Mostly Macca

I've been trying to figure out where I left off in 2010 with my story-telling here, and it seems like it was sometime around June.  Some of the events I know I talked about, like the Famous Alva Highland Games, but at least one very big event I somehow missed.  Maybe I needed more time to calm down from it before I wrote about it?  I'm not sure.  Either way, this is where I'll start:  Paul McCartney in Glasgow, with Paige.  You can see the photos here, under the 'Pictures and Videos' tab, in the albums labelled 'June' and 'Macca'. 

It was the second annual summer concert spectacular for Paige and I.  We'd seen U2 in Dublin the year before, as you might remember (it's not like talked about it very much, ha).  I can't remember why, but I hadn't bought tickets for Macca early-- it might have been something to do with finishing my thesis and all that being up in the air, but I'm not sure now.  Anyway, as it drew nearer, and as Paige was still in town, I decided I couldn't live without trying to go see him for the third time.  So I asked Paige if she'd be interested (and really, why wouldn't she be?) and she said YES!  Because everyone should see a Beatle live if they get a chance.  And we had a chance, because I found some nice tickets on eBay, and got 'em.  So. Excited! 

I got all packed up and headed to meet Paige in Alva for the first night.  It was the first trip for my wee traveling companion, Amoose Bouche.  I was going to be staying in Alva after Paige left for America, in order to do all those other things I wrote about earlier, so it was nice to drop my bags off first.   Things were off to a good start, and we got a good start the next day.  We caught the train to Glasgow, where we were going to be staying with my friend Liam, who was a fellow PhD.  It was very kind of him and his flatmate to put us up (put up with us?) for the night so we didn't have to pay for accomodation.  Finding the right train and then the right building to arrive at the right flat to leave all our stuff took longer than we expected, but luckily Liam came to our rescue and found us at the station, walking us back to his place.  I hadn't seen him in a while, since he'd moved to Glasgow, and Paige had heard about but never met him.  Sadly, we had to drop our stuff and dash in order to get to Hampden Park on time.  So we visitied briefly, dropped our stuff and dashed, making sure we had their numbers so we could get back to the right place later that night. 

There were loads of people streaming into Hampden, as one would expect for a Macca concert.  Our seats were on the floor, off to the right.  They weren't U2 good, but they weren't bad at all.  We were a little late, so we missed most of the opening act-- I honestly can't even remember who it was.  A girl.  Honestly, I couldn't be bothered.  I was just glad to be there in time.  We were on the end of a row, which was nice.  There were loads of different types of people around-- people our age, people our parents' age, people with wee ones.  It was quite an atmosphere;  the older couple across the aisle just in front of us had been drinking (a lot) and were quite enjoying themselves-- singing and dancing and having a ball.  It was hilarious, yet endearing.  I watched them a good bit during the evening, partly because they were in my line of sight and partly because they were so entertaining in themselves. 

The show itself was amazing.  Of course it was.  Sir Paul is an entertainer;  it's just who he is.  Everyone sang along, on pretty much every song.  I don't think we sat down hardly at all.  We laughed and swayed and just soaked it all up.  Somehow he makes you feel like it's just a small friendly gathering, sitting around the campfire kind of vibe.  There are the showy elements, of course, with the pyrotechnics and videos and such, but Macca himself just seems to have so darn much fun that everyone else does, too.  I think he loves us being there as much as we do.  It was my third time to see him (April 2002 in DC, October 2002 in New Orleans, and June 2010 in Glasgow-- a nice combination), and I do hope I get to add more to that.  As long as he keeps touring, I'll keep going to see him.  Even though he does most of the same songs, they're the songs everyone wants to hear.  And he has a big enough body of work to switch things up some, so it's never exactly the same.  But people go because they love the music, and that's what he gives us-- great music. 

After the show, we left with the thousands of other people to catch the trains back into the city centre so we could get home.  They were running special ones, I think, to accomadate our numbers, and we finally got on.  We got one stop down, however, and everything shut down.  The train just went dark, and we had no announcements to tell us when or if we might be moving again.  It was packed in there, too-- so many people, all of whom had just come from the show.  That might be a recipe for short tempers and annoyance, except that it didn't work out that way.  From somewhere behind me, someone started singing (rather drunkenly, but not at all badly) Hey Jude, I think it was.  You could see people glancing at each other, not sure what to do.  Some were giggling, some were confused, some were just waiting to see what happened next. 

