Easter celebrations
were marvellous this year thanks to the weather which held off the chills and
winds till a little later, to Ioannis for his impeccably dressed and roasted lamb
and to Anna for inviting us to their family table. Here are the lads handling
the tricky business of decanting the meat from the spit.
We even have space for cherry cheese-cake and strawberry
pavlova - my home-made contributions.
I did say previously that we were
heading for Glasgow and it was to be Angeliki’s first trip to Scotland. We began
our trip by taking a stroll along the banks of the wonderful River Clyde,
basking in the mellow, evening sunlight. And Glasgow welcomed Angeliki not only
with a smile but with a skirl of the pipes and, of course, a be-kilted piper!
We’d risen early that day so we were delighted to secure an early table at the Two
Fat Ladies at the Buttery. No
comments, thank you!
It really was a treat: with its olde worlde charm, vintage
crockery display, silver fighting cocks on each table (no, me neither!) young
table-attendants, mostly European university students, resplendent in tartan,
offering impeccable service. I had succulent scallops, while Angeliki enjoyed
king prawns – you can just see her delight!
On Monday we began the conference
and attended some very interesting talks. In the evening we had the official
reception - meeting appropriately in the Argyll
Suite of the Crowne Plaza Hotel – just could not miss out on a photo op! Here you see the Tartan Epsilon – in formal
clobber – meeting Bailie Cameron of
Glasgow City Council, wearing her chain of office as she officially opened
our conference with a very entertaining speech. I remarked to her that we
Macphails are a sept of the Clan Cameron and we were both able to validate our
clan membership by each demonstrating her crooked nose: cam-shron in Gaelic, where the clan name comes from! I’m happy to
say we helped arrange for her to meet our Patron, Professor David Crystal and
show him round the impressive Glasgow City Chambers.
Then it was time for our much-looked-forward-to
ceilidh, with music from the talented Stravaig
Ceilidh Band. Here are Carol, fellow Scot-Thessalonian, and I leading an
Italian lady through a Dashing White Sergeant – lotsafun! The band was
brilliant and … should not be judged on the quality of dance their music
generated but our global audience executed the moves admirably!
But all that jigging was drouthy work and so
off we went, accompanied by Roy Cross and British Council colleagues from Italy
and Tunisia, to the award-winning restaurant, Ubiquitous Chip. Here we are
impatiently waiting for our dishes to arrive.
I had eaten here years ago and
can still remember the delicious venison I had. So, no guesses what I was going
to order this time around – and I was not disappointed in any way and have
recorded its succulence below, nesting in roast beetroot, mushroom and potato,
with the most amazing sauce. Roy’s
starter cannot go without mention either: swathed in its whisky sauce, the
haggis looked for all the world like a wee Christmas pudding served with mashed
tattie that was shaped like a raw one, topped with a carrot … thingy….. that
for me resembled a Yemeni jambiya.
Certainly if you’re on a diet or
an economy drive, this is not for you – but as a rare treat it is highly
recommended. And Glasgow was to hold many more treats for
us but they have to go on hold for now. My suitcase is being aired: I’m off for
an assessment in the Middle East –
can you guess where?
