Day 2 at the Fringe - and home

The day started for me at the A-Haven Hotel not too early, not too late, after such a late night before. Breakfast included freshly made haggis, black pudding, and sausage and a really freshly laid fried egg - possibly the best breakfast that I've ever had.

 

Afterwards the owner, David, chatted - he is a very good host and the whole atmosphere is more of staying with someone you know than an impersonal B&B.

I took the bus from just over the road from the guest house into town where I first watched a man whose performance ended with him leapfrogging over audience participants, starting off with a kneeling child & working up to an adult. Then I stopped and watched another, this time someone who juggled fire sticks while on a unicycle on a slack-rope. He also had audience participants and it made me very glad that I'm not a) young & pretty or b) a strong man.

Before I left on this trip I'd booked a ticket for this afternoon's performance of  Exterminating Angel - an Improvisation. In a nutshell it was about a dinner party where no-one was able to leave. Dark.

When I came out I had about 4 hours before I needed to be at the next place, and decided that an open- topped city tour bus  would be a great way to see the city and rest my tired feet. I stayed on the bus rather than get off and see all the different places because a) there was only one more bus after the one I caught and b) I enjoyed just sitting! I can do serious tourism next time I visit the city.

I got off the bus part way up the Royal Mile and found a Turkish cafe bar where I sat on the covered outdoor terrace by the street where I had a felafel meal with coffee and watched the world go by, with a background of a piper playing a fairly limited repertoire. It set the scene but was nice when it finished!

When I thought that perhaps I'd been sitting people watching for quite long enough (is that possible?) I headed over to see if I could get at return for Nina Conti's show - I've seen her on television and on YouTube and really, really wanted to see her show but it was a sell-out.  Even though they don't handle returns I let the box office know that I was on the look-out for a return, and then placed myself so I might notice people waving unwanted tickets - oh I was desperate! After about 15 minutes one of the box office staff came out & said he'd got a return that I could have! When I joined the queue I noticed Miriam Margolyes waiting at the front of the queue.  Piff The Magic Dragon walked past too, with a cute dog. Of course, they had been performing, but generally there is quite a wide range of people to watch.

Monk opened Nina's show, and she introduced us to some new characters as well as Gran - I'll leave you to discover all those for yourself. The show is absolutely brilliant, and has some quite dark sides to it, darker than I'd realised. But that's right up my street.

The show finished early enough to slowly make my way through the confusing streets of the castle side of the city to Waverley station, and I was able to wait in the First Class lounge (a perk for Caledonian Sleeper passengers at Edinburgh) & have complementary refreshments (tea & pretzels) before boarding for the start of my journey home. It wasn't as civilised an experience as the journey to Glasgow (grumpy steward & sheet too small for the mattress so I was sleeping on the plastic) but compensated for by the fact that once again I had a cabin to myself.

And so now I am back home again, having stopped off at Juli's for a chat & coffee between train and bus.

It's been a packed week, and has confirmed that a Scottish holiday by rail is definitely a good option. I wonder which Caledonian Sleeper destination I'll choose next time!

Speed of Light

Speed of Light was like nothing else that I've experienced.  The "audience" gathered in a large marquee which was cleverly lit so it seemed misty or hazy, with a mix of music, sometimes gently jazzy, sometimes lively modern, and there was a bit of classical played too. Long tables with chairs were covered with oilskins printed with quotes from the runners in Speed of Light saying why they run. At fifteen minute intervals (tickets were timed) we were called into one of 3 briefing rooms where we were introduced to our 7 walk guides and had safety instructions and a general introduction to the pattern of the evening. Those who weren't wearing sturdy shoes were loaned a pair of boots, and anyone without a waterproof was given a plastic poncho. I think they were also surreptitiously checking us over for fitness and potentials for problems. Then we were each given a sturdy staff, with the bottom 10 or so inches gently lit, and a bit at the top with a light that flickered when the staff hit the ground. The effect when we all set off was that the line of walkers looked like  millipede that sparkled at the top! We certainly needed both the staff and the light because after a short while the paved path gradually became rougher and rockier and steeper - at times we were scrambling either up or down. This was Arthur's Seat which is rather more craggy than a regular city park! I think if I'd seen it in daylight I might have decided to do something else this evening! Thankfully we stopped at intervals to catch our breath and to watch all the runners on the other side of the valley. These were all wearing suits of lights which slowly changed colour - randomly blue, green, red, white, and they had head torches that sent out beams across the ground. We could also see the millipedes of the other groups as they went before or after us. Is there something in the C.S.Lewis Space trilogy that has strings of light? Something at the back of my mind kept reminding me of those books, but I couldn't say if any of them did. 

