Full English Breakfast: Glasgow Style

Glasgow, Scotland

June 28, 2013

A classic full English breakfast, served up in a neighbourhood greasy spoon.  

Here's what's on the plate (clockwise), starting with a lorne sausage at the bottom.  Yes, that square thing.  Tastes just like any other processed breakfast link/sausage you've ever tried but the meat was a bit coarser than links .  Next up is some breakfast ham, a greasy egg, baked beans in the middle, delicious blood pudding and a tattie scone.  The tattie scone and lorne sausage are apparently what makes this a Scottish version of a full English.  

The blood pudding tasted similar to our local Lunenburg pudding...basically lots of blood and spices to cover up the flavour of the blood.  The toast was thin and drenched in margarine.  No nutritional value in those soggy slabs, that's for sure.  Jamie Oliver would not be best pleased.

All in all, a great way to start a day of travel.  I think I read somewhere that you should eat a lot of protein before a flight...at least, that's what I kept telling myself as I scarfed it all down.

Scotland: Glasgow Subway

Glasgow Subway Car

Glasgow, Scotland

June 19, 2012

During our short stay in Glasgow, I was glad I managed to get one trip on Glasgow's Subway.  While it was a 'wild ride' (the cars rock back and forth a lot), I think I must've held my camera on an extreme angle when I captured the above shot.

Believe it or not, it is the third oldest underground metro system in the world.  Approaches to some stations are still on an uphill, to assist the cars in braking.   As you can see, the cars themselves are tube shaped.  Mind those short entrances when you board the cars.

We noticed construction activity at several stations, which surprised my native Glaswegian guide.   For a subway system that was opened in 1896, I'm sure any upgrades are a welcome sight.

The subway run consists of two rings, both underground.  One runs clockwise, the other anti clockwise.  Simple! Sure, there are likely problems with timetables....but the subway map is pretty easy to understand.

Scotland: The Hunterian

Glasgow, Scotland

University of Glasgow

The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery

June 19, 2012

This place screams "I am a museum!", doesn't it?  Feast your eyes on The Hunterian, Scotland's oldest public museum.  It is home to the largest single holding of the works of the famous Scottish Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau designer; Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  Sadly, that exhibit was not open the day we visited the museum.  Frownie faces all around.  

Luckily we managed to amuse ourselves in their permanent collections.  The exhibit of The Antonine Wall was of particular interest to me, mostly because we had been talking about Rome's influence in Scotland the previous evening.  Like most people mistakenly assume, Rome's outer reach did not end at the infamous Hadrian's Wall.  I loved looking at the Roman coinage, garment artifacts, weapons, etc..  The inscribed tablets and other pieces of stone which date The Antonine Wall were also very interesting.

The admission to this museum was free, as was the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.  Apparently these are funded by council tax.  Civilized, that.

Scotland: The Lonely Walk Home

Glasgow, Scotland

June 19, 2012

I spotted this fellow on the cab ride home after a hard day's work of boozing and dining in the West End.  As you can see, this area was semi-industrial. At the time, his suit and tie apparel seemed like a nice contrast to the surroundings.  

Scotland: Food, Glorious Food!

Glasgow, Scotland

June 19, 2012

Sometimes it pays to ask.  I spotted this nice display of fish while walking somewhere in the West end of Glasgow...I entered the store and asked in my most polite voice, if I could please take a photo of his fish on display.  The shopkeeper shrugged and said yes.  

It's not the most exciting shot ever, maybe I was just excited to see some mackerel fillets in the window.  At any rate, I'm glad I took 'mundane' shots of grocery store shelves and shots like this one.  If anything, I regret that I didn't take more!

Scotland: Sausage Dinner @ Mario's Plaice

Mario's Plaice

Glasgow, Scotland

June 19, 2012

If you find yourself in the West End of Glasgow, hankering for a feed of chips or a deep fried slice of pizza...head over to Mario's Plaice.

After several pints and whisky chasers at the Òran Mór Whisky Bar, my Glaswegian guide took me to this joint for a sausage dinner.  This consists of a deep fried, battered sausage and chips (of course!).  

I have little experience with chips for comparison but I found them tasty and they did their job well....soaking up the alcohol.  The shopkeep was nice enough to put a fresh batch down for us and kindly let me lean behind the counter to snap a shot.  I'm glad I asked.

Scotland: Òran Mór Whisky Bar

Òran Mór Whisky Bar

Glasgow, Scotland

June 19, 2012

During a mid afternoon drinking session, always remember to stop and stretch. No one wants to throw out their back while sipping a wee dram of Talisker, right?

To quote the Òran Mór website: "Formerly Kelvinside Parish Church, Òran Mór, Gaelic for 'great melody of life' or 'big song', is a thriving arts & entertainment venue in the heart of Glasgow's West End." 

This was a really nice place to sit in a booth (err...pew?) and sample some fine cask ales and my first proper whisky!  

Stay tuned for shots of the deep fried sausage dinner that followed shortly thereafter....

Scotland: Glasgow Central Station

Glasgow, Scotland

June 18, 2012

While waiting to catch a train home, I started snapping candid shots in Glasgow's central train station....then I got busted by this nearby commuter. 

Glasgow Train Station

Back to Glasgow!

While waiting for our train to Edinburgh, I snapped this shot at the Glasgow train station.  That was wayyyy back in June!  

We're not in Kansas anymore: pt. 2

I got some strange looks from our hosts when I snapped this shot.  They couldn't understand why I would want to photograph a random car on a random street.  I had to explain that we don't have 'letting agencies' in Canada.  Also, it's not common for corner shops to advertise 'nougats, oysters, wafers' for sale.  Apparently 'oysters' are a sweet, which makes more sense than selling shellfish in a corner shop.


I'm glad I took the time to take shots like this.  Of course, photographer's remorse, I wish I had taken many more....

Nice day for a street party

Later on in the afternoon, during our first day in Glasgow, we stumbled upon a West End music festival.  


All manner grilled food was on offer from various vendors and no shortage of pints.  Everyone seemed to be having a grand old time.

First proper pint

Within hours of landing in Glasgow, it didn't take too long before I had sampled my first pint of cask ale.

I sampled Kelburn's Goldihops ale.  It was smooth and malty with a nice hop'y finish...as one would hope and expect.  


Cask ales are not carbonated like North American beers making them more of a gulping drink rather than sipping mouthfuls of foam and maybe a little beer.  Also, casks are stored at cellar temperatures rather than refrigerated. This seems to unlock more aromatics and reveals more complexity in the ale's flavour.  If you have a basement in your domicile, I recommend storing your beer down there.  Put some in the fridge for your friends from Ontario who insist drinking beer at near freezing temperatures. 


Needless to say, my first experience with a traditional Scottish ale was not my last.  Bottom's up!

A wee bit 'o' kickabout

The day we arrived in Glasgow, we had an impromptu Dérive.  It was great, I got to see a lot of the city, ~10 km worth!  While in the city centre, I was lucky to snap this shot of some kids having fun kicking around the 'ole football.  


Glasgow was great, I recommend visiting it!  More pics from Glasgow and Scotland to follow, stay tuned!