Martians have landed
(Water tower: Uddingston, Scotland)
I have always felt that Glasgow’s water towers, especially more prevalent in the East, are evocative of a 1950s martian movie. They appear to have landed from some large budget black and white film, glorious in their greyness. I have never managed to get quite so close to one before; I see them from bus windows frequently, but never whilst walking. This one is in Uddingston – an outlying portion of Glasgow and a place I have have never really been to before, certainly never on foot. I have been to nearby Tannochside for meetings and work before and now this is another batch of work. Instead of asking for a lift from a temporary collegue, the afternoon meeting called for a train ride and a long walk to an industrial estate. Luckily the walk included exciting views from a motorway bridge, interesting fauna and a water tower. I realise I am perhaps not promoting the area terribly well, but portions of it were very quaintly populated with little cottages and their immaculately British gardens.
I didn’t mind the walk at all. Sometimes it is pleasant to be outside Glasgow’s urban confines for an hour or two and to ramble through suburbia until I feel the compulsion to return to dear dirty Glasgow proper. Once I reached my destination, after a fair few photo opportunities, the heavens opened and spilled lashings of rain as far as the eye could see. I was feeling rather smug at this, especially since it cleared up just long enough for me to return to the train station for the ride home. Meetings like this are not so usual for me, but they do occur. Recently I have also been to Stirling on three occasions for meetings, so I have excuses to travel to exhilarating destinations often enough. Tomorrow I have an Edinburgh appointment with friends (not for work) and it will be yet another change of scenery. Now that I am in one place for a while – I have no plans for any trips away at the present time – I must satisfy myself with day trips and prolonging any travel to be as rewarding to me as possible. Perhaps next time I visiti Stirling on a good day, I can make a trip to the castle. Until a day of fine weather comes along, I must rely on water towers and motorway bypasses for my city amusements.
– Today Rosie is going to a friend’s piano recital and going to Edinburgh to visit another friend, accompanied by yet another friend. –
