When you live in Scotland, weather is a frequent topic of discussion. This year however, we've had more than our share of weird and wild weather to discuss. The last couple of weeks the weather has veered between beautiful blue skies and torrential raids, sometimes alternating several times per day. It's tested the integrity of Edinburgh's roofs, tormented the workmen fixing the roofs at the university and caused a landslide across the train tracks in Glasgow. And when it takes a break from actual rain, the thick haar moves in to dim and dampen the day.

Edinburgh Castle hiding in the haar

Summer started on Thursday, but you wouldn't know it from looking outside. Admittedly it's actually rather mild, but it seems like we're stuck in a eternal spring, never quite getting from April showers to May flowers.

The rains have cleared enough on occasion to appreciate the true length of a Scottish summer day. At 3:3o this morning, the morning sun had already made good headway into lightening the skies. We don't get 'white nights', but if it were clear, we'd probably not get true darkness either.

Mother Nature cooperated enough yesterday to allow for some good, albeit muddy fun at a friend's hen party. We spent the afternoon at Melville Castle, engaged in mini Highland Games. The mini games are a combination of cut down versions of real Highland Games events and some other tests of talent. I managed to win a bottle of whisky for being the most accurate in the haggis throwing competition. The contest involved hurling a haggis encased in a long sock, and my success should probably be chalked up to luck. My talents somewhat extended to welly tossing, but definitely not to throwing the weight over the bar or hammer hurling.

Hands down, the most challenging event of the day was caber throwing. In real Highland Games, caber throwing can be best described a hurling a telephone pole end over end. The goal is for it to land as straight as possible (i.e. 12 o'clock) in front of you. For our mini games, we had three cut down poles of varying weights and lengths. We all managed the first, most the second, but only one person was able to get the heaviest and longest pole to go end over end. It's not so much strength that counts, but technique.

Looking out on Loch Tay from Firbush

One of the things I'm going to miss most when I leave Scotland is the trips up to Firbush, the uni's outdoor center up near Killin. There's something so relaxing about the simplicity of life there. Everyone is housed in 2 to 4 person single-sex bunkrooms, hearty meals are served in a dining room with views over the loch and the only thing you have to worry about is which activity to choose. For a weekend, you can leave all the worries of life behind.

On this my third trip to Firbush, I finally hit the weather jackpot - no easy feat in Scotland. Saturday dawned foggy and absolutely still, but by mid-morning the sun shining with a fresh, if inconsistent wind. My arms now bear testament to the fact that Scottish sun can burn - if only on very rare occasion.

Eschewing the chance to kayak, canoe, windsurf, hill walk, bike, walk or orienteer, I opted to spend all weekend cruising the loch on Laser. The wind tended towards the light, but it was so magical being out on the loch that I didn't mind in the least. After more than a decade away from competitive sailing, it was nice to be able to have a completely relaxed setting to re-aquaint myself with dinghy sailing. No pressure, no stress - just me, a Laser and a whole loch to explore on my on terms. I was pleasantly surprised at how much muscle memory I still have - bring on the roll tacks!

The Scottish landscape is truly unique - and I couldn't imagine a better backdrop for a day's sail. Loch Tay is long, but quite wide so there's plenty of room for sailing, and - at least at this time of year - very few motorboats. Firbush is located on the wooded side of the loch (excepting the nasty 'gash' where the trees have been logged), but the far side is a patchwork of fields, speckled with sheep and the occasional house, reaching up to craggy peaks.

The sheep-clad hills seem almost like a scene from a scale railway model. It's all just too perfect - the bright green, closely cropped grass like an emerald carpet stretched across a rocky frame; the little tiny white sheep and deep red highland cows; the sparkling white houses; the red car tootling across the hill-hugging road. At one point during a calm, I was mesmerized by a herd of sheep moving across in one swirling mass from one field to another.

The only clue of reality are the 'sound effects'. Sound carries startling well across the loch and it's more than a little unnerving to be startled out of a reverie by a very distinct moooo! or baaaaah! When the red car went roaring along the road, I couldn't help but think of the excerpt from "Cars" that was the Pixar exhibition here in Edinbugh, in which one could hear the tell-tale vroooooom as the little car zig-zagged up the mountain far in the distance.

I've posted a selection of photos from my two recetn Firbush trips here - click on the tabs at the top to see the second album.


Closer to home, they've partially re-opened our road, so the kids across the way have lost their football pitch. Fortunately, I noticed the traffic before stepping out into the road.

Water, Water, no water...

Such were the trials and tribulations of the last 24 hours. It was probably inevitable that Scottish Water was going to cut our water off at some point during their replacement of the pipes under the street, but it would have nice for it to be pre-planned, rather than a 'leave you in the shower with soapy hair' dramatic cut-off. And let's just say that it's not fun to get the stomach flu when you have no running water...

