Welcome to my blog, I'll be posting articles about my travels, restaurant and hotel reviews and U2-related stories here, plus anything else that's going on in my life that I feel like blogging about! Hope you'll enjoy reading them and please feel free to add your comments.
This book consists of two parts, the first section being short stories followed by a novella, I have always liked this book format. The first part of short stories are based around items found on a beach in the Scottish Hebrides. The stories about the items tells of the people who owned them and how they ended up in the water and then were swept across the Atlantic on the Gulf Stream to the wild Hebrides.
Each story in this book is titled with the name of the person who owns the item which is found on the beach. Beeaff also uses her artistic skills to draw the flora related to that name at the beginning of each story.
All the stories are based in the Eastern USA and Canada and each is very distinct from each other and the characters and landscapes are wonderfully defined and draw you into the story. My particular favourite is Belle, set in Eastern Canada. It is very atmospheric and scary story that really has you on the edge of your seat! I really loved the whole idea of finding a story behind random items found on an isolated Scottish beach.
The novella is about four women who share a love for a Scottish band called Datha. There are chapters about each person, documenting their very different lives and paths in life. Once more the individuals are brought to life wonderfully by Beeaff with depth and sensitivity.
I thought I knew what was going to happen at various points in the story only to be wrong! Loved that, I like a book that takes me down unexpected avenues. I felt that Annie's story was especially strong in this way. Gradually you realise the reality of what is going on with her, I won't spoil the book by saying more!
Again the ending was not what I thought it was going to be, which was a wonderful twist.
We had a break home for a week and then it was on the road again to Glasgow. I love seeing U2 in Glasgow because the crowds are always brilliant and it's a relatively short journey for me! Dianne, Debbi and I got a taxi from the station to the apartment where the owner was waiting for us. It was a lovely apartment that overlooked the River Clyde and was just a ten minute stroll from the Venue, The SSE Hydro. The owner of the apartment had left a welcome pack which included a bottle of Rose wine and a box of After Eights, never had that before and it was a really nice touch and much appreciated!
We got some shopping in and had pizza before setting out for the arena which was only a ten minute walk away. It was all lit up blue and green as we approached and looked quite impressive, though much smaller than the O2 in London. Our seats were very good and we had a great view of both stages and the walkway. The show was great, each time I see it I see new things, nothing in this show is done without a reason and it all gels together very well. Bono was quite chatty tonight, after he got a young girl on stage during Mysterious Ways he kissed her and said he was, "An old man sweating over a beautiful girl." He can be so funny.
My favourite parts are during Iris, it is so moving and personal and when Bono tries to touch his mother in the old cine footage showing on the video screen only to have his hand go right through her, There is a lot of clever video footage such as when Bono holds a mini Edge in his hand. Raised By Wolves is stunning live, very powerful. Another favourite part is after the short interval when the band are all inside the screen and start playing Invisible becoming visible through the screen and then disappearing before the whole screen goes off and there they all are, I think some people think that the band are on video earlier in the song as there is always a big cheer when the screen goes dark and you see all the band. Over the years Bullet the Blue Sky is a song I'd heard enough of, but the version in this tour is amazing. Bono's rap is wonderful, and I love his passionate argument with his younger self during this. It has revitalised the song for me, I love how U2 often develop and rework their songs which brings out a whole new aspect of them. It is hard to describe this show really, you have to see it to truly appreciate it.
After the show we met up with our friend Dawn and her daughter Melanie and we all went back to our apartment for an after show party. We had a lovely time, discussing the show and having a laugh, it's so nice to do this after a gig.
7th November 2015
Adam
We had a long lie in after our late night and had a lazy time before heading to the stadium, it was a damp, cold day, or as the Scots would say, a dreich day. We had a meeting with Adam who was as charming as ever. A fan asked him if there would be any surprises at the show tonight and he said there might be, the fans said will you play 11 O'Clock Tick Tock, Adam laughed and said , "Now that would be a surprise!"
We had a meal at a place nearby called The Rotunda which housed a few restaurants, we chose to go to Yen which was an Oriental restaurant on the upper floor of the building. I had the sweet and sour chicken which was lovely, my friends enjoyed their meals too.
