The Clan

So much to tell...

First of all, and most importantly, Celtic won! Sitting in a sea of green and white and watching the team win was unreal. To hear the team's anthems being belted out so passionately around me was just so awesome. The swear words oozing out of the rough-looking fans beside me in broad Glaswegian accents was, well, not so pleasant but it did add to the authenticity of the experience. All in all, it was a moment in time I will never forget. I hope to one day relive it but with my dad and my pop on either side of me and with the Rangers losing to our Celtic :)

On Monday, my cousin and I went for a magnificent drive along the west coast of Scotland and through the highlands, witnessing some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever laid eyes on. I insisted we listen to a Rod Stewart album along the way and so, to the heart-pumping tunes of 'Sailing' and 'Rythym of my Heart', we travelled past rolling green hills, wind-battered lochs and picturesque Scottish villages. I could almost see myself skipping through the countryside in a kilt with a piper following me hehe. We stopped off at Luss, the origin of my clan, where we walked around and admired the beauty of the little village and visited the gravestones of the many, many Colquhouns before my time. We also paid a visit to the Loch Ness monster exhibition centre near Inverness to learn about the history of the myth behind Nessie. I couldn't help but look at the loch genuinely in search of the monster, feeling very silly at the same time. Unfortunately, Nessie wasn't to be seen that day.

What else has happened?? The other night my Aunty Maggie, who is actually the wife of my pop's brother, took me to a pub in Clydebank for a few drinks. Thanks to two of her brothers that were there we ended up having more drinks than we bargained for and I somehow ended up singing a Beatles song with one of her brothers in the karaoke contest. Hilarious - singing karaoke with my pop's brother's wife's brother. How's that for a close family?!?

Aside from the above I've been hanging out and catching up with my family alot, from my pop's brothers and sister to their children and even their childrens' children. Regardless of the fact that I have only met most of them just once in my life if at all, and that was as a four-year-old, I feel so comfortable around them. I think that family is family whether or not you live close by and see one another often. Just sharing the same blood creates a bond that is stronger than the oceans that separate us. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to come here and spend time with the clan... I love my family :)

Return to the Motherland

I am in now in Scotland, birthplace of my ancestors, William Wallace and the decimal point. It has been sixteen years since I last visited the land of haggis and deep fried Mars bars yet coming here feels like coming home. I am so at home with the accent, the humour, the food and the obsession with football that I feel just as Scottish as I do Australian. And the fact that I am surrounded by family makes Scotland that much more cozy for me. I love it here!!

So, for eleven days I am based in Glasgow, where my Uncle Drew and family lives and where my dad and grandparents grew up. Glasgow has endeavoured to shed its image as the 'Mean City' over the years, however its working class roots are still obvious. The Glaswegians are a little rough, a little loud and the friendliest bunch of people I've come across in my travels and the city itself, while a little on the rough-looking side and suffering from weather-impairment (i.e. terribly shitty weather), has such a comfortable vibe to it. Walking its streets I don't feel so much an outsider as I do a part of Glasgow. I could definitely live in this great city.

Although based in Glasgow I am travelling to all parts of the country. Already I have paid a visit to Edinburgh, where I toured the famous castle and had a cuppa at my Aunty May's house, and to Sterling, where I walked around the castle there and hiked up the national William Wallace monument. Scotland boasts a fascinating history, one that tells of warring clans and awe-inspiring battles for freedom against England, and one can not fully appreciate it until they experience being in the palace in which Mary Queen of Scots resided, for example, or where William Wallace defeated the English. I am trying to learn as much as I can about the country's past while I am here and also hopefully more about the history of my clan... I will be heading to Luss by Loch Lomond in the next couple of days to see the origins of the Colquhouns. That should be cool.

Anyway, I am just about to hit the pubs of Glasgow with my cousin, Christopher, but I don't think we will get too shattered. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow - we are going to a Celtic match!!!! It has been a dream of mine for many years now to experience a live match at Parkhead, the home of my family's beloved Bhoys, and tomorrow it will come true!!!

Pictures of Rome

Below are several photographs of my trip to Rome. Enjoy :)

The Colloseum 

The Roman Forum 

Inside the Pantheon 

A wedding party disperses as doves fly in for a feast of the celebratory rice outside the Pantheon 

The Trevi Fountain 

The Vatican 

Gladiators, the Pope, Jennie and Vanessa

An eventful week...

At 2.30am on Saturday morning I left the family home and headed to the nearest bus stop, sharing the roads with several timid deer. Two buses and a dirt cheap Ryanair flight later I was in Rome - and what an awesome city! Despite being incredibly tired I spent my first day in the Eternal City walking everywhere to see what every tourist comes to see: the Colloseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, the various piazzas, etc. Following years of reading textbooks on the history of these world famous structures, to actually see and touch them with my own hands was amazing. Knowing that emperors, gladiators and slaves had moved about them thousands of years before me provoked the realisation that my petty little life is nothing but a drop in the whole scheme of things. Life went on thousands of years before me and will go on for many more after me; civilisations will flourish and decline and nearly all of us will be forgotten. Why the hell then do we worry so much about our futures, when in reality it doesn't even matter?

The following day I walked to Vatican, where so many others had congregated to catch a glimpse of the new Pope who makes an appearance every Sunday at noon. I waited for a good hour and a half before the old man in the white robe appeared at the balcony with both arms in the air to greet the cheers and chanting of the multicultural crowd before him. One can not appreciate the size and significance of the Roman Catholic church until they see so many believers gathered together in one place, celebrating their leader with more vigour than British football fans. I was absolutely amazed. I must admit though that it made me feel a little empty inside, as though I was missing out on something so special. I experienced the same feeling whilst participating in the vientiane in Thailand, that feeling of wanting to believe in something so strongly. It seems to make people more content and secure in themselves.

Back in Sweden I received a visit from Jennie who stayed at the house with me for a couple of nights. We met up with our Canadian mate, Vanessa, who has scored herself a sales job here in Stockholm, and the three of us paid a visit to my Irish pub where we all drank a little too much. After downing some whisky and wine we headed to a more Swedish-style bar and had some more drinks in the company of three really nice South American guys who are in Stockholm for a computer conference. We had a lot of fun catching up, although I was appalled to realise that I spent nearly as much money on alcohol that night than what my return flight to Rome cost. That's Sweden for you - a country where a single glass of whisky costs me $12, a 4km bus trip costs me $9 and a five minute visit to the doctors costs me, would you believe, over $200!!! Man am I looking forward to returning to Asia where I can survive on that kind of money for weeks. Anyway, we said our goodbyes today, not knowing when we will see each other next. There is no worse feeling, I must say, and it is the worst thing about long distance relationships of any kind. And it is a feeling I will be forced to relive in four days time, when I bid farewell to what has become my second family and move on to the next leg of my journey, bonny bonny Scotland.

Stockholm's gays in all shapes and sizes 

You're not gay, but you'd sure like to be! 

Pippi Longstockings has never looked so fit! 

Funniest Movie Ever!

I just thought I'd share with you what I believe to be the funniest movie ever... 'Best In Show'. I saw it for the first time the other night on Swedish TV and am still laughing when I think of lines from it. It's even better than 'Napolean Dynamite', another movie that I think is a crack-up.
If you haven't seen it, it's a mock documentary on show-dog owners competing in a national show-dog championship in the States. Stiffler's mum and Jim's dad from the 'American Pie' trilogy are in it as is the mother in 'Home Alone' and a few other recognisable faces. You have to see it if you have not yet. It's way too funny to miss.