Glasgow and Me, Part Six Seven (Really, This Time)

Quick notes: I didn’t hear any fireworks before last night, and I didn’t hear the fireworks that went off last night either (having fallen precipitously asleep at 11:30); Margaret assures me that there were fireworks aplenty, from more than one location. I imagine that the subzero temperatures have diminished the inclination of amateur pyrotechnicians to venture out at night and practise their art, but still, the contrast with the weeks around Guy Fawkes Day is remarkable,
 
We went to see Sherlock Holmes at the local cinema (only one walkable movie theater in the West End, so far as I know). We enjoyed it immensely — very spacious, comfortable seats, with handsome wooden trays between every pair of seats. We saw another couple bring in a bottle of wine and glasses. Now, we can hardly wait to go back. That’s movie-watching with class.
 
I would wish for Margaret a chance to see Glasgow in warmer, sunnier weather (no, we didn’t go to George Square for Hogmanay), but it’s still making a good impression on her. I hope that her fondness for Glasgow increases from her current feelings in proportion to the length of days and the increase of degrees Celsius.
 
It occurred to me recently that a large part of my difficulty in making out a Glasgow accent derives from the very wide variety of accents I hear here. Glasgow being a center for academic, industrial, and general migration, one can easily encounter a great many variations of English accents, many south Asian accents, many accents from other parts of Scotland, and many hybrids of these with Scottish and Glaswegian speech. So I hardly ever know whether I’m hearing a (relatively) pure Glasgwegian accent, or some other regional or hybrid pattern. Still, I’m having less trouble than I was warned that I would.
 
Waitrose may be “upmarket,” but Wednesday, when Margaret and I went shopping there, we found a very good number of vegetarian-friendly options (too many, in fact!). Moreover, when Margaret asked an employee about gluten-free foods, he promptly led her to an end cap replete with g-f staples, and offered her a print-out of everything that Waitrose ordinarily stocks that meets her dietary needs. He then went and printed a copy of it and looked around for her to give it to her. That, my friends, is customer service. Even if Waitrose is justly labelled “upscale,” we will shop for groceries there as long as they have a good supply of foods we can eat, and they demonstrate such readiness to connect us to it.
 
 
Plus, everything that I like about Glasgow is vastly more wonderful while Margaret’s here.

1 thought on “Glasgow and Me, Part <strike>Six</strike> Seven (Really, This Time)

  1. AKMA,

    I love hearing about your experiences of adjusting to life in Glasgow, in a strange, positive homesick kinda way. This year marks our 9th away from our hometown but experiencing it vicariously* through your updates rekindles old memories.

    Please don’t stop!

    * Multi-meaning high score combo!

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