After a particularly tough stretch we reached a broad open area where e stood and took in the combination of the performance and the lights of Edinburgh. As we got there our staffs began to make high pitch electronic whistling sounds - apparently this was activated by the altitude, and there were several notes and tones coming from all the staffs. Anyone with a hearing aid might have found the sound disconcerting, but the overall effect was interesting.

The next stage took us right to the top where someone took the flickering tops off our staffs and placed them on a huge grid - it was the equivalent of a cairn where our lights replaced the stone that a walker might leave.

The rest of the route was downhill, and the lighted staffs became even more useful over the rocky terrain. At this point the leaving of the light on the cairn struck me as quite pilgrimage-like, although I felt more like I should have mistletoe with me than a cross. Do Druids do pilgrimages?

At the end of the performance it felt strange going from this thought provoking time back into the real world. I was chuffed though when one of the walk guides said I hardly looked as if I'd done that walk!

I'd sum up Speed of Light as inspired and inspiring, and I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to take part in it.

To Edinburgh

After my last breakfast at Hampton Court guesthouse I ambled down to Glasgow central for a late morning train to Edinburgh via Waterstones for a browse and a coffee.

The train to Edinburgh actually goes right down to Penzance! I enjoyed the scenery and remembered to get off. This part of my holiday wasn't in my original plans, but I could only get a return sleeper on a reasonable day from Edinburgh I built it into my itinerary. Then I realised that it's the Festival so began to look for what I might like to go to so I could book tickets.

I headed over to get my pre-booked tickets from the Fringe office on High Street where the Fringe was in full swing.... the weather is ideal for street theatre today. I would imagine that it's quite possible to go to all free events - as I walked from the station I was handed so many cards advertising free shows at all times of the day & night, and also many shows don't sell out so it's possible to get them more spontaneously. But I didn't want to risk not getting tickets for the shows I wanted to see, so booked what I could.

After lunch outside at Bella Italia, with live blues for entertainment, I wandered over to see The St Petersburg  Hand Made Theatre - the show was superb, even better than this You Tube clip. If they come to somewhere near you do please try to go to their show. Rather than try to describe their show I'll let you see the video.

Afterwards I had a cup of tea & Baclava in a Lebanese cafe before going to see if I could get a ticket for Nina Conti's show tomorrow evning which is sold out on the Internet, but it's sold out at the venue too - no wonder because what I've seen on television and You Tube has been brilliant. So I think I'll go to the venue around the time people start queuing & see if someone has a spare ticket to sell me.

As my next ticket is for 10pm I found the A-Haven Guest House on Ferry Road which I'd booked - I was warned when I made the booking that the room is really tiny, but it's larger than many rooms that I've stayed in, and they've managed to put in an en-suite, a television, kettle, hair dryer desk, wardrobe and chest of drawers.... even a trouser press! Ingenious - I wonder if the people who run this place like doing those 3D puzzles?!

I daren't rest for long in case I fall asleep and miss tonight's show so instead I'm doing today's blog a bit earlier and have a shower to keep me awake.

An afternoon at the seaside

Yesterday I found a map showing CRM building locations, including 2 that were off my radar: The Former Lady Artists' Club and The Daily Record Building. (Martyrs Public School was on my radar but because it isn't open to the public and looks tricky to view from the outside I decided to focus on those that were visitable so that I would make the most of my time here) so I added these 2 to my route over to The Lighthouse.

The Former Lady Artist's Club is a traditional building to which CRM added a door and surround in his distinctive style - plain black with a set of small square windows.

The Daily Record Office is down a side street and so it is difficult to get a good vew of it. It's covered mainly with white tiles, with blue/turquoise tiles giving detail. It certainly is CRM, but the tiles make it so different to the other buildings of his that I've seen so far.

