: I wasn’t driven in by the rain. Instead I kept walking, passing through St. Giles cathedral, which in some form or other has stood on the Royal Mile for a thousand years, and then on to the Meadows or Middle Meadow Walk (I love that name), which has an avenue of trees that, when I had visited many springs ago, was exploding with pink blossoms, and now in the fall was turning yellow and rusty red. Along side the walk is a rambling old Victorian building (maybe older) which I’m fairly sure used to be an infirmary but is now being turned into condos. I couldn’t tell if they were planning to knock it down and build a big modern sterile looking glass building (like the picture on fence showed) or if they were going to keep some of the original architecture. It was the first time it occurred to me that even a place like Edinburgh, which clearly values its heritage buildings, is prey to developers, to allowing buildings to fall into disrepair perhaps past the stage of salvageability, and to ... change and evolution. I mean I know businesses come and go; most of the places I used to go to had been replaced, but the buildings were still there. Later in a bookshop, I came across a book called Lost Edinburgh, which acknowledged not only recent changes but buildings and sites that had been lost over the course of the past 800 years, with changes and developments. I think it is Sir Walter Raleigh’s grave that is now just a small yellow triangle in a parking lot beside St. Giles cathedral. I couldn’t even find that this time. But still there is a such a palpable sense in the city of a presence of history, a valued history that though it may also be exploited through a variety of spooky ghost tours (some of which are full of really interesting if horrific stories), it is in any case not forgotten. There are random plaques on sides of buildings marking the site of the last public execution or of witch trials or where Samuel Johnson ate dinner once, etc. I guess that’s why I love it so much. It feeds my imagination like nothing else. There are so many stories linked to every place. The cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book (where I confess I took shelter from the rain just because it was such a nice cafe, REALLY!) has windows that look over the graveyard where the Greyfriar’s Bobby is buried.

At the end of the day, I went back to the Geography building to meet Aaron. We were both fascinated by these small trees near the gate that were in bloom with delicate pink flowers that had a beautiful smell. IN BLOOM, people! Things are blooming here in November! Sorry but after the past winter I had in Ottawa I’m a bit blown away by the growing season here. But I digress.
We finished off our day in Edinburgh at a pub called The Advocate, which I was attracted to because during my very first visit to the city in 1993, my friend Christie was working at a pub by the same name. Where the pub was when she worked there was gone, the building had been demolished, so this one might have been a new incarnation of the same place. Nice pub, and great food. Fish and chips with real mushy peas, and a venison, juniper and gin sausage with Yorkshire Pud. A fine end to a fine day. The only thing that would have crowned it with glory is if I could have had just a wee half pint of cider and blackcurrent or one of the many fine, fine ales they have here. But we’ll get to that later...

Pics: Me on Calton Hill, View of Princes Street and the Castle from Calton Hill

More Edinburgh Pics to follow...