The Knight With A Galleon On His Head
A friend of mine has crossed the North Sea to visit us here in rainy Glasgow. We took her to the Cathedral district yesterday. D. and my friend walked up the Necropolis while I lounged decoratively on a bench.
Afterwards we went inside St. Mungo's Cathedral - one of my favourite places to see stained glass windows here in Glasgow (and you'd be surprised by just how much stained class you find here - both in public and private homes).
My favourite window keeps changing. Yesterday I fell in love with this slightly barmy one: The Knight With A Galleon On His Head. I'm sure it has a real title or epitaph, but I like my version much better than "David Tavish Farquar, the 16th Duke of Skirlie In Memory of His Brother Simon, Lord of Colcannon".
Time for tea and buttered scones, I think. A busy day lies ahead.
Away for the Day
As today was a Scottish bank holiday, we both had the day off and decided to spend the day in a semi-productive way. We took the bus thirty minutes out of Glasgow and spent the best part of the afternoon walking a tiny part of the West Highland Way through fields of bluebells, hiking up fairly steep slopes and catching our breaths underneath old, gnarled oak trees. A beautiful sunny day with a defiant breeze added to our enjoyment, as did spotting several buzzards flying high over the Campsie Fells.
Next time we will plan ahead, pack a proper picnic basket and maybe even check the map before we head out. We ended up on a bit of a detour involving a massive 19th century water reservoir (pretty, but not what we had in mind) which I'd be quite keen on avoiding on our next adventure.
PS. Eurovision? Wasn't it exciting?! Congratulations to Germany (who can almost afford to host the event unlike most of the other participants) and a big congratulations to Norway, a fabulous host.
PPS. I have cast on a shawl.
Day Five: Location, Location
Fourth Edition is taking part in the Knitting & Crocheting Blog Week, and you can read more about that blog project here.
One of my favourite places to sit and knit (or read or think) is the Kelvin Walkway which runs along Glasgow's River Kelvin. I live quite close to it and on warm, dry Sundays, I spend a lot of time sitting here. Occasionally my knitting gets stolen by a playful dog, but it is all part of the charm.
I adore this particular spot because you have your back to the world and just for a short while, you can pretend you are sitting in the middle of wilderness rather than in the middle of a large city. I have seen kingfishers, peregrine falcons, foxes, and deer here. All a five minute walk away from Byres Road, a busy shopping area.
However, this is not where I tend to spend most of my knitting time. Glasgow gets a lot of rain and blustery winds. And so I grab a takeaway coffee and head to my favourite bench in the Kibble Palace in the Botanic Gardens.
I like spending my afternoons off in here. I am sheltered from cold winds and sudden rain. The view from the bench is spectacular and the scenery changes from visit to visit. It is a wonderfully calm place to sit and knit (as long as you can mentally block out screaming children as you get many yummy mummies parading their trophies playing with their toddlers in the front part of the Palace) and nobody minds if you sit there all afternoon.
And I cannot resist showing you a close-up of "my" bench. Yes, it is wrought iron and, yes, that would be a squirrel. All the benches have the same squirrel-pattern and I think it wonderfully whimsical .. although you do get an awful lot of real squirrels hanging about the Botanics and the Kelvin Walkway (sadly not the indigenous sort but the grey squirrel).
Although I knit a lot in public (including public transport), I do most of my knitting at home. I have a sofa to myself and curl up every night with my latest project. Blankets nearby, coffee cup full and light a-plenty. No photos, though, and while I wish I could blame poor light conditions, the living room is just that tiny bit too untidy to show anyone right now. I also quite like leaving some things a mystery ..
For your listening pleasure, I have compiled a short Spotify playlist of Glaswegian/Glasgow-based bands. Enjoy - if you live in a Spotify-enabled country, of course - these tracks are really the sound of Glasgow.
Happy Easter
This is what happens when you go for a walk on a sunny Easter Sunday.
You come across a giant horse in a parking lot..
.. wildlife (not pictured: curious fox darting about on the opposite river bank) ..
.. and little surprises lurking in the woods.
Dictionary Definition
uncool /ˌʌnˈkuːl/
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when you take a photo from a Ravelry user's notebook and upload it to your blog without seeking permission.
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See also: cool (Antonym)
Usage example:
"Seeing my disembodied self on a foreign-language blog was really uncool," said the knitter
Photo taken down with apology. Thank you.
Bricking It
Wall behind the Hunterian Art Gallery and most likely part of the Glasgow University Campus
I have a real weakness for old bricks. They come in all sorts of colours depending upon where they were made; they can be handmade or marked with the manufacturer's insignia; and they tell stories. We have too many brick photos to mention. Thankfully my partner understands why I always just need one more photo of an old wall, a bricked-up window or even just an unusual pattern.
Fog of a December Afternoon
Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself—as it will seem todo—
With "I have saved this afternoon for you";
And four wax candles in the darkened room
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet's tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, through his hair and finger-tips.
"So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room."
-- And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
Addendum: My friend Iain shot a great photo of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery today.
On A Day Like This
On a day like this, you just want to curl up on your sofa with a mug of hot tea, some tea biscuits and some knitting. Unfortunately I had to go outside.
On the left, behind those trees, you'd find The Botanics and the river is, of course, my beloved River Kelvin. At the time I was heading towards Byres Road to buy the paper and maybe find a little tasty snack in Roots & Fruits (I didn't on this occasion). Such a splendid, cold Saturday in Glasgow.
Self Portrait With Dark Felt Hat
.. one Halloween costume down, one to go.
Other Half is currently trying to consider whether or not to stab the ear with a palette knife or not.
Oh, decisions...
Cause/Effect
A view from my daily walk..
..can be very inspirational..
.. don't you think?
(don't judge 'em - the gloves are unblocked and one needs ends woven in)