Just photos now....

Queens Cross Church Blue Window

church door detail (it's a beetle)

church door detal

church gallery detail ( note the hanging wood carving)

Mackintosh high back chair

Mackintosh font (GSA)

Glasgow School of Art Main entrance

Mix of  architecture in Glasgow

Renfrew St building

Scotland Street school hallway

School window detail

Willows Tea Room bath

CRM designed room

Kid in town....

Child #1 has arrived in town. So now we have the oppertunity to show him the sights. Oh, ther is so much to do! The first obstical is to get him over his jet lag. I hate day One of international travel, whetherits for me or someone else. It's so hard. The body, either young or old, just doesn't want cooperate. So I'll be busy for the next few days. But I still need to get those photos on the blog.....

Brilliant...awesome...amazing....

OK, I'm talking about architecture here. Yup...buildings. Or rather the style or design of them. I had no idea Glasgow had such diverse architecture. Not just old stuff either, but more modern feel. And they seem to want to keep a good balance.
Glaswigans are great people. I was told this before I came. But to be here and experience it. They are very friendly, if you have questions they get to it. In fact,I had a run in with one too friendly. The local chippie said they didnt do the small size fish supper listed on the board. So I asked for just chips. "Salt and vinegar?". "yes" was my response after I figured out what he'd said. Paid and got my order to go. Outside I noticed there was a giant fried fish atop my chips. So I went back in because I thought perhaps I got the wrong order. He had to explain he gave me a free fish atop a "few" chips - right in front of the manager. I really hope he didnt get into trouble. It was a very kind thing to do really. Blessings to him.
My self made tour was fabulous. I discover Mackintosh 15 yrs ago when we lived here. Turns out, he's one of those artisans who never reached huge popularity in his day. And it wasnt till about 40 yrs ago he hit the big time here. I think of him more as an artist, but he was really an architect. He took the holistic approach, so he not only designed buildings, but also the fittings, furniture, lamps and even textiles used in them. He was married to Margaret MacDonald, who was a graphic artist. She helped him in his creative genus and togeer they were an amazing pair. He said " my wife is a genius. I have some talent".
I toured the Glasgow School of Art, still in use today. The Scotland Street School which he designed is now a museum and no longer a school. I'm hoping to hit the Willow Tea Rooms tomorrow, as well as the church he designed. The University of Glasgow has recreated one of his homes using the original furnishings. Since they had no children, it was dedsigned in white (walls, furniture, carpet) back in....1906. He was working in what they said was Art Nouveau, but it leads heavily toward Art Deco. He, I feel, was more into the arts and crafts movement, combining visual space with natural influences. Many of his chairs had the problem of 'form over function'. They would fall over being top heavy, or break due to incorrect engineering. But they are gorgeous to look at!
Pictures to follow

Giddy in Glasgow.....

I'm in Scotland!! Yeah. One of my favorite places. When we were here before, we took some trips up heree and I fell in love. The one thing I never did though, was to go to Glasgow, home of Charles Rennie Macintosh. Who's he? He one of the world's leading Arts and Crafts movement artisans, but little known outside of the UK. While a contempary of Morris, Wright and Greene, his work resonates with my tastes more. I am taking photos, but until thenlaptop returns from Northern Ireland, I cant post. Yup. Hubby is away, so I get to play!! (I have to inject here that a few fellow students of hubby's remarked how odd it was that I would go off alone to travel.....) Anywho. Here I sit in my single room at the Victorian B&B on Renfrew St. Turns out this is the hub of Macintosh-ism. Wile henlived and worked here in Glasgow, many of his landmark buildings are right around the corner. Or in the case of the Glasgow Art School, it's right across the street.
I want to interject here that I did get to eat at Gordon ramsey's Plane Food in terminal 5 at Heathrow. Nice food, nice view, good service. Hd the crispy duck salad, with ginger chili. Yum.
So tomorrow is my big day. I bought the Mackintosh Trail ticket, which gets me into all open venues and an all day bus/subway pass. Woo hoo. Watch out Glasgow. Here I come.
Now, to find a small dinner....

Yeah, yeah.....

