Glasgow : The Clyde and Kilties

 Staying in Glasgow means the wonderful River Clyde is never far away. Here we see Bell’s Bridge leading to the Armadillo, the 3,000-seater auditorium forming a part of the Scottish Event Campus. Its shape is said to represent an interlocking series of ships’ hulls, paying tribute to Glasgow’s ship-building heritage.

                                                     

While there, we were fortunate to be able to attend the annual World Pipe Band Championships held on Glasgow Green. 13 countries were represented – Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, USA, Oman, China, Ireland – sending 204 bands and more than 7,000 pipers and drummers. What amazing organization to bring all these together.

                                                    

All that blowing means we have to have services to cater for peckish pipers. One takes fish ‘n’ chips, haggis and neeps as given; but glad the Greek Gyros had a look in too!

                                              

I was delighted to see the Inveraray and District Band especially dear to me, coming from Argyll and Loch Fyne - my homeland area. My heart leapt as they marched, playing, towards the Judges’ enclosure. There they are judged on overall musical proficiency; that includes execution, expression, tone and unison. And those guys clearly meant business: they were measured, meticulous, melodic. These braw lads were kind enough to pose for me as they left the enclosure.

                                                     

You’ll recognize some of them in the Oban Times photo below announcing that their band took first place – a hat trick since they also won in 2017 and 2019. Bursting with pride, me! Aren’t they grand?                                                  

                                                        

 One goal was for Z to chalk up a visit to a different Scottish island. This we did and we even found a castle with a moat. Any idea where we went?   

                                                            

Glasgow, City of Saint Mungo

 

And so to Glasgow, where we stayed in the aptly named Z Hotel, just steps away from Queen Street Station and George Square. In this square we enjoyed our first breakfast in Wetherspoons, housed in a building originally owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, designed in the Italian Renaissance style by JT Ruchead in 1867- 1870.                                          . 

Detractors may call it a ‘greasy spoon’company,  but we have always found all their premises we’ve visited to be perfectly good.  In this aptly named Counting House  we enjoyed good food, great servce by well-trained, cheery staff in this well-maintained, impressive building.

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 Incidentally outside in the square  you may spy a cone-bedecked equestrian statue  but this is a mere copy-cat horse – the authentic one of the Duke of Wellington stands out front at The Gallery of Modern Art nearby. This houses temporary exhibitions and Angeliki and I visited it some years ago.  

                                             

Ours was a short visit there as, on seeing an exhibit of underwear - soiled at that! - we left in disgust.  This time, thankfully Z and I saw no briefs but overall we found it uninspired and uninspiring. In fact, in modern idiomatic parlance, it really was pants !!  The best piece was the cone-capped Duke. :o    It bears no resemblance to the Athenian  National Museum of Modern Art whose exhibits  are topical and informative, and somehow are displayed to complement and enhance  the building’s features.

What really impressed us were the Glasgow City Chambers, designed by the Scottish architect William Young, the construction of this Victorian-style edifice began in 1882. This has housed various forms of municipal administration since 1889.

                                             

The entire building radiates opulence and speaks of the past glory of Glasgow as an international trade centre. There are amazing stained glass windows and the marble columns have the most magnificent rich sheen.                                 

On the floor we see the city coat of arms in mosaic form.  The design features - a bird, a tree a bell and a fish -are said to represent miracles performed by St Mungo, aka St Kentigern, Glasgow’s patron saint.                                             

The final shot is of Z enjoying Chinese food in the Zhima Brasserie, again close to George Square.

 We had a lovely sweet and sour dish, but all our memories of Glasgow are sweet – and there are more to come!!                                    

Revisiting Auld Reekie.

 

  I wanted to share some of our Edinburgh experience after the wedding anniversary celebrations.  Strange to think I spent the first six years of my teaching career in this area. It seems like another life now.                                           

After a leisurely breakfast we made our way to the Royal Botanic Gardens not far from the city centre - but we taxi-ed there and back! Here‘s the well-known skyline of the Castle ramparts from there – and a tourist enjoying the view and the warm weather!!

