Thursday - travelling
Not much to say about today - we left Edinburgh and went to Glasgow. Full Stop.
Well, we went the scenic route at least, avoiding the network of motorways that seem to connect the various parts of both cities. A quick look in a couple of outdoor clothing suppliers en route - somehow our waterproof gear has been tested to the limit over the last few days or so and maybe it is time we shelled out some significant spondoolicks on getting something really waterproof. But, indecision, as always, has deferred the decision for a few days. A quick break in Airdrie (necessitated by full bladders) gave us chance to try local cuisine - a scotch pie (pie case with, in this case, cold soggy minced beef in the bottom) and a bridie (a pasty shaped pastry with a beefburger stuffed in the middle) followed by two excellent local cakes.
The campsite is on the outskirts of Glasgow at Stepps. It is a weird site, just place for 10 vans on a huge site which is still being built and appears to contain a mix of holiday apartments and retirement accommodation. Still it's a lovely site close to the train station and has won awards for being green - I wonder how the waterless urinal in the gents works?
The only other lowlight/highlight of the day was the trip to the local pub to catch the Liverpool v Dortmund game. Lowlight because the pub had no real ale and the only keg bitter was so tasteless I switched to lager for my second pint. Add to the fact the barmaid was one of the least friendly we've ever encountered it was a pretty dour experience (I've been saying "you don't go to Scotland for the weather", I can add to that "and you don't go to Glasgow for the hospitality")
So if it was that bad why stay for a 2nd pint? Good question especially when Liverpool were 2 goals down and needed to score 3 to save this European quarter-final. Could I bear watching the 2nd half or just cut and run after one pint. No, I decided to stay - Liverpool pulled one back straight after half time, there was hope - I'll get that 2nd pint. Then Dortmund scored again and the bad beer in a bad pub seemed to have been a bad decision. Then Liverpool scored again - my "Yes!!!!" in a rather loud tone silenced the pub of people that have no interest in futbah south of the border. All eyes turned to me, the stranger in a strange land. I was quiet for the third goal and dumbstruck when Liverpool won it in injury time. That 2nd pint wasn't such a bad idea and maybe it tasted really good, after all!