What happened next was that someone else joined in, then someone else, and then someone else.  When the song ended, another was started.  And before we knew it, our whole train carriage was giggling and singing along to whatever Beatles or Macca song someone was brave enough to pipe up with in the lulls.  It was, actually, quite breath-taking;  in an odd way, it was a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven for me.  Not that there is anything inherently religious about Beatles songs, and as much as I love Sir Paul he is not deserving of worship-- but to have a bunch of people, from all different ages, races, backgrounds, all joining together, raising our voices and sharing this profound moment of togetherness, simply due to the fact that we had in common one thing: the concert we'd just experienced... it was amazing.  It made me wonder how much better the world would be, and our lives in generally, if Christians could share more moments of such togetherness... but that's another issue to explore in another post.  Still, it was a profound and moving moment for me, and a great conclusion to the concert. 

It wasn't the end of our adventure, however.  When we finally got back to Liam's, he and his flatmate (Adam, I think) were still up and waiting for us.  They knew we hadn't had time to have dinner before the show, so they cooked up some goodies for us-- salads and quiches and bread and cheese and wine.  It was a feast!  They stayed up with us for a long while, chatting and making sure we felt at home.  They were amazing hosts, for certain!  And it didn't end there-- the next morning, they made us breakfast, and we stayed around the table, talking about life and religion and music and culture and art and all kinds of deep things, for hours!  It was one of those times when the conversation just flows, where everyone both listens and shares, and where you enjoy each other so much, even if you don't always agree.  It was incredible, actually.  We had intended to head back to Alva much earlier, but we probably would have stayed longer if Paige hadn't been set to leave for America imminently.  So, wishing we could stay longer but knowing we had deadlines to keep, we gathered our things, thanked our friendly hosts profusely, and headed back to Alva. 

It was, simply put, an all-around amazing adventure. 

The Famous Alva Highland Games!

While I was in Alva, they held the 153rd (I think) Famous Alva Highland Games.  So of course I went.

It rained.  All day.  And it was cooooold.  I was frozen through and quite damp by the time I left to get fish 'n chips to watch the World Cup semi-finals (Uruguay was playing, and my World Cup crush plays for them).  The rain meant that the crowds were small, and that the Highland Dancing and piping got moved indoors somewhere... I never heard where, though.  I watched all the heavy events, which were interesting considering how wet everything was.  Only one guy even got the caber to flip over, which was disappointing.  I think the contestants were all annoyed with the rain, too.  It can't be very nice to be throwing deadly things around without a good grip.

I still enjoyed watching them, and there were a few I remembered from last year's events.  I also watched all the footraces, the hillrace, and the cycle races.  The hillrace was crazy... they ran all the way up to the top of the hillfoot behind us and back down-- the fastest one in just over 20 minutes!  That would be an all day event for me, and they were running it.  Mad.

I took some photos, of course.  They are here. 

The videos, in case you didn't notice, are in no real order.  I just stuck 'em in places.  =)

Eurovision in Alva!

After our day spent in Narnia, we went back to the wee flat for fish 'n chips and ice cream and wine... and EUROVISION!!

If you are not familiar with Eurovision, then I'd say you haven't yet lived.  It's an international European song contest.  Each nation has their own contests to find the song they are going to enter, and then there are qualifiers, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally, the Finals.  The country that won the previous year hosts the next year's contest-- this year, it was in Norway.  My flatmate was there.  We looked for him in the crowd, but didn't see him.  Anyway.  Each country performs their song, and everyone at home phones in to vote for their favourite.  Then the popular votes from each country are paired with 'professional' rankings from each country, to decide how many votes each act receives.  After all the performances, they actually go through calling every country to get their votes, and keep the tally live on tv.  It's all very exciting.  And someone wins.  And then they sing again.  And then that's it until next year.

It really is quite an experience.  If you ever live in Europe, or any of the other countries that aren't in Europe exactly but are included in the mayhem, then you must watch it.  Or just check out some of the previous entries on YouTube.  You won't regret it.

This was our second annual Eurovision party--both times held in Paige's flat, although last year it was in Aberdeen.  She was thrilled that last year's winner got to perform again... as you can tell by the excited expression on her face.  We all could hardly contain ourselves.  It was good times, for sure.  As always, the photos can be found here, at the very end. 

This is the 2009 winner, who Paige loves:


This is the 2010 winner, who actually deserved to win:


Seriously.  Check out some of the videos out there.  You won't regret it, unless you are looking for actual good music.  But for a laugh, you can't beat them!  =D

Let's Dance, Cheryl!

