Wow what a time! I haven’t managed to get a blog out last week, but it was just so busy! Let me get right in there.
The storm really left its marks on Uist! Schools and shops were closed for two days, no ferries and the general attitude was: Stay inside! It was a bit frightening but also very interesting to see the power of nature especially in the Outer Hebrides. You’re really exposed to the nature, you have no choice. On Tuesday afternoon it flattened down though (even though it was still very windy!) and Josie and I went on our way to see the destruction on the island and see a bit of North Uist. We went to a beach on the west coast of North Uist and I swear I’ve never seen such huge waves. They were just massive! Minutes later we picked up a kitten from the ditch. She was a feral cat. What a monster! Still extremely cute and also it was too stormy for her to be outside on her own, which is why we decided to take her with us. After we bought some cat food from the coop in North Uist, that had just opened, we took her home and Josie fed her. She was still not very impressed but slowly gained our confidence and now she is living a happy life as a farm cat with someone else. I don’t know what they called her but I hope it’s the gaelic name for rather storm or monster!
The next day consisted of packing for my two weeks on the mainland and ended with a nice time playing some music for an event up at Taigh Chearsabhagh in North Uist. Thursday was travelling day which meant that we took the ferry at midday over to Skye. Oh what a ride! Waves were so high that the water came from above, white sea horses everywhere and no normal walking possible. But after two hours we made it and guess what, we survived it all. Next on: The drive from Uig on Skye down to Glasgow. After a lot of watery roads, one stop in Tyndrum, a lot of podcasts and 8 hours later we made it to Glasgow! Finally. It was quite a ride, but it was worth it! Friday was rehearsing day for the upcoming gig on Saturday and some nice drinks and curry after hours of rehearsing!
The gig on Saturday was phenomenal and was such a great experience to perform in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for the first time! I had a great time and can’t wait for the next time. After that we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon listening to the other gigs in the Concert Hall. In the evening we spent some quality time at the anniversary gig for Ceolas in the Old Fruitmarket! What a gig! After that we headed to the Festival Club and the Holiday Inn, which has a great hotel bar! Sunday it was time to head back to Stirling with my friend. Some Friends episodes were the biggest achievement of the day.
The next started with me heading over to Callander to visit my hostfamily and all the other lovely folk in Callander. I literally never met such a lovely family before. There are those people where you just feel home and welcome no matter how long you haven’t seen them, you feel like you never left. My hostfamily is one of them! I just couldn’t and still can’t wish for a better family to spend my AuPair year with. They are the most welcoming and genuine people in the whole universe. I know that there is always different AuPair experiences but staying with them you couldn’t have a bad experience, there is just no chance! Anyway, a lovely Burns Supper and a few chilled days in Callander later I found myself in Glasgow again on Friday, seeing the East Pointers live in the Oran Mor. The East Pointers are an amazing folk band from Canada and bring a lot of new influences to the folk and traditional music world. What a band! On Saturday we got to see the ever so incredible Flook in the City Halls. I grew up with their music and listened to their albums thousands of times, but actually seeing them live for the first time was an incredible experience! They released a new album last year and played a lot of new ones but also some tunes from the older albums. After that it was time for some pints at the Holiday Inn again!
So now I’m sitting here in Stirling again at my friends flat, reminiscing about the last almost two weeks, exhausted and tired but all in all very happy! What a time it’s been at Celtic Connections! I would do it all over again right now! Although sometimes it’s extremely stressful and busy I wouldn’t change it for a thing because you only live once and I think you should take all opportunities you can get!
I’m off to a conference in Inverness on Wednesday and then I’m back to normal life and lovely Uist on Saturday! As much as I loved Celtic Connections and Glasgow and the mainland in general I can’t wait to get back into my routine. Uist I miss you!
All the best from mine to yours & have a good one folks!
Cheerio bye,
Emilia
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