Friday, September 14, 2012

Travel Blogging VIII


Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.: Who says we’re too old to learn things? Not I. Today I learned at least two new things. Let me share those with you, both have to do with various media.

First, the St. Mungo of Harry Potter fame, as in “St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies,” really did exist. Who knew? It turns out Mungo was an Irish missionary given credit for helping to convert the Picts (Scots) to (Roman Catholic) Christianity.

Second, did you know that there really was a Blackadder? Not just a character on a series of British sitcoms starring Rowan Atkinson, eh? Nope, a real Scottish Machiavellian religious figure, a sort of Celtic Richelieu.

Do I draw a conclusion from both of the above? Perhaps that Brit authors aren’t as creative as I’d given them credit for, looks like they’re mining their own history for characters. Not that we don’t in the U.S., isn’t somebody doing a film in which President Lincoln is a vampire slayer?

A third semi-learning is that the Church of Scotland is to Presbyterian as Church of England is to Episcopalian. The Church of Scotland is a very austere (not into decorated churches) faith. Oh yeah, and they have no bishops and therefore no cathedrals, only high churches, one of which we visited today – very nice.

There is a nascent Scottish independence movement. If it succeeds and Scotland becomes independent, will the Church of Scotland become its state church in the same way the Church of England is the state church of Britain? I suppose the SNP has a platform plank about this issue.

If you’re in Glasgow and would like a recommendation of a great attraction to see, check out the Riverside Transport Museum. There are steam locomotives or “locos” as they call them, autos, motorcycles, streetcars, buses, ship models, guns, trucks, and an old (but nice) RV which they call a caravan. They have old guns, flintlock pistols and the like. There are even places to sit and rest your feet – and costumes from earlier eras, for the ladies I presume. We had 75 minutes there and couldn’t see it all. Way cool place.