She is on one of the most popular soaps, EastEnders.  I was totally blown away by this.  I laughed so dang hard.  Cool as ice, right to the finale.  Brilliant.  Truly.

If you want to see more of the acts, the BBC channel on YouTube has them.  Or you can just search there for 'Let's Dance Sport Relief'.  That's how I got them to share with you.  I hope you've enjoyed these... =D

Let's Dance, Debra!

Actress and comedic impersonator... which shows.  She was so in character, she never even spoke as herself in any of the interviews.  Classic.  And straight to the finale. 

Let's Dance, Sam and Mark!

These two are children's presenters on CBBC.  They were born in the 80s, and neither of them can remember when this song was out!  And yet, they are pretty convincing as Wham!  I was really shocked they didn't make the final.  Silly voters. 

Let's Dance, Katy!

Katy Brand, comedienne.  And Beyonce double.  Obviously.  She, along with Rufus, were shoe-ins for the finale.  I only wish the short video intros that they do were on here as well... they are often as funny as the performance themselves! 

Let's Dance, Rufus!

So you may or may not remember about this time last year when I posted about Comic Relief, and a couple of clips from the show where celebs performed their versions of famous dance routines.  If you want a refresher, that post is here.  This year, they brought back this awesome show, in aid of Sport Relief (which raises money for the same type of charities at home and abroad as Comic Relief).  Each week for three weeks, six acts perform-- and two go to the grand finale, which is this weekend.  So far, five of those in the finals I completely agree with... and one I think got a bum deal.  Because I think they are fun, I'm going to share the ones I really like.  Hopefully you'll get a laugh, even if you don't know the celebs in them.

This was the lead act of the first show, and it was a show-stopper.  Seriously, it's been hard to top it in the following three weeks.  Rufus Hound is a comedian, and apparently a great Cheryl Cole imitator.  Enjoy!

 

File Under: Things You Never Thought Would Happen

Aberdeen finally opened Union Square Mall!  Which was originally supposed to be Millennium Mall, opened nearly a decade ago.  Better late than never, right?

It really is a great mall.  I love it!  They have a cinema (the second of my beloved Cineworld) with ten screens.  They have loads of restaurants.  They have three coffee shops.  They have clothes and accessories and gifts and all kinds of stuff!  It actually feels like a mall back home... which I say is good.  It means I can go to see a few films in a day, and have places to go in between to drink or shop or study, without having to go outside in the rain and wind and cold!  Hurrah!

They had a big opening weekend party, and I went down on that very first Thursday night.  I took some photos, and some video-- they had a stage set up for local groups to perfom, and lucky me, the Red Hot Chili Pipers were there!  It was too cool, really.  So the next time you need to do some shopping, come to Aberdeen!  The train station is on one side, and the bus station on the other... you don't even have to go outdoors!  Pretty awesome.

The view along the harbour: 

Looking up Guild Street towards the train station:

The new bus station:

The mall entrance is just around the building to the left;  the new train station facade is straight ahead:

The entrance along Guild Street:

The main mall entrance:

Costa to the right, in the midst of the big open entryway, shops all 'round...

The crowds enjoying the show in the main courtyard area.  I love how they left the train station facade up.  It looks nice.  And finally, some video of the evening's entertainment.  I love these guys!

Tartan Day in Aberdeen

Back to catching up on my adventures last year...
I may have mentioned that 2009 was the year of Homecoming for Scotland.  It was the 250th anniversary of Robbie Burns' birth, and seemed like a good time to promote some tourism.  I was just glad that it meant I got to do lots of Scottish things for once.

In early August, we had Tartan Day in Aberdeen.  People wore their tartans (if they had them), and there were pipe bands and performances (not always Scottish, as the International Youth Festival was going on, as well, with loads of performances as a part of it) and street fair stalls and big-deal-events.  I had completely forgotten about it, because Aberdeen does such a great job of advertising (yeah, right), and just happened upon it as I was wandering home from church (and yes, it was very lucky that I had actually decided to go to church that day).

I first heard a pipe band on Belmont Street...

As I was already on Belmont Street, I decided to wander through all the stalls of Scottish crafts and foods and goodies.  At one of them, they were having a whisky tasting to set a Guinness World Record for the most people in a single one-day tasting.  Of course, I selflessly decided I must help them reach their goal... and I forgot to take a photo!  It was a fairly local whisky, but I can't remember which now.  No, I didn't drink that much.  I'm just forgetful.  But the street was all decked out, as well, and I did take photos of all that.