The Lighthouse isn't CRM but instead was designed by the architectural practice who were working on it when he became apprenticed to them. It was modernised into Scotland's Centre for Design and Architecture and includes 2 viewing areas: one in a modern annexe and another on the top floor of the platforms. The weather was clear enough to give good views over Glasgow and beyond.... a tantalising view of the hills. 

I then took the train from Glasgow Central to Helensburgh. Having see the uphill-ness of the road to The Hill House I decided to treat myself to a bus ride, and I was really glad that I did because while I was waiting in the bus shelter the heavens opened and the rain ran of the roof of the shelter so hard that it was like standing behind a waterfall. The bus arrived, and the rain stopped, and the bus driver dropped me at the end of the road rather than at the bus stop - I like it here!

The Hill House is an example of CRM and MMM in a family home, being sensitive to the practicalities of Edwardian living, including some rooms which blended the old with the new. In the rooms where CRM was able to have control over the whole appearance the result is stunning, especially in the drawing room where I think I could have spent hours quite easily. The effects of the sunshine and shadows added to the decorations so well. The room also has a beautiful gesso panel by MMM. 

 It is possible to stay in a flat in the attic, thanks to the Landmark Trust who also have this CRM property in Comrie, Perthshire. What an amazing holiday it would be to have a few days in each!

As I walked down a side road back to the town I passed a friendly Rhodesian Ridgeback being taken for a walk by someone on a bike, and then a bit further down the hill a friendly cat quite happy to be given some fuss. As a I passed Helensburgh Upper train station I looked at their Caledonian Sleeper poster & saw that there is a train from London. Euston that calls in here on its way to Fort William & Malaig - I'd like to find a timetable because the website is fine up to a point, but this would be a great way to come to these parts again.

Just as the heavens opened again for another deluge I was invited by an elderly couple to join them under their golf umbrella - so kind of them because I'd have got soooo wet otherwise. The sun came out for my walk along the sea shore promenade - I really felt like I am on holiday!

Just as I got to a cafe for tea it began raining again - there seems to be a pattern today that if I am under shelter then it rains!

I caught the train back to Glasgow - it follows the shore of the Clyde estuary and is quite scenic. I got off at Charing Cross where Alison had arranged to meet me. We walked over to The Shandon Belles where her husband Doug met us for a lovely meal. It's set in the cellar of a pub that has been converted into a restaurant - the cellar is nice and relaxed with quirky features, including having unmatched china at each setting.

 After the meal Doug drove us over to the side of the Clyde where there is an old rotunda - apparently horses & carriages (and later lorries and cars) would drive into a rotunda on one side, go under the river and out of the rotunda on the other side! Now they have been smartened up as restaurants. 

We also walked under the giant Finnieston Crane, a reminder of the more recent history of the city, quiet now except for the roosting birds and the sound of construction (even into the evening) of the new Hydro arena which joins the "armadillo" (the Clyde auditorium). It is interesting to see how Glasgow is adapting, and I am so glad that Alison and Doug took me there to round off this part of my holiday - tomorrow I get the train to Edinburgh.

Back to School

 This morning when I woke up my room was lit with a shaft of sunlight from a skylight that I hadn't noticed yesterday. After breakfast I took the subway from Cowcaddens to Shield Street for Scotland Street School, designed by CRM for the education board who asked for some changes to remove some decorative features, to change the dark colours into regulation cream, and to increase the windows to increase the light. CRM fought these changes but had to give way to them, although he managed to keep his mark on the school while the board weren't monitoring and the final cost was 25% over budget, which seems was the pattern with the budget (not the estimate though) and the cost of his designs.

I was interested to see how CRM applied his design eye to such a practical and functional situation, such as the stylised thistle head for Scotland and trees of knowledge & learning for the school. As at the Glasgow School of Art there were symbols of seeds germminating and growing, again for knowledge & learning. Somehow the school had that schoolboy fart aroma - very clever if it was intended to evoke the schooldays!

While I was at the school it rained - real rain, not a light shower, but by the time I left it had cleared up so I crossed the road back to the subway - by the time I was underground waiting for the train it was raining real rain again, so the dry spells have been very kind to me. This time I took the subway to Ibrox, for a walk to House for an Art Lover - given that this is the Subway recommended for this venue i was surprised that the route was unmarked and I soon realised that I wasn't heading the right way but thanks to 3G and online maps I got there. It was the same for the Mackintosh Church yesterday - maybe Glasgow doesn't go in for tourist signs?