All is right with the water now, but no guarantees we won't go through this again before all is said and done. Construction in Edinburgh tends to be either highly dramatic (collapsed building, massive tailbacks etc.) or nearly abandoned (as in, haven't seen a worker in days).

At least Mother Nature has chipped in with a consolation prize in the form of a beautiful evening. With any luck she'll feel benevolent enough to smile upon us tomorrow as well.

For my tip of the day, if it's playing at a theatre near you, check out the Oscar nominated Danish Film 'Efter Bryllupet' (After the Wedding). It's got a touching story and a handsome lead in Mads Mikkelsen (James Bond's latest nemsis). Head on over to Apple for a trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/afterthewedding/trailer/

Lately I've been listening to NPR news on WNYC via the web. Not quite BBC, but it's nice to keep up with the latest happenings in New York. However, I've never been quite so depressed by weather forecasts. It's not that I don't love Edinburgh, but I've got a whole suitcase full of shorts and summer dresses that have barely ever seen the light of day. I'm still in jeans and fleeces, whilst it's 85 in New York City. Can't you send some of that heat our way?!

Weather aside, I'm not sure I'd ever want to trade in Edinburgh in for New York. Where else would I have a castle outside my flat? As you can seen from the above picture, it's a pretty darn impressive castle too. It even comes complete with two weeks of the Military Tattoo in the summer, which means enough fireworks and bagpipe music in 14 days to last a lifetime.

Did I mention that the picture was taken at 9:20pm?! Our long summer nights are quite a bonus. Right now the sun doesn't set until after 10pm and by June 21st, on a clear night we'll still a have a bit of light on the horizon at 11:30pm. Not quite 'white nights', but especially north of here, it never gets completely dark in June. Early summer nights can be pretty spectacular. This evening the high clouds were tinged with a gentle blush of colour reflected from the blue sky and the evening sun. It looked like a something out of a Michelangelo painting and you almost expected a chubby cherub or a triumphant archangel to pop out to complete the image.

Before I sign off, one fun website - http://indexed.blogspot.com/

I'm back....

Life here has a tendency to bite back when you least expect it. The council finally got around to staring the job of ripping down the former Post Office building, a particularly ugly late 1960s concoction of concrete and metal, located near my flat. But before they could complete the job, the building finished it for them, the 4th floor quickly becoming the ground floor. No serious injuries, but the road has been closed ever since, which has been a bonus for the workers at the nearby roadworks, who are aren't being hassled by frustrated motorists and curious pedestrians, and the local kids, who now have a ready-made football pitch. Not sure the local shops are so happy since it has discourage the tourists (and the locals) from walking in the area.

When I'm not checking out this new local 'claim to fame', my nose can often be found deep in a good - or occasionally a not-so-good book. Amazingly, many of these books are not related to my thesis. The only problem is that I seem to better at starting books than finish them. Now residing on my bedside table amongst the to-be-reads or partially reads:

Occcupational Hazards (Rory Stewart) - a so far excellent book by a young Scot who was one of the early provincial administrators in post-invasion Iraq. His first book, The Places In Between, which charts his travels across Afghanistan just after the US invasion, is fascinating.

The Last Mughal (William Dalrymple) - another Scot who spent a great deal of time in the Middle East and India. Dalrymple has written a number of great books on his earlier travels, but this thick tome focuses on the events of 1857, when the Indian troops rebelled against the British, spelling the end of the Mughal dynasty.

The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) - my advisor's advisor and a book I'd heard lots about and which continues to be a source of controversy. Makes a lot of sense to me.

Strip Jack (Ian Rankin) - third in the long Inspector Rebus series. This is probably my sixth or seventh re-reading of the series, something that is always worthwhile. I just read that the next book in the series will included Rebus' retirement, though Siobhan Clarke will likely take over as the protagonist.

The Complete Illustrate Stories of Hans Christian Andersen - we read several of the stories in the original Danish as part of Danish Literature 2 and it's intriguing to see how the stories have morphed as they've been translated. Andersen is master with words, with the stories resonating and telling much more than they do in their sanitzed Disney forms.

Mao: The Unknown Story - I think this was bought way back when for reading during a trip to Denmark. Interesting, but digestible only in small chunks and so has gathered a lot of dust on my shelf.

True History of the Kelly Gang (Peter Carey) - bought as pre-reading for my trip to Australia. Almost finished, but the heavy 'dialect' used can make it a bit hard going on sleepy night.

