Kisses From Glasgow

Yes, D. is back, and has finished the long, unintelligible-to- most-of-you, but-thanks-to-those-who-attempted-it Philosophy dissertation, and now has a week free to read for fun! It’s kind of a treat to just work twenty hours a week and then… go home. And do. Nothing. Okay, not nothing. The much put-off home organization project HAS TO be done, and soon, or we’ll be continuing to camp in this place instead of live in it for the next three years. As well as sleeping in, D plans on spending the next week catching up on “me” time, visiting the University Gym (£30 a year membership – can’t pass it up), and generally getting ready for the Winter.

Yes, the Winter. The light’s been sliding for some time, but suddenly, things have gotten a bit…cold. We’re going to try to hold off on the hats /scarves/ gloves/ long underwear at least until November October, but we’ll see how that goes. D.’s already retired his lighter jackets for the season, in favor of the return of The Black Peacoat, which is generally worn only between January and March in California. We’re trying to welcome the season, and think of the things we enjoy about dark and cold. We made it last year. We can make it through another 3 years of this, right?

We have to move. Thus saith T.

We visited Tigh-An-Struan guest house yesterday & today, just to get away, and in return for being offered friendly Romanian hospitality, we took some semi-professional pictures of the B&B for use on their website. We didn’t do much else, aside from visit with one of D.’s coworkers, eat the Romanian version of “grits,” and to walk by the Irish Sea, but it was a nice break from Glasgow.

A nice break. No piles of trash in whatever gutter, no dog dirt, no marauding gulls — though right on the sea as we were, there were tons. And everywhere, friendly people — people who actually greeted us on the street! (Okay, and also screamed and said, “Hey, take my picture!” but it was only three of them, and they were kids on the way to school, and for once, they weren’t drunk. Whoo.) Thus, T’s comment that we have to move — though not to Largs, as it’s an hour’s train ride away from the University. We won’t be moving any time soon, but that we’ll definitely be returning, someday when it’s not piddling down rain.

The new choir season starts in a few weeks, and we are heartily glad to be back singing! D. has finally had the time to pick up his violin a few times, and we’ve continued our habit of playing our recorders on Friday evenings, but nothing really takes the place of singing in a mass choir. Even congregational music (a band, not a choir, but we’re still looking…) doesn’t hold a candle to the weekly 2-hour practice, despite the slog to the university in all manner of poor weather. This year we’re singing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (for Christmas) and a whole bunch of Haydn, for the Spring concert. All of it sounds like a challenge, which is what we need to keep from being too wrapped up in caring about the weather or anything else annoying. (And speaking of annoying: the neighbor is really fine, thanks to the many who asked!)

Finally, a funny (funny strange, not funny-amusing) news item: We’ve noticed, in the past, that things seem to be skewed towards the propertied classes here. We thought we were missing something, misinterpreting the questions about home ownership from the police or the priority given to people who had property in the city offices — Nope. When we’re not being deferential towards our host culture, we realize: this place is radically in favor of those who own property.

Case in point, this piece from BBC News. What caught our attention was the fact that this story says that, for the first time ever, a landlord in Glasgow has been denied entry into the landlords’ register. For the first time ever! That means that, for a city of over 1 million people, there has only ever been 1 landlord who is bad enough to be told that he needs to quit being a landlord.

Only ONE!? Seriously? The property-owner/high classed person is always right??

It’s just another of those little differences in culture that make us think, “Huh. Interesting!”

Some of our family just got resettled after Gustav, and now they’re packing up again for the coming of Ike. Hope the weather is soon settled and reasonable wherever you are.

– D & T

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