Day 196: Chthonic cathedral

06/02/2022

After trying to wrestle our strange suspended fridge back into place last night we were still pretty knackered. The kids did not wake up until 08:00 which was nice. However, they both go from 0 to 100 quick. After a good morning whack in Dad’s face, the day had begun. Eloise was disappointed there was no snow, so decided to make an indoor toboggan to practice.

We eventually had breakfast which was closer to lunchtime. It was another dreich day but the kids were getting restless so we had to get out of the house. We figured it was a good day to visit Glasgow Cathedral. The previous two times we were there it was not open. A quick sing along to Eloise’s favourite soundtrack and we had arrived.

We are making good use of these Historic Scotland memberships.

As soon as we entered we were stunned by the Cathedral. The Gothic architecture, stained glass windows and wooden roof, it was like a wee Notre Dame, which by the way still has a large hole in it.

We followed the one-way COVID-19 route throughout the cathedral. It was a labyrinth of corridors and stairs, no wonder they told us to leave the Batmobile behind. It seemed so much larger on the inside. Eloise made sure she got her step count up for the day.

Glasgow Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. Glasgow Cathedral and St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney are the only medieval cathedrals in Scotland to have survived the Reformation virtually intact. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow, whose tomb lies at the centre of the building’s Lower Church. The first stone cathedral was dedicated in 1136.

We did not time our departure well. It was coming down thick and fast. Lachlan had the best seat in the house in his wee cocoon.

It was as if Christmas had come early for Eloise again as she found her beloved trolls mask after being misplaced months ago.

We had to dry out the Batmobile seats when we got home. Although Eloise had different ideas.

Saturday afternoon was also the start of the highly anticipated Six Nations Championship. “Scotland secured successive Calcutta Cup wins for the first time since 1984 after a dramatic late penalty try helped them claim a nerve-shredding Six Nations victory over England”. We do not know much about rugby but know the Scottish will happily celebrate any win over the English.

There was more snow falling this morning which is always pretty. We just need it to continue for a few more hours. The relatively warmer period of the past couple of weeks seems like it has come to an end. Today we showed our new Aussie friend around. Not that we exactly know where we are yet, it was the blind leading the blind. Nevertheless, it was fun to catch up. It was back to our go-to lunch spot, Duck Bay. Eloise was thrilled to be reunited with her favourite lighthouse keeper and Lachlan was making Jennine work overtime. Super Mum enjoyed the most peaceful lunch she has had in six months. We were discussing how strange all of our journies to get to this point had been and the challenges we have overcome. Just seven Aussies eating lunch at Loch Lomond.

Today, The Queen “become the first British monarch in history to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, [70 years]… Sunday marks the start of the jubilee celebrations, which will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from 2 to 5 June”. Thanks Queen!