Endgame

Endgame

Aside from the name of a huge text on The Nibelungenlied, the chapters of which I've read so many times that by now I've probably read the whole book twice, 'Endgame' is also the name of a Samuel Beckett play that I think is actually in French.  I don't really know anything about the play other than that there's a guy named Ham in it and one line from the play is 'un coeur, un coeur dans ma tête,' and I don't really know the significance of this quote other than that someone once compared it to Poe's 'A Telltale Heart' in some essay I once read.  But none of that is actually relevant to what I'm saying here.  I simply use endgame here to refer to the final stretch of the semestre when everything is due and we all panic.  But not me, because I've got my towel.  With that in mind, I've reached the endgame of my first semestre here in St Andrews.  I've got 3 essays and a palaeographical transcription/analysis due by the 8th and after that I'll be free!!  Well, I guess I also have another essay due 10 January, but I'm trying not to think about that one right now.

November

School

November's drawing to a close and for the most part it was a pretty relaxed month.  With only a few assignments due I was able to relax a bit and focus more on Latin and Old Norse (I'm now going to Old Norse sessions 3 times a week).  I also spent most of November reading.  I've read so much this month on all kinds of things.  I just hope some of it rubs off on my writing.  

Weather

The weather here has been much more like the weather I expected from Scotland: hovering around 10 degrees (yes, 10 above—sorry Edmonton friends), grey, and wet.  I have yet to see it actually pour here like it does when it rains in Canada, but it always seems to be raining lightly off and on.  Or else it won't really be raining at all, but there'll be a mist suspended in the air and you could step outside and feel perfectly dry, but walk for 5 minutes and somehow you're soaked.  Every week they seem to say the next week will be colder, but so far it hasn't been, and just yesterday the BBC was saying this will probably be the warmest winter on record for Great Britain.

Fun Stuff

Outside of schoolwork I haven't done too much.  The work has been manageable in November, but it was still crazy busy.  We did have 4 big band gigs this month (3 of which I managed to play in).  The most recent ones were back-to-back nights when we played at the Winter Grad Ball for Dundee University.   The 1st night was pretty average, but the 2nd night only a small number of us showed so we were playing extremely carefully because there wasn't a big band behind you to cover any mistakes.  But during the 2nd half of that gig we all kind of loosened up and just went full-throttle and most of the grads got up and started dancing (they even pushed the tables out of the way to make more dancing room).  If you ask me, we sounded amazing!  And the conductor even said that the 2nd half was one of the best set-lists he'd ever heard out of Dundee U Big Band.  Unfortunately most of the pictures below are from the 1st night and really don't capture the energy on that 2nd night.  But take my word for it, it was awesome!

Most towns/cities here have a 'Christmas Lights Switch-on' event where they turn on the city Christmas lights and have a few festive events in the streets and shopping centres for the holidays (even fireworks!).  We went to the one here in Dundee and it was pretty cool, though most of the 'fun events' were just shops staying open late with the excuse of selling Christmas-related things, so that was a little disappointing.  

Tomorrow is St Andrews Day and there are a lot of events going on in St Andrews (including a Christmas Lights Switch-on and a Ceilidh) so I may go to that with my flat mates, depending how much work I get done today (2 of my essays are due Monday and Tuesday).

Other than that, there's not much else that's new here.  I'm looking forward to my Dad coming up on the 12th and my trip back to Canada.  This'll probably be my 2nd last update before Christmas, since I imagine I'll be fairly busy once I'm back in Canada.

Pictures

Unfortunately all I really have pictures of is the Winter Grad Ball gig.

The set-up outside.  They even had a bagpiper playing to welcome people inside.

The sign inside.

From the first night.  I know what you're thinking, and unfortunately no, that is not a shower of sparks from the ceiling or any other high-budget stage effects, it's just the light reflecting off of a disco ball.  Although, the stage set-up there is really sweet because the lights, although warm, don't leave you melting, and it's even bright enough that you can almost read your music.  I know that sounds sarcastic, but seriously, that's the nicest stage I've ever played on.

More from Day 1

Sadly, I think this is the only picture from Day 2 and it's from the 1st set when there were only a few couples dancing.  Also, I'm actually in this picture!  If you squint, you can see my head on the far right behind the saxophonists.

Pictures!

In no particular order, here are some pictures:

Dudhope Park on a Fall morning (my birthday morning in fact)

Reflection of sunrise on the clouds (the same beautiful morning from my bedroom window)

My fancy window ornaments 'so the people will know we were here'

Enjoying a birthday pint

Halloween with flatmates and friends

More Halloween, trying to look scary

Guy Fawkes Day

Also known as Bonfire Night

And some photos of the Cooler by the fancy professional photographer:

Look how shiny they all are!

Conductor (far left) taking a solo with the big band president

The saxophones

The trombones

No Longer Week 2

So I've been told by some family members that it is no longer Week 2 and my blog could benefit from an update or two.  Turns out it's already Week 8 or something!  Week 6 maybe? ...I'm not sure why they count them here.

This isn't a very good update though—more of an update to let you know of an impending update.  Below is just a few highlights of things I've gotten up to since the last update.  Sadly, it is pictureless.  But before the sun sets on Sunday, there will be a better update with some pics.  That's the Winger Guarantee.

After the last update I didn't do a whole lot except readings for a couple weeks.  Then came a very busy few weeks where the deadlines across all our classes were in a 5-day span.  In that time I managed 2 essays, a palaeography transcription, and a Latin assessment.  Oh yeah, and my birthday was in there somewhere as well.  After a day of Old Norse and working on my essay, I took the evening off and went to a pub with my flatmates in Dundee and a few course-mates living in St Andrews even made the trip up to Dundee to join us.  It was quite a nice break, and I was far enough into my assignments that I felt I could afford an evening of not working.

I also got some mail!  Big thank-yous to Kim, Baba, Oma, and Erin for the post! As well as to all the kind emails.
P.s. A postcard is kinda cheating, Erin!
P.p.s. It was still appreciated though!
P.p.p.s. Back to the update.

I also put out a short paper through the University of St Andrews History Society's Historical Journal (that whole thing is its actual name!)  It is geared toward a slightly wider audience (i.e. undergrads) and most of the edits they had me make were to make the paper fit a strict essay structure.  Something the postgrad teachers seem to discourage.  If you're interested, it's about a group of rune-stones in Sweden and their (potential) historical value, and can be read HERE.

The Dundee University Big Band has had a couple more gigs as well.  We played at The Steeple Church which rents out some of its space to the local swing dance society.  The Swing Dance society was having a weekend-long swing-dancing workshop and we provided the music for their Riverside Stomp (one of their fun dances, as opposed to workshops).  It was a rad time.  Last week we also played at The Cooler.  It's the biggest gig we do in terms of audience and we do one a semester.  We played 3 sets and despite the reduced-price drinks we were all pretty beat by the end.  After clean up we all shared a last drink before parting ways for the night, and I got home around 1:30 after having spent 8 hours at the venue from door to door (Between 4 and 5 hrs of combined playing time).  This was the Wednesday of the week of Halloween and some of the band dressed accordingly (with puns too!) Pictures to follow in a day or two.

Unfortunately I'll be missing the next gig as it's on a Friday at 1:30 and I don't finish Old Norse in Crail (half hour past St Andrews) until 12:40 or so.  But the one after that is for last year's grads and should be pretty fun.  There has also been talk of following the example of the Danish orchestra in eating peppers of record-breaking hotness while playing a spicy Latin number—I have mixed thoughts on this.

The History postgrads hosted a no-teachers-allowed Halloween party in the Undercroft for Halloween with a tonne of free candies and some drinks too for only £3, which I went to as an unconvincing Rasputin.  The costume theme was villains and there were some pretty good ones.  My favourite was probably someone dressing up as George R. R. Martin.

Tomorrow is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Day) and at this point most Brits don't even seem to know whether they're celebrating the fact that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, or the fact that someone stood up to Parliament and the King.  And some people see it as an entirely Anglican vs Christian thing.  Happily however, most people just enjoy the sparks of bonfires and sparkling of fireworks.  I do not yet know whether masks are encouraged or frowned upon, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

And that's all for now.  Pictures coming soon.

Week Two: The Spa, The Law, and Some Other Things I Saw

 PART ONE: Classes

Monday was a full day in St Andrews.  After Latin and Palaeography, I had a few hours of spare reading time before I met with the supervisor of my Directed Study, who assigned me more reading.  Rather than narrowing in on a topic, I'm actually expanding, both geographically and temporally.  So I really hope I find something specific to do by next Monday.

Tuesday's Latin class was followed by my core module which sort of overlapped with the palaeography we've been doing.  So nothing really new there.  After class, we went to the spa at the Old Course Hotel.  During Fresher's Week, people were handing out coupons for a free 2-hr use of the spa facilities: pool, jacuzzi, sauna.  One of my flat mates grabbed one, and the rest of us were convinced there'd be some kind of catch or fee, but nope, absolutely free.  They also had this 8-feet deep tank of cold water that reminded me of the tank they put Luke in after Han rescues him from the snowy wastes of Hoth.  We now interrupt this blog post for a sci-fi joke:  

What's the internal body temperature of a Tauntaun?  

Luke warm.

That afternoon was then spent swimming before a postgraduate history meet and greet in the Undercroft with free wine and crisps.

On Wednesday, I stayed in Dundee and did some reading, both at home and in the nearby Dudhope Park (pictures to the left) which has a castle (top) and a cannon (bottom).

PART TWO: The Ascent

Two things you should know.  

First, 25 September, 1915: The Battle of Loos.   It was a British offensive on the Western Front, lasting well into October before ending in a British defeat.  It was also a battle in which many Black Watch (among several others) lost there lives.  

Secondly, in Dundee is a place called The Law.  It is an extinct volcano which was the sight of early settlement dating back to 1500BC, later Roman settlement (possibly as a lookout of some sort), and now is home to a large war memorial commemorating both World Wars.

Because Thursday was the anniversary of the Battle of Loos, the war memorial was to be lit, and I figured this would be the perfect day to check it out.  It's a relatively short walk from where I live, just up the hill, through Dudhope Park, up another hill, and there you are!  I took over 100 pictures on the walk, so I tried to be selective in posting them below.

1st Flight of stairs

2nd flight of stairs

3rd flight of stairs

PART THREE:  The Top

After three ramp/stair sets in a narrow alley, the path spills out onto a grassy area with a stand of jack pine on the right, and a more varied miniature wood to the left which curls around the North side of the hill.  I was having troubles formatting the photos, so some are out of order, but they're of The Law itself, the surrounding greenery and some of the views from the heights.  Also, if you didn't already know, clicking on a picture will bring it up in full-size in a picture-viewing mode which you can navigate with your arrow-keys.

A view of the monument between some trees.

View from the grassy area (looking South toward the Tay).  I know what you're thinking, and despite the blue in the sky, I assure you, this is still in Scotland!

Cool door on the monument

East-facing view

Northwest-facing view

West-facing view

View of the monument from the grassy hill

South-facing view (the bridge in the top left takes you across the Tay into Fife)

South (and slightly East)-facing view.  Apparently you can see St. Andrews on a clear day, but I think you'd actually have to be higher up due to the way the land curves in on itself.

View of the monument from the final staircase leading up to it

View of Fife (Southward across the Tay) and the rail bridge from beside the monument

The monument, the Tay in the background

The final staircase up the hill to the monument

The top of the monument.  If you look REALLY closely, you can see the flame peaking out of the top

Interesting bricks in the grass

Path through some trees and shrubs

Nice flowers growing out of one of the walls on the path with the stairs

Trees

Trees

Path in the trees

After The Law I had band in the evening which was just as awesome as last week (our first gig is 6 October which is only a little over a week away).  Friday I went to Crail for Old Norse which is an really stunning little town right on the ocean (gotta bring my camera next time).  Our prof hosted us in his study (more of a library) with a lovely bay window overlooking the sea.  We ended up covering more on English philology than any Old Norse, but it's good background info. to have, to understand all the sound changes and more easily associate Old Norse words with modern cognates.  Today and tomorrow will be reading and studying.  Also, my application to be one of the writers for the History Society's Historical Journal was accepted, so I'll be going to an introductory meeting for that on Wednesday.

Classes

I've finished my first week of classes!

We started pretty early on Monday.  We planned to leave at 8:15 so we'd have plenty of time to get to our first class early.  The class started at 9:30 and the longest the bus ride had ever taken up to that point had been a little less than 40 minutes.  We got to the bus on time and everything, but we hadn't really accounted for rush hour, and the bus ride took like an hour and a half.  Add a 5-minute walk and we were almost half an hour late to our first class (great start!).  The only consolation was that one other student was later than us.

That first class was Latin, and the prof is quite a character.  He was born in India, seems kind of like a stuffy old Brit, but wears a kilt everyday, and is actually quite easy-going despite acting so formal all the time.  All the other profs call him by his full name too, so that just adds to his whole unique persona.  He also goes VERY FAST!  The class itself is huge.  It's Latin for all the postgrads and they haven't split it into the varying levels yet, so there are over 30 people in the class.  We had to sit on the floor, but I was right by the radiator so I didn't mind.

After class, we had a short break before Palaeography and Manuscript Studies.  This class is also quite large as it's open to both Mediaeval Studies and Mediaeval History Masters students, so there are just shy of 20 students.  The class seems really cool: we get to work with manuscripts and most of our assignments will be analysing and transcribing texts.  It will be quite difficult however, as very few of the texts are in languages I understand, and each has its own system of abbreviations.

In the afternoon is my directed reading with Alex Woolf who is really awesome and easy to talk history with.  This week he has me reading viking runes.  FUN!  I think the directed reading will be my favourite course because it's so informal and more about how interesting history is than anything else, but it does include a tonne of reading.

Future Mondays will be capped off with seminars, usually from visiting professors, but they haven't started yet.


The next morning we woke up even earlier and left at 7:45.  This was also a mistake.  We somehow must've entered a wormhole on the way to school because we got there in only 20 minutes.  Next week we'll try 8:00.  Tuesday starts with Latin as well, immediately followed by the Mediaeval Studies core module which is looking at the Nibelungenlied this semester.  Our first class was actually pretty disappointing.  We just discussed how 'mediaeval' or 'middle ages' are problematic terms but they serve a purpose anyway.  And there I was expecting to be dumbfounded by our hardcore analysis of the readings we had done.  We've only had the one class though, so I'm sure it'll pick up this week.  And that's it.  Tuesday 13:00 I finish all formal teaching for the week.


On Wednesdays and Fridays I'll have meetings with an Old Norse reading group which seems awesome after our introductory meeting.  Friday sessions are at the prof's house so we can 'feel comfortable around all his books...and his cat'.  On Wednesdays in the future, there will also be Postgrad seminars and pub quizzes afterwards apparently.

Today (Thursday) was spent reading.  As will tomorrow be.  Saturday as well (unless we decide to take a day trip somewhere with our expensive bus passes).  And Sunday will be filled with—you've guessed it—reading!

This evening (in 10 minutes) I'll be heading off to the Music Centre at the University of Dundee, here in town, to see about joining their Big Band.

Update:  I got back from a 2-hour big band practice and it was awesome!  They threw us right into things with about 15 songs with a 10 minute break in the middle.  We're playing a lot hits like Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, etc.  I haven't played a single piece on the set list before and I've heard only a little over half of the tunes.  And despite barely playing the last 3 years, I actully kept up pretty well.  They are all really good, and they even have a few singers who join us for some songs.  I'll definitely be going back every Thursday.