I had a delicious lunch at House For an Art Lover before taking an audio tour around it. The house was built in the late 1970's based on designs submitted by CRM and his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh for a European competition of designs for a house for an art lover. They didn't win the competition, possibly due to submitting unfinished/incomplete designs. Because the designs were not complete, those who were using them looked at what they had in fine detail, and where anything was missing they looked at what CRM had done in other locations. So this is a good place to visit after seeing a few other places to see what was used for reference here!  It is a marvellous place, and the audio tour was really helpful. In the house, it's decor and furnishings I can see so much of how CRM still influences design today 1 again, such an important and influential stepping stone from Victorian taste to Modernism & beyond. The Interpretation Centre is equipped with Apple Mac(intosh)'s! 

The sun shone as I left House For an Art Lover, and as I walked to the bus stop for the no. 9 to Kelvingrove Museum I passed a couple who I'd noticed at one of the other CRM sites - it wasn't the first time I'd recognised other pilgrims - we all seem to be doing the same places but not necessarily in the same order. Apparently at one time there was a regular scheduled Mackintosh bus, going between each of the sites, but not at the moment. It would be rather handy, but I think I'd miss the sense of adventure or discovery that I'm getting doing it this way. And for the time being I'm happy not to drive - that could lead to one adventure too many :-)

I wasn't sure which side of the road to get the no. 9 bus from, so I asked the bus driver who said I'd got the right side but that I needed the no. 9 that had just passed us because he wasn't going that far, and that he'd take me past that bus to another bus stop so I could get on it. Wasn't that helpful?!

The Kelvingrove art gallery and museum is a grand wonder of a Victorian building with a hint of Art Nouveau. Think the V&A and the Natural History and the Science museums in Kensington, and you are almost there. Where else would you find a Spitfire flying over an elephant, a moose and an ostrich? The Kelvingrove doesn't contain a huge amount of CRM or MMM work, but what it does have was well worth seeing. But the big surprise treat for me is that it's home to Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross - wow! I had no idea about this (shows how little I know!). Now, this might well be a CRM pilgrimage, but my next train adventure is to south east Spain and will include a visit to Figueres to the Dali museum there.  So I appreciated seeing the original here - it's hung a bit higher than I wonder if it was intended to, but considering the attack in 1961 when a young man attacked it with a sandstone brick I am not surprise that it is hung the way it is.

Kickout time was 5pm, and I didn't need to be at my dinner destination for a while yet so I sat on the steps of the museum watching the world go bY before catching a bus.... or trying to.... it turned out that the useful bus service travel planner was suggesting I get a bus to go just to the next bus stop which, as the bus driver pointed out, I could see from where I was trying to get on! So I walked to Paparino's on Byre Street where I met Kingsfold from the Ship of Fools online community  for dinner - I enjoyed the evening and it was good to put a face and name to an otherwise online contact (I am daisydaisy in that world) 

  

My pilgrimage begins

After a good night's sleep the coach stewardess woke me up with my pre-ordered coffee & orange juice, although the "snack" was a small packet of shortbread (appropriately).

The whole reason for this trip was to visit the Charles Rennie Mackintosh (CRM) sites around Glasgow. Now that I'm here I can see what a magnificent city it is, steeped in history. With its grid street layout and pretty steep hills it reminds me a little of San Francisco.... but I've not seen any cable cars yet!

Last time that I was here was a fleeting visit where I was working overnight for the opening of a superstore (and when, in the wee small hours, I managed to get onto the motorway while it was still being built - oops!) and although I went over to the Burrell Collection I didn't have time to see anything else. So this time I have a packed itinerary.

After breakfast in a rare independent cafe (Tinderbox where I needed an interpreter - my ear hasn't adjusted yet!) I made my way to the Glasgow School of Art for a tour guided by a student.

