When I was 18, I got a job in a fish and chip shop in Dumbarton, just north of Glasgow. This was a mistake. Dumbarton has a picturesque ruined castle and views of the Highlands, 3196-foot-high Ben Lomond and the River Clyde. I did not see any of these things. I did see a lot […]
Tag Archives | Scotland
Glasgow and Edinburgh Guides
I’m being asked for lots of advice on what to do in Glasgow this week. Seems my hometown is on many North Americans’ itineraries. I’ll put together a wee Glasgow guide in the next week or so. But for now, here’s a Lonely Planet/ BBC article online today that talks about the arts scene and […]
Buchanan Street, Glasgow
A shot I took when I was home last. The sun broke through the clouds and Buchanan Street turned silver in the lunchtime light. I snapped this one from the steps of the Concert Hall. Och, Glasgow, I miss you.
A Highland Cow in a Rowing Boat
On board flight UA592 to Dallas, I examine Gaelic Without Groans, the text book I have pilfered from my sister Orla’s old childhood bedroom. The cover boasts an ecstatic pink Highland cow perched in a rowing boat. The cow appears quite at home in such a craft. It looks like it has spent its life […]
Barbecue, Berbere Spice and Perfect Teeth
I’ve been back in Glasgow for a couple of weeks now. I was away for a couple of decades. I still can’t remember the UK mobile phone number that I’ve had for the last five years, but I have a dentist. I’m trying to think up ailments so I can register with a GP too. […]
Lobster trumps Haddock (or why I first left Scotland and went to America)
I first moved over to this side of the Atlantic as part of a brisk Transatlantic trade in teen lobster servers. Back then, Scotland’s universities provided a summer supply of clambake attendants, buffet minions and housekeeping underlings to the hotels and resorts of Martha’s Vineyard each May. The Gulf War had smitten all graduate job […]
Peacock’s Improved Double Dissection
I hop on a ferry to Navy Pier and head to the Chicago River. It’s time to experience another watery wonder of Chicago. As I stand in line with the hordes waiting by Michigan Avenue Bridge, Docent Rebecca Dixon smiles her way along the line, asking people where they’re from. She stops when she hears […]
Aquariums I Have Known
Along the brim of Lake Michigan, a seemingly infinite number of security guards patrol the area on Segway motorized scooters. Perhaps it just looks like they’re omnipresent because of all the reflective surfaces around Millennium Park. It seems that whatever angle I look into the gleaming mirrored “Cloud Gate” sculpture, or “the Bean,” as it’s […]
My Declaration of Arbroath
Here is my translation of Scotland’s most important document, said to be the basis for the US Declaration of Independence. I paraphrased a bit. Jesus didn’t say “awesome” all that often. To read my fascinating pre-translation ramble on the topic of Tartan Day, click here. Dear Pope, We are a posse of Scottish blokes. The Scots […]
No Knees in Memphis
At Memphis Scottish Festival, a large, boisterous man hustles me into a front row seat in what he tell me is “The History Tent.” I am alarmed to find myself equipped with a sheaf of lyrics to Jacobite love songs. I manage a tuneless drone along to “Over the Sea to Skye” and then start […]
