It's nearly 11 and we haven't made it out of the impossibly cosy basement flat we're staying in. Our bodies are still a bit out of whack and it's raining again. Everyone tells us the weather has been beautiful here for weeks, right up until our arrival. A lesser person might take it all personally. We're planning to hit a one o'clock showing of a local cultural fave here, A Play, A Pie and a Pint. For 15 consecutive weeks, the Oran Mor presents 15 different plays by 15 different writers with 15 different casts - you get the drift. For ten pounds, locals crowd to this event and enjoy some lunchtime theatre, a pie lunch and a pint of whatever tickles your fancy (beer, soft drink, etc.) Glasgow has a habit of converting former churches, most of whose congregations slowly dwindled, into wildly successfully nightlife, pubs and restaurants. The Oran Mor is considered one of the best examples, housing two pubs, two restaurants, a nightclub and private event space. Interetsing repurposing, no?
Dowanhill Church, right near where we're staying, was the church where my parents met. My Grandma and Grandpa Smillie were considered pillars of the church-going community (I know, what happened, right?) and it's probably a good thing they didn't live to see the day when it too was turned into Cottier's, a really cosy-looking pub, restaurant and theatre we walk by almost daily. At night, they light it with candles and firelight and strings of fairy lights in the windows. It's probably worth a stop-by sometime, but I keep thinking of Grandma Smillie and the disapproving glance I'd most certainly earn. Ah, well.
But I digress. Anyway, if the weather holds, we're heading up to the Glasgow Necropolis, a magnificent cemetery overlooking the city - this town's answer to Pere Lachaise. From there, we can stop in at the Glasgow Cathedral, parts of which date back to the 13th centure. Â and then, we hope, Provand's Lordship, the oldest standing house in Glasgow, built in 1471.
And now I see the sun has made an appearance, so it's probably time to get off my arse and make it out into the air! Those in the know say to go early for a play at the Oran Mor - at least if you want to be close enough to hear the dialog.