                                             

Now apparently the older gardens are known as Botanic whereas the more modern gardens are Botanical. How language changes! Certainly, we were lucky to have sunshine to enjoy the gardens which boast over 70 acres of landscape and were founded in 1670. We particularly liked the lily pond  ………..

                                           

………   and the most beautiful hydrangea blooms of delicate mauves and pinks.

                                             

After all that walking around, we decided to dine in the hotel on that evening -  our last in Edinburgh. A very pleasant meal in very pleasant company – all wearing comfy shoes. 😊

                                                 

Next morning greeted us with a grey cloud-covered sky - we had been so fortunate the previous day. As we took our taxi to the station, the kindly driver offered to drop us off at Haymarket Station to avoid the inevitable traffic congestion in the centre during festival time.

Z decided we should go ahead to Waverley Station as planned as he fancied seeing the sights there and a jolly good decision that was too!

Here we see the towering spires of the Victorian Gothic-style Scott Monument. Dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, it is the second largest monument in the world raised to honour a writer.                                                        

  I leave you the impressive façade of The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture. Those of you who have seen the film Sunshine in Leith will be familiar with it!

                                            

Sadly we didn’t have time to visit the gallery and enjoy the exhibitions – next time!

 So off we set for Glasgow – a short train trip to the other side of the country - the west and best!! 😊

 

Celebrating with Jean and Max in Edinburgh.

 Our trip to Scotland was on the occasion of being honoured guests of Max and Jean, a couple I was bridesmaid to. The venue was the impressive Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh at the end of the Royal Mile, set in a splendid estate. Its original name was Priestfield as it was once the site of a wealthy Cistercian monastery founded c. 1510. Burned down in an anti-Catholic riot in 1681, its then owner, Sir James Dick, raised this beautiful manor house from the ashes, sparing no expense.  The ornate plaster work was created by the same craftsmen who designed that in the Palace of Holyrood House. He it was who felt it expedient to change the name to its current one, to expunge any papal connotations!                                           

Jean and Max emigrated to Canade in the 70s, so their grown-up family are settled in Toronto and Seattle. People came from ‘a’ the airts’ to help them celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary. And celebrate we did! 😊                                                  

Our evening began with copious quantities of champagne, served, along with other appetizers, with haggis bonbons - very tasty. Max, with his wry sense of humour, presented a very entertaining speech, extolling his wife for her tolerance!                                                       

The food was splendid; our hosts had selected a range of tasty dishes for us to choose from.

                                                

It was very kind of Jean and Max to invite my sister and her husband. Here they are sharing a joke with the photo-bombing host and with the head waitress, Paddy, who we learned was from the Greek island of Symi. What a small world!                                          

We are clearly enjoying our evening and please note all these glasses. The staff were punctilious in circulating regularly to ensure no glass stayed empty. :o

                                       

And just for old times’ sake, here is a picture of the 1974 wedding party at the reception at Stonefield Castle Hotel. Tarbert Loch Fyne. I wonder if you can recognize the bridesmaid!?

                                     

Koufovouno Panigyri

 

Despite the baking heat we decided to head north to Z’s home area in Thrace to honour the Prophet Ilias’ name day. He lived in the kingdom of Samaria in the 9^th century B.C , according to the Book of Kings. Ilias is known to have resisted the rise in the worship of Baal, a popular god among the Israelites, rather than the ‘true’ Canaanite deity.