Our seats for this show were not as good as the previous night but they were still very good as The SSE Hydro is a small venue. This gig was electrifying, the crowd were very loud and enthusiastic and that energy seemed to inspire the band even more and that makes for a great show. And I have to say this, for me, was the perfect U2ie Tour show. Bono added Love Will Tear Us Apart and Stars to the end of With Or Without You, for so many of us fans that is the best ending for that song. The end of the gig was just stunning, first came Bad, so cathartic, we all should let go of something from our lives and this song resonates so strongly with most people, it did me, tears were running down my face. At one point Bono collected about five different flags from the crowd and swung them in the air and singing, "Let it go...." he let the flags fly out of his hand, very powerful and symbolic. Then Edge and Adam changed places on the stage and I knew they were going to finish with 40. Oh my I was in gig heaven, one of my favourite songs that I hadn't heard live! It was an extended version and Bono methodically shone a spotlight on every section of the audience as they sang along, it was a true magical U2 moment, we were all one. Then Edge walked down the walkway in the spotlight and left the arena via the e-stage, then Adam, Larry did a drum solo then he too walked out the same way. Finally Bono put the spotlight down, shining straight up and left the arena too. The crowd went nuts, it was just spellbinding. Earlier Bono had said, "We'll never forget this." Well nor will we.
It's Wee Bit breezy!
We left the arena and went out into a damp and windy night, once more lost for words, I still felt
really emotional, all three of us just stood for a while saying nothing. Once more U2 has shown me they are the best live, no doubt at all.
When we got ourselves together a bit we walked home. Dianne went straight to bed as she had to be up at 6am as her plane home was leaving at 9am. Debbi and I stayed up and drank wine, ate nibbles and chatted, we were high on adrenalin. When Dianne came through to the living room at 6am Debbi and I were still up, how rock 'n' roll are we?! She wasn't that surprised, she knows us well. We saw her into the taxi outside, we had our PJs on and had put coats over, the taxi driver was a hoot, he said he liked our PJs especially my peach ones with white daisies. We hugged Dianne goodbye and the driver said, he wanted a hug too, so he got hugs from us, we must have looked funny there on a wet and windy Glasgow street in our vivid PJs! After that Debbi and I decided to get some sleep, luckily we had a late check out.
So that was leg two of our U2ie Tour over, and what a way to end it. Next leg, Dublin!
My cousin and I had a day trip to Edinburgh last month, we were dropped off at lunchtime in Waterloo Place, we were hungry and immediately looked for somewhere to eat. We didn't have to look far, nearby we saw an Italian restaurant called Martone and as we both love Italian food we decided to give it a try.
From the Martone Website
There was a downstairs floor and an upstairs gallery level at the back. The place was not fancy, but clean and had a relaxed atmosphere, and it had the most amazing red glass lampshades, impossible to describe but you can see them on the photo to the left. On entering I noticed some delectable looking ice cream on the counter. It was obviously a real Italian restaurant so we were expecting great food!
We ordered a glass of prosecco each and I ordered a Margherita Pizza with Ham and Mushrooms and Janet ordered Pappadelle Nonna (which was a flat pasta with beef, shallots, roast peppers in a tomato and wine sauce). My pizza was huge and gorgeous, as well as the obvious ingredients, there was also a lovely herbal taste to it. Janet loved her dish and I tried a little of it and it was very good indeed.
My Pizza
After a bit of a break we just had to try that delicious looking ice cream. Apparently Martone's ice cream is home made at Ciao Roma, which I think is a sister restaurant. I'm a bit boring when it comes to ice cream, I don't like the fancy ones, my favourites are good old plain vanilla and chocolate, and that's what I chose. It was creamy and tasty, and the chocolate was one of nicest I've ever had.
The price was the meal was very reasonable, especially considering how central it was (just off Princes Street) and the service friendly and efficient. It's open from 8am to 11pm and has an extensive menu. Martone's is a great place for a real Italian meal and I'll certainly be back next time I'm in Edinburgh.
My cousin Janet and I went on a day trip to Edinburgh last week, it had been a few years since I had been there so I was really looking forward going back to this gorgeous city. The coach dropped us off at Waterloo Place just off Princes Street, even though the weather forecast had been poor, when we stepped off the bus Edinburgh greeted us with lovely sunshine. It was noon and we were both hungry so we looked for somewhere to eat, we saw an Italian restaurant nearby called Martone and seeing prices were reasonable we went in. I chose a Margarita Pizza with ham and mushrooms and Janet had Pappardelle Nonna (pasta with beef in white wine/tomato sauce.) Both were absolutely delicious (I tried a bit of Janet's) and went down very well. For dessert we both had ice cream which was deliciously creamy, real Italian ice cream, yum! I will do a separate full review of the restaurant soon.
