Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones...

Once again, Laurie did a great job on her blog so I'll just add a few tidbits here and there.

The other day I was watching a TV program where an architect was decrying the materials used in modern building. I don't remember exactly, but I think, "crap", "shite", and "garbage" were among her favorite terms. Now it is true that the older buildings here are generally made from really durable materials like stone and iron. But I am not sure that is the essential reason for their superior design aesthetic which clearly stands the test of time. The buildings are elegant and usually understated. But I digress...

Along the way to the concert we saw a beautiful clock covered in flowers in Princes Street Park. The park is right in the center of town between the "Old" and "new" Glasgow and has lots of grass and flowers. The park is interesting too, in that it is built in at least two levels. There was a natural valley between New Glasgow and the "mound" and so they built the park around that. Part of the park is at street level and part of it is hidden away from the noise and traffic some 30-40 feet or so down. Either way, you can look up and see formidable Edinburgh Castle.

When we reached the Mound we were, as Laurie mentioned, told by a policeman that we had to go around the block to find the queue. I have to say the police here have been amazingly polite and don't seem to feel they have to present an air of domination and/or terror that many police in the US use. In fact, their power comes from extreme politeness. In any case, the queue was quite long, but that gave me a few more minutes to take pictures. As always, I loved the detail of the buildings.

Anyway, the concert was nearly the best I'd ever heard. Yes, I do mean heard—not saw. Until we moved up to stands, we could hardly see what was going on. There were only two price points for the show and we'd had to pay the more expensive £40 so I was getting pretty disappointed as was Laurie. The first response we got from the "steward" at the top of the ramp was that we had to go to the box office (which was down the street!) Needless to say, I didn't like that answer since there were dozens if not hundreds of empty seats to be had up there! Soon we spoke to someone higher up the food-chain and she resolved the issue quite easily and nicely.

The show was pretty good including the fans. There was a woman who had a giant pair of men's boxers that said, "Tom Jones is a Sex Bomb". She taunted the security people by blocking an isle and not sitting down when directed to. Eventually she did, or they tossed her out, I am not sure which. She was too far a way to get a good shot. There were some women above us who were really into the show...and of course, the famous underwear was all over. Panties and bras were being tossed up toward the stage like we would throw a beach ball through a crowd. At one point, Tom wiped his face with a pair of panties. Well, I guess someone has to have adoring women throwing their underwear at him.

Tom put on quite the show, and part of the way through the concert, they lighted torches (yes, real torches, not flashlights) above the castle. Our seats provided a nice view of both the show and the castle directly behind. There was also a soldier stationed in front of the castle, but I think that was more for his pleasure than any real security. I should mention that since we arrived, we have seen almost no sign of the high-security measures we're accustomed to in the post 9/11 United States. A sad commentary on the "home of the free". 

Makes me wonder how the election and that Democratic convention are going, anyway?

On the way home, we got to see some great views of Edinburgh at night which we hadn't seen previously.   It was really stunning.   We made our way to the train station and had some luck.  The train we intended to catch back to Queen's Street Station wasn't due for 30 minutes because it was so late.  However, the train to Central Station, a few minutes closer to our house, was uncharacteristically late and we were able to catch it just a few minutes after we got to the station.  Now that's service.  Since we missed the last bus for the night, we took a cab home.  The driver was very friendly and told us that he'd been in California a few years ago…1966 I think he said.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that I might not have been born when he was last there.