Knighty Knight

Last post on Edinburgh for a while (until my next visit)... but I had to share some of Laura's pics from the trip... (used with her permission, all rights reserved).
Couple of shots of the hostel where we stayed, and my new Scottish haircut (Scott the Scot).
Had another busy week... golfing in Scotland on Mon and Tues, indoor and outdoor soccer (Wed and Sat, respectively), and tennis on Thurs and Friday. Oh yeah, and class Thurs night... Newcastle lost their league match to Wigan today, 1-0. They failed to convert a penalty kick which would have given them the tie... oh well... maybe tickets for the rest of the home games will be easier to come by.

Home Sweet Home?

3:46pm back on campus, class night… still have 2 articles to read, but 2 hours to do it… I’m cool. I also have a 10 page paper to do in the next couple of weeks, and I’ve (surprisingly) already started on it.
Got a last minute call to play indoor soccer last night, which was nice… scored two goals despite not stretching. I’m starting to feel it today, but it’s going to be worse tomorrow. Played 3 sets of tennis this am, which helped some, and I’m playing tomorrow as well.
Had Subway for lunch today just to help with some homesickness… There are KFC’s, BK’s, and Pizza Huts all over town, too. When we were out at a club in Edinburgh on Sat night, the DJ played “Sweet Home Alabama”, and the crowd went nuts. I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard, because I’m fairly certain that I was the only one in the place who had ever been to Alabama, or even knew where it is.
I’m starting to catch my first cold of the semester, but that was inevitable with all of the cold, rainy weather we’ve been having. You would think that my scotch in Scotland would have helped stave that off…
Newcastle Utd are playing the 2nd leg of their UEFA Cup match tonight against Zulte Waregam (from Belgium) at 7:45 tonight. So… I’m headed to the bar on campus as soon as class is over to watch the rest of the game from a warm dry seat with a pint and my laptop.

St Andrew's Double-Double

Another lovely day at St Andrews... weather was in the 40's, with some wind and rain in the afternoon (which is nice by Scotland standards for February).
Had a lovely “full Scottish breakfast” at my “usual” bed and breakfast just down the street from the golf courses... The Charlesworth House. The “full” breakfast included an fried egg, bacon, sausage, hash browns, sauteed mushrooms, fried tomatoes, black pudding, and baked beans... with coffee and an orange juice chaser. They asked if I wanted toast as well... everyone is always trying to give you extra carbs around here for some reason. Yes, I ate it all, and yes, I was full.
I had a double-double today (no, there is no In-and-Out Burger here... that's double meat and double cheese if you've never been to SoCal). I went out on the Jubilee course about 930 this am, played 18 by 1pm, and asked the starter about a replay. He said... “no worries, I won't tell anyone” so I couldn't turn down that offer... shot a 95 and an 86. Been a few weeks since I played, don't y'know... and I didn't remember until after 9 that the fairway yardage markers all measure to the front of the green, and not the center. No wonder I was a club (or two, or three) off of a few approaches. Some of the greens are 50 yards deep.
Also a good thing I had the “full” breakfast, 'cuz it lasted me all day. Had a nice “Old Course” scotch in the clubhouse afters (the other double), and ordered the lasagna special, which came with chips (of course), so now I'm full again.
I was able to leave my clubs in the clubhouse (now I know where they came up with the name). The Old, New, and Jubilee courses all start in the same general area near the clubhouse. They've been playing golf here since the 1400's, but the “New” course didn't open until 1898.

More from Edinburgh

(pronounced Edinboro, by the way)... First shot is from the train. Can you find Nessie? Me either...
We found out the story of Deacon Brodie after dinner and drinks in the pub, and reading the back of the menu. With all of the ghost tours and stories about town, I was afraid to keep drinking there lest I became the physical embodiment of the Brodie Spirit.
Also saw this somewhat confusing sign... I can only guess that it's a unisex bathroom for lads and drunk lasses.
Edinburgh's an amazing place to visit!