Korean Dancers
St Giles on the Right
Suitably reinvigorated, we walked over the North Bridge and onto the Royal Mile where the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was in full swing. I used to go up for the Festival when I was much younger, mainly to see plays and special exhibitions, but I've not been to it for a very long time. The lively, eclectic vibe took me back and I loved it and wondered why I hadn't been back for so many years. There were little stages with varied performances on them, my favourite was a small group of Korean dancers (sorry can't remember their name) who also sang and played a bodhran-type drum. There were First Nation performers, theatre schools, traditional music, people dressed in every costume you can imagine, cards advertising shows were thrust into your hand at almost every step only to end up in the skips that lined the Royal Mile. Most were not doable for us due to time constraints, though one, An improv comedy act called Men With Coconuts fitted our needs, venue close by, free and fitted in with our timescale, so we decided to go to see them later in the afternoon.
We decided to go into St Giles Cathedral, neither of us had been inside before. St Giles was founded in the 1120's and the saint was a French hermit who is the patron saint of the city as well as the church. It was a beautiful place inside with lots of places where you could sit and just relax and contemplate. It was peaceful and cool, the opposite of the Festival buzz outside. Someone was playing jazz on a piano in there. Unfortunately I hate jazz and it did little for me and I was glad when he stopped playing!
We went outside and pottered round a little (highly priced) market in the square outside of the cathedral. I noticed a champagne bar in the square and reminded myself that I must sample their fayre one day!
Advocates Close
We wandered back down the Royal Mile and could see the North Sea, sparkling blue in the sunshine, at the end of it. We turned down Cockburn Street (see the poster above which really amused me, we truly are sometimes divided by the same language.) heading towards Market Street. We passed lots of steep, stepped closes heading down from the rock the castle and the Royal Mile stand upon, very atmospheric, I just love Edinburgh's Old Town.
We ended up at ground level and found the Sportsters Bar and sat in one of the cubicles there. It initially wasn't very busy but it still took 15 minutes for them to produce two cups of coffee, not impressed! We'd been in the bar for a short while and the heavens opened outside, good timing. The bar got busier as time went by and eventually the City Nightclub at the back of the building was opened for the punters. We sat three rows back in the small theatre area, relatively safe for a comedy show lol.
We enjoyed the performance which consisted of a few sketches which all involved audience participation (at a comfortable level) to some degree. I especially liked the sketch where one of the performers had to guess suggestions from the audience for an actor, Angela Lansbury, a film, Sharknado, and a prop, a broomstick from clues given by the other members of the group, very funny and amazing that he eventually got all the answers. The performers, Men With Coconuts, are professionals who are funny, quick witted and smart and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.
We went outside and once more it was sunny and dry, we had timed it really well with the weather. We had just under an hour before we had to get the coach home so we took a shortcut through Waverley Station and went back to Mantone's for a drink and snack as it was close to where we were being picked up. We had delicious toasties and gorgeous strawberry daiquiris (strange combination but it worked!)
I would have liked longer in Edinburgh and vowed to go again soon and maybe stay a day or two so I can really explore and see all I would like to see. Edinburgh is a truly unique city where the old and new live side by side, vibrant and exciting there's no where else quite like it.
In September I've got a special birthday coming up, I can hardly believe it, but I'll be 60! The strange thing about getting older is that inside you feel much as you did decades earlier, it's just your body getting older, and it feels odd to think I'm the age I am now lol! I'm having a little birthday bash in Dublin in October and have invited various people close to me. I asked my friend Dawn but she wasn't able to make it, but then she surprised me by treating me to a meal out and the Springsteen film as a very early birthday pressie. I was very touched at her thoughtfulness, I am blessed with fabulous friends!
So, yesterday July 22nd was the evening. I drove through the afternoon heat to Dumfries, 37 miles from where I live, unfortunately my car's air con decided to stop working at the start of this hot spell!! I arrived at Dawn's and cooled down with an ice lolly lol. We then set off for the restaurant, Little Italy, a lovely place with a large outside eating area. It was cooling a little now and they had big umbrellas for shade so we sat on outside decked area. We had a gorgeous meal of tomato, garlic and pesto bruschetta followed by a wild mushroom pizza. We took our time and caught up on each others news as we ate, we are never short of chat! It was great to eat outside in the balmy evening air.
We left and headed towards the venue, parking beside the River Nith and the oldest bridge in Dumfries, the Devorgilla Bridge named after Devrogilla, Lady of Galloway who was the mother of John Balliol, born 1249. The bridge is very old, made of the local red sandstone, at one end is the Old Bridge House, built 1660, which is now a little museum. Dawn said it is really good to visit, it has rooms from past centuries and an old dentists surgery! We made a note to visit it together one day.
We walked by the river, which was very low due to no rain for weeks, and on to The Robert Burns Centre where the film was being shown. We went into the very small and very warm cinema there and settled into our seats. I'm a Springsteen fan, actually have been longer than a U2 fan which is amazing! But I haven't seen as many of his shows etc. Dawn isn't a fan, and I appreciated her suggesting this evening all the more because of that.
The film was mainly self-videoed footage of fans talking about the influence Springsteen and his music has had on their lives. It was emotional, moving and funny. One man talked about the music and what it meant to him and was overcome with emotion and ended up sobbing. One of the funniest for me was a British couple, the wife a fan, the long-suffering husband not. The husband (a natural comedian) was the one filmed and one of the things he berated Bruce was for his considerately long shows!
Some of the best segments were when fans' stories were backed up by footage. Like the young British girl who held up a sign saying "I'll be your Courtney Cox" (referring to the Dancing in the Dark) video. And Bruce got her on-stage to dance with him for that song, her joy and excitement was palpable.
Another was an Elvis impersonator who went to the gig in full Elvis gear and was pulled on-stage to sing Elvis songs with The Boss and managed to take over the show for a few minutes and pull a ham-string in the process! Bruce dubbed him the Philadelphia Elvis. It was great to hear how it felt for these fans to have their dreams come true. Another man was dumped by his girlfriend the night before the gig so he took a sign saying he had been dumped and Bruce got him on-stage and gave him a big hug, you could see the healing on the devastated man's face, which was very lovely. Bruce said he'd been dumped a lot and that, "They are regretting it now!"
The close relationship Bruce has with his audience came across well, and it is understandable that he has a huge loyal fanbase. People feel he is talking about them in his songs, ordinary people sometimes feel they don't have a voice, well Bruce is their voice. I'm a fan, not a mega fan, but if I'm struggling with something I often listen to Badlands and it lifts me up, music can be so powerful.
Live performances from throughout Bruce's long career were interspersed with the fans' stories, though sometimes I wanted to see a bit more of certain performances than was shown. Personally I found the film sometimes made me laugh, made me want to get up and dance, other times it made me quite emotional. The live performance of Blood Brothers was stunning.
There was a 15 minute segment of live footage from Hard Rock Calling 2012 in London at the end. Really good to see Because the Night, love that song, and Nils Lofgren's whirling dervish guitar solo was amazing. Paul McCartney joined Bruce for I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout. As usual Bruce was ready to keep going but, unbelievably, the plug was literally pulled because the curfew had been breached!
The epilogue was film of Bruce meeting some of the fans that had the longest segments in the film, including the British Mr and Mrs, Bruce told the Mr that he was now going to do four hour shows lol! I think anyone who is a big fan of anyone or anything can understand how these people feel. It was a good way to finish the film, and really, seeing how Bruce was with those fans you realise why they love him so much, his sincerity isn't forced, his passion for music is unique and he loves every moment on stage, and he's a very, funny down to earth guy.
When we came out of the cinema into the still balmy night we were sweating almost as much as Bruce on-stage, boy was it hot in there. Dawn was impressed with the film and Bruce's music, I think he's gained another fan! I wasn't surprised really, I know Dawn is passionate about music and this film gave her the chance to hear a range of his music and she appreciated how diverse
So, as I tentatively approach 60, I look at Bruce who's still looking good and rockin' at 63, and he inspires me, I've still got lots to see and do in my life and I'll continue rockin' too!
I met up with my friend Alison today. We live about 60 miles away from each other and try to meet up once a month either nearer where she lives or nearer to me. This time it was near to me and we met up in Langholm, a small town in the Scottish Borders. Langholm is situated on the River Esk and surrounded by hills, the highest, Whita, has an impressive obelisk dedicated to Sir John Malcolm the soldier and politician, at its peak. On a clear day the obelisk can just be seen from Carlisle 20 miles away.
