“For the first time since I had been in Barcelona I went to look at the cathedral – a modern cathedral, and one of the most hideous buildings in the world. It has four crenellated spires exactly the shape of hock bottles. Unlike most of the churches in Barcelona, it was not damaged during the Revolution–it was spared because of its ‘Artistic value’, people said. I think the anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the chance….”
That’s George Orwell, in Homage to Catalonia, writing about El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (The Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family). It is, contrary to what Orwell says, not a cathedral: it’s a Catholic Christian temple built … read on »
Archive for the ‘places’ category…
Brian Rowan's Glaswegian Anthropology
I must record Brian’s apparently original theory as to why Glasgow is more friendly than Edinburgh. But first, some background. I have always enthused romantically and vaguely about Glasgow’s atmosphere, usually contrasting it with Edinburgh’s. I will say, whenever the subject arises, that Glasgow is more friendly, that it has an exciting edgy atmosphere, that the women are more attractive (sorry all you Edinburgeresses), that people talk in the street, that people are approachable and open, and so on. But until recently I had come to wonder if it wasn’t just my western bias: I am from the west coast and had come to know Glasgow much better than Edinburgh. I had also come to realise that it was a … read on »
Sunshine on Leith and the Hill of The Veil
Yesterday Stu and I climbed the peaks comprising the Beinn a’Ghlo massif (three munros and a top). Quite a feat for us and so satisfying, because it didn’t defeat us as Bidean Nam Bian did.
I’ve realised that whatever else happens, walking in the mountains with Stu every few weeks is a constant. Between the last one and yesterday’s walk I have broken up with my girlfriend of seven years, moved to a new home, and started a new job. But the walk was the same as always. That might sound dull, but it’s not that we always talk about the same things, or that we’re not changing as the years go by; it’s that we can talk about those different … read on »
Glasgow Kiss
Not Paris or Venice – I took Ann to Glasgow to celebrate her birthday. It was a weekend of appetite and passion and curiosity, for which Glasgow is – despite the Edinburger prejudices – the perfect environment.
I chose a hotel called the Kirklee (here’s a nice satellite image)
It’s one house in a very odd red sandstone serpentine terrace in one of the loveliest parts of the West End. It was designed by David Barclay in 1902, so it’s contemporary with Mackintosh, whose art nouveau influence can be seen in the stained glass. Otherwise it’s more traditionally Edwardian, something the proprietors of the hotel make a big thing of, though I can’t say they’ve succeeded very convincingly: there are too many … read on »
Beinn a' Bheithir Mountain Walk
Ever since Chernobyl, these gaiters have never been the same*
Yesterday Stu and I went up Beinn a’ Bheithir (something like bin a veer I think) on the summerest summer day of the summer so far – the day was hot and long and hazy and glowing and pulsating and sticky and gloriously summer.
I was out on Friday night and had a great time, but I stayed out one hour beyond my peak and that was partly why, at six in the morning, I could be seen by our neighbours staggering out to the taxi in Ann’s dressing gown, having just been woken by a knock at the door courtesy of Scott next-door. I got the taxi-driver to come back half-an-hour … read on »
Festa Del Bus: A Whistle-Stop Tour of Italy
We just got back from our coach trip to Italy. The immersion in history, the visual spectacle and the cultural richness were stunning and moving and stimulating, and they left a lasting and important mark on my heart and mind.
First I want to say that whilst Ann came to be known as the Jackie Collins of the trip – inventing brilliantly entertaining and mischievous backstories, especially for the most enigmatic members of the coach party – I won’t touch on that side of things myself. What I will say is that the whole experience did demonstrate the truth of the maxim don’t judge a book by its cover: it was a great collection of people.
This was never really meant to … read on »
Glencoe Walk: Buachaille Etive Beag
Yesterday Stu and I went up Buachaille Etive Beag, the little herdsman of Etive. It’s a ridge parallel to its big brother, Buachaille Etive Mor, but lacks that mountain’s grandeur and the stirring aspect when seen from Rannoch Moor, which I snapped with difficulty from the speeding car:
Remarkable to see the mountains like this when our last climb was mainly on deep snow and hard ice. I’ve been wanting to go to Glencoe for months now and when I got out of the car at the car park I was exhilarated to be there. I took a few photos while a cuckoo cuckooed. There wasn’t much of a view of our mountain, mainly a convex rounded lump looming above, but … read on »
Tasty! MSG, Umami and a Winter Walk on Cruach Ardrain
It hadn’t occurred to me that savouriness was an identifiable taste that savoury foods had in common. Professor Kikunae Ikeda was led to the discovery of glutamate, and the invention of monosodium glutamate, by the idea that foods that are not sweet, sour, bitter or salty actually share another taste: savouriness, or umami. He said:
There is a taste which is common to asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat but which is not one of the four well-known tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and saltyhttp://www.glutamate.org/media/glutamate.htm
This all happened a hundred years ago, so why did nobody tell me before? At a young age we are taught about sweet, sour, bitter and salty, but I don’t recall being told about umami. Anyway, it must … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson