Scotland I: September-October 2009

I thoroughly enjoyed my 6 weeks at UoE.

• Prof. Alan Bundy had invited me, as a Distinguished SICSA Researcher, to Scotland for 6 weeks.
• I started by giving a full two day mini course, Wed.-Thu. 29-30 Sept.
• Then went on to give seminars at
  • Herriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh, hosted by Prof. Greg Michaelson, Thu. 1 Oct.
    Great campus, - students not liking this ought be dispelled
  • The University of St Andrews, hosted by Prof. Stephen Linton, Tue. 6 Oct.
    Great city, great campus
  • The University of Edinburgh, hosted by Prof. Alan Bundy, Wed. 7 Oct.
    I liked very much the city campus - with the Informatics building right in the very middle surrounded by fine old buildings
  • The University of Stirling, hosted by Prof. Savi Maharaj, Fri. 9 Oct.
    Great campus - students not liking this ought be dispelled
  • Herriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh, hosted by Prof. Greg Michaelson, Tue. 13 Oct.
  • The University of Strathclyde, hosted by Prof. Andrew McGettrick, Mon. 19 Oct.
    OK city campus
  • The University of Glasgow, hosted by Prof. Simon Gay, Tue. 20 Oct.
    Fine city campus
• And also a closed group colloquium on Mon. 26 Oct. on the possibilities of my oil/gas pipeline model being of any use to a project between Edinburgh and Herriot-Watt: it seems so, but I have not heard of anything yet.
• More on Edinburgh:
  • I got myself a very nice flat in Edinburgh's West End, right across from the Scottish Episcopal Church's Cathedral, St. Mary, on Palmerston Place.
  • From there it was walking distance to New Town and Princess Street -- and hence to all the fashionable parts of two.
  • I stayed there by myself Sat. 19. Sept. to Wed. 14. Oct., and from Mon. 26 Oct. till Fri. 30 Oct.
  • I was briefly back home, Wed.-Fri., for an invited talk at a Nordic Conf. and for a brief talk with the eye doctor at the Natl. Hospital of Denmark: Ths. Winding is set, next year, sometime, to correct my squinting right eye.
  • Kari came back to spend 9 full days in Scotland.
• The two photos below show one of the few restaurants, Le Cafe St Honore, I visited twice - all I visited were good but this one was cosy.

• Edinburgh is now under siege by the contractors who are building a new tram system,
  from the Leith harbour up to Edinburgh and down Princess Street past Haymarket,
  and, in years to come, (will never happen, far too costly) on to the airport.
  The Princess Street area is a disaster - has been so for years and will remain so for years.
  The Edinburgh City Council has gone berserk.
• In the weekend of Sept. 25-27 I took a bus trip Oban, the Isle of Mull and the Isle of Iona.
• The coach took us along the Loch Lomond, up and down!

• Oban is a port on/of the West of Scotland.
• The harbour is home to ferries to the Western Isles, The Hebrides, as well as to Oban.

• The Isle of Mull Duart Castle "greets" you already from the ferry when you sail out of Oban harbour.

• Iona is the Holy Island of Scotland.
• Iona is bottom-left, i.e., west-most on the map below.

• One visits Isle of Iona to see its 1400 year old heritage.

• The benches below are from Fionnaphort harbour on the Isle of Iona.
• The next photo is from a village across the Isle of Mull.

• Edinburgh is full of beautiful doors.

• - and more beautiful doors.