Ok, I'm guilted into blogging today. Well, that's not really true. I've been meaning to do so for days, but I feel bad if I don't post photos. Nuts really. So today's entry will be just words. No pictures. If that doesn't interest you, move on. Next blog......
Last night hubbie and I attended another West End play, "three days in May". Good play, lousy theatre. Reminds me of my olden days working in half finshed venues. But the show must go on.
I won't say we've been busy, rather just doing stuff. Last weekend we took in another of our walking tour book's route. This one was through Soho. Now, I had wandered into Soho for various other reasons (looking for a book shop, eatery, fabric store) and I have to say I wasn't looking forward to this walk. Lots of Soho is seedy and well, not my cup of tea. But in true form, this author takes you to the off beaten and more unual places of each area. What you think you know of an area, is not discussed. Rather the flip side of a region is uncovered and introduced. Makes it fun actually. I found that there are decent areas in Soho with some amazing history. It's really all about history in London anyway. Oh, did I mention the Professor Quantum's time tour bus tour we took? Probably not. It was fab. It was a quirky tour hitting most of the major London sights. Very highly recommend.
We'vs also filled time with weekend car boot sales, which take us to unknown areas of London. While I'm hoping to find killer buys, its nice to get out and about, exploring new bus routes and just seeing the city. Since the weather's been so nice and dry (yet cold) lately, it is a shame to stay in doors.
Also been getting to know ut neighbors more. We had them to dinner. Jess had me over for tea. We ran into them the other day on the street and we all wandereed to the local pub. It's very homey.
Tonight we're off to Moroccan for dinner. They have a culinary club at hubbies' school and native students can pick a place to have other students meet and experience their cusine. Can't yet find a place to take folks for us......

A Glorious New Year y'all.....

O La La. Here we are in 2012 already and there is all the buzz about this, that and the other. Euro Zone, summer Riots, jobless all still lead the morning news shows. So nothing is REALLY new then. Same stuff, just flip the calendar page....
When asked about resolutions, I just "say no". I honestly don't believe in them. I understand the historical significance ( new year, new goals, new life), but honestly, it's just an arbitrary date to do so. I'm expecting some good things to happen in 2012 - holiday in the Caribbean with my Girls, go to Sissy's wedding, but there are flops coming my way too - another cross planet move, bills, illness (I'm hacking as I type). So again...nothing new, at least in my world.
This is day 5 and what have I done. Relaxed!!!! But besides that, hubby and I did another London walk on day 2. We stayed close to home and did the Notting Hill Walk - 6 miles in all. Luckily we can stop, read, grab a pint if needed and mosey on. At first I wasn't too sure of this walk. The author took us many lovely old neighborhoods, which I could only glimpse at if I craned down the side streets. I pulled hubby off the beaten path and we oo-ed and aw-ed at the large Victorian mansions. Why these were ignored, I'm not sure.  but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that EVERY London neighborhood has them. But as an American, we just don't get this at home!!

Once maneuvered back on course, we were  treated to lesser know facts about the fashionable Notting Hill. It had been developed  by the Lembroke family, giving it's name to half the streets. It established a short lived race course to rival Ascot. But after it's failure, it was turned into a residential area for  ever expanding London.Pottery and Tiles were once the lifeblood of this area and  pigerys rained supreme - after all, it was rural!  Once quite posh, it became an area for people of  "lesser" means in the 50-70's. Caribbean immigrants flooded the area and in the 70's there was much termoil with the Black vs White racists. But thankfully in the 80's that began to change. It was an artsy area which now pulled a more moneyed crowd. THere are still some modest homes and flats but much of the area has been refurbished to it's former glory.
The film, Notting Hill secured it's current status. Written by people living in the are, they used existing buildings and actual businesses for inspiration. The main character's exterior house shots were actually the screenplay's real home.I think no one expected such a dynamic following to this film.

Much of our walking tour  took place along this films, and others, shot in this neighborhood. It's such a great vibe to the area. Portobello Road is there which floods every weekend, moistly with tourist. But I love to go to the top area, under the WEst way overpass. that's where the real vendors hawk their wares.

I have to say I love the area, and now that I have a better understanding of the history, it makes it all the more fascinating. No tour would be complete with a pop into the local pub. In we went, and I finally got the Bramble cocktails I've been hunting for all over London.

The chi-chi RAC club didn't have it, but one pokey pub in Notting Hill rocks it! Imagine that.....