Pandemic travel

Well, a lot has changed in the world since I posted here last month. I do hope you are all healthy, safe and trying to stay intact during this tumultuous time in history.

We booked our trip to Scotland back in January, and left for Glasgow the night of 3/11. The flight from Columbus to Charlotte went without incident. After we boarded our flight to London, there was a band on board who just found out their tour of Europe was cancelled and they asked to get off the plane. Their request was granted and our flight was delayed while all of their luggage/equipment was taken out of the hold.

Mid-flight, I was watching CNN and the dipshit in chief was giving the initial travel ban speech which effected all European travel, but not the UK. Felt horrible because there were people and school groups who had connecting flights to other places in Europe. They essentially had to turn right around. We had a connection to Glasgow.

After we all boarded that flight, the Captain announced that there was a scratch on front of the plane and we had to switch planes. After talking to my brother-in-law pilot, this is something that does happen. A drone or bird could have hit the plane and they cause damage. I did see what looked like a deep gouge where they said the scratch was, so better safe than dead.

When we got to Glasgow, our room was not ready. It was a crazy trip there.

We met up with my wife's sister, and her husband flew in from Dubai on his working flight. So we got to see him for a bit before he had to fly back to Dubai the next day.

Glasgow was cautious, but people were going about their lives. Places were open, but crowds and business were down in most places. We still had a flight home the next Friday.

Oh, toilet paper hoarding is universal.

That all changed Saturday morning when the UK travel ban was announced. My airline (American) and agent (Expedia) were no help at all in trying to get us home. We are very lucky we could simply afford to buy a one way ticket out of Glasgow for Monday morning on Delta.

(I still have heard nothing from American or Expedia in making good on the cancelled flight)

We were able to spend a few hours with my wife's father, who is not in the best of health, before we left.

The flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam on Monday morning was fine, about two thirds full maybe.

Schiphol Airport is one of the busiest in Europe, it was a ghost town. Flights were cancelled and very few people were traveling. It was almost as people were preparing for a hurricane, or war.

They said our flight was full, but there were a few empty seats, as we left for Detroit.

I had seen pictures of absolute horror shows at customs in O'Hare, Dallas, and other US airports and was prepared for the worst. I expected to miss our connection and was prepared to find a hotel room and drive back to Columbus if there was no connecting flight the next day.

Even the pilot was not sure what we were coming into, but he said lines were minimal, about 25-30 minutes.

When we entered Customs Hall, it was very quiet in comparison to other customs we've been to that have been loud and had shouting agents (You, Philadelphia). There were plenty of agents and we got through line one with no real difficulty.

When we left the plane, I'm pretty sure CDC personnel looked inside and I saw one fully masked person in CDC gear after we got out.

On the plane, we had to fill out a health screening form which essentially asked where we had been and how we were feeling. We got in the health check line and masked personnel checked off our forms. Everything was handled very professionally and calmly.

We entered another room and our forehead temperatures were taken, then we were grouped in about 8-10 and given a brief lecture about symptoms of the virus and that we had to self quarantine for 14 days. Then we were sent to another line when an agent took our names and typed things on his computer and sent on our way.

Security was a breeze and after a lengthy trek through the Detroit Airport we arrived at our gate just in time for the pre-boarding announcement. We were going to get home that night. It was a surreal and numbing five days, but I have no regrets about making this journey.

Detroit got it right, it took roughly an hour and a half to get off the plane, to go through customs and screening and to our gate. Impressive.

My wife and I are fine, symptom free and registering our vitals with the County Board of Health twice a day. We both will be working from home until the end of April, at the least. My son is well, and his mother agreed that we go back to his normal schedule so I will pick him up in the morning and drop him off with her on Wednesday morning.

We're in uncharted territory. I hope we can get through this one without too many deaths or damage.

Be well everyone.

The View From West George Street

We're staying on the first floor of an apartment/hotel. The ceilings are super high and the bedrooms are set back far enough that we do not hear much of the street noise. It's a busy one way street that goes straight into Nelson Mandela Place to one of the large shopping areas of the city. It's central, and we have not stayed anywhere this close to anything in over ten years. We were in one of my favorite bars the other night, at night, which was a first. I do not know if the city takes on a different pace at night, but it's cool to walk an abandoned Buchanan Street at 11PM, knowing that the way to bed is about six minutes away, instead of having the rush for the late train to Lenzie.

