The weekend

I went to see the excellent Shutter play at Hootananny last night.

They were loud, angry, and energetic, as usual, and their sound was full of the skill, depth and confidence of a band who I am sure should be much better-known than they seem to be.

Support was in the form of another local band, Emenate, who were excellent (despite all looking about twelve – or am I just getting old?).

Besides that, I’ve been having a nice quiet weekend doing very little.

Tomorrow, I am off to Dundee for most of the week, also packing in appearances in St Andrews and Aberdeen.

At the end of it all, it will be just a week before the USA trip…

Photos from Shetland

I’m back.  Here are some photos.  They’re not brilliant, I am afraid.

Sunny Shetland

Greetings from Lerwick – which according to BBC news has been the UK’s sunniest place this month. 

I arrived at stupid o’clock this morning and have had a long, long day of work and exploring.  The latter has been wonderful to do as Lerwick basks in strong sunshine with only the gentlest touch of coolness in the air.

Shetland’s bustling, genteel capital is one of my favourite places in the country.  In weather like this it’s a great place to amble around with a camera, enjoying the views over the bay from the 17th century Fort Charlotte, and taking in Commercial Street’s quaint shops, the picturesque harbour or the magnificent Victorian-era Town Hall.

I’ve taken lots of photos, some of which are above awful.  I don’t have a very fast internet connection at the moment, though, so you’ll have to wait until the weekend to see them.

It’s been around two or three years since I was last in Shetland, and one of the most noticeable changes has been the arrival of the new Shetland Museum – an interesting and informative place, and well worth a visit if you’re in this neck of the woods.

Another Lerwick highlight are of course the numerous excellent pubs.  However, I can’t give you any up to date reports on that front.  I’m getting a very early night, because this morning’s flight from Aberdeen warranted a 4.15am wake-up.

Not that I am complaining.  This is, after all, the sunniest place in the UK right now…

Mullet update

View Larger Map

I’ve not done a proper update on the mullet mission for a while, and so after having done various bits and pieces on the mission, here you are.

Firstly, I’ve revised the list of mullets – removing mullets that are translations of the word “mullet” in other lanaguages.  There was one in Mexico, and several Maori placenames in New Zealand, and I realised that if I was to include these it would just stretch things to a ridiculous level (as if the mission is not ridiculous already), and there would simply be too many.  So I’ve limited myself to those which actually have the word “mullet” in their name.

That also rules out Longueuil which I have already visited.  So along with “Mulletville” I have relegated it to the status of “honorary mullet”.  That means that the grand total is now twenty-six mullets – fourteen down, twelve to go.

That’s over halfway.  Which is excellent.

All the mullets have been painstakingly located in Google Maps, and you can see my mullet mission map here, and you can have a browse around it above.

And welcome to the newest mullet – Mullet Bay, in St George, Bermuda. I discovered this when I got an email on the back of the New Zealand media storm.

And finally, the mullet mission webpage has been fully updated to incorporate all of this.

It’s now all systems go for the USA trip: just under three weeks to go…

Movements

I’m going to Shetland for two days this week, for work.

It’s my first time up there for a couple of years or more, and I am looking forward to going back.

Most of my visits have allowed for little time beyond work to do or see anything, but  I’ve loved the little bits I’ve seen.  This is one of the better photos I’ve taken up there.

My expedition this week might see me with a bit more free time to explore, and so perhaps if I am lucky with the weather I’ll get some better shots.

And to those of you who were expecting, based on the title of this blog, some musings about classical music or even diarrhoea then I am sorry to disappoint you.

Road trip

My new regime of not working on Mondays started at the beginning of this month.

The plan has been to do constructive stuff such as writing (both mullet-related and other ideas I have swimming around my brain).

However, so far I’ve had people staying, such as couchsurfers, so have taken the opportunity to be a bit of a tourist.

This Monday past, my couchsurfer and I hired a car and we did a bit of a road trip up the A9 and through the northern Highlands.  It’s one drawback of not having a car that I don’t get to do this more often.

