Ha! So that's what you were doing while we went to the loo in the interval (and in my case also a quick smoke:-p)

I am now sitting on train from leeds to halifax:) all my fears of my last possible train being cancelled or connections missed did not materialise hurrah

FEAR

F -- False
E -- Evidence
A -- Appearing
R -- Real

Did you not hear about Limey's recent experiences with train cancellations?

I don't normally panic about trains but it was the only one to get me home tonight :)

FEAR

From
Experience (of)
Actual
Rail travel




:-p

Got back across to Arran just in time. The boat's off again! While Dana had to run for her train yesterday after the show, Sundae and I had time for a leisurely stroll along the Clyde back to our hotel. I'm really impressed with the use that Glasgow's making of the space left by the redundant shipyards.Attachment 46406


Sent by thought transference

I'm sat on Limey's sofa, with Cyd the new cat, listening to the wind roar in the chimney.
All very cosy in here though, especially with the fire blazing. I do wish I'd gone for a walk earlier to blow the cobwebs away, but it was lashing it down then, and on a Sunday there isn't really anywhere open to shelter in, should the need arise.

As usual I'll do my proper writing up when I get home (well, Friday really) but I'll be in the Cellar in general.

This is not from the 2013 trip. But I thought people might like a little glimpse into the kinds of thing that go on in a panto.

The kids get the glitter, and fairies, and fart jokes. The adults get the pecs, and lycra, and dick jokes.






(sounds wavers a little, but you get the general idea)

It's a little like a live Disney cartoon at times. People breaking into song and the hero always gets the girl, and she's usually a princess. The main roles (hero, princess, baddie, fairy/spirit helper etc) are often played by the same people, year after year. Names and costumes change, but basic role remains.






This one shows the outside of the armadillo!:

And the pictures of us? "So easy to post from your phone"? I know it is, because, surprise surprise, you've posted a pic of Carrot which you showed me the day before yesterday on your phone here on teh Cellar since you got back. But. hey. The. Pictures. Of. Us. ? ;)

Oh, you mean these pictures?

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/1...44b7f09c31.jpg

Us! just as the show is about to start. Not sure what's going on with my teeth...

Here's a really lovely pic of Sundae, in the diner, where she and I ate on Friday night. Sam was at this point still grounded on Arran (booooooo!):

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3688/1...0ebd035743.jpg

And another with what looked like a really delicious pizza:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/1...d1ee1396c8.jpg

A selfie at the diner:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3674/1...b8f67a1b01.jpg



And finally, because it's traditional, and because the Cellar men deserve a treat:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/1...12c1410549.jpg

Excellent!

Yay! I'm so glad limey was able to make it after all. Everyone's looking so happy, and that's the best kind of Dwellar picture.

^wss!

Thanks, Dana! Mwah!

Most excellent! Thank you very much.

Great pictures!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Ha! Nice one ladies.

One day I'm going to come too! (yes I know I say that every year, but one day I will surprise you all!)

Me too.

You'll have to let us know so that we can get you tickets. It's damn near a sell - out each year.
But we'd sure as hell love to see you there!

Sent by thought transference

It would be so nice if all of us can get together. :D

Too righty!


Sent by thought transference

LIMEY HAD TWO AT ONCE!???11?

;)

Sent by thought transference

Okay, here we go!
Let me take you back to the third of January, about supper time.
I'm all packed and ready to leave.

And bloody hell did I have a lot of packing to do!
Not so much of the fancy-pants variety, but enough clothes to stay clean and warm and dry, three pairs of boots and gifts for the girls.

1) Posing in my travelling clothes.
2) My big fat bags. And Jaffa cakes.

Looking good!

Mum gifted me the money for a taxi to the station.
She did this another year too, but I walked then, because I wanted to save the money.
I could've done with the money this year too, don't get me wrong, but it was pelting it down.

Anyway I saved money by getting the bus to Amersham (instead of the through train), and the Tube on from there.
Londoners might think otherwise, but once you get onto the Tube you save an absolute fortune. It's getting onto it (from Aylesbury) that costs.

1) Waiting for my bus.
2) Me on the crowded train from Amersham.

