Final day in Scotland

I know it's not actually my last day in Scotland, but I just realised I hadn't talked about Monday and all the bizarre things that happened to me on the way from Dundee to Dromore to Dublin. So here goes... and by the way, all these things genuinely happened!!!

We got on the train in Dundee, and who should be sitting sort of behind us, only a girl who was at Queens doing politics the same time I was there - only she didn't like me, so I didn't say hello to her - I don't think she recognised me, but I knowed her!

So we got to Glasgow, and I was quite lost for the first wee bit as I tried to figure out the station in relation to the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre - it's a good job Lynsey was there, or I might have been lost without her! We dumped our bags into the bus station and took a walk down Sauchiehall Street, and we went into TK Maxx and down the escalator. At the bottom, I felt someone pulling at my shoulder, and I turned around to see this strange woman smiling and staring at me, and before I could speak, she just walked off up the escalator... so very strange! Unless she maybe thought I was someone else and when I turned round she realised she had made a mistake, but you would think she would have spoken!

Then a bit further up the street I went in to Sainsbury's to top up my phone, and silly, silly me - I handed over the Nectar card and the money and asked her to put £20 on it please... and she just stared and asked me for the phone top-up card! Doh! How stupid could I be?!

After that, Glasgow seemed to go reasonably well, having a bit of a wander along, and getting lunch and all, then off to the airport. And then, behold, we had to sit on the plane an extra hour as there was a broken part, but thankfully they had a spare in the stores, and we were able eventually to get on our way to Aldergrove again.

So after having left Lynsey home, I dumped off some clothes and packed others and set off for Dublin. It being Hallowe'en night, there were lots of fireworks about - actually, flying over Belfast was amazing to see all the different fireworks and the colours and all that. But there were two dodgy moments at Newry.

First off, the police were out diverting traffic at the first roundabout on the bypass, not letting anyone down into the city on the Belfast Road. So that was ok, cars had to go along the bypass. But about 200 yards past where the police were standing, at the Cloghanramer Road, there were wee rips standing at the side of the road throwing lit fireworks out into the middle of the road and under cars etc... Great to see the police keeping them under control.

Then second, as you climb the big hill from the Five Ways Roundabout up towards Altnaveigh, right at the side of the road, there was a huge bonfire and a big crowd standing watching it. [I thought it was the Eleventh night!] I certainly wasn't expecting to see anything like it.

Well, that concludes my update on Monday! It's amazing how many strange things can happen in the one day - and there was me thinking that strange things only happen when I was out and about with David McCarthy!