Alison and I had a lovely, and very cheap, lunch in the Crown Hotel on the town's main street. We then set off for Eskdalemuir and the Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Centre 13 miles away. It was one of those beautiful, crisp winter days with blue skies, sunshine and frost that didn't melt. We travelled on a road through beautiful countryside of rolling mountains, pine and deciduous forest, a landscape that was mainly uninhabited except for occasional farms and the tiny hamlets of the odd-named Bentpath and Eskdalemuir. We passed only a handful of other cars on the road. At one point we noticed people in the fields on a grouse shoot, it was weird to see men walking along with rifles.
Just beyond Eskdalemuir we came to Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Centre. This was set up by Tibetans in 1967 and is now a thriving community complete with temple. Many, many years ago this was where I saw the Dalai Lama when he visited the centre. I stood amongst the crowd and listened to him speak. I have aways been a bit of closet Buddhist and was entranced by the Dalai Lama. He was so wise and charismatic, yet he also was very human and had a wonderful sense of humour and an infectious laugh that made you smile too. I feel lucky to have seen him in person.
You can wander around the complex freely. We passed by an avenue of multi-coloured prayer flags flapping in the wind that led to a huge white stupa shining brightly in the winter sunshine. A short distance from this was a huge golden gateway covered in brightly coloured paintings of gods. We passed through the gateway and saw a beautiful golden Buddha in an area that seemed to be being developed into a garden area. The statue it was so serene and the gold shimmered brightly in the sunlight. It had a plaque on it saying 0700 hrs 7.7.2007, obviously an auspicious date.
We walked on into the complex where we first headed for the temple. We could hear that a ceremony was going on as we took our shoes off outside. We stepped inside and into another world. It was an intricate kaleidoscope of colours and gold featuring gods, golden Buddhas and animals on the walls and ceiling, monks were chanting accompanied by the clash of cymbals and huge, loud drums. The steady beat of the drums and cymbals was almost hypnotic and it was also quite relaxing, it was really like moving into another world.
We left the temple and put our shoes back on and went to the shop. There was building work going on and we had to walk round the building twice to find the entrance! There also is a lovely little cafe on the site that has homemade vegetarian food, but as we'd had such a good lunch we didn't go in there this time. After that we headed off back to Langholm, sufficently chilled out by our little steps into Scotland's Tibetan world.
God it's September already, and don't I know it. There a nip of autumn in the air, winter clothes have replaced the tee shirts and sun dresses, the bright colours are muted, Christmas cards and displays are appearing, days are getting shorter.
It's not my favourite time of year but I'm determined not to get too down that winter is approaching, and I've got many projects on the go. The main ones being to look for a part time job and to - maybe - write a book.
The job firstly will be useful to help to pay off the credit card that got a lot of use during U2 360! Plus I need to save for the next round of the tour in 2010. I enjoyed this years gallivanting so much I want to do as much as am able to next year.
The thoughts about writing a book come from a trip I did with my friend Dianne when she was staying with me in August. We went to The Devil's Porridge exhibition not far from where I live. It is about a huge World War One munitions factory that stretched for nine miles and had thousands of workers making cordite. It was dangerous work mainly done by women. It was absolutely fascinating and as we were looking round the exhibition Dianne (who is a writer) said, "Now here's a novel waiting to be written, you should do it." And that got me thinking, maybe I could do it? So at present I'm just doing some research, I'm not sure I could write something as long as a novel, all my writing has been of relatively short articles, but I'll see!
In the meantime you can read a little about The Devil's Porridge exhibition here
It seems like Bono and family went to the best place you can to celebrate the coming of the New Year - Scotland. Bono in a kilt - pity there are no photos with the article. Below is an article taken from The Herald.
Bono, lead singer of rock band U2, celebrated Hogmanay in the Highlands. The Irish singer, wife Ali and Danish supermodel Helena Christensen, along with family and friends, flew into Scotland for a New Year break at Ben Alder Lodge, the 26,000-acre Inverness-shire estate owned by one of the world's richest men, Swiss financier Urs Schwarzenbach.
Bono's group arrived at Inverness Airport on Monday and were taken to the Dalwhinnie estate in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes minibus.
The rock star, real name Paul Hewson, was seen wearing a red kilt with Miss Christensen in the bar at the Silverfjord Hotel in nearby Kingussie.
Gillian Welsh, owner of the hotel, said it had taken a few minutes to realise who the superstar guests were. She said: "We couldn't believe we had such famous people in the bar. But they chatted with some of the locals, while Bono enjoyed a couple of pints of Guinness."
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