Scott the Scot

I like the way this story starts... And there's a view of the Scott Monument from the National Art Gallery (it's the dark tower on the left) and a view of the National Art Gallery from the Monument. You can also see the Edinburgh Castle above the Art Gallery on top of the hill.

Edinburgh

Yeah, so they got a couple castles, and a couple of cool monuments, 12th century cathedrals, and all... but I really got excited about the Scotch "Experience". Not sure which scenery I enjoyed more. Great town, very friendly, bring your walking shoes! I'm staying in a hostel for the first time ($25/night fits into the student budget), slept in a bunk bed, shared a shower with everyone else on the 7th floor, but I had my own bottle of scotch! Balvenie Doublewood, in fact... I highly recommend it... only 30 quid a fifth.
Off to St Andrews in a few, back to Newcastle on Tues, then back to the student thing for a couple of days. Hope everyone is doing well at home... again, wish you could be here with me!

Around town...

We finally had some "nice" weather for Valentine's Day... that means it wasn't raining or snowing, and it was 6 (celsius, low 40's F... i feel another one of those "i'm having to do too much math in my head" headaches coming on again...).
So... here's a picture of the St Nicholas Cathedral (spires were built in 1448), and the interior is just as magnificent. I've never seen such intricate woodwork and stained glass windows. The building in front of the "new" castle is called the Black Gate, built between 1050-1080 by the Romans. This was the northern tip of their empire, and marked the end of Hadrian's Wall, which ran for 73 miles across England (to repel the "northern tribes", today we call them "Scots"... is that how I was named, ma and pa?)
Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Chips!

So the 1st floor is not the 1st floor here, it’s the 2nd floor… and don’t look for an “Exit” sign… it’s the “Way Out” (which you’ll find on the Ground Floor). (I almost didn’t make it out of the library on my first visit.)
I’m doing a good job of staying away from the chips, since they serve them with bloody everything here. I had lasagne in the school cafeteria last week, and they asked “do you want chips with that?” Thought I was at McDonald’s again for a second… “Yes, please, I would like some fried starch to go along with my baked starch.” I’m going to weigh 17 stone by the time I get home…

Grilling my socks

So this is what "flat-living" is all about... low water pressure, dishwasher still doesn't work, and the washer/dryer (they are the same unit) is cr@p. So... after 120 minutes of drying in the machine, I've turned my radiator into a sock grill. :)
"Oh, but it's been a great experience, though..."

Snow!

Doo, doo, doo... lookin' out my back door...
This wasn't due until tomorrow, and I don't know if it came early or if more is expected. The local paper is only published weekly, so if it's possible to make a meteorologist's record any worse... make them predict the weather a week out (since they usually can't get it straight for that afternoon).
There's a big football match this Sat between NUFC and Liverpool (who are 4th in the "Table" right now). Unfortunately, Liverpool isn't all that far away, and usually bring a strong "away" showing, so the game is sold out. No matter, since I have a match of my own this Saturday. The lads I met on the train to the Super Bowl party are needing a keeper this weekend, so I'm going to strap on my mitts and see if I can play with the locals. That ought to be fun in the snow, eh? Especially since long johns are not allowed under soccer shorts... lest I be tabbed a pansy for the next 3 months...
Hope you're all warmer there... Have a great day!

Super Bowl Monday

Monday 5 Feb 07
What an awesome Super Bowl last night! Not that it was easy to find a place to watch it… I had to take the train downtown since all of the local pubs close at 11pm, and the game didn’t start until 11:30 here. So, for a £3 cover ($6.30), I got to see the whole thing on a wall-sized big screen. Surprisingly, there are a number of British “American football” fans.
I ran into three of them at the Metro station (the Colts hat and Patriots jersey gave two of them away…) and they happened to be headed to the same pub recommended by my flat-mate David (he couldn’t go because he had to work at 7am today).
I got a little homesick in Tesco yesterday when I realized that I wouldn’t be making Super Bowl chilli for the first time in about 10 years… I felt a lot better when I saw the Newcastle University cheerleaders in uniform at the bar for the game. Yes, they performed at the end of the first quarter, which I enjoyed much more than the Prince halftime show (shocking, I know…). Today, I treasure a signed calendar from the “Angels” (worth every pence of another 3 quid).
I'm still moving a little slow today from the 3:30 am finish of the game, and trying to trade pints of Fosters with Ben, Phil, Martin and Joe.