From the library I also snagged a couple of books about the 'Lord of the Rings' movies, the latest Nicholas Evans novel and (to re-read) an account by Tenzing Norgay's son about his 1996 climb up Mount Everest. I also have a collection of Alice Walker stories, a history of Australia and some V.S. Naipaul novels, most gotten free from a former neighbour who had to pare down his collection before moving, stuffed into my shelves.

I've also got spots in my collection ready for the latest Thursday Next novel (Jasper Fforde), Kathy Reich's next book, the latest Inspector Rebus, and of course - the final Harry Potter, which I've already ordered. But if I could inspire any author to get the ink flowing, it would be Laurie Garrett. Her landmark "The Coming Plague", a beautifully written and painfully honest book about infectious diseases - elegantly placing our battle - increasing losing - again these diseases, into social, political and economical context - is just screaming for a new edition or a sequel.

Happy reading
Kate

Many apologies for the long break in the blog. The last week has been very busy and, well, it's kind of nice to escape from the internet for a while. So, to catch up, the most recent first.

The VTEC conference ended yesterday, and now it's just a few more days of playing tourist before I head back around the world. Having now 'survived' my first major conference, I'm hopefully a bit more knowledgeable about the state of research in the field and a bit wiser about the ever present 'politics' of research.

As I suspected, a number of posters took the slow route from the UK to Australia, but I think all were up by the end of the three days. My designated poster time was at the very end of the day on Tuesday, just before the gala dinner, so not surprisinglyI didn't have much in the way of visitors. But plenty of my handouts disappeared, so it appears people were interested. It was very interesting to finally match faces with all the names from papers and books, though much of the conference was of a very microbiological bent and thus not directly related to my work. Probably the most rewarding part of the conference was getting to reconnect and meet with people from the various Scottish institutions. Relaxed conversations over late night glasses of wine are often the best as far as getting honest assessments of facets of research, academic life and the VTEC world.

The gala dinner was one of the highlights. Held in the ballroom of the recently restored Regent Theatre, we had a fine dinner amongst Halloween-themed decorations. The energetic band, which played covers from the 60s to the 90s, managed to get just about everyone on the dance floor, regardless of age, nationality or dancing ability. We continued out for further drinks at a nearby bar, so there were plenty of bleary faces come Wednesday morning. On both Sunday and Wednesday night, I headed out to dinner & drinks with an assorted crowd of folks from various Scottish institutions. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to everyone after our excellent seafood meal last night, but I may well see a few faces at the Derby on Saturday, and will undoubtedly see them again in Scotland.

The Sunday before the meeting was quiet - mostly catching up on work before the opening reception, but on Saturday, Joanna and Bill Breen very kindly took me on a mini driving tour of the nearer section of the coastal road. We stopped briefly to see their son's artwork in the Geelong Art Gallery. Unfortunately the gallery was closed, but the painting was next to the window so visible by peeking in! After a cup of coffee/hot chocolate along the shores of the Port Phillip (?) Bay, we continued down the coast. Though we passed through the occasional shower, it was generally partly cloudy, windy and cool. There seemed to be some sort of surfing event at Bells Beach, more people were huddled up in the parking lot than actually out on surfboards. The Torquay area is supposed to be one of the best for surfing, but it's appeal is probably much higher on days with more sun and higher surf.

The road curves around coast, looking down onto spectacular surf and the occasional sparkling beach. Our far point was Lorne, where we had a delicious lunch overlooking the beach. The meal included what was probably the best fish & chips I've ever had - the fish was done in beer batter with cumin and chickpeas. All washed down with a nice Aussie beer. Normally, I'm not a beer person, but could hardly spend three weeks Down Under without sampling the local fare.


The day prior - Friday - I spent the day doing a bunch of touristy things I'd yet to have checked off my list of 'need-to-dos'. That included the Australian Racing Museum, the Ian Potter wing of the National Gallery, an attempt at finding the National Museum of Sport, the Docklands and the Victoria Market.
Of course, I had a good time checking out the history of horse racing in Australia, but found the National Gallery equally as intriguing. The Ian Potter 'wing' holds the Austrlian collection and has a great selection of both traditional and contemporary Aboriginal works plus a large selection of Australian painters. You could see where the Australian painters had gotten their inspirations, but it was a bit amazing at how much travelling they'd done. Until fairly recently, getting to Australia was a bit of a marathon (still is...), so for these 19th and early 20thC painters to be travelling back and forth from Europe was quite amazing.

I was completely unsuccessful at finding the Australian Museum of Sport, though I did get a nice close up view of the Cricket Stadium, where it is supposed to be located. The Docklands were underwhelming - very windy and still very much under construction. It has potential, but they need to get a lot more stores and attractions out there is more atmosphere and more things to do. Many of the booths at the Victoria Markets were closing by 4pm, but it was still a spectactular sight. The market, which is open 5 days a week, is a huge market - both inside and in massive open sided halls - which sells everything from fresh meat to fresh veggies to clothes. In the early morning it mainly serves the local restauranteurs and local merchants, but with so many different sellers, you can get a great deal on just about anything for your fridge or cupboard. There's even a whole organic section. I bought some nuts and sweets, then picked up flowers at the old Post Office Building.