I forgot to say - I bought the Jaffa Cakes from Waitrose. 75p. And that's before staff discount.
For those who don't keep a close eye on the fluctuating Jaffa Cakes market, a packet will set you back over £1, and there were four packets in that long box.
It would have been rude not to.

Why did I dress up just to travel?
Me, the person who lolls about in jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt?

Well... I don't get the chance to dress up often.
And I knew there was a chance I'd have to sleep in what I was wearing, so it had to be fairly light.
And the bottom line is, I thought I would be more likely to get some help with my case if I looked a bit girly.
It worked. Three staircases, three charming men helped me. Then again, Dani and Limey hefted my case about for me too, so maybe I just lucked on out altruism.

So. Arrived at Victoria coach station pretty early.
Only, what's this? A sleeper coach to Glasgow at 23.00? Yup, was mine. Blimey - I'm so used to it leaving at 23.50 I hadn't even bothered to check.
Scrambly, scrambly, join the queue.

It was okay, I was still in plenty of time.
We boarded at the back, and I headed to the front, which was an all-or-nothing gambit, because if there were no berths left you'd be behind everyone else who was heading upstairs.
I lucked out.

I took the bottom bunk on the left closest to the driver.
There was no bottom bunk on the right, just storage for the staff.
The top bunk on the right was taken by a very lithe young Weedgie woman who had travelled from Tel Aviv that morning, coming hame from a nine month entertainment contract in Israel.
Chalk one up to her for travelling further than me.

Then the bunk above me was taken (with much heaving and puffing) by an even younger Sheila from Badelaide, Baustralia, who'd come via Eurostar from Paris.
Chalk one up to her for travelling from half a bloody world away in the first place and then not even stopping to catch her breath in London (off to see rellies in Erskine).

And I had my tea at home that night, I felt like a right surburbanite.

Megabus have changed the sleeper coach.
No seats, just bunks. NO SEATS! Nowhere to go if you're feeling a bit crook or want to see where you are or too hot...
And the bunks were tiny. Teeny tiny. I measured the mattress with my arm and it was barely wider than elbow to outstretched fingers.
And the poor lass on top. She was no super-model, and she was very aware of that. Bless her. She asked more than once, "I'm not squashing you am I?"
Yes, she was. But it would have been exactly the same if I'd been under the lithe dancer; the only way not to be squashed is not to have anyone above you. Or not to travel on the Megabus Sleeper.

1) Me in my lickle berth.
2) Really sweet Aussie.

Notes on the above: what you see is what you get, apart from a scanty cover.
There are no longer any curtains on the berths. So I was glad I wore my dress, because it's not a million miles away from a nightie, really.

I paid back the gents who helped me with my bag via karma. Young Sheila only had Euros and was horrified to find out that public toilets cost money. So I gave her 30p and showed her how to use the pushchair entrance (it's not clear, even though there must be loads of people with suitcases who can't use the turnstiles).

So the coach had left earlier than I expected.
In fact it also left ahead of schedule as all passengers had been ticked off the manifest and they were wary of bad weather.
This meant arriving in Glasgow WAY earlier than I expected.

Four and a half hours before I could expect even to leave my bag at the B&B, let alone check in.
I fannied about for a while, but there is only so much you can do without anything being open. Or startling the horses.

So off up Sauchiehall Street. At least this time I knew how to pronounce it. And I knew the way. It all helps.
Although it's pretty much uphill for a mile, it didn't really start raining until I got to the Alamo. Bloody hell, it's still not even 07.00. There weren't even any lights on.

So I sat and waited on the steps.
I know I'm irritable. But it's mostly because I dislike other people.
Left alone I am pretty patient and can wait for extended periods of time. It's my African heritage.

Flash (B&B cat) came and sat with me. He was more restless than I was, but then he couldn't/ wouldn't understand the significance of the 15 minute clock chimes from a nearby tower.
And Mr Fox trotted past us down the street on vulpine business.
Came back a while later, still in a foxy fashion.

A chap with a bear-trapper's hat went by with a red setter and returned also, noticing us on the return journey. "Happy New Year!"

