So the evening before last proved to be very entertaining in ways that could not be predicted. We had a meal of chicken breasts together with some Scottish delicacies all of which proved to be delicious. Having dined together my American friend and I drifted slowly towards the post-dinner coffee and entertainment area where we joined in a conversation with two of the members of our own coach party and therefore whom we know. The entertainment was to be provided by a huge, well kilted Scotsman which we did not think would be absolutely our cup of tea but he really was very entertaining. He had fitted some of his own lyrics to songs with a Scottish theme such as the Sky Boat Song. But he sang these folksongs in a very slow and deliberate way which in some way captured the rhythms well of a boat being rowed upon a loch. So we enjoyed this entertainment for some time after which I was a little over-whelmed by the sound of it all and decided to make for my bed. But on my way through the cavernous hall and reception area, I came across a gentleman who I assumed was sitting on his own but was soon to be joined by his wife and we engaged in casual conversations about the things we had done so far on our respective holidays (some coach parties have the same general itineraries but in a different sequence). But as I was invited to join the couple and our conversation turned to other matters, it transpired that they actually lived in Eastleigh of which where I lived in Hampshire (Hedge End) was actually a suburb. So we had lived within only a few miles of each other which was remarkable. They were enjoying a leisurely post-prandial drink of red wine and invited me to share it with them and chatted for probably an hour and a half altogether. I had no idea that the organising company (‘Lochs and Glens’) ran coaches from as far away as Eastleigh which must be the best part of 150 miles to the south of Bromsgrove. As the wife of a couple was a care assistant and worked in a residential home some of whose patients were suffering from dementia, I shared some of the characteristics of Meg’s final few months without being excessively morbid or filled with irrelevant details. When I got back into my room, I turned on the TV news in order to receive news about the results of the general election held in Hungary that day. I was delighted that the opposition leader Magyar (himself from the centre-right) had secured about two thirds of the seats in the 200-seat assembly and upon this news emerging, then Victor Orbán had conceded his defeat very early into the night. As Orbán had been in power for the last sixteen years, I assumed that if the election had been at all close then Orbán would have claimed it but his defeat was so enormous that the concession came early. The fact that the opposition leader secured about two thirds of the seats is highly significant because it may well be that some of the oppressive constitutional reforms introduced by Orbán to consolidate his grip on power are now capable to being rescinded or ameliorated. An absolutely horrendous situation has been reported from Milan airport where some 120 passengers on a EasyJet flight to, I think, Manchester were so delayed by the new border control system that the aircraft took off with only 42 passengers on board, the other 120 being left behind. Of course we are not yet in full holiday season mode just yet and one wonders whether things will settle down before the July holiday rush starts.
In the morning, we were scheduled to visit Glasgow city centre and I think it is fair to say that we were all mightily impressed both by the traditional red sandstone ornate buildings many constructed by the Victorians and a plethora of modern designs for many different types of institutions. There was quite a steady patter of rainfall as well as hail so I think we all were content to sit on the bus whilst the coach driver gave us a tour of some of the most iconic monuments involving both the city centre area as well as the University. We were dropped outside Lewis in Buchanan Street and we dived through John Lewis and were pleased to avail ourselves of a high quality soup and sandwich in the cafeteria. After this. my American friend and I wandered down Buchanan Street to absorb some of the atmosphere of the traditional Glasgow building designs, after which we were pleased to get back onto the coach as it was still raining heavily. We were then transported to the ‘free’ Riverside museum of transport which has a display of practically every kind of transport available from bikes to cars, ancient and modern, to trains and trams. After we had boarded the coach again we stopped off at a picturesque little village of Luss, full of £1m houses and then popped in the village store where I was pleased to buy a copy of the <i>Sunday Times</i>. Upon getting back to the hotel, my fiend and I were both very thirsty after or travels so we popped into the bar for a quick pint of liquid refreshment before starting our packing and then having a delayed main evening meal haggis, venison and delicious ice cream). We have to get up at about 4.30 am and have our cases outside the room at about 5.45 and be ready to depart at about 6.30 the morning after quite a full and interesting holiday. My friend and I have reflected that we have had a good time in each other’s company and have had some interesting discussions and good laughs but the rest of the coach party holiday makers have seemed somewhat on the dour side. Tomorrow, we are due to stay awhile in what is said to the absolutely delightful town of Moffat which is said to have many interesting shops and some very original features and to be well worth a stop. Over the weekend, amid his feud with Pope Leo XIV, the president shared a doctored image of himself dressed as Jesus, in white robes and a red sash, putting his hand to the forehead of a sick man. He appears to have since deleted the post. During Monday’s segment of the ABC talk show, the hosts displayed the picture on the screen behind them as they addressed Trump’s recent Truth Social rant, in which he called the Pope ‘WEAK on crime’ and ‘terrible for foreign policy.’ The post has subsequently been deleted.