Never Gonna Give You Up

Schoolwork and other academic activities have kept me grounded in the 'Burgh for the past couple of weeks, but it's given me a chance to explore more of the city in which I live. Hardly a bad thing.

Besides wandering around the Old Town again, I made the trek out to Leith, the old port. It's a cool little area that's more scruffy than downtown and it still retains that working class feel with an artistic bent, even with the influx of some trendy restaurants and bars that's apparently making it more appealing to yuppies. It was rainy, but such weather felt appropriate being that we were at the port. Why? Not sure, but it did.

Official Old Port. It's since moved north. 

Old Port "Square". Sailor's hotel on the left.

 Big ships at the new harbour.

Leith also houses the famed Britannia ship used by the Royal Family. An example of capitalism at its finest, it's only reachable through the giant mall to which it's attached, and if you don't want to pay the exorbitant 11 pounds to get on, the only hope you have of viewing it is from a balcony attached to the food court. Strategically designed, yes. Highly irritating even more so.

 The view that zero pounds buys you.

As mentioned Leith's got an artistic feel.

But it's also got some of the worst buildings I've ever seen in my life.

Blah. 

Leith Links is a big park in the area best known for the earliest documentation of the game of golf.

"Fore!"

So, a nice little day trip to get in touch with a different side of Edinburgh.

I delved a little deeper into Scottish/UK culture by watching my first ever rugby game. Scotland was playing England in the 6 Nations Tournament and even though England won, apparently it was closer than anyone expected. I didn't fully grasp all of the rules of the game (mostly how the scrum works), but I was able to follow what was going on and even chimed in with such facetiously insightful remarks as "Throw the ball backwards!" to my delight and the dismay of almost everyone else. Rugby: not the worst sport in the world to watch. Actually pretty good.

Riveted.

And finally, one of the better parts of the past couple of weeks was indulging myself in some Edinburgh record store culture. Besides concerts, the other thing I've missed dearly over here is wandering in to my usual Montreal and Toronto music haunts to browse and then, in moments of weakness, leave with far more than I can afford, though often with little to no guilt. Sure, $20 might buy you two meals, but a good 12" is the gift that keeps on giving. Temporary relief of hunger or a lifetime of musical wonder? Not a hard decision.

I visited two: Avalanche Records and Vinyl Villains. Avalanche carries more modern stuff and I picked up two 7"s of local Scottish bands that I'd never heard of and probably never would in Canada: The Hazey Janes (pictured below) and Broken Records (photo not found on Google). To quote Damian of Fucked Up, "You're in a new land, might as well find some new bands." Well said, sir. My plan is to try and buy a 7" of a local band in every major city (or at least country) I visit as a souvenir. At the end of it all, my "indie credibility" will be through the roof. (What, you've never heard of "____________"? Yeah, they're this little band from Cologne. You can't even get their record over here.)

Boo-yah.

Vinyl Villains was a whole other story. The place was a museum of all that is good and holy in classic music. The walls were adorned with rare 7"s and 12"s (Beatles, Clash, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Queen, Sex Pistols) and the stacks were pretty much just as good. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the classics, it felt like there wasn't a single bad record in the entire place, and it was all dirt cheap. My friend managed to find a used copy of the Queen "We Are the Champions" single for 2.50 pounds, about $4. The b-side to that album? "We Will Rock You". Wow!

I stuck to the discount bin for budgetary reasons, but still managed to pick up some good stuff, all pictured below. The grand total for four 7"s and a 12"er? Three pounds ($5). If you're in Edinburgh, go here.

And these two gems:

For real.

It's the last week of classes and then I've got about a month off before exams start in which I'll be traveling. It's super exciting. Where am I headed? Does anyone really care? These important questions will be answered all in due time, so sit tight.

Take Me Back to Wondaland

While others spent their Reading Week jetting off around Europe I was fortunate enough to have my time occupied by group meetings for various projects due in the coming weeks. Joy. I did however venture over to Glasgow for a long weekend to see my friend, take in a concert, and explore Scotland's biggest city. 

The word "rough" was thrown around a lot when I told people I was going to Glasgow, followed closely by "be careful" and, my favourite, "why?". But having visited, I don't know what everyone was going on about—Glasgow was great (at least to be a tourist).

First, it's got a very different feel than Edinburgh, less European and more North American with imposing Victorian architecture and (thankfully) an easily navigable grid system of roads. Whereas you can tell Edinburgh housed the royalty, it's obvious that Glasgow was an industrial town, and I think it's a more down-to-Earth town as a result. The city is also very cosmopolitan and way more cultured than I expected or I think people realize. There was great shopping, an excellent nightlife, and good vibes all around. It felt a lot like the best parts of Toronto and Montreal combined, and for that I was thankful.

Moving on, I arrived Friday afternoon and walked to the west end of town where my friend Natalie is staying (she goes to school there) and headed for the Kelvingrove museum. As you'll be able to tell from the pictures below, it's housed in a really beautiful building in Kelvingrove park. 

Kelvingrove Museum. Half natural history, half visual art.

Highland cow.

You know what they say about big antlers... 