Still no lights on.
OMG. What if no-one was staying last night?
It's not an unreasonable assumption. No breakfast, no rooms to clean, no reason to get up and open the doors until at least 10.00 and no reason for my poor old bones not to be sitting there for another two and a half hours. sadness.

Everything in me rejected the idea of taking my suitcase on another jaunt.
I'd used my dwindling reserves of energy just to get it up the steps.
And it was now raining properly.
So I found a napkin and wrote my name and the fact I was staying that night, and left my case (and the Jaffa Cakes) outside the door.
Risky business I know. But by then I was quite cavalier about my luggage.
My Norman heritage.

Off I hoyed, in the rain, to the Wetherspoons I'd passed earlier, which I knew opened at 08.00. Breakfast photo in Breakfast thread.

Back I climbed, in the rain, only to find that the Closed For The Night card in the door had been changed to a No Bags To Be Dropped Off Until 10.00 card.
09.35. Sigh.

Luckily, Steve - the owner - saw me and recognised me and let me in with a warm welcome and a worry that I might have been kept waiting.
Not at all!
He's such a nice chap.
My second breakfast photo is in the Breakfast thread.

The breakfast room has had a makeover - although it was nice enough anyway.
They've let out the whole place to the BBC for the duration of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year and the makeover is thanks to the deposit.
Good on them; Steve & Emma get a holiday as it's been booked as a self-catering let, and the BBC get to benefit real Scots as opposed to faceless multinationals. And it's a smashing place.

The breakfast room and me after being ravaged by travelling. And still in the clothes I slept in.

Down to our room. Which they made available before 10.00.

I had no mobile (cellphone).
All I could do was wait and hope someone else arrived.
My worry wasn't financial - for once! The Alamo know us and anyway Dani & Limey would never leave me stranded with an unpaid bill.

I was just a bit lonely.

Detritus.

1) I know it's a busy photo, but look out for hand-made chocs and biscuits from Ali, my decoupage decorated boxes and a pile of prizes for the girls.

2) My hat on a hand mirror.

Where did I leave you?
Oh, I was a bit lonely.

It was raining in a significant kinda way, but I'm British and I can deal with that. I wanted to wander rather than just wait, so I went out to explore the immediate environs.

Hang on, it's my fourth stay in the Alamo, how come I'd never done this before?
Well it's a combination; I'd been drinking on the journey in other years, so needed to sleep it off. It was snowing previously, so a jaunt out was very much heads down, watch your footing. Or I came by train and didn't have as much time to kill.

But I said to Dana - and it's true - that I do have a real feel for the area around the hotel now and can navigate it quite well.

This is a park more-or-less on the doorstep. Probably where my bear-hat friend was headed.
I was fascinated by the slide. I never thought I'd want to be ten again, with all the vulnerability that entails, but seeing the slide I did wish myself back, just for a little bit.

Actually I might have been able to fit down it, not having quite such a fat arse these days, but it was running with rainwater. And I'd never attempt it alone. Can you just picture the headlines?
"Child traumatised by rotting corpse found stuck in tube slide"
"Mystery woman tried to smash her way out, autopsy suggests"
"Bodily fluids the first sign of trapped body"
"Posh Spice has new haircut"

Flooded skate-park.

Park photos.
I particularly liked this fountain? pool?
As Limes said, it's very Albert Memorial.

Details

Moar.

And back across the bridge.
I wanted to take photos of it the other year, but that was the year of the treacherous ice.

I can't tell you what these statues represent.
Or even the name of the bridge.
Sorry.

When I get back to the B&B I find out that Limey definitely cannot make it to Glasgow that day (Friday).
Which is pretty rubbish.
But if you've been reading this thread you know it works out okay, so there's no need to dwell on it.

Here comes Dani! Yay!
I'd probably have welcomed Kim Jung-un at that point, but how much more lovelier to welcome Dani.

Both of us ready to hit the town.
Well, to hit a local diner which I'd checked out online.
916 Diner. Worth a visit. Very good waitress, although my opinion may be skewed by the fact she loved my hair (and I loved her tattoos)

Dana's dinner. And latte (not Irish coffee as the glass suggests)

As Dana posted previously, we had a very giggly time in the diner.
Very, VERY giggly on my part. At one point I brayed with laughter so hard I felt like I was an extra in Pinocchio.