My new haircut...

Just kidding, Mom!

Looks like the bloody weather here is better than the bloody weather in Atlanta... almost 50 today, and nary a drop of rain since i've been here. :) Played some smashing tennis at the club today with Charles, Trevor (Trev), and Reginald (Reg). Reg and I had a rather easy time of things, 6-4, 6-1. There are social groups playing at the club about 4 times a week, which happens to fit into my busy schedule (now pronounced shhedule) quite well. I’ve a new curse word for missing a shot… “bugger!” (stolen from Reg). Tomorrow’s social is from 1-5pm. I’m meeting Charles and Terry and Bridget for a friendly mixed game for starters. I've also met Barney (the badminton player)… Arnie, Dominic, Graeme, Bill, Jim, Alva, and Jillie... :)

I didn't bring a whole lot of short sleeved shirts (3 maybe?) because I didn't think that I'd be wearing them outdoors all that much... but there are 3 indoor courts at the club, so, i've been shopping a bit. :)

Had my first class last night from 5:30-8… then went to the library to check out 3 textbooks. Between the 1st week articles that we just found out about last night, and the Week 2 readings, I have to get started on the 19 (!!!) articles and chapters that are due next Thurs. The Tom Clancy novels that I bought from the library for 50p ($1) will have to wait, I guess… There are only 6 of us in class. The instructor isn't a professor, but he works for the North Tyneside Council, so at least he has some practical experience.

Some observations:
Hot water is on the right, cold on the left. Must have something to do with driving on the wrong side of the road…
Walking on the sidewalk, you have to stay to the left, just like on the road…
I seem to be running into a lot of people, at least…

the Super Bowl will be on here at 11:30pm Sunday night, but the pubs are open until 3am, so that's ok... and my monday is pretty wide open at this point. :)

I still have the wind from the kidney pie from the game the other night... I think I'm going to get kicked out of the library in a minute... TGIF!

ps. Haircut photo courtesy of Laura Le, the famous Austrian photographer.

Newcastle United Football Club

Well, there it is, then! Welcome to my first Premiership match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa. I was joined by 50,000 fellow Geordies for a fine display of English football. Naturally, my flatmate Monika and I started with a pint of John Smith’s Ale at our local pub, The Lonsdale.

A short Metro (train) ride and we joined the throngs headed for St James Park.

Our student tickets were not well marked, so we walked around the stadium a bit, taking in the sights… and security was quite tight, as you can see (who could outrun a horse after a few pints, anyway?)

We finally made it inside just as kickoff were about to occur, and found our seats.

It’s a good thing we were on time for the match, since Newcastle struck early in the 5th minute on a cracker goal by James Milner. Beating two defenders at the top of the box, he let loose an 18 meter blast into the upper left hand corner, denting the nets for first blood. Just two minutes later, Kieron Dyer nodded nifty header just inside the far post to double the Magpie’s early lead. Aston Villa cut the lead to one in the 25th minute after a wild flurry following a corner kick, with Ashley Young finishing strong for Villa.

Villa seemed encouraged by their success, and pressured the Newcastle defense with repeated opportunities throughout the remainder of the half, but were unable to equalize. Both squads knocked shots off of the pipes, but the score remained 2-1 until the half. That’s when I made my first tactical error…

I fancied a pie and a pint… but didn’t get enough details on the steak pie, which was actually a steak and kidney pie. It was quite warm, at least, which was welcome on the chilly evening… so I managed to scarf it down, and chase it with a Fosters... gave me the wind something terrible as well (which fortunately was also warming).

Newcastle defended well to protect their lead in the 2nd half, and added an insurance goal in extra time for a 3-1 victory, which moves them up from 12th to 9th in the Premiership table. And it was quite a lovely first match the foreign exchange students!