Interior.

Then we headed off around the university campus, which is also really, really nice.

Glasgow University.

Kelvin himself.

Saturday afternoon we took a stroll down by the river Clyde which played a huge role in Glasgow's industrial history and now houses many of its most recognizable sights. It's still in a phase of rejuvenation so it's not the prettiest walk or the prettiest river just yet, but it was nice, and sometimes that's all you need.

Science Centre on the Clyde.

Read the sign.

Armadillo, officially known as the Clyde Auditorium, a large concert venue.

Artsy shot of the Armadillo reflected in the building.

Then we went shopping before walking back to Nat's place. I didn't buy anything.

They had an entire section on the wall for good ol' Neil. I also did my part by putting the LPs of Canadian bands at the front of the racks.

Just a sliver of downtown.

Apparently one of the best live music venues in the UK and where Oasis was discovered. I don't know whether we should be thankful for that or blame them for releasing the giant mess that is the Gallagher twins into the world.

Saturday night, however, was the real reason I decided to pick this particular weekend to travel to Glasgow as Janelle Monae was in town. Seeing as she's only played one gig in Canada so far (opening for Arcade Fire in Toronto, not my cup of tea), I was super happy to have the chance to see her here.

Who is Janelle Monae? This is Janelle Monae:

You're welcome.

Some things I learned from the concert:

• Every band should have a man in a top hat introduce them
• Classy suits are exactly that
• Confetti makes grown-ups giddy and everything better
• You can never have too much fun on stage

To put it bluntly, it was amazing. One of the top 5 concerts I've ever been to, for sure. She's playing the Indie Awards in Toronto soon. If you're in town, go. You won't regret it.

I was also happy just to be at a concert. I average a show a week back in Montreal/Toronto so coming over here was like going cold turkey. One concert in two months? The horror! Just walking into the darkened venue and feeling the concert vibe again put a smile on my face that didn't come off for the entire show. So fun!

Sunday as spent seeing more of Glasgow before heading back to Edinburgh, including my first ever UK tea time!

George Square.

Walter Scott statue, though he apparently has few real ties with Glasgow.

Glasgow Cathedral.

John Knox in the Necropolis.

Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow, built in 1471 as part of a hospital.

One of two Charles Renie Mackintosh-designed Willow Tea Rooms.

I felt really British.

All in all, a wonderful time in a cool city. I'll definitely be back (especially considering the Luyas and Dodos are playing on the same bill in May).

Edinburgh Castle

Without a doubt, the defining image of Edinburgh and its most prominent landmark is the Castle. It's smack-dab in the middle of the city on what I think is also, or at least close to, it's highest point, and I'd say almost 80% of postcards I've seen feature it either as the principal shot or part of the skyline. Easy to miss it is not. It's also 14 pounds to get it, which helps explain why I've walked up to it a bunch of times, politely snapped my photos from the parking lot, and then left, cash in pocket. Even my recent self-outing as a "castle person" isn't enough to make me fork over that much.

Fortunately, the ISC was able to get us international students a hefty 12-pound discount and so I ventured inside what is probably one of the most important buildings in all of Scottish history...

... and it was pretty disappointing.

Now, the throngs of tourists were to be expected, but besides that, everything felt far too new and not really real. Maybe that last statement is a bit harsh, but, as my friend Zander eloquently put it, it didn't feel so much like walking around a castle as it did walking around an early version of an office complex. It was just clean building after clean building and felt like it could've been built in the early 1900s. Where was the grit? Where was the dirt? Having dioramas and mannequins recreating key moments in Scottish history took away any further feeling of authenticity.

That being said, there was some cool stuff. Getting to see the Scottish Honours (Crown Jewels) was neat as was the Scottish National War Memorial, and the views are as amazing as they were strategic (you can actually see everything except the castle itself). But overall? Meh. I can see why it's popular (and, man, were there a lot of tourists), but I think I prefer my castles remote and in ruins.

Oh my god, am I turning into a castle snob too?

Robert the Bruce at the gates.

Mel Gibson, er, William Wallace.

Half-Moon Battery

Balmoral Hotel and Calton Hill.

Scott monument.

Pet cemetery. Nope, not joking.

Mons Meg. This absolute beast of a cannon was a gift to King James II and had a range of 2 miles. You could probably fit about three small children in its chamber.

Mons Meg cannonballs. These things weighed about 400-pounds. My foot is there to give some sense of scale. I'm a size 11 in case you're wondering.

Scottish War Memorial. Incredible architecture inside, but no photos were allowed.

View down the Royal Mile from one of the cannon posts on the half-moon battery. This is one of my favourite photos so far. Spot the rainbow?

St. Margaret's Chapel, not only the oldest building in the castle, but also the oldest building in Edinburgh.

Hole where the Scottish Crown jewels were hidden during WWII. Only four people in the world knew of their whereabouts, including the Canadian Governor General.

Mary Queen of Scots' apartment. James VI was born here.

National War Memorial on the left, Royal Apartments on the right.

Great Hall.

War criminals prison. Lots of Americans were held here during the War of Independence.