With God On Our Side
I'm in Edinburgh University's main library (which is nothing, NOTHING compared to the wonders of Van Pelt, or the Fine Arts, or even the Dental) and it is about 1:10 PM on Saturday. I've come to write my Celtic Civilisation essay, but I felt a little diary-like release might put me in a better mood to start with the academics (since I haven't really done any since I've arrived). I'm actually looking out of a window at a row of houses that look like they could easily be from the 19th century - with the stone and the multiple chimneys and the grey. There's a kirk (church) with a clock in the tower behind them which just adds to the old time aesthetic. It's quite nice, really. The trees are turning brilliant shades of gold here, as I'm sure they are in Pennsylvania. The sky is a creamy shade of grey and despite the lack of sun, there is pleasant weather outside. Overall, a perfect Edinburgh Saturday. And I'm stuck in the library.
No bother though. I will tell you one thing that's really been preying on my mind lately and that is the election which will take place in *gasp* three days. According to my BBC news source, Bush is still leading in the polls. For those of you from glorious Solanco High School, you will remember Matt Jackson, no? He randomly IMed me yesterday and we got talking about politics. For those who do not know, Matt is a marine and is presently stationed in Japan, although he said he will probably be going to Iraq shortly. He has already voted...for Bush. He had his reasons, and I suppose they were alright ones, but I obviously do not agree. He informed me that the military was pretty split down the middle about the election. I'm guessing that is how the entire country will be. It's quite nerve-wracking... sometimes while watching the news I get a large feeling of dread about the whole deal. I did my part though. I hope you all did yours. Note: I extremely encourage political commentary on this blog!
Oh, I forgot to mention the meaning of the title of this blog. The BBC is doing a lot of specials on America as of late, and one of them is about the moral stance and political history of George W. Bush and it's called "With God On Our Side". It looks intriguing really, and is supposed to examine how much using Christianity as a political platform affects a candidate's success.
I shouldn't write for too long, but I will try and at least start describing my trip to Ireland. Well, it turned out that practically every room in Dublin was booked on Saturday, so I had to find a way to get to Dublin on Sunday morning without neccessitating a room. The flights were no good and the railway was no help, so that left the bus. So I took a ridiculously long bus ride overnight to Dublin (including a ride on a very nice Irish ferry) and arrived extremely early in the morning. I wandered around to find my hostel, got there, dropped off my luggage, freshened up and went off to explore, all by myself.
I walked through Temple Bar in the early morning chill, through a deserted Trinity College and past a stunning Christ Church Cathedral. I found a place called Bewley's to have a very large, very delicious breakfast, bought a map and planned my day. It started with a trip to the Guinness Factory.
The Guinness Factory really was an enjoyable experience and I learned a lot about the process of making lager. You got to smell all the stages of brewing: the barley, the mash, the yeast. You learned about thelife and investments of Arthur Guinness - quite good ones. I found the section on advertising to be particularly interesting - did you know the Guinness Book of World Records was invented to settle bar disputes? And of course, there was a free pint at the end of the tour in their Gravity Bar, which is home to an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. It was perhaps the best thing I have ever tasted.
After the Guinness, I decided it was time for a walk. It was about noon and I ventured past the cathedral and past Dublin Castle. Dublin Castle has very strange opening hours, so I didn't go in, but it was a beautiful building from the outside. I went into a little cafe, for a muffin and some hot chocolate (I'm actually addicted to hot chocolate in autumn/winter) and then decided to visit Trinity College and see the Book of Kells, which is made all the more interesting as I have just studied Celtic art in Celtic Civ and the Book of Kells is supposed to be the last and most quintessential piece of Celtic art.
Once inside the Book of Kells display, you are led through a rather interesting maze of facts on Celtic art, the practice of script writing in monasteries, monastery life, Christian symbols and their meanings, etc. Plus you view a few lesser manuscripts. There are also some wonderful poems on the act of writing, written by monks, which are quite nice. Anyhow, it all leads up to the climatic viewing of the Books of Kells, which is extremely impressive in its artistic stylisation and massive amount of detail. Plus, the colors are extraordinary. I really enjoyed it.
After viewing the book, you then go into Trinity College's Old Library - which is really just as impressive. It is stacks and stacks of old, old books, alphabetised and all leather bound. On either side, there is a row of busts of famous philosophers, authors, doctors commissioned by the college many years ago. There was even a Dr. Gilbert, who I will have to look into the history of at a later time. Many of the others were more familiar names: Plato, Socrates, Jonathan Swift (Trinity Alum), etc. Down the center of the library was a collection of satirical cartoons which I really enjoyed - they were all about Napoleon! Oh, it was fantastic.
Afterwards I was feeling a bit restless, so I decided to go for a stroll in Saint Stephen's Green. What a magnificent, gorgeous piece of land. The colors of the trees, the ponds and the greenest grass you have ever seen. I stayed there for quite a while, just meandering.
It had started to drizzle, just a bit, by this time and I decided to stick it out anyway. I went for a walk in the Georgian section of Dublin and admired the architecture there. The rain had stopped and I proceeded to Temple Bar. There was a quite funny street comedian performing, his name was David McSavage, I believe and I stayed there and listened for a while. Then I proceeded back to the hostel for a proper shower.
After my shower, I headed out to find some food, took a long walk around Dublin (knowing this would probably be my last chance to do so) and then headed to Temple Bar (not the area this time, the actual bar) for a pint. It was a nice one and I met some rowdy Australians, but nothing too great. Besides, I was entirely knackered and wanted a bed more than you can imagine. So I headed back a bit early, met some nice people at the hostel and slept a beautiful sleep.
I'll stop there and resume with Monday morning and the beginning of my tour of Southern Ireland the next time I feel like writing. Until then,
M.
No bother though. I will tell you one thing that's really been preying on my mind lately and that is the election which will take place in *gasp* three days. According to my BBC news source, Bush is still leading in the polls. For those of you from glorious Solanco High School, you will remember Matt Jackson, no? He randomly IMed me yesterday and we got talking about politics. For those who do not know, Matt is a marine and is presently stationed in Japan, although he said he will probably be going to Iraq shortly. He has already voted...for Bush. He had his reasons, and I suppose they were alright ones, but I obviously do not agree. He informed me that the military was pretty split down the middle about the election. I'm guessing that is how the entire country will be. It's quite nerve-wracking... sometimes while watching the news I get a large feeling of dread about the whole deal. I did my part though. I hope you all did yours. Note: I extremely encourage political commentary on this blog!
Oh, I forgot to mention the meaning of the title of this blog. The BBC is doing a lot of specials on America as of late, and one of them is about the moral stance and political history of George W. Bush and it's called "With God On Our Side". It looks intriguing really, and is supposed to examine how much using Christianity as a political platform affects a candidate's success.
I shouldn't write for too long, but I will try and at least start describing my trip to Ireland. Well, it turned out that practically every room in Dublin was booked on Saturday, so I had to find a way to get to Dublin on Sunday morning without neccessitating a room. The flights were no good and the railway was no help, so that left the bus. So I took a ridiculously long bus ride overnight to Dublin (including a ride on a very nice Irish ferry) and arrived extremely early in the morning. I wandered around to find my hostel, got there, dropped off my luggage, freshened up and went off to explore, all by myself.
I walked through Temple Bar in the early morning chill, through a deserted Trinity College and past a stunning Christ Church Cathedral. I found a place called Bewley's to have a very large, very delicious breakfast, bought a map and planned my day. It started with a trip to the Guinness Factory.
The Guinness Factory really was an enjoyable experience and I learned a lot about the process of making lager. You got to smell all the stages of brewing: the barley, the mash, the yeast. You learned about thelife and investments of Arthur Guinness - quite good ones. I found the section on advertising to be particularly interesting - did you know the Guinness Book of World Records was invented to settle bar disputes? And of course, there was a free pint at the end of the tour in their Gravity Bar, which is home to an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. It was perhaps the best thing I have ever tasted.
After the Guinness, I decided it was time for a walk. It was about noon and I ventured past the cathedral and past Dublin Castle. Dublin Castle has very strange opening hours, so I didn't go in, but it was a beautiful building from the outside. I went into a little cafe, for a muffin and some hot chocolate (I'm actually addicted to hot chocolate in autumn/winter) and then decided to visit Trinity College and see the Book of Kells, which is made all the more interesting as I have just studied Celtic art in Celtic Civ and the Book of Kells is supposed to be the last and most quintessential piece of Celtic art.
Once inside the Book of Kells display, you are led through a rather interesting maze of facts on Celtic art, the practice of script writing in monasteries, monastery life, Christian symbols and their meanings, etc. Plus you view a few lesser manuscripts. There are also some wonderful poems on the act of writing, written by monks, which are quite nice. Anyhow, it all leads up to the climatic viewing of the Books of Kells, which is extremely impressive in its artistic stylisation and massive amount of detail. Plus, the colors are extraordinary. I really enjoyed it.
After viewing the book, you then go into Trinity College's Old Library - which is really just as impressive. It is stacks and stacks of old, old books, alphabetised and all leather bound. On either side, there is a row of busts of famous philosophers, authors, doctors commissioned by the college many years ago. There was even a Dr. Gilbert, who I will have to look into the history of at a later time. Many of the others were more familiar names: Plato, Socrates, Jonathan Swift (Trinity Alum), etc. Down the center of the library was a collection of satirical cartoons which I really enjoyed - they were all about Napoleon! Oh, it was fantastic.
Afterwards I was feeling a bit restless, so I decided to go for a stroll in Saint Stephen's Green. What a magnificent, gorgeous piece of land. The colors of the trees, the ponds and the greenest grass you have ever seen. I stayed there for quite a while, just meandering.
It had started to drizzle, just a bit, by this time and I decided to stick it out anyway. I went for a walk in the Georgian section of Dublin and admired the architecture there. The rain had stopped and I proceeded to Temple Bar. There was a quite funny street comedian performing, his name was David McSavage, I believe and I stayed there and listened for a while. Then I proceeded back to the hostel for a proper shower.
After my shower, I headed out to find some food, took a long walk around Dublin (knowing this would probably be my last chance to do so) and then headed to Temple Bar (not the area this time, the actual bar) for a pint. It was a nice one and I met some rowdy Australians, but nothing too great. Besides, I was entirely knackered and wanted a bed more than you can imagine. So I headed back a bit early, met some nice people at the hostel and slept a beautiful sleep.
I'll stop there and resume with Monday morning and the beginning of my tour of Southern Ireland the next time I feel like writing. Until then,
M.
posted by Melinda at 1:08 PM
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