Murals, multicultural center
After breakfast at the hotel Ibis (not bad), I went to buy a bus ticket to Campbeltown where I will get the ferry to Ballycastle to see my cousin Catherine McLean (who goes by the Gaelic version of her husband's surname).
Then I went to see the Glasgow School of Arts, knowing the building designed by Mackintosh was under construction.
Actually, none of it was visible, having suffered a fire in 2014 and an even worse fire in 2018.
https://themackintoshbuilding.co.uk/
Tea cosy
I rather liked this little embroidery in the manager's office
"The World's Most Economical Taxi"
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
For Billy Connolly, Glaswegian comedian, one of 3 murals in the city for his 75th birthday
A last mural, called "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
I was able to see students' work in the hallway
and an exhibit about the school. I learned a new word from a young woman in that gallery who said she was an "invigilator" whose job it was to count the visitors to the exhibit but according to the dictionary that job is a proctor for exams!
The exhibit had an assortment of the history of the school and the far-reaching work of former students, including films, tea cozies, and a snowstorm by a "transvestite".
I was curious about a nearby center for immigrant assistance so I walked in and got invited to a women's group, where we sang a song and did some stretching, and then we went upstairs for lunch! The center is called the Garnethill (the name of the neighborhood) MultiCultural Center.
Sharon, a part-time employee, and Christy, the manager, were so friendly and welcoming!
Two Iranian women cooked a dish of lentils, rice & lamb and 3 men made 2 kinds of salads.
I then went on a tour of some of the murals in the city with Brits and a German couple about to do the West Highland Way in 10 days.
"Keeper of the Light"
On my way to a theatrical event at Glasgow Cathedral, part of a 3 day festival, I ate spaghetti Bolognese at a small restaurant. It's not always eating dinner alone but cheaper places are often better.
I talked to an American woman married to a Scottish professor before the event which had something to do with the mother of Saint Mungo...the American told me quite a bit because she is fascinated by the Saint and especially his mother but I was fighting sleepiness and didn't get much out of it. Still, I enjoyed the lights and music of the performance in the cathedral.
In the morning I gave away my pink Land's End down vest (no room!) to an older woman begging on the street nearby, along with the gingerbread cake from the Willows Tea Room. I'm not sure she understood English but she took both things and smiled. A few hours later and a few blocks away while on the murals tour, I found it on a concrete block on a small street! Later I donated it to the same charity shop where I left a sun hat last week I'd brought and not used. What are the chances that I would find it!
Oh, and I went to M&S (Mark & Spencer) and brought a pack of 5 "knickers". But there were no washcloths for sale. At the hotel what they called face towels were 3 times as large. This is what happened in Ireland but I managed to buy a pack of 3 in Ballycastle and am carrying one with me now!
Also, that store had the most confusing elevator! Floors were labeled 2, 1, -1, and 0. Huh? A funny lady on the "lift" said to me, this is Confusing Day, did you know? I laughed.
And lastly, the Niki de Saint Phalle decoration on the Glasgow Museum of Art looked great at night!
I love those murals!
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