Bagpipes and Bridges

Remember how in a post a while back I mentioned meeting an elderly man who decided that I needed a Scottish grandfatherly type looking after me? Well good, because my other adoptive granddaughter and I have gone to lunch with him a few times now, and on one of them he decided that we should see a bagpipe band. So this Saturday, he got his driver to take the two of us and himself to the lovely town of Crieff. It was about an hour away, which meant an hours drive filled with fascinating anecdotes and history bits about anything and everything we drove past. When we arrived we were in the midst of a little farmers market in the adorable St James square. The pipe band was incredible with bagpipe harmonies and drummers of course as well. It was about 20 people, and happened to be a momentous occasion for the band because today was the final day of the old pipe master who was going to be retiring and allowing the new pipe master to take his place. Quite the festivity. We grabbed a spot of tea after and then made our way back to Glasgow with one stop. Somerville needed to check in on a bit of land that he owns and rents out because one of his tenants is having water issues in her shop. While we were there he took us into the Red Cross's store (a thrift store to benefit the British Red Cross). He proceeded to buy 4 books. Then when we left, he walked around back and started digging through what looked like a dumpster. However, in the car our driver for the day told us that he does this every time he comes here because it is a recycle bin that is entirely filled with the books that the store couldn't sell quickly enough. Apparently my Scottish grandfather takes any opportunity to get new books, even if it is digging around in a bin for them while trying to push himself up higher with his cane. Our driver Phillip even said, "I am not going out there or he would have me holding him by the ankles to get to more of them." But that was the last part of the excursion, and we got back to Glasgow in time for Phillip to go watch the Scotland v. Croatia football game so all was right with the world. It was a great way to see a new part of Scotland, and for once not feel in any way like a tourist while doing it.

Of course, the tourist thing is fun sometimes right?
On Sunday, I went on a trip to see the Harry Potter bridge. I definitely felt the stereotypical tourist shining through, but it was worth it. The whole area was gorgeous, and I can never get over how beautiful Scotland can be. When I was taking pictures it looked like they were fake even as I took them. The morning was extremely foggy and cloudy, but the sun poked through by lunch time. By the time we got to our ultimate destination we even had some blue skies. We spent 2 hours in Glenfinnan, home to the Harry Potter bridge (technically Glenfinnan viaduct) and the black lake from Harry Potter. But all Wizardly magic aside, the area was gorgeous and definitely worth a visit. Plus, I even got a free CD out of the deal because of my sunny disposition and "smiling at everyone" so it was definitely a day very well spent. Although it would have been better with a hippogriff around.