Spent some money today, and not necessarily on whiskey. Bought a shirt at a shop I would have have considered even entering five years ago, but here we are now in our new financial reality.

We've been to a few events: Ian Rankin and guests talking about murder cases, Vic Galloway reading about the wonderful Rip It Up exhibit on Scottish Pop in Edinburgh, followed by club night of music by said musicians on vinyl with Galloway, Divine and Stephen Pastel DJing. Tomorrow night its the Posies at a legendary club I've only read about. It's my first concert in Glasgow and I wonder if I'm worthy.

This was my best visit to Edinburgh, the people were actually pleasant this time about. All the while I lamented to my sister-in-law about a city being loved to death by tourists (yes, I know) we went to the blissfully quiet Oxford Bar where I used a toilet that Ian Rankin has surely used a couple of times, at least. Edinburgh was crowded, busy, now with a tram, and took away a lot of the unpleasantness of previous visits. Cheers!

The buses and taxis move behind me, there are occasional drunken shouts late at night. We're in the middle of this city, the energy, activity and screw the front of house at Mossa who were not capable of seating us let alone look at us after they finally got us a table, this has been a good stay.

I've got this disease I can't shake and I'm just rattling through life

The news that Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit succumbed to his demons and took his own life has struck me rather hard.

It’s not the same grief as when an icon you never met died, either suddenly or by natural causes. Frightened Rabbit were far from a household name, but they have a niche of very devoted supporters.

I’ve been following the band for over ten years, almost as long as they have been in existence. They had a good social media presence, you knew what they were working on, and where. Hutchinson wrote so eloquently and honestly about the human condition, flaws and all. He really put himself out there, to the point of a twitter meltdown a couple of years ago in which he asked us to not buy his records. The disease was speaking.

I saw them live in 2013 here, and the band delivered the goods as promised. It was a catharsis for both band and audience as we all got to yell scream and shout for a couple of hours.

The band came through town again in 2016, and tweeted that they were looking for a bar where they could watch the Leicester City soccer match. Several of us recommended a place.

The morning of the match I was there, along with other soccer fans, waiting for the game to statr. The band came in. I have to say there were very approachable, even when people wanted to give them their privacy, to let them watch the match in peace - they were very cool about it.

I got to talk to Scott briefly, to thank him for the good work he was doing. Handed over a couple of bottles of Irn-Bru, which they gratefully accepted. Grant cracked open a bottle right on the spot. They signed my CD, took some names for Monday’s guest list and that was it.

Did not get to go to the show, figured I’d catch them next time. You know how that goes.

See ‘em while you can, there may not be a next time.

Scott spoke openly about his condition, his depression and dark side and put them in his music.

Whatever he was listening to when he put out those two last, cryptic, tweets was lying to him so hard. The beast lies. Depression lies. As the band said today, he’s no longer in pain, may he have finally found some peace.

Bandwagonleicester

It is probably the best sports team story I have seen in my lifetime. The rise of Leicester City Football Club from Division One of the English Premier League to the top level, only to barely hang on to their spot last season.

Now, the team is a hair's width from winning the Premier League Championship, which would earn a team with one of the five lowest payrolls in the league hundreds of millions of dollars. If team manager Claudio Ranieri is not Manager of the Century, I do not know what it would take.

So many stories have been written about their rise in the ranks. It's been quite The Struggle, as my friend Graham, who is from Leicester and now calls Columbus home put it this morning. I cannot imagine the joy, the incredible impossibilities that are going through his mind as his boyhood team is so close to winning it all, for the first time ever.

I went to a local brewpub this morning to watch the match, and provide backup support. I had heard members of a Scottish band I like were looking for a place to watch as today was their day off before a Monday night show in town. Even brought a couple bottles of Irn-Bru in case. An offering to boys far from home. They did show up, and were extremely pleased with the gift, the brewpub, the match, and everything I think. As a neutral, I want to see this magic happen and am winning to deal with Everton losing to them next week so they can win the title at home. If chelsea were to beat Tottenham tomorrow, the point is moot, Leicester City win. Game on.

