Our day started with a trip to Falkirk to check out the Falkirk wheel with Kate, Andrew, Mae & Isobel. It was overcast just as it was in 2014 when I visited with Mum and the women, but no rain this time! The wheel itself is amazingly impressive in it’s simplicity, functionality and form. Using about the amount of energy to boil a kettle, it vertically moves boats / water weighing 1800 tonnes, over 100 feet replacing 11 locks in a matter of minutes.
Just as with the Kelpies, there is more development around the area, but space is limited so not much more can likely be added. One of the added attractions is the inflatable water balls. Isobel and Mae entertained us all (and many others!) with their acrobatics. 10 minutes is the max time you can stay in them as the oxygen is limited. They were both quite impressive as they were able to get vertical and run inside the balls as well as perform summersaults and tumbles. They were both quite tuckered by the time they were done, and the rest of us had a good belly workout laughing also!
Making the most of our short time in Scotland, Michael and I took the train into Glasgow for a late afternoon / evening visit. From the train station we sauntered around the streets of Glasgow Square before taking the subway up to the university area. We visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum but unfortunately the famed painting Christ of St. John of the Cross by Salvadore Dali was out on loan.
We did manage to see the Scottish animals on display, including the infamous haggis! Both Michael and I wondered about the similarity of fishes from the freshwater lakes. Were pike/pickerel/trout all introduced into North America?
From there off to dinner in search of a good Indian meal. Kate had recommended one and we found one of their two locations. We had a very yummy meal and although the dish names were less familiar the dishes themselves were much the same as in Canada. We shared a lamb dish, a vegetable curry, naan and rice.
As in Edinburgh, we saw several ‘hen parties’ with girls who were getting married. There were groups of various sizes and levels of rowdiness. The largest was a stag and doe with funny hats as their signature identification. Next a walk up to the shopping mall and then back to the centre of town by subway after a slight confusion on where the entrance was, but the locals were always helpful. We did manage to find a bottle shop and picked up a bottle of Laphroaig for 38pounds.
Frustratingly, the train back to Edinburgh arrived 1 minute AFTER the connecting train to Longniddry, so we had a coffee as waited and then when we finally arrived we were greeted by both Kate & Eve! Eve could have passed us on the street in Glasgow as we were very near her residence, and I certainly would not have recognized her from 10 years ago.
Back at Chesterhouse it was cocktail night as prepared by Mae. Old fashioneds prepared with scotch were very, perhaps too, yummy! And as Alice’s football match was pushed to 1pm from 9am, we felt no urgency to raise early. So another scotch made for an even later night than before – 2am!
During the evening I had a very connecting chat with Kate & Eve in the kitchen comparing the loss of our mums, family dynamics, birth of our kids – lots of stories and family tales of Christmas, our parents and their characteristics. Amazing how someone you really don’t know very well, haven’t spent your life close to and who lives so far away can have such a connection through shared family. It was a conversation to treasure.