                                               

Of course ,meeting up with family is our main objective which we did round a feast of a table – bread, cheese and wine being the only items of non-home produce. Our cousins, Voula and Giorgos, are incredible hosts, but their daughters contribute now too. Dina tried her hand at a much-loved Turkish dish of hers with aubergines and beef   - truly memorable.                                                 

  And if your favourite fried courgettes are set out right in front of you, then you really are obliged to sample them, right?                                       

Falling on the weekend as it did, the ‘panigyri’ festival attracted many people: locals and those forming part of the diaspora. Here the queue for entrance extends far beyond the stalls selling doughnuts and candy floss- the dream of many of the young children attending.

Settled at a pre-booked table, we enjoy a variety of meats and salads catered for by a local hotel.

                                     

Several traditional dance groups joined our celebration – even one from Thessaloniki – resplendent in their costumes. But imagine dancing in them in temperatures just shy of 40oC. Well done, them!  It was a joy to see young people almost literally throw themselves into the dance routines - tradition being readily passed on.                                 

When the bagpipes skirl, the clarinet trills and the number of retsina bottles increases, then you know it’s time to take to the floor or, in this case, the school yard.

                                     

I managed  only half of my favourite baidoushka. The spirits were high but the heat was intolerable.

                                  

We left after 2 am, with things still going strong at 4.30, As the music abated a little after that, a cockerel took over his day-break shift. Once he’d greeted in the new dawn to his satisfaction, peace reigned for just a little. Being Sunday, it was time for the priest to summon his flock to his early service by loudspeaker!  Not much sleep that night, but it was worth it.

Kai tou xronou - may we all meet up again next year!

I’m still a novice at video-taking, but hopefully this will show you part of the traditional dance and music. Fingers crossed.                                             

GB Elections - Thoughts.

 

Now it’s time to put in focus the recent general elections in GB - I’m afraid I can no longer use the term UK, for united we’re not!

Just 52% of the adults cast their ballots; the lowest turnout since the vote was extended to adults over 21 in 1928, Statistics from The Institute of Public Policy think tank found that higher turnout rates were seen in constituencies where there were more older people and wealthy homeowners. The IPPR’s simple deduction from these data is that

 “The ‘haves’ speak much louder than the ‘have-nots’ in British democracy.”

                                                           

And there’s the key, the term democracy, we need to look closely at to see what’s happening. If the majority of those who can vote don’t, the results are skewed and don’t represent the citizens’ opinion of that state. Moreover, those who do not vote can still have an effect on popular opinion. The social media provide global podia for the voices of those who would not otherwise be heard. Posts are awash with emotive language, conspiracy theories, unsubstantiated information, stands adopted that are polarizing and often abusive.                                                

 Essentially they constitute the ‘clickbait’ that these sites need to survive, attracting readers as a passive ad-audience. Many people will not deign to stoop to such a low intellectual level; some are afraid to respond for fear of reprisals. Certainly such material producers are well capable of influencing opinion: either some readers will adopt these neat polarized opinion packages or become so disillusioned as to opt out of the whole political arena – declining to vote.                                                  

Let’s look at what happened in Scotland. The number who cast their ballots now was down by 500,000 in comparison to that in the last election. That would seem to indicate general disenchantment with the lack of progress being made towards independence – a fire that apparently still burns strong.

                                            

 And many votes cast were not in support of any party but rather targeted on getting Tories out. The power of Independence support is splintered: SNP, The Yes Movement, Alba and other Indy groups. It is not enough to sing ‘Flower of Scotland’ ardently but to actually get things going legally, politically, idealistically, socially. For the Independence movement to be successful, it needs to forge unity, policy, commitment and trust.

 And we need to work on the whole concept of Democracy as well. Voting is simply not enough.                                      

Politicians should desist from vote-wooing tactics, while the electorate must appreciate that along with rights, they also have duties and responsibilities. We need to ensure candidacy suitability, electoral education and for those who are elected to be accountable, responsible and committed.  Filter and checks need to be built into the systems for the electing and the elected, alike. Without them Plato’s words will be very relevant:

‘In a system where everyone has a right to rule, all sorts of selfish people who care nothing for the people but are only motivated by their own personal desires are able to attain power.’                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                              

European Elections - my Afterthoughts.

