My Glaswegian Easter

We have a long weekend this weekend. Yay! Four whole days off work for Easter (that’s Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday) so I’m venturing out of London for the weekend. And not just out of London, but out of England too – to Scotland in fact, although as both countries are part of the UK I won’t be needing my passport!

As you’ve probably already guessed from my title, I’m heading to Glasgow for a Glaswegian weekend.  Now, you might think that Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and you’d be right, but Glasgow is bigger – in fact, it’s the third most populous city in the UK.  However, it tends to get less press than Edinburgh, at least among international students, because it’s just so much less touristy. Perhaps this is due to the city’s reputation as one of Britain’s grittiest.  So my partner and I have been to Edinburgh several times but never to Glasgow.  We decided to rectify this situation this Easter!

We’re getting the train from London – so much less stressful than flying and probably not that much longer either.  Then again, I’m biased because a) I’m fairly deep green  b) I find airports mind-numbingly tedious, and  c)  I met my boyfriend on the train so travelling by train together always feels a little bit romantic.  There are also some great views as the train goes along the coast.

What are our plans once we cross the border?  Well, I think it will be a typical city break – lots of meals out, drinks, taking in culture, hitting the town at night and that sort of thing.  I’m most excited about the food and the art.  Why?  Well, food for two reasons, the first is because I absolutely love curry and Glasgow is supposed to have some of the best curry houses in the UK.  The second is a bit embarrassing really, and I apologise in advance to any Scottish people reading this.  Now, Scottish cuisine is (in)famous for being somewhat unhealthy, with fried food featuring heavily on the menu.  The most notorious example of this is the deep-fried Snickers bar.  But guess what?  I’m dying to try one!  I love Snickers and I love deep-fried food so I think it’ll be a winner.  What can I say?  I’m just a dumb tourist!  By the way, in the interests of balance I should probably add that the healthiest breakfast ever is also Scottish, i.e. porridge.  I love it!

Now, if I can move after all that porridge, curry and chocolate, I’m planning to head to the Mackintosh House to check out a reconstruction of the art deco architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s home.  Although I’m not as into the art deco style as I was when I was younger, as an art lover I don't think I can visit Glasgow without seeing it.  I'm also hoping to take in The Burrell Collection, reckoned to be one of Europe's finest and recommended to me by a colleague:  www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/our-museums/burrell-collection

Well, I’ll let you know how we got on in a few weeks’ time.  I’d like to leave you with the knowledge that a few years ago Glasgow was named as ‘the only European city in a top-10 list of the world's "must-see" places’:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/why-glasgow-is-one-of-the-worlds-top-10-destinations

By Laura

Glossary

Glaswegian (adj.) - from Glasgow

press (n.) - publicity

touristy (adj.) - popular with tourists.  Often has a negative connotation of being too expensive, cliched or crowded

gritty (adj.) - dirty and possibly dangerous

rectify (v.) - to correct a situation

deep green (adj.) - very environmentally aware

mind-numbingly tedious (exp.) - extremely boring

curry house (n.) - an Indian or Bangladeshi restaurant

dying to do stg. (exp.) - to be extremely keen to do something