Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Welcome spring! Soon, the world (or at least the northern temperate latitudes) will look like this again. How privileged was the head gardener who got to live in this cottage to put him close to his work: supervising care of the Princess Street Gardens! The gardens were created about the same time as Frederick Law Olmsted was building Central Park. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Follow the street from Central Station to the heart of center city. On each corner is a predatory North American fast-food chain: Tim Hortons, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut. What does such a corporate landscape say about the Scottish city of Glasgow? P.S.: Tim's has never done business in Russia, but thanks to the other three for pulling out. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Argyll Arcade is a covered passage along which Glasgow's jewelers compete for customers. The idea of shopping arcades spread widely, beginning early in the 1800s. Argyll dates from 1827. It was succeeded by even bigger covered shopping centers such as the Galleria in Milan. It was preceded by covered souks in the Near East such as the one in Aleppo. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Elephants are herd animals that do poorly in isolation. So, you better feel especially sorry for this one: He has no drinking buddies. Why? Because nobody wants to discuss the elephant in the room with him. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

He stands in front of  Glasgow Central as a bronze memorial to fallen firefighters. But, we saw him differently after the events of September 11, 2001. Then, we saw him, again, in a new light after the coronavirus pandemic began. It is amazing how the present re-contextualizes the past. [2004]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

To quote Harriet Beecher Stowe: "Women are the real architects of society." Here they are honored in Edinburgh's center, bearing the weight of society (and the weight of nineteenth century architecture) on their lithe frames. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

In pink, they reign, just like monarchs, along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Their performance (just finished) commanded the stage, and the audience loved it. Now, they mingle with the appreciative and bask in the accolades: a good memory made, a memory for life! [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Peddling produces powerful pangs of hunger. But, if you pack a lunch you can satisfy that hunger any time you want, rather than trying to find a restaurant, or arguing about what kind of food would hit the spot. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

European cities are so much more likely than American cities to differentiate between work-week space and week-end space. Must motor vehicles have priority on city streets 24 hours a day and 7 days a week? The American answer is yes. The Scottish answer is no. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Glasgow hosted the 20th Commonwealth Games. Now, the same space that made memories for athletes continues to make memories for a wee lad and his dad. Don't they look happy? The games may have been in 2014, but they continue to cast a brilliance over their host city. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Real Human Characters: Dress makes the man, and there is something unmistakable about Scottish dress. These soldiers (men and women!) are part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland: on parade in Edinburgh. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

For so many Scots, cycling becomes part of fitness-for-life. It starts early, with special family week-ends during which many streets are closed to motor vehicles and many parks are turned over to games and competitions. Let's hope these ups and downs are not a metaphor for a bumpy ride ahead this new year. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

The modern stained glass windows of St. Mary's Cathedral betray their origins in the imagination of 20th century 'pop artist' Eduardo Paolozzi, a native-born Scot. His windows pop not just because of their brilliant colors but because the design is so unexpected in this 19th century Gothic structure. Long live the artists who promise surprises in the year ahead! [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

"People Make Glasgow" 💖 English teachers will mutter to themselves: Subject, verb, object, but no period. Geography teachers will mutter to themselves: Place-name, but no map. On that banner, there is room for a period and room for a map. Sorry, Zara, are we ignoring you? [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Horsing around and providing a little bit of impromptu performance art! Did you ever think of the sidewalk as a stage? Perhaps you, too, have been an actor. Perhaps your actions, too, have been mis-characterized. [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Headed to the Apple Store (see it?) on Buchanan Street to get your iPhone repaired? Wait! There may be a cheaper alternative: right down the street, opposite TOPSHOP. That's what competition is all about in the country that gave us Adam Smith and "the invisible hand." [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland

Beware the Ides of March! It's a day of metaphorical darkness, and has been since 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar was assassinated. What followed was the establishment of the Roman Empire and its expansion onward to Scotland. That didn't settle well with the indigenous Celts who fought the Romans and, then, from this castle, the English. [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

These two better be careful. That lion's jaws are awfully close. He may be asleep now, but what is going to happen when he wakes up? And, why does he have that smile on his face? Come to think of it, why are lions allowed in Edinburgh's public parks anyway? [2017]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Take a seat under the grass. Here in Glasgow, where green is becoming the color of urban life, it's possible. Maybe not a new idea, though: Just think of those ivy-covered walls that used to proliferate in center cities (and university campuses). What's the purpose of the solar panel? [2017]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A yarn bomb (and many more like it) has been dropped on Edinburgh: "Leith says No to Trams". An Edinburgh tram line extension to Leith has long been on the agenda, but apparently some in Leith oppose the idea. Do you think opponents are the come-here gentry or the born-here locals? [2017]