Thursday, I started out at the fabulous Melbourne Museum. Despite the usual horde of schoolchildren, I throuroughly enjoyed the exhibits on bugs, the human body, evolution and of course, Phar Lap! The museum was built, or at least redone, very recently, so the exhibits are all very interactive, as well as being well thought out and thought provoking. Despite all the new fangled stuff, the Phar Lap section is clearly the crown jewel. Besides silks, pictures and other mementoes, the museum also is the home of Phar Laps mounted body. His heart and skeleton reside elswehere, but all 17.1 hands of the mighty horse preside majestically over his curtained section. Truly an impressive horse.

The museum also has a huge atrium housing an Australian forest exhibition. The knowledable docents point out the birds and answer questions on the flora & fauna.

Before the museum, I toured the old Melbourne Gaol. Only one wing remains - a long, arched, slightly claustrophic three tiered hall of cells. They've cleverly turned the main cells into series of exhibition halls, giving on a feeling of the cramped quarters and the history of the men and women who spent time there. Many of the cells were devoted to individual stories, each accompanied by a death mask made after the prisoner's execution. To see the faces of the executed peering out of the ghostly white masks really made the history come alive. One of the death masks was that of the famous Ned Kelly.

My third and final Museum stop of the day was the old Treasury. One of the most attractive and oldest buildings in town, it's now a musuem which covers the history of Melbourne and the gold 'industry". I enjoyed the upstairs exhibits, though most of the information on gold was conveyed via a series of videos. It was a nice idea, but it would have been helpful to have at least some information available to read, both for those who don't want to have to wait through the entire loop of each video and/or prefer to read rather than watch.


So that's been my most recent week in Oz. Now it's off to do some shopping.

Adventures in weather and sightseeing
The day started out with heavy drizzle and ended in a clear, cool evening of the finest deep blue sky kind. The day's first adveture was the Melbourne Aquarium, perched not far from the Yarra River. I'd forgotten my umbrella, but fortunately the rain took pity on me and kindly stopped before the train arrived at Southern Cross Station (aka the station formerly known as Spencer Street).

The aquarium has its charms, but is really not nearly as interesting as the one back in Sydney. It seems a bit sparser, with less variety and more 'dead' space given over to cafes, shop, educational area et al. Admittedly part of the place was under construction, but all the same it just didn't have much of a zing. That said, it was a great place to while away a rainy morning. Among the highlights were the jellyfish tanks, as there weren't many jellys in Sydney. The baby turtles were pretty high in the cute rankings plus anyone who's seen 'Finding Nemo" can't help but coo at the clownfish.

Part two of the day was a trip to the Immigration Museum, situated in the glorious old Customs House. The museum, which is very new, is beautifully conceived with fascinating exhibits on immigrants to Australia from the 18th C all the way to the 21st C. The various exhibits traced both the general history and specific immigrant stories from all eras, elegantly bringing to life the full range of immigrant experiences. And the museum managed to explore immigration - to my eye - in a very even handed way - i.e. without being patronizing to the immigrants or being overly PC.

Before this trip, I knew very little about Australian immigrants, especially those who came later on in the 20th c as part of managed migration, thus the museum wa a valuable learning tool. Among the immigrants profiled were a Scot, two young Sudanese refugees, an Italian, a Greek Woman, a Chilean dissedent and a Cuban. Different eras, different reasons, different experiences, but all with the common thread of Australia.

After lunch, I had the pleasure of interviewing Li Cunxin, a former dancer with the Houston & Australian Ballets and the author of an award winning autobiography "Mao's Last Dancer". I'd grown up watching Li dance with the Houston Ballet, and he was my favorite dancer back then, so it was a realy treat to get to talk to him in person. He's now a successful stockbroker here in Melbourne and does a lot of motivational speaking. Not surprisingly, he's very well spoken, but also very warm and down to earth.

Unfortunately I spent a bit too long walking through Chinatown, so I arrived too late at the Melbourne Museum to get into the exhibits. The day ended at the Melbourne Central Shopping Center, which is huge, but has about the lowest useful to bleah store ratios I've ever seen. Lots of mediocre ladies clothes boutiques and a distinct lack of anything terribly practical. Basically five floors of worthlessness on top of a train station. Melbourne Public Transportation seemed to trying it's best to take after NJ Transit, in that our express train was standing room only, travelling mostly at a snail's pace with periodic stops just jerky enough to send everyone stumbling around.