Dashing through the city
(Santa dash finish: Glasgow, Scotland)
On my way to visit friends in Edinburgh, I had purchased my train tickets at a machine – at speed – as I believed a train would be departing in a matter of minutes. When I entered the hall of Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, I discovered I had a wait of not two, but forty-five minutes. I stood, crestfallen, willing myself to have checked the train times from the comfort of my bed. I could almost feel the feather duvet’s residual warmth cooling back home as I watched trains leaving for Aberdeen and Fort William. As often in these situations, it didn’t take me long to find a use for that time. As luck would have it, the annual charity ‘Santa Dash’ for The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice was taking place that very morning. Essentially it involves a couple of thousand men, women and children dressing in Father Christmas outfits and running a few kilometres to raise money. That’s the premise, really. There were also some dogs in tow, and one man was racing up Buchanan street with a toddler in a buggy. This shot shows some Santas during recuperation after the dash, hence their decidedly lacklustre appearance. One of these Santas looks as if he is about to lost his trousers. I can’t explain that really.
As you can see from this photograph, Glasgow’s George Square is a hotbed of festive fun at present with a helter skelter, carousel and even (for the first time ever) a ferris wheel. It seems like the white, smart ferris wheel is undergoing a current resurgence in popularity after several large cities have installed permanent versions; Belfast, London, Liverpool, Singapore, Nottingham and many others. Glasgow has followed suit with a temporary wheel to slake our thirst to be as current everyone else.
Anyway, basically I wanted to wish you a very merry Christmas break (if you’re lucky enough to have one) and that you experience something lovely, nice or wonderful around now, even if it’s just getting some peace and quiet. I think that’s exactly what my mother will be asking Santa for this year. My sister and I are overexcited and when not being forced into manual labour, preparing the house for my mother’s Christmas Eve guests, we form an unstoppable double act of chaos and hilarity. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
– Today Rosie is enjoying a real fire, much food and the general festive spirit in Carlisle, England –
