Just a Wee Bit of Fun in Scotland--Day 30 (Friday, Sep 30)

I love Scottish terminology, especially the word "wee." It's a delightful word, don't you think? Anyway, I had a lovely sleep on my bed last night. It wasn't at all fitful as it's been these past few nights with my cold and all. Our breakfast was a buffet included with our room, which was really nice. The buffet had a build-your-own-British-fry-up station, with eggs (fried and scrambled), bacon, ham, tomatoes in tomato sauce, baked beans, mushrooms, and toast. I had some of the eggs and mushrooms along with fruit, yogurt, milk, a mini muffin, a croissant with orange marmalade, and tea. Wow! It was all very good and very filling/satisfying.

After breakfast, we set off for a bus tour of Glasgow with our guide Allan Stephen (a native of Aberdeen in the Highlands). Glasgow was once a prominent shipbuilding city, but since most of the operations have stopped, it has decided to install a Riverside Museum to chart the city's rich shipping history. We also saw the Armadillo, a theater in Glasgow that slightly resembles the Sydney Opera House and which serves a very similar purpose. An interesting thing to note about Glasgow is that it is hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games, a sort of Olympics for the 40 countries that were at one time part of the British Commonwealth. Glasgow is building a stadium nicknamed the Pie for the event, and local artists have painted murals around the city to promote the Games.

A big part of the tour involved stopping to see Glasgow Cathedral. Before we saw the cathedral up close, we got a great shot of some University of Glasgow buildings from below, near a stone arch bridge and a babbling brook (probably a small tributary of the Clyde). But returning to the cathedral, it was magnificent in so many ways. I loved the stain glass--big surprise there. But it was also cool to see because Glasgow, possibly even more secular than London, has very few cathedrals left. This one dates back to the 12th century. The ceiling was excessively tall and richly decorated. Outside the cathedral sits the Necropolis, basically a glorified cemetery. We didn't get to wander around in it or even near it, but it was very cool to see from afar. One thing we noticed when we were walking into the cathedral was that the plaza in which it sits has these lampposts decorated with a fish holding a ring underneath a tree on which a bird perches and from which a bell hangs. We learned from Allan that this is the emblem of Glasgow. Long ago, there lived a queen named Langoureth. She was not a very faithful woman: she had a lover, and she gave her wedding ring to this lover. One day, her husband and her lover were out hunting together, and the husband noticed the lover wearing what looked like his wife's ring. He was obviously angry and interrogated his wife about it when he got home. She told him she had stowed it somewhere, but he didn't believe her. The queen was afraid for her life, so she sought help from Saint Kentigern. Saint Kentigern told the king to go fishing for the ring in the River Clyde (called Clud at that time). After a short time, the king reeled in a large fish, and in its mouth was the ring. Needless to say, the king and queen were reconciled and lived happily ever after (I guess). So, that explains the fish and ring. But what about the bird, tree, and bell? The bird represents a miracle performed by Saint Mungo, who I guess was good at that sort of thing (medicine, that is). The bell also represents Saint Mungo because it was installed in a church so that people could pray for him. The tree is an oak, and it represents another Mungo miracle. The old crest had hazel branches, which Saint Mungo set on fire when the fire he was supposed to be guarding was put out by some naughty boys who were jealous of him (he was sleeping when they committed the deed).

A chapel on the University of Glasgow campus.

The stone arch bridge and brook at the base of the hill.

Glasgow Cathedral.

A stained glass window above the entrance to Glasgow Cathedral.

The Necropolis.

The emblem of Glasgow.

Another highlight of the tour was to see the People's Palace, which is actually more of a conservatory. Outside the building is a splendid fountain and a polychromatic palace. Quite cool, if you ask me!

The fountain outside the People's Palace.

The polychromatic palace near the People's Palace.

A detail from the fountain.

We continued our tour of Glasgow on the west side of the city, which contains the University of Glasgow and  a very cute college-student-friendly district. The Glasgow Botanic Garden is located in this area, and it is completely free! I don't need to tell you how badly I wanted to go. Allan let us out near the gate commemorating the University's 500th anniversary (1451-1951) so we could find ourselves some lunch. My friends and I wandered to a nearby pub, where I had my very first fish and chips with peas! It was pretty delicious but very heavy, and I don't think I need anymore for quite awhile.

Fish and chips: right nice, that.

After lunch we heard a great lecture on James McNeill Whistler by Margaret MacDonald, one of the most preeminent art scholars in the world. In fact, the Smithsonian Institute is having a symposium in her honor later this month. It was clear that she really loves her subject. She's dedicated much of her life to understanding Whistler's work. Because Augustana is working on publishing a Whistler criticism (in which my professor has a large role), we were allowed into Special Collections at the University of Glasgow library. We even had our own sign on the door! We got to see some of Whistler's original letters and scrapbooks and also some beautiful illuminated manuscripts. After Special Collections, we toured the Hunterian Museum at the University to see some of Whistler's original works and to see the dining room of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh House. Mackintosh is to Scotland what Frank Lloyd Wright is to the United States. He has a beautiful style with lots of round shapes, thin lines, and forms derived from nature. It's very minimalist and art deco, even though the majority of his work was completed between 1910 and 1930.

After our tour, we spent some time in the gift shop at the University, where I picked up a metal bookmark with the family crest of the Harts (and the name "Hart") on it. Obviously, I am not Scottish, but I had to get it! We had dinner at a pub called Molly Malone's, where I had a very good Irish stew and delicious soda bread. It wasn't as good as Mom's, but it was pretty good. The bread had just a touch of sweetness, which is what I love about soda bread. It was a lovely antidote to the rain we got, and it was nice for my cold. I ended my night by watching music videos and reading, which was a pleasant end to a tiring day.