The trip included a couple of firsts – my first time inside Dornoch Cathedral, and my first time in the town of Wick (which surprised me by not being as rubbish as I’d heard.  Nice sunny weather helped).

I took plenty photos on the trip – the least rubbish ones can be found here.

Mystery Worshipper hits St Silas

Ship of Fools is a satirical Christian website which I don’t read nearly often enough.  It’s very good – both funny and thought-provoking – and one of its highlights is the “mystery worshipper” section, where churches are reviewed by unidentified visitors.

My old church in Glasgow, St Silas, was recently visited by the mystery worshipper, as David, the Rector of St Silas, has blogged.  You can read the review here.

It’s a subject of course close to my heart – I have form on the issue, having visiting St Silas twice (1|2) during my Glasgow church search, before going on to call it home during my time in the city.

The mystery worshipper’s review is thorough, and has much to praise the church for.  However I can’t help thinking that most of the negatives are simply down to the fact that the reviewer appears not to be very “low church” as the Anglicans would call it, and I reckon a reviewer more comfortable with an informal, laid back community such as St Silas would have had a much better experience there.

Such things are subjective, however.  One person’s ideal church would be another person’s hell on earth.

Strange Telescopes

A wee while ago, I knocked Daniel Kalder’s latest book, Strange Telescopes, off my “to read” pile.

Kalder is a Scottish writer who has lived, worked and travelled extensively in Russia, and I loved his first book.  Lost Cosmonaut (about which I have blogged) was packed full of very dry, very dark and very Scottish humour, and Strange Telescopes served up more of the same.

It is the account of his pursuit of alternative views of realities created by Russians – mindsets borne of religious extremism, the awkward conditions of rampant post-Communist capitalism, and the unique Russian psyche.  He meets a man who explores Moscow’s underground tunnels, a maker of documentaries about demonic possession, a former policeman-turned-Christ who lives in Siberia with his followers, and a man who built a huge wooden tower for no reason.

The book is brilliantly written, with Kalder’s inquisitive but non-judgemental voice guiding us through not only the strange worlds he encounters but the Russian nation which seems impenetrable in its own way to most westerners.  Kalder keeps us interested with his persistence, his ability to make people talk, and his keen eye for quirk, detail and imagery.

Informative, thought-provoking, and hilariously funny when you least expect it, Strange Telescopes will appeal to those with an interest in Russia or the off-beat side of life.

The elderly of today

The way the world’s going, it’s a frequent thing to hear of the elderly generation complain about the terrible lack of respect among young folk in society.  Littering is a common source of these complaints – accompanied by disgust for the lack of environmental awareness or appreciation among today’s errant juveniles.

Today, however, things were the other way round.

I was out for a walk along the river earlier this afternoon, and up ahead, I saw an old man in a tweed suit with a dog on a leash.  He (the man, not the dog) picked up a box of empty beer bottles from the side of the path.  I presumed he’d walk them up to the bin that was a few paces in front of him.  How community-spirited of him, I thought to myself.

Until he tottered in the opposite direction and flung them over the railings, where they went crashing down into the river below!

I was utterly gobsmacked.  Looking around, I saw that the few folk near us were aghast too.  I shouted at him, saying he should have put it in the bin.  He was either deaf or ignoring me.  If I wasn’t so shocked at his disgusting act, I’d have confronted him a second time.

I suppose I should have done.  If he’d got aggressive, I’m sure I would have been more than a match for any fists or bad language he threw at me.  And his dog looked pathetically small and of no advantage in a combat situation.

Ah well.  If I ever see him again, I’ll mug him.  And perhaps use a broken beer bottle, just to add a bit of irony to the situation.

Still here

My blogging frequency seems to be on the slide of late.  Apologies.

Although better this than me thinking up something to say, just for the sake of it.

No huge news at the moment, other than hosting couchsurfers, working, enjoying the sunny weather, and doing bits and bobs in advance of the USA trip.

As you were.