Friday, October 19, 2007

Gie us a wee dram...


Alright folks, I am back from Scotland where i ate, drank, saw ruins, saw unruins, drank, ate, saw castles, saw cathedrals and looked the wrong way before crossing the street. Very sneaky thing of having the cars lurking about on the wrong side of the road. Allow me to say that the girls in Glasgow's west end are transluscent and lovely, the people are incomprehensible, kindly and generous and the architecture is jaw dropping. Even as an atheist, it was humbling to walk into St. Giles and Glasgow cathedrals both magnificent examples of human ingenuity, effort and faith. I had wireless issues with my laptop and only spent about fifteen minutes online over the last 17 days. What a refreshing treat to watch the evening news without the frenetic scrolling, panic inducing fever of the Americas. News presenters were articulate and the shows weren't bombastic productions with throbbing graphics and overwrought music cues. Civilized. I can't wait to go back. Thank you Scotland, land of my ancestors with their fetish for stone fencing, mile upon mile of it.

So here I sit, placating the wounded indignation of my cat and trying to shake off the jet lag. I'll be catching up on the doings of the world and then I shall return to semi-regular screeding. Cheers.

11 comments:

Niles said...

"fetish for stone fencing"

Fetish???? Tha's a main crop, lass! Even over here, every spring brings up a lovely harvest, heaved to the light by frost and 'lovingly' picked out of the way of the plow (often by disgruntled agrarian offspring who haven't escaped in time). We just tend to build cairns with them, not erotic dry stone fences.

But did you get to gambol on the heath?

Ti-Guy said...

Yes, but your journey, PSA, was, in some way...dour...was it not?

Lindsay Stewart said...

i assure you there was both gamboling and dournes. and diaramas too.

Ti-Guy said...

Och!

CC said...

PSA:

After f**king off for two weeks, you better have brought me something back. And it better be alcoholic.

Lindsay Stewart said...

cc, i don't think i was away quite long enough to become an alcohlic but i found this liquid in my luggage, the balvenie, if i recall. no idea how it got there. must belong to you. cheers.

Unknown said...

Hey, PSA, that picture in your post: is that what you looked like after getting back from Scotland, or while you were there?

Should I duck now?

Ti-Guy said...

In honour of PSA:

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a month, I've been drunk since I left
These so-called vacations will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink I need home for a rest.

We arrived in December and London was cold
We stayed in the bars along Charing Cross Road
We never saw nothin' but brass taps and oak
Kept a shine on the bar with the sleeves of our coats

CHORUS:
You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a week
I've been drunk since I left
And these so-called vacations
Will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink
I need home for a rest
Take me home....

Euston Station the train journey North
In the buffet car we lurched back and forth
Past old crooked dykes through Yorkshire's green fields
We were flung into dance as the train jigged and reeled

- CHORUS -

By the light of the moon, she'd drift through the streets
A rare old perfume, so seductive and sweet
She'd tease us and flirt, as the pubs all closed down
Then walk us on home and deny us a round

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a month
I've been drunk since I left
And these so-called vacations
Will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink
I need home for a rest
Take me home....

The gas heater's empty, it's damp as a tomb
The spirits we drank now ghosts in the room
I'm knackered again, come on sleep take me soon
And don't lift up my head 'till the the twelve bells at noon

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a month
I've been drunk since I left
And these so-called vacations
Will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink
I need home for a rest
Take me home


...Spirit of the West!

JJ said...

Hey, welcome back PSA! Stone fencing, aw beautiful. Hope you got lots of pics!

Nullig said...

And how was the food?

It's my understanding that all Scottish cuisine is the result of a dare.

Lindsay Stewart said...

nullig, i ate and drank heartily. and i can honestly report that without fail the food was excellent. no, i didn't do the haggis or the black pudding but the quality of food was excellent, if a tad pricy.