Taste of Scotland

What a perfect ambiance for a show. 

Held at the mansion of Prestonfield, the guests settle down in anticipation. 

Dinner is served before the show. The portions of the three course meal may look small, but its filling and I couldn’t do justice to it. 

The show starts with Cameron Goodall explaining (with glee and delight) what Haggis is. 

This is followed by a dram of malt whisky from Prestonfield’s famous collection. The three Scotish tenors were introduced with a song and dance sequence. 

There is a scene of Glencoe and the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion followed by the sword dance. 

Some of the guests were invited to the stage and they had a merry time trying to keep up with the professionals. 

 A glimpse of this can be seen in the 22 minute video (the best I could capture from where I was sitting) I liked the solo instrumentals 

 and also the singing by Brigid Mhairi. 

On the whole an enjoyable evening. 

Incidentally I spotted Cameron Goodall the next day at the Military Tattoo helping one of the Bagpipers put on his shoulder straps properly. 

Pune and Cycling

What could be a better place to flag off a cycle rally to bring in awareness among people regarding the benefits of cycling. S.P. College which was built exactly a century ago has been a mute witness to the transformation of this city from the “City of Cycles” to two wheelers and four wheelers. 

I reached there at 6.15 am and found this huge crowd in front of me waiting to get their names ticked off (against the online registration) 

Noticed people from all age groups. I was told that the eldest guy was 82 years old (and the youngest was 6) About 1200 citizens took part. 

The organizers made all the necessary announcements and the guys who opted for the 22 kms cycling was waved off first. 

There were other shorter Cyclothon tracks of 12 kms and 8 kms.

I could not snap pictures en route as I was a participant in the 22 km rally. The route was from S P college, Tilak Rd, FC Rd, University Rd, Pashan, Bavdhan, Chandani Chowk, Paud Rd, Karve Rd and back to S P College.

It was nice to see early morning Sunday joggers on the way. It was also nice to see very young boys and girls taking part in the cycle rally. They were later felicitated on completion. 

On the whole there was a sense of happiness and camaradeire among all the participants with the feeling that they have accomplished something. 

Have made a one minute video on the complete event.

While clicking S P College, my cycle decided to make its appearance in the foreground, participant number PC 118   :-)   

Irish Dance at Dublin

On 3^rd of August we had been to the Taylors Three Rock in Dublin, Ireland. The food was sort of OK, but the show was good. 

The show starts into an hour after the food is served. 

The chunk of the entertainment was Irish Dance and some solo singing. 

The co ordinated tap dance was good and variety was added in the form of dancing on the table top.

To make the show lively some audience were roped in to join in the music. 

But the one who stole the show was Noel V Ginnity. Looks like he had years and years of experience as an entertainer and kept the audience in splits. Some of the jokes were repeats from the internet but it was worth it. 

As I had a good seat, managed to capture some of the action and shaved it down to a video of 18  minutes.  I think the video will speak for itself.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is the oldest and the largest occupied castle in the world, whose outer walls are still those constructed by William the conqueror during his reign in the 11^th century. 

On the way to the castle from the main public entrance, you pass through the Windsor Railway Station (now known as Windsor and Eton Central Railway Stn) In 1849 when the station opened, there was considerable opposition from the Eton College who were convinced that the proximity of a railway station would lead the Eton boys astray.

A locomotive is on display, which is a full scale replica of the GWR Achilles class 4-2-2-locomotive No. 3041 It was renamed “The Queen” especially to pull the six new carriages of the Royal Train. 

The Windsor Royal shopping and the train station are connected. Most of shops were yet to open as we were there early. 

The Castle itself is a photographer’s delight. This delivery girl also was tempted to take a quick shot of the tower. 

On the way to the castle, we stumbled upon this Ancient well.  

As people assume that many must have used this well as a wishing well, a special board has been put on the well 

As we walked on our friend Melvyn nodded his head to a small alley on the left and said “that is the shortest street”  I had a look at the street and indeed it was. Queen Charlotte Street is the shortest street in Britain measuring only 622 inches. 

And this is the street 

Finally we reached that part of the Castle from where we could see “The Long Walk” which is about three mile long starting at George IV Gateway at Windsor Castle and ending at the magnificent copper Horse statue. 

All thought that it was an ideal place for a group photo with the castle as the background.

On the way back we found this cute Pub on Park Street by the name of The Two Brewers which is Windsor’s smallest pub with only nine tables inside.

Earlier in the day we just about managed to cross the city before the London Cycle Race got into full swing. Did see some of the cyclists as we left the city. You can see it in the video.