This morning I woke up to the sound of a fog horn reminding me right away that I am in fact, back again in Scotland. I got out of bed and and looked out the window and could just barely see across the Clyde to Greenock. I don�t know what the temperature is but it�s chilly and misting rain. Your typical Scottish day. But hey, I�ve brought my umbrella so I�m going to be fine!
The trip over was thankfully uneventful. The weather in Little Rock cooperated enough to let my plane leave on time and the lay-over in Atlanta was just long enough to make the change comfortable. I flew to Brussels in a Sabena Aircraft which now flies in cooperation with Delta. Apparently once in Belgium all semblance of cooperation ends because there wasn�t an ice cube to be had on the flight from Brussels to Glasgow.
The plane to Glasgow was full of American men with golf bags, and young Scottish men in kilts. I guess it sort of like a pilgrimage for American men to come to Scotland to play golf. Like going to Mecca if you�re a Moslem. I was fascinated by the young Scots. Nicky informs me these young men are part of "The Tartan Army" which is a term for fans of Scottish Football who travel to all of the away matches, dressed in kilts to proclaim their allegiance and national identity to the world. Aside from their high spirits, in spite of having lost their football match with the Poles 3-2, it was the way they wore their kilts that caught my interest. When I lived over here 20 years ago, kilts were worn only by the military or for ceremonial occasions. These kids wore theirs like they wore jeans. A couple were pretty neat and tidy, dress shirts, jumpers and the regular shoes, but the majority of them wore them with t-shirts and trainers. Personally I think it�s kind of neat.
I�m going to have a down day today and adjust to the time change.. The airport called and they have located my lost bag and told me that it will be delivered in about an hour. I will probably take a taxi into town this afternoon and just look around. I�m also thinking of taking the West Highland Line up to Malig tomorrow or Wednesday. We are leaving Friday morning to drive down south to Windsor. The trip has been extended by four days, to include 3 days in Plymouth and a day in London so that Bob can attend some Navy meetings. Jen and I are both delighted.