Day 57: Surprises

Special day today, it’s Morgan’sb irthday, my beloved number one daughter. Happy birthday Morgan and thank you for all the work you are doing as my media editor especially when I have no access to signal or WIFI.

Today I am on a bit of a treasure hunt. Before I left on this trip, one of my closest friends told me to take a can of petrol with me, a snow shovel and try to find Eisenhower’s flat which he thought was somewhere in Kilmarnock and had gold plated bathroom taps. Really?

I drove to the car park in Tesco and rang him to check that Kilmarnock was the right place.

“Where are you?” he asked

“In Kilmarnock”

“Is it pretty there?”

“Not from where I am sitting, no. I’ve seen signs to somewhere called Dean’s Park though. Maybe that’s pretty.”

"The place I remember where Eisenhower had his flat, has a lake. Is there a lake there?”

“No idea. I will ask customer services in Tesco." 

Well, it was early on Sunday morning and no-where else was open.
I popped into Tesco and made a beeline for Customer Service.

“Morning,” I said to the lady behind the counter. “I have three quick questions.”

“Do you sell Haggis Crisps?”

They do so I bought some.

Can one get Irn-Bru in Brighton or do I need to get some here?

She told me to ring the Brighton Tesco and ask them as she only dealt with the Tesco in this area of Scotland. She suggested to be on the safe side that I take a 16 pack back with me.

She hasn’t seen the size of Gloria and I want a couple of cans not a whole pallet. I have tried it – its undrinkable.

“Any idea where Eisenhower’s Flat is?” 

She had no idea who Eisenhower was, let alone whether he had ever had a flat in Kilmarnock. If it was in Kilmarmock it was obviously still a state secret.
 I was about to give up when I spotted the security guard, an elderly man with ramrod straight military bearing and the moustache to match. Bingo! 

“Is Eisenhower’s Flat in Kilmarnock?"

“No."

“Oh, shame.” I was disappointed.

“It’s at Calzean Castle about thirty miles away.” And he gave me clear directions to get there.

Result.

As I was heading there a thought occurred to me: Robert Burns the Scottish poet. In spite of his fame he hasn’t entered my consciousness at all during my trip round the coast of Scotland. That’s probably a bit remiss of me, and as though I had suddenly conjured him u,p a sign flashed past me on the A77 warning me that average speed cameras were being switched on from Monday morning and that I was just a mile or two from Robert Burns Bachelors Club run by Scottish National Trust.
No such thing as coincidence. I swerved left and went to take a look.

What a sweet little museum and what strange neighbours it had. This was all around it...

Here it is. It was just three rooms and I was lead around by Alastair who wanted me to remind people that National Trust Scotland is waiving membership and entrance fees at all their tiny museums until September so you can get in free with no membership requirement. It will take you about fifteen minutes to go round this tiny place. 

230 years ago this was the place to socialise for all the single young men in the area. Basically it was a small ale house with a room at the side where the ale was brewed. Upstairs was a third room which, although very small, was used for dances and meetings and as a sort of Toastmasters Club. It was where Burns learnt to perform in public. The local Masonic Lodge met there too.

Alastair did know about Eisenhower’s Flat and told me to call in at Robert Burns birth place as it was on route.

I did. Another sweet little museum with a garden but actually not a great deal to see.

That’s because just down the road is a fabulous Robert Burns Centre – an interactive celebration of his life and works. It was really good – as good as the Culloden Experience. National Trust Scotland can be very proud of both of them  

 

On to Calzean!

My friend was an international garden designer before an awful car accident left him with a broken neck about twenty years ago. He has always loved trees and green. There are are lot of tree here and  its very green.
Looks like this might be the right place. 

Lovely grounds full of native and exotic trees, a walled garden and - a lake!

I found Eisenhower’s office in the castle...

In a tiny auditorium they showed a film about the history of this very beautiful castle. Eisenhower came here during the war to talk and test submarines. The castle is beside the sea. After the war he was rewarded with a  flat on the third floor. He only visited it four times and none of the staff knew anything about gold bathroom fittings. I couldn’t check it out for myself as that part of the castle is now a hotel and not open to the public. I suspect the gold fittings have long gone to pay for the upkeep of this romantic and lovely place.

The castle is a day out. It not only has extensive woodland, the walled garden, tea rooms and the castle itself, it also has a wonderful wooden castle play park for children. 

National Trust Scotland is very aware that in the past the organisation has perhaps had a bit of a ‘fuddy duddy’ reputation. They are working hard to overcome that. Both Calzean the Robert Burns experience have come up with a childrens' guide book in a cartoon format. I think they are great. I wonder if English National Trust is doing the same.

Once I left the castle the weather closed in and there was little to see in the countryside of Galloway as I headed to Dumfries.

I found the farmhouse where I was to stay and was surprised that my new host Brian looked strangely familiar. He had told me they would be out until 5pm with their daughter who was in some sort of production. Then she walked in.

I am 100 miles from Buchanan Street in Glasgow, in a farmhouse down a muddy track on the outskirts of Dumfries and the child is the same one who was busking and whose photo I put in yesterday's blog.

What were the chances of that happening? As good as my winning the lottery I suspect.

Ruby Darbyshire is Brian and Jo’s daughter. Brian has musical instruments all over the house and  even has a small compact recording gizmo. Ruby has been busking in public since was 4! She is now 9 and the Darbyshire's have decided to take her out of school and travel for a few months probably in Europe. Ruby will be earning them all their travelling money. She plays guitar, ukulele, harmonica and bagpipes. She already has a website www.rubydarbyshire.com where you can see her performing. 
I suspect this is a case of  watch this space and remember her name.

