Notes from an Extra Friendly Island

Isle of Arran. 

Hey all
 While London was gearing up for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, I and two friends quietly escaped up to Scotland for a few days. It was definitely a smart thing to do!! I`d been hearing all year what a magical place it is, and my time in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Isle of Arran didn`t disappoint. For light reading, I brought Bill Bryson`s "notes from a small island" (as well as the heavier "The Smartest Guys in the Room"' about the Enron scandal). Bryson`s often charming, sometimes hilarious observations about England and Scotland were a very appropriate commentary for our traipse up to the land of haggis, golf and Adam Smith.

Edinburgh.

First stop: Edinburgh. The city is undergoing construction for its new Tramway system, keeping up with its commitment to green modes of transportation. I loved the city`s small-town vibe mixed with lots of history and grand and stately buildings. Highlights included having drinks at the Balmoral Hotel, climbing Arthur`s seat and trying on ridiculous tartan-motif'ed hats at the tourist shops along the Royal Mile. I would have maybe spent a bit more time in Leith, we went to this seaside area on a lovely warm afternoon and quite enjoyed the view and the coffee walnut cupcakes at Mimi`s Bakehouse.

Next up: Glasgow. Home of Charles Rennie Macintosh`s exquisite buildings (including the quirky and very interesting School of Art on Renfrew Street), numerous museums and tea shops, and people with difficult accents.

My friend had tickets to the Japan-Spain soccer game, but I begged off and had a splendid time wandering around the art galleries. By chance, I walked into the Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts which has a very neat exhibition by an Indian graphic artist named Sarnath Banerjee ("History is Written by Garment Exporters"). I also traversed the oasis of calm that is the Kelvingrove Park and made my way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, where they were shooting an episode of the BBC antiques show, "Flog it!". (No joke.) At the Gallery, I learned about Miss Cranston`s tea rooms - the esteemed lady`s brother was a tea importing merchant, and she herself, being of the entreprising sort, commissioned Charles Rennie Macintosh to decorate a series of tea rooms, which I gather were quite popular for the "ladies who lunch in big straw hats" crowd. I was quite sad to hear that most of these tea rooms have disappeared, although next time I'm in Glasgow I will try to visit the Willow Tea Rooms, one of the surviving establishments.

University of Glasgow

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. There is a functioning organ - concerts are played every day at 1pm. 

Isle of Arran- by the harbour front. 

Last stop: The Isle of Arran. Home of seals and porpoises (although we`re going on faith on this), the Goat Fell hill (poor thing!) and of delightfully friendly islanders.

The Isle of Arran was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was, as Scottish weather is wont to be, alternatively cloudy, rainy, drizzly, sunny, dazzlingly sunny, cloudy-but-wait-there`s-sun-at-the-other-side-of-the-hill.  We were glad to have brought several sweaters ("jumpers") and pairs of socks for our hikes and bike ride - my friend even bought herself another two layers while on the island. Weather notwithstanding, it was a perfect summer getaway! We ate mussels and lots of smoked salmon, as well as "full Scottish breakfast" on both days. Arran is a quiet place but after two days of hiking up and down rocky slopes, biking, dodging barking dogs and stray sheep, getting wet and dry again, we were grateful to get to bed early.

We stayed at a great B&B - I do highly recommend The Glenartney if you ever find yourself in this area. They have a comfortable lounge area, from which we watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony and the Phelps vs. Lochte 400m swimming race.

Me and my cow friend. Near Lamlash, Isle of Arran. My feet were soaking wet from the rain but when we met the cows, it was sunny!!

It feels quite nice to be back in London, even though I could have spent another two or three days on "vacation". I'm looking forward to a bit more Shakespeare, a bit more socializing, and even  my dissertation-writing for the month of August.

`Love to all.
Miss Engagée xox