And I let out all the laughter on the way back, to the extent I'm surprised it didn't bounce off cars and set off alarms. FTR I kept my knickers dry.

Anyway. My yummy, yummy pizza.
If this week was a stomach stretching exercise, this was my first challenge.
I reckon I ate about 2/3.

This is so wonderful, Sundae, I can't wait for more. I do have to say, it always startles me to see solid-metal playground equipment. Around here, that slide would get hot enough in the summer to give you third-degree burns. Even the plastic ones are too hot to use sometimes.

Thanks Clod. I've never thought about playground equipment in terms of A&E before (aside from getting stuck in it).
Glasgow does have hot summers sometimes; I stayed just outside Oban for a scorcher of a week one year.
But in general I think the unfamiliar yellow burny thing in the sky would startle Scottish children so much that a metal slide would be the least of their concerns.

Oh and I looked up the bridge and the statues for you.
For all of you I mean.
The bridge is Kelvin Way Bridge, and the statues I photographed are Peace & War, and Navigation & Shipbuilding.

I didn't mention that I am wearing my rockstar trousers in the above photo.
Maybe because I hoped you'd notice...
Yeah well, okay. Dana liked them anyway.
And my red shoes.

Next morning.
Breakfast documented in Breakfast thread. As before.

Limey contacted us to say she was already on her way so we got ourselves ready to meet her at the station.
I was confident we could do so in plenty of time, as it was pretty much downhill from the B&B back to town.

Sauchiehall Street, then Hope Street, then you can't miss Glasgow Central Station.
I know this is what people say when it really is quite easy to miss, but this isn't an elaborate set-up for us ending up in the Athens of the North; we really did get to Glasgow Central with no detours.

Delays, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.
Except I'll mention them - Dani can't walk past a beggar with a dog. Or just a dog actually. It's part of what makes me love her of course. Except when I am worried Limes is waiting on us.
Silly, really. I'm not responsible for either Dwellar and of course we met up just fine with no recriminations.

Interestingly, Glasgow seemed to have lots of American candy shops. I saw four or five. Marshmallow Fluff, Babe Ruths, Reeces Pieces etc in the window. I can only assume a ship came aground somewhere in the style of Whisky Galore!

The photo is the ceiling in the Alamo breakfast room.
I was trying to turn off the camera.
I liked the photo, so I kept it. Note my cotton candy hair making a sneak appearance bottom right.

Off to my second hotel.

Dani only slept in the Alamo. Limey only slept in the Ibis Budget (as below).
I win because I slept in both.

NB. Limes did question my idea of winning. I'm not sure I managed to get it across very well. Perhaps because it's essentially incomprehensible.
It is almost entirely a private joke, although the phrase, "Once again I win the game" does come from The League of Gentlemen.
But the idea of silly, silly, very silly games in which it is only possible to win comes from assuaging the natural boredom of being a reasonably intelligent single person.

Today I cut 300g of Cornish Quartz Cheddar cheese bang on.
I win.
See?

Anyway.

Those of you who follow my posts obsessively will remember that Mum & I stayed in an eTap hotel in Cardiff to pad out a trip won by my brother in a raffle.
eTap is now Ibis Budget, but the idea is the same. Basic accommodation, clean but no frills.

We checked in on floor six and got the keycard for the lift and the room on floor eight.
Twin room. The shower cubicle opens straight into the room, the sink is in the room. The toilet is separate. There is a telly and a little desk with a stool. And WiFi.

We were there to sleep.
It was (you may say) satisfactory.

1) Dana arsing about because I told them they didn't need to pose, I was just taking photos of the room
2) Shower and sink and reflection of me lovely me

Dani and I had already exchanged Christmas presents.
Mine from Dani was the same as Limey's - a most excellent mug with Yorkshire sayings on it. Some of which I have never heard. And I've read Alan Bennett.