The Glasgow Art School building is amazing - it was designed by CRM and built in 2 stages because the first stage alone was more than the budget but still he won the competition to design it. The building is full of surprises synch as feeling like you are in a cellar when you are on the top floor, or walking from dark into a wall of light. The studios are flooded with north light, and the whole building is full of very particular detail. Various details reminded me of other artists and designers around at the same time as CRM and the cross-fertilisation of ideas must have happened - Lutyens, Armstrong (maybe not a designer but he made sure he had electricity in his new home), Morris, Klimt, and over the Pond there was Lloyd Wright, Tiffany & O'Keefe - it was as if something was in the air that they breathed, helping pave the way to Modernism from fussy Victorian design

Just down the street from the School of Art is where I have booked to stay, so although it wasn't yet midday and certainly not check-in time I discovered that I could leave my backpack there - phew because although it's only 25 litres it's somehow quite weighty.  I was shown to my room which is tiny & with no outside windows - but at £27 a night B&B from laterooms (booked a while ago, so not really that late) I am not complaining. The room has a kettle & I was just having a coffe when I realised that I could hear a rustling in the bin and when I looked I found a ginormous spider about the size of my hand! I took it to the front door and liberated it - I hope it wasn't anyone's pet - it could have worn a collar & lead!

Lunch was at the Willow tearooms in Sauchiehall Street - because I'd booked in advance I had a window table in the rather special Room De  Luxe, for which tea used to incur an extra penny charge for the privilege of taking it there. I chose an Arbroath Smokie with a cloutie dumpling, and a pot of China Rose tea. It was pleasantly quiet apart from a supervisor giving evacuation instructions to a new starter - somewhat unsettling to be made aware of the fire risks of this old building.

I was on my way to the subway to go to the Mackintosh Church when I realised how close I was to the National Trust's Tenement House   I dropped in there. Before going into the Tenement House itself there is a small exhibition explaining about the previous occupier (Miss Agnes Toward) and putting the house (in England we'd know it as a flat) into context. It is a really interesting place, not only full of things that I recognised from grandparents and earlier, but some things of theirs that I still have!  But I found it particularly interesting because this heavily decorated Victorian place was built at the same time as the   CRM places with their simple lines.

When I came out of The Tenement House I decided to walk to the Mackintosh Church because it looked quicker to do that than walk back to the subway. Hmmm. Perhaps a bus would have been better! Still, I needed the walk!

It was well worth the walk - the Mackintosh Church is the only church that CRM designed, and again the detail of the simplicity (and no, that isn't as contradictory as some might argue) is stunning. It includes some very understated stained glass which I'm sure could be used as a basis for meditation. The church is now a visitor centre for the CRM Society and they show a DVD "A modern man" which was well worth watching.

Even if the journey there had been well worth the walk, I decided to take the bus back to the centre! While I waited for the bus and on the journey too I noticed that the detail of a lot of the street furniture and the buildings pay quiet tribute to CRM.

When I got back into the centre I found a lovely independent Italian restaurant serving a pre-theatre special which I'm sure can double as a pre-cinema special because I had bought a ticket to see  Swandown- I won't say too much about that in case I spoil the plot for you :-)

Caledonian Sleeper

This whole trip started when I found the Bargain Berths offered on the Caledonian Sleeper service to Scotland. At the beginning of the year I decided that for the moment I'd like to try travelling on the surface of this planet rather than high above it, so this train is ideal.

So here I am sitting on my berth on a train that has just gently pulled out of Euston in a cabin all to myself because my cabin-share had sorted out a booking mistake so she could share with her husband.

I'm looking forward to a restful night followed by a snack breakfast brought to me when we get to Glasgow - all for the same price as a B&B. Actually, if I'd been more organised or less particular about dates then it could have been as little as £19!

I love travelling by sleeper train - although this is absolute luxury compared to my experiences on Russian or Indian sleepers which are each in a class of their own. My cabin is tiny - just enough room for the 2 bunks and to stand next to it - no room for big suitcases which go in their own store down the carriage. There is a wash basin cunningly hidden under a folding table, and there is a folding shelf over my bed for when breakfast arrives.

A great part of this trip is that I had a pretty much a whole normal Sunday before the journey began and I started it by walking from home to Romsey station. All of London must have been at Weymouth for sunshine on the beach... the train to Waterloo was as full as a weekday commuter train, but with people wearing sunburn not suits.

My duvet beckons me.......