We've been experiencing a mini spring heatwave in the UK this week, with temperatures warmer than Spain. So, I took time out from studying for a picnic in Pollok Park with some of my classmates. With disposable barbeques, a box of wine and enough popcorn to sink the Bismarck, we did some serious picnicking before exploring the delights of Pollok park life.



  

 



It was a splendid day out, although the sun may have gone to one of our heads - here's my pal Tommy getting far too intimate with flowers....

 

It's no small irony that just days before receiving an IMF bailout, Ireland opened a plush new terminal at Dublin Airport.



I took the opportunity of a brief flight delay  to take a look round before heading home on Friday. 







It's certainly impressive, but I seemed to have the place all to myself. Maybe it's early days, but I can't help wondering if it might prove to be a white elephant. With Ireland facing decades of debt and rising prices, fewer visitors will be making their way to the Emerald Isle. In fact, with emigration on the rise, this monument to an economic miracle might be the last thing vision of Ireland for those fleeing a nation in financial meltdown.

The sun is setting on another festival season in Edinburgh. But its rays have shown the city in all its glory. Even a Glaswegian can admit, it's quite a nice wee place.




 
 

You might not recognise this building, but if you're a Eurovision fan you should recognise its name.



Edinburgh's Usher Hall hosted the 17th Eurovision Song Contest, its first and so far only outing to Scotland.  Here it was in 1972 that a puff-sleeved Vicky Leandros took Luxembourg to victory.  The BBC put on a rather lame effort, with a some old Christmas decorations, a prehistoric video screen and a cliched pipes and drums interval.

In the intervening years the Usher Hall continued to be a major venue for numerous events, including concerts for the Edinburgh International Festival. It even became a boxing arena during the Commonwealth Games.  But by the 1980s, time was taking its toll on a building that had  first opened in 1914 thanks to the generosity of whisky magnate, Andrew Usher. So, when plaster started falling from the roof a major refurbishment programme was enacted.

The second phase of that programme is now complete, and includes a new glass wing.



I'm not at all sure about this addition. It's not in keeping with the more traditional facade, and seems to obscure rather than complement the original. I can't say Andrew Usher would have approved.



But much, much more importantly, what would Vicky Leandros have to say about it?

The following pictures are from St Bernard's Well, an 18th century pump house.
The architect,  Alexander Naismyth, based the design on Sybil's Temple at Tivoli.



It's only open on selected days during the year, so I was lucky to see the interior
with its appropriately sunny ceiling.

 


Forget what you've heard about the Scottish weather: here, even indoors the sun shines.
 

Once you're strapped into the Skyscanner, you're offered a glass of bubbly, then it's up, up and away.
At cruising level, a chef pops up to give a cookery demonstration of the meal you'll be served.



I don't know about you, but I only have to stand on a doorstep to get vertigo, so the idea of eating 100 feet in the air makes me want to choke on my Cheerios.  And I may be Glaswegian, but even I think it's poor form to throw up on the good people of Edinburgh.

So, you can keep your air fare. I prefer my haute cuisine on terra firma.