The wee things

Tomorrow marks the end of the fourth week of our Glaswegian adventure.  To say we have settled in is an understatement.  It's all the little things that make for a semblance of truly living abroad.

We have eased into a routine.  I am now a member of the athletic club at University of Glasgow, so I make the walk in the morning to torture myself on one of the elliptical machines.  We also make a daily visit to the grocery store.  There is a news agent where we buy the paper.  I have a library card (more on that later).  We're good customers of Oddbins, our wine and whisky connection.  We've had our second meal at The Wee Curry Shop.  We have expanded our circle of friends from the Lucy and Callum nexus point.  We take the time to speak with the merchants and clerks.

Scottish hospitality found us at Callum's birthday barbeque party last Saturday, arriving at 5:00 p.m. and leaving just past midnight.  We followed up that celebration by accompanying him and another 10 friends to The Stand, a comedy club for "Sunday Services with Michael Redmond."  Redmond, a Glasgow fixture, emcees a Sunday smorgasbard of four comics.  The last two comics were brilliant, a Glasgow-born first generation Pakistani and The Boy with Tape on His Mouth. 

Since our return from Spain we have visited the Kelvingrove Museum for the third time, wandered through Glasgow's Cathedral, went through the Hunterian on the campus of the University of Glasgow. 

Highlights of the week:

• We were met by a kilted docent at the Cathedral who offered a tour.  John Geddes, a retired professor of music, who taught for a year at University of Oregon along with lectures at Berkeley, Stanford, and other US universities, led us through the Cathedral.  Surprised that we didn't want to blitz through, we spent abaout 90-minutes with him.  We saw battle glags from the Indian campaign, the Napoleonic wars, the purported burial place of St. Mungo, an explanation of the four symbols of Glasgow, and much more.
• At Jelly Hill my Univeristy of Glasgow identification card caused quite a stir.  Callum: "Jim is planning on staying longer than he let on!"
• John Rae when he happened to see my library card, "How did you get that?  I pay bloody taxes to get one of those!"
• We were among the first customers of a new butcher shop that opened on Byres Road, and found the best Italian sausage I've had since my days in Chicago.

Tomorrow we'll be back at the airport to pick-up my friend Jerry and his girlfriend, Debbie.  We will be cheering for the USA against England in Saturday's World Cup football match.  Rumor is that we won't be able to buy a drink.