Sunday, January 22, 1989

The Sunday After ...

I woke up (surprisingly) at 11 a.m. this morning. Felt relatively well, despite getting very little sleep. Ate a marvelous breakfast, and then read for awhile until it was about time to leave Dr. Morrison's house and head back to Hull.

Just then, Mike Unger (pictured) stopped in to see how the Burns dinner went. He normally goes to this celebration, but unfortunately he had to attend a dinner where Peter Ustinov was speaking. I do believe he made a good choice. One amusing thing he told me that was an utter surprise. Even though he attends the celebration of Scotland's most revered poet, and even though he's the editor of one of the country's largest newspapers, and even though he lives less than two hours from the Scottish border... Mike has never been to Scotland! That just seemed so impossible to comprehend. He's been to many places all around the world, but said it just never came up as a destination of choice. Wow!

Well soon after, Dr. Morrison and I left for Hull, and we only got stuck in one traffic jam along the way. Once we arrived at The Grange halls, Dr. Morrison joined me for dinner in the refectory. That was a sorry mistake, although he got a little sample of what I am forced to eat every day.

He left shortly afterward, and it was back to face the reality that I had a paper due tomorrow. So I began to work on the paper a bit later, with Viv graciously offering to help me, after watching an episode of "Cheers."

Hey, the Super Bowl was on today, and though it started a bit late here (time zone differences and all), I was still able to watch it on Viv's TV in my room, which was very convenient. We continued working on my paper during the game (and offering some explanations of the game of football to Viv.) We were actually able to get a lot of work done. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was a very good game and won by only 4 points in the closing minutes - one of the best Super Bowls I've seen in years!

It was very, very late when the game finally ended (almost 4 a.m.), so when it was over I fell asleep.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Especially for You" - Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Two Hearts" - Phil Collins

Saturday, January 21, 1989

Burns' Night Dinner ...

I woke up at noon - much later than usual - and made my way downstairs at Dr. Morrison's house to have some breakfast and read the newspaper.

I was still sitting at the table finishing my breakfast when Dr. Morrison came down and told me he had bought me a hoagie for lunch. So, fresh from one meal, I was granted another. (Deja vu?)

I relaxed and read a bit, then watched "A Passage to India" on TV - the movie version of the book I'm supposed to read. It was well done, interesting, and a lot easier than reading the book! It was a long movie (nearly 3 hours), but still shorter than reading it.

After the movie ended I took a bath, dressed in my dinner suit (Dr. Morrison tried unsuccessfully to get me into a kilt), and later we were off to the Burns Night Dinner. It's a long standing tradition to hold these affairs to celebrate the birthday of poet Robert Burns. This year marks the 230th anniversary of his birth. This was also the 104th year that the Chester Caledonian Association, which was hosting this evening's festivities, has held their own celebration here.

We arrived at the Queen's Hotel in Chester at around 6.30 p.m., then had a few drinks before sitting down. Scotch was heartily consumed, food was devoured (naturally haggis, which I despise, was on the menu, but there were other delicacies that I quite enjoyed), poetry from Burns was recited and heralded, speakers spoke fondly of Burns, songs of the poet's poems were enthusiastically sung (Dr. Morrison's cousin Ronnie was one of the two featured singers), and jovial toasts were made. It was a decidedly male-dominated event.

Unfortunately, the kids sitting behind us were a bit rude and loud, but the dinner was nevertheless entertaining and fun. Everyone left the banquet happy (some considerably happier than others), but this was hardly the end of the evening, as wives came to pick up their husbands to take them home, or to other parties. Our destination was an afterparty at the home of the Gills (friends of Dr. Morrison. I sat at the banquet with Gavin and Ian Gill.) That was good fun as well, with more drinking, conversation, poetry reading, and singing going on here... not to mention some Scottish dancing.

It was fabulous fun, and we finally made it back to Dr. Morrison's house at around 4.30 a.m. Still wasn't quite ready to go to bed, so I read a bit more from "The Chronicles" before falling cold away asleep.

(Pictures: #1 - The front and back cover of the Burns Night program. #2 - Enjoying an evening at the Gills house party after the event. #3 - Gus sings!)

Friday, January 20, 1989

Inauguration Day! ...

I woke up at noon - much later than usual - and made my way downstairs at Dr. Morrison's house to have some breakfast and read the newspaper.

I was still sitting at the table finishing my breakfast when Fiona came down and told me that she was taking me out to lunch. So, fresh from one meal, I was granted another - lasagna, at the local pub. After a delicious meal, I returned to the house to do some reading for class - "Howard's End." I actually quite enjoy that book so far.

At 4.30 p.m., they began their TV coverage of the inauguration ceremony for George Bush. So down went the book, and it was me in front of the TV, wishing I was there. It could've been me. I actually did get an invitation sent to me back home to attend one of the inaugural balls, but seeing as how I couldn't afford to make the trip, I had to pass. My friends Greg (who spoke at the Dan Quayle rally) and Trista went to the ball, however. Lucky them!

After the coverage ended, I watched the news, and then when Dr. Morrison returned, caught my favorite Mel Brooks film, "High Anxiety." Dr. Morrison also got me started reading the very thick and comprehensive book, "The Chronicle of the 20th Century." It was fabulous, and unfortunately I couldn't put it down. I read it religiously until 10, when Dr. Morrison's cousin, Ronnie and his wife arrived.

We ate dinner at about 10.30 p.m., and then all of us sat in the lounge, talking. I called home at 1.45 a.m., but only Grandma was home at the time. Fortunately this time I didn't have to call collect and get cut off, so I left a message with Grandma and Mom and Dad called back at 2 a.m. (9 p.m. their time) We had a good conversation, and I wished a happy birthday to both Mom (two days ago) and Grandma (tomorrow... well actually, it was already officially her birthday where I was, but not quite yet where she was.)

Afterwards I read a bit more before finally calling it a day.

Thursday, January 19, 1989

A Bonny Weekend Begins! ...

Today, Dr. Morrison picked me up to take me back to Ness with him for the weekend. The highlight will be a classic Scottish tradition... the Burns' Night Supper, honoring the celebrated 18th Century Scottish poet, Robert Burns (he's the guy who wrote "Auld Lang Syne.")

Decided to start the celebration by taking it easy and taking a pass on my classes today. Packed my bag, said my farewell to Viv, and then Dr. Morrison and I left Hull around 2.30 p.m.

We moved quite well, stopping along the way at a Grenada Rest Stop for some food and coffee. Arrived in Ness around 5.30 p.m. and went straight to the Old Quay, where Fiona was working, and had some dinner. I enjoyed a nice gammon steak.

We then went back to the Morrisons' house, relaxed, talked, and watched Woody Allen's "Play It Again Sam," which was hilarious. Dr. Morrison is a big fan of Woody Allen. Then I read a bit from the "Book of Lists," before heading up to Glen's old room to get some sleep. He's in America, so I'm sure he won't mind.