Day 56: Glasgow and Loch Lomond

After experiencing Aberdeen and Stirling I had decided to give Glasgow a miss. After all who wants to spend a day in yet another large city? So Helena my new host, suggested a good alternative: Loch Lomond, Dryman and Balmaha because it’s a nice drive and sounds like it could be somewhere tropical. Good idea.

Then a thought occurred to me. Beloved daughter number two would be ashamed of me bottling Glasgow and would probably accuse me of prejudice and stereotypical conduct. I can almost hear her saying it, so I did a 360 degree turn and went into Glasgow.

Confession: I TOTALLY LOVE GLASGOW.

I parked on the Great Western Road and queued for a bus then changed my mind again and decided to walk. I also managed to crack the drink driving zero tolerance law.

Cook shop sells Mojito ice lollies! Who knew? Then I walked past a deli called I J Mellis and was offered all sorts of other lovely things to eat.

I had only been walking about two minutes and saw a short row of the sorts of shops I love and guaranteed to get me browsing and spending. Roots and Fruits and Flowers is a whole food deli which was recently awarded Best Deli in Glasgow.

Two doors down is their other half of Roots and Fruits  - the flower bit – a florist.

Coming between them is Glasgow Vintage.

I wonder how many of us now wish we had kept our 60’s and onwards clothes to sell to emporia just like these?

Then last in the line up Valhalla’s Goat a wonderful place selling intoxication of the liquid variety: craft beers, interesting gins, wine and whiskeys. I didn’t see any Newcastle Brown but perhaps I wasn’t paying attention.  The man behind the counter said they stock about 230 different beers.  

I have a beer drinking son in law so I bought him this.

It’s from a Drygate, a micro brewery in Glasgow and has only been available for eighteen months. Drygate is not only a brewery, it is also an event space that hosts comedy nights, film screenings and live music.

The ladies in Cookshop had suggested I get the Tube into Glasgow. In the time I had before my parking ticket expired (£3 for max 3 hours) they recommended:

• Buchanan Street and George Square
• The Wellington Statue, usually sporting a traffic cone
•  The Glasgow Museum of Modern Art

The tube station was only two minutes away, next to this fabulous mural.

I paint the odd mural or two so I am always looking at other artist’s work. Here’s another one – looks like it’s on the wall of a diamond merchant but I didn’t have time to look.

The tube was a two ring affair – inner or outer. For £3 return I could do a journey to anywhere on a particular ring and back again. I thought for a minute that the Dutch or Easyjet had the contract.

The tube and everything around and about it is orange. Quick and easy but unbelievably noisy as it came into the station.

Buchanan Street turned out to be a bit like Oxford Street – a main shopping street but pedestrianised giving space for people and cafes as well as a terrific variety of shops. The street entertainers were many and varied:  balloon sculpture artists, ‘living statues’,  break dancers and musicians.

One musician was very young, she was about eight years old and not only played the guitar and harmonica but also sang.

She attracted a large crowd.

Then I heard the repeated drum beats. I have had a Scottish Soldier theme running on this trip from the moment I went to Flodden Battlefield four miles away from Coldstream just over the Scottish border (also connected with soldiers of course as in Coldstream Guards). I had thought the link with soldiers was done. I was wrong.

Today is Scottish Armed Forces Day and yes that is Nicola Sturgeon.

The lady with her is Sadie Docherty, the Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow, Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow and Commissioner of Northen Lighthouses. In Eastbourne she would be called the Mayor.

All the forces were represented today – the cadet forces,

the veterans,

the Territorial Reserve Forces including the medical corps. Ali my host in Dundee had served in the Territorial Medical corps for ten years.

There was also the slightly odd...

They all marched to the drum or the pipes and gathered in George Square to be addressed by The Lord Provost and Nicola Sturgeon. Crowds were watching the march past, carrying red white and blue balloons and union jacks and applauding.

No-one has ever mentioned to me that Glasgow is architecturally beautiful But it is’

But you have to look up and many tourists are sleep walking along the roads tweeting, texting, hash-tagging or face-booking and they would miss it all. The locals were surprised I commented and said they were so used to it they took it for granted.

The Museum of Modern Art was in a very old building and again a beautiful one. I liked two exhibitions in particular; one about the Exploitation of our Seas

 

And another small photographic exhibition with a film about the plight of refugees in France and Greece.

There are over 20 free museums and galleries in Glasgow so spoilt for choice. Another time.

My Markinch hostess Lorna who uses her Airbnb earnings to travel to help is already in Greece working with the refugees. She has just posted on Facebook that some Syrians have offered their tent on AirBnB promising scorpions, dehydration and broken promises!!

I did find the iconic Duke of Wellington Statue with the iconic Traffic Cone on his head. I also found his mate...a living statue.

Got back to my car with just minutes on the clock and decide to do the Loch Lomond trip. Amazing that only 25 minutes outside Glasgow and you are back in mountains and lochs and oak wood forests.

I did get to Dryman and Balmaha and on until the road ran out at Rowardennen – no palm trees but pretty villages and wonderful scenery.

The traditional Loch Lomond song is accurate. It does have very bonny banks. This afternoon I’ve walked them.

I had a really nice day and would like to come back and do a long weekend in Glasgow with my sisters, daughters or both.  

Only a couple more days in Scotland. Will the Scottish soldier ‘thing’ have run its course I wonder?