Bonnie Scotland - Tour Planning

[mothwing]

Beautiful city of Glasgow, with your streets so neat and clean,
Your stately mansions, and beautiful Green!
Likewise your beautiful bridges across the river Clyde,
And on your bonnie banks I would like to reside.

Isn't he great? I love William McGonagall. The rest of this gem can be found here and is a prime example of William Topaz McGonagall's fine art. We're currently once more planning our journey. I have talked to the scary people at the hostel (Skyewalker, hehe), and we have managed to book rooms. Whee! Now all that we need is to sort out the question whether to take the coach ticket or the train ticket. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and it's not really possible to decide.

We're currently in the Music Department, which we have all for ourselves. Students who wish to practice in here after hours (or surf on the net) can go and fetch a key from the Main Gate and stay as long as they like ("Mind, the key's gotta be back by tomorrow, gels!"). This is cool as well as slightly scary. There is no one in the place apart from us, although there were ghostly piano tunes coming from downstairs a while ago, so maybe there is someone after all.

Our route for the next days:

• Saturday: From Glasgow to Loch Ness
• Sunday: From Loch Ness to Rogart
• Monday: Hiking in Rogart
• Tuesday: From Rogart to Skye
• Wednesday: Hiking on Skye
• Thursday: From Skye to Glenfinnan
• Friday: Back home from Glenfinnan.

We have the timetables for all the routes, we have booked the hostels, so everything ought to work out alright. I hope it does! The route looks great and although we do not manage to see Inverness or Aberdeen we do see a good deal of Scottish countryside and I am looking forward immensely to that.
Especially to Skye. Ever since I first heard the Skye Boat Song when I saw the end credits of a programme on Skye on telly I have been in love with this island, I have no idea why. I was delighted when I found R. L. Stevenson’s version of the Skye Boat Song later on. 

Sing Me a Song of a Lad That is Gone…

Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Mull was astern, Rum on the port,
Eigg on the starboard bow;
Glory of youth glowed in his soul;
Where is that glory now?

Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Give me again all that was there
Give me the sun that shone!
Give me the eyes, give me the soul,
Give me the lad that's gone

Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.

I love Stevenson’s poetry, and although I was never quite able to like his novels, his poetry has been a much-cherished part of my teenagerhood. He is such a great poet, although what I miss in his poetry is, well, Scots. But then, not everybody can be like Hugh McDiarmaid. 
His poetry is absolutely amazing, albeit absolutely unintelligible in parts, because he writes in his Lallans.

The Watergaw

by Hugh MacDiarmid

Ae weet forenicht i' the yow-trummle
I saw yon antrin thing,
A watergaw wi' its chitterin' licht
Ayont the on-ding;
An' I thocht o' the last wild look ye gied
Afore ye deed!

There was nae reek i' the laverock's hoose
That nicht—an' nane i' mine;
But I hae thocht o' that foolish licht
Ever sin' syne;
An' I think that mebbe at last I ken
What your look meant then.

I do hope the weather will be on our side next week... 

Ooh, something I am looking forward to immensely is travelling by Mail Coach. Some of the remote areas on the islands and in the Highlands are only accessible by Mail Coach, which are rather cheap and very slow. Whee, what an adventure!

It is ridiculous how much I am looking forward to that.

Comments

[lordhellebore]

*lol* The latter. Hannah, I think would come with us if we do it in several years. And ya know, would we really wnat a child with us? *g*

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Depends on what we're up to. ^^
There are many things one can do in Scotland, and most of them are really family friendly - especially those which feature a lot of landscape.

You've done it, now I can't get Lionel Swayne's "Beatus Vir" out of my head again... Shall perish, shall perish, perish, shall perish...

[lordhellebore]

Huh? I don't know that one. Who's Lionel Swayne? and I don't think I fancy the family friendly kind of trips anyway....Also, look at my lickable Icon. Isn't Paul McGann hot? ^^

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Hm, don't know. I like his eyes, but that expression with his tongue sticking out looks slightly weird to me.

Not family friendly? Hmm... What did you have in mind? :)

Lionel -uh, no, the name's Giles Swayne is a present-day composer who's doing kick-ass church music. The Chapel Choir, Crocky's choir, has done some of his pieces and they are absolutely amazing, very energetig and really hard to sing. Also, you can't get them out of your head once heard.

[lordhellebore]

The expression makes me go all goo-ey, I have to admit. It's the best icon I could find, sadly. He's not all that popular. I shal have to show you better pictures when you're back.

Hm...just travelling around, looking at landscapes, staying up late *lol*

I'd like to hear that...I like church music, usually.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Ah, cool! Hm, if there are better pictures floating around, then better icons are surely afoot. ^^

Well, that should be fairly family friendly - except maybe for the staying up late-part. Oh, and all too much travelling is probably not all too family friendly, either. We'll have to do that once I'm back here and a big, important teacher who, more importantly, actually earns something. ^^

Me, too. They did one recording with the Chapel Choir on the Highland Tour they were on - and they did Beatus Vir on that one, so maybe that's on it, too. Can't wait to get my hands on that CD, I can tell you. I'll go and look for other recordings Swayne's stuff should I ever have the funds, that's for sure. He is so amazing!

[lordhellebore]

Random question: you are still online at this hour? I mean, don't they ever close that building?

We'll have to do that once I'm back here and a big, important teacher who, more importantly, actually earns something. ^^

Yay. Or after some of my books got published and I'm a big important author *lol* (as if...)

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

We're all alone here and Crocky's got the key to the department. We really ought to have come up with that one earlier. The Music Department is all ours at the moment, although the computers are pretty trashy - they don't support all kinds of sites, really annoying.

That, too. I get the feeling that the latter is more likely than the former. How are you getting along with your stuff?

[lordhellebore]

LOL! Honestly, you become a good teacher much rather than I'll ever be published. And don't you read my angsty emo posts abotu writer's block? Honestly. It sucks to no end. I haven't even touched the book in over a year.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Ooh, no, I haven't, will do. :)

I've had something so akin to writer's block last week that I almost started believing in it again. o_O Not healthy for me, it would be the absolute, ultimate uber-excuse for me. It has been before. But I didn't get a word down during the last week, it's really a shame. And all due to the fact that I've entered the infamous stage in which seriosu planning is required. Oooh, dangerous. ... And a bit late after what, 25,000 words?

I suck.

[lordhellebore]

That last remark requires slapping. *slaps you with a large trout* You. Do. Not. Suck.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

ROFLMAO!! A trout?? A trout? Of all things? A trout?

And - fine, if compared to those out there whose abilities are far below average and therefore below mine, I do not suck. When compared to people who actually can write, I do, hence I am caught in mediocrity, which I resent, hence, I suck.

[lordhellebore]

Yeah, at least you can still kill me with your brain ;) But I understand. I hate my mediocre scribbling as well.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

It's painful, I tell you. Which is why no one is supposed to see it. ^^ It's for your protection, believe me.

Uh, I'm getting hungry, haven't had anything all day apart from cookies (blegh...), so I guess we had better head home and get that Chicken Tikka Masala going.

... Now all I have left to do is unglue Crocky from the screen. Whee.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Have read the post on writer's block. :( *hugs* I hope it goes away again, soon.

[lordhellebore]

Thank you.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

*huggles*

Ok, officially off, with or without Crocky. She'll come home when she's hungry. *g*

Nice talking to you! I hope I'll catch you on messenger again, soon. In case I find a computer which doesn't die instantly whenever I try and open one.

Have a great week in Hamburg, and say hello to Moonystone from me!

[lordhellebore]

There. I replaced the icon with another. Is this beter? ;)