Summertime in Glasgow

The studio has cooled down enough that I can work without the fan. I have been aiming it directly at me over the last few weeks, trying not to send papers flying. We usually get a week or two in summer where I curse the poor ventilation and wish I could be outside, but this year we are having a “real summer”, which means more use of the fan. I’m not complaining..really! Often the Glasgwegian summer involves drizzle and greyness, so this is a wonderful blip.

I am busy at the computer, working on writing projects. It is giving me good practice with touch typing, which I learned over the winter. Even though I thought I was pretty quick with the two-fingered hunt and peck method, I realised I was fooling myself and getting repetitive strain in my wrists. So I took an evening class and learned what I should have when I was in high school.

My fingers do not exactly fly across the keyboard yet but my posture is better and my wrists thank me. If you plan on writing a novel, learn touch typing. It will take at least one or two small hurdles out of your way.

Bluebell Heaven

Happy May Day!

Every year I am moved by the reappearance (and reassurance) of spring’s return. In late winter the crocus and snowdrops promise the end of the snow, cold and dark times. Glasgow’s temperate climate means we see oceans of daffodils in early March, if not even a bit earlier, and then the time of tree blooming begins. Roads are lined with cotton-candy pink canopies over the fading banks of daffodils.
But to me, nothing is as glorious as the bluebell. By May the grass in certain places is carpeted with them. Ever since I saw the bluebell knolls in the Merchant-Ivory film, Howard’s End, I longed to see them for myself.
I got my reward when I moved to Scotland. Our garden blooms with them each year. But better than that, there are places so full of bluebells, I make a pilgrimage to see them whenever I can.

My top three bluebell places near Glasgow:

1. Inchmahome Priory. This small island in the Lake of Menteith is magical, not only for its ruined priory, but for its giant twisted trees and bluebell carpets. To get to the island you must wait for a boat to come and pick you up, if it is not already there. There is something enthralling about this. You feel almost like you are waiting for Charon the boatman to take you across the river Styx.

Inchmahome Woods by CS

The path around the island twists and turns. The bluebells beckon you in, mysterious and seemingly infinite. The contrast of the bright green moss on the tree trunks and the blue violet of the flowers creates a sort of electricity to the eye, even on a moody day.

Once you have walked around the island, which does not take too long, explore the ruins. Look especially for the carved stone faces looking down from the five tall “lancet” windows in the eastern end of the priory church. And in the chapter house, you will find thirteenth and fourteenth century carved gravestones and effigies of the earls of Menteith.

2. Mugdock Country Park. This sprawling park is also a conduit to the West Highland Way, a walking trail that leads all the way to Fort William in the north. Mugdock Country Park’s woods are blanketed with bluebells at this time of year. My heart beats faster when I walk through. The colour makes the forest floor blue for such a short time and I want to drink it in before it’s faded.

3. The M8 westbound, by the Glasgow Cathedral exit. This is my most humble recommendation, but worthy nonetheless. As you drive west on this three lane highway, glance up at the hillside to your right and you will see patches of rogue bluebells, toughened by their exposure to the rough and tumble M8. Maybe they’re not quite as delicate, maybe not quite as enchanted, but they are there, and they might just lift the heart of the person who bothers to look for them.

West End Indoor Art Market

I’ll be participating in the West End Indoor Art Market on this coming Saturday, May 2, in the Large Hall upstairs at Hillhead Library in Byres Road, Glasgow. There will be thirty-five artists and artists selling their wares, so there will be a wide variety of work on sale. We’ll be there from 12pm to 4:30pm for one afternoon only, but the event will be held once a month after that.