 European Elections in Greece and General Elections in Britain done and dusted but it looks like it’s going to take a while for the resulting dust to settle in both areas.

In Greece the turnout was a woeful 41.39%. There was the usual exodus for the beach on polling Sunday because of the good weather and many see such elections as very much of secondary significance to general ones so don’t take them too seriously but that turnout was still woeful. One teacher here on a Facebook post urged people to vote beforehand since suffrage had long been fought for. Totally laudable but it was when she also took it upon herself to tell people who they should vote for, well that is where I draw the line. Let us sincerely hope she did not take that liberty with her students! :O

Shades of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie!

                                                           

I am very much a pro-European (and anti-Brexit, taken as given ☹) and I do appreciate that serving in Europe causes great intrusion into one’s private life. One is expected to up sticks and operate there without any guarantee of this being a long-term position. That’s especially demanding if you have a young family.

You may find the following to be of interest :

How are candidates nominated for election to the European Parliament?

You may nominate yourself as a candidate or be nominated by a voter from the constituency. A candidate may only be nominated in one constituency.

To be nominated or nominate yourself for membership of the European Parliament, you must do one of the following:

• Produce a Certificate of Party Affiliation
• Produce 60 statutory declarations of assentors who are registered voters in the constituency (Form EP2A must be completed by assentors and witnessed by a Commissioner for Oaths, Peace Commissioner, Notary Public, member of the Garda Síochána or official of the registration authority)
• Pay a deposit of €1,800

To apply, you must get a nomination paper from the returning officer for your constituency. You can get contact information for the returning officer for your constituency from the Franchise Section of your local authority. The returning officer must rule on whether a nomination paper is valid within one hour of receiving it.  (Source: citizensinformation.ie)

Strictly speaking, you do not need to have party affiliation as Fidias Panagiotou, below, will testify. A 24 -year-old You Tuber (Channel Fidias) from Cyprus, he stood for election on an anti-partisan platform and secured a seat! No doubt with a great deal of support from his 2.63 million subscribers.

                                                                     

In a recent interview he revealed how much money he could make as an MEP. The not inconsiderable amount in euros mostly came from the 8,000 net monthly income, a general expenditure allowance of 500 per month to cover office expenses, hard-/software, etc., 350 subsistence allowance per day for accommodation, meals,  etc..  travel expenses are refunded from receipts submitted and 2/3 of medical expenses are reimbursed.

What I find intriguing is that no specific level of education is requested –  how can we, the electorate, assess candidate suitability and just general ability? Another teacher, nominated by a minor party, admitted that her real USP was her tendency to being ‘shouty’ – thankfully not put to the test as she wasn’t elected. 😊

 But someone who was elected was the talk of the er…village – where Z is from. A local lady was standing as candidate without any of the locals realizing that that was the case. No speeches, no profile published to assess suitability, and when the news broke, no initial contact with members of the media. This lady had no secondary education to talk of, she was a cattle farmer who moved to the city to run a butcher’s shop with her son. That’s it: restricted life experience, no foreign languages. ☹

So how did this all come about, you may ask and I most certainly do. The party leader admitted that she had been nominated in an area of Athens ?? for the last general elections as a token woman candidate to balance the male/female ratio, while both he and the candidate herself admit they were both shocked she won and that what greatly contributed to her election was the fact that her surname begins with an A so her name was first on the ballot sheet for that party.

After such an admission what shocked me even more than her unsuitability is the fact that she took up the seat and is now in Brussels!! :O What she feels she can actually contribute is anyone’s guess.

 It brings to mind the timeless question that comedian Mrs Merton asked the magician’s assistant, ‘the lovely Debbie McGee’:

‘So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?’

And so channelling her: ‘So Mrs A , what first attracted you to the lucrative European Parliament seat ?

 

May my faith remain un-wave-ering!!