From there I wandered down into Union Terrace Gardens, where there were other things going on, like showing off medieval fighting skills and stuff.  But nothing much was happening while I was there. 

I could see big crowds up at the top, in front of the theatre and the library and the big wallace statue... and where there are big crowds, there must be something going on.  So up I went.  And couldn't really see anything.  There was a pipe band I could hear, but it sure didn't seem like a big enough deal for all these people to be crowded around.

 And then, they crowds parted enough for me to get a peek through and work my way to the front... and I couldn't hear a bloomin' thing.  The sound system wasn't working.  I think they were doing a re-enactment of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, but I'm not certain.  There were flags and people dressed up in period costumes and a huge crowd of dignitaries sitting in chairs to watch it all.

 Since I couldn't hear anything, I started scanning the crowd.  Just looking around.  And then... I saw a profile.  I knew that profile.  But it couldn't be... could it?

 Leaning forward... there in black... no way.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I kept taking zoomed in photos, to try and convince myself if it was or wasn't, and then...

 Oh my word.  That bald head could only belong to one person... which means... it was him!  And there were two of them!  Seriously, it's bad when the highlight of my day is seeing two of the actors from my Scottish soap in my city.  But even better than that?  I was bold.  Daring.  Exceedingly polite...

 and I got my photo taken with River City baddie 'Lenny Murdoch'.  He was really nice!  It was a little disconcerting.  ;)  I was in heaven.  It was brilliant.  I couldn't believe my luck!!  And also...

 my picture with River City working man 'Jimmy Mullen'.  Also very friendly.  I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.  And I texted Kenny immediately to brag.  He was quite jealous.  As he ought to be, of course.  =D 

Then I got McDonalds and went to eat on a bench in Castlegate.  One of the International Youth performing groups was doing flag work, so I sat and watched.

Next up was a dance troupe, and I mostly had to smile at their shoes.  The didn't quite go with their flowy outfits... but then again, they were dancing on uneven cobbles.  I didn't blame them one bit.

And then I went home.  Still smiling.  And everytime I look at the picture of me with 'Lenny', I smile all over again.  That was a blast.

Oh, Boy! Aboyne!

Have I mentioned lately that I hate the new Blogger's photo uploader thingy?   That's completely off topic, but I'm annoyed.  Anyway.  On to the fun. 

About forever ago now, I finally got to my first Highland Games.  My friends from church, Bob and Anne Kelley, offered to take three of us American girls out to Aboyne for the best of the summer Highland Games.  Paige, Rebekah and I jumped at the chance!  The Kelleys have been really good to me that way-- taking me to cultural things, giving me extra tickets to great local shows, inviting me over for delicious holiday (and no special reason) meals.  They are great, and this was just the latest in my list of things I wouldn't have been able to do without their help. 

Aboyne is on Deeside, about an hour or so from Aberdeen.  It's a cute little village, but I think it's largely the Highland Games that really put it on the map.  Oh man!  Or should I say, Oh Men!  ;) 

Those guys above?  The ones in kilts with big muscles?  They are the competitors in the heavy events.  Things like the hammer toss and heavy hammer, throwing big weights over high bars, and tossing the caber.  They were very fun to watch, and we got great 'seats'.  We were right up by the fence, with nothing between us and them.  Paige is going to compete next year.  =)

 I love how it takes three men to lift and carry the caber to the one guy who will hoist and run with and toss it end over end...

 I had no idea tug-o'-war could be so serious!  These teams were incredible.  They all had their own caller to spur them on and chew them out.  It was quite the event. =)

In addition to the strong men, there was also Highland dancing.  It took place on a stage a little way from us, and consisted of all ages of boys and girls, in several different types of dance.  I loved watching it, and would love to learn the dances some time. 

 And then there were pipers... for the dancing, competing, and parading.  We even got the Gordon Highlanders, with members of the unit from around the world!  It was pretty amazing.  The drum majors from the various bands had a competition all their own, as well.  The had to march, in time to the piping and drumming, up to a high bar... throw their baton fancily over the top... and catch it on the other side, never breaking time.  It was fun to watch the fancy tosses.  I'll post some video tomorrow. 

 Finally, just a few shots of the grounds.  We had spotty weather-- it was chilly and rained on and off.  But overall, it was a great day.  I wouldn't have traided it for a perfect day doing nothing.  If you are ever in Scotland in the summer, I definitely recommend taking in a day of Highland Games, and the Aboyne games, if you can!