I arrived in London on Monday morning for a few days of work. The Tower of London was right next to my hotel and so after a nice rejuvenating swim in the hotel pool I went for a wander around the neighborhood. Thai food was my choice for dinner and then off to try and sleep.
On Tuesday morning I woke up early but reasonably well rested for a day of work in Croydon. A 15 minute walk to the London Bridge train station was 
quite brisk and refreshing. It took me a few minutes to understand that I was headed to East Croydon and had to type that in to buy a ticket. The new and fully automated station didn’t have anyone to ask for help. The train journey was less than 15 minutes and the office was directly across the street from the East Croydon station – easy peasy. Meeting the EMEA team face to face for the first time was very nice – I even got to play some ping pong in the newly modernized office. The walk back to the hotel numbed 
my toes and my colleague informed me that those in the know wore thermal socks – not something I considered when packing for the trip. Some clients took me out for drinks and dinner when I got back into central London and scotch eggs on the menu was a pleasant surprise.
Wednesday was spent in the central London office meeting colleagues. The office vibe was much more pleasant and relaxed than that of the New York office and everyone was very welcoming. Dinner was at Tayyabs which is voted the best Indian restaurant in East London. It serves Punjabi, Northern Indian cuisine and I really enjoyed it. The fiery lamb chop appetizer is not to be missed. Paul, a Scottish friend, who lives in London and worked with us in Fort Worth for several months last year joined for dinner and was as entertaining as ever. He was able to FaceTime with Diana after dinner and get her all filled of Italian vacation dreams – Paul was married last year at a villa in Tuscany and has spent a lot of time in Italy.
Thursday was back to Croydon for work and no issues with the train routine this time – maybe that puts me in the fast learner category? I enjoyed a delicious Turkish dinner at Atesh in Croydon with George, a colleague who also has 3 sons about the same age as mine. We exchanged some entertaining stories. The lamb moussaka was some of the best that I’ve had.
On Friday I caught a quick flight up to Glasgow to help Elspeth celebrate her 
50th birthday. The flight landed just ahead of a snow storm and I was glad David had his Land Rover to collect me. The drive to Stewarton was uneventful. Here’s a map that shows the location of Stewarton on the West coast of Scotland.
You can see the lovely snow covered countryside in this video:
Gifts were opened and birthday cake enjoyed at 6 Merrick View and then we headed to the Brig O’ Doon restaurant in Alloway. Mum described the drive from Stewarton to Fenwick as “horrendous”. Snow was falling heavily and the road was icing over to the extent that many folks were abandoning their cars and walking into town. Thank goodness for the Land Rover and David’s excellent driving skills. After reaching Fenwick, the rest of the drive was smooth. We parked next to the Brig O’ Doon that is featured in the famous poem, Tam O’ Shanter, by Robert Burns.
The opening lines known by all Scottish schoolkids are:
When chapmen billies leave the street,
And drouthy neibors, neibors meet
Several lines from the poem are painted throughout the restaurant which was appropriately hosting a Burns supper that evening. Here’s the part where Tam’s horse gets him across the bridge but loses her tail.
Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-stane o’ the brig;
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they dare na cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi’ furious ettle;
But little wist she Maggie’s mettle –
Ae spring brought off her master hale,
But left behind her ain gray tail;
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.
And finally the advice to anybody inclined to drink too much:
No, wha this tale o’ truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother’s son take heed;
Whene’er to drink you are inclin’d,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think! ye may buy joys o’er dear –
Remember Tam o’ Shanter’s mare.
We had a lovely, leisurely meal and the ladies finished up with some fancy sundaes. Many but not all of the abandoned cars had been retrieved by the time we made the drive back home.
Saturday breakfast consisted of some of my favourites made to order by my Mum – black pudding, fried egg and mushrooms. Elspeth, David, Heather and Penny (cairn terrier named after Miss Moneypenny from James Bond) took me for a walk at the Whitelee Wind Farm near Eaglesham.
This is the largest Wind Farm in Scotland and is very impressive up close. 
The turbine housing at the top is the size of a large caravan and you really don’t appreciate the scale until up next to it. Walking in the snow and wind certainly blew out the cobwebs and I was glad to have Struan’s hiking boots.
Here’s a video of silly Penny trying to catch a snowball:
Mum made one of her delicious beef stews for dinner and then we watched some Grand Tour episodes with the car crazy David.
For Sunday breakfast I had my favourites again but at a much earlier hour so that David could drop me back in Glasgow for my flight to London and then on to New York. I was pleasantly surprised by the food on the flight and particularly the oatcakes (one of my top foods) with cheese. Immigration at JFK airport was a breeze but the car to my hotel seemed to take forever due to heavy traffic and bridge construction. I watched most of the 2nd half of the football playoff game on the drive.
I finished Tom Hanks’ new book, Uncommon Type: Short Stories, on the flight and highly recommend it. Each story starts with a picture of a typewriter from Hanks’ collection which features somehow in the story. The quality of the short stories and the everyday characters captured in them was surprising – what a talented man.
A song by the Scottish band Deacon Blue, very popular in the 80s, was playing in the car on my drive to Heathrow airport and it transported me back in time quite effectively. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard Deacon Blue on the radio in America.