A further Christmas exchange occurred.
Limey gave me her old iPad. Which is just like, wowza. She was worried that my delicate sensibilities might be offended. I was worried that Dani might think her carefully chosen and cool gift was overshadowed.

But hey - I bought them both cocks so I guess it all evened out. In truth we're pretty much tuned in to eachother after four years and don't do the jelly thing. My only disappointment this year was not getting my girls together overnight, but no-one could help that.

Moar of budget room, inc MY iPad on charge.

I must just interject here that I had adopted it some time ago as it was Mr Limey's cast-off and it is a little battered. But still serviceable. I seem to have accidentally bought myself a replacement on a previous trip to Glasgow ....


Sent by thought transference

We're off to see the wizard!
Well, off to the Panto.
The tickets that Limey conscientiously sent to the Alamo in case she couldn't make it were lost in the post. This actually happens less than people believe and is usually just the last excuse of thieves and scoundrels.
Limey is neither, so it was just sod's law.

Of all the worries that worried me, the tickets were not that high on the list.
Not once I had my girls with me.
I can be quite bullish when needs arise, but put me with Limey & Dani and I am immediately in passive mode. It's not a conscious decision, it's almost pheromonal.

Limes brought the whole ticket-buying-papertrail (well, it did fit into an envelope) and that was that.
Limey is a force of nature: educated, a financial expert, English with a history of living in Scotland... basically you cannot face this woman down.
Not even a hardened Weedgie SECC employee could stand agin her.
That said, it seems he was a decent chap and Limey only had to smile at him anyway.
Oh I forgot to mention, she keeps her claws sheathed; Limes also has a degree in Charm.

1) The Armadillo (where we were headed) and the new Hydro
2) La Rotunda Restaurant. We didn't go there, but the building appealed to me. It was the entry and exit point for pedestrian/ horse and carriage tunnels from the end of the 19th century, originally housing hydraulic lifts. There's an identical building on the other side of the river, which is for sale. Let's buy it!

Ladies?
All the ladies, louder now, help me out, all the ladies...

(if you know the next line then it's your bad not mine)

Dick McWhittington.
Absolutely excellent seats thanks to Limes.

I dunno, do you want a detailed review?
I will if asked , but I won't be offended if I'm not.

Off goes DanaC. She needed to leave to get home for Carrot.
So sorry to see her go.
I always feel bereft when I leave Dana's company, or she leaves mine.
She makes me laugh so much and so hard and we do have a shorthand when it comes to cultural references.
Something I don't have with (m)any people in the real world; I had to join a mostly foreign forum to find it.

Bye bye Dana.
Bye bye.
Bye.

Okay, so now we enjoy ourselves with food :lol:

Limey and I decided on an all-you-can-eat buffet on the same retail park as the hotel.
In truth, Limey would have paid for a taxi into the city centre and a really good meal at a gourmet restaurant.
But we both just needed to eat and this way we could eat what we wanted, when and how much we wanted and walk back to bed in about 100 steps and I could feel less of a cringing worm.

There were a number of chain restaurants in the area.
But we went for the only AYCE.
And the name was appropriate. Does Big Sarge vanity search? I hope so.

Nommies.

Limey snores.
So does Dani.
And so do I, AND I talk in my sleep.
I dunno, women of a certain age, eh?

Back to Glasgow Central, less than 24 hours after picking Limey up there.
But we did get some kip, nocturnal emissions irregardless.

.

Um...swoon!

This is so great. I have been following as you've been posting. Everyone looks great and happy! Dana, love you in the vest and head thingy. :)

And the Rotunda? I want the Rotunda Opposite. How much are they asking? What a cool building.

1) Further proof, were it needed, that you're charged 2p all across the UK.
Or 30p. So do remember to lay in a stash of coins when you come.

2) For Rich Levy, following our conversation about where you can and can't buy alcohol over here. This pub is on the station concourse, although the off licence is closed. Still, you can buy alcohol in Marks & Spencers I think.

I bought this juice from M&S instead, and very good it was too.

Note Limey's limey bag a couple of photos back. Absolutely gorgeous. I coveted.
She didn't disclose how much it cost, but given that it was a Christmas present to herself, and the glowing terms in which she reported its purchase, I think it may have been a tad over my budget. Which stretches to the heady heights of about £9.99. On payday.

Infi, yes let's buy the building on the other side of the river!
We can secretly reopen the tunnel and sneak into the Chinese restaurant at La Rotunda when the staff have gone home.
Or at the very least we can use it as a secret Cellar lair.

We need to get some rich backers on board though.
Scotland has a very odd way of selling property (or this is what I've gathered from watching property shows) which involves sealed bids and offers and things. So we have to go in high.

And kit it all out of course.
Hammocks and cat-food and hydoponic bays and the like.

Train from Glasgow to Ardrossan Harbour.
No drama, and nothing like the photo Limey uploaded from the previous week.

On the Clansman boat again; it's always pressed into service this time of year which means it's the standard boat for me, even though it seems old to people who make the journey on a regular basis.

We had breakfast on the boat (yup, photo in the Breakfast thread again).
Got to Brodick and laid in some shopping, then over the top of the hills (mountain) to chez Limey.
Greeted by the regulars (Jasper and Mr Limey) and the newbie (Cyd).
Settled down to eat Jaffa Cakes and relax.

Limey put a whole joint of lamb straight from the freezer into the slow cooker.
I was astonished. In fact I haven't told Mum about that yet, I may just nip off to do so - she'd be horrified.
Of course Limey does know what she's doing and served up a perfectly cooked and meltingly tender "roast".
Potatoes done in the thingy. The thingy, you know. Little cookery thing. Got a brand name which I can't remember *
They were very yummy.
I had no hand in this meal except for the eating. Which I did very well.

There was leftover lamb which I used the next day.

No dinner photos, sorry.
Not from Sunday night or indeed any night.
Very remiss of me.

ETA * Remoska!
It came to me as soon as I'd sent the post. Probably the reason I used the word remiss.

The next morning came up rainy.
Sunshine is not a given anywhere in the UK in January.
So I went off to Brodick on the bus.

I found myself at a bit of a loose end there.
Although the rain had stopped I couldn't go off-road as everywhere was pretty sodden, and I'd already seen all I wanted to see and photographed all I wanted to photograph.
So I went back to the Co-op and bought a few bits and pieces for the evening meal, then caught the bus to Whiting Bay.

The sun came out as soon as I arrived, which endeared it to me.
I said before that I wanted to live in Whiting Bay, but Lamlash now also has a claim on my affections (more of which later).

1) Christmas decorations Arran style
2) You can't see it in the photos, but the sea is a really improbable shade of green and quite, quite beautiful

I forgot to mention that in the background (above) is Holy Isle, where the monkeys live.
Or Buddhists or something vegan like that.
I'm tempted, but TBH if I'm going to endure public transport all the way to Arran I think I'd rather have a little more hedonism on my arrival than a retreat would provide. I'd be miserable if the weather was miserable, and if it was good I'd end up rocking and moaning to myself about the wasted opportunity of being so near and yet so far from a nice sausage bap.

I became a little obsessed by the swans on Arran.
I've never seen them on the sea before - they're inland birds in my book; fresh water birds if such a thing exists.
I can only assume that they're more flexible than I thought, or that no-one told them about my book, because they were everywhere on the salty water and on the beach.
Thinking about it, my book was probably I-Spy at the Seaside, which is an under-used resource tool these days.

The one thing Whiting Bay is a little short on is places to wait for the bus when the weather is on the turn.
There's The Coffee Pot, but I suspect it costs an arm and a leg just to get a little cup of tea and a stale cake.
That's really unfair of me; I have no idea whether this is the case because it's closed on Mondays. Which might explain my hostility towards it.

Instead I went into Bar Eden - a hotel bar which serves snacks and soft drinks as well as the usual.
It was lovely inside, pared back but comfortable, and while I was there three locals dropped by, which is always the sign of a good establishment in my book. That book being Bars and Why I Usually Avoid Them.
No crisps though. Booooooo. I might write it up for TripAdvisor all the same. Without mentioning the crisp shortage; if I can help bring even a little bit of money to Arran it's worth it.