Eating and reading amidst all the chaos

Today was one of those days when you just want to come home and get under a blanket with a bottle of whiskey. A traumatic first day of school for a soon to be thirteen year old turned into a double murder live on air. It was hard to focus on anything while having a discussion of local politics with a local party high up which turned into laughter when it was revealed a local community that thrives on authenticity is getting a mall pizza shop in their neighborhood. For once I was happy that the west side was neglected. Quite the social media day considering I culled about fifty people my list earlier this week.

Then one of the baby pandas at the National Zoo died.

At least my wife loves me even when I think my kid does not.

At least I am thankful to have Saga and Martin try to solve murders in Sweden and Denmark for a few more hours.

And the Mets keep winning.

Did manage to find a decent low priced Chinese take out in the area recently. There is a great Thai place in the back of an Asian market that we frequent, but sometimes you just want the sweet and sour chicken or pork strips without all the heat. There is one place that recently changed ownership and is now called Asian Wok, but I'm not feeling the need to be a pioneer. So I did some Yelp research and gave Peking Wok on West Broad a chance.

The Wife and I like it. She says the lo mein is quite good. I can vouch for the sweet and sour chicken and roast pork and snow peas. The only minor miss was the fried dumplings. For plenty of food we paid about fifteen bucks. It's in the Franklinton Center and it's a hole in the wall but they're busy making very tasty things in their kitchen.

Been trying to read more and am almost succeeding. Recently finished a very good crime book from the UK. Here's my Amazon review

From the author of the Eoin Miller trilogy comes Ways To Die In Glasgow, a new crime thriller from Jay Stringer. Sam Ireland is a Glasgow private investigator who gets involved in a case that becomes much more complex, and deadlier than she expected. Stringer also gives us the story from the perspectives of Mackie, a violent young man with a missing gangster Uncle and Lambert, a detective who tries to stretch the system as much as possible to his benefit. It's a fast paced dark and witty romp with a high body count. Men are missing, lawyers and policemen are corrupt and steadfast - just like life. Stringer writes about his now home city with great detail and gritty affection. We're shown the dark, violent pubs and the spotless purity of legal firms, with plenty of one liners and wit that rises above the many blood stains. A good read by an author with a promising future, and that cover of Coney is brilliant.

I've also just cracked the spine of Neurotribes a look at autism from a historical and scientific perspectives. Steve Silberman has done some impressive research with this heavily buzzed about book. Hope to finish it sooner than later.

And to finish, here's a cool new song by the great Darlene Love.

The weird area of social media

Yesterday I received a friend request from a person with whom I had one mutual friend. Did a little vetting on the person's page and added back. You never know what to expect when a complete stranger adds you, with no obvious reason for them to do so. It is on me that I added this person with little hesitation.

The next thing I knew I got a like on a link I posted over a week ago. I guess that's what we do when we add someone, go back a bit in their timeline to see who they are. To get a small picture of what they do. This is understandable.

Right after that the person's cover photo was changed into one of my vacation pictures. There was no thank you, no introduction, no credit given for the picture. But this person got a couple of likes, so that makes it ok, right? The person had to go into my photo albums then dig through a couple of recent ones to find that picture.

It's not like the picture is a work of art, it's not. It's not a picture worthy of monetizing, ever. I have no intention of attempting to copyright the photo. It's a Bukowski quote that is painted on the wall of a bar in Glasgow.



I recommend Chinaski's they have a great selection of bourbon, and a sweet patio in the back which is where that picture was taken.

In the past I've posted a few pictures on this blog with no credit, which is wrong and I try not to do that anymore. It does bug me that a complete stranger adds me on Facebook then takes one of my pictures with no hello or credit. If I say something directly does it make me a bad person?

Queue up Local Hero theme

Waiting for boarding in Glasgow. It's been a great trip full of family, cool things to see and great beverages. Team Moss won second place at the Sparkle Horse pub quiz on Monday night and had a fine day boozer yesterday drinking our winnings, a 25 pound bar tab.

We took a fine tour of Central Station and I found Third Lanark.

My wife and I had a lovely, lengthy walk from the west end to town and found Rip Van Winkle bourbon near the end of it.

My Father-In-Law drove us to the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies and told me about his old Citroen.

Got to see my Sister-In-Law develop her business first hand. She's doing amazing work. Her Instagram account is where the magic happens.

Most of all, I miss my Son. Saw some pictures from the week and I think he's grown a couple of inches. It will be great to seem him tomorrow.

Ok United, it's your turn to get this right.

An even longer walk

Before we left I put together a list of things I'd like to do while on vacation. Would have been impressed if half of them were accomplished. To my surprise we got most of it checked off!

Yesterday my lovely Wife and I hit the west end for a bit and then we walked, and walked, then walked some more. Walked so far back into town our return ticket went unused.

Found one fine bar. So fine they have the elusive Rip Van Winkle on the top shelf. Took a trip to Scotland to finally get to try it. Verdict: it is really good but others can line up at 3AM for a chance to get a bottle.

Also found what Scotland would try and call a juke joint. I'm not sure if actual research was done, but putting pictures of blues musicians on the walls of a generic pub does not a juke joint make. It's not that it was a horrible place, it is not, but an amusing aside to the trip.

A little more walking today, a tour of Central Station, which I'm a bit stoked for, more food and a pub quiz.

All is well here but I'm getting reports of rain at home and worried about flooding in my basement. Hope all is well.

A good birthday walk

Been trying to avoid the news, but it's hard to not see the effects of the tragedy in Charleston. I live in a racist, violent country - ruled by guns. If rooms full of dead children and adults will not make us take a hard look at it, nothing will. The nation is not capable of real change, other than security theater.

So I unplugged yesterday while my wife and her sister went out to do sisterly things and wandered around Glasgow for the day. Took the train into an unknown part of town to me and visited the park where Third Lanark used to play.
An interesting, ghostly experience that was only missing morning mist on the pitch. Since I was there, I strolled past Hampden Park and had no idea it was in such a residential neighborhood, not unlike Wrigley Field.

Managed to get on the right trains at the right time and got back to Central Station intact. I keep getting turned around when in downtown Glasgow, my compass does not work, but once I find the Clyde River I can figure things out. Found an old chip/breakfast shop and smiled my way through a language barrier to get some food.

These people had some very, very thick Glaswegian accents but we were all nice to each other. They asked where I was from and so on. The chips were not good, the fish cooked ok, the tea was excellent as was the patter. Heard some outstanding cursing, great breakfast conversation to overhear.

Was lucky enough to remember to visit the Britannia Panoptican, one of the oldest Music Halls left in the world. It was a thrill to stand on the same stage where sixteen year old Stan Laurel made his theatrical debut, in 1906. The hall is being slowly restored and Judith Bowers is doing amazing work in stewarding the process, mostly on her own.

By then I was ready for a proper drink and headed to the Horseshoe since I missed it on my last visit.

After that it was time to once again hit the Pot Still. Fell in love with this place my last visit and that love only increased. Got into a fine conversation with a gentleman from Northern Ireland, had some good advice from Frank the proprietor and the whiskey was excellent. If there is a better selection of whiskey anywhere in the world, I'd like to see it. After a few my wife and sister showed up at the pre-determined time to get me out of there while I could still walk, but not before I had a Mortlach that was distilled in 1984.

Quieter day today. All continues to be well here.

Awake with the birds and seagulls

Dealing with 4:30AM jet lag is not a good time, but I am finally on vacation. While United Airlines continues to suck in communication with delayed customers, they have tried to improve their food. We even received a complimentary glass of wine before our meal. Sure, it smelled like something out of a diabetic horse, but it's the thought that counts. Plus, we were not on flights that were cancelled, or so late we missed a connection to Brussels.

So the discomforts of economy are relived by the happiness of our destination. We crashed, then took a well advised walk, ate a great meal and I ended up snoring on the couch for about five minutes while we watched Two Days in Paris.

And here I am now, awake on the same couch eight hours later.

To the city later, a visit to our Brew Dog overlords and smaller Kelpies before seeing the big ones on Saturday.

We're good here, even if sleep patterns are a mess.

I've been more active on Instagram

It has not really been quiet but there's not much for me to say about the busy. We've had my son the past two weeks and that's kept us active at all hours. We're prepping for our trip tomorrow and getting stoked for Belle and Sebastian tonight.

I can say it's been a decent vacation so far, all 20 hours that have happened.

Breaking out the old technology

Spring as arrived in Central Ohio. The family took an Easter walk in Blacklick Park and hit Graeter's for milkshakes after. I'm ignoring the lawn on this beautiful day so I can sit in the Back Room and play records.

Yesterday was Record Store Day. I did my main shopping at my local on Thursday by getting a new turntable. Easy to set up, it works perfectly. It's an automatic turntable which means I do not have to interrupt my daydreaming or important writing to get up and change records.

Crowds and I do not get along so I did not wait in line on Saturday morning, but waited until later in the day. I then headed back to my local shop. There was one record I really wanted and a couple of 45s I may be interested in. There was still a crowd when I got there so I went to the first milk crate of new records and started looking.

The second record was the exact record I was looking for! Figured I'd call it a day then and there, but I did ask about the 45s. They were sold out.

Worse than my fantasy football teams

My son's sleep cycle has been erratic again. He has been waking up around 4AM after going to bed between 10-11. He has not been staying up long, but long enough so I cannot go back to sleep.

I heard him Around 4:45 today and was about ready to go into his room to see how he was doing. When I opened my bedroom door he was standing in the landing. I told him to go back to bed and followed him. It's hard to know why he wakes up. Was he scared? Did he have a bad dream? His being non-verbal is very stressful for both of us. Gave him some cuddles as he quickly went back to sleep. That was about it for my night's sleep. At least there was a 7AM soccer match to entertain me until it was time to wake him up for breakfast.

Friday night's tragedy at the Clutha in Glasgow in Scotland was very saddening. I've never been in there, but have been by it many times. It was a couple of blocks from where my sister-in-law used to live and I walked by it frequently. It was one of those bars I always meant to go into, but never found the time. It seemed like a friendly enough established local and it's a real bummer that a bunch of people were there on a Friday, having a good time until a helicopter crashed into the roof. Eight are dead, a few dozen are injured. Lives are changed forever.

Another acquaintance from my college days died over the weekend. I knew Greg first at the radio station then he was instrumental in my getting the DJ job at Rascals after he left. We were never really close but he was a decent enough person who did not deserve to die at 51. Rest in peace, Greg.

Taking matters into one's own hands

One thing that I have really noticed from my visits to Glasgow is that the people there root out pretense, and will rip the crap out of it when given the opportunity.

That is one reason that I am always given a reason to smile whenever I've gone by the Wellington Statue in front of the Museum of Modern Art.



The statue has been in the city since 1844, but the traffic cone placement is said to have started in the early 1980's, if not sooner. It's become a rather iconic image of the city and it gives the world a glimpse of the city's humor. It's not a negative image, and far from a depressing one.

Yesterday, the city council tried to obtain funds to make a larger plinth for the statue, that would have made it more difficult to place the cone on the head. The city claims that it costs 100 pounds to take the cones off the head, and that it happens about 100 times a year.

My question why is even do that?

By making it more difficult to put the cone on, you're really encouraging those who put it there. Not the smartest move by the council.

Social media went all a-twitter, the Wellington Cone set up his own account, there were petitions started and #savethecone hashtags spouted up. It reminded me of the Hurricane Bawbag event a couple of years back. Another D.I.Y. and viral protest was happening.



By the end of the day Tuesday, the people had spoken, and they city council plans to withdraw their request to have the plinth raised.

I'm still listening

My wife is the fan of The Pastels, I've never been thrilled by the vocals. This song though, everything works. My wife and I were driving around when this song came on. We named different kinds of rain.



Stephen Pastel knows rain. When you live in Glasgow, and are an artist, you work with it. Use it in a well crafted song. Put it on your latest record Slow Summits.

The first single off the record it quite infectiously delightful too.

I hate zombies, but went to the zombie movie

Almost two years ago, on our first day in Glasgow, we stepped out of the Queen Street Station and into George Square and saw this.

It was the last day of filming World War Z. The filmmakers were substituting Glasgow for Philadelphia. Banners were strung up, street signs were added.



We did not see Brad Pitt or any of the other actors. Principal shooting was completed. We just saw a few crowd shots. I'm not a zombie fan by any means, but since I saw some filming it went on the 'to see' list.



It was interesting seeing the film and noting what landmarks were altered. The footage was in the first ten minutes of the film as mayhem takes over the streets and the zombies are on the loose. There were explosions, and car crashes. I noticed this bus getting whacked in the film.



The original release date was in the summer of 2012, but that was pushed back a whole year due to internal squabbles and problems with the script. A bit of the ending of the film was reshot, and that shows in the completed work. It seems very tacked on, which is a shame because the film is neither a cinematic turd nor a piece of gold. It has its good moments of zombie attack suspense but it also has some horrible acting. Pitt was fine as the reluctant hero, the actress who played his wife had a thankless part of doing nothing but looking worried at a cell phone (including having her make one phone call that would have been a shaming event at Writers' Block) and the kid actors were not very good.

There was one great product replacement that still has me giggling and my wife reminded me of this video during another crucial scene.



I have not read the Max Brooks book but understand liberties were taken. So many that it barely resembles the finished film. That's Hollywood though. Overall it's a piece of summer entertainment that is worth seeing, if only to escape the local crowds instead of an evening of fireworks.

I can't commit

Been an odd week to get back into the flow of things. Things blew up naturally and unnaturally and we're doing what we can to remain intact here.

Am I a bad person for not listening to that Brad Paisley/L.L. Cool J. duet? Or am I the only one who has not clicked on a listen to the latest from Daft Punk?

My wife is a good person, she's shopping for others on Record Store Day. Heck, I even asked if she'd pick something up for me if she came across it. Am I too old to be waiting in line with dudes with beards? My son is here this weekend. Yes, that's my excuse. Did break out the vinyl on Thursday night for awhile, and cleaned up the Back Room a little bit so it's functional.

Switching from French Press to pour over coffee, maybe I'm more of a hipster than I want to be?

Meeting with the woman who is most likely going to be my son's caretaker this summer. Neither his mother or I thought he liked day camp last year, and neither she nor I did either. This girl's a student at the university and worked with his teacher as an aide, so she comes recommended and she knows my son.



Things I did not do in Scotland this time that I want to do something about next time: attend another open mic, see a concert, Kelvingrove, back to the Horseshoe, Cathkin Park, Partick Thistle, who may be in the top league next season!

Open up your heart and let the Partick Swayze in

While on our trip last week we took part in a genuine UK Pub Quiz. It was at a newer bar on the west end of Glasgow called The Sparkle Horse. A friend of my wife’s owns it.

It's also the home of the now famous Partick Swayze Cocktail.

They do their quiz on Monday nights, and we were there the day Thatcher died.

Our team was my wife and I and we were happily joined by her sister and partner as we set out to conquer.

The place was packed when we got in and we were lucky to snag the last three chairs at the bar.

The quiz was run well, and they did not take themselves too seriously. We were in trouble at the start as politics was one of the first categories. And we were expected to know so and so MP won their district by how many votes in the 2011 national election? One team got it right, exactly, which makes me think the politician was on that team.

Our Joker round, the round we got double points, was literature and we aced all six questions. Emma knew about 50 Shades of Grey, I pulled out Pollynesia as the name of Doctor Dolittle’s parrot and sister in law nailed Goldeneye as Ian Fleming’s Jamaican estate. So yes, those were literature questions.

Our goal was not to suck, and we did not. There were about 20 teams playing (yes, it’s popular) and we finished in the top six or seven.

No shame. Three nations of pride!

Also in attendance and a full participant in the night’s proceedings was the lead member of a popular Scottish band that my wife admires. We were not going to approach him during the quiz as he was there with his friends and one of the other members of the band. At the end of the night though, he did come up to the bar and I introduced myself. We talked for about a minute, then my wife came over and I introduced them. I’m very happy she got to thank the guy whose music means so much to her. Sometimes you get to do that in life, and it’s important.

What a Local

There are a lot of bars in Glasgow and it's not hard finding a good one. I'd been looking through travel guides and online sources to see if there were some interesting ones I missed.



A number of sites recommended The Pot Still so I figured it would get a shot. When I walked in a dog was staring at me. It was not causing any trouble, other than getting behind the bar, then gently sent off by the bartender.

This was what I saw.



I am not sure I have ever seen this type of whiskey collection in a bar before. I said it would take awhile before making my first choice. Eventually selected the malt of the month, a Glen Garioch. A tasty highland malt from one of the oldest distilleries in the country.

The bartender knows his malts. Very friendly and easily answers questions.

When it came time for my second, I asked about a trio of whiskeys on a shelf. He brought them down to show me.



Kilchoman is the first distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years. It was established in 2005, which means they do not even have a 12 year old whiskey to sell. The one I tried was 100% Islay made, from the malt grown, to the malting process. An estate grown whiskey. I had found my wheelhouse on the second try, and the drink was fantastic. All the peat, malt and smoke in fantastic balance. Pricey, but I was on vacation and not spending $70 for a bottle.

Said my goodbyes, but told them I'd be back.

I returned on Wednesday, did not order the 1953 from a distillery I do not remember that went for 55 pounds a shot, but a modest one.



Took a seat, read the papers. Ordered a Jura Prophecy and got into a conversation with a couple of locals.

"You are American?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from?"

"Columbus."

"Ah, Jack Nicklaus country."

And we talked about America. They loved Myrtle Beach, would live there but hated our health care system.

No one brought up Thatcher.

The Pot Still kept me from another bar I love, The Horseshoe. That collection of malts is outstanding, and will bring me there again.

Lowering clouds, rising temperatures

A dramatic day began on the train to Glasgow, where I ended up seasted with two guys on the way to the Celtic match. Each had an open beer, one polished off his pint of Buckfast. To their credit they did put the empties in a bag they brought with them.

There was a fan based protest going on in George Square. Some Celtic supporters think they're being persecuted for making sectarian chants, they probably deserve it. I saw a few hundred people chanting and waving flags. No arrests.

Walked from town to the stadium, picked up a greasy bag of chips from the oldest chippie in Glasgow and strolled through The Barras. This is an open air flea market that sells a bit of everything, most of which is legal, some bootleg and questionable. There were also tables of porn DVDs for sale, a good time but best to move on.

The air on the east side smells of vinegar and stale garbage, it has not rained here in about a week. Activity increased on the street as Celtic Park came into view. A place called Kick Ass Burgers was open, as was Pimp My Burger.

Had no problems picking up my ticket and walked over to an area where a crowd had gathered. The bus for Hibs, the opposition had showed up. No one booed. A few minutes later, the home team bus pulled up to applause. A few players waved, some looked more serious than others.

On your ticket, you are given a specific turnstile to enter. There are no ticket takers. You scan your ticket and the gate opens. This is the section where you will stay the entire match. You cannot move to another section or part of the stadium. I bought a Meat Pie and Coke. I did not see Irn-Bru for sale. There is also a Ladbrokes stand. Yes, you can bet on the match inside the stadium. I kept looking for Pete Rose, he would have loved this!

My seat was great. Took pictures. Asked the usher if I was in the right section. Did not see Rod Stewart.

The game itself was a bit of an afterthought, Celtic scored early, led at the half and won it 3-0. Commons had two goals and I was impressed with the play of defender Kelvin Wilson. Got to see Samaras come in off the bench and Paddy McCourt ran around for five minutes.

Watched a large fan made banner of Neil Lennon riding a white horse make its way around the stadium. It got to our section and we passed it along. Did the bounce for about fifteen seconds. This is a movie in which you lock arms with your neighbors, turn your back to the pitch and jump up and down. Good times!

The most exciting thing happened at the half when a woman sitting two rows behind me won fifty thousand pounds in a big drawing. She seemed to be a regular and no one believed her at first. Then her husband's eyes got really big Andy they went to the pitch. I could see her shout with joy as her ticket was confirmed, then she posed at mid field with the big,fake check. Good for her!

A sea of people headed west down London Road when the match ended. Very cool. Very peaceful, for it was a good result, too.

Got a bit lost trying to find a friend's flat and ended up giving up. Went to Caffe Nero to chill and edit poems, then to the 13th Note when I met my wife and her friend who came up from Bristol for the weekend.

Good day in the city, and it still has not rained. Chilling out in Lenzie today. Took a walk, now listening to Everton/Spurs as they do not have enough cable here.

Monday is a trip to the Museum of